You and I have been positioned for ‘such a time as this’ . Whether you link with a small local group, an inter church group in your village, town, city, with a county or regional network, with a house of prayer or with a national network within the nations of the British Isles or in other nations – we are all needed on the frontline now.
During the past 5 years or so, the Holy Spirit has been inviting us to get ready for a time of harvest that was to come in a time of shaking. Since lockdown we are seeing unprecedented numbers of people accessing live streamed services, churches are rediscovering new rhythms of prayer. Most of our prayer/worship/prophetic networks are online daily teaching and equipping and Christians across Ireland stopped to pray on Palm Sunday and are continuing this each Sunday https://www.transformations-ireland.org/ and a new Prayer Ireland Prayer App has just been launched. Initiatives to pray for government, NHS and all frontline workers are increasing and over this past Easter weekend praying and worshipping outside on Good Friday and Easter Day was picked up my many media platforms.
Some of the key threads emerging from conversations and prayer times with prayer leaders in British Isles nations; around England; the houses of prayer network and our World Prayer Centre team in these recent weeks include:
A united sense that this is a time to worship and honour Jesus as never before as we put our trust in Him and Him alone; a time of stopping, pausing, waiting on the Lord and seeking Him afresh in this wilderness/lockdown season. He has a deep work to do in the hearts of His people as He breaks us free from all that we have set up which is not of His choosing.
It is a time to call for the gift of repentance to fall upon His church as we come humbly before Him on behalf of our nations. It is a time of us yielding completely to His will in our own lives. He is inviting us to listen intently to His voice and to watch how we see Him working out His redemptive purposes in this season. He is in the process of remodelling how we understand and ‘do’ church.
It’ s our time to stand on guard especially watching for how the enemy is at work. And for each of us not to be distracted by email/social media traffic but to be meditating and living on and in God’ s word.
And of course to be in the place of intercession. Praying for His mercy on those who are suffering, for His intervention in flattening the curve of those needing critical care treatment, for His healing for those in intensive care and for the glory of His name to be honoured in our land so that we can share our restoration and healing with other nations.
A week into lockdown I sensed that the Father was saying that He has His people in position. That His national strategy is in place. All we need to do is to continue with the assignments we have each been given, to stand on our watch, to worship and honour, to call out for His mercy and repent as He leads us, to pray with the authority we have been given to release His purposes, His plans, His healing and wholeness for every area across our lands and in our society and to see thousands and thousands of people bow the knee to our risen Lord Jesus. And I know He will resource us to run this marathon as we stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ (Zeph 3.9).
In the week before Easter Jonathan Oloyede, National Day of Prayer and Worship, felt nudged by the Holy Spirit to invite churches to join in a 24 hour nationwide prayer chain for April, May and June 2020 by choosing one day between 1st and 31st of each month. Do join in if you can. Click link above or email gdoplondon8@gmail.com
How Can We Pray For Our Children?
6 March 2019
Children and young people are exposed to so much these days and there is a battle for them. Here’s how we can pray.
