PRAYERHAMMER

Vision keeping the BIG picture in mind.

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:43:00 +0000

Prov 29:18 If people can't see what God is doing, they trip all over themselves; But when they do to what he reveals, they are blessed.

It's great that we have lots of specific prayer requests for individual situations, KEEP THEM COMING!

It's equally important that we pursue the vision God has set before us, our work in moving forward together starts with our battling for the vision to be fulfilled in the heavenly place.

Father has set before us a great work, we need to keep this big picture in mind as we pray, or we can easily become bogged down in details. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, not the problems and trials of life.

Please focus on praying for all aspect of our corporate vision in prayer on Tuesday.

Expect great things from a GREAT GOD!

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sat, 07 May 2011 18:55:00 +0000

Where are your disciples

More PowerPoint presentations from IanHoward

Vision - focusing on the big picture.

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:55:00 +0000

Prov 29:18 If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they do to what God reveals, they are blessed.

It's great that we have lots of specific prayer requests for individual situations being posted on the PrayerHammer Facebook site, KEEP THEM COMING!

It's equally important that we pursue the vision God has set before us, our work in moving forward together starts with our battling for the vision to be fulfilled in the heavenly place.

Father has set before us a great work, we need to keep this big picture in mind as we pray, or we can easily become bogged down in details. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, not the problems and trials of life.

Please focus on praying for all aspect of our corporate vision in prayer on Tuesday.

Expect great things from a GREAT GOD!

Prayer through Lent

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:51:00 +0000

One of the area that we feel led to address in 2011 is a further increase in the corporate prayer life of BCF. In order to help with this we will be exploring various ways of stimulating, nurturing and focusing the prayer life of BCF.

To get things rolling we want to encourage people to join us in praying through lent, with a particular focus on seeking God for growth through seeing people saved. (It was great to see so many guests at Cafe Church Sunday morning!! But God has promised us much more, so we have a long way to go to impact the lost in Bury!)

To help you to pray Wendy and I will be using various means to remind folks and to help focus our thoughts:

Facebook - There is now a PrayerHammer group set up which will provide regular updates and prayer points for members of BCF.

Email - like this one for those folks not on Facebook.

The Notices - regularly has items for prayer.

SMS Text prompts - yes even your phone is not safe.( if you want to be on the SMS prayer chain please let us know)

Skype - if you are on Skype then let Wendy and myself know, so that we can explore holding tele-prayer meetings.

Podcast - for all you Mp3 junkies and iPod fans help is coming in the form of a podcast in the near future.

Prayer meetings with a twist - Yes we will be planning chances to meet and pray too!

When is Lent I hear you ask?
Lent in 2011 starts on Wednesday, the 9th of March and will continue for 46 days until Saturday, the 23rd of April.

Enough for now - other than to say this initiative means nothing unless you take up the challenge to pray and to conclude with a quote from a man of prayer, who saw incredible things achieved through prayer.

"It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must patiently, believingly, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer; and further we have not only to continue in prayer unto the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us, and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing." George Müller

10 quotations to make you think about prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:33:00 +0000

Have faith in God," Jesus answered. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:22, 24

“Prayer is where the action is." John Wesley

"Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness." Martin Luther.

“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Charles Spurgeon.

On persevering prayer: "I look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before." Anon

I don't often spend more than half an hour in prayer at one time, but I never go more than half an hour without praying. Smith Wigglesworth

"As is the business of tailors to make clothes and cobblers to make shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray." Martin Luther

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" Corrie Ten Boom

"Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure." D. L. Moody

The Spirit Himself intercedes for us. Rom 8:26

Prayer points for Hope Bury's event "Carol" by Lacey Theatre Co.

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:59:00 +0000

Please pray for the following things

The venue:

Woodhey High School Tuesday 30th November 2010 7.30pm

The participants:

Lacey Theatre Company (5 members) – who hope that their ‘performance will open doors and cause people to ask questions that hopefully local churches can help to answer’.

Bob Hartman

Rehearsals and planning have been taking place in earnest since September and much prayer and creativity has gone into the production of this play.

Our hopes are that:

Jesus would be honoured

The corporate witness of churches working together would be profound and challenging.

Churches who don’t often work with other churches would join in on this occasion.

It will be an inspiring event to send us back to our churches enthusiastic to make Jesus known to our communities in the forthcoming Christmas season.

That everyone attending the event would be pointed to Christ, and that for some it would prove to be a very significant occasion in their Christian experience.

