Since 1987 more than 1,300 people in Pakistan have been charged with blasphemy, with the number of accusations in a single year rising to over a hundred in 2014. A disproportionate number of those accused are Christians. A lawyer, a judge and two leading politicians have been assassinated for taking a stand against the blasphemy laws. Aasia Bibi's appeal against her death sentence for apostasy has been adjourned again, following the decision of a leading judge to withdraw from the trial on the grounds of conflict of interest. The blasphemy laws are being used to fuel the flames of intolerance and must be repealed but it will take immense courage to withstand intimidation and release Aasia Bibi - a fact underlined by the large number of riot police at the court. 150 Muslim clerics have issued a fatwa warning the government not to release Bibi, and threatening to kill anyone who helped any person accused of blasphemy.

Low numbers of young people voting in the recent general election (7 October) reflect their lack of interest in the country’s politics. Unusually for the Arab world, Moroccan elections have the merit of not being entirely predictable because the 'dirty tricks' department of the Ministry of Interior has reined in its activities in recent years. King Mohammed VI is understood to want a genuine political arena to develop, in order to balance, if not counterbalance, the ultimate political authority which he still enjoys. The 2011 general election victory of the Islamist-led government of the Party for Justice and Development (PJD) was seen as an experiment in affording greater executive leeway to a popularly elected party. 43% of eligible voters participated in last week’s election but many young voters did not participate, seeing little merit in the elite club of political interest groups and lobbies constituting most of the thirty political parties that contested the ballot.

For all those that were at Trumpet Call, we spoke about the 'WOW' of God (wonder of wonders).  We then got sent this article via the Elijah List.  Interesting reading and confirmation!

"The 'Wow' of His Glory! Being Captured by the Awe of God"
by John Belt, Cincinnati, OH

From the Desk of Steve Shultz:
Do we ever need to see the "wow" impact of God...and over our nation. We've received some amazing words and have heard great testimonies about the glory of God...His revival glory that is happening.

My friend John Belt shares a "wow" word about the awe of God:
We should have days like this where God gives us an experience that wakes us up to His reality. This is not just His presence that I'm talking about. His presence is first and is the person of who He is, but it's His power that also has a way of shaking things up. When His power is manifested it causes us to "stand in awe" with an experiential understanding and a "wow!" of His glory.
Many are praying and believing that we are going to see and stand in awe of what God is going to do in our nation! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here. 

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com
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"The 'Wow' of His Glory! Being Captured by the Awe of God"
by John Belt, Cincinnati, OH

God wants us to be captured with awe for who He is and what He is doing. This is why it is so important that we notice God is working in our midst. When Jesus came on the scene things started happening that startled the people. They were captured by surprise by the wonders the Lord was performing among them. When miracles happen now, our spiritual senses become heightened, almost like a slap in the face, when God does something extraordinary.

We should be in passionate pursuit to see the "awe of God," and even the fear of the Lord, restored among us.

Luke 5:22-25, "But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, 'Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, rise up and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sin— He said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.' Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, 'We have seen strange things today.'"

Experience a "Wow" of His Glory
We should have days like this where God gives us an experience that wakes us up to His reality. This is not just His presence that I'm talking about. His presence is first and is the person of who He is, but it's His power that also has a way of shaking things up. When His power is manifested it causes us to "stand in awe" with an experiential understanding and a "wow!" of His glory.

Another benefit of God's power being at work among us, is that those who don't know God are struck with a healthy fear of God, conviction of sin and the need to come to a place of salvation. When people see that God is alive it changes everything. No longer can they argue with their minds, but they now have to deal with the truth of the living God!

The Necessity of Operating in Spirit and in Power
I really believe the Church, as a whole, has been led to believe that having demonstrations of the Spirit and power of God isn't necessary. But this was essential to the Gospel that Paul preached.

1 Thessalonians 1:5, "For our Gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake."

The message of Good News, "the Gospel," is followed by the reality of God's goodness being demonstrated in people's lives. For then, the reality of God's glory is touching people physically; bringing healing, restoration and health in dramatic ways that cause people to "stand in awe." The awe of God is essential to our lives. Ask yourself if you have ever been struck with awe because of something so amazing that God has done which caused you to step back.

If so, may it happen more often! If not, pursue God in such a way that it will happen. I'm sure blind Bartimaeus, in retrospect, was glad that he did not have sense enough to keep quiet when Jesus was walking by on that day and everyone there benefited from his miracle as well (Mark 10:46-52). 

John and Brandi Belt
Overflow Global Ministries

The Trumpet Call National Day of prayer at the International Convention Centre on 15 October was a remarkable day. We believe it was a time of release and re-commissioning. Jesus is calling His whole church to pray and evangelise. We are moving into a time of harvest and revival and there is an urgency to our preparations.

