Dear COTN Elders, leaders and churches,
I trust this finds you well and that there is much Kingdom fruitfulness in your part of the world.
It is my joy to introduce the theme for this years Church of the Nations – Day of Prayer. Most of you will be aware that we have one event each year where we ask the whole of Church of the Nations to participate. It is where we ask each church to set aside time during their Sunday meeting/service, to unite with churches around the world in a focused prayer celebration
THIS YEAR’S THEME:
PRAY FOR WORLD LEADERS who will rule in GOD’S RIGHTEOUS GRACE.
DATE:
Sunday 11 September 2016.
KEY SCRIPTURES:
Here are some of the pertinent scriptures which serve as a foundation for the theme we believe the Lord has shown us:
Proverbs 29:2 // When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
Proverbs 8:15-16 NAS // "By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. "By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly."
Proverbs 8:15-16 Message // "With my help, leaders rule, and lawmakers legislate fairly; with my help, governors govern, along with all in legitimate authority"
Romans 13:1-2 NAS // Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; …
As John Scholtz so clearly articulated in his recent AC Talk article that world leadership and governments are going through strong headwinds and turbulent times at present. Change seems so fluid and fast with violence and respect for the rule of law eroding rapidly in the natural, in a way that we have not witnessed in most of our lifetimes. We have observed so much just in the last few weeks (since John’s article), with the change of Prime Minister in the UK, a failed coup in Turkey and brutal slaughter on the streets of Nice. This along with the migrant crisis in Europe, and a more bizarre election cycle in the US than anyone can remember. South Africa too, is seeing a major political shift for the first time since the Apartheid era.
In all this, God is unmoved, but is calling us through His word to pray for those in authority. True stability can only be achieved by a revelation of His grace to come upon world leaders.
In recent times God has placed the COTN family in a unique situation, where more and more we find ourselves gaining access to those in authority, which we believe is a timely opportunity for the Kingdom. Against this background, we as the Apostolic Council believe that the theme for our upcoming Pray Day is timeous.
This event is the only truly ‘combined international event’ we have each year, where we ask every COTN church to participate. We will be providing you with prayer pointers and reminders over the next few weeks.
So, mark the date. It’s only just over 3 weeks away!
Be Expectant!
David Cape
On behalf of the Apostolic Council