Our helpers:

We require a few more stewards, who ideally will be able to arrive at Woodhey at 6pm on the day.

There is space for a few more members in the music group

There would be enough willing helpers for the refreshments team

The audience:

Small at the moment (only a couple of dozen tickets had been sold at 14.11.10, although a good number of others

say they intend to buy tickets)

Publicity opportunities would fall on receptive ears

People would have courage to invite friends, families, neighbours, and we would be prompted by the Holy Spirit to

know who to invite.

Our supporters

Woodhey High School – that some pupils and staff would join us for the show, and that the local churches would

be able to continue to build good relationships with the school as a result of this event.

Bru-Station – for their willingness to provide 350 drinking cups to support the event.

House on the Rock – for their manager (Nigel Rushworth) being willing to support the event by selling tickets.

The tour’s supporters – Spring Harvest, Tear Fund, Lion Publishing

Swimming against the shoal?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:16:00 +0000

Another thought provoking Friday night theology piece today. Which raises the question are you (and I) truly living prophetically? Are we prepared to swim against the shoal in order to maintain a godly integrity when we comment on the things we see happening around us?

We need to be a prophetic voice speaking out against injustice and seeking to bring God's wisdom to bear on real world situations - Christianity is not a nice theory to be kept safe in the dusty halls of academia, it's more than robust enough to cope with all the contemporary ideas and new age pick and mix theories that abound today.

To quote the EA, FNT article "The art of living prophetically has everything to do with finding imaginative, new angles and themes for the current dominant stories in our nation - putting some critical yeast into a large amount of dough. In a time when austerity is the order of the day, can we live lives that are marked by generosity? The Christian community can pursue at all times a radical discontinuity from the status quo, working out impossible dreams and overcoming impossible obstacles."

As a nation the UK along with many other countries faces some tough challenges ahead, challenges that Christians can help guide the country through, if only we will pray and listen to God, then speak (and live!) out His timeless wisdom.

Men in a woman's world?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:40:00 +0000

Here's a great little article from an interview with David Murrow on "Why men hate going to church"

This really scratches an itch for me, as for a long time now I've been talking to folks about the bias towards women in Church, which encourages women to belong but can be a real put off for men. (Before anyone throws in the misogynist word I love women they are great to be with, but I also want to see men saved and thriving in the Church.)

So here's today's challenge - what do we need to do to make Church a place where men can be men?
It's a serious topic for prayer, much as it might be easy to laugh if off as a topic, how can we be expected to share the good news with men if they perceive it as girly? Churches today are largely populated by women, and the statistics show that most men who make a Christian commitment are led there by men, so the challenge is an important one.

It was no accident that Jesus became 'Man' in order to reach and save mankind, do we men in the church need to rediscover our true manliness in order to reach other men?

Ask Father to reveal His plan for addressing this important issue - you might be surprised at the answers you get,

Who is the Stig? A point to ponder prayerfully!

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Here is a thought provoking article by the EA Friday Night Theology team "Who is that Masked Man?
It explores the paradox that obscurity may be more effective than celebrity for Christians, reminding us that "God sometimes subtracts from a person in the present in order to multiply their future."
That thought holds a big challenge for those of us who are faced with the pressures of life in a world where celebrity culture is rife, especially when faced with consumerism in the Church. This is particularly noticeable amongst some young people, they take the view that "I'll shop around to find a church that suits me" as opposed to honouring their spiritual family and working together with those folks to build a church that suits God!

By all means let's be radical and relentlessly work for changes as God leads, but work to change where you are rather than becoming yet another spiritual butterfly looking for an ideal that does not yet exist..

One of the worrying developments, that I think has grown up because of this consumerist culture, is the endless pressure to hype things up. Should we hype things up to make our walk with God\Church\ministry sound great? Or do we simply get on with serving and let God get the glory.

The church is not meant to be a consumer driven organisation, led by popular opinion and the latest market survey. We don't need to add in extra excitement when God is given free reign, the challenge then becomes are you capaple of keeping up with Father's glorious roller coster ride!

A prophetic word

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:14:00 +0000

I saw a great dam, a huge wall holding back the great expanse of water behind it. It was as if I was flying up to and then over the dam wall. As I got closer to the wall I saw that it was massive and that the huge slabs that made up the wall had various words upon them: "anxiety", "illness", "stress", "poverty", "selfishness", "greed", "fear".

