On the road in Rouyn-Noranda

by Richard Long

  Rob Parker and I had a French Immersion experience here in Rouyn-Noranda, 7 hours drive north of Ottawa in Quebec.  We flew early this morning and thus had a chance to speak twice in the afternoon to a good group of welcoming francophones.  Our translator, Cecille is great, and we wore her out.  Then we had a roast beef supper and headed back into another very intense meeting tonight.

  Rouyn-Noranda is a town of about 38,000 which serves as a hub for the whole region.  The main feature in the town is the larger mine and refining centre.  Hockey is very big and the hometown team, The Huskies is in the semifinals and playing here just a few buildings away from our hotel.  The visiting team is staying at the same hotel, so we expect lots of noise later tonight.

  That Beginners French class we have been taking on Thursday nights is coming in very handy.  The folks here are very forgiving with our broken attempts to communicate, but we told them we want them to speak in their native tongue so that we can really learn.  The leaders here are very appreciative of our ministry and we are looking forward to another full day tomorrown.

Praying for the Supreme Court

by Richard Long

  An important part of praying for the Canadian government, is the role and function of our Supreme Court.  If you want to learn much more about it, we suggest taking an indepth tour around their website.  You will be able to get a very detailed profile of each of our 9 Supreme Court Justices, plus learn about the cases that are currently before them.

  Just a week ago, the Hon. Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache announced he would not being completing his full term, but would be resigning in June.  This will allow our Prime Minister a second opportunity to appoint a candidate to this highest court level.  (By the way the latest election rumour is that a confidence motion may come around June 16th over the Immigration issue.  This would affect Stephen Harper’s ability to deal with this.)

  At NHOP we did a lot of praying around the previous choice – Justice Marshall Rothstein.  We think he was a good choice.   But like our elected politicians, once they are in place we need to keep praying for them.

Once a year an independent group gives their assessment of how our Supreme Court is doing.  A synopsis of that report by Patrick Monahan of the Osgoode Hall Law School is in today’s Toronto Star. 

“Monahan suggests the outcome in Charter cases last year also tells a story. In the 12 cases decided by the court in 2007 that involved the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, those claiming their Charter rights were breached were successful in just three cases.

In five cases involving freedom of expression, it was a complete shutout for Charter claimants. In each of the five cases, claimants alleged that government or police had violated their right to freedom of expression. Every time, they lost.”

  This suggests to me that the Supreme Court is getting more conservative in their approach.  We have never really had an activist bench anyways, but this is still a good sign.  Let’s keep praying!

One in the Spirit

by Wendy Turpin

In Ezekiel 13:5 God admonishes the false prophets for not going up to repair the breaks in Israel’s walls so that it would stand firm in the day of battle. Later on, God calls out to Israel through Ezekiel saying He searched for one righteous man to stand in the gap and help rebuild the wall of righteousness (Ezek 22:30) but could find none. As believers, we know that God solved that problem through Christ (Isa. 59:16) and in unity with His Spirit we, being made righteous (2 Cor 5:21) through our faith in Him, create an amazing wall of righteousness that the gates of hell cannot prevail against (Matt. 16:18) as the Church.

Canadian believers need to see that we, through faith in Christ’s resurrection, are made one in the Spirit with one another and with Him (John 17:20-23), and as such form an incredible wall of righteousness around this nation. The Lord reminded me of this the other day when I was shown Jason Upton’s  testimony of prayer on YouTube.  The entire thing was recorded live as the first track on his Remember CD. Please take the time to watch his testimony. You will be amazed, because it illustrates how powerful the church can be when we are in unity with Him and with one another, because of His wonderful, inseparable, love for us.  

Just think — when the church is in unity, loving one another as God commands, when we intercede in the day of battle we are actually forming an incredible wall of righteousness around this nation, against which the gates of hell will not prevail!

Where no man has gone before …

By Richard Long

   We encourage you to hop over to our teammate, Iain Wilson’s blog, to understand the Trekkian similarities to our work here at NHOP.  Go to http://iainandsusan.blogspot.com/ for all the insights.

Live long and prosper! (in the Lord)

Weekend in PEI

by Richard Long

   Rob Parker and I had a great weekend in PEI.  Arriving on Saturday we were hosted by Jack and Shirley Ferguson, old friends of the Parkers who now live on a cove looking across to Charlottetown.  They pampered us throughout the 3 days we stayed with them, and allowed us to become “uncles” to their Poo-Chen puppie – Diamond.

   On Sunday morning Rob spoke in Summerside at Pastor Andrew Bryce’s Community Church (from which we had a visiting team last April) and I had the privilege of being with Pastor Bill Arsenault at Faithworks just outside Charlottetown.  In the evening there was an “Island Gathering” which meant a 3 hour worship, prayer and fellowship night for believers from a number of churches from all across the island.

   Pastor Bill hosted us for a number of lunches and breakfasts, and we had another chance to meet with local leaders on Monday noon to share the vision of NHOP and encourage them to send a team at the end of May.  It is encouraging to see the interest on PEI and the new way that leaders are stepping up to pray for their own legislature.

