NIGHTWATCH FOR EUROPE week beginning Sunday 5th August 2007
‘Could you not watch with me for one hour?’ (Mtt26: 40)
WELCOME TO THE NIGHT WATCH FOR EUROPE
Thank you for continuing to pray over the Europe/Africa Reconciliation Process. This is one of the keys the Lord has given us for the resurrection of the continent. If any of you have missed out on the story of this please get hold of the booklet and DVD that will fill you in (available from admin@passion.org.uk). This week we will pray into some of the responses that watchers have sent us as a result of the last weeks’ of prayer into the ongoing reconciliation process between our two continents.
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 four 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 5th August 2007
1. CONTINUE TO RESIST THE DEVIL AWAY FROM OUR TWO CONTINENTS (10 Minutes)
Beginning with yourself, your family, home, church expression, town, region and nation, resist the devil away from the kingdom of God. If you are European by birth or ancestry, choose an African known to you and resist the devil away from her or him in the same way. If you are African by birth or ancestry do the same for a European. If you are from yet another ethic background take time to do both.
You may find it helpful to declare the following verses as you resist the devil:
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals; for you were slain, and purchased for God with your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.’" (Rev 5:9-10)
2. DECLARE THE WORD ‘OTHERS’! (10 Minutes)
There are a growing number of aids to prayer regularly available on the internet, which is something to thank God about. One such is the update from David Shibley of Global Advance (update@globaladvance.org). His recent email contains the following:
“One of my heroes of Church history is the godly founder of the Salvation Army, General William Booth. General Booth lived in a time of exciting inventions, including that of the telegraph. One day a wealthy philanthropist offered to telegraph one of Booth's messages all over the world. ‘But there is one catch,’ he said. ‘Your message can only be one word long.’ General Booth immediately accepted the offer, and here is his great masterpiece one-word sermon: ‘OTHERS.’
Let me ask you a question. Are you living your life for yourself, trying to find meaning down that dead-end street to nowhere called ‘Looking out for Number One’? Or, are you living your life for Christ and for others? God is doing some wonderful things in American churches today, but I think we'll all have to admit that, all things considered, the American church is probably losing ground. Part of the reason for that is that we are so self-absorbed. In contrast, Philippians 2:4 admonishes "Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interests of others." Likewise, I John 2:2 says: ‘Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.’ Let me encourage you today to remember that simple, one-word sermon and start living a more fulfilling life than you ever thought possible.”
3. PRAY OVER THE FOLLOWING RESPONSES TO THE THREE POINTS THAT OUR AFRICAN BROTHERS BROUGHT TO THE RECENT MEETING OF THE EARP (30 minutes)
We have prayed into these points for the last two weeks. Please pray into the responses we have received back from the Nightwatch.
(i) The European church has failed to be a prophetic voice on behalf of Africa in the cause of justice. There have been situations where African leaders and governments have made genuine attempts to withstand the dependency forced on them by global institutions, for example when organisations such as the International Monetary fund and the World Bank have made aid, development and investment funds subject to free trade and other conditions for the advantage and protection of Western economic and political dominance. An example given was the French destruction of the government of the Ivory Coast when it attempted to stand free of French domination in the recent past. Pray for the European church to have a fuller understanding of the gospel of the kingdom of God, to pay deeper attention to the situation in Africa (and other countries with which our nations and continent are involved), and for courage to be a prophetic voice.
Pray over the following response:
“This activity of sending this report to the heads of state made me think of a message that Luc Bussière gave before the French elections from the passage in 2 Kings 20 where Elisha (suggesting a model for the church) partners with King Jehoahaz (the national government) as a model of how we as the church need to come along side our governments (note that the Greek word for alongside ‘paraclete’ is also a word used for the Holy Spirit). Note too that this word does not mean ‘under’ nor ‘over’ but in honest partnership where we can ‘lay our hands on the king's hands to help him shoot arrows of victory’ (v16), in other words help the government aim correctly. And we can also speak a reproach when necessary; when the ‘follow through’ has not been what it should be (v19); for example when good intentions have not been carried out or have been twisted by special interests, etc. I also heard a message, by Martin Scott I believe, as to how this meeting between Elisha and the king was pivotal for the transmission of God's anointing to the 3rd generation...but that it didn't occur and that Elisha's anointing went into the grave (v20). So my prayer is that this process of sharing with the European heads-of-state would be in the context of partnership where the Church comes alongside the government to help it ‘aim’ correctly and ‘follow through fully’ and that healthy, correct, righteous relationships are established between government and church leaders that facilitate the move of the Spirit through ALL.“
(ii) The Western nations have frequently publicly disgraced African leaders who have failed in their leadership role. In this they have been hypocritical, allowing those like Richard Nixon after Watergate, Jacques Chirac after financial scandals remaining after his years as Mayor of Paris and other world leaders such as General Pinochet to maintain their homes and defend their reputations after their years in office. This has resulted in dishonour and ridicule coming on the African people whose identity and standing is represented by their leaders, and should be respected even when they fail or abuse their positions.
