War Room

Out now

At the beginning of January the film ‘War Room’ became available in the UK.  It has been out in the US for some months and I had heard it was coming - I saw a short trailer on YouTube.

A few days ago I watched the DVD, and I would encourage you to watch it too.  I don’t want to spoil the storyline for you, but . . .

First priority

‘War room’ refers to the prayer room a lady has in her home.  A recurring question in the film is, ‘how do you fight your battles?’  Do we tackle them in prayer?  Or do we try and work them out ourselves somehow?  The film presents the challenge of making prayer the first priority - taking real, everyday situations to God in prayer and seeking His solution to them.  Here’s the website:  http://warroomthemovie.com/

Watch and share

Why not get a copy of the film, watch it yourself, and then think who you could show it to?  It lasts about 2 hours, so could be watched in a mid-week homegroup meeting.

But the main thing is not just watching it, but building the Biblical principles into our lives.

“But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.”  Matthew 6:6

If you’re like me, you need reminders to keep prayer in the right place, to have times of focussed prayer, as well as allowing prayer to be that constant theme running through life.

Helping us pray

Prayercast

Are you familiar with the Prayercast videos?  If not, check out the website http://prayercast.com/  They have a short prayer video for most countries of the world.  The videos have scenes of the country accompanied by someone praying for the country – often someone from the country itself.  These videos are an excellent tool in helping us pray for our world.

You reign

Under their ‘special videos’ category is an excellent video called, ‘You Reign’.  It’s a look back at what happened in 2015 with the refrain, “You reign, You rule, You are greater than any earthly king . . .  You are higher than any other thing . . .”  The website has this comment:

God reigns and is moving today in every corner of the globe!  Yet the evil in our world and its prominence in news reports can sometimes make us lose sight of this.  When we forget His sovereignty, we can easily slip into despair and hopelessness.  As we look back over 2015 we recognize and rejoice that He reigns “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title…” and that “all things are under His feet” (Ephesians 1:21,22).

Springboard to prayer

The videos are free to download.  Why not download ‘You Reign’  http://prayercast.com/you-reign.html  and show it to your family, show it at your homegroup, or mid-week prayer meeting, or in a Sunday service?  Then having watched it, spend time praying about situations relevant to you, from that perspective of ‘You reign’.

I’ve shown it a few times and it’s been appreciated.  Have a go . . .

The Sovereignty of God

Developing friendship

John, a friend of mine working overseas, wrote and told me about a school teacher he’s got to know.  A good friendship has developed and John has been able to talk about his faith.  Apparently the school teacher has known Christians for years and has heard them speak of their Christian experience, and even done Bible studies with them.  However, he’s never been able to move past the objections he’s always had.

The unexpected

Recently, the school teacher had to move to another city for further training.  As it turned out, his roommate was a committed Christian who shared his faith with him, gave him good Christian materials, and even took him to a church (it’s easier to go to a church in a city where you’re not known).

I know that John had been disappointed to see his friend move to another city - their conversations and times of Bible study had come to an end.  But John couldn’t have imagined what would unfold.  John doesn’t know whether his school teacher friend has become a Christian yet, but a move that seemed like a step backwards has been used by God for good.

Unseen fruit

John commented to me, that he prays for the people around him, for the crowds who don’t know the Gospel.  John’s observation was that God is at work.  He said, “Our prayers are worthwhile, though we may not see or hear about the fruit that comes from them.”

Churches together in prayer

24-7 Prayer Room

Praying for the community

Last weekend was ‘National Prayer Weekend’, an initiative to encourage local churches across the UK to pray for the communities around them.  The churches in the area where I live co-operated in a variety of ways.

Firstly, flyers were delivered to the houses in the area which simply asked if there was anything they would like prayer for.  Any requests sent in are now being prayed over.

24-7 prayer room

Secondly, a special prayer room has been set up for two weeks of 24-7 prayer focussed on the local community.  Folk from across the local churches have signed up for hour long slots in the prayer room.  Most of the slots have been filled (the 1:00 am – 5:00 am slots are usually the last to be filled!!)  This largely uninterrupted flow of prayer for the community will continue until Sunday 11 October.

On the streets

Thirdly, a small group were on the High Street on Saturday, asking those passing if there was anything they would like prayer for and, where appropriate, praying with them there and then on the street.

I was interested by how people responded to the question, “Is there anything you would like prayer for?”  Some people carried on walking with a simple, “I’m alright, thanks.”  Others commented, “I’m not religious.”  One person walked past briskly saying, “You don’t like our lot!” but was gone before anything further could be said, and left me wondering what was behind the remark.  Other people paused and then said, “Well actually, yes, there’s . . .” and then shared an obviously painful situation for which they were grateful to have someone pray.

It’s great to have had the National Prayer Weekend to encourage prayer.  Were you involved at all?

Praying as it happens

Once in a lifetime

In Islam there are five pillars.  One of these pillars is the pilgrimage, or Hajj, which should be performed at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime if they are physically and financially able to do so.

All the pilgrims wear two, very simple, white garments which they see as stripping away all distinctions of wealth, status, class and culture so that they stand together equal as they perform the various rites associated with the pilgrimage.

In 2014, over 2 million Muslims from all over the world gathered in Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. 

Grace not works

A friend of mine performed Hajj a few years ago and it was fascinating talking with him afterwards about his experience.  He explained that through performing Hajj he had been forgiven of all the sin in his life up to that point – that’s what he understood anyway.

However, we know that the way of forgiveness and reconciliation with God is not through our ‘works’.  “For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.”   Ephesians 2:8-9 (GNB)

Happening now

This year’s Hajj is now underway.  There is a webcam showing live what’s happening at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.  Why not take a few minutes to have a look and to pray for those taking part.

http://live.gph.gov.sa/