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JOEL-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-431 * 27 FEBRUARY 2003 * WWW.JOELNEWS.ORG

IN THIS EDITION:

JN431-1. TYPICALLY GOD: A well of prayer in the Egyptian desert
JN431-2. PRAYER FOCUS: 03-03-03 Worldwide Day of Prayer
JN431-3. PRAYER FOCUS: Presidential elections in Czech Republic
JN431-4. NEWS BRIEF: World Evangelical Alliance calls for prayer
JN431-5. NEWS BRIEF: Salvation Army in Australia prays 24-7
JN431-6. RESOURCE: Praying for the global political situation

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QUOTE: "Your own ambitions are your biggest distractions from following your life mission. The number one reason people don't find their mission is they are not willing to give up their own plans." (Rick Warren)
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JN431-1. TYPICALLY GOD: A well of prayer in the Egyptian desert

Bennie Mostert from the South African prayer movement 'Jericho Walls' reports that a 24 hour prayer watch is starting in the western Egyptian desert, in the area where the old desert fathers ignited the monastery movement in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The watch will start on Monday 3 March 2003 and will be followed by a prayer conference where 1500 people are expected to attend. Mostert asks prayer for this important event.

Referring to history Mostert says: "In the third and the fourth century, many Christians in Egypt moved into the desert for prayer and solitude. This was the beginning of monasticism (the era of the monastries). It gave birth to many godly men and women and the works of many of them still stand as beacons of light today. This period is often referred to as the period of the desert fathers.

In the western Egyptian desert for example, in an area called Wadi El Natrun (the Valley of Salt), four monastries were built by St. Makarios. Around each of these monastries, between 8,000 and 10,000 monks (all together between 30,000 and 40,000) were living in solitude, with prayer as their main activity. They were praying anything between 12 and 20 hours a day. More significantly, they were praying the Psalms of David, the prophetic books and portions of the New Testament.

The result was that they gained the authority in the heavenlies and revival fires went from Egypt to Ethiopia, Syria, Greece, Russia and other parts of Europe, and the gospel spread throughout the whole of North Africa. What they were doing was in essence 24 hour prayer, praying the Word and promises of God day and night. These monks in the monastries also moved to Ireland and started work amongst the Celts. The 24 hour prayer watch that started in 550 AD in Bangor, Ireland, has it roots in the Egytian Desert."

Source: Jericho Walls

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JN431-2. PRAYER FOCUS: 03-03-03 Worldwide Day of Prayer

The World Prayer Center (WPC) is calling all Christians worldwide to a Worldwide Day of Prayer on Monday, March 3, 2003.

The WPC reports to have received numerous impressions from Christians who felt led by the Lord to make March 3rd, 2003 (03-03-03) a day of intercession. The WPC also identifies this date with the Trinity and with God's call to action in Jeremiah 33:3: "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

March 3rd is also a day of special significance in New Age circles. The Global Consciousness Movement is planning a worldwide 'largest ever experiment into global consciousness' to take place on 03-03-03.

In addition, prayer leader Rick Ridings asks for serious prayer and fasting to start this weekend, because he believes March 3rd could be the beginning of a season of judgment upon many nations.

Let's pray that this date, rather than being a focal point of darkness, will be overwhelmed by the Light of God through the worldwide prayers of His people. Let's humble ourselves as people of God about our own pride, arrogance, and divisions, and pray that the leaders of our nations would not boast of and trust in their own military might, but walk in dependence upon the Lord to help them carry out His mandate. Let's pray for an outpouring of God's Spirit in the Middle East and for His purposes for this season to come through.

LINK: http://www.worldprayerteam.org/wpc/wpc?page=news.jsp
LINK: http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=1410

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JN431-3. PRAYER FOCUS: Presidential elections in Czech Republic

Christians in the Czech Republic request prayer for the Presidential elections on Friday 28 February. Vaclav Havel's term is over and up to now there wasn't a clear majority of votes for one of the other candidates, which caused the elections to stagnate. One of the candidates is Jan Sokol, a Catholic believer who has a reputation for being a humble peace maker. His Christian views caused him a lot of problems during the communist time. A few years ago he stated: "If we want people to believe in our Redeemer, we need to live like redeemed people."

At the moment there's an increasing openness for the gospel among politicians in the Czech Republic. Several months ago the new Czech translation of the Pentateuch was officially presented in the Senate, during a drama presentation of the Song of Songs. Now prayer is requested for a good president, a man that God can use for his purposes with the Czech Republic.

Source: Joel News

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JN431-4. NEWS BRIEF: World Evangelical Alliance calls for prayer

In light of the current threat of war in Iraq, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) calls the worldwide Church to prayer. Their leaders write: "In allegiance to Jesus Christ and with humility, we prayerfully seek the best for the people, nations, regions and world in which we live and work. We acknowledge that the task of just and wise government in today's world is complex, even where there is a will to do right. We believe that war or violence is almost always the worst solution for resolving conflict. Insofar as it is possible, all paths to peace should be explored and all possible means should be used for resolving any conflict." The WEA especially requests prayer for the world leaders, based on 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

Source: WEA

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JN431-5. NEWS BRIEF: Salvation Army in Australia prays 24-7

The Salvation Army in Australia (Eastern Territory) is running a full year of 24-7 prayer (28 June 2002 - 27 June 2003). Coordinator Paul Merchard reports: "We are so excited about this! We now have 50% of our churches involved and still more who are looking to sign up. God is doing some great stuff down under. People are getting saved, re-discovering their passion for Jesus and lives are being radically changed through the power of God. Personally I don't think one year will be enough. God is speaking so clearly and calling us so much closer to him that this may not have an ending date at the moment - it looks like we will keep going and make 24-7 prayer part of our DNA."

LINK: http://www.24-7sa.org.au

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JN431-6. RESOURCE: Praying for the global political situation

Many people feel that the issue of a possible war with Iraq is a complex one. Christians differ in their opinion about the question if a war should be waged. Therefore it is important that intercessors seek the Lord's guidance for how we should pray. Dutch researcher and prayer leader Helene Bos offers guidelines for prayer.

This article can be retrieved by sending an e-mail to lyris@xc.org with only this command in the body of your mail:

get joel-news-international bos-gps11

Source: Serving the Nations

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COLOPHON

Joel News International is a leading special interest bulletin on prayer, church growth and revival. We offer a keen selection of the most encouraging news reports, the most challenging developments and the best resources from over 100 reliable sources in six continents. Joel News International is a great help and time-saver for thousands of Christian leaders and intercessors in over 120 nations.

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