As I ' flew' up over the dam and over the water behind it I could see that the water was crystal clear and stretched for miles. I seemed to fly over it for for hours (days?) it felt like time was compressed during this experience - the water simply appeared to go on forever.

Suddenly I was back at the dam wall again and I saw Jesus stood over it - he spoke one word "Now!" at this word of command dam cracked and crumbled beneath the incredible weight and force of the water. The huge blocks making up the dam were effortlessly pushed aside and tumbled over and over again being smashed to tiny pieces in the process. There was a roaring and crashing of water the noise was deafening and awe inspiring, each of the named blocks was totally destroyed by this unstoppable force.

It was terrifying watching the huge body of water rush forward as it was released. I felt that it would overwhelm and crush me, but as the water enveloped me, and all the others around me it became incredibly gentle and lifted me effortlessly to the surface. There was no longer sense of fear despite the huge force of the rushing water, the feel of the water was calming and restful despite it's incredible raw power. I immediately understood that the water was God's love carried by His Spirit and that whilst sin was being ruthlessly destroyed, the sinners were being held securely and dealt with gently.

As the water continued to pour out it became clear that the water would never diminish as it was being constantly refilled by a spring that continued to pour out blessing as the waters rushed out to the farthest reaches of the eye.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I was praying and preparing God just gave me one word: release! I was reminded of the commandment to the Hebrew's about the release of debtors every seventh year, and about the commandment that the fiftieth year year should be a year of Jubilee. God's message of forgiveness and his plan of redemption was written into the law and formed the very rhythm of Jewish life, and yet the Jews for the most part missed the point.

That made me wonder how often do we do the same, are there times when even we Christians fail to live in the good of the release we have received? Too often we hold tight to our favourite sins with both hands, whilst at the same time asking God to bless us. God's response is open your hands release the things you are holding onto so tightly and let me fill your hands with a treasure that won't rust and rot away. It's time to release those favourite sins once and for all and to take hold of what God gives you.

This is a time when God is waiting to bless many people through The Church, it's a time for seeing new birth, and God wants you and I to be the midwives to assist with this process. It's a time to allow yourself to be revived (There is no point praying for revival if it can't start with you!). Even this coming week Father wants to see the people you and I share our lives with introduced to Him. (Yes it can happen - doubt your doubts after all we are dealing with God!!)

It's time to be bold and speak up, regardless of the season - God has got some thrilling 'divine appointments' scheduled for you this week, so keep your eyes and ears open!

It's time for God's people to move in intercession in a new way. The hammer of prayer is a versatile implement, it can be used in warfare to demolish strongholds and rout the enemy, or it can be used as a tool for building. - It's time to swing the prayer-hammer as we work to see His Kingdom established.

Intercessors UK

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 11:17:00 +0000

I thought I'd use this blog post to flag up a group called Intercessors UK.

They are in their own words: "a collection of born again believers from a wide range of Church denominations: Baptist, Charismatic, Methodist, Anglican, Independent, House Church etc. (All denominations are welcome.)

We are concerned about God's Church in the UK, and feel the need to really pray about the Church's unity, it's holiness; it's outreach and effectiveness in the society.

God's priority, we believe, is His Church; His Bride being holy and set apart for Himself. This is the main focus of our prayer.We also pray about our society, issues in the news, upcoming Christian events and other things that affect the UK.

Click here to see an outline of what we pray for, and the strategy we use.

Many people are being awakened about the state of the UK. Prayer shields (or prayer walls as they are also known) are springing up in Edinburgh, London, Eastbourne, Sunderland, Northampton etc. Intercessors UK has prayer topics devoted to these people who are building prayer walls in their own cities, but we also concentrate on other issues which are of strategic importance to the whole country.

Are you one of those people God is stirring to intercede? Could you spare one hour a week to influence the state of our Nation? "

I love the simplicity of this idea, a clear, simple, focused prayer agenda, based on people signing up to pray for an hour (or more) each week with the whole thing gently coordinated through the WWW.

Why not sign up and do your bit?

Protecting the innocent?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Pro-life or Pro-choice?
Abortion is an emotive subject, it often quickly divides people who feel forced to take a 'pro-life' or 'pro-choice' stance. It's making headlines at present because Channel 4 has decided to air and advert by an organisation that works in the area of "sexual and reproductive health", apparently the advert will include abortion services.

Consumer Driven - or Advertising Led?
Such services have been advertised in lower key ways for some time now, but the move to mainstream broadcast media, opens up a new area of debate. The reality is that such media play an important part in shaping people's views and opinions - the recent political leadership debates in the run up to the election provide a timely example of how popular opinion can be changed by a few minutes air time.

