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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 February 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, February 6th, 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 Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer.
- John R. Mott 1865-1955
“When the enemy comes in like a flood ...“
The news hit us like a ton of bricks – a dear woman in our parish had been rushed to the hospital, and was diagnosed with a malignant tumour on the brain. As we gathered for our regular Tuesday evening prayer time, we were sobered by the news, and we began to seek the Lord on her behalf.
Before our prayer time had concluded, I was forcefully reminded of a comment that another woman in our church had made to me over a year before. Her observation was simply stated: “There is a satanic assault on the women of our parish”. Her words rang true in my spirit. An inordinate number of incidents of serious illness and accidents among our women could certainly be documented. Moments later, another faithful intercessor added, “I don’t believe that it is restricted merely to our parish, but the attack is occurring in other ANiC churches and beyond, especially against clergy spouses”.
I mentioned in last month’s mediation two things that I wish to reiterate here: that “the enemy loathes the Church and is absolutely relentless in his attempts to ‘steal, kill and destroy’” (John 10:10); and secondly, “one of the roles of the intercessor is that of the ‘watchman’, keeping watch in order to warn the inhabitants of approaching peril.”
Now please hear me. I want to assure you that we will not be putting undue emphasis on the devil and his wiles in these meditations. However, it is the watchmen’s duty to sound the alarm in order that we may all identify the source of such attacks and resist them accordingly. Identification is often half the battle. Once the scheme is exposed and resisted in Jesus’ Name, the enemy retreats.
If our discernment is correct, why is this occurring, and why now? It is my belief that through the actions that we have taken for the sake of the Gospel and the authority of Scripture, we have aroused his fury. He takes no heed of our “religious” services and activity, but when the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, and Christian believers are prepared to follow Christ, no matter what the cost, then he begins to take notice.
There is a constant assault on the true leadership of the Body of Christ. We see mighty men and women of God fall into grievous sin, and their ministries toppled, their credibility lost. But if these seductive assaults are unsuccessful, the strategy changes – if the devil can’t get the leadership to do “bad things”, then he seeks to distract leaders from doing “good things”. The distraction, again, may come in various forms, but one of the most common is an assault on the spouses and families of Godly leaders.
Let me site an example from my own experience. A number of years ago when I was in leadership with the prayer ministry, Intercessors for Canada, I was in touch with a small but dynamic church where the pastor and his wife were leading their people in a strong, and successful stand against the growing tide of abortion in their city. Many of the women were involved in counseling young pregnant girls, seeking to steer them towards alternatives to abortion. Prayer meetings were held, marches were organized, and numerous pre-born children were rescued from destruction.
Within a short period of time, the pastor and his leadership discerned an alarming growth rate in the number of miscarriages occurring within their congregation, especially among the leadership families. After a season of intensive prayer and fasting by the whole church, the miscarriages abated, and the enemy backed off for a season.
In the New King James version of the Bible, a short but relevant passage from Isaiah 59 is rendered in the following way:
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
Isaiah 59:19 NKJV
Yes, there are times when the enemy comes in like a flood. He is real, and his assaults are real. He would be delighted if we would simply right him off as medieval superstition. Jesus did not; nor did the apostles, and we must not either. Look at the two following verses: -
Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 4:6-8 ESV
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV
There is not a question in either James’ or Peter’s minds as to the reality of the “adversary” or the struggle that Christians will face. James gives us the two keys required to overcome: “Submit to God” by actively and intentionally bending the knee in submission to the Lord and His will; and then “Resist the devil” in the powerful Name of Jesus and expect him to flee.
That’s how we have been praying in recent days, submitting ourselves afresh under the Lordship of Jesus and aggressively resisting the discerned attack upon the spouses, widows and singles in our parish. Our sole motivation is to be obedient to what we believe is the direction of the Lord in this matter.
My desire in sharing all this is simply to insure that we are all alert and vigilant to the subtlety and diversity the enemy may use against us. If you feel as if there have been similar assaults within your own parish, consider letting me know by email. We’ve already been made aware of a parish where the rector is a woman, and in this case it is her husband who has been under attack.
As we stand together in prayer, giving the enemy no access, I believe that we will see remarkable deliverance and relief from the battle. Alleluia! Amen.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-4 ESV
Garth V. Hunt
Praise God …
That He has won the ultimate victory through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, our Lord.
That He has redeemed us from enslavement to the enemy, freeing us to choose to live in communion with God.
That He longs for us to live in close relationship and complete submission to Him.
That He loves us passionately and allows nothing that will not serve our ultimate good, even if the enemy means it for evil.
That He hears and responds to our cries and prayers, when we pray in submission to His will – and answers in His way and His time.
That we have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus.
That God has fully equipped us with the “whole armour of God” so we can battle the enemy of our souls.
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.
For courageous and godly Anglican leaders who persevere in their stand for Christ and His Word despite the high cost of becoming targets for attack.
For those who have been ordained recently and for other clergy who have joined ANiC.
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.
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.
For God’s amazing blessing on the Anglican Network in Canada this past year and for all He has planned for this coming year.
For the congregations of faithful Anglicans He is adding to our number.
Please pray…
That we would choose to faithfully obey Christ.
That we would devote more time to prayer, nurturing a growing intimacy with our Lord.
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.
For our clergy and church leaders, including Bishops Don Harvey, Malcolm Harding and Ron Ferris, and their families. Pray for spiritual and physical protection and for a daily closer walk with God.
For those suffering under the attack of the enemy, especially spouses of clergy and leaders. Pray for victory in Christ and physical healing, if that is God’s will.
For new ANiC congregations as they get organized and take care of all the many practical details – and for emerging congregations considering joining ANiC.
For those who are preparing for ordination.
That God would revive us and our church and, ultimately, our nation.
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.
For congregations which have lost their places of worship as well as for those forced to appeal to the courts and possibly facing the loss of their buildings. May they demonstrate love to those who persecute them. Pray for wisdom and clear-sightedness for the judges.
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.
For Archbishop Gregory Venables (and his wife, Sylvia) 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”.
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 lead in a torn Communion.
Pray for the Primates meeting in Egypt (Feb 1 - 5), especially for their consideration of the province-in-formation in North America (ACNA) and of the crisis in the Communion.
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.
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.
For the recovery of a lively orthodoxy in the Anglican Church of Canada.
For the leaders of Anglican Essentials Federation, Anglican Essentials Network and the ANiC as they provide leadership and support for orthodox Anglicans in Canada.
For the Covenant process. May the Lord clearly lead and may His will be done.
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.
For suffering Christians around the world in conditions of persecution, war and poverty.
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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