Have you ever thought of praying for the Countryside? Check out the latest Newsletter from Hope for the Countryside.
Monthly Newsletter for April 2020 – Seeds of Prayer
In particular this month are some thoughts and prayer pointers into the current coronavirus situation.
Click on the newsletter image to the left, to download and view as a pdf.
Just received from our friend, David Vincent, at London Prayer
I wanted to share with you a simple initiative for raising informed prayer for the NHS in London at this critical time. London Prayer has created a single point of contact for those wanting to regularly pray for London’s NHS or for NHS staff wanting to share prayer requests which we can guarantee will be prayed for.
A contact number (07857 051229) has been set up from which a single daily prayer update based upon reports from across London and its NHS staff will be sent. Staff can text this number if they or their hospital needs urgent prayer.
These documents and the above phone number can be shared publicly.
At London Prayer we want to facilitate effective regular prayer for the NHS at this time and also to stimulate churches to create prayer groups to pray for their local health services so that together we cast a net of prayer over our city and those working on the front line.
We were delighted to see today a petition that has been set up to call upon the Prime Minister to call at National Day of Prayer.
It references our own webpage about The miracle of Dunkirk during WWII
ctntp.uk/other-insights/the-miracle-of-dunkirk/
Visit the Petition site here for details:
change.org/p/boris-johnson-call-upon-boris-johnson-for-national-day-of-prayer
It is said that in the last World War that there was no such thing as an atheist in the trenches! Well, right now we are in the midst of a Global war on coronavirus, and Prayer is surely on the agenda of many more than it was!
Whether we pray as a result of a large scale ‘call to prayer’, or on the other end of the scale as individuals, every cry to our Heavenly Father is precious and is heard. We must all take our part in the 24-7 groundswell of prayer and praise that, like we read in 2 Chronicles 20, will defeat the enemy.
Revelation 5:8, shows us that our prayers fill Golden Bowls of Heaven… and surely, the answers are starting to tip back down to earth – Heaven, The Kingdom of God is coming to Earth!
Keep praying, as The Spirit leads you. An end times revival awakening is surely upon the earth!
National call to prayer
Presidents of Churches Together in England have issued a call to prayer in the light of the Coronavirus pandemic. This is for all churches and people of prayer to join on Sunday 22 nd March, Mothering Sunday.
They write….
This Mothering Sunday, 22nd March, we are calling all churches to a National Day of Prayer and Action. At such a time as this, when so many are fearful and there is great uncertainty, we are reminded of our dependence on our loving Heavenly Father and the future that he holds.
At 7pm this Sunday, light a candle in the windows of your homes as a visible symbol of the light of life, Jesus Christ, our source and hope in prayer.
Whether you are continuing to worship as congregations or not, we have the great privilege and freedom to be able to call upon God, wherever we are, individually and corporately, for healing in our nation. We would pray for all in leadership at this time, making decisions about the containment of the COVID-19 virus, for those working in health and social care, and especially for the most vulnerable, whether elderly or those with underlying health conditions.
There are already stories being told of wonderful acts of kindness across neighbourhoods. Alongside your prayers, take the opportunity to telephone or email someone who is isolated, buy some additional food for your local foodbank, or offer to deliver shopping for an elderly neighbour. We may not be able to touch physically, but we can make connections in so many other ways.
In the meantime, do please attend to all the government health advice that will be issued, and look out for resources from your specific church governing bodies. At least for those of us in the global North, we do seem to be in unusual times, and wisdom and flexibility about worship gatherings are a key part of our Christian discipleship during this period.
We note that this call to prayer and action comes on Mothering Sunday: a time of thankfulness, remembering especially mothers who have served us, often in very costly ways. It is also a very mixed day for many. For some the remembrance is painful, and for others Mothering Sunday is a reminder of disappointment or loss. In many ways, this period under the shadow of the coronavirus will be prompting similarly diverse reactions and so it seems especially appropriate that the call to prayer is made this Sunday. At this time of uncertainty join in with the National Day of Prayer and Action, lighting a candle of hope.
“Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7
Presidents of Churches Together in England
Archbishop Justin Welby, The Archbishop of Canterbury
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
Revd Dr Hugh Osgood, The Free Churches Moderator
Archbishop Angaelos of London, CTE President for the Orthodox Churches
Pastor Agu Irukwu, CTE Pentecostal President
Have you a desire to see signs, wonders and miracles, people healed and set free? Well it is much a case of gaining the right perspective of who we are in Christ and responding to His voice!
David Gilbey, UK Coordinator of CTNTP, records what happened last week, and what it led to three days later:
Last Thursday, I attended a strategic leader’s prayer meeting in the City of Birmingham. As we started the morning in worship, I got a strong picture of a funnel, a vortex, connecting Heaven and earth. I saw a portal – our prayers were causing us to be a conduit between the two realms.
I then recalled the story of Jacob’s ladder – the portal of Angelic activity described in Genesis 28.
That evening I travelled to a seemingly unconnected meeting for dinner with Dr Candice Smithyman, co-pastor of Freedom Destiny Church and her daughter, who were over from the USA, and my friend and CTNTP Team Member, Suzanne Ferrett, who also heads up, Passion for the Nation. We had a wonderful time. Candice kindly gave us a copy of her new book, Releasing Heaven.
During dinner, I mentioned previous prophecies over my life, that I would move in signs, wonders and miracles and see amazing healings!
Before we left, Candice prayed with us, and I knew something significant had taken place, particularly as we all then discovered some tiny flakes of gold dust on our hands and sleeves!
The next day I started to read Releasing Heaven. Wow! Awesome! (Not words we Brits. use frequently!). Candice’s insights immediately started to bring sharp focus to truths I was already aware of concerning my Heavenly position and authority, but which over time had become dulled.
My eyes really widened as I reached Chapter Three, entitled, Gateway to Heaven, where Candice opens up the whole subject of Heavenly portals, specifically referring to the story of Jacob, about which God had spoken to me just the previous morning!
Well, two days later the miracles have started!
A week before the wife of a close friend had a serious surgical procedure to her jaw. She had since been in pain, unable to open or move her jaw properly and had found it almost impossible to take in even liquid food by straw. She had lost several pounds in weight.
Sunday at Church this dear lady was able to explain the situation. As she spoke I felt what I can best describe as a tangible ‘rush’ of faith and felt compelled to pray for her. I made a declarative prayer for her ability to eat to be restored (and secondly for her jaw bone density at the procedure site to be restored. It was just 1.6 mm)
The next morning, I got the following message from my friend:
‘Praise God! … [my wife] got up this morning suddenly realising she can now open her mouth wide. Eating, albeit still no solids will be without hindrance. Likewise, she will now be able to clean her teeth. Pain is practically zero. Thank you Jesus…! This is important to both of us as I go away to [Bible] college today for the week knowing she is so much better. We are overjoyed with this surprise even with our own measures of faith. What was a dark prognosis is turning out to be a victory for Jesus!’
Waiting now to hear about the bone density!
Have you ever thought of praying for the Countryside? Check out the latest Newsletter from Hope for the Countryside
Monthly Newsletter for March 2020 – Seeds of Prayer
Click on the newsletter image to download it and view as a pdf.
We are pleased to reproduce the latest Newsletter of Rev Tony Higton’s, Network for Revival.
Please go to networkforrevival.co.uk for further details or contact Tony at email: tony@higton.info
Network for Revival February 2020
Pleading for Revival: Pleading the love of God
Prayer for Revival needs to be more than an item on our prayer list, prayed for briefly on a regular basis. We need to PLEAD with God for Revival. Members of the mailing list will be at different stages in prayer and I don’t want to pressurise anyone to go beyond what they can cope with at present. But we all need to go deeper into intercession from where we are at the moment. And we all know how to plead. We did it as children when we were trying to induce a loving parent to give us something we really wanted which seemed to be delayed! That’s what we need to do when we are praying to our loving Father about Revival.
Let’s remember that Christianity is all about love. We believe in a God who is not just loving – He IS love. We know that, but I wonder if we really take it seriously enough. We are confronted with a church which often fails, sometimes very seriously. We are confronted with a society much of which is increasingly godless. But we have a God who IS love!
