Pray Every Day: More Updates on 365

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PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

From: Clyde Williamson, River Oaks Community Church in Oakville, ON

We shared this 365 Pray Every day vision with partners and friends across Canada and were delighted to see 64 of these responding and filling the 24 hours of Friday January 29, 2010. We used the same theme scriptures and opening prayer from Ephesians and adopted guidelines that would lead each to pray for the national and local leadership of their own church including PAOC as well as praying for the government of our nation. The overall theme was on missions. In the evening I was back to River Oaks Community Church for a world missions emphasis covering those PAOC missionaries closest to the hearts of our congregation.

In answer to four or five years of prayer, the above meeting was followed by the first ever Oakville Israel Prayer Watch. We had an excited group of six—a great start.

Both River Oaks and Operation Outreach would like to participate in the 365 Pray Every Day again next year - 2011. (River Oaks Community Church for Thursday January 27, 2011 and Operation Outreach for Friday January 28, 2011).

Please continue to this wonderful 365 Pray Every Day call to prayer. It is a giant answer to years of prayer. Thoughts and prayers, Clyde Williamson.

From: Marlo Jenkins, lead pastor, Eaglemont Christian Church in Beaumont, AB

We incorporated our 365 prayer commitment into our congregation's Prayer & Fast Days in early January. Our day was Monday, January 11, 2010. We divided the 24-hour period into 30-minute time slots and created a prayer guideline for those who wanted that. We had 64 adults/youth. Additionally, our children's ministry leaders encouraged the children to commit to pray in 15-minute segments. Seventeen of them did so, using a prayer guide tailored to them.

As a congregation, we appreciate the challenge to be a part of a 'chain' of prayer across our nation through a given year.

From: Margaret Pinkerton, prayer co-ordinator, Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church in Perth, ON

“54 people participated in our 24 hour prayer emphasis on November 25. The Holy Spirit is moving in a mighty way. When we as believers join forces to pray, to see total breakthrough in our circumstances, our country and the world, we will have revival in the land! God hears and answers prayer. Personally, He has allowed me to see through the eyes of faith.

“The recommended resources were helpful in providing direction … the theme Scriptures and target prayers for leadership were most helpful. The PAOC Missions Prayer Guide was also helpful. I would recommend the book Praying the Bible by Wesley Campbell. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of Pray Every Day!”

From: Luc Poirier, Centre Chrétien Évangélique in Beresford, NB

“Friday November 13 was our day of prayer in the 365 days emphasis. We scheduled a 24 hour day of prayer at our church from midnight to midnight, divide into blocs of 2 to 3 hours with someone leading and sharing devotion on a particular topic, leading a time of worship and prayer. We had 37 different persons that came and many prayed for several hours. It was an awesome day in the presence of the Lord. We prayed especially for our PAOC churches and ministries. Already the next Sunday, we heard many testimonies on how the Lord had already answered many prayers. Thanks for your inspiration to lead us into this prayer emphasis!”

From: Jeremiah Raible, AsiaSPAN

"As a region, we spent November 7 and 8 as our “prayer day” in accordance with the 365 prayer initiative. I’m pleased to report that over 30 of our workers in more than 10 cities “behind closed doors” gathered in teams to pray for our work, the world, and the work of the PAOC. One of our teams organized a “prayer walk” around the city, while another team did a “concert of prayer” in a hidden room (away from authorities). A member of our team had the rare opportunity to fly over top of the MENA region during our day of prayer – he took the entire flight to pray for God’s power to be manifest in these countries where less than 0.08% profess Christianity.

“One of the most powerful moments was to join with the IDOP (International day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church) with our work – as PAOC churches prayed for Christians around the world who face persecution, they also prayed for our workers who serve in those regions. “May God continue to use this prayer initiative to reveal His glory to the entire world! Thanks for the opportunity to participate!”

From: Carolle Fournier, pastor, Eglise Évangélique de la Pentecôte in Pokemouche NB

“Eight persons participated in a five hour prayer meeting on November 6. During that time, the Lord seemed to speak to our church about how important it is for the believer to consider his/her ways, and to be a light in our unsaved community, not only in words but by our daily walk with Christ. We found the pamphlet of 365 pray every day most helpful. May God bless you!”

From: Merril Radford, pastor, The Freedom Centre in Edmonton, AB

"We had our 24 hour prayer event on October 16 and 17. There was a turnout of about 25 people, for which we were thankful. The leadership felt encouraged by the passion of those who came to pray. As the new pastor, I am overseeing the rebuilding of some ministries in the church and prayer is one of those priority ministries. I plan to have another 24-hour prayer emphasis in the first quarter of 2010. Bless you and your service to our churches.”

From: Marshall Eizenga, lead pastor of Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly in Waterloo, ON

“We had 25 people participate in our time of prayer [on September 30]. We sensed God wanting us to pray that Christians would stand out as a result of their joy. The joy of the Lord would be a magnet to attract people [to Christ].”

