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Prayer Bulletin |  |
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Dear friend, An awful lot can happen in a week, here in the nation's capital. The all-party motion that showed special honour to the Québecois has generated great debate all over Canada. We have sensed the need to continue to watch and pray over this important statement. Politicians and pundits have manoevered and manipulated the motion to secure advantage in leadership races or for personal position. We are still calling the Church in Canada to rise above these motivations and recognize the purposes that the Lord is seeking to establish among the peoples of this nation. Let's pray for a greater unity in this wonderful country.
1. The Liberal Leadership Convention is in full swing as you receive this newsletter. Let's be praying during the voting on Saturday, Dec. 2nd that a person would emerge whom the Lord can speak to and use for righteous purposes. 2. Pray that there will be a full and lengthy debate on the question of re-visiting the same-sex marriage legislation. We expect this motion will be introduced before the Christmas break, which doesn't allow for much time before Parliament will be recessed. A full debate would allow frank discussion of the implications of such an important bill. 3. Pray for the office staff of your local M.P. Also consider praying for the opportunity to meet them and minister to them. (See the article below about how one group has learned to pray for and care for their local constituency office staff.)
We are very excited about welcoming 8 young leaders to Ottawa in early February. They will stay for 3 months, living right on site, and participating in every way with our ministry. Full preparations are underway for their arrival. Since we announced this Internship Program there have been quite a few requests for applications. The deadline is Dec. 31st, but we recommend that people apply right away. We have already made some decisions about who we are inviting for the first round. Interns will lead a very busy life. In the morning of each day they will attend a couple of classroom sessions. The subjects include basic theology, biblical interpretation, prayer, civics and ethics. We want them to have a strong foundation for the prayer ministry they will be doing with us. Afternoons will see the interns helping us with the regular field trips that we lead visiting prayer teams on around Parliament Hill. They'll sit in on Question Period, pray at the Supreme Court and lead other prayer walks. We hope that some of them will volunteer in M.P.'s offices, and learn first-hand what it is like to serve in government. After supper, several nights a week, these young leaders will have the opportunity to spend an evening with special guests around a fireside setting. Our featured speakers will be leaders from various facets of life: M.P.'s, top civil servants, lawyers who work in the Supreme Court, and ministry leaders who are based in Ottawa. If you know of a young leader who may be ready for the challenge, encourage them to give us a call, or email richard@nhop.ca right away. An overview of the program can be found on our website
(We are grateful to share with you these insights gained by a wonderful group of intercessors who have learned how to minister to the local staff of their M.P. Due to the sensitive nature of this report we have kept the report anonymous. If your local prayer team is interested in learning more, we can put you in touch with the writer of this report.) Our prayer team was fortunate enough to develop a relationship with our MP and his wife, prior to leaving for the National House of Prayer in Ottawa, last May. Upon our return, we kept in contact with small group get-togethers in our home and we also invited the local office staff to share an evening over a pot blessing dinner in our home. As we talked with them we realized that we knew NOTHING about the office needs. We learned that many folks who come into the office or phone them are angry and in need. Government offers a poor replacement to God ...... as many of the lost look to the Government for salvation, only to find many disappointments, broken dreams, and unfulfilled promises. Many have no where to go with their upsets, especially the poor. This is such a key ministry place for a compassionate office team, as they help people through the jungle of red tape and government access points. Immigration is a common request. A few weeks ago, a mentally unstable soul came into our local office and the staff were able to help this one in so much distress, by getting connected to the necessary health authorities and prevented a suicide. Their ministry is truly on the front lines, so we have learned to protect them through our prayers and our care.
We have learned to pray for the staff re:
This quiet movement in our area is changing us. We
are learning how to write letters to MP's and how not
to be intimidated by their rank and position. It is a
level playing field before the Cross. We walk along
this road of Life, side by side with kings, priests, the
poor and the lost,...... just like our Jesus did!!
As winter arrives all across the country, we are
reminded of the extra challenges of travel over the
next few months. |
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