THE POWER OF HIS PRESENCE CONFERENCE 18-20 March 2015
The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick
230 of us gathered in at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick in mid-March for our three day The Power of His Presence conference. There was a real sense of God mobilising all who stand with us in prayer – not just those in Swanwick.
Our key theme was God’s presence. We were delighted to have Malcolm Duncan, from Goldhill Baptist Church with us – we deeply appreciate his openness, his depth of knowledge, his partnership with us, his love of God and his Northern Irish humour. He took us back to 2 Kings 19:29–31 when God speaks of His provision for Israel. He linked this with the presence of God – He fills us constantly with His spirit – day by day – moment by moment. In Exodus 33 Moses pleads with God –“If your presence will not go with us do not let us go from here.” Jesus gives the great commission in Matt 28 calling us to make disciples – and promising that he will be with us always.
Malcolm talked about King Hezekiah – a Godly King who brought the terrible threats of Sennacherib to God and his prophet Isaiah in prayer. Out of that God gave Hezekiah a three year plan – to eat what grows in the ground in year one – and then in year two to eat what grows from that – moving to year three when Hezekiah’s people will plant seed and vines and reap a harvest. The prayer led to the provision – and God’s promise that the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Hezekiah confronted the dead religious traditions of Israel – he wanted genuine powerful worship. He was a man with a heart for God who – as King – brought his nation and people to God.
Malcolm also talked about the indicators of the presence of God – these include –a deep and sustained move of God and a strong awareness of his presence. There is a strong proclamation of the gospel. He described Acts as full of sermons explaining what God has done – taking miracles and signs of the kingdom as opportunities to speak about Jesus. Other signs include a clear response to the word of God and an authentic and joy filled community.
We also prayed about our nation and the world. Lloyd Cooke (Saltbox, Stoke on Trent) shared that we are called to seek the welfare of the city and reported on a strong growing movement across the UK of unity, action and prayer. Malcolm shared his passion for the nation – to pray for more focus on the gospel, the power of the cross to change lives, and the importance of the Bible as the Word of God. We had input on a move of God in the Middle East and the need for more labourers in this harvest – many Muslims are questioning their faith and seeking the truth about Jesus.
We enjoyed the contribution of our friends from Urban Devotion, Birmingham – these young men and women are dedicating themselves to serving God in a difficult community. 20% of their time is given to prayer and they have built positive relationships with many local schools, local young people, and local government. We also heard about two important new WPC initiatives. The Prayer Hub will enable us to provide accessible, credible prayer information – using new technology to engage people in prayer. We also prayed for the work Colin and Chrissie Greaves will be doing on WPC Teams
Our final morning was a dramatic and moving time as the Holy Spirit moved among us – stirring us up to pray for His presence in the church, in our lives and in this nation.
