A Word from our General Superintendents Dave Wells and H. Paul Foster

We as Pentecostal churches and ministries have initiated Pray Every Day, the goal of which is to see 24/7 intentional, focused prayer taking place year-round within our PAOC/PAONL family. Our desire is to have churches, ministries, international fields, Bible colleges and any other identifiable group of believers take responsibility for a full day of intercession for our Pentecostal family, in environments of biblical meditation, praise and worship. Equipped by prayer guides, ministry resources and current prayer updates, every moment of every day, prayer and worship will rise to our Lord as we believe for spiritual breakthrough and miracles in lives, churches, ministries and nations.

Thank you for considering particpation in Pray Every Day. It is hoped that by participating in this prayer initiative, your church or ministry will not only contribute to the spiritual impact of our Pentecostal family in Canada and worldwide-your own prayer ministries will be equipped and further developed for even greater effectiveness in the future.

Special note: These pages can be printed in their current format by clicking on your regular print icon or selecting the print option from your computer's drop-down menu. For a more print-friendly format, first select "print" from the Site Tools line below (found by scrolling to the end of this Pray Every Day message). Then click again on your desktop's "print" icon or choose "print" from your computer's drop-down menu bar. The document will be approximately 5 pages long.

Theme Scriptures for Pray Every Day

Jeremiah 29: 10-14, NIV

This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Matthew 21: 12-14, NIV

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

Philippians 4: 4-7, NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Planning Your Pray Every Day Emphasis

In planning Pray Every Day, we have deliberately kept away from a "one size fits all" strategy for your day of prayer. We respect that many churches and ministries already have developed prayer initiatives and will incorporate some of those components into their day of prayer. In addition, because of the variety of churches and groups responding, we recognize that some will develop their Pray Every Day emphasis around a church or prayer room while others will need to connect off site or "virtually."

Activities and Resources

Here are some supplemental activities and resources for you to consider as you plan your day of prayer:

* Please ensure you intercede for those serving internationally. To receive up-to-date prayer information regarding our International Missions workers please go to http://www.frontlineintercessors.ca/. You may also download a PDF resource on interceding for our missionaries here: Ask of Me: An Intercessor's Guide to Praying for Missionaries.

* Please intercede for the General Officers and Executives of the PAOC and PAONL as well as their District, regional and departmental ministries. The websites are http://www.paonl.ca/ and http://www.paoc.org/.

* Pray for our local churches, their leaders and for those in the broader Body of Christ.

* Pray for Canada, your province/territory and municipality including political and societal leaders. Remember the missional priorities of the First Nations, Quebec and Francophone Canada, Cultural Language members new to Canada, Urban Centres and Next Generation (Children/Youth & Campus Ministries). See http://www.paoc.org/canada/missionaries-canada to learn about the prayer needs of missionaries to Canada.

* Resources to assist national prayer include Prayer Canada's prayer manual http://www.prayercanada.org/manual.pdf and National House of Prayer's guide for praying for national leaders http://nhop.ca/pages/get-involved/praying-for-government.php. These are both non PAOC-specific Websites. There is a special day set aside for prayer for the Canadian Government on June 28, 2009. Click here to learn more.

* 24-7prayer.com is part of an international, interdenominational movement committed to prayer, mission and justice. This website is not PAOC-specific. Groups visiting this site have the option to register and become participants in the 24-7 emphasis. Excellent articles and resources are available without the need for registration. Visit the website at http://www.24-7prayer.com. It provides:

- A clear statement of vision and values regarding international, trans-denominational ministries committed to continual prayer.

- Two informative and inspiring books from leaders in this movement. They are available through Wordcom, our resource ministry, by phoning 905-542-7400 ext. 4248 or emailing wordcom@paoc.org. They are:

o Red Moon Rising-How 24-7 prayer is awakening a generation by Pete Greig and Dave Roberts. The cost is $16.49 plus shipping and taxes.

o 24-7 Prayer Manual by Pete Greig and David Blackwell. The cost is $16.99 plus shipping and taxes.

- Here are a number of books by Robert Smith, Douglas James Smith and Paul Smith:
- Ten Days to Pentecost: Preparing Our Hearts to Hear from Heaven by Robert J. Smith
- Seeing Lives Changed by Prayer by Robert J. Smith
- Praying into Heaven: Daily Proverbs and Scripture to Strengthen Your Prayer Life
by Robert J. Smith and Douglas James Smith.
- To Walk with God by Paul A. Smith
To order any of these books, e-mail info@lgt.org or call 519-685-1920.

- The "Wailing Wall" Interactive Prayer Site is a very interesting part of the 24-7 Website.

* The Assemblies of God US National Prayer Centre Website also contains excellent resources and guides to assist participants in learning more about prayer. Visit http://prayer.ag.org/.

