FROM THE BUSINESS WORLD IN SOUTH AFRICA
TO GOD'S BUSINESS AROUND THE WORLD, ENTREPRENEUR ORGANIZES
GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER AMONG MANY NATIONS
Organizer Of Global Day Of Prayer Says
The Dark Continent Can
Become A Light To The Rest Of The World
By Michael
Ireland
Chief
Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
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Graham Power being interviewed by Peter
Wooding at the NRB 2006 convention in Dallas
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February 27,
2006
DALLAS,
TEXAS (ANS) -- Graham Power lives
in Cape Town, on the southern tip of Africa. He's a businessman, and
has been involved the real estate and highway construction business for
his entire working career. Seven years ago he made a 24/7 commitment,
which turned into the Global Day of Prayer.
"Up till then I'd been a typical businessperson chasing success -- more
companies, more turnover, more 4x4's, more game farms, more overseas
trips," he told Peter Wooding, Senior News Editor of UCB Europe in an
interview at the recent 63rd National Religious Broadcasters convention
in Dallas, Texas.
"(Then) the Lord touched my life and has turned it upside down, and
since then I woke up a year later with such a clear dream, vision,
instruction to hire Newlands, the rugby stadium in Cape Town, (to) get
the Christians from all the different denominations together for a day
of repentance and prayer. That vision clearly showed that the next step
would be the whole of South Africa, all the provinces, and then
southern Africa, Africa, and then God just showed how He would stretch
his arms out and out around the whole of the globe and pull it into his
stomach like a mother would caress a little newborn baby."
Power told Wooding: "(The vision) was so clear, it was so detailed --
the little armband that we wear with 2 Chronicles 7:14 on it, and just
to have seen how God has leapfrogged this thing way beyond one's
wildest dreams or expectations has just been so exciting to see."
Power continued: "So in 2004, the whole of Africa -- all 56 nations --
joined in the first-ever continental-wide Day of Prayer, and that day
between 3:00 and 3:10 in the afternoon, everybody prayed the same
prayer wherever they were in the continent; and of course radio and
television took it throughout Africa and a few other parts of the
world.
"(And) then came the big challenge, and that was for the rest of the
globe to get involved. We were just so blessed to see that in 2005, on
Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 156 nations, over 200 million Christians that
joined together in that first-ever Global Day of Prayer. We're really
trusting that in 2006 on the June 4, Pentecost Sunday, that we're
believing that all 220 nations in the world will join, and that there
will be, whether it be a hundred or a thousand or a million people
interceding for that nation, that we will see all nations and all
continents joining in this second Global Day of Prayer."
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Global
Day of Prayer cover
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Power said the intention is to roll out the Global Day of Prayer for
five years until 2010, and "who knows what God plans to do in that
period. But the three-phase plan is that there's 10 days of 24-hour
prayer, then the Day of Prayer, and then what we call the 90 days of
blessing, or compassionate action."
He added: "In that time where we encourage the pastors, the ministers,
the ministers' forums to take hands with the business community and
whatever the needs are in the local city, whether that be HIV, AIDS,
poverty or unemployment, or going along and getting rid of the
graffiti, etc., so a horde of different possibilities, (including)
business breakfasts and lunches with people to challenge them.
"So it’s been exciting. We're believing that as Isaiah 66:18 says, 'And
I, because of their actions and their imaginations am about to come and
gather all nations and tongues and they will come and see my glory.'
We're believing that with all the nations and all the tongues
participating that we will see His glory. I thank God for what UCB has
done and their role and the partnership that there's been, and thanks
to all of you for your prayers, for your support, and I look forward to
pray with each of you on June 4, 2006."
Wooding asked Power: "What’s it like for you, personally, both seeing
this incredible prayer movement take off from the vision that God gave
you, at the same time as a man in North Wales got the vision to start
Prayer Week? It’s just so remarkable."
Power replied: "You know, I've heard a number of different visions and
testimonies all showing that from the southern tip of Africa there
would be this flame across Africa and then from Africa across to the
rest of the world, and that's wonderful, because I believe God has not
just given this vision to one or two people. It's His plan, and I
believe He's made it known to numbers and many. It's just so wonderful
to be used by God in a small way. I believe we just need to each be
humble; we cannot claim any personal credit for this, which He's doing,
and I just hold on for the ride. I look forward to seeing what's going
to happen this year, and I believe out of this there's going to be a
huge revival like we have not seen in our lifetime."
Citing a video presentation of last year's Global Day of Prayer to
which there was an incredible response from the participants at NRB who
saw what God did last year, Wooding asked Power: "What was it like
particularly seeing things like 120,000 people in one stadium in
Genesia praying together? What were the highlights from last year?"
Power responded: "That was certainly one of the highlights. I happened
to be present on May 5, which was the day that the 10 Days of Prayer
was launched in Jakarta, and there were 120,000 people in that stadium.
I think the various key needs around the world that are fairly generic
are obviously in Africa and elsewhere in the world, the whole issue of
HIV/AIDS is a key problem, and we would really appreciate prayer for
that. The other (issue) is around poverty, unemployment, and especially
(in) Africa and India and other parts of the world where this is a big
issue.
"I believe that in most countries there is poverty that can be
addressed and needs prayer and attention, and the third issue would be
on crime and violence. I think we're all really concerned right now
about the violence that is rolling out across the world regarding the
Muslims that feel very aggrieved about what's being put in the papers,
and regardless of what one's response or feeling is about that, I feel
that we really need to pray that this thing does not escalate and get
totally out of hand. So we would appreciate prayer on those.
"Then one thinks of 2 Chronicles 7:14, which of course says, 'If my
people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face, then will I hear from Heaven, will forgive their sin,
and will heal their land.' I think all of us, wherever we are around
the globe, (and) in our land there are things that we know we would
like to see become better, and we do ask that that theme be part of the
10 Days of Prayer leading up to the Global Day of Prayer. I just look
forward to all of us praying together on June 4, and to think that 400
to 500 million Christians could be joining on the second Global Day of
Prayer, we're really trusting that every nation and every tongue from
the 220 nations in the world will join this year. So thank you very
much. Bless you, and we thank you for the amazing partnership and
friendship with UCB and its listeners."
Wooding asked Power what encouragement in prayer he would give to those
where prayer is a challenge, especially results in prayer he has seen?
"I understand that not long after your first Day of Prayer you saw
crime reduced in the city, that sort of thing," Wooding said.
"Let me say that one of the first things that I saw, as a young
Christian, is that we had in Cape Town 22 bombs explode in less than 18
months in 1998 and 1999. There was a three-day prayer gathering, and on
the last morning of that, on the November 3, 2000, four bombers were
arrested while planting bombs within five miles of where that prayer
gathering was held. Now that at that point was just another four;
before that, at least 20 people had been arrested. But from that day
till today, not one bomb has been planted or gone off in Cape Town,"
Power said.
He concluded: "We just think about the crime in our city center, which
is down to less than 50 percent of what it was five years ago, and then
I can tell you about our interest rates, our growth, inflation, all of
it the best that it's been in 30 years, and I believe that all of this
is thanks to the immense amount or prayer that's rolling out across
South Africa and Africa. Africa right now has the least amount of wars
that there have been in the last 200 years.
"We thank God for that, and I believe that this is just the start.
Africa, the Dark Continent, is due to become the light of the world, as
impossible, as much as we could say, well, 'Can that come out of
Africa?' That vision that God brought so clearly showed that Africa,
through a spiritual revival starting at the south, spreading out
through the continent, that Africa then would be a light to the world."
| ** Michael Ireland is an
international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a
London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News
Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United
States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is
married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor
to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. |
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