While the cat is away, the mice will play…

 By: Megan MacQuin
Hello, Nation of Canada and world!

There is so much to be thankful for in these days. Thankful for spring coming up, for what God is doing within Canada, within Government, and just for all the small details that can pass the seeing eye.

I would like to emphasise two very important people in my life that I am so very thankful for, who play very important roles at NHOP. Richard and Terry Long. These two wonderful people are like mom and dad, not only to me but to others at NHOP! They are such a blessing, and they work hard to keep this Nation informed with inspirational insight, National news, and NHOP updates. They are the people who make this blog happen, and make sure everything runs smoothly at NHOP. I just want to thank you Richard and Terry for all that you do! You are sooo appreciated.

If you have a minute today, could you pray for them as they lead a prayer summit in Hamilton Ont. They are gone for the week, and we will miss them incredibly.
While they are gone, they have left us interns to take care of their blog, so as you daily read the blog, you’ll find different authors to inspire you, inform you, and keep you updated with NHOP news within this week.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Nothing is wonderful except the abnormal and nothing is abnormal until we have grasped the norm”.
The Grand Miracle, written by C.S. Lewis.

An Update from one of our Interns

by Richard Long,

  Megan MacQuin is one of our interns.  (Currently we also have Jeremiah Smith and Aleah Windsor who are interning with us.)  As a former “Nazarite” Megan, Jeremiah and Aleah went through the intensive training program last Fall, and then felt the Lord call them back to NHOP to be part of our team.

Here’s an excerpt from Megan’s recent blog …

“So, an update…I’ve been here for almost two months now, and it doesn’t feel like 2 months. It feels more like 2 weeks! I’ve been super busy with getting this new life in order, and figuring out this whole dream thing…Honestly, I feel like I’m literally living Psalm 119:105. Revelation comes only when I start walking in faith, and as I continue to walk in faith, my dependence on God is even greater.

Speaking of the dream, I finally feel like the train is moving…I’ll start with this; my friend Jeremiah and I have the same dream of Canada, young adults and the church, and we are working together, learning together, and dreaming together. But we feel untrained, and need mentoring. To accomplish this we are doing word studies, taking all the NHOP teachings and learning how to present them, and creating our own sermons. Our desire is to reach out to the young adults in Canada and teach them about prayer. We feel like we need to start locally, in the Capitol of Canada…Ottawa. We’ve not only been in a place of learning, but have been trying to connect with different churches and pastors in the city. We’ve been getting a very positive response! God has called us to do this because prayer is the foundation to a changed Nation…”

You can read more of her blog here.

Collect Yourself – Geoff Dresser

by Richard Long,

  Geoff Dresser is the worship pastor at Cedarveiw Alliance here in the city of Ottawa.  He writes a blog about worship, prayer, the arts, and ministry.  Here’s a great excerpt from him as he explains the classical form of written prayer that is known as a Collect.   Read the rest of his blog as he gives some examples and explains how to write your own.

“People who worship in liturgical churches are familiar with a type of prayer called a “collect” (pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable). A collect is a brief summary prayer. They’re used in many liturgical services. The book of common prayer contains collects for the various services of the year. Often we non-liturgical types struggle to pray with depth and purpose when we pray extemporaneously. In his book “A Generous Orthodoxy” Brian MacLaren skewers the shallow prayers of many of us. “And we just ask that you just bless us and just be here with us and we just want to just thank you for just being such a good God who just loves us and we just…” One thing that has helped me pray with more purpose is to use the structure of the collect in my prayers when leading worship. ”

Read more about the 5 elements of writing a Collect on Geoff’s blog.

A Default Prayer

by Richard Long,

   Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who was the main architect of the Book of Common Prayer, had the wisdom to write a very helpful prayer for those times when you felt un-prayerful.

“Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, who knowest our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking; We beseech thee to have compassion on our infirmities; and those things, which for our unworthiness we dare not ask, and for our blindness we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us, for the worthiness of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

   This collect, like many others found in the BCP, is short enough to memorize and meditate upon, full of deeper meaning and devout attitude.

  If you are drawn to more of this kind of prayer, I recommend the website for the Prayer Book Society of Canada.

Peterborough Team

Peterborough Prayer Team

by Richard Long,

  We had a short visit from a great team from the central Ontario city of Peterborough earlier this week.  A number of the folks on this team had been with us once or twice before.  They were well prepared and obviously were “prayed-up”, because they hit the target during the brief time that they were here in Ottawa.

  They especially enjoyed the appointment they had scheduled with their local M.P. – Dean Del Mastro.  That’s him with the suit and tie in the middle.  What a blessing it is for an M.P. to know that he has committed people from different church backgrounds who are praying for him, his family and his reponsibilities.

  If you have never brought a team to Ottawa to pray for your M.P. or Senator, then give us a call.  It’s what we do!  We will provided great meals, warm beds and a full program.  Check out our website to get all the details.

Street Level 2009

by Richard Long,

  Thanks to Ken McLaren from the Ottawa Inner-City Ministries, Terry and I were invited to be special guests at the opening banquet for Street Level 09 which is being hosted at the Westin Hotel here in the city.