Yes, God’s love is stern as well as kind (Rom 11:22) so he strongly disapproves of this failure and godlessness. We need to remember that and not fall into the widespread error amongst Christians that God is only “nice.” His judgment won’t seem nice! But God’s love is rich in kindness. Those of us who are parents have strongly disapproved of our children’s bad behaviour but we have loved them all the same.
In the kindness of his love, God’s heart must be breaking at the sight of the failure in the church and the godlessness of much of society. (He is not bound to feel upset, as we are, but he chooses to allow himself to be grieved at human sin). God has a covenant of love with the church. He is “the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments” (Dt 7:9). Yes, there is reference to our loving and obeying him but we know God is merciful. The Cross shows that. We need to plead that God will keep his covenant of love with his church.
Moses records how he “lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights” about disobedient Israel. He added “I prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed…” (Deut 9:25-26). That is pleading prayer. We need to plead in prayer that he won’t allow his church to die of old age or to go off the rails theologically and morally so that it becomes irrelevant. It is not enough to criticise the church and to lament its failings. We need to turn that criticism and lamenting into pleading prayer for Revival. Plead his covenant of love, despite our failure.
Peter writes that the Lord “is patient … not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). He “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Therefore we can plead these truths in our prayers for Revival in society. So many people in Britain are heading for a lost eternity. We should weep over that (literally or metaphorically). But God is on our side. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. What a wonderful truth to plead in prayer!
Descriptions of Revival
Referring to the Hebrides Revival 1949-52 Colin and Mary Peckham wrote: “So many spoke of the love that existed among the people of God. Bonds were formed — forever! Numerous quotations could be given from people to confirm the fact of this wonderful unity amongst those who were heart and soul in the meetings. They loved one another! Jack MacArthur speaks of preachers staying with them in their home and of the love which embraced these who were really an extension now to their own family. ‘Love was shown,’ he says, ‘by all sorts of people.’ Chirsty Maggie from Arnol says: ‘We loved everybody! It did not matter to which church anyone belonged. They were all enveloped in the wonderful love of God! We just loved them all.’ Catherine Campbell says, ‘Our hearts were so full of love that we could not keep it in.’” (“Sounds from Heaven” by Colin & Mary Peckham p 96).
Credibility of prophecies about the End Times
In our prayers for Revival we need to keep an eye on the bigger picture – what is happening in society and the world. We need to note their significance. I am well aware that some people jump to naïve conclusions about current fulfilment of End Time prophecies and other people avoid the subject altogether. I think we need to avoid both of those approaches. Click here for a brief paper “Credibility of prophecies about the End Times” which is an attempt to look at the subject carefully noting the relevance of modern developments and trends. I sense that much of what is going on in the world today is very significant and we need to note it and pray about it.
God bless you,
Tony
If you have taken a look around the CTNTP website, you cannot have failed to notice that we have often made reference to The Word and The Spirit coming together – believing that, just as in the 1947 Smith Wigglesworth prophecy, as that takes place there will be the biggest revival that the UK has ever known, spreading out to the world!
We were therefore excited to become aware of the following article, reflecting that theme, originating in the USA but published on 15 February 2020 by Australian Prayer Network.
When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen. (Smith Wigglesworth) This coming together of the Word and Spirit has been confirmed by others, including R.T. Kendall, former pastor of Westminster Chapel and Christian author. By word I mean the centrality of the gospel. By spirit I mean signs, wonders and miracles.
It will mean a spontaneous combustion of power and authority for the Church and a wake-up call to the nation. Both of these nationally recognized spiritual leaders have prophesied a heaven-sent “movement” of God, ignited by a coming together of the Word and the Spirit. If we want to embrace this word and position ourselves for heaven’s “spontaneous combustion,” I believe it will take the Word-based Evangelicals and the Spirit-fuelled Charismatics and Pentecostals to pursue even closer relationships in prayer, practice, and initiatives. Rather than just acknowledging each other’s presence in the room, we need to huddle in prayer, and start taking notes from heaven.