Next Steps?

A desired legacy of Pray Every Day is that corporate prayer in our churches and ministries, and that of individuals, would be enhanced and equipped more effectively. The following seven best practices have been identified in Pentecostal churches that exhibit effective prayer ministry:

1. Churches with a healthy prayer ministry understand that prayer is not a "departmental" ministry but is expressed through all ministries, age levels, leadership meetings, etc. Leaders understand their catalytic role to model prayer in all contexts.

KEYWORD: Integral

2. Churches with a healthy prayer ministry are equipping and involving children/youth through seniors in prayer and worship. The younger members are being mentored and encouraged by those who are mature in prayer and intercession.

KEYWORD: Intergenerational

3. Churches with a healthy prayer ministry have identified prayer leadership that is in good relationship (trust and accountability) with their pastoral leadership.

KEYWORD: Trust

4. Churches with a healthy prayer ministry intentionally train and equip regarding humility, submission, intercession, authority in Christ, spiritual warfare and practical dimensions of prayer ministry.

KEYWORD: Equipping

5. Churches with a healthy prayer ministry are engaged in prayer with the broader body of Christ. They are open to diverse expressions of prayer and intercession in their own church or with others.

KEYWORD: Diversity

6. Churches with a healthy prayer ministry will provide focuses for prayer in specific prayer contexts and for the church as a whole.

KEYWORD: Focus

7. Churches with a healthy prayer ministry are Pentecostal! They welcome all of the Spirit's work and gifting.

KEYWORD: Spirit-empowered

As leaders, please ponder and pray about what the next steps are to further develop the practice of corporate and private prayer in your setting.

Reporting and Feedback on Additional Resources

We definitely want to hear from the pastor or co-ordinator of your Pray Every Day emphasis about how the day went for you. Please email prayer@paoc.org (English) or priere@paoc.org (French), or contact the appropriate office (information for PAOC & PAONL offices have been provided at the end of this page). Please indicate:

* What did you do for your Pray Every Day emphasis, and how many participated?

* What did the Lord impress on the participants or on you as a leader during the day of prayer?

* What other resources or suggestions for prayer ministry you would recommend?

* Are you willing to participate in Pray Every Day again?

* Other comments?

As we hear your story and those of others, we will be able to pass on creative ideas and inspiring insights to our Pentecostal family. An example would be Suburban Monastery, a spiritual formation place at Westside King's Church in Calgary, AB.

Visit http://www.wkc.org/ministries/spiritual_formation.asp to learn more.

Bob Osborne states:

"Suburban Monastery is a place, not a program. We say that we are not into the latest thing, but the oldest thing. We believe that the Christian church is so rich in good tradition, in true experimentation, in worthy literature and exemplary saints. With all of this richness, we believe that we ought to go back into the attic and recover what is ours.

We value and practice the more contemplative forms of Christian experience. We do this by taking time to consider the life that Scripture calls us to, and then finding different ways to answer back to God in prayer. We believe that as we each learn to pray, we begin the path of transformation. Our prayer life is not purposefully one of intercession, but we have also come to learn that as we pray the "our father" we inevitably pull others with us into our prayer.

We have come to understand that formation is related to form, and that a good and solid liturgy assists our experience of God. So we embrace anchor points-Scripture and tradition, respect for the whole church of Jesus, the push away from sectarianism and the embrace of the radical middle of the whole church, respect for voices and ways much older than us.

Our name, Suburban Monastery, says two things. First, it speaks to our cultural context. We say that suburbia is not just a place – it is profoundly a state of mind. We fully admit our present condition as postmodern, technologically savvy, relationally broken, consumerist, entertainment driven, suburbanites. Our need is to find a different way of life, a slower and quieter life, one that is capable of the deeper change we need. And second, our name speaks to the alternate way of being we rehearse for 75 minutes on a Wednesday night. We call our place a monastery because the monastics saved culture by contrasting it. We want to be different (the old word here is holy), so that what is truly valuable in human life can be saved.

We do very simple things together. We come together in silence. We learn to listen to readings from Scripture and significant writings. We attempt a real engagement with Scripture so that we can discern the form of life we are called to. We share in conversation. And we respond to God with prayers and practices that open us to God as living presence. We do things that Christians have always done, the ways that Christians have learned to know God as living presence.

Our form of spirituality is a move away from spectacle and the spectacular (we are not loud or boisterous). It is a move towards noticing what is intrinsic to the common and every day, in which of course, spectacular things happen on a regular basis – if we are able to see them."

Let us tell your story as well.

We look forward with a gift of faith to all that God will accomplish in us and through us as together we "Pray Every Day."--David Wells and H. Paul Foster