Reflection on the WPA
The World Prayer Assembly in Indonesia in May was the most significant international pray gathering I have ever been part of. It was truly tri-generational (Abrahams, Isaacs and Jacobs), multi-ethnic and global. Between 9,000 and 10,000 participants from 86 nations attended the Assembly.
Each morning and evening, we had plenary sessions, and each afternoon, there were two two-hour Track sessions on various aspects of the global prayer and ministry spheres, including politics, business, media, health, poverty, etc.
On 17th May, we joined with 100,000 Indonesians at their national stadium for five hours of prayer, praise and worship. This was satellited to 386 locations across Indonesia, involving a conservative estimate of 3.7 million people, and was broadcast through God TV around the world. Much of this was spectacular!
We were based at the Sentul City International Convention & Prayer Centre with an auditorium for 15,000 people. Next door, there is a 12-storey tower, the top storey of which is designated for prayer. Twenty-four-hour prayer took place whilst we were there and continues throughout the year. Every time I looked in there, hundreds were praying. This is one of the many hundreds throughout Indonesia.
Sentul City is a city in transformation, having been already declared corruption-free through the prayers of God’s children.
Everything was twice as large as anticipated and planned for. The Indonesians were overwhelmed logistically, yet managed to provide for everyone – an amazing accomplishment. Even so, over 2,000 applicants had to be refused!
There was tangible evidence of the Presence of God in the gatherings with accompanying signs. The impact is already being experienced around the world with testimonies coming in of the way God has blessed and is blessing the participants.
Five-hundred children formed the Children’s Prayer Track, and nearly 20,000 children participated in the stadium event. A 15-year-old girl told her story of how the prayers of the children over a three-year period had brought about the change of her neighbourhood with brothels closing and the area being cleaned up. Children led the praying one evening, and at our final session, they came with a rose for the adults and to pray with them as well.
Over 2,000 were under the age of 35. Each lunchtime was spent with senior leaders (including me) – they questioned us about our lives and influences. And one evening they also led the whole Assembly in praying for issues on their hearts. They pleaded with us older ones to “run with us” – don’t pass the baton and then abandon us”. They asked me publically to lead in repentance prayer and then be involved with other leaders in washing the feet of some of the young people. You can imagine how moving this was.
Large delegations came from S. Korea and from China. The Koreans, who hosted the first International Prayer Assembly in Seoul in 1984, jointly hosted this one with the Indonesians. There was a wonderful blend of honour, respect and appreciation. For most of the Chinese, this was the first international gathering they had ever been at. Those from China that I prayed with (maybe 100 in all) were deeply touched by God’s Spirit. The same was happening through the other leaders, too.
A wave of prayer is undoubtedly building. China is establishing 6,000 houses of prayer – they call them “Walls of Prayer”. One ministry alone has seen a 726% increase in the numbers of people coming to Christ in the past 7 years compared to the previous 7 years – ever since they started to emphasise prayer with their “prayer walls” (I am talking about 51 million people). Together with towers of prayer (in Indonesia) and 24/7 houses of prayer around the world, there is an exponential acceleration of the kingdom of God taking place in those nations pursuing this vision.
There is an amazing spiritual harvest being reaped in many parts of the world. Through the Internet alone, over 75,000 people per day are praying to receive Christ. Last year, 150 million people read the Gospel on the web, and over 19 million prayed to receive Christ. That is only one part of the story – the real picture is bigger still!
One well-known leader described this as the most pivotal week of his entire ministry. There were some fantastic worship times, led by international musicians, and plenty of praying in different ways. We had an excellent media team producing videos to stimulate prayer and recording everything that took place. We praise God for the many blessings flowing from this Assembly all over the world. Most of the plenary sessions and the whole of the stadium prayer rally are already available and can be viewed on the website www.wpa2012.org.
It was an awesome time, the fruit of which will be echoing around the world in the coming years.
The New Wave is Flowing!
The World Prayer Assembly was an awesome time in the presence of the Lord. There was such a canopy of His peace and grace over everything due to the strong prayers of the Indonesian intercessors and others around the world who were covering this once-in-a-generation event. Even our glitches in organizing it were covered by His glory, and things just went so well in spite of twice as many coming as were originally expected – 9,000 came, and 2,000 were on the waiting list to get in.
God by His Spirit was working so many agendas in the lives of those who took part that it is impossible to recount all that happened or was reported. So many said their lives and ministries would never be the same. We have received encouraging reports from a number of nations as participants have begun to implement strategies of prayer mobilization and other actions that they were inspired to undertake during the WPA. Praise God for all He did and continues to do through this gathering!
Thanks so much for your strong prayers for the WPA. We believe that the "New Wave" of His Spirit is flowing out to the nations through the prayers of the participants from 86 nations and the millions of those who also took part on May 17 in 378 cities of Indonesia and around the world through satellite TV and Internet. You can now see all the plenary sessions and the sensational May 17 event with 100,000 in Jakarta’s national stadium on the WPA website www.wpa2012.org under "Media".
Here are some reflections from two of our International Coordination Team who helped provide leadership for different aspects of the WPA. In the articles that follow, you will get a feel for some of the many high points that colleagues of mine have described.
Israel: Christian church evicted
Pastor Steven Khoury from Holy Land Missions in Jerusalem received a 30-day notice of eviction from the owner of the building where his church currently worships. ‘The pressure from the Muslim community is so strong that the landlord is given no other choice but to do this,’ Khoury said. ‘With 30 days to move a church community, another Band-Aid solution of renting accommodation is not a viable solution. Our church community needs permanent roots.’ The congregation has entered a time of fasting and prayer while Khoury increases efforts to find something permanent. ‘We are fortunate to have rented from a kind moderate Muslim family - but it has come with a price.’ The church has been vandalized and believers have been physically attacked. Nevertheless the church grows so much that worshippers are standing in the hallways to hear the gospel.
Pray: that believers will be protected, find a new larger location for their church and continue to grow under the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit.(1Ch.17:9)
More: http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=NTA3
Tanzania: Churches set on fire
Described as acts of frenzied madness, radical Islamists set on fire at least two churches in Zanzibar last weekend during running battles with security forces. Senior members of the ‘Uamsho’ (Swahili word for Islamic Mobilisation and Propagation) radical movement were arrested with scores of others from among the rioters, and there are serious concerns over the safety of tourists now that the threshold of burning Christian churches has been crossed. Last year the same radical group was accused of organising attacks on bars, clearly with the aim of introducing a radical form of Islam to the island by banning alcohol and turning tourist resorts into empty shells in what has in the past been a moderate and tolerant Islamic society on the Spice Island. Uamsho demanded a referendum to leave the union. Members have vowed to use whatever means necessary to force the issue, clearly not ruling out violence as seen this weekend.
Pray: for Tanzania, hitherto one of East Africa’s most moderate countries, to return to her peaceful inheritance. (Ps.17:7-9)
More: http://www.eturbonews.com/29435/zanzibar-radicals-opposed-union-mainland-cause-weekend-chaos
