by Richard Long,
Rob and I were interviewed by Brian Lilley for this article about what Christians are doing as they pray instead of throw bricks during this weekend.
Christian group throws prayers not bricks at G20 leaders
By BRIAN LILLEY, Parliamentary Bureau
OTTAWA – While thousands of people are expected to take to the streets and protest the G8 and G20 summits this weekend, thousands of other Canadians will take to their knees in prayer.
“An issue that I know people are praying about already is the security issue,” says Richard Long, associate director of the National House of Prayer, an Evangelical church ministry based in Ottawa.
“Certainly that people will be able to speak openly about what they believe and demonstrate but that there not be the rioting and physical personal injury that could come.”
Prayers for protesters aside, Rob Parker, who founded the National House of Prayer in 2005, says his group will mostly be praying for wisdom for the world leaders gathering in Huntsville and Toronto for the summits.
“Canada is a nation that is economically strong and an example to the world,” says Parker. “We’ll be praying that our country will not be negatively influenced.”
This prayer initiative goes well beyond Ottawa. Cityscape Prayer Ministries, a Vancouver-based Evangelical Christian group, is organizing a series of prayer vigils across the country that will run for 72 hours straight.
Catholic churches are participating as well. Rev. Fred Dolan, the vicar general of Opus Dei in Canada, points out that political leaders are prayed for at just about every Catholic mass and said and this weekend will be no exception.
“We are always praying that justice and mercy be served and at the same time praying for the political leaders to find a way to do that,” Dolan said in a telephone interview from Montreal.
Dolan says he will be praying for people to turn away from selfishness and greed as he spends part of the summit weekend in Toronto.
By the way… hope you are checking in on the G8 Prayer blog throughout the next weekend so you can pray along with other Christians from coast-to-coast.
The NHOP Blog 