This next move of the Spirit will require a coming together of believers that is much deeper than in days gone by. Intercession is requiring a oneness of heart and mind that can only happen when we embrace the apostles and prophets, the Word and the Spirit, and acknowledging the value and power of each. It must influence the way we worship together and pray together, for this is the only way to access heaven’s power and authority. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.
In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him we are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22) Two years ago I had a profound dream that highlighted God’s heart concerning the coming together of the Body of Christ. I saw a group of people, huddled together in the corner in earnest intercession. Behind them in the distance was a mountain. I knew it represented kingdom authority and heaven’s council. The intercessors were seeking to connect and align themselves to this mountain in order to break through and bring heaven’s authority to bear on the earth.
Yet, the connection was not clear. Interaction with this mountain was blocked. Knowing we were not fully aligned, I stepped out of the group and began to move to the centre, holding an invisible kind of line connected to this mountain. I knew we had to come into perfect alignment in order to break through. Finally, after continuing to move little by little toward the middle, watching this line of communication eventually settle into place, I waited. After a few moments I saw something begin to move in the distance. Slowly but steadily I saw three distinct Beings emerge from the heart of the mountain. Closer and closer they came until I saw what they were.
Three large eagles, stately, bearing immense authority and grace. As they drew closer, I knew they had been summoned. I also knew they were looking at me. As they drew nearer a fear and dread began to come over me at the authority and might I sensed coming from them. They were deliberate, forceful, yet moving cautiously, looking, listening. At last, the three huge figures hovered immediately above me, looking down at me with a silent yet unmistakably loud message: “We come together, or not at all.” I woke from this dream shaking in the Fear of the Lord.
I had never experienced the power and presence of the Trinity before. Their call was unmistakable, and I knew it was a charge to the Church. It was the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speaking to us as we are desperately praying for breakthrough in both the nation and in the Church. Until we acknowledge the fullness of each person of the Godhead, we will not see the fullness of heaven come to the earth. We cannot pick and choose which expression of the Trinity we prefer. We cannot focus on one at the expense of the other. Each represents and expresses God’s heart and character in a different dimension.
God, our Creator and loving heavenly Father. Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh and the only way to salvation through the cross. Holy Spirit, the full expression and manifestation of the Father’s heart. They are One. They cannot be divided. If we want heaven to come to earth, they must come together. In our intercession and interaction as the Body of Christ, we must honor and celebrate those expressions and messages that are different from ours. Those who focus on the Father’s unconditional love must be willing to acknowledge the call to righteousness. Those who celebrate the gifts of the Spirit must do so in love and submission to the Living Word.
Those who call for a higher standard of scriptural integrity must also be willing to embrace activities of the Spirit that are not easily understood or proof-texted in Scripture. We do not have to compromise our convictions in order to value and honor other parts of the Body and the assignment they carry (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). God speaks through many voices and each voice that is connected to His heart carries a needed message. Yet, each is but a part of the whole. If we do not see the value of each part, we will miss the whole message. In the dream I had to get out of my comfortable corner in order to align my heart with heaven.
I had to step outside my familiar group and surroundings in order to summon a response. The connection I was looking for was a heart connection. I needed to tune my heart to God’s in order to comprehend the fullness of His plans and purposes. To do that, I had to be willing to go into unfamiliar territory so I could receive new input and new perspectives. The Lord is inviting us to pay more attention to the frequencies of heaven than to our own familiar wavelengths. In our interactions, prayers and communications, we can honor one another and give value to the particular message each brings and the role each part plays.
When we hear God’s purposes fully expressed through each part of the Body, we will truly connect to His heart. His Spirit within us will help to filter out the unnecessary parts and lesser things so we can hear the full council from heaven. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NIV)
Source: Wanda Alger, Intercessors for America
Have you ever thought of praying for the Countryside? Check out the latest Newsletter from Hope for the Countryside
Monthly Newsletter for February 2020 – Seeds of Prayer
Click on the newsletter image to download it and view as a pdf.
Call the Nation to Prayer 