Canada: Fanning the Flames of PrayerChris Jones - 9 Sep 2011

About two decades or so ago there was a band in Canada that was fairly well known. Being well known in Canada is good, it’s nice…as Canadians would say, but to hit the big time, to really make it – you need to be big in the States. That’s the way it works. If that huge economic juggernaut gets a hold of you, you’ll be spitting out platinum albums like they were baby teeth, and touring the world in golden airplanes. Ok, I exaggerate, but only ever so slightly. This band, had a smart management company, the story on the street is that they employed a really unique and very effective method of ensuring that the band would make the big time.

Essentially the plan was this; they watched the airwaves.

If there was a radio station in a specific town in the United States playing their single multiple times – they booked a gig for the band in that town. Any gig, any town – they just followed the airwaves. This brought out fans to the impromptu gigs, the impromptu gigs created more fans, these fans requested the airplay of the bands songs more, they bought their albums, they watched them in cameo appearances on TV and before you know it – bang – number one on the Billboard Hot 100!

Now, none of this can be verified… but the marketing principal the management company employed is a principal of life – it’s much easier to fan a spark into into flame than to create the spark itself.

Turns out it’s a spiritual principal too… our role is to fan into flame the burning ember. God is the one who ignites it!

Who knows if the methodology of a marketing company in the late 90’s is mere myth and legend, or the actual truth; what I do know, is that prayer is one of those places where a spark can be ignited and then we have the opportunity to fan it into flame. This is the theory we used when we decided to hold our Canadian gathering in Hamilton. You see, we've watched the airwaves and Hamilton is sparking!

For years, there has been something going on in this city. It is a little rough around the edges admittedly, but it brings out passion in people like few cities I’ve been to. It is undeniably a city of refuge and there is a connection among God’s people there that is unique. It isn’t perfect, there’s lots of disunity too – but it feels like there is a something special going on in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In fact the whole area right out to Brantford is kind of…I don’t know…buzzing I guess! So, we figured, let’s go where it’s going on! There is a fledgling 24-7 community beginning in the downtown core and the city has a long history of prayer with several churches operating prayer rooms in rhythms. Pretty exciting and we want to be there.

So – we’re setting up an impromptu gathering – October 13,14,15, a little over a month, we’ll be gathering in Hamilton right on one of its main streets. We’ve named the gathering REJUVENATE – longing to see restoration and the energy of youth breathed into the city and ourselves. We’ve invited a great friend to the movement – Richard Long from Together Canada to speak to us on rejuvenating the call to pray for the city. Aaron White from the 614 Salvation Army in Vancouver and The War College, a key influencer within 24-7 for over a decade will be delving into rejuvenating our community and the incarnation of our prayer in our communities, and I’ll be sharing on rejuvenating the call to prayer individually.

We’d love you to come, come and encourage and be encouraged. To register you can go to www.24-7prayer.ca and click on the link. There are a limited number of billet spots and lots of other places to stay in the city. You can arrive by plane to Toronto and take a bus out to Hamilton, or there is an airport in Hamilton and you can fly right in! So come join us and let’s fan this fire!

For ongoing schedule and information visit 24-7prayer.ca