Pray over the following response:
“One thing that strikes me is the need for practical understanding of HOW to be that prophetic voice and the appropriate connections that facilitate that. It's one thing in the UK to have people like Bishop NT Wright in the House of Lords with a ‘ready-made platform’ to be that prophetic voice. It's another thing altogether in ‘officially secular’ France. It seems to me that across Europe we need not only the impetus to BE that prophetic voice; we need the Lord's revelation and strategy for what that will look like in our context. Paul, for example, could be the prophetic voice in speaking to government rulers as a high-profile prisoner in both the Middle East and Rome. I would guess that each political context would be different in each European country but as intercessors, we perhaps ought to have a prayer regularly on our lips for more of the Lord's revelation in this domain. It's not that the Lord is in any way incapable of inserting the Body of Christ in any particular sphere,
it's that with respect to strategy, ‘we have not because we ask not.’”
(iii) Those who have taken initiatives for repentance and partnership towards African nations in the past, have sometimes failed to follow through with long-term and two-way practical relationships and have failed in particular when it comes to working through the spiritual and cultural issues of a genuinely mutual leadership. Pray for this European /African Reconciliation Partnership to build humbly on the work of the past, learning from past mistakes and establish new forms and ways of relationship in the spirit.
Consider the following response:
“In the USA, for example there has been an issue with not interceding with respect for leaders who are disagreed with on some policy or another (Bill Clinton being the primary example). The same sentiment has been expressed in France where there is a willingness to intercede for ‘acceptable’ leaders but less acceptable leaders are scorned and complained about. This attitude to leaders is obviously a product of culture and is reflected in the way we regard leadership failures in business and, of course in foreign countries too...like in African countries. There is a leadership ‘disrespect’ that is rife in the culture and no different in the Body of Christ. We need to be trained by the Lord in interceding consistently for those in positions of authority...not just for them, but so that our hearts will also be changed. Intercessors in France are in training for this with their commitment to lift up President Sarkozy, regardless of his policies, for his entire term in office. This will
be harder than most think as it will reveal many heart attitudes!”
Finally on these points raised by our African brethren, pray over the following general response:
“I'm not sure that the point in para 2 (i) - 'The European church has failed to be a prophetic voice on behalf of Africa in the cause of justice' - can be allowed to stand. It wouldn't be true of a lot of the European Church, from the Catholics to the northern European Protestants. I suspect that this is indicative of a failure to interact with the historic denominations rather than of their actual silence about these matters. Does this really apply in the UK to Archbishop Rowan Williams, Archbishop Cormack Murphy O'Connor or the Free Church Council? They may not be listened to by the political establishment, but they certainly make the case for Africa forcefully and - if the Anglicans are anything to go by - get stuck in at all sorts of practical levels in Africa to try to make a difference on the ground. A fair proportion of the historic Church in Western Europe speaks quite radically and would understand itself to be arguing for Kingdom principles. As regards France, the French
political class may be cynical when it comes to Africa but I don't get the impression that the Catholic Church in France (at least) is lacking in concern about peace and justice issues.”
This response accords with a strong sense on the part of the EARP that we need to connect more with the traditional churches, and especially the Belgian Catholic Church with respect to its relationship with to King Leopold II’s track record in the Congo. Pray for the right relational connections to be made with Belgian Catholics.
4. PRAY FOR THE ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION OF PRAYER (10 MINUTES)
The next meeting of the European Union of Prayer will be held in Lisbon from 10th - 15th September 2007. Lisbon is the chosen venue as the six-monthly revolving presidency of the EU has now shifted from Germany to Portugal. Pray for unity, strategic prayer and guidance for the future for all who meet. Details from ortwin.schweizer@t-online.de
The EU of Prayer has partly developed out of the EURCP: European Union Review & Call to Prayer EURCP@aol.com Pray for Hugh and Norma Davies from the USA as they continue to put together this valuable resource for informed and strategic prayer for our continent.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO LET US KNOW WHAT YOU HEAR FROM THE LORD AS YOU PRAY.