Welcome to the New Norm
One of the most powerful effects of exposure through television is the establishing of new 'norms'. People see it on TV and accept that, it must be OK, "everyone" is doing it. It's the reason that companies run advertising campaigns, few if any people immediately jump up and rush off to buy a product after watching a TV advert, the effect is more subtle than that. But none the less such adverts do influence people's behaviour.
(Why else would government run expensive campaigns warning us not to drink and drive, or extolling the risks of benefit fraud - if not to convince us that responsible behaviour is the norm, and so we'd better conform?)

Does Advertising Work?
Advertising plays a powerful role in shaping our consumer economy, just ask Unilever, Nestle, Kelloggs, Asda, Tesco etc who spend millions on advertising each year. So it's not unreasonable to assume that any advert offering abortion services will do two things:
1) It will send the message that abortions are 'normal'.
2) Consequently it will effectively present abortions as a consumer choice.
Such advertising will take the UK (barring Northern Ireland) to a new low point in it's commercial and moral life.

Some Questions to Ponder:
- Is it right that Channel 4 earns revenue from advertising such services?
- Is it acceptable to have such ad's shown on TV, if it will help to normalise people's views on abortion?
- Is it right to call being pro-abortion 'pro-choice' as it does not take into account both of the people involved directly in the process. (Mother and Baby?)

Time to Pray and to Act!
If you, like me feel that to run this advert is wrong, and the thin end of a commercially dubious wedge, then can I encourage you to act and to PRAY.
1) Write to your MP. - "Write to them" link here
2) Complain to the ASA - Link here - Nb in theory you can only complain after the ad has run
3) Sign the on line petition against the advert
4) Write to Channel 4 and ask them to pull the advert.
5) Consider how you can support (£££+ prayer!) those charities that offer practical support as an alternative to abortion:

PS For those that are interested in Pro-Life issues SPUC has a useful blog post, analysing the new UK cabinet and the respective ministers likely position on these important issues. It's great resource to help your praying and campaigning.

Their help line details can be found here

Love your enemies - Nice idea or practical advice?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sun, 16 May 2010 15:06:00 +0000

Over recent weeks , as I've been following the UK general election via various social media sites. By and large the coverage has been good, even when the opinions put forward have been clearly partisan, the tone has been largely measured and good natured. Sadly however there is a minority of people who don't take such a measured view, and a rash of "hate" sites have grown up. These sites often express their disagreement with a specific person or group of people in vitriolic terms.

Passionately Held Views
Now I have no problem with strongly held views being passionately expounded, the fact is that it's passionately held views that often bring much needed change. (The alternative is to be left wallowing in mundanity whilst nothing changes - God forbid!) Debate and argument are useful tools when used wisely. Sadly from what I have seen these hate sites have little to do with bringing change, or acting wisely. In short they exist almost exclusively to berate and belittle the people they target, and their followers.

I Disagree
From a Christian perspective there are many people that I strongly disagree with. The very nature of having a code of moral standards, means that it it divisive, as it divides into those that hold those codes as valuable and those that don't. I happen to believe that those who hold different opinions to me are wrong, in some cases I believe that not only are their views wrong, but that those views are harmful. For example I am pro-life and believe that to abort healthy babies is wrong, I use the word babies deliberately as I believe that life begins at conception, and that to use semantics to obscure the taking of a viable life is both wrong and dishonest.

Murder Starts Here
These are views that I feel passionately about, but for me to set up a hate site to vilify people who hold pro-choice views is not helpful. Jesus teaches that if we hold anger in our hearts we are no better than murderers.

Jesus makes it plain that our attitude towards even our enemies should be love - so even if we disagree vehemently with someone, for whatever reason we should not be inciting hatred towards them.

So what Should We Be Doing?
I guess there are many answers to that question, but the context for my initial observation was the number of hate sites that have appeared on social networking sites, so I'll confine my answer to that context. How about setting up a site to encourage prayer for those people we disagree with? This in turn begs the question what should we pray for them? - How about asking God to pour out His love and blessing on them? After all it's how Jesus treats you and I even whilst we still sinners....

I think that Jesus commandment was practical advice for the winning of our enemies, not just wishful thinking.

Go On Give It A Go!
What will happen if we try it? Might we see some people we passionately disagree with, turned around and walking into the Kingdom?

