Spain: No request for bailout, says minister
Spain's Economy Minister has dampened speculation that the country is about to seek a bailout of its bank sector. There have been reports in the last few days that Spain was seeking an immediate bailout from eurozone funds. Mr de Guindos was speaking in Brussels, where proposals aiming to avoid taxpayers having to fund future bailouts of banks have been published. An International Monetary Fund audit of Spain's banks is due next week. On Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled proposals designed to stop taxpayers' money being used to bail out failed banks. The aim is to ensure losses are borne by bank shareholders and creditors and minimise costs for taxpayers. However, new legislation is unlikely to come into force before 2014 at the earliest, too late to protect taxpayers from any further immediate bank failures.
Pray: for God’s help and to give us wisdom as the governments seek solutions to these monetory problems.
Spain: No request for bailout, says minister
Spain's Economy Minister has dampened speculation that the country is about to seek a bailout of its bank sector. There have been reports in the last few days that Spain was seeking an immediate bailout from eurozone funds. Mr de Guindos was speaking in Brussels, where proposals aiming to avoid taxpayers having to fund future bailouts of banks have been published. An International Monetary Fund audit of Spain's banks is due next week. On Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled proposals designed to stop taxpayers' money being used to bail out failed banks. The aim is to ensure losses are borne by bank shareholders and creditors and minimise costs for taxpayers. However, new legislation is unlikely to come into force before 2014 at the earliest, too late to protect taxpayers from any further immediate bank failures.
Pray: for God’s help and to give us wisdom as the governments seek solutions to these monetory problems.
The Lord is using the prayers of children to shape a new nation in Myanmar (Burma)!
“Here are some pictures taken on May 1, 2012. The multiple denominational children intercession conference was held in Yangon. We were more than 3600 participants (mostly children, their teachers, leaders and pastors) from more than 100 churches and more than 20 orphanages.
We were blessed to receive the visitation of the Holy Spirit while praying.
Thank you so much for your prayer support.
Blessings!
From a local pastor who with his wife helps lead the growing prayer movement
Warning over reckless young adults as STIs rise in England
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the up, official statistics show, with experts blaming reckless men and women in their early 20s and men who have sex with men. A separate report says that 70 per cent of single women regularly have unprotected sex, and 18 per cent are often too drunk to use contraception. The Health Protection Agency (HPA), which was behind the figures, warned ‘too many people are putting themselves at risk of STIs and serious health problems by having unsafe sex’. Commenting on the Health Protection Agency’s figures, Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance at the HPA, said they ‘are a matter of concern regarding young heterosexuals and men who have sex with men’. She continued: ‘We anticipated some increase in diagnoses due to improvements in testing in recent years, but not on the scale seen here. People should consider reducing the number of partners they have and reduce overlap in their sexual partnerships.’
Pray: for people especially young adults to take a more measured approach to their sexual behaviour. (1Co.7:2)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/warning-over-reckless-young-adults-as-stis-rise-in-england/
High Abortion Rate Continues
New figures released (29 May) by the Department of Health show that the high abortion rate in England and Wales continued in 2011 and even slightly increased. Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, greeted Government abortion statistics published today with sadness: ‘It is sad that the abortion rate in this nation, which everyone agrees is too high, has not been reduced in 2011, and that so many young women in particular are having abortions. ‘Since the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967, there have been well over 7 million abortions in England and Wales. Yet Parliament never intended abortion to be available on demand. How have we let this happen? ‘It is clear that the reality and dangers of abortion are not widely known. Abortion is seen as the solution to a problem; this must change. We must not resign ourselves to this high level of abortions but must tell women that there are other alternatives.
Pray: for better education to avoid unwanted pregnancies and improved care and support for women who face such a pregnancy. (Ps.139:13-16)
More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/abortion/new-figures-show-high-abortion-rate-continues-with-young-women-at-risk
Local officials sideline religion
Local bureaucrats who have no sense of Britain’s religious history are squeezing faith out of public life, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned. He says those who think religion is ‘automatically a problem in our public life’ often lack an understanding of Britain’s Judeo-Christian heritage. Speaking in the House of Lords, Dr Rowan Williams said a generation of administrators and local officials has grown up with ‘little or no sense’ of ‘how our political and legal history’ is shaped by its relationship with Judaism and Christianity. He said that ‘failure of understanding’ is one of the reasons for ‘the reluctance in recent years to develop effective partnership between statutory bodies and faith groups in the work of social regeneration’. He did however say that there were signs of improvement in the area. The Archbishop has previously accused the Government of treating religious faith as a ‘problem’ and an ‘eccentricity’ practiced by ‘oddities, foreigners and minorities’.
