The room, panelled with wood, was littered with newspapers and magazines. Within minutes the fire had spread to the corridors and smoke began to fill the building. The interior of the Centre Block was finished with wood, the walls had recently been oiled and the floor varnished. It couldn't have been worse. By the next morning the whole structure had burned to the ground, except for the new library which had been designed for protection.

MP Glass was full of remorse when he realized that had he just used his own overcoat to put out the small fire, instead of going to find a security person, he could have prevented this devastation.

As we waited outside in the cold, I pondered the question: ?What was God saying in all this? Every person in every office was swept out of the building.? Soon the fire department arrived to inspect the building and to give the ?all clear? to what proved to be a false alarm, but, in my heart alarms were still going off.

When we returned to NHOP, we discovered that the pastor had been directed to spend her time praying over l Kings18 where Elijah had called out for fire to fall from heaven and that God would prove himself to be LORD. After Elijah called out, we read that ?immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven.?!

Of course as intercessors we become a little excited about this sort of thing! However, I do feel that the LORD, in His love and mercy, is sending a fresh fire to consume any hidden agendas of darkness within the rooms and hallways of our Parliament.

• Pray that each returning M.P. would experience a real cleansing / purifying of their call to serve our nation and that there would be a freshness in their working relationships.
• Pray also that they would take responsibility for the ?little fires? that break out from time to time, and they would be quick to extinguish them.
• That each office, room, and hallway would experience a thorough spiritual cleansing of anything that could defile.
• As much as we want to pray unrighteousness out of the halls of Parliament, let?s be sure to pray the righteousness in which could be seen in truth, integrity, righteousness, honouring one-another, unity, etc.
• The moving vans are at 24 Sussex Drive as one Prime Minister prepares to move out and another prepares to move in. As we pray for God to bless former Prime Minister Paul Martin and his family, we feel that it is also appropriate to pray that there would be ?spiritual preparation? of that residence as Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper and his family prepare to make this their new home.
• For clear wisdom and discernment as the new cabinet ministers are chosen.
• The choice of the new Ambassador to the U.N.
• As the official opposition, the Liberal Party needs prayer as they choose their shadow cabinet and their new party leader.
• As a result of the election pray for the office staff who are transitioning, seeking work or are preparing for the members return- a large task.

Elijah prayed: ?Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.? (1Kgs.18:37).

We daily prayer walked across the inter-provincial bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau, Quebec asking God to break a spirit of separation and calling forth the union we celebrated in Quebec City last July. It seemed that every day we did, we were reminded that ?What God has joined together, let man not separate.? Could it be that this daily intercession, joined with the prayers of thousands across Canada actually had something to do with the ten seats gained by another federal party? We believe this could lead to a greater understanding and co-operation between Ottawa and Quebec.

Informed, strategic and sustained prayer by a caring church for Canada and her leaders is the mandate for NHOP. We realise that spiritually, we?ve entered into a new season where this kind of prayer needs to be increasingly engaged in by the people of God in Canada.

Standing with our leaders in our nation's capital,
Rob and Fran Parker