Christian views don't count?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:39:00 +0000

Andrew Brown, in the Guardian, writes on the important decision made by Lord Justice Laws, in regard of the recent case of Gary McFarlane, the evangelical Christian sacked by counselling service Relate for refusing to give sex therapy to gay couples.

Brown notes that the ruling goes out of its way to demolish former archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey's intervention in the case. He also asks does it also remove any vestiges of established religion from the law?

This is important, as Christianity (albeit in it's Anglican guise) is the established religion, and as such it runs deep within our legal system, and right to the heart of our constitution. He comments that the the symbolic gesture from which all other legitimacy in this country derives is the coronation of a monarch by the archbishop of Canterbury.

In other words we are not a secular society in our constitution, and as such Christianity should hold some sway in our thinking and our legal system. Brown quite rightly points out that Parliament can change this, should it be minded so to do - thankfully to date they have not chosen to, something that those in the judiciary should be mindful of.

Personally I would not argue for Christians to be given any priority over other people, just on the basis that the incumbent faith is Christianity, but surely justice should extend to Christians being treated equally? It should be acceptable for Christians to act according to their conscience, and where this brings us into conflict of opinion with others we should be allowed to hold those views without being criminalised.

Brown goes on to remind us that secularism and religion are both equally subjective beliefs, so to elevate secularism over religion is nothing more than preferring one deeply held opinion over another. This ruling is no doubt the thin edge of a wedge that secularists would like to see driven further, in order to see their views take hold and the views of Christians driven further to the margins of society.

This secularist undercurrent, and the very real possibility of changes to our political system as a result of the hung Parliament, and possible further changes with the reform of the House of Lords,(With it's 26 Lords Spiritual the Bishops who are there to provide a spiritual voice in the business of the House,), should all act as a spur for Christians to pray and to engage with those in authority to ensure that our voice is heard on these important matters. If we don't, then I fear that we will regret our complacency in the years to come.

The Importance of Prayer In Cell Churches

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 22:18:00 +0000

A blog posting by Joel Comiskey on the importance of prayer in Cell Church (Original post here)
Karen Hurston, the missionary who worked with David Cho and wrote a book on Cho’s church, once said to me, “Cells are simply the conduit of the Spirit of God. they have no power in and of themselves.” The longer I walk on my cell journey, the more I believe Karen’s words. Karen observed this truth first hand at Yoido Full Gospel Church.

When I studied Yoido Full Gospel Church I was amazed at the power of prayer. Korean believers dedicate themselves to prayer and then reach out through cell ministry. In my cell church research, the number one principle in growing cell churches was the commitment to prayer. I tell pastors to start with the prayer meeting before the first pilot group of a transition or planting their first cell of a church plant.

When we transitioned our church in Ecuador we weren’t prioritizing prayer. Yet, as we began to visit growing cell churches around the world, we realized we had to change. We started a monthly day of prayer that eventually turned into a weekly day of prayer. If you’d like to know more about what we did, click here. AtWellspring, our church plant in Moreno Valley, we pray as a church on Thursday night and have a half-night prayer once per month. Of course, cells also emphasize prayer, but I believe that chuch-wide prayer is essential.

I agree with Charles Spurgeon when he said, “How can we expect a blessing if we are too idle to ask for it? How can we look for a Pentecost if we never meet with one another, in one place, to wait upon the Lord? Brethren, we shall never see much change for the better in our churches till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians” (Spurgeon, C. H. 1996. A collection of Sermons).

I’m writing this blog on Easter Sunday. It’s a day to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Jesus is alive to answer prayer, especially when we come together to seek His face. Jesus Himself said, ““Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:19-20).

Comments?

Joel

Learning from the prayer warriors of the past No 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:55:00 +0000

John Wesley Wikipedia

Most great and glorious Lord God,
accept my imperfect repentance,
and send your Spirit of adoption into my heart,
that I may again be owned by you, call you Father,
and share in the blessings of your children.

O Lord, take full possession of my heart,
raise there your throne,
and command there as you do in heaven.
Being created by you, let me live for you;
being created for you, let me always act for your glory;
being redeemed by you, let me give to you what is yours;
and let my spirit cling to you alone, for your name's sake.

Deliver me, Lord God, from a slothful mind,
from all lukewarmness,
and all dejection of spirit.
I know these cannot but deaden my love for you;
mercifully free my heart from them,
and give me a lively, zealous, active and cheerful spirit;
that I may vigorously perform whatever you command,
thankfully suffer whatever you choose for me,
and always be ardent to obey in all things your holy love.