Pray: for the re-establishment of Biblical faith in public life. (2 Pe.1:21)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/rowan-williams-local-officials-sideline-religion/
1. It was such a blessing for the Chinese to have the biggest group of more than 600 participants among the internationals to attend this historical event of the WPA. And there are four generations walking together including many elderly, lots of adults, a group of young people and a number of children. This was made possible also because of the generous sponsorship contributed by John Robb’s 88-year-old dear father especially to the Chinese delegates.
2. Each and every one of those registered from the Mainland was able to go through the immigration without any hindrance in crossing different borders.
3. Participants from China were especially impressed by the unity that can be achieved by gathering 9,000 participants together from 86 nations around the world and the millions of those who also took part on May 17 in 378 cities of Indonesia and around the world through satellite TV and Internet, worshipping and praying passionately to the Lord in the same place, which was still not yet possible in mainland China. It was so blessed to see even different denominations, including the evangelicals, charismatics and the Catholics, standing together in unity for a bigger purpose for the kingdom of God.
4. The 24-7 Prayer Tower was one of the greatest highlights for so many of the participants from HK and China. The Chinese enjoyed so much in staying inside the Prayer Room in worshipping and praying with the Indonesian saints and with the nations in the strong presence of the Lord. One big group even had a very special encounter with the Lord while they prayed overnight there together.
5. A lady pastor from the North Eastern part of China was told to be suddenly “dead” one morning while their group was on the bus to the SICC due to a sudden heart attack. She was found to be breathless and pulseless for 2 hours and was said to be brought to heaven for some time and saw some visions there. She was then “resurrected” after being prayed for by the whole group of participants on that bus. She was discharged from the hospital after a few days of treatment and was able to attend the May 17th Stadium gathering together.
6. Many had physical illness, including respiratory problems and food poisoning in the very hot and humid weather, but God protected us and gave us speedy recovery even when we slept only a few hours a day!
7. Many were highly stirred up by the Holy Spirit, and a new strong hunger for His revival and transformation in their own locality into actions of mission and the marketplace through united prayers was created among the Chinese. Several hundred leaders had also publicly expressed their willingness in their commitment of building Walls of Prayer in their area. Many Chinese also mentioned about the encouragement of knowing that the 24-7 prayer movement is rapidly spreading all over the world, and they want to further commit themselves to multiply Walls of Prayer inside different provinces of China.
8. The young people were very blessed especially by being embraced and prayed for by their previous generations. They were very much encouraged as they came into a new understanding of the significance of inter-generational reconnection. This also motivates them to seriously pray for actions in taking the steps of how to love the children.
9. A rainbow appeared both on the first day in Sentul City before the opening of the WPA as well as on the day on their arrival of return to HK. It was amazing that the majority of the Chinese saw this on the first day, and the delegates from HK not only witnessed this when they returned but also found it to be wonderfully reported in the HK newspaper on May 20th! (http://news.sina.com.hk/news/3/1/1/2667829/1.html) It was such an obvious sign of God’s delight on us as well as this historical even of the WPA.
10. Breakthrough has begun in the NE Asia Region as more than a thousand delegates gathered on that day of regional prayer networking when representatives from Korea (N and S), China, Japan, Mongolia, HK, Taiwan, and Macao reconciled with each other with tears and repentance. Not only pastors and ministry leaders but also youth and market place leaders are beginning to network with each other for the future development of this region.
The World Prayer Assembly in Indonesia in May was the most significant international pray gathering I have ever been part of. It was truly tri-generational (Abrahams, Isaacs and Jacobs), multi-ethnic and global. Between 9,000 and 10,000 participants from 86 nations attended the Assembly.
Each morning and evening, we had plenary sessions, and each afternoon, there were two two-hour Track sessions on various aspects of the global prayer and ministry spheres, including politics, business, media, health, poverty, etc.
On 17th May, we joined with 100,000 Indonesians at their national stadium for five hours of prayer, praise and worship. This was satellited to 386 locations across Indonesia, involving a conservative estimate of 3.7 million people, and was broadcast through God TV around the world. Much of this was spectacular!
We were based at the Sentul City International Convention & Prayer Centre with an auditorium for 15,000 people. Next door, there is a 12-storey tower, the top storey of which is designated for prayer. Twenty-four-hour prayer took place whilst we were there and continues throughout the year. Every time I looked in there, hundreds were praying. This is one of the many hundreds throughout Indonesia.
Sentul City is a city in transformation, having been already declared corruption-free through the prayers of God’s children.
Everything was twice as large as anticipated and planned for. The Indonesians were overwhelmed logistically, yet managed to provide for everyone – an amazing accomplishment. Even so, over 2,000 applicants had to be refused!
