Australian Prayer Network

PRESS RELEASE

2003 – A YEAR OF PRAYER FOR CHURCH AND NATION

The Australian Prayer Network has inviting all 3,350 Churches and Prayer Groups represented in its Network to participate in a year of prayer and reflection in 2003. It also extends an invitation to other Networks, Churches and Ministries to join them in encouraging the participation of their people in this strategic event.

Our Nation, and the Church in Australia, have never been in greater need of prayer than now. Terrorists stalk our people and threaten our borders, drought eats away at the livelihood of many and weakens the economy of our nation. Hopelessness haunts our young and many of all ages are in deep depression feeling that life has nothing more to offer them. The Church struggles to be relevant in an increasingly secular and humanist society.

For many Australians, Christians included, life goes on as before but deep down we know that things will only continue to get worse unless God intervenes and changes the circumstances of our world.

As a nation searches for truth, turning to all manner of false Gods who give nothing but false hope, the seeming last place our people want to turn to is the Christian Church. The challenge that faces us as the Church in Australia today is to become relevant and involved again in our society. We can only do that however if we are relying totally on Him and not leaning to our own understanding. If we are to meet the challenges of the current and future generations we must turn back to God passionately and decisively and cry out for His forgiveness and mercy.

The Australian Prayer Network believes God has given a strategy to call those who share their concern to a season of prayer, not just a day, a week or a month, but a whole YEAR.

The strategy is to spend four seasons of 40 days of prayer spread evenly throughout the year. The first season will begin on Australia Day 26th January, 2003 and finish on 6th March. The second season will begin on another National Day, Anzac Day 25th April and the final two seasons later in the year. Each season will have a theme, the first being “Repentance” which will be a season of reflection and repentance. Each week of each season will have a sub-theme and each day we will reflect together on aspects of God’s word measuring ourselves against His word and repenting where we have fallen short either individually or corporately.

Each week during the four seasons of prayer prayer points and bible readings will be sent by email to all who register to participate, be they an individual, a Church or a prayer group affiliated with another organisation or network. Individuals or Churches may register to receive this material by emailing name and email address to Phone enquiries should be directed to 02 9876.2419

It is hoped that many thousands of Australian Christians will take this opportunity to join together in seeking the face of God. Agreement of brothers and sisters in God is a powerful spiritual weapon. Let us humble ourselves and allow God to put His heart into each of us so that corporately the way is opened up for God to answer our cries, deliver us from our enemies, break both the spiritual and natural droughts affecting our great nation, and heal us and our land as He has promised.

Following are the examples of the kind of material the Australian Prayer Network will be issuing to folk who register to join in the year of prayer.

Season 1: REPENTANCE: Week one. God is calling the church and the Nation back to Himself. It is critical that both respond to His call now Weeks two to six deal with the sins that have caused the defilement of the land and which must be addressed if the land is to be healed, i.e. the drought broken, the terrorist threat rebutted, and the nation restored.

Main Topics: Week 1: 26th Jan-1st Feb The Call Of God to Return to Him. Week 2: 2nd Feb – 8th Feb The Foundational sins of the Church that flowed into the Nation Week 3: 9th Feb – 15th Feb The Consequence of Sin in the Church and the Nation. Week 4: 16th Feb – 22nd Feb Defilement of the land caused by Broken Covenant and Idolatry Week 5: 23rd Feb – 1st March Defilement of the land caused by the Shedding of Innocent blood and Sexual Immorality Week 6: 2nd March-6th March Crying out to the Lord for a Spirit of Repentance.

WEEK ONE: THE CALL Day One: 26th January Preparing for the Call. Numbers 10:1-9, Joel 2:1-10, Joel 2:15-19. Day Two 27th January Hearing the Call for the Bride (Church) Songs of Songs 4:8-9, Hosea 2:14-23. Day Three 28th January Hearing the Call for the Nation. Isaiah 45:20-25, Isaiah 41:8-14. Day Four 29th January Meditating on These Things Psalm 39:1-3a, Joel 2:12-14, Job 22:21-30. Day Five 30th January Understanding the Call to the Church – Joel 1:11-20, Hebrews 10:26-31. Day Six 31st January Understanding the Call to the Nation Jeremiah 2:31-32, Isaiah 59:1-4,7-8. Day Seven 1st February Responding to the Call – Hosea 6:1-3, Ezekiel 11:17-21, Philippians 3:7-11.

Brian Pickering National Coordinator Australian Prayer Network E-mail: Phone: 02 9876.2419

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