O Lord, let us not live to be useless, for Christ's sake.

You are never tired, O Lord, of doing us good;
let us never be weary of doing you service.
But as you have pleasure in the well being of your servants,
let us take pleasure in the service of our Lord,
and abound in your work and in your love and praise evermore.

Forgive them all, O Lord:
our sins of omission and our sins of commission;
the sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years;
the sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies;
our secret and our more open sins;
our sins of ignorance and surprise,
and our more deliberate and presumptuous sins;
the sins we have done to please ourselves,
and the sins we have done to please others;
the sins we know and remember,
and the sins we have forgotten;
the sins we have striven to hide from others
and the sins by which we have offended others;
forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all for his sake,
who died for our sins and rose for our justification,
and now stands at your right hand to make intercession for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Learning from the prayer warriors of the past No1

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:51:00 +0000

I've been enjoying being inspired to pray by reading up on the lives of great men an women of prayer, so I thought I'd include some quotations and other snippets to encourage you, the first is a quote from George Müller

"It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must patiently, believingly, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer; and further we have not only to continue in prayer unto the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us, and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing." George Müller

George was an incredible man of faith and prayer who achieved some astounding things in his lifetime, you can read some of his story here and here
Let's seek to learn from him, and to seek out what we should pray for and then persists in praying for it until we have an answer. If you will, you may be confident that many more great things will be achieved for Father's glory!

It's getting closer...are you ready?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:12:00 +0000

Taking a gamble with your vote?

The date has still not been announced for the General Election, though it's likely to be May the 6th, whatever the date we can be sure it's getting closer. Too many of us will find the election upon us and one of the most important decisions we have to make looming large, while we are still largely unprepared. Very few people actually bother to read the various manifesto's of the political parties seeking our vote. Many will make their voting decision based on vague allegiances, historical loyalty or the impression gained from listening to brief sound-bites on the TV or radio.

There is widespread disillusionment with politics and politicians, compounded by the abuse of expenses by some MP's and the lack of transparency over such things as the tax status of people who make significant donations to the major parties. Many people are put off by the ya-boo heckling and jeering often seen in televised snippets of exchanges in the House of Commons.

Time to get serious?

Yet when we stop and think about the scale of the decision we are making when we elect a new government it's plain that we should be treating it a little more seriously.

As Christians we urged to pray for those in authority over us. 1 Tim 2:1-4 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. now whilst we can.

If we take this instruction seriously then it seems to me that we need to dig beyond the sound bites, after all how will we know what to pray for otherwise? Do we want to encourage them in pursuing godly policies? Do we want them to repent of ungodly policies and change their manifesto's? How can we pray with wisdom if we are praying generalisations?

Research Time?

So lets take seriously our responsibility to pray for those in authority - our politicians and the government - lets get to grips with what it is that they say they are planning to do.

The Evangelical Alliance web site has some useful pages packed with information to help with this task :

Happy reading and here's to a Spirit led election!

Protection

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:38:00 +0000

We've had a spate of incidents over a couple of months now that have made me realise that we can't take living peacefully for granted:

One of our families lives on a street that has a poor reputation for drugs another unwelcome activities. They regularly have to put up with having their sleep disturbed by antisocial behaviour; rows, fights and the occasional Police raid on houses close by.
A friend of our was threatened and assaulted by a group of youths as he was collecting his car after leading a cell group meeting.
Some time before that an older female friend of ours had her bag snatched by a gang of youth whilst walking home from church one day.
Even the relatively quiet backwater where my family and live had it's peace disturbed in the early hours of Saturday morning by youths fighting. When we awoke the next morning the road was littered with broken bottles and I found a full house-brick in the garden where one youth had thrown it at another - fortunately missing.
Further away some Christians who have formed a Street Pastors group to help bring peace and make a positive difference in the live of young people, have recently found themselves being threatened and their cars vandalised.

Now I don't want to make more of these incidents than is factual, where I live is a relatively low crime town, although like any town it has it's troubled areas. What these incidents do is make me aware of how precious peace and good order are. They also bring home to me once again how stressful life must be for people who live in the tougher areas, where this type of behaviour is an everyday part of life.

So in this prayer blog I want to encourage those of you that are reading this to pray for peace. Even if where you live is peaceful, as we can't take for granted that tomorrow will be as peaceful, and for sure there are areas not too far from any of us that are far from peaceful.

