Participants’ Prayer Guide

This Participants’ Prayer Guide has been prepared by the Church of Uganda as a gift and blessing to the participants.

“Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God;

and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4.6-7)

Anglican Church of BurundiThe Most Rev. Bernard Ntahoturi

  • Give thanks for the reconciliation efforts among the different armed groups.
  • Commit the country as it prepares for the general elections in 2010.
  • Pray for the church as it seeks to build trust and unity among the different ethnic and faith groups and as it contributes to the reconstruction of the country.

“We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer,

has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world,

and can bring its power down to earth.”(Andrew Murray)

Province of Central AfricaThe Rt. Rev. Albert Chama, Dean

(Primate position is vacant)

  • Give thanks for the positive developments in Zimbabwe and for peaceful elections in Zambia.
  • Commit the countries in the region as they struggle against drought and famine.
  • Give thanks for the newly elected Bishops and pray for the Province as it prepares to elect a new Primate, and as it struggles to model unity in diversity within the region.

Prayer “is the root, the foundation,the mother of a thousand blessings.” (Chrysostom)

Province of CongoThe Most Rev. Henri Isingoma

  • Give thanks for peace building framework in eastern Congo and for increased stability.
  • Commit the country as it seeks to nurture cohesion and develop a sense of direction amidst conflicting geographical and international interests.
  • Thank God for the election of a new Primate and pray for the church as it ministers to the post-conflict victims and as it contributes to peace building and reconstruction.

“Prayer breaks all bars, dissolves all chains,opens all prisons, and widens all straits

by which God’s saints have been held.”(E.M. Bounds)

Hong Kong Sheng Kung HuiPrimate Representative: The Rt Revd Thomas Yee-po Soo

  • Pray for the twelve parishes that comprise the diocese, and for their continued effective mission and ministry.
  • Give thanks for the outstanding ministry and academic achievements of the two diocesan schools – the Diocesan Girls School and the Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School.

“Prayer is where the action is.”(John Wesley)

Province of the Indian OceanThe Most Rev. Ian Earnest

  • Give thanks for the protection against forces of nature: earthquakes, hurricanes and floods.
  • Commit the countries in the province that they may work towards peaceful co-existence among the different ethnic groups: and that political stability will return to Madagascar.
  • Pray for the Province as it struggles to create a sense of fellowship between dioceses in the region and demonstrate Christ who has come to create a family out of our numerous and diverse ethnic groupings.

“Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make

a prayer-loving Christian.”(Andrew Murray)

Province of Jerusalem and the Middle EastThe Most Rev. Mouneer Anis

  • In the Diocese of Egypt, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa,
  • Give thanks for continued stability
  • Commit the countries as they struggle to manage the diverse religious and political interests.
  • Thank God for the Province for holding up the candle of Christ in a predominantly Muslim world and pray that it will be given wisdom and resilience in the face of harassment and marginalization.
  • In the Diocese of Jerusalem, pray for reconciliation between the Diocese and its former Bishop over financial and land matters. Pray also for peace and justice in the region.
  • In the Middle East, pray for the safety and security of the Christian community.

“The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity.

If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace

wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment,

let us answer god’s standing challenge, ‘Call unto me,

and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things

which thous knowest not!’”(Hudson Taylor)

Province of KenyaThe Most Rev. Eliud Wabukala

  • Give thanks to God for the political arrangement that seeks to bring stability in the country.
  • Commit the country as it struggles to recover from the effects of the post-election violence and famine.
  • Give thanks to God for the election of the new Primate and pray for the church that it will work for healing and transform the ethnic diversity from being a liability into an asset.

“I would rather teach one man to pray

than ten men to preach.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Province of MelanesiaThe Most Rev. David Vunagi

  • Give thanks for the eight dioceses that comprise the Province.
  • Pray for protection against floods and natural disasters.
  • Pray for holistic development through local congregations.
  • Pray for the mission agencies working through the Melanesian church.

“There is no power like that of prevailing prayer,

of Abraham pleading for Sodom,

Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night,

Moses standing in the breach,

Hannah intoxicated with sorrow,

David heartbroken with remorse and grief,

Jesus in sweat of blood.

Add to this list from the records of the church

your personal observation and experience,

and always there is the cost of passion unto blood.

Such prayer prevails.

It turns ordinary mortals into men of power.

It brings power.

It brings fire.

It brings rain.

It brings life.

It brings God.” (Samuel Chadwick)

Province of Myanmar The Most Revd Stephen Than

  • Give thanks for the 70,000 Anglicans living in six dioceses that comprise the Province.
  • Pray for the church’s continued witness in a country where Buddhism is the official state religion, and in which no foreign missionaries are allowed.
  • Pray for ongoing recovery efforts from last year’s cyclone and famine in the region.

“Four things let us ever keep in mind:

God hears prayer,

God heeds prayer,

God answers prayer,

and God delivers by prayer.”(E.M. Bounds)

Province of Nigeria The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh

  • Give thanks for the church and its zeal for evangelism and pray that it will build bridges across faith and ethnic barriers.
  • Commit the country as it struggles with equity in the distribution of natural resources and fostering harmony among different regions and ethnic groups.

“Prayer is my chief work, and it is by means of it

that I carry on the rest.”(Thomas Hooker, Puritan)

Province of Papua New GuineaThe Most Revd James Simon Ayong

  • Give thanks for the five dioceses that comprise the Province, and Anglicans who comprise a little more than 3% of the population.
  • Give thanks for the high degree of ecumenical cooperation, particularly in the areas of health and education.
  • Pray for the church as it is putting a major emphasis on the development of small faith communities, with the objective of achieving greater self-reliance.

“Shut the world out, withdraw from all worldly thoughts and occupations,

and shut yourself in alone with God, to pray to Him in secret.

Let this be your chief object in prayer,

to realize the presence of your heavenly Father.” (Andrew Murray)

Province of RwandaThe Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini

  • Thank God for the commitment of the political leadership to development and accountable governance.
  • Praise God for increased stability and for efforts that seek to bring harmonious existence among different groups.
  • Thank God for the church leadership and their commitment to evangelism.
  • Pray for the Church as it struggles to model Christ the wounded-healer and that it will be given the wisdom to engage with secular ideologies and interests in Rwanda.

“Intercession is truly universal work for the Christian.

No place is closed to intercessory prayer.

No continent – no nation –

no organization – no city – no office.

There is no power on earth

that can keep intercession out.”(Richard Halverson)

Province of South East AsiaThe Most Rev. John Chew

  • Give thanks for the Province of South East Asia and the Diocese of Singapore for hosting the 4th Global South-to-South Encounter.
  • Give thanks for the spiritual renewal taking place in the Province, in spite of the challenges of a multi-cultural and multi-religious society.
  • Pray for the Province in its mission work in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal, and other closed countries in the region.

“Prayer is the greatest of all forces,

because it honours God and

brings him into active aid.”(E.M. Bounds)

Province of Southern Africa Primate rep: The Most Rev. Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop

  • Give thanks for the peaceful elections.
  • Commit the country as it struggles with its unique social and economic challenges (gun violence, emancipation agendas and access to resources)
  • Pray for the church as it grapples with powerful secular forces and as it seeks to manifest Christ the reconciler and giver of hope in the midst of uncertainties.
  • Rebuilding of Angola and Mozambique after many years of civil war.

“Since the days of Pentecost,

has the whole church ever put aside every other work

and waited upon Him for ten days,

that the Spirit’s power might be manifested?

We give too much attention to method and machinery

and resources, and too little to the source of power.” (Hudson Taylor)

Province of the Southern Cone (South America)The Most Rev. Greg Venables

  • Give thanks for the six dioceses/countries that comprise the Province – Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
  • Pray for the Diocese of Chile and its Bishop, Tito Zavala, as it ministers to people in the aftermath of the recent devastating earthquake.
  • Pray for increased evangelism and discipleship in all the congregations.

“The essence of prayer does not consist in asking God for something

but in opening our hearts to God, in speaking with Him,

and living with Him in perpetual communion.

Prayer is continual abandonment to God.

Prayer does not mean asking God for all kinds of things we want;

it is rather the desire for God Himself, the only Giver of Life.

Prayer is not asking, but union with God.

Prayer is not a painful effort to gain from God help

in the varying needs of our lives.

Prayer is the desire to possess God Himself, the Source of all life.

The true spirit of prayer does not consist in asking for blessings,

but in receiving Him who is the giver of all blessings,

and in living a life of fellowship with Him.”(Sadhu Sundar Singh)

Province of Sudan The Most Rev. Daniel Deng Bul

  • Give thanks for relative peace in Southern Sudan and for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the framework for resolving the outstanding issues between the North and South Sudan.
  • Commit the country as it struggles with its racial tensions, inter-ethnic/religious conflicts in the South and Darfur region and as it attempts to keep on track of the CPA roadmap.
  • Pray for the church in its peace building efforts and post-conflict reconstruction and resettlement programmes.
  • Prayers for the National Election in April 2010 and Referendum in 2011.

“I have seen many men work without praying,

though I have never seen any good come out of it;

but I have never seen a man pray without working.”(Hudson Taylor)

Province of Tanzania The Most Rev. Valentino Mokiwa

  • Give thanks for the continued stability and peaceful co-existence among the people
  • Commit the country as it faces global and capitalistic forces that are threatening the sense of community and interdependence which have been the cornerstone for the country’s stability.
  • Pray for the church as it struggles to respond to the diverse challenges of an increasingly secularized society and manifest the uniqueness of Christ in a multi-faith context.

“It is in the field of prayer that life’s critical battles are lost or won.

We must conquer all our circumstances there.

We must first of all bring them there.

We must survey them there.

We must master them there.

In prayer we bring our spiritual enemies into the Presence of God

and we fight them there. Have you tried that?

Or have you been satisfied to meet and fight your foes

in the open spaces of the world?”(J.H. Jowett)

Province of UgandaThe Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi

  • Give thanks to God for relative peace and stability in the country.
  • Commit the country as it prepares for national elections in 2011 and as it struggles to break out of the circle of political violence.
  • Pray for the church in the face of strong corrupting tendencies in society and a large disillusioned youth population.
  • Commit the Province as it prepares to host the All Africa Bishops’ Conference in August 2010.

“In prayer you align yourself to the purposes and power of God,

and He is able to do things that through you

He couldn’t otherwise do.”(E. Stanley Jones)

Province of West AfricaThe Most Rev. Justice Akrofi

  • Give thanks for the relative peace after several years of instability in the region and the model elections in Ghana.
  • Commit the region that current efforts will yield sustainable peace and increased food security and economic development.
  • Pray for the Province as they work for a vibrant fellowship between the dioceses and struggle to manifest Christ in a rather hostile environment and with limited resources.

“The praying believer beseeches the God of the future

that the marks of God’s rule

(forgiveness, sustenance, deliverance, and the Spirit’s fullness)

become present in the current situation,

which is filled with want, need, and insufficiency.

Petitionary prayer, in other words,

asks God to bring something of the future –

God’s future – into the present.”(Stanley Grenz)

Province of the West Indies Primate Representative: Rt Rev Howard Gregory

  • Give thanks for the two mainland dioceses and six island dioceses that comprise the Province, including Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Nassau and the Bahamas, Tobago, Trinidad, and the Windward Islands.
  • Pray for their recent emphasis on training personnel for an indigenous ministry to bear much fruit.
  • Pray for adequate resources to make pastoral care and meetings possible, because the geographical distances, island locations and scattered settlements make pastoral care difficult and costly.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us

with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8.26)

Church of North IndiaModerator Representative: Rt. Rev. Sunil Singh

  • Give thanks for the twenty-six dioceses that comprise this unique Province that brought together Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Brethren, Congregational, Disciples of Christ, and Baptist denominations into one United Church in 1970.
  • Pray for safety and security for Christians, who often face persecution from militant Hindus.
  • Pray for the church’s witness, testimony, and evangelism, that it will see more people coming to faith in Christ alone.

“Prayer is to the spiritual lifewhat breathing is to the physical life.”(Unknown)

Associate Participants:

1. Australia

2. England

3. New Zealand

4. Anglican Church in North America (USA-Canada)

5. TEC (USA) -- Communion Partners

Ecumenical Observers:

1. National Committee of TSPM of the Protestant Church in China

2. Coptic Orthodox Church