NIGHTWATCH FOR EUROPE: week beginning Sunday 6th May 2007
‘Could you not watch with me for one hour?’ (Mtt26: 40)
WELCOME TO THE NIGHT WATCH FOR EUROPE
First revelation, then research! This is good advice for would-be spiritual mappers and intercessors, and the starting point of my own doctoral research into church, empire and the kingdom of God. We need revelation from God that shifts mindsets and spiritual powers and clears the way for his kingdom to come. This week we will pray for more revelation for our continent, for the Turkish people after the killing of 3 key Christians, for Scotland and France in the aftermath of the elections today and on Sunday.
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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 seven 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 6th May 2007
1. Take 15 minutes to pray for revelation to the Turkish people and their leaders into the real nature of the gospel and church as a result of the deaths of the three believers in Malatya last week
In the aftermath of the tragic killings of the three Christians in Malatya Turkey last week most of the politicians of all persuasions have condemned the horrific violence. They are acutely embarrassed, particularly since the victims included a German national. The authorities are very much aware of the effect this event may have on Turkey's image abroad, in terms of tourism, investment and European relations, particularly as regards the path to entry into the EU. The Religious Affairs ministry condemned the killings and said that what was done could not be done in the name of Islam because Islam is a peace-loving religion. There has probably been greater exposure of evangelical Christians than ever before as a result of this event. ‘The Protestant Church of Smyrna’ has issued a letter to the Global Church available from http://www.izmirprotestan.org
Pray that the testimony of the lives of these three men and the public statements of forgiveness made by their relatives will have a huge impact for the kingdom of God in Turkey.
2. Take 15 minutes to pray into the following spiritual picture that Cyril Theret of Lyons saw concerning Scotland
“I have a picture to share concerning Scotland: I saw a hand that was squeezing the neck of a bird, a bird whose claws were in a very aggressive position. I saw this bird with claws come forward and then pull back. The bird looked like a cock. I especially saw his claws. (Could it be representing nationalism or imperialism?)”
As we prayed into last week, this year is the four-hundredth anniversary of the Act of Union between Britain and Scotland (at the time Wales was already united with England). It is a very significant year, because Scotland has only had its new parliament for the last eight years. There is a real possibility that after the elections today, as I write, the Scottish nationalists will form the largest party. As we considered last week, their policy is for an independent Scotland, something that would obviously have huge implications for the UK. The Act of Union was in some ways unjust and partly an act of annexation and whatever happens in the future those injustices need to be dealt with. Pray for further revelation in the light of this picture. Is the cock representing the English exploitation at the time of the Act of Union, or the nationalist movement? Is it a political spirit that is somehow in both? Please send us your feedback for further prayer.
3. Take 15 minutes to pray again for France, the presidential elections this Sunday May 6th and the aftermath
Samuel Rhein writes: “France is at a cross roads and the situation is urgent. For all sorts of reasons many Christian ministries have developed in isolation and independence. This needs to be repented of and the church has to invest itself into the political, social and cultural life of France for the purposes of change.”
As we now know, Nicolas Sarkozy of the centre-right UMP was the frontrunner, with Socialist rival Segolene Royal in second place. The deciding factor will be how those who voted for the centre candidate and the extreme right will now vote. The voting turn out in the first round was amazingly high, and the French are clearly motivated by the responsibility to vote. It is the end of a season for Europe, and France is an important gate-keeper for the new season. Either Sarkozy or Royale needs to be a Cyrus in God’s hands at this time. Pray for revelation for the French electorate and the winning candidate.
4. Take 15 minutes to pray for greater revelation for church and government using the following scripture:
“I … do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” (Eph1:15-20)
Pray for a fresh revelation of the nature of Jesus, and so of God; pray for renewed hope for the kingdom of God coming more and more until Christ’s return, and so a new Godly politics despite the obstacles; pray for a radically new understand of the nature of the church, and so of its positioning in society; and finally an increasing revelation of the nature of God’s power and so of the way that he operates and his church needs to behave.
