Praying for the New Cabinet

by Richard Long,

  We gathered in our Prayer Room to pray, and watch (the telecast), and pray, as the new cabinet was introduced to the nation a few days ago.  Duly noted were the ministers who brought their own Bibles under their arms, those who included the phrase “so help me God” and the way that the Prime Minister greeted them.

  These honourable members need our prayers.  Some of them are brand new M.P.s and yet have been given huge responsibilities.  Leona Aglukkaq comes to mind, as the new health minister.  Others have had their portfolios changed.  Quite a few cabinet ministers have been assigned to look after new departments.  We need to pray for a quick adaptation to their deputy ministers (top civil servants) and their other chief staff.

  Keep checking back to this blog for details on how to pray for the different Cabinet Ministers over the next weeks.

Remembrance Day Prayers

by Richard Long,

  So we stood for a couple of hours in the cold but it was worth it.  Some of our Nazarite team headed out early and got a front fence position for all the rest of us, right across from the red carpet where all the dignitaries got out of their chauffeured limos.  (That’s the Prime Minister and his wife in the pic above standing by the car.)

 It was very moving to see all the veterans, and all the different regiments as they marched into place.  I love bagpipers, so it was very neat to have them process to the spot right in front of us.  (My grandfather was a WW1 vet and he always marched as a drummer in the Veteran’s Day parades in Toronto.)  He grew up in a Salvation Army family in Glasgow, but all the men were also enlisted in the British forces.  He’s the young man on the far right in the picture.

He would have been proud to hear the prayer said by the chaplain today who ended his words with an acknowledgment that while others may have their own god or belief system in mind, he prayed in the name of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen to that!

Lessons from Manchester

by Richard Long,

  I collect books on prayer.  Since the word has got out about that, I find people send me books that I would never normally discover.

  One such gem is a book by Frank and Debra Green who wrote a history in 2005 of how prayer is changing the city of Manchester in the U.K.  It’s titled “City Changing Prayer”.  Having been to that city a number of times over the last 10 years, it gives me an insider’s glimpse of all the behind the scenes work that has been going on by faithful intercessors.

Here’s a quote from their closing chapter …

“So, it all begins with prayer and it all continues with prayer.  But to keep the whole thing in balance we need to remind ourselves that it would be a serious mistake to remain so focused on the spiritual activity of prayer that we never allowed God to stir us into practical action.  Prayer is about God grabbing our attention as well as us gaining His!  Jim Graham says, ‘Prayer is not so much about us getting God on our side to solve the problems in our lives as Him getting us on His side to serve His purposes in the world.’”

Praying about the Speaker of the House

by Richard Long,

  One of the most important positions in Parliament is the Speaker of the House.  The Hon. Peter Milliken has been the Speaker for the last 3 governments and is expected to run again.  This is an elected position which is decided on the first day of the new session, so the election will take place on Nov. 18th.

  We have met and prayed with Mr. Milliken and let him know that we have been in the gallery constantly praying for him as he adjudicates. 

  This morning our Nazarites spent some special time praying about the upcoming 40th Parliament and specifically about the Speaker’s role.  At 1:00 P.M. we learned that another member of Parliament has let it be known that he will be running against Mr. Milliken.  We expect there may be other candidates.

  With the current low level of respect and decorum in the House we believe that it is critical that the next Speaker use his or her authority to bring things to a higher level.  Apparently every other Canadian feels the same way.  But this needs prayer!

Praying for Committees

by Richard Long,

  We had a wonderful visit from James and Helen Lunney last night.  They came for dinner and stayed for prayer.

   As usual with visiting M.P.s, we had lots of questions for him about how we could be praying right now for the new government.  He mentioned that all of the Parliamentary Secretaries were being chosen this week, and that M.P.s were all putting in for which Committees they preferred to sit on. 

  The choice of which Committees  each one will recieve will be negotiated over the next few days.  The big question is how many members from each Party will be allowed on each portfolio.  It is assumed that there will be 12 people per committee and that the Conservatives may argue for 6 seats on each one according to the Globe and Mail.  That would unjam the very dysfunctional committees.  Something to pray about!

Don’t Stop Praying

by Richard Long,

  Our good friend over at the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Don Hutchinson, has written a great article on the power of prayer today.

The Power of Prayer
When it seems least likely that humanity will make the right decision, prayers of the saints change both hearts and actions.
by Don Hutchinson

There were people across the nation praying for the events of October 7, 2008.  On that day the Supreme Court of Canada heard argument in Alberta v Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, potentially a turning point case on the right to freedom of religion for groups.  People across the nation were praying that the arguments being presented by The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and Christian Legal Fellowship would be received with favour by the Supreme Court justices hearing the case.  How many prayed on October 8?

Read the full article here.

 

Heaven’s Rehearsal

by Richard Long,

   We had an amazing weekend.  Twenty Nhoppers jumped on the bus that was arranged by West Ottawa Christian Community and took the trip south 5 hours to the Rogers Centre in Toronto.  It was a wonderful night of worship for an audience of One.  (We all got back around 3:00 A.M. Sunday morning.)

  I was really impressed that the whole crowd (somewhere well over 10,000) got into the atmosphere of worship and stayed with it for almost 3 hours.  The big screen and technical expertise made it very accessible.  The various worship leaders and dancers were extraordinary in their ministry to the Lord.

  There are comments being posted on the offical website which you may want to read.