Our executive director, Rob Parker, was invited again to be a guest with Dick and Joan Dewert on their Lifeline program this past week. We are grateful for their strong support and encouragement to our ministry.

The program that Rob taped will air on the Miracle Channel this coming week, Wednesday, Dec.13th @ 12noon, 8pm and then 2am and 6am and online the following morning Dec. 14th. All these times are Mtn time. It will also air on CTS on Thursday, December 14th at 6am (eastern time).

In the aftermath of the defeated motion to reopen the same-sex marriage debate, we felt it would be helpful to share some perspectives on how we need to move forward with our prayers. Our associate director, Richard Long, writes some of his personal reflections below.

Like many others, I tuned into CPAC this past Wednesday night and watched the speakers address the government's motion about revisiting recent marriage legislation. I was especially proud of the many Christian MP's who spoke so sincerely and passionately. Given the very limited time allotted for this debate, they excelled at the task. If nothing else this process allowed the praying Church across the nation to see who they were, look into their faces and hear their hearts.

Here's an example of what one M.P., Pierre Lemieux, stated in his speech, ?When we cease to be MPs, sadly we will likely be forgotten by our fellow man -- but not by God, who knows each of us intimately. If God Himself is truly the author of marriage, then let us be able to give a good account of ourselves when we stand before Him, as we all must stand before Him.?

The next morning we began to receive calls from people asking how they should be praying. Here's some of my reflections, as I have sought the Lord on this matter.

First: It is critical that the Church not become discouraged. Discouragement and disillusionment naturally arise when our hopes have been shattered. The church in Canada must mature in it's relationship with government. If we put our hopes in a particular political party to be our saviour, then we will be disappointed over and over again. Our Lord has not been taken aback by recent developments. He is our Hope. He is working out His plan.

Second: We need to pray that Christian M.P.'s from all parties will not become discouraged and disenchanted. Though they poured out their hearts in the debate, most of them knew that it would be in a losing cause, and they may be wondering if it was worth it. Let's pray that they persevere through this setback. Participating in parliament is often a very disillusioning experience, as a number of veteran M.P.'s have told us.

Third: We should pray for solidarity amongst our believing parliamentarians. The Christian M.P.'s from different parties, many of whom pray together every Wednesday morning, have been stretched by this debate, because of the way the motion was framed. We need to thank God for their relationships, and pray that this difficult debate will not create any ongoing division among them.

Fourth: We need to pray for a long-term successful strategy on the Marriage issue, and for a wise and competent group to lead it. This particular phase of the battle has seen different Christian lobby groups propose radically different strategies both to the Church in Canada and to the media and our Parliament. We need to pray for a united vision and voice to arise amongst Christians of all denominations and indeed amongst all people who support the traditional definition of marriage.

Fifth: Pray for a true traditional marriage bill to be crafted and proposed at the right season at some point in the future. If it takes 5 or 10 years, so be it. It will need to be "charter-proof" and well-crafted by wise legislators. It will also need to be introduced at a time when the public realizes how detrimental and wrong this process in 2005/20006 has been. In the meantime we will need to pray for and financially support those individuals who will be forced to go to court and begin the process of challenging the current law, all the way back to the Supreme Court.

Sixth: Most importantly, let's continue to train up, pray for, and challenge young Christian leaders to enter key spheres of influence, like politics, law, academia, ethics and the media. It can be a very hard road and they will need prayer support and encouragement to prevail. If you know of believers who are already well-placed in crucial positions of influence, please encourage, strengthen and support them with your prayers.

The Church in Canada must begin to understand the times we live in and begin to respond accurately. I would suggest that the relevant biblical narratives that will help us are those that come from the Exilic prophets. We are a remnant in a land that is not friendly to our faith or convictions. A recent poll showed that Evangelicals were the group that respondents said they were most uncomfortable around. More than homosexuals or Muslims. Certainly some of that unease has to do with our own broken attitudes and approaches. Still, we must grapple with the question of what it means to be faithful to God within a society that continues on the slippery slope into moral bankruptcy.

As I was praying about this I was surprised that the Lord gave me 2 Peter 2: 7-10.
"and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) - if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority."

Peter used an unlikely story to encourage believers, who were living under very unrighteous conditions, not to give up. Grieve - yes. Give up - no. He goes on in his letter to encourage them to take the long term perspective and to personally live holy and godly lives as they look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That's good first century advice for twenty-first century believers.

They've lit up the Christmas lights on Parliament Hill as we welcome the final prayer team of 2006 to our facility from the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. It's great to have had teams from all over Canada join us throughout the Fall so that we could keep our government covered with prayer.

Call us about bringing a group from your city in 2007.

representing you in Ottawa,
Rob, Fran, Richard and the NHOP team.

email: info@nhop.ca

phone: 613-789-4907

web: http://www.nhop.ca