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  Lighthouses of Prayer

      In preparation for the 2004 ministry in Pakistan, I asked the Lord to impress upon my heart what He wanted to accomplish through the prayer seminars. Basically, He wanted the prayer seminars to motivate those attending to penetrate the spiritual darkness in Pakistan through prayer. The one verse of Scripture to which I was drawn was Isaiah 49:6c: “I will make you a light to the nations.” I have learned, over the years, to be attentive to validation of His directives. One goal that kept coming to mind was to encourage Pakistanis to pray for Pakistan in the light of 2 Chronicles 7:14.
      In conversation with key Christian leaders, there was abundant evidence that the Holy Spirit is working to put into place a prayer covering for Pakistan, centering on the concept of light. A vision has emerged of having Lighthouses of Prayer throughout the nation. Small groups have been formed in Karachi praying for Pakistan.

The background
      George McBane, a third generation missionary, had a vision of terrorist attacks against Christians. He did not know where and when. The attacks came, but of the 100 Christians, only two died. Then he had a second vision of angels protecting the Christian Murry School. The angels were of different colors. One was red light coming from deep within the angel. When he asked the meaning of the color, “My blood” was the answer. The Christian school would be protected by the blood of Christ. The blue angel represented “confusion.” The angel showed where other angels were station when one-hundred people attacked the school, but could not get inside. When the attackers attempted to open the door of the church, they could not do so. They tried to open the door inward, but it could only be opened outward. The missionary asked God, “Why must Christians die?” The answer was that God was providing one more chance for the Pakistani people. This was a trumpet call to Christians to wake up and begin to pray for the nation in the light of 2 Chronicles 7:14. He removed His hand of protection to get their attention. Later, a vision came of lights all over Pakistan. The lights were explained as Lighthouses of Prayer with Pakistanis praying for Pakistan.
      One pastor in a prayer seminar said he asked the missionary show they should pray? He said that he did not know. The pastor was convinced that God sent the prayer seminars to provide the “how” that is needed for the prayer ministry to cover Pakistan. Let’s join our brothers and sisