Friday we set up the hall and Saturday is our big day to bless over 500 women with the theme being "Blowing new breath into our loving relationships". Please pray that all the different participants will be truly inspired, that the Holy Spirit will work wonders, that the music, theatre and dance will be edifying. May we, the organising committee, be united and harmonious.

Our prayer is that each woman is encouraged to go further in her faith and will be a blessing to others in her circle (family, friends, church, community).

17th May - SIM-ers all over the world are going to try and find time to pray for the next 10 days about worldwide mission, the different aspects of SIM and its projects, their inspiration for their own ministries.

Our first day starts with : IF MY PEOPLE, WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND HEAL THEIR LAND  - 2 Chronicles 7:14

We've just finished the campaign 'Pray for France' and have got through one Presidential election. We have just had our National Pastors' Conference where we discussed the Cape Town Commitment from the Lausanne 3 conference and whether our churches really consider their part in social action or social justice issues. In each situation we are confronted by the injustices of this world, the imbalances and power plays. We are reminded how much our country is in need of healing - perhaps not physically, because France has abundant resources, but in our relationships, in the balance of power and how decisions are made. We have to admit that not all people who live in this country are treated with respect. So this verse is very relevant to France as well.

These are the prayer points for Day One :

• For believers to join together in united and persevering prayer to seek God's will
• For forgiveness where we have disobeyed or quenched God's Spirit through unbelief as individuals, as an organization, as the Church
• For a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit for all believers in our generation
• For God's sovereign hand of grace will remain on SIM and that all we do will glorify His name Please pray for these same subjects.

I will apply the different points to our Femmes 2000 conference day on June 2nd:

• for unity in our organising team and for this action to bless many women;
• for our 2 local churches to be renewed by the Spirit and to seek God's leading for a more direct vision for future actions;
• that all we do will be for his glory in our Union of Free Churches as we pastor our churches to feed our generation and to communicate our faith to our contemporaries.

So the winner is ..... hopefully France will be the winner when the new President, François Hollande (Left-wing), takes office. I'm glad I don't have the right to vote in France because I wouldn't have known whom to choose ! It's a bit cowardly, isn't it! but I have my reasons : who can you believe these days ? how should you vote as a Christian if you have to choose between social justice issues and agreeing to homosexual marriage/adoption of children/euthanasia/nuclear power .....?

The Bible is so clear that looking first to God and following His guidelines is already wise in itself (King Josiah, Emperor Darius .. 1 Tim 3:14-16; John 14:16)

Then there is common sense advice through the counsel of several (Moïse acting on the advice of his father-in-law; Prov. 15:22)

Pray that all Christians in France follow this advice and live it out as a public witness of the greatness of our God.

Pray for this country as in another month there will be Legislative Assembly elections and the Right-wingers seek to redress the balance of power (which could block any new actions or initiatives, or could be a safe-guard against wrong decisions - who can say ??)

Objectif France

We are well into the special period of prayer for France that is organized by the group "Objectif France". If you would like a .pdf copy of their prayer guide, write to me.

The first round of Presidential elections is Sunday 22nd April. The second round will be 6th May. So this is a crucial time to be praying for France.

You can also check out the website of Christian Community Foundation for France.
And the direct link to Pray for France in English.

“And in His temple everyone says, ‘Glory!’” (Psalm 29:9)

“Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.” Psalm 24:7 

OUR PRAYERS ARE WORKING ! For the last 11 years this concerted effort has been growing slowly but surely. There are spiritual openings as never before. We are seeing signs of this in our own little corner of France : we had a great variety of kids (20) at our Daily Vacation Bible club; I'm getting favourable replies for the next big women's conference we are organising (2nd June); other Christian women in our group are seeing lives changed and prayers answered. KEEP PRAYING ! Our God is a mighty God!