Some scriptures to encourage you in this:

PROTECTION:
John 10:28-30 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

Psalm 91:3-7 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you

PEACE:
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace,Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “ Your God reigns!”

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

1 Timothy 2:1-3 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior..

JUSTICE
Deuteronomy 10:18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.

It's OK to have an extra marital affair...join us

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:51:00 +0000

UPDATE: 27/1/10The protests and campaign to get the billboard advertising campaign stopped has worked! The company involved has responded promptly, the next step is a longer lower key campaign to get them to stop this negative approach to on line dating relationships and stick to the business of bringing people together legitimately.

It's OK to have an extra marital affair...join us - is the message being conveyed by a company advertising on billboards in the south of England and on the www.

Just to be clear on what we are talking about Wiktionary defines extra marital as: "Taking place outside marriage; adulterous" The company's tag line is "Adult dating where the grass is always greener", whilst it's billboard advert promises women "instant excitement".

Now I'm not naive I realise that adultery and affairs are increasingly commonplace in today's society, and that solicitors make money out of these problems, but the idea that a company is blatantly encouraging infidelity as it's core business sickens me. Thus far the Advertising Standards Authority have refused to act against the advertisers, as the complaints against the ad's have not been upheld. So I'm writing this to ask people to pray AND to complain to the ASA, and to your local MP.

Family problems caused by marital\relationship breakdown are a major problem in the UK which affects significant numbers of people in a wide range of ways:

God's plan for us is for men and women to commit to one another for life and to bring up children in a stable family unit:
- Partnership: Gen 2:18 "God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion."

- Integrity: Luke 16:10 Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters.

Heb 13:4-7 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
- Stable: Mark 10:6-9 "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.'' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

Numerous studies have show that people who do this and who work at making their marriage work provide the best conditions for bringing up children and individual happiness and health (see links):

Not every marriage is perfect as Rob Parsons admits in his article for Marriage Matters part of Care for the Family, but every marriage is worth protecting and nurturing, so let's pray that the ASA acts to ban these adverts and that the company behind them stops it's harmful business.

A little encouragement

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:39:00 +0000

It's always great to hear about prayers being answered, so those of us that prayed and wrote letters about the Coroner's Justice Bill, and it's potential to harm free speech were delighted with the outcome of Parliament's decision.

A majority MP's voted to include an important clause clarifying that discussion and criticism of sexual conduct is not, in itself, tantamount to inciting hatred, despite Government MP's being "Whipped" by the government to leave the clause out.

A great example of what happens when people pray and put pen to paper in support of righteousness.

Prayer for Haiti Earthquake Victims

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:31:00 +0000

The news about the powerful earthquakes that have hit Haiti is unfolding to reveal it's human cost. The earthquake, the worst in the region for 200 years, has caused widespread destruction and hundreds of deaths. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, and as such is ill equipped to deal with a disaster of this nature.

Please pray for all involved:

*That rescue teams, medical support and the support services to co-ordinate the rescue effort arrive as quickly as possible, and are effective in their efforts.

*That relief from the international community will arrive quickly - the right things, in the right places to aid recovery after this disaster.

The Disasters Emergency Committee is reviewing the situation at present, but will no doubt be launching an appeal to raise funds very soon should you want to give. BCF folk we will be taking up a collection for DEC in the near future. Anyone else wanting to give to DEC can do so here.

When is a minority not a minority?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:03:00 +0000

I read today about a man sacked from his post because he spoke up for his beliefs, and refused to give advice on a situation that ran counter to his faith. (Whilst saying he would be happy to refer the couple to other colleagues who did not have the same objections). The heart of this case, and many others is the apparent trend towards some minorities having rights that are considered more important than the rights of other minorities.

Equality...for some?

For some time it has been clear that the rights of the 2 million evangelical Christians in the UK to speak up for what they believe or to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs, take a back seat compared with the rights of other minorities. Surely this can't be right? Surely the law should afford them equal rights with other minority groups, or it is failing to operate equally?

Free speech...for some?

Now I don't want to get involved in a tit-for-tat comparison of which minority is hardest done to under the law. I do recognise that some people in minority groups do need support from the law to prevent them being treated badly by others. I think that it is wrong to be discriminate against a person solely because of his or her; race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation etc. But that does not mean that I have to agree with their views, we are both entitled to an opinion, and as long as those opinions are expressed without hatred or malice I think we should be allowed to express them.

When is a Christian not a Christian?

