Prayer at Parliament

Last Thursday I had lunch with a friend of mine, Gordon Copeland, who was a Member of Parliament for a couple of three year terms. He invited me to a prayer meeting that evening in the Grand Hall in Parliament Buildings.

With the help Gordon and his wife Anne, I  worked my way through the security checks and into the Grand Hall where about 130 people were gathering. There were old faces from the time of  the Charismatic Movements Conventions about  35 years ago and of course lots of new faces. The Honourable Chester Burrows welcomed us on behalf of the 4 Members of Parliament who were present.

Our prayer was focused on political party leaders and cabinet ministers, then on the other MPs and staff  right through to the cleaners and caterers. The final session of  prayer was focused on the particular issue of child abuse in New Zealand.

I learnt more about the people in parliament and the issues they are dealing with. Also I was reminded of  our responsibility to pray for our political leaders. This can best be explained in the words of Rasik Ranchord, the Convenor:

About Prayer at Parliament

Over many years of ministry I have observed that churches pray for various issues e.g. for the flock, the sick, the needy, for their ministry programmes and mission yet prayer for those in authority in other sectors of society was largely neglected. We have not taught our people to pray for those in authority adequately.

Why Pray for Our Leaders?I was drawn to two passages of scripture. Firstly Romans 13 which instructs us that all powers that be, derive their authority from God who is the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe; that human authorities were therefore God’s agents for the promotion of the common good and the preservation of law and order.

From 1 Timothy 2 we learn that in Apostle Paul’s agenda for prayer, praying for those in authority heads the list. We are to pray for "kings and all in authority". The late Derek Prince’s observation confirmed my own: "Extensive experience has convinced me that the vast majority of professing Christians never give any serious consideration to the topic of prayer. Not merely do they not pray for the government, first, they scarcely pray for it at all! They pray more or less regularly for groups such as the sick, the preacher, missionaries, evangelists,....... anything and everything but the one group that God puts first, the government. It is no exaggeration to say that many who claim to be committed Christians never pray seriously for the government or their nation as much as once a week."

It was out of these observations and convictions that the vision for Prayer@Parliament was born some 8 years ago.Our policy is not to endorse any one political party but to pray for kingdom influence in every party. To pray for Christians and also for those who are followers of other faiths or no faith at all because of the function they perform in Parliament. The function itself is ordained by God. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans and to Timothy there were no Christians in Government! 

It is a Christian Prayer Gathering that is open to all. Over the years many members of Parliament from across the political spectrum have attended and many have been invited to participate. This includes Ministers of the Crown, former Speakers of the House and present assistant Speaker.. Besides people in central government we also pray for those in local government, Mayors and former mayors and councillors have participated. "Seek the peace and prosperity of the city. Pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers You too will prosper" (Jeremiah 29:7)

We also pray for those involved in various sectors of society besides government; Education, Social Welfare, Youth, Public Health, News Media. Many from these backgrounds have participated.

Christians from all denominations and from the whole of the Wellington Region and beyond attend these gatherings. Prayer is a uniting factor and where there is unity there God gives his blessings. Prayer is a Declaration of Dependence-upon God. Our nation needs God.

Rasik Ranchord
Convener

Ordinary Folk

Last Tuesday I spent the day in the newly built Supreme Court in Wellington, NZ. Not only did the building impress me, but also I was impressed by the way proceedings were conducted. Abortion can be a heated topic and I have been overseas in a courtroom which was electric with emotion. Here, the Judges wanted to give those involved a fair hearing, they would give the lawyers advice if they were not making their case well and there were moments of humour. There were no ‘airs and graces’ but a warm respectfulness.

The reason for being there was that I now live within walking distance of the Court House, I have the time and I wanted to express my personal support for Ken Orr who I had met on a few occasions in Christchurch.

Ken Orr is an ordinary bloke.  You could easily miss him in a crowd. People might say that he is ‘dogged’. Yet, with the support of other Pro-lifers, he has seen a case against the Abortion Supervisory Committee through to the Supreme Court. He had won in the High Court, lost of Appeal and could well win again in the Supreme Court. (The five Judges are deliberating at this time)

You can read about what Ken has done at: http://www.spcs.org.nz/2008/thank-you-ken-orr-right-to-life/ 

The point that I would like to make is Ken is not the most attractive or gifted personality. A lot of people I know would write him off on that score. He can be a bit of a nuisance. But he is always polite and unassuming and quietly gets things done. But it can be ordinary folk like him who put the Gospel into action and go places with it.

You can read more about Ken himself at: http://righttolife.org.nz/2010/11/15/papal-award-presented-to-ken-orr-for-services-to-the-church-and-the-pro-life-movement/

Among the Greenies

 Last night I went to a meeting about the Food Safety Bill that is now before the New Zealand Parliament. A Green Party Member of Parliament , Steffan Browning, was to speak and the documentary film Food Inc was to follow.

A great way to spend Saturday night! But that is Wellington for you. It's a little city, less than half a million residents. So we take our role as the seat of government very seriously.

There I was amongst the Greenies who vote pro-abortion and I was not looking to chat till I had got the measure of this lot.  A bloke about my age (most were) came over. He saw my little wooden cross and asked about my christianity. He said 'there are four of us here' and that it was good for us to be at meetings like this.

I thought this was an example of the Gospel principle of 'leaven in the dough' (See Matthew 13:33). Jesus had got out of his comfort zone and mixed with all sorts of people and he certainly would have been happy to mix with those who were concerned for the poor and under-privilaged. His heart would have resignated with those who cared for animals and the environment as a gift rather than out of greed. (See Genesis 1:28ff and 2:15 which feature humanity before we sinned.)

I left at the end of the meeting encouraged by the intentions of the Greenies and their allies and by the presence of  these Christians. It was an example of the  Gospel in action.

Bye the way, the documentary Food Inc. is well worth a watch. And if you can't, then check out the comments on the internet.

Steffan Browning's Comments on the Food Bill are will worth reading

Praying in Public

I must confess that I have not been praying in public recently.
Yesterday, I biked up town to the hospital, where abortions are carried out,in order to pray with a group that prays for the end of abortion.

Praying in such situations is near the sharp end of putting the Gospel into action. And after years of doing it, I still get that feeling of fear and hope that nobody recognises me. Still, I resisted the temptation to put on my sunglasses.

Jesus did a lot of his work in such a public setting and that experience yesterday helped that aspect of the written Gospels come alive for me again. It is as though the Spirit is very close. (See