DAWN Fridayfax 2002 #47

Worldwide

Prayer explosion

The following report of the astonishing development in prayer in recent years is an extract from a document produced during the International Prayer Leaders' Consultation held in Cape Town from 12th-17th November 2002:

"Prayer ministries began in a few nations in the 60s and 70s. In 1978, for example, Dennis Clark of Intercessors for Britain invited 30 intercessors from 11 nations to a week of prayer in Jerusalem. The International Fellowship of Intercessors grew out of that week, which later organised the historic International Prayer Assembly for World Evangelisation in Seoul, Korea in 1984. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, sees that Assembly as the beginning of the modern global prayer movements. It set a number of ambitious targets, all of which have been reached or even exceeded. The global prayer net mobilised millions of intercessors to petition God for particular challenging situations. The following are some of the most significant answered prayers:

The fall of the Berlin Wall

In 1983, Open Doors called for seven years of prayer for the fall of the Iron Curtain and Communism. Exactly seven years later, in December 1989, bulldozers started demolishing the wall.

Christians in Cambodia

In 1992, the Government allowed Christians more religious freedom. That year, there were only 200 known Christians in the nation; today, there are 400,000.

The miracle of South Africa

The first multi-party elections were held in previously racist South Africa in 1994. Around the world, people prayed that the expected bloodbath would not happen. Three 40-day fasts were held before the elections, which turned out to be the most peaceful democratic elections in Africa - an internationally recognised miracle.

Yugoslavia

Intercessors in Yugoslavia united across denominational lines for five weeks of prayer. At the end of the time of intercession in 1995, the war in neighbouring Bosnia was ended, and the peace accord signed in Dayton and Paris.

New breakthroughs in religious blocs

Beside completely new developments in the predominantly Islamic nations, churches in some Buddhist nations experienced explosive growth through the planting of large numbers of new churches, as in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and China. A team of intercessors travelled to the isolated Kingdom of Bhutan, and marched around one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Jericho style. Subsequent events were spectacular: the same night, the world famous 1,200-year-old Tiger's Lair convent burned to the ground; in the course of a few weeks, many Buddhists in a Tibetan village turned to Christ, including two Buddhist priests. The past 20 years have witnessed a spectacular change in the attitude of many Hindus to Christ; members of high-ranking castes and orthodox Brahmans are opening for Christ, and the 300 million Dalits have decided to switch religion - a truly phenomenal breakthrough and a huge challenge for the Church.

Prayer trends

The early 1990s saw new developments such as spiritual warfare. The 'Gideon's Army' congress gathered 300 prayer leaders in South Korea, and led to important reconciliation between Europeans and Africans. The concept of prayer for geographical areas (the 10-40 Window, the 40-70 Window and the Silk Road Project) again mobilised many in prayer.

In 1995, at the AD2000 Movement's GCOWE conference, a new movement of reconciliation and identificational repentance began. American representative Paul Cedar, for example, signed a document in which American Christians asked Christian leaders in other nations for forgiveness : "We confess our sins of omission, our arrogance, unnecessary national pride, unrighteous treatment of minority groups in our own nation, lack of sensitivity to other nations and cultures, inappropriate reliance in our own plans and technologies, unteachableness, extravagant use of God's resources for our own needs, and the fragmentation of the global Body of Christ. In true humility, we ask for forgiveness for the negative consequences of our actions. Will you forgive us?"

Seven weeks of prayer and reconciliation in Australia led to increased partnership between Aborigines and White Australians.

At the start of the 1990s, there were fewer than 100 known prayer chains around the world; today, there are more than 4,000 places in which people pray around the clock. At the start of the 1980s, there were no national prayer movements; today, two decades later, more than half of all nations have a national prayer movement in some form. The Internet provided the possibility to spread prayer information rapidly, which helped encourage the development of a global prayer network. Following the development of the African Intercessory Network, Houses of Prayer started in many African nations, beginning with Uganda and Nigeria. Since 1994, Tom Hess organises the biannual All Nation Convocation in Jerusalem, as forerunner of the day in which all nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the King. A number of 24-hour prayer movements started: Prayer Walls, Neighbourhood Prayer Groups, Lighthouses, International House of Prayer. The number of people fasting for long periods also increased markedly. At the start of the 90s, less than 1,000 people were known to have ever fasted for 40 days; there are now several hundred thousand. Prayer marches, prayer journeys, Jesus Marches and other forms taking prayer out of the church into the streets grew in acceptance. Prayer evangelisation, prayer for transformation, 24-7 Prayer which started in England in 1999 and spread to sixty nations, The Call, a movement which brings young people together for prayer and international prayer initiatives such as 30 Days of Prayer for the Islamic World, One Billion Hours of Prayer for the Buddhist World, Pastors Prayer Summits, Prayer Concerts and prayer outreaches in emergency zones and the growing link between prayer and church planting show that God is performing a global miracle, forming a truly exploding global prayer movement."
Source: IPLC, South Africa, 12th-17th November 2002

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