We Stand On Guard!

I’m in Ottawa with our Master’s Commission students and we are staying at the National House of Prayer (www.nhop.ca). We just returned from a prayer walk tour and Parliament hill and it was simply amazing. I hesitate to say ‘life changing’ because that has become a far too frequently stated declaration that often fails to live up to its promise but it was an incredibly significant day.

During our day; we stood on a hill overlooking the Parliament buildings and prayed the 10 commandments over our Government and Nation, we joined arms and walked across the bridge into Quebec while praying for unity in our Nation, we gathered in the room where the media interacts with the MP’s after question period and prayed for there to be a truth & clarity of message in the media, and we sat in the gallery during question period. The tradition, history and architecture of Parliament and our Nation are breathtaking in themselves but when we recognize the Hand of God and purposes of God in the founding of our Nation it literally comes alive.

The powerful prayer and declaration that is woven into our National Anthem – “God keep our land glorious and free” and “O Canada, we stand on guard for Thee” have always held great significance for me but the events of today have only served to increase that. As we sat on the steps of the National House of Prayer and Pastor Craig led us in a debriefing of the days events one of the students summed it up well with these words, “I was reminded today of the incredible responsibility we have to pray for our Nation”. I don’t think truer words have ever been spoken. As Canadians and citizens of the Kingdom, we have the wonderful privilege and weighty responsibility of standing for our Nation. In Ezekiel 22:30 God looks out across a Nation for those who would accept this responsibility, for those who would stand in the gap and rebuild the walls of righteousness that protect a Nation. I love the passion that our church family continues to show for our Nation, and the acceptance of our responsibility to this end but it is my prayer that this would be increased. That from the west coast of our Nation there would rise a concerted chorus of prayer that the righteous foundations of our Nation and the prophetic promise over our Nation would be reaffirmed and realized.