There was tangible evidence of the Presence of God in the gatherings with accompanying signs. The impact is already being experienced around the world with testimonies coming in of the way God has blessed and is blessing the participants.
Five-hundred children formed the Children’s Prayer Track, and nearly 20,000 children participated in the stadium event. A 15-year-old girl told her story of how the prayers of the children over a three-year period had brought about the change of her neighbourhood with brothels closing and the area being cleaned up. Children led the praying one evening, and at our final session, they came with a rose for the adults and to pray with them as well.
Over 2,000 were under the age of 35. Each lunchtime was spent with senior leaders (including me) – they questioned us about our lives and influences. And one evening they also led the whole Assembly in praying for issues on their hearts. They pleaded with us older ones to “run with us” – don’t pass the baton and then abandon us”. They asked me publically to lead in repentance prayer and then be involved with other leaders in washing the feet of some of the young people. You can imagine how moving this was.
Large delegations came from S. Korea and from China. The Koreans, who hosted the first International Prayer Assembly in Seoul in 1984, jointly hosted this one with the Indonesians. There was a wonderful blend of honour, respect and appreciation. For most of the Chinese, this was the first international gathering they had ever been at. Those from China that I prayed with (maybe 100 in all) were deeply touched by God’s Spirit. The same was happening through the other leaders, too.
A wave of prayer is undoubtedly building. China is establishing 6,000 houses of prayer – they call them “Walls of Prayer”. One ministry alone has seen a 726% increase in the numbers of people coming to Christ in the past 7 years compared to the previous 7 years – ever since they started to emphasise prayer with their “prayer walls” (I am talking about 51 million people). Together with towers of prayer (in Indonesia) and 24/7 houses of prayer around the world, there is an exponential acceleration of the kingdom of God taking place in those nations pursuing this vision.
There is an amazing spiritual harvest being reaped in many parts of the world. Through the Internet alone, over 75,000 people per day are praying to receive Christ. Last year, 150 million people read the Gospel on the web, and over 19 million prayed to receive Christ. That is only one part of the story – the real picture is bigger still!
One well-known leader described this as the most pivotal week of his entire ministry. There were some fantastic worship times, led by international musicians, and plenty of praying in different ways. We had an excellent media team producing videos to stimulate prayer and recording everything that took place. We praise God for the many blessings flowing from this Assembly all over the world. Most of the plenary sessions and the whole of the stadium prayer rally are already available and can be viewed on the website www.wpa2012.org.
It was an awesome time, the fruit of which will be echoing around the world in the coming years.
The World Prayer Assembly was an awesome time in the presence of the Lord. There was such a canopy of His peace and grace over everything due to the strong prayers of the Indonesian intercessors and others around the world who were covering this once-in-a-generation event. Even our glitches in organizing it were covered by His glory, and things just went so well in spite of twice as many coming as were originally expected – 9,000 came, and 2,000 were on the waiting list to get in.
God by His Spirit was working so many agendas in the lives of those who took part that it is impossible to recount all that happened or was reported. So many said their lives and ministries would never be the same. We have received encouraging reports from a number of nations as participants have begun to implement strategies of prayer mobilization and other actions that they were inspired to undertake during the WPA. Praise God for all He did and continues to do through this gathering!
Thanks so much for your strong prayers for the WPA. We believe that the "New Wave" of His Spirit is flowing out to the nations through the prayers of the participants from 86 nations and the millions of those who also took part on May 17 in 378 cities of Indonesia and around the world through satellite TV and Internet. You can now see all the plenary sessions and the sensational May 17 event with 100,000 in Jakarta’s national stadium on the WPA website www.wpa2012.org under "Media".
Here are some reflections from two of our International Coordination Team who helped provide leadership for different aspects of the WPA. In the articles that follow, you will get a feel for some of the many high points that colleagues of mine have described.
Israel: Christian church evicted
Pastor Steven Khoury from Holy Land Missions in Jerusalem received a 30-day notice of eviction from the owner of the building where his church currently worships. ‘The pressure from the Muslim community is so strong that the landlord is given no other choice but to do this,’ Khoury said. ‘With 30 days to move a church community, another Band-Aid solution of renting accommodation is not a viable solution. Our church community needs permanent roots.’ The congregation has entered a time of fasting and prayer while Khoury increases efforts to find something permanent. ‘We are fortunate to have rented from a kind moderate Muslim family - but it has come with a price.’ The church has been vandalized and believers have been physically attacked. Nevertheless the church grows so much that worshippers are standing in the hallways to hear the gospel.
Pray: that believers will be protected, find a new larger location for their church and continue to grow under the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit.(1Ch.17:9)
More: http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=NTA3