From: Phyl Klewchuk, intercessory prayer leader at Bethel Pentecostal Family Worship Centre in St. Paul, AB

“We had 13 people prayer cover a 24/7 period and 165 people who prayed for three hours [in September 2009]. One of the strongest messages we received was that we cannot accomplish anything in man’s strength … but in the strength of the Lord, mountains can be moved! God also revealed a huge stronghold in our church. We will be praying for God’s leading in this area. We have also initiated a weekly prayer petition as a church body.”

From: Jim Somerville, pastor at Evangel Temple in Napanee, ON

“About 55 to 60 people took part in our time of prayer [on September 16, 2009]. For five years now, we have spent the entire month of September focused on prayer. We had a deep sense of the majesty of God and the possibilities of answered prayer. Prayer is always so important—we are sustained through it.

“We found the recommended resources helpful. Some other resources to consider are: When God’s People Pray (DVD Series) by Jim Cymbala, The Power of Prayer and Fasting by Marilyn Hickey, and books by Dr. Bill Bright and E. M. Bounds on prayer.”

From: Fred Carter, pastor at Beaubier Pentecostal Church in Beaubier, SK

“We had 21 people respond to our prayer focus [on August 5, 2009]. Everyone expressed the leading that an emphasis on prayer was truly needed. Many said that they hadn’t specifically prayed for those focuses listed in the resources before—they were very helpful and gave direction. We also prayed for God’s presence and for His plan and purpose for us as a congregation.

“Once again I’ve seen God’s people hungry for His presence and a revealed desire to see Him move. Most expressed great joy in prayer. All involved said they would be willing to participate again.”

From: Cathie Ulrich, lay member of Avonhurst Pentecostal Assembly in Regina, SK

“17 people responded to the call to prayer [on July 20]. We felt the Lord impress upon us that He is in control and there is no problem that He cannot handle. He also made us aware of the need to continually pray for leaders in church and government. God is our Father, and He wants us to trust Him. The website was great at helping us pray for specific leaders and missionaries. Overall, God made us aware of our lack of emphasis on prayer … we want another try at this challenge!”

From: George Feller, pastor at Northwest Pentecostal Assembly , Edmonton, AB

“We know of at least 57 persons who took part in our time of prayer [on May 14, 2009]. We sensed the Lord telling us we need to pray more. It is easy to do this when we discipline ourselves! We did find the recommended resources to be helpful. We also prepared a list of requests and areas for prayer.

“We have had a prayer watch for an hour on Tuesday nights for two years now. We have now decided to have a 24-hour day of prayer every month except July and August.”

From: Bob Loohuizen, senior pastor, Exeter Pentecostal Tabernacle in Exeter, ON

“16 people responded to the call to prayer [on April 25]. We felt the Lord impress upon us to establish a blood line in the Holy Spirit. The theme Scriptures and target prayer for leadership were helpful for our prayer activities. We want to see a change in the atmosphere in homes, workplaces and schools. We want to see more of an emphasis on the positive … not on the negative.”

From: David Carson, associate pastor, Central Christian Assembly in Burnaby, BC

“35 people have participated in our prayer emphasis, which we held on April 15, 2009. Every hour was covered for 24 hours. The PAOC and BC District websites were helpful in praying for leaders with personal information. The National House of Prayer website had good resources on how to pray for government leaders. With the use of a laptop, we were able to play the message on your home page from David Wells. There was fervent prayer for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of God for all our churches. For us it was a very positive experience and helped us to focus on both national and local needs.”

From: Dan Eagle, pastor, Connaught Heights Pentecostal Assembly, New Westminster, BC

“Our prayer day [Good Friday, April 10, 2009] was wonderful! We divided the day into 96 different 15-minute slots and asked people to sign up over a period of two weeks. Our slots filled up very quickly and many found that they prayed for an extra 15 to 20 minutes as there was so much to pray for. We provided people with reminder cards, along with the general prayer requests and the www.frontlineintercessors.ca website. Feedback has been positive, and God gave us a tremendous Easter weekend (Good Friday and Easter Sunday) with Easter Sunday being the best attendance we have had in the past 6 ½ years. Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of our Fellowship and of this call to nationwide call to prayer.”

From: Miles Martin, pastor, New Life Assembly, Surrey, BC

“40 people participated in our prayer emphasis. Praying for missions to restricted countries particularly moved and inspired the congregation. The PAOC Missions Prayer Guide was the most useful as it provided a very good overview of the mission strategy and a good amount of personal information. I also found the PAOC Missions leaflet on Reaching, Planting, Equipping and Caring helped the uninitiated to understand the scope of PAOC missions. Overall, our participation [in Pray Every Day] helped the church to focus on committed and strategic prayer.”

From: Samuel Krishna, pastor, Abhishek Pentecostal Assembly, Delta, BC

“30 persons responded to our call to prayer. The Lord impressed on us during our day of prayer that PAOC ministry will double. Most of our members got together at 7:00 p.m. [April 9, 2009] and prayed together. We fully support 365 Pray Every Day!”

Please e-mail your feedback to prayer@paoc.org.

We want to hear your ideas and about what God is doing through your prayer emphasis!

Learn more about Pray Every Day