An Act of Prophetic Intercession

"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitation be stretched out;hold not back, lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes..."    (Isaiah 54:2)

Inspired by Isaiah 54:1-4, CIP went on a prayer journey to prayer for Canada at the 'Four Corners' of Canada, leading up to the Canadian Prayer Assembly that took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba on May 19th, 2001. The four governmental areas chosen were: Victoria, BC; Whitehorse, Yukon; Iqaluit, Nunavut; and Pele Point, Windsor, Ontario.  We then converged on the centre of Canada - Winnipeg - for the CPA.

The following is a report of what took place during this prayer journey, led by Brian Warren and Dave Carson. 

Vancouver:

Tuesday, February 27th
Brian flew from Toronto and arrived during the Pastors’ Prayer Fellowship. This was a special time of convergence as Alistair Petrie of Sentinel Canada was presenting a promo of the upcoming ‘Transformations 2’ video and conference. Brian led a time of prayer for Alistair and there was a sense of anticipation from the 100 pastors and intercessors gathered. In the afternoon Brian and Dave purchased a set of large, yellow tent pegs, that were actually made in Canada!

In the evening Brian shared his vision at the Church of Zion Training Centre, where Canada In Prayer had been conceived in December 1997. Pastor Gideon Chiu hosted the meeting and there was fervent prayer for Canada and the trip to Victoria and Whitehorse. Young people prophesied that the stakes going in the ground were like the stakes that brought death on the cross but that these stakes would bring life. The hammer God would use would be the weight of His glory! This was a powerful sending out!

Victoria:

Wednesday, February 28th
An early morning ferry got us into Victoria by Noon, where the Victoria Harvest Church, led by pastors David and Yvette Hixson, had prepared a buffet lunch for pastors and intercessors. We shared the vision over lunch and played an excerpt from last year’s (2000) CPA. The vision was embraced and the group started to pray with unction over us and for Canada.

The scriptures mention that corners, angels and winds go together and we expected that God was about to release a mighty move of his spirit from Victoria over Canada. Afternoon prayer on Tolmie Mount was dramatic for the sudden rush of blustery winds! As we investigated Mile Zero of Trans Canada Highway #1, a bald eagle came gently to within 100 feet of us. The evening resumed with prayer at Victoria Harvest Church as we sought God as to where the stake should be finally hammered in by local pastors.

Thursday, March 1st
Pastor Bruce Friesen invited us to the Victoria Pastors’ Prayer Fellowship for Thursday morning, where there was a convergence again of Alistair Petrie and ourselves with Dean Boland leading worship. All four of us had been involved in the launch of Canada In Prayer in March 1998. After Alistair shared on transformation, Brian shared the vision again and then about 40 pastors and intercessors gathered around us and welcomed us officially to Victoria and prayed for us and the tent pegs. They committed themselves to the rest of Canada and repeated their desire to welcome God’s servants into Victoria.

They felt we should plant the stake at Mile Zero, so at 1:30 pm, about 20 of us gathered at the water front at Beacon Hill and in front of a sign that said it was 4860 miles to St. John’s, Pastor David Hixson hammered in the peg while others faced the cardinal points. This confirmed what intercessors had sensed before: a river of fire going from Victoria right across Canada. From there we rushed back rejoicing to catch the Ferry.

First - Friday, March 2nd
We were blessed at Vancouver airport to meet both on departure and arrival, with members of a large choir from Edmonton called ‘Essence of Praise’. Their smiling, praising faces were an inspiration for our journey. We arrived in the far north at Whitehorse at 10:30 am and were taken by Dan and Kathy Budd to the Canada In Prayer meeting at the Salvation Army. As we walked in the door a brother was reading John 17, the very theme of the CPA! We then read aloud the whole book of Revelation as a public proclamation of the Word of God. Revelation mentions the corners of the earth twice!

In our intercessions we took strong authority over the 3 day old Teachers’ strike and prayed for an immediate righteous and fair end to the dispute. A man gave his life to Christ in the room below where the SA were ministering food to about 120 people. He could hear Brian’s voice praying and he wanted to come into the room. He did not stay long as he felt the power of the presence was too strong for him! We were blessed to hear on Saturday that our prayer had been answered within a few hours!

The prayer time finished about 3:00 pm and we then rested until the evening meeting at the Yukon Bible Fellowship, hosted by Pastor Rick Turner. About 80 people turned out, many of them young people from the Bethany Church. It was a lively time and they were excited that the rest of Canada had been praying for them on this First Friday. They endorsed the vision and prayed over the tent pegs committing themselves to the purposes of God.

Saturday, March 3rd
On Saturday morning we had a brunch meeting with AGLOW. About 35 women and 15 men were present. Brian shared on ‘there is hope at the scent of water...’(Job 14). As a breakthrough in unity many were encouraged to pray out in their original language or dialect. Everybody seemed to be involved as Brian and Dave prayed over people and the women especially prayed for the men. There was a breakthrough in many people’s lives.

From there we met with pastors and intercessors behind the Yukon Government Building in view of the river and the railway. The ground was too hard to use the plastic peg, that was reserved for the Spring! So Pastor Rick hammered in a long steel nail as others prayed. A native Christian lady whose home had been on that site, officially welcomed us and declared the Christians welcome in Whitehorse.

In the evening we met with about 20 intercessors and gave much teaching on intercession. They have to give themselves to seeking God for issues of unity and reconciliation in Christ. Like the miners of old, Whitehorse Christians were now stakeholders but in a much bigger claim. The winds of the Spirit will blow from the ‘four corners’ to touch the heart of the nation, symbolically united in Winnipeg on May 19th.

We returned after Sunday morning at YBF, but we have to go back to revisit all our new friends in Christ and to see the elusive Northern Lights!

THE OTHER CORNERS

April 14, Easter Saturday at Pele Point, southern most point of Canada near Windsor
April 19-23, Nunavut: Iqaluit and Pangnirtung (Church Dedication)
May 16-19, SWAT Team in Winnipeg = The Centre-peg!
May 19, Canadian Prayer Assembly