“But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child.” …Now I have put my words in your mouth. See today, I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:7, 10)

“When God gets ready to do a new thing with His people, He always sets them a-praying!” – J. Edwin Orr, scholar on the history of revivals

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thanks for your prayers of support for the Arab Europe prayer event which concluded strongly on Saturday. It was invigorating- with dynamic, Spirit-filled worship and faith-inspired praying together for all the nations of Europe where these Arab immigrants are now living. They came to understand that they are not refugees but sent by the Lord to pray and work for His restoration and revival of this continent that in the past has so much blessed the world through its strong spiritual legacy and now needs to recover that legacy with the help of these on-fire immigrant believers. Pray with us that they will be able to start prayer groups in their towns and unite with the nationals so that they can continue the process of united intercession they began in Wiesbaden.

Yesterday, Berthold Becker, founder of Intercessors for Germany, and I were in Hernnhut meeting with the church that has begun 24/7 prayer, renewing the practice of the Moravians and Count Zinzendorf who founded this place in the 18th century. As we worshipped, I noticed lovely young children, entering into worship with joy, and some were dancing freely in the presence of the Lord in front of us. The pastor then asked us to pray fatherly blessings over the whole congregation. Berthold and I felt moved to pray that from this fabled place a new and great revival would flow out to Germany and Europe.

Later, we stood amongst the 6000 graves of Zinzendorf and the godly saints who prayed in "the Lord's watch" (the meaning of Hernnhut in German) from 1727 for 100 years. Out of only 600 people in this small village, they sent 300 missionaries to the ends of the earth. I was overcome with weeping as they told me about the children of that day who went out in the fields in the night and cried out to the Lord as adults in neighboring homes tried to get them to shut up. However, they were irrepressible and kept on praying! Along with three Hernnhutter women, one of whom is with YWAM, we prayed for the children of Germany and for the raising up of a new generation like this former one.

These same Moravian children who cried out to God in the fields at night later went out as the first Protestant missionaries, many of them never coming back to their homeland but laying their lives down for the Lord among the unreached peoples. Others returned and are buried here as well. The women who were guiding us showed us their graves and those of the great and godly Zinzendorf and his family. This humble noble was the benefactor of the much-persecuted Moravians, followers of Jan Hus, the great reformer from Prague, a Pentecostal charismatic Bible teacher who was burned at the stake for his ministry efforts to bring reform and encourage the study of Scripture. As a child, Zinzendorf was deeply influenced by Francke and Spener who were leaders of the German Pietist revival, as well as by his own godly grandmother with whom he spent some years in this same area of Saxony.

I felt the Lord stirring me that this ground still has powerful, earned spiritual authority, so that like Jeremiah was called to do, they could pray, speaking out things that the Spirit puts in their mouths for the revival and transformation of nations and it will happen. This struck me, especially after Berthold shared with them that in 1989 he was here in Hernnhut leading a prayer gathering with hundreds of intercessors who proclaimed the end of the Berlin Wall from this part of East Germany. It came down that very time as they were praying this! A young woman who now has 5 lovely children and was one of those guiding us around, told us that she had been there as a nine-year old girl and witnessed what Berthold described. "History belongs to the intercessors, who believe the future into being!"

Today, we go to Berlin along with Sam Hofmann, a YWAM leader and colleague in many past initiatives to meet with prayer leaders there and also to pray for the government of Germany that has become so politically correct as to say that "Islam belongs to Germany" and to adopt sex education for little children, including introducing them to homosexuality. I am filled with indignation and revulsion. It is the same in the USA, the same wicked, perverted agenda that some in our own government are seeking to introduce to our nation while much of our “Christian majority” is occupied with our own comfort and entertainment. May the Lord shake us all out of our sleepy, complacent state to pray and prophesy to unjust, corrupted power like Jeremiah did!

Thanks for your continuing prayers as the Lord leads you for His revival, restoration and transformation to come upon Europe and other “developed” nations that have lapsed into paganism from the light they once knew.

John Robb

Chairman, International Prayer Council

Eight policemen and 14 gunmen were killed following a day-long gun battle in the Republic of Macedonia. Native Albanians from Kosovo are believed to be behind the violence, but on Wednesday the opposition claimed that the government orchestrated Saturday’s shootout. Many believe that ethnic tensions could destabilise the country. Macedonia now appears to be grappling with its deepest political crisis since gaining independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991. The tensions have been exacerbated by a number of factors. In 2001 the Albanian National Liberation Army demanded greater rights and autonomy for the Albanian minority. Since then, the country has been governed in a delicate power-sharing arrangement between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians, followed by a rising ethnic Macedonian nationalism. Last month EU envoys accused the government of leading the country towards disaster and urged those in power and the opposition to agree to a roadmap which would steer it away from ‘exploding.’ See also:

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will visit Ireland and Northern Ireland next week, and security is being stepped up. Concerns have been raised that Irish Islamic extremists may try to target the visit. In addition to the risk from dissident republicans, Gardai (Irish police) are monitoring a number of radicalised individuals who they fear may attempt to disrupt the trip. Among suspects under surveillance is Irishman Khalid Kelly, who converted to Islam in 2000 while imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and is thought to have recently worked as a nurse in Syria before returning to Ireland. Mr Kelly knew Michael Adebolajo, the man who brutally killed British soldier Lee Rigby. Speaking at a mosque in Cavan, Mr Kelly said that Gardai were monitoring him ahead of Prince Charles’s visit.

The Church in North Africa is growing, most notably in Algeria. Mustapha Krim, pastor and former president of the Protestant Church of Algeria, reports, ‘The Church started out very small. In the beginning we saw very little growth, but then the growth became like a rolling snowball, growing bigger and bigger. Now, there are zeros at the end of the growth numbers.’ He said growth followed the 1990’s persecution. Then Christian radio broadcasts and screening the Jesus film started. ‘The media is the most important tool for bringing people to Christ. I give thanks to the Lord because every day new people are saved. People in the north are less opposed to Christians than in the south. Even in our part of the country, people sometimes call me to insult me. That is part of being Christian. But even when we are mistreated or insulted we end up winning the confidence and respect of the people.’