On September 24th & 25th President Obama will host the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, PA. The official web page is HERE.
One of our friends through the PA Statewide HOP Network sent us this. Please join with our brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh and around the World in praying for our leaders.
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Dear Praying Friends,
My wife and I live near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the location of the upcoming G-20 Summit that will take place on September 24 & 25. We are a part of the leadership team at House of His Presence Pittsburgh, a house of prayer and training center for the Body of Christ in the region.
We have been asked by Bishop Joseph Garlington (Covenant Church of Pittsburgh) to be part of mobilizing the Body of Christ to pray for this event. As we corporately began to pray about this at House of His Presence, someone mentioned that perhaps fasting was needed to get the mind of the Lord regarding His strategy for this. Two days later I began and on the 2nd day, I sensed the Lord beginning to speak to me and as I started writing, more and more came.
Inviting God to come through Worship
This is what I believe the Lord is saying. He wants us to invite the Presence of God to come to our city as never before. Pittsburgh has been blessed by moves of God in the past, but we believe He wants to do far more than what has happened previously. But He wants us to invite Him to come.
We know that worship attracts the Presence of God, changes the spiritual atmosphere, confuses the enemy, and provides an opportunity for unity as no other one thing. Therefore, we are issuing a call for worship to begin sounding and resounding around the city and region. This is not about a particular style of worship, but includes all kinds of ‘sounds’, including native and other indigenous expressions. Out of worship will come specific action strategies for individuals, prayer groups, ministries, and churches.
Forming a wall of prayer by agreement
We are to build a ‘Nehemiah’ wall of prayer around our city. Each of us has a part in fulfilling what God wants to do here. We know that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for pulling down strongholds (2 Cor 10:4). Therefore, let us recognize that musical instruments become weapons of war in God’s way of doing things (Psalm 144:1). Let us join with others as God directs when there are corporate gathering opportunities (Neh 4:20). Our next 24 hour watch, August 7-8, will focus on praying for G-20. More information will be forthcoming.
Recently, when some of the spiritual fathers of the city met together regarding G-20, their sense was that our corporate prayer focus should be to pray for peace for our city. Jeremiah 29:7 says, “And seek the shalom of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its shalom you will have shalom.”
I have deliberately used the Hebrew word shalom in the above verse, because various English translations use different words, but as you can see from the definition below, all are correct.
Shalom – Completeness, wholeness, peace, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony; the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from a root verb meaning “to be complete, perfect, and full.” Thus shalom is much more than the absence of war and conflict; it is the wholeness that the entire human race seeks.
Peace was also prophesied and promised in the New Testament; its fulfillment found it a person – Christ Jesus. Below is the NT definition of peace.
Eirene- A state of rest, quietness, and calmness; an absence of strife; tranquility. It generally denotes a perfect well-being. Eirene includes harmonious relationships between God and men, men and men, nations, and families. Jesus as Prince of Peace gives peace to those who call upon Him for personal salvation.
As you can see, praying for peace is far encompassing. This is what we want God to do in our city for those who live and come here.
Pittsburgh asks for your help
Since the world is watching Pittsburgh, I also felt God saying that we are to invite believers from around the world to join with us in praying for God’s purposes in the earth and Pittsburgh, in particular, at this time. Therefore, we ask you to forward this and future emails to family, friends, churches, houses of prayer, and others around the globe. We have already heard from one of the houses of prayer in Jerusalem that they will be participating. We would like to hear from other worshipers and intercessors around the nation and globe that sense God speaking to them to link up in prayer at this time.
We believe House of His Presence Pittsburgh is to be a resource center for the collection and dissemination of pertinent information, revelation, and specific prayer needs. We can not do this alone. Please forward to us what you and others are doing so we can help spread the word. We know we are not the only ones God is speaking to; we simply want to be obedient to what He is showing us. We will be sending out regular updates in the weeks ahead. If you are aware of groups or prayer initiatives that you believe should be linked together, please send us their information.
If you are receiving this email from a friend and would like to be added to the distribution list, please contact us at [email protected]. We will not add you without your permission. If anyone desires to be removed at any time, please let us know as well.
Thank you in advance for your prayers,
Ray & Renaid Almgren
www.houseofhispresence.com