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Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Phil. 4: 6 ESV
Welcome to our January 2009 1st Friday Call to Prayer. Our aim is to provide you with teaching that we trust will enhance your prayer experience and will be an encouragement to you. We will also provide you with praise items and prayer requests coming from within ANiC and the Anglican Communion worldwide.
We encourage you to set aside the first Friday, January 2nd, as a day of prayer and fasting for the Church in these critical days, ideally gathering with other believers in your parish or region for corporate prayer at some point in the day.
Prayer Quotes
“The power of prayer can never be overrated. They who cannot serve God by preaching need not regret. If a man can but pray he can do anything. He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has Heaven and earth at his disposal."
Charles H. Spurgeon 1834-1892
A New Beginning – A Fresh Commitment
It’s hard to embrace the fact that another year has slipped away, and that the end of the first decade of the 21st century is rapidly approaching. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we endured the frenzy around “Y2K” and the computer chaos that was predicted?
And what a year 2008 turned out to be. ANiC grew from a mere handful of parishes to 25. We had our inaugural synod, a joyous and heartening event, and we witnessed the extraordinary formation of a new Anglican province, the Anglican Church in North America. God has indeed been moving in marvelous and powerful ways!
What does 2009 hold for us? At this point, only the Lord knows, and he will reveal it to us as we move forward in him. But one thing is certain; the struggles, trials, and harassments are not over, and we would be prudent to not allow positive events to breed complacency in prayer. Property titles will continue to be contested, and Godly clergy will be criticized and vilified. ANiC is still small, young and vulnerable to the satanic attack from both within and outside, and so our commitment to prayer is more vital and strategic than ever.
Once before, in a ministry situation in which I was personally involved, I allowed my vigilance to wane after a period of blessing and profound answers to prayer. One of the roles of the intercessor is that of the “watchman”, keeping watch “on the city wall” in order to warn the inhabitants of approaching peril, and I missed it. I allowed weariness and busyness to erode my watchfulness, and we paid a high price for my sin and failure. The enemy loathes the Church and is absolutely relentless in his attempts to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10).
So, at the beginning of this new year, may I exhort each of us, with all that lies within me, to make a fresh commitment to intercession on behalf of the Anglican Communion, ANiC, and your local parish leadership and members.
Below is an excerpt from an article that I wrote for the Essentials Call to Prayer in June 2005. It deals specifically with interceding on behalf of our leadership, both nationally and locally. I commend to you again the verses quoted for the purpose of intercessory prayer.
May I suggest that the most critical issue for prayer is the spiritual health and growth of our clergy and lay leaders because everything else flows out of their relationship with their Master. There is no more important matter for us to pray about because the future of the Anglican church is, in part, dependent on our leadership’s discernment and sensitivity to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Here’s a prayer model, based on Paul’s great prayers recorded in his Ephesian letter, that you can use whether you are praying for your own rector and wardens, Archbishop Greg, Bishops Don and Malcolm, Archdeacons Charlie, Desiree and Trevor, or the worldwide primates. Each of them, like us, desperately needs what this prayer asks of our Father.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1: 17-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power . . . to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3: 16-19
Lord, make us vigilant watchmen, shaking off the bonds of complacency and fatigue. May we be faithful to consistently pray for our spiritual leaders in the exciting and challenging days ahead in 2009. Amen.
Garth V. Hunt
Praise God …
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That He allows us to participate with Him – through prayer and obedience – in His unfolding plan of redemption for our lives, our families, our church and our world. |
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That He longs for us to nurture an intimate relationship with Him. |
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For faithful Anglican bishops, clergy and laity who are taking a stand for the truth of God’s Word within the Anglican Church of Canada and in the Anglican Church in North America. |
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For courageous and godly Anglican leaders who persevere despite being ridiculed, slandered and sued because of their stand for Christ and His Word. |
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For the courage of orthodox Primates who are working together to care for faithful Anglicans in North America – and in other Provinces that have wandered from the Truth. |
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For the “new thing” God is working out in global Anglicanism. In the midst of chaos, He is building His Kingdom and refining His bride, the Church. |
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For God’s amazing blessing on the Anglican Network in Canada this past year – our first year as an ecclesial body. |
Please pray…
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That we would devote quiet time each day to being in the presence of our Lord, nurturing a growing love and intimacy. |
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That we would fall deeper in love with Jesus, growing more like our Saviour each day. May we see as Jesus saw, love as He loved, serve as He served, and die to ourselves as He died to Himself. |
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For our clergy and church leaders, including Bishop Don Harvey and Bishop Malcolm Harding, and their families. Pray for spiritual and physical protection and for a daily closer walk with God. |
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Pray for new ANiC congregations as they get organized and take care of all the many practical details. Pray also for emerging congregations still considering becoming ANiC church plants. |
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That God would revive us and our church and, ultimately, our nation. |
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For the emerging Province, the Anglican Church in North America. Pray especially for Archbishop-designate, Bob Duncan, for the Lead Bishops and for all those involved in bringing this new Province to fruition. |
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For God’s gentle, healing touch for the many who have been deeply hurt by the direction of their church leadership. May they be ready to forgive and not succumb to bitterness. |
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For congregations forced to appeal to the courts for protection, some facing the loss of their places of worship. May they demonstrate love and forgiveness towards those who persecute them. Pray for wisdom and clear-sightedness for the judges. |
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For our partners in the Anglican Church in North America who are uniting to build an orthodox, biblically-faithful Anglican Province – especially the Anglican Coalition in Canada and the Reformed Episcopal Church. |
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For Archbishop Gregory Venables who has graciously provided a temporary “home” for ANiC members who no longer have a home in the Anglican Church of Canada due to “serious theological disputes”. |
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For the orthodox Primates – including the GAFCon Primates – and bishops who are taking a stand for truth at great personal cost. Pray for spiritual and physical protection and for discernment, grace and strength as they also experience the stresses of leadership in a torn Communion. |
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For those who feel called to remain in the Anglican Church of Canada to pray and work for a renewed commitment to Jesus Christ and His inspired Word. |
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For Biblically-faithful Anglicans in Canada who feel isolated in liberal churches and dioceses as well as for those who feel they can no longer remain in the Anglican Church of Canada. May they find Christian fellowship and spiritual nourishment. |
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For the recovery of a lively orthodoxy in the Anglican Church of Canada. |
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For the leaders of Anglican Essentials Federation, Anglican Essentials Network and the Anglican Network in Canada as they work to provide leadership and support for orthodox Anglicans in Canada. |
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For the Covenant process. May the Lord clearly lead and may His will be done. |
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For the Archbishop of Canterbury. May he be fully yielded to God and seek the strength, guidance and discernment he needs to fulfill his responsibilities to the glory of God. |
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For the many suffering Christians around the world in conditions of persecution, war and poverty. Specifically,
India – for Christians who have suffered attack by Hindu extremists
Nigeria – for Christians who suffered during recent violent attacks by Muslim extremists
Congo – for an end to war and the establishment of a lasting peace in this troubled land
Sudan – for unpaid clergy who serve scattered congregations, traveling many miles on foot
Iraq – for the few remaining Christians who are persecuted
Zimbabwe – for those suffering from political turmoil and a growing cholera epidemic
Holy Land – for peace |
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For those in authority over us in government; for judges in our court system; for officers of the law; for those who serve our country in the military. Pray for wise decisions that honour the Lord and promote the welfare of the citizens. |
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