Part of the problem in the UK is the large majority of people who classify themselves as Christian, without actually practising Christianity in a recognisable way . (I mean if I said I was a tennis player, but I had rarely if ever held a tennis racket, or hit a tennis ball, could I honestly be considered a tennis player?) The result of this distorted classification is that the UK is considered a Christian country, and in today's politically correct world that means that the only way to be seen to be fair is to operate with an effective bias against the "majority" Christian population. The impact of this is to place increasing restrictions on the actual minority of practising Christians who try to live our their faith in day to day life. This is beginning to reach the levels where it feels like simply being a Christian is an offence.

The popular view of Christians as portrayed today is either; the right wing fundamentalists of the southern states of the USA; the woolly thinking liberal vicar; or the drab unfashionable God botherer. The Church is seen as irrelevant. and anachronistic, or hot beds of corruption. Few people would dare to stick up for the Church and talk about the massive benefits that the Church, and Christians have brought to society. (Schools, hospitals, social reform, the arts, protection of children, improvement of working conditions etc etc) If you did speak up, you'd quickly be inundated with accusations of bias, and pretty certainly attacked for being foolish for ignoring the facts of evolution etc, regardless of what you might actually believe in some instances.

Automatically wrong?

Others will lambaste you for hating gays (regardless of how you might actually treat them), or tell you that Christianity is; a figment of Dan Brown's imagination; the legacy of an alien visitation; the fictional amalgamation of various pagan Roman festivals. Rarely, if ever, will some one actually ask you what you believe, because the default setting is simply that you are wrong to be a Christian.

Has anyone ever wondered why that is?

Armistice and Warfare

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:18:00 +0000

Another good article in the Friday Night Theology series from EA.

So how are you doing with the biblical injunction to love your enemies? (eg Have you prayed for them recently? If not now is a good time...)

Too often the Church (you and me folks!) has fallen short in this area.
Paul had plenty of enemies..and a different take on how to deal with them: Romans 12:20 "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head"

So how are you doing with heaping hot coals this week?

Who have you fed, your enemy or your own spirit of bitterness?

Lets not forget we are at war...and called to fight, using the weapons of The Kingdom, which are not the weapons of this world.

Stirring up hatred or simply a distraction?

noreply@blogger.com (Ian H) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:26:00 +0000

Today was one of those days when I received a little flurry of texts asking me to pray, and to pass the prayer request on to others that I know will pray. These ranged from someone who was ill and facing a busy day ahead, asking for grace to get through the day ahead, through to an urgent request I had a request for prayer for a grandchild who had been admitted to hospital, and another praying for an aged parent recovering from a serious operation.

These on top of the things I had already committed to pray about; a grandson serving in Helmand province, a family whose home life was regularly disrupted by the anti-social behaviour of their neighbours...etc..etc.

Now don't get me wrong I love praying. I think it's God's greatest gift (Second only to worshipping Him on my drums!). I think it's a fantastic privilege being able to chat to Father about things, and I love the way He answers I could fill page after page with the answers to prayers that I have seen. (One day I will compile a list, the only problem being the length of that list!) But much as I love to pray, I only have the standard issue of 24, 60 minute hours in each day, in which to pray, so I have to prioritise things. So you'll perhaps understand and appreciate my frustration today. It began with a text from a friend with an urgent prayer request, that he in turn was forwarding from a friend. The request was asking for prayer as 22 Christian missionary families were due to be executed by Islamists in Afghanistan today.

My first response was to pray and pass the message on, but something about the message didn't ring true. (I know enough about the Church in Afghanistan to query the message quoting 22 missionary families, added to which none of the other sites that flag up areas of persecution was carrying the story) A quick check on Google confirmed my fears, the text message was a hoax.

I was hopping mad, I had wasted my time and unwittingly almost added fuel to the fire of hatred between Christians and Moslems. Now there is much to pray about with regard to the situation in Afghanistan, and the Churches relationship with Islam in Afghanistan, (People we are told to love and win for Christ, by our grace and the loving way we present them with the truth), without clowns stirring up hatred, and being used to do the Enemy's work in distracting the Church from praying for peace, healing and salvation for those around us.

I'm not mad at those who passed the message on - they were simply responding to an apparent emergency - but boy am I mad at the buffoon who thought the idea up. So I'll be praying for you whoever you are - plainly you need it - but only after I have prayed for peace in Afghanistan, and between Christians, and Moslems wherever they are. - Anyone care to join me?