On the day Ian Cole, our founder, shared the passion God has for His Gospel – this remarkable, life-changing work of redemption, mercy, restoration, reconciliation, unity and freedom. Our six partners, whose ministry links with these themes, shared their vision and we prayed for their work and for the Gospel themes. As we prayed, a trumpet was sounded and the 1,500 audience joined with our Gospel declarations.*

This was a day of prayer and praise with many moments where God’s presence was tangible and we received clear messages about God’s heart and purpose for these times.

Here are some of the key Trumpet Call themes. We ask you to consider them carefully and ask – is God calling me to be praying for these things in my family, friendship groups, neighbourhood or workplace?

We believe that out of Trumpet Call, God is saying it is His appointed time for:

• The power of the Gospel to be released in this land. The Gospel is the good news of unquenchable love of Jesus. It speaks of the extraordinary change Jesus can bring into anyone’s life. He brings mercy, He brings freedom and release. This is not just about knowing God’s love; it is also about knowing His deliverance and change.
• The Gospel to be released where you live, worship and work. The Gospel is also the good news of unity. Not a distant toleration of each other but the unity of the deep embrace, with respect across the generations, between all the ministries in a church, across ethnic groups and between churches and Christian organisations. Unity releases blessing and gets us ready for harvest time.
• The Gospel brings redemption and restoration. God hears the prayers from generations past and is restoring the role of the Church to bring mercy, freedom, love and deliverance to the places where we live and to our nation.
• It is the Gospel of reconciliation and it is time for the prodigals. Many carry the deep hurt of children and other family members who have abandoned their faith or who have never had a true relationship with Jesus. We are glad to say they are high on God’s priority list. At Trumpet Call, hundreds came in tears to bring their prodigals to the cross. We believe these will be the first fruits and God plans to bring hundreds of thousands of prodigals home. They are like Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones and God is saying “Wake up, rise up, I am restoring my army and you the prodigals are key parts of it so I can bless this nation.”
  It is time for the emerging generation. Some of them will be the prodigals called back home. This generation is called to be a revival generation; they will carry and sustain this move of God. It is time to pray for a tsunami of divine passion to hit this generation that they might be completely sold out for Jesus. One of the key calls on the older generation is to pray with generosity for this generation to rise up into their calling and authority.
• It is time for children to enter into the fullness of who God called them to be – children who praise God, prayer regularly, are excited about Jesus moving in their lives and are entering into their gifting and calling.
• There is a unique call on the British Isles to be people who take the Gospel to other nations, and to pray with renewed vigour for the persecuted church.
• It is time for a new Trumpet Call at local level calling the church to pray. Across the nation we get stories of boring poorly attended prayer meetings. We go through the motions of prayer. We need to pray intensely for a prayer revival. Let us stop meeting with a shopping list but turn our prayer times into holy moments in the presence of God. Let God engage our hearts as well as our minds. We long to see small groups turned into engine rooms of prayer and transformation. Places of great intimacy with Christ, great encouragement and prayer rooms where we expect God to move powerfully.
• It is time for a new Air War and Ground War. Some are called to the Air War – to pray for cities and nations and in particular to be watching the things of the kingdom. To be more aware of where God is moving, and what He wants to encourage as well as standing on guard to protect and pray for breakthroughs. All of us are called to the Ground War – regular, sustained and inspired prayer for our family, friends, workplace and neighbourhoods to be changed by God and for many to find Jesus and have their lives changed.
• It is the time for Wow! There is nothing boring about God. He is the God of the extraordinary, He is the God of abundance, and He is the God of release and restoration. It is time to pray for the Wow of God. That our churches will be places hungry to meet with God, where miracles glorify His name. Our God is the Lord of the marketplace, the schoolroom, the University campus, the shop floor, the squash court, the prison cell, the office and the coffee houses. As the chorus says – “Spirit break out”. We pray for an extraordinary move of God across every part of our nation from north to south, from old to young, from rich to poor, from healthy to sick, that the extraordinary of God will shake, change and release our nation.

A new season

World Prayer Centre believes that we are in a dramatic new season. Our aim is to watch what is happening and encourage and enable prayer. We have many resources and materials already prepared that you can use personally and with small groups to raise your prayer level. We will send out new resources to give prayer focus and direction. We will work with partners to plan and develop prayer events and fresh teaching. We will provide testimonies and stories of God’s WOW at work.

Work with us 

We would love to hear your feedback, your testimonies, and your requests for support. We want to encourage you to prepare for harvest, be champions of prayer, and be builders of unity. May God’s Kingdom come.

*Feel free to use the Gospel declarations in your small group or church or a wider prayer gathering. This is powerful way to release the power of the Gospel into your community.

You can still view some of the live streamed videos from the day on our Facebook page under videos.