Mike’s Sea2sea Blog

Ezra 10 depicts a weeping priest, Ezra himself, pouring out his heart to God regarding the sins of the people. It gathered a group, and leaders were galvanized to respond. They realized they were living in disobediance to God. “We have been unfaithful to our God…..But in spite of this there is hope for Israel”.

The churches in our Eastern Canadian District are currently in a period of “gathering” to pray. Pastors, leaders, and many others are deciding how to participate in an idea that was chosen by a large gathering of their peers last May. We’re calling it “Provoked 2 Prayer” (click to see our trailer), and it’s an adventure – I’ll bet many are wrestling right now with how to lead the church to pray. We’re hoping to have a continuous chain of praying communities from January 1st to March 30th.

Interesting to find out the the 24-7 people are also promoting a week of prayer in March – right during our General Assembly for the C&MA!  The following is their trailer for their event.

I have been deeply moved by the 24-7 Prayer movement happening in England and Europe, and spreading into the U.S.. We are not doing the same thing, but we can sure learn from this group. It’s so simple, there’s a high participation of young people and yet deeply respectful of history and scripture. It gives me hope. Although I cannot claim Ezra’s grief, surely it is not only I who see the great gap between our radical theology and belief, and our relative mediocrity when it comes to being God’s people in this world.

When I visit an ECD church, and see hearts open, ready, wanting to engage in God’s mission – I want to join them to this type of commitment: love for Jesus — wherever that may lead us. OF COURSE IT WILL LOOK DIFFERENT IN US! But we’re very close relatives to this European movement….I still have hope that in the Alliance we’ll feel this kinship, and that it will cause us to examine our hearts and habits…say “Hey, that’s the way I felt when Jesus called me… how come that flame has dimmed?”.

I’ve hardly mentioned the element of confession when describing the Provoked 2 Prayer initiative in our District. It is a reality, however, that it in the brokeness and full realization of our need for God’s forgiveness that we make a significant shift in direction. I’ve heard the story of Ezra repeated time and again in modern times – confession, repentance, and soon our agenda gets a burial and God’s bigger plan emerges in a way that can be sustained…naturally, it’s his plan and so he makes sure it happens, now that he has his people back.