A Call To Prayer
Last month the Board of General Superintendents (BGS) called the church to a week of prayer and fasting for a fresh anointing upon our churches and a renewed passion to make Christlike disciples in the nations. We have heard wonderful reports of emphases on prayer from all of our regions. We thought you would be encouraged to hear a few of those reports from our Nazarene family worldwide.
“The call to a week of prayer and fasting from the BGS was a timely reminder of our need for God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness, for his church and the world he loves and has called us to. It also coincided with a vision God placed on my heart at the end of 2020 to call our Eurasia Region to prayer early in the New Year. So, we organized a 24-hour prayer movement all across our Region, from the east to the west, called ‘From the Rising of the Sun,’ to start straight after the week that our BGS had initiated. My heart for this day was that as we humbled ourselves and cried out to God, his glory would rise over our region and all its nations and peoples, bringing renewal, restoration, and the seeds of revival. Over the 24 hours, literally thousands of Nazarenes from over 40 nations and dozens of languages prayed, fasted, and praised Jesus together! It felt like the Day of Pentecost. Our NYI hosted Zoom prayer rooms for the full 24 hours; and hundreds of churches, districts, and fields all came together in these rooms as well as in locally-led online gatherings. It was an inspirational and exhilarating time, and we have had numerous reports of hope rising, faith strengthened, healing, and salvation. Almost daily I am being asked, when can we do this again, and many churches and districts have since initiated regular prayer times because of the encouragement they received from intentionally praying together! For me, the synergy of the BGS global call and our regional call is testimony both to how the Spirit is speaking clearly to the Bride in these days and how when we do seek the Lord in humility, faith, and hunger he responds with a depth of blessing which cannot be found anywhere else but in this place of prayer.” Eurasia Region, Regional Director Jim Ritchie
“From January 4-24 2021, the Africa region held 21 Days of global prayer for the nations of Africa and it was a great success with instant and lasting impacts. More than 7,000 people, with an average daily participation of 4,000, attended virtually. It was an opportunity for many to learn how to strategically pray for the nations. People were present on many digital platforms, sharing prayer requests and praying together. We had testimonies of COVID patients who got well as we prayed. Nazarenes all over Africa and beyond prayed earnestly for our creative access countries. Every day, the flag of the country along with prayers written by Nazarenes from those countries were shared through our social media platforms. Another instant impact with lasting effects was a Zoom prayer session gathering the French-speaking Nazarenes in the Africa Region and those in the Diaspora, and the 24/7 non-stop prayer chain in Cape Verde. A great spirit of unity and renewal was felt all over the continent and we are thankful to God for such a blessing.” Africa Region, Regional Director Dany Gomis
“The South America region experienced amazing stories of divine healing and conversions. In Brazil, the Campinas church raised a great outcry in prayer for Rev. Ernesto Ferreira’s health. There were prayer vigils via Zoom around the clock during the call to prayer. Rev. Ernesto, who was once intubated (with COVID) and remained in intensive care for many weeks, was released from the hospital and is now recovering at home. The Labranza Church of the Nazarene in Chile prayed for a member’s uncle who had COVID and was profoundly ill in ICU. They prayed at 9:00 p.m. every night during the BGS’ prayer initiative. God not only brought physical healing to her uncle, but his entire family put their faith in Christ and gives him the glory. The Columbia Central South District prayed for the unsaved husband of a church member. He received the Lord as his Savior and the couple worshiped joyfully together last Sunday. The Church in Peru prayed for a new church in Moquegua, Peru. Pastor Britaldo Montenegro, a recent graduate of the Peru Nazarene Seminary, accepted the challenge to plant the church. Through evangelism, preaching, door-to-door visitation, and prayer a new church-type mission was born.” South America Region, Regional Director Christian Sarmiento
In USA/Canada the response to the call to prayer was overwhelming. Many churches shared the daily prayer emphasis and encouraged their congregations to participate. Pastors and district superintendents reported movements of prayer in their churches and across their districts. Responding to the call to prayer and fasting, a group of USA district superintendents gathered in one of their recent jurisdictional meetings and devoted a significant portion of that time together praying for their nation and the church. The spirit of unity was very real.
These represent but a few of the responses we have received. It is a blessing to hear how the Spirit is at work in Christ’s church. We would love to hear from you as well. Nazarene elder Al Truesdale writes, “Prayer is Christian when governed by ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.’” And so, we join our voices in unison with every nation and tribe, in the many languages spoken in our Nazarene family, “On earth as it is in heaven.”
Grace and peace to you,
Board of General Superintendents,
Filimão M. Chambo, Eugénio R. Duarte, David W. Graves, David A. Busic, Gustavo A. Crocker, Carla D. Sunberg
12 February 2021
Published: 02/15/2021
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