  What an honour.  This event is held every 3 years to encourage, network and resource the front line people in this nation who are reaching out in Jesus’ name to the poor and the powerless.  Last night, after greetings from politicians representing all 4 parties, we listened to the Steve Bell Trio, and heard a moving talk from Greg Paul.

  Then there was a vigil walk to Parliament Hill to remember the street people, and the poor of our nation.

   Ken McLaren asked if we would remember to pray for this conference and all these precious workers who are here in Ottawa over the next few days.  I would also suggest we pray for the impact that this banquet had on the hearts of the M.P.s and other key Government leaders who were present.

  You can also keep track of what is going on, because they have set up a blog of what is happening throughout the conference.

Check out the Street Level 09 Blog.

Politicians Can Have Fun Too!

by Terry Long

     I have heard it said that politics can be a bloodsport.  Just attend Question Period some days and you can understand that there could be some truth in that saying.   I guess that is why I find humour, especially among politicians, so refreshing.  I am talking good, clean humour, and yes it is rare.  That is also why I am drawing your attention to it today.  One of the things we pray for our government leaders is that they do find time during their term in office to find the lighter, relaxing, and yes, humour to their week.  A mental break as opposed to a breakdown,  and a welcome interuption in their intense work.  The higher the political position usually means more intense stress and responsiblity.  Take our Prime Minister for example.  Did you know that he is rumoured to have quite a sense of humour?  I know that we rarely see it as he is always protrayed in the media in the midst of solemn state meetings or intense debates, or serious updates on the economy. 

        Why not catch a glimpse of the nation’s leader in a rare and hilarious television clip taken in 2006, shot with Rick Mercer?  I will bet that you can’t watch it without smiling, even laughing at these moments of humour in his home life at 24 Sussex Drive.   Very funny.  Take some time today to laugh with the Prime Minister.  Then pray for him and the other leaders at the very top level of political positions, that they will find enjoyment and relaxation in their very busy and intense lives.

Watch Stephen Harper with Rick Mercer here.   The clip is 6 minutes long.

National Pastors’ Prayer Network (USA)

 

by Richard Long,

   In yesterday’s blog I referenced Phil Miglioratti (see pic above) who leads the National Pastors’ Prayer Network in the United States.  This is part of the larger Mission America Coaltion.  I had the blessing of attending the meetings as a Canadian observer many years ago in St. Louis when this network was being formed and had the pleasure of getting to know Phil and other members of his team.

Their website is a wealth of informaton.  There are 68 articles on prayer, and many archived resources from the last 14 years of activity toward the transformaton of their nation.  The archives break down into three sections, for Pastors, Prayer Leaders and City Reachers.

We highly recommend you check out the NPPN blog as well.

Living in a Prayed-for-City

by Richard Long,

  With acknowlegment to Phil Miglioratti of the National Pastors Prayer Network in the U.S., I have enhanced some thoughts he wrote about what it would look like if you lived in a prayed-for-city.  (For those who I had the privilege of talking with via conference call today, this is the document I was referring to in our discussion.)

A Prayed-for-City is a place …

Where the pastors pray together

            The congregations pray together

            City-wide Prayer Council

            Every congregation has a point person to the City-wide Prayer Council

            Every pastor is prayed for

            Every non-congregational ministry is prayed for

                Eg. Street workers, Soup kitchens, Drop Ins, Drug Rehabs, Seniors Outreaches, etc.

            Every social agency is prayed for

            Every politician is prayed for

            Every city council meeting

            Every school and every principal and every teacher in every level of education

            Every Special Needs worker

            Every government department

            Every hospital

            Every doctor and medical worker

            Every police officer and emergency worker

            Every judge

            Every prison guard

            Every inmate

            Every Crime area or “Hot Spot”

            Every newspaper editor and writer

            Every T.V. and radio personality

            Every street person

            Every street

            Every house

            Every park

Every business is prayed for

            Every street has a lighthouse

            Every public event has a prayer component

            Every city church effort has an intercessory component

Multiple Prayer Walls

            Prayer Chains

            Prayer Circles

            Prayer Point Persons

            City wide seasons of prayer

            Prayer Summits for City Elders

            Prayer Equipping centres

            Specialized Prayer Teams for …

Cleansing Prayer for every crime of violence

Research

Discernment

SWAT teams

            Houses of Prayer 24/7, Harp & Bowl style, Boiler Room Style, Quiet Retreat style

            Healing Rooms

            Prayer for Broken Marriages

            Prayer missions and missionaries are sent out to other cities and nations.

 

And I am sure you could add some more.

A Treatise on Prayer – John Knox

by Richard Long,

Here’s another resource for the serious minded.  A full treatise on prayer written in 1553 by the great Scottish Reformer – John Knox.  This is the man of whom they say that Mary Queen of the Scots feared when she saw him on his knees.

Here’s the introduction …

“WHAT PRAYER IS. Who will pray must know and understand that prayer is an earnest and familiar talking with God, to whom we declare our miseries, whose support and help we implore and desire in our adversities, and whom we laud and praise for our benefits received. So that prayer contains the exposition of our dolours [sorrows], the desire of God’s defence, and the praising of his magnificent name, as the psalms of David clearly do teach.”

For the full text go here.