Set Me Like a Seal…..

by Wendy Turpin

When I was called to Ottawa, I was just your ordinary Christian who’d come to Ottawa for the Dominion Conference in August, 2006. Honestly, prior to my arrival I was in the middle of a spiritual wilderness waiting for God to reveal himself to me in some way — any way. When a couple of friends from church inivited me to go along with them from Hamilton to Ottawa for the conference, I jumped at the chance — not because I was hoping to get something big from the conference — I didn’t even ask what it was all about — but, to get out of town for the weekend. Little did I know the Lord had different plans: God spoke to me on the first day I was there and said when I go to the Parliament buildings with our group to make declarations as part of the conference agenda the next day, I was to touch the Centennial Flame.

That was easy to do! I didn’t have to sell anything or give away anything at all! All I had to do was touch the rim of the Centennial Flame the next day! I replied YES, Lord! I had no idea of what purpose God had in mind for me when I did, but I did think it would be something very simple and symbolic, not too emotionally taxing. Keep reading: When I went to the Flame the next day and touched it, the power of God hit me like a Mack truck driving over me at full force. You can’t even guess at how surprised I was! At that moment, I was overcome with emotion for our country, for God’s love for it, and His desire to see His purposes sustained within it. At that moment my heart was forever changed as God had imparted His love for Canada to me. This is where my calling began. It was through a series of events and prophetic words that came after that confirmed that I was to come to Ottawa and be a prayer missionary at the National House of Prayer.

I truly believe that I am not the only one being called to Ottawa for such a time as this. I believe that God is bringing as many as who will go to achieve His purposes here in this nation. There’s a divine strategy going on. Is he calling you?

Halifax Prayer Summit

by Richard Long

   The prayer summit we just enjoyed at the Oceanstone resort (near Peggy’s Cove) was attended by 36 leaders from 20 different congregationsand 15 denominations.  It was great to see a good representation of young leaders and business people included in the mix. 

   What I really appreciate about this group of leaders is the strong relationships they have developed over the last 18 months.  At that point about a dozen leaders, all who had been pastoring in the city for over 15 years, decided to start meeting together once a month for lunch in each others homes.  The strong friendships that have developed flow over into the prayer retreats, which makes it easy for me as a facilitator. 

    Thanks for your prayers.  The Lord was faithful in showing up in a big way.  He spoke very clearly to the spiritual leadership of Halifax, and it was deeply encouraging.  Their desperation to seek the Lord, and seek out the lost, was humbling.  It gives me great hope that the Lord is going to do a great work in their city and region.

This Week’s Assignment

 by Wendy Turpin

Well, it was a busy week here again with another visiting team, this time from Langley, B.C.  I always enjoy meeting the team members and watching as God opens their eyes and hearts to a greater revelation of prayer for the nation.  Before arriving we always suggest that teams contact their Member of Parliament and Senator and arrange a meeting with them during their stay.   This team did exactly that and were blessed with a wonderful tour of the Parliament Buildings by their own MP and a good discussion with their Senator.  They also had a couple of strategic “God” incidences that encouraged them even more that they were meant to be here praying for the nation.   When they left this afternoon to return to their respective homes in British Columbia, some said that they felt changed and more equipped now to pray strategically for Canada’s government.  But this is not an unusual response, I’ve been doing my own little mini-poll and this is the response I get most often from every team that visits. 

I’ve also noticed that every team is given a unique assignment by the Lord to fulfill during their stay at the National House of Prayer and I love watching as it unfolds right before our very eyes.  This week was no different for the Langley team.  Maybe you’re feeling called to come as well.  If this is piquing your interest and you’d like to bring a team, give us a call and arrange a week to come — we’d love to meet you! 

Prayer for First Nations

by Wendy Turpin

In the past few months, the Lord has asked me to pray for First Nations People in Canada.  In particular, Bill C-30, which will create a separate tribunal to speed up the process of settlement of land claims, has been a specific prayer focus of mine.  In the process I’ve learned about First Nations People and some of their issues.  I will never claim to know how a First Nations person would feel, but I know from prayer experience that the Lord’s heart is for them and he hears their cry, as he does for all peoples in all the earth.   If you are unsure of how to pray for the First Nations you can find out about what the government is doing at the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada website and the Assembly of First Nations website.  There is plenty of information there, if you’re willing to do a little digging, to find areas of prayer. 

Leaders Pray together in Halifax

by Richard Long

   I’m posting this note with an ulterior motive.  Over the next couple of days I will be facilitating a Leaders’ Prayer Summit for the Metro Halifax region.  My hope is that readers of this blog might remember to pray for this important group of spiritual leaders as they take some time out of their busy lives to seek the Lord and listen for his voice.  Not only will it impact the East Coast but also potentially the nation.

   Please pray for me as I seek to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading in each session.  God did some amazing things last year so the expectation is high.  All I want it is for God to show up!  We meet out at a retreat centre on the coast near Peggy’s cove, called Oceanstone.  Here’s a picture of where we will be.