NIGHTWATCH FOR EUROPE week beginning Sunday 3rd June 2007
‘Could you not watch with me for one hour?’ (Mtt26: 40)
WELCOME TO THE NIGHT WATCH FOR EUROPE
This week we will be praying for greater understanding of the way to pray into and live out the politics of Jesus for our continent. We will then pray for Christian educators across Europe, for the European March for Jesus in Strasbourg, and for the future of Brussels.
If you know of anyone who would also like to receive this night watch prayer bulletin each week, they can subscribe by going to www.passion.org.uk/announcemail and submitting their details on the web form. Alternatively they can email us at admin@passion.org.uk
IF YOU ARE A REGULAR YOU CAN SKIP THE NEXT 2 PARAGRAPHS
If you are receiving this material unexpectedly it is because someone has suggested that you may be interested to join in. If you do not want to keep receiving it please inform us immediately and we will stop sending it to you. We want to let those of you who are newcomers know that we are very pleased to have your partnership in this watch. We are simply asking for a commitment of an hour a week some time between 9pm and 6am whatever time zone you are in.
We will send you a brief outline for prayer each week according to the prophetic direction coming from the contemporary prophetic movement in Europe. You will not always agree with everything in the watch material. Go with what you can and trust the Lord to help you with the rest. This Nightwatch began in November 2003 and We are looking to carry on for another year and five months, while realising that some can’t commit right now for as long as that, we are pleased for you to enlist for as long as you can. If you have to miss an occasional watch it’s OK as the rest of us will carry it. A six-month commitment is probably a good start.
THE CONTENT OF THE WATCH FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SUNDAY 3rd June 2007
1. CONSIDER CAREFULLY AND PRAY OVER THE FOLLOWING PERSPECTIVE ON THE POLITICAL SHIFT THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN EUROPE (15 minutes)
In the early fourth century Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. From then onwards both church and gospel were increasingly subverted and confused into forms that supported Rome and the subsequent nation states and colonial empires that followed down the centuries. This resulted in the unbiblical idea of national government and law being used to promote and maintain a type of Christianity that favoured the rich and powerful and neglected the poor and needy. This take over was not total, but it was very strong. At extreme points it often led to the use of violence against those who disagreed with this state form of Christianity (called ‘Christendom’ in the English language). Neither the Protestant reformation nor the Pentecostal, Charismatic and New Church movements succeeded in shaking off this subverted form of Christianity and have generally continued with forms of church that fail to put justice for the poor as the necessary sign of the new birth, the presence of the Holy Spirit and the primary purpose of the church. As a result the church has fallen into disrepute and the gospel has been misunderstood.
However, as a result of intercession and the movements of the Spirit especially over the last few generations, these ‘Christendom’ or ‘status quo’ forms of church are transitioning or coming to an end, with many people moving on and seeking for new ways of expressing the body of Christ. This is a good thing and needs to be supported in prayer and served through ministry gifts. The last thing we should do is to try and turn the clock back to the old and damaged ways of understanding the gospel and shaping the church of Jesus.
2. TAKE 15 MINUTES TO PRAY FOR OUR EUROPEAN EDUCATORS
This past Ascension weekend, Christian educators from 18 European nations plus Canada, Singapore and the United States gathered in Vevey, Switzerland for the annual EurECA conference. The organisation "European Educators' Christian Association" (http://www.eureca-online.org) exists to bring Christians involved in education together across Europe to foster relationship, prayer for one another, support and awareness of what God is doing in the domain of education to advance His Kingdom.
Christian educators in all contexts (public, private, home-schooling, etc.) are on the front lines of affirming and discipling the next generation. They are literally in places of incredible influence in the lives of young people and their impact can be incalculable. Education is a strategic battleground. The devil is not unaware of this.
Prayer points:
* Grace to persevere in joy for teachers and administrators in what are often very difficult circumstances
* For the regulatory contexts in European nations to allow for the spread of God's Kingdom via Christian educators rather than restrict it (e.g. allowing home-schooling in Germany, allowing Christian schools latitude in what/how they teach, maintaining a just flow of government funds to Christian schools, etc.)
* The understanding of parents and the Church of their respective responsibilities to raise their children in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord", including the domain of education.
* For Christian teachers to more fully understand their divine calling and role - that their position IS one where destiny and vision can be transmitted and where discipleship happens
* For national and trans-national organisations like EurECA which help to foster the connections necessary between Christian educators so that they can function more as the Body of Christ in this sphere of life in Europe.
3. TAKE 15 MINUTES TO PRAY FOR MARCH FOR JESUS IN STRASBOURG, PLANNED FOR THIS SUNDAY JUNE 3RD AND ITS AFTERMATH
Pray for this march to embody the joy and freedom of the kingdom of God and to make a great connection between heaven and earth in fulfilment of the Lord’s prayer ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ Pray for Strasbourg to continue as one of the homes of the European parliament so that government in Europe will be kept open to as many different nations and people groups as possible. Pray that the Christians there will be delivered from an attitude that sees government only as a means of supporting the church and a selfish gospel instead of supporting the gospel of the kingdom of God that brings justice for all, including our enemies and those different from us, unlike groups such as the freemasons who have tended to exercise power simply for the benefit of their own members.
Simultaneously occurring in Strasbourg is the largest ever gathering of freemason's globally. This is the first time in 20 years that different streams of mason's from Africa, Europe, and Latin America have gathered. 50 countries will be represented for the first time since 1877. The theme of this freemasonic gathering is ‘Building Europe, building the world.’
While the march for Jesus is happening there will be a ritual meeting for the Free Mason's who are attending the conference. It is a closed meeting. High level representatives from many international countries are coming. It seems that they will be considering whether or not to support keeping the European parliament in Strasbourg France or centralising it to Brussels Belgium.
Pray for open and just government in Europe and resist all selfish forms of government, including those that promote Christianity at the expense of the freedom of others.
4. TAKE 15 MINUTES TO PRAY INTO THE FOLLOWING WORD FOR BRUSSELS AND FOR THE COMING PRAYER EVENT THERE
I am helping lead a prayer time in Brussels for Brussels during the weekend of Friday 29th June to July 1st June alongside my friend and brother Nestor Kamuanga. This will build on the other important initiatives that have been taking place there over the past weeks.
Pray into the following word from Christine Tooze who was there last weekend:
“I have just returned from Brussels, I was one of the speakers in a conference and as soon as we started The Lord began to speak about Brussels and that it would no longer be a place where people would fly over, or to change their flights, to continue their journey to another place, but he would cause people to come to Brussels for his purpose. It was an interesting time and very specific, at one stage the leader of the conference repented of their attitude towards The Netherlands unexpectedly, and then spontaneously some-one from the Netherlands stood and repented of the damage the Netherlands had done towards Brussels by their words and condemnation etc. It was a very significant time, In a vision there was a cable of explosives laid round the borders of Belgium, and The Lord said he was preparing to bring an explosive awakening, and the final morning it was clear in those present, their had been a major shift in the people, one of the Belgium speakers was weeping and weeping trying to talk but, God was all over him and he ended up saying he only wanted God.”
THANKS AGAIN FOR TAKING PRAYER FOR OUR CONTINENT SERIOUSLY
