RCMP Sunset Ride

by Richard Long,

Amidst a day of meeting some believers who work as Parliamentary Assistants, a tour of Parliament and a prayer walk onsite, we gave our campers a real piece of Canadiana.  Last evening between rain showers we watched the RCMP Musical Ride at their home stables here in Rockcliffe.  The Governor General was there with her husband and daughter as well as hundreds of others.

At the end of the show we had the chance to meet the horses and their riders.  It sure makes you appreciate the quality of horsemanship we have attained in this nation.

Campfire 2009

by Richard Long,

All week long we will be bringing you observations, pictures and reports from our Campfire HighSchool camp here at NHOP.  Please be praying for safety and for great blessing as we have 17 young men and women with us.

Today they will be prayer walking on Parliament Hill, meeting a couple of Parliamentary Assistants and taking the official tour of Parliament and the Peace Tower.  If the rain holds off we will be going to the RCMP stables to watch the Musical Ride after supper.

Watch the 44th National Prayer Breakfast on CPAC

 

by Richard Long,

Thanks to our public broadcaster CPAC, you can watch the proceedings of the National Prayer Breakfast online.  It was an amazing message by Dr. Ravi Zacharias and wonderful music by Paul Brandt.  You will see and hear everything from the bagpiper ushering the special guests in, to the Scripture readings by various M.P.s like Jack Layton and Michael Ignatieff.

Website for Canadian Prayer Breakfast

There is a great website with a detailed report of the National Prayer Breakfast that we enjoyed along with approx. 900 others back at the end of May.  Please pray for these folks like Jack Murta (a former cabinet minister) and M.P. David Anderson who work hard all year to facilitate prayer and fellowship among our M.P.’s across party lines.

“Let Us Pray” by Steven Curtis Chapman

by Richard Long,

   I heard this song on CHRI the Christian radio station here in Ottawa this morning and thought it really covers a lot of important ground on the topic of prayer.  By the way, his family also needs our prayers with the loss of their daughter in a freak accident.

Let Us Pray – Steven Curtis Chapman

I hear you say your heart is aching
You’ve got trouble in the making
And you ask if I’ll be praying for you please
And in keeping with convention
I’ll say yes with good intentions
To pray later making mention of your needs
But since we have this moment here at heaven’s door
We should start knocking now, what are we waiting for?

Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way
Every moment of the day, it is the right time
For the Father above, He is listening with love
And He wants to answer us, so let us pray

So when we feel the Spirit moving
Prompting, prodding and behooving
There is no time to be losing, let us pray
Let the Father hear us saying
What we need to be conveying
Even while this song is playing, let us pray
And just because we say the word, “Amen”
It doesn’t mean this conversation needs to end

Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way
Every moment of the day, it is the right time
Let us pray without end and when we finish start again
Like breathing out and breathing in, let us pray

Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence
As our prayers draw us near
To the One who knows our needs
Before we even call His name

Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way
Every moment of the day, it is the right time
For the Father above, He is listening with love
And He wants to answer us, so let us pray

Let us pray everywhere in every way
Every moment of the day, it is the right time
Let us pray without end and when we finish start again
Like breathing out and breathing in, let us pray

Watch him perform it on a Youtube video here.

First Peoples Summit

It’s going on all day today, tomorrow and Saturday here in Ottawa at the Dominion Chalmers Church downtown, but you can watch it free via live streaming!

Romeo LeBlanc

Today we remember and give thanks for the life of a great Canadian, Romeo LeBlanc, who at different times has been our  Governor-General, a Speaker of the Senate, Senator, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister.  He passed away today at the age of 81.  Full story here.

He came from Acadian stock in the province of New Brunswick and was known as a very down to earth individual.  Let’s pray for his wife and their 4 children as they mourn his passing today.

Momentum is Building for Government Prayer Sunday June 28th

    Nation at Prayer and the National House of Prayer are working together to invite churches across Canada to include a special time of prayer for elected representatives at all levels of government, in their worship services this Sunday, June 28th. The response has been nothing short of amazing!

       We know of churches that are devoting their entire evening service to prayer.  Others are inviting their local elected representatives to come for a time of prayer and blessing.  Still others are developing their service of worship around the theme of the role of the Christian in society, and our responsibility for encouraging and uplifting those in authority.

       In every instance, prayer is being offered according to the tradition of the individual church and the denomination to which it belongs. How exciting it is to know that on the same day across the country, Orthodox and Roman Catholic, Anglican and mainline Protestant, evangelical and charismatic, independent and Salvation Army, and every variety of expression of the Christian faith, are upholding our elected representatives in prayer!

                          Imagine the impact on Canada …!

        There’s still time for your church to receive resources for Government Prayer Sunday.  Simply go to Nation At Prayer or National House of Prayer  for materials you can download in pdf and Word format, as well as promotional videos.

       We also encourage individuals to bring a toonie gift for the ongoing work of the two ministries in Ottawa and across the nation.  Donations can be forwarded to National House of Prayer at the address on their web-site.    Please clearly identify that it is a gift for Government Prayer Sunday.

Praying from the Heart

“When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.”  ~John Bunyan

“Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue.”  ~Adam Clarke

Mother Teresa’s favourite prayer

This apparently was Mother Teresa’s favourite prayer.

Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly,
that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us, and be so in us,
that every person we should come in contact with
may feel your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus.
Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine;
so to shine as to be a light to others;
the light, Jesus, will be all from you.
None of it will be ours.
It will be you shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best,
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach you without preaching:
not by words, but by our example,
by the catching force,
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear for you.
Amen.

adapted from John Henry Cardinal Newman