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Prayer Walk the Nation

(Prayer Walk the Nation for Dartford)

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7: 14)

Dear Friends,

In August last year I preached a message about the Fishes and the Loaves at a church near Dartford, Kent and I was the 4^th preacher in a row to preach on this (it was in the lectionary that month).  At the time, I wondered how this was significant, as I spoke about how God takes a small offering and multiplies it to feed thousands.

Two weeks ago, God gave me a picture of Christians and churches standing tall and strong like pylons across this nation, carrying the Gospel from place to place and the Holy Spirit passing through this country like electricity. A week ago on Saturday 23^rd January, while reading Ed Silvoso’s book ‘Transformation’, God planted the idea in my head to co-ordinate a day of prayer for Dartford.

While going through my email distribution lists, which are extensive because I never delete my emails from the recycle bin, I realised just how far this could go.  What about the churches just outside Dartford? Would God just stop at one town?

In recent months, there has been a growing feeling within our church and for me personally that there has been a change in the Spiritual atmosphere locally. The time has come for God’s people to go out into the community and pray for the transforming and restoring power of God to change the social, moral and economical nature of our communities.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives his disciples authority over the earth and commissions them to disciple cities and nations. John’s Gospel reminds us that God’s love for the WHOLE WORLD was the reason that He gave His son Jesus to us. These include governments, politicians, businesses, workplaces, schools, hospitals, public services, prisons, trouble hotspots and the environment. Although these were all redeemed on the cross, they do not all to live in the light of Christ’s Kingdom and need to be truly transformed by the powerful Grace of God. Consequently they are places of darkness in which nothing can thrive. But, by praying peace and blessing over specifically identified areas of our communities, real and measurable social change will take place such as reduction in crime rates, improvement in income and the eradication of poverty.

I believe that the climate is right for the Christians in Dartford and other towns and cities across our nation to pray for this change, collectively and entirely. There is a wave of transformation sweeping across places such as Thailand, the Philippines and Hawaii, to name but a few. City and National leaders are coming to faith. This movement stems from realising that:

This is what the LORD says:

In the time of my favour I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!' They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. (Isaiah 49: 8-11 NIV)

If the words of Isaiah are being fulfilled across the world then why should places like Dartford be left out from God’s blessings? There are many testimonies from different countries of how God has transformed whole cities and nations. We all want to see this in our own country. More information on this can be found at www.harvestevan.org.

With all this in mind, Temple Hill Baptist Church is co-ordinating a day of prayer for Dartford. The vision is that every church in Dartford (and beyond) will meet in their churches on Sunday 4^th July 2010 for worship. This would be followed by a shared meal (organised within each church) in whatever form suits that church setting. In the afternoon, members of the churches, including children, will prayer walk the area surrounding their church praying God’s peace, blessing and healing over every street, business, workplace, school, shop, home, public space and so on in the name of Jesus. In this way, the whole town would be covered and know that God loves and cares for them all. We would encourage churches to invite local politicians, business leaders and those in positions of influence in the community (i.e. from businesses, government and education) to their services in the morning.  It may also be appropriate for the churches to consider giving teaching on prayer in the weeks leading up to this event. Other events can also be organised before the actual Day of Prayer.

In this election year, ministry and evangelism within the community has never been more crucial. Praying for the Holy Spirit to transform places, as well as transforming those people who hold positions of influence in those places is key to ending spiritual, moral and economic poverty throughout Great Britain.  I would really recommend reading “Transformation” by Ed Silvoso, if you wish to find out more about this type of ministry.

I am sending you this email detailing the plans for Dartford, in the prayerful hope that you too will capture this vision.  If you do indeed share this vision, please come to the Launch Event on Easter Saturday 3^rd April at 5pm. Everyone from every church is welcome to attend to worship, pray and learn more about the event. A copy of this email and fliers for the launch event are available on the Temple Hill Baptist Church website www.thbc.info/events.htm (site not compatible with Firefox, Chrome of Safari)

If you are further afield, please consider co-ordinating an event for your town along similar lines on the same day – Sunday 4^th July 2010 and see if we can turn this local event into a day of prayer for the whole Nation with every Christian prayer walking peace and blessing upon the streets of this country so that the Holy Spirit may flow through this land like electricity. Please also forward this email to others so that the vision can be spread.

I know that there have been other similar events both locally and nationally, but there can never be too many opportunities to pray collectively.

If you would like more information, please email me at radhika.hillier@ntlworld.com. A downloadable logo will soon be available. This can be added to locally designed posters and flyers produced by individual churches or collectively and run off on a printer or photocopier or printed professionally if desired. Advertisements could also be placed in local papers. Please keep checking our website www.thbc.info for updates and a facility will soon be available for participating churches to be registered.

This week, through my work, I discovered that within walking distance of my home are children who go to school hungry or go to sleep hungry because the fuel bills couldn’t be paid and the gas was turned off.  So here I am offering up my loaves and fishes for God to use them to feed the multitudes and impact their lives. I invite you to do the same.

“The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24