WPA Program Planning

World Prayer Assembly 2012 and Reflections on the Global Prayer Movement

One generation later, the WPA in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2012 is building on the first ever International Prayer Assembly, held in Korea in 1984, which created a momentum of prayer that has subsequently spread around the world. Thus, the joint hosts for 2012 will be the nations of Indonesia and Korea.

The body of Christ has discovered a whole new world in and through prayer. Prayer has been released from the closet and the church onto the streets, into the hills, onto the seas and into the air – literally! People have traversed continents in prayer by walking and praying over many weeks. People have climbed mountains to pray on the ‘high places.’ People have hired planes to fly over cities to pray, and even to anoint them with oil! People have hired boats to sail around islands or along rivers in prayer. Others have gone by bicycle, in buses or cars to pray. Some have walked and prayed around the circumference of their city and around the borders of their nation. Prayer teams have gone into war zones and into other situations of conflict. Even Christians in persecuted areas of the world have learned about making up teams and going out in prayer into their own nation and neighbouring nations. A new spirit of boldness has begun to grip the church in many parts of the world. Prayer has been the life-blood at the heart of some of the world’s mega-churches. It has also been the key to some amazing stories of church-planting movements, with churches having been planted in some unlikely places. New vibrant styles of worship, linking with prayer, have emerged – marrying both the contemplative approach with declaring the Word of God.

Christians have reached out to one another to pray. In the late 1980’s and the 1990’s millions of Christians around the globe engaged in Marches for Jesus in multiple centres. In the same time frame, huge stadia were hired in order to bring Christians together in prayer. Denominational barriers no longer seemed important. Houses of prayer and large prayer centres have been established in many nations. Others have established prayer towers – both physical as well as spiritual ones. Mountains have been purchased and turned into 24 hour prayer centres. There are even ‘prayer cities’ – where thousands of people have erected their homes around a prayer base in order to be near and involved daily. Some prisons have turned into 24 hour prayer turbines! City centre squares, public parks, football stadia, even beaches have been requisitioned for the people of God to gather together to pray. Some gatherings have run into millions of people in the one place at the same time!

At the other end of the scale, there has been an explosion of small group prayer. Triplet groups, neighbourhood groups, women’s groups, business people’s groups, and children’s groups. The macro levels are being matched and mirrored by the micro levels of prayer. And so it should. There’s no value in us gathering in the big event once in a while, if we are not also gathering in small groups as often as we can.

Millions of children and youth are part of this movement of prayer. There are even children’s intercessory churches in some countries. In schools in many nations, children gather around the pole (the flag-pole), kneel in the corridors and at the gates to pray. Youth prayer movements have “taken off like a rocket.” 24/7 ‘Boiler rooms’ have been established in many nations, manned mainly by young people. They are leading the rest of us in discovering and developing new, dynamic, creative ways of praying.

There are regular television and radio programs devoted to prayer. Many thousands of people telephone in for prayer. Documentaries have been made about prayer and reconciliation journeys. Prayer booths have been set up in market squares. Hundreds of books and DVDs about aspects of prayer have been produced in multiple languages. Thousands of Christians regularly walk through their neighbourhood in prayer. Regular calls to periods of prayer and fasting are issued the world over. At certain times of the year the church around the world gathers in prayer in their millions around a common theme. Prayer really is taking place around the Throne of God, around the world, and around the clock.

The focus of this praying has been comprehensive and varied. Some prayer movements have developed around single issues – like governments, politics and politicians, the legal profession and police, education, medicine, pandemic health issues, like AIDS, the media, arts and film world – as well as on more traditionally understood aspects of mission, like personal conversion, households, neighbourhoods, unreached people groups, church planting and missionary agencies and strategies. Other movements are focused on praying for nations, for women, men or children. Thus definitions of various types of prayer leadership have developed. These include mobilizers, trainers, teachers, networkers, researchers, watchmen and prophetic intercessors.

Transformation of individuals, communities and nations has been the objective of all of this. We want to see lives changed, communities changed, every area of social influence, like the market place, changed, and governments and local authorities uphold values that honour God and bless the poor. Inevitably prayer must lead to action. God “puts feet on our prayers.” So prayer is not an escape from the world but the means of engagement with the world. Prayer leads to humanitarian action and global mission. We pray for all aspects of leadership to be transformed, delivered from corruption, and thus be able to operate in ways that honour God.

Understanding of the spiritual powers has been growing during this era coupled with the need to stand against the devil and all his schemes. Systems of control have been identified. In certain cultures the manifestation of evil is visibly apparent; in others it is secret and insidious. The body of Christ has been learning how to combat these influences and spiritual strongholds, through prayer, repentance and reconciliation. As a consequence whole communities and nations have been transformed.

We believe in certain fundamental Biblical statements. We wish to affirm that these undergird our approach in bringing together intercessors from around the world.

1. We are praying towards the fulfilment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and of the Great Commandment. (Matthew 22:37-39)

2. We believe that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14 & Isaiah 52:10)

3. We believe in a God who answers our prayer “before you call I will answer” (Isaiah 65:24, Jeremiah 33:3), and that the prayers that Jesus prayed will be answered – “Father forgive them” (Luke 23:34), “Your kingdom come your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6.9-10), and “that they may be one as we are one.” (John 17:20-21)

4. Prayer is a unity between the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and us. The Holy Spirit prays with us and for us. (Romans 8:26-27) And Jesus is praying in heaven for us. (Romans 8:34) That unity and oneness is one of the goals of the WPA. We come from every tribe and nation, from three generations, and many denominations, speaking many languages from many cultural backgrounds. We wish to find and express our unity through the sharing of stories, vision, varying styles of both worship and prayer, and through the love of God shared among us.

5. God wants his house to be “a house of prayer for all nations.” (Mark 11:17, Isaiah 56:7) What was true of the temple in Jerusalem in Jesus’ day is now true of God’s worldwide “house of prayer” – for all nations and among all nations. “The glory of this house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:9)

6. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Through accepting Him, knowing Him, and serving Him, not only are we changed, but every situation that we are part of should also be changed. The earth is the Lord’s and everything and everyone in it. (Psalm 24:1 paraphrase)

7. We believe in the manifestation of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is near, (Luke 10:9-11) within us, (Luke 17:21) and around us. (Matthew 6:10&33 and Matthew 24:14) Some day “the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.” (Revelation 11.15) God wants His kingdom extended on earth.

What we are hoping for through and beyond this Assembly are for connections to be made across the nations, generations and denominations, around common areas of interest, leading to ongoing cooperation and strategy. We wish to see the Great Commission and Great Commandment worked out through transformation-focused initiatives and sharing of stories, vision, ideas and ways of working.

This Assembly should not be seen as one event in 2012, but part of a process of building waves of prayer across the globe, in which we are all engaged. We wish to emphasize that this is a World Prayer Assembly – not a World Teaching Assembly. As such we expect prayer (in its diversity) to be significantly part of every plenary and track, national gathering and stream. Any presentation or teaching should help develop this and flow into responsive and deliberative prayer.

And we wish to emphasize our intention that children and young people will be involved, their opinions and suggestions sought and their public participation welcomed and proactively encouraged. This is a gathering of the grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters of prayer. The spirit of this tri-generational approach needs to be reflected publicly.

Plenary speakers and chairmen of sessions will have key roles in helping to shape the Assembly. But their task primarily should be to help everyone to engage thoughtfully and creatively through discussion and prayer, with the issue they are carrying. Listening to God directly, as well as through (and to) one another, will be of equal importance in this Assembly.

Brian Mills, IPC Senior Advisor

On behalf of the WPA Program Task Force