During one of the darkest hours of US history, General Robert E. Lee said, "Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and supreme call for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray.   Believing that prayer is the greatest contribution that our people can make in this critical hour, I humbly urge that we take time to pray -- to really pray.  Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight..."   

In the midst of the darkness of our day a light is shining in Australia.   We have leaders across our nation calling our nation to pray:  to honour God, offer thanksgiving, seek safety, ask for forgiveness, and rely on God for all that we need.  In many ways Christians are heeding the words which the LORD God spoke to Solomon:  "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)

The Australian Christian Lobby(ACL), in addition to advocating for Christian truth in Australia, is calling Christians everywhere to pray.  One of their prayer directives is "that Christians will be activated and vigilant at this time. Give thanks for the permanent, growing grassroots movement in Australia putting feet to their faith and being salt and light. Pray that much ungodliness would be stopped. Pray for righteous government. Pray that many hearts would be touched."  They produce regular prayer guides.   The current prayer guide (May-June 2020) can be uploaded below.

Another prayer movement is the Canberra Declaration.   In addition to promoting the protection of Christian values such as FREEDOM - FAMILY - FAITH - LIFE, the Canberra Declaration urges Australians to pray for our nation.  This prayer initiative began in the lead up to the previous national election, but continues to encourage Christians in Australia to fast weekly and pray continually.   As they note:  "Prayer is powerful. Billy Graham said, “To get nation’s back on their feet, they must first get down on their knees”."   One of their prayer points is for the gospel:  Father, we pray for an evangelism explosion across the nation of Australia. We pray for a renewal of gospel preaching and that you would send workers into the harvest. We declare that we are not ashamed of the gospel. Use us to fulfil the Great Commission." Their prayer guide can be uploaded below.

As CRCA churches we are committed to make prayer our number one task.  We call believers everywhere "to call upon God for such an outpouring of his Spirit that his people will be assured of his love through his Word, seek to please the Saviour in all things, manifest the godly life and be filled with prayerful and sacrificial compassion for the lost in all the world."   May we join Christians across Australia on our knees.   And may our gracious Lord hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land.   In these uncertain days in the midst of a global pandemic, for our nation to get back on its feet again, may we as followers of Jesus get on our knees!

Attachments:

ACL Prayer Guide

Canberra Declaration Prayer Points

On 15 March 2020 John Ortberg, pastor of Menlo Church, sat down with Dr. Condoleezza Rice, a member of his church.   Dr. Rice is an American political scientist, diplomat, civil servant, and former professor at Stanford University. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush.   After her conversation with John Ortberg she closed with this fitting prayer:

Dear heavenly Father, we come to you in trying times. We are anxious. Our minds race with the what ifs and fear of the unknown, and our hearts are heavy for those already lost and those who are in danger. Yet, we are so grateful for the privilege of bringing these concerns to you in prayer. We ask that you enter into the depths of our worries and bring comfort, relief, and resilience to all in our country and across the world.

Father, we pray especially for those who are most vulnerable to this virus. Please ease any feelings of isolation and loneliness they might have. We pray for our healthcare workers and first responders who are on the front lines sacrificing to serve the sick. We ask blessings on our men and women in uniform who are defending us far from home and family.

Bring to all of them encouragement and strength. We are grateful for those who night and day work to advance science that can protect us and treat us. We pray for our leaders at home and abroad. Help them to act wisely and humanely and to put aside their differences as they make crucial decisions to guide us through this crisis.

We pray that out of this time of trial we may find new ways to serve one another and to be closer to you. In Romans 5, the apostle Paul encouraged us to glory also in tribulation because from it comes patience and experience and hope which will not be disappointed because of God's love for us. Help us to use this time when we have been forced to slow the pace of our lives to reflect, to learn how to listen to each other, and to deepen our bonds of community even in this time of separation, and most especially, help us to take these quieter moments to hear your voice and your call with greater clarity.

O Lord, we know we are called to be faithful to you, for you are relentlessly faithful to us, so we ask for your comfort in our lives but also for the grace to behave toward one another as Jesus Christ calls us to do, to treat each other with kindness and respect, to be patient and calm, and to be generous in caring for and praying for those who are most in need. These things we ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

© Menlo Church, All Rights Reserved  Used by permission

No one wants family dinner time or family devotions to be a battle ground, so keeping the length of time and the content age appropriate is vital. Following are a few simple ideas to get you started with vibrant family dinner times and family devotions.

>  Talk about the fruit of the spirit, and then let each family member affirm another person about a fruit they see in that person’s life.

>  Buy or make a “you are special” plate. Honor family member’s birthdays, a good report card, a parent’s raise, special guest, or anything you want to celebrate. Thank God for the uniqueness of the person whose achievement you are celebrating.

>  Make up question cards to keep in a basket on the table. After the meal, each person can choose a card and answer the question. The questions can be about Biblical things, or things like, “What was the hardest part of your day”. Use the answers as a focus for that evening’s prayer.

>  Save Christmas cards that have been sent to you; choose one each evening and pray for the individual who sent it.

>  Read a missionary prayer letter each evening and pray for the missionary and their needs.

>  Invite missionaries, pastors, and other people who would be good role models to be a guest at your table. This can expose your children to great people.

>  Read a Bible story from a good book written for young children and talk about how the story relates to their life lets them know the Bible is relevant.

>  Discuss a Biblical principle, such as forgiveness or courage, with your children.

>  Pray with and for each family member each day.

Making family dinner time and family devotions a priority will be take effort and determination, but the rewards will truly be eternal.

Adapted from http://www.mannaexpressonline.com/strengthen-your-family-dinner-a-devotions/ by Connie McKenzie (accessed 1/12/2019)

Dear partners in the Gospel,
Greetings in the name of the Lord and King of the Church!
As a denomination we are deeply thankful for God’s grace to us as we have been engaged in planting churches for more than 60 years in Australia, in just about every state and territory. Currently there are 10 CRCA churches being planted in various corners of our great southland, most recently, The HUB, a church plant by South Barwon CRC in the Grovedale area of Geelong. We pray that God will enable us to continue multiplying our ministries into the future, so that together (also with other faithful Bible-believing churches) we would see Australia redeemed from its growing secularism to belonging to Christ.

Attachments:

Letter_to_Sessions_2014.pdf