URGENT PRAYER FOR FINANCES
We have decided to urgently call a week of prayer from Tuesday 31st May to the Tuesday 7th June and we would love you to pray with us. We are asking for specific prayer for WPC and our funding. We are running out of money at a time when we believe we are entering a new season for WPC as God moves in the nation and internationally. We are looking to increase our prayer information and resources and reach more people. We have scheduled, in faith, a very significant Trumpet Call – and national day of prayer for Saturday October 15th to pray for an historic move of God.
It is not surprising that we will meet some difficulties and opposition along the way! We would really appreciate you praying – and we want to pray some specific prayers:
- For £30,000 by July 4th when we have our first Trumpet Call planning day.
- For fresh ideas and wisdom for the team as we look at ways of increasing our income.
- For another £8000 per month in our regular giving.
- For great testimonies out of this of God's goodness and provision.
Please join us. If you are able to come in to The Prayer Room, we will be having an open time of prayer on Thursday 2nd June from 9:30am – 11:30am. We are praying to a good, good Father and we look to Him for His provision.
As One! Scottish Prayer Shield
On behalf of both the Pray for Scotland and Parliamentary Prayer Scotland teams, once again a huge 'thank you!' to everyone who played a part in making sure that the Shield completed its tour of the nation, that the river of blessing prayer flowed uninterrupted throughout Scotland over the 40 days, and that many joint prayer events involving folk from many different church backgrounds took place, in some cases for the first time.
Good reports and encouraging testimonies of the power of God at work are still coming in. We had already heard of a lady's healing from 3 years of back pain at the evening gathering in Stornoway during the Shield's tour, and have just heard of another healing from severe pain at the final evening event of the tour in Leith, Edinburgh on 4 May. It's not about the Shield, it's about God confirming His word in Psalm 133 that where brothers and sisters come together in unity of purpose - 'As One!' - He will command His blessing!
Please pray that the journey will continue -
- that many leaders and church folk will grasp this vision and continue to raise a prayer shield over their community;
- that there will be a rapid increase in the number of joint prayer events for communities and the nation takling place all over Scotland - we already know of one county where a new monthly joint meeting has been established following the tour - please pray it is well supported.
- ask God if you are meant to be one of those in your area taking the lead in mobilising joint prayer!
Bless you as you continue to pray for your community and our beloved nation!
Thy Kingdom Come 2016
We can't thank you enough for your support with Thy Kingdom Come, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York's invitation for all churches across England to pray for evangelism in the week leading up to Pentecost.
The call was taken up in the most extraordinary way by thousands of worshipping communities and tens of thousands of Christians. Churches up and down the country, from every tradition, and from inner-cities to rural areas, got involved with passion and joy. Both in the six centrally organised Beacon events and in many more local churches, cathedrals and churches responded to the invitation with grace, tenacity, vision – and most of all with faith.
Many churches hosted whole weeks of 24/7 prayer – some for the first time or in partnership with others. Some hosted prayer days, special events and half nights of prayer. Schools put on special assemblies, and engaged in other creative ways – for example, working with parishes on interactive prayer labyrinths.
The demand for tickets for the Beacon Events at Winchester, St Paul's, Durham and Canterbury Cathedrals was so great that overspill areas with big screens had to be organized.
Most encouraging though were the thousands of parish churches who joined with us to hold prayer and Beacon events. This happened further and wider than we ever could have expected – from the centre of England to the USA, from Bermuda to Brussels, from New Zealand to Israel. And it included everything from fresh expressions of church to chaplaincies, from right across the traditions. Every day dozens more stories continue to pour in – we know from diocesan champions that what we're hearing about nationally is only the tip of the iceberg.
And it didn't stop there. The desire to join this wave of prayer wasn't limited to the Anglican Church. There was support from within the Vatican, and the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales backed the call to prayer and encouraged local churches to join in.
The call has not only tapped into latent creativity in many places, but also a deep desire to pray, something that can so easily get smothered under the busyness of life. Many churches – including those that dioceses tell us they often struggle to engage with – have picked up the baton with vigour. Often they have been especially encouraged by the passion and direct appeal of the Archbishops.
In their letter of invitation, the Archbishops reminded us that "any movement of the Holy Spirit to draw increasing numbers to faith in Christ has always begun with prayer." As people across the country (and indeed many more beyond) prayed during Thy Kingdom Come, it's clear that not only will those we seek to reach be changed by God's transforming grace and redemption: so will those of us praying.
You can watch the Beacon event at Canterbury Cathedral on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/archbishopofcanterbury/videos/1011428212244658/
And to get a sense of the outpouring of prayer across England and beyond last week, just take a look at what happened on Twitter. https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ThyKingdomCome&src=tyah
Give thanks for answers to prayer
It has been a busy season of prayer and fasting so far in 2016. We started with 40 days of prayer and fasting during Lent with initiatives like The Fast UK, and then many prayer initiatives - Trypraying, the Scottish Prayer Shield, Thy Kingdom Come week of prayer and Ark on the Park to mention a few.
But how do we know that our prayers are working and having an effect?
The simple answer is... by the fruit. So here are some of the answers to prayer that we have heard. Let's give thanks to God that He hears and He answers our prayers! So we want to encourage you to keep perservering in prayer for your life, your family, your community and the nation - particularly in the run up to the EU referendum.
The Scottish Prayer Shield toured throughout Scotland for 40 days blessing as they went. Check out some of the testimonies.
Watch some of the videos from Trypraying which has had a month of prayer in Birmingham, Scotland and elsewhere.
Ark on the Park took place in May on the island of Jersey. Here's some of the real life testimonies from the day.
Thy Kingdom Come was an amazing time of prayer for evangelism in the run up to Pentecost. Here's some details of the week and links to some of the stories.
We received an amazing testimony from Chelmsford 24-7 prayer about a guy called Danny who miraculously encountered God at a prayer station in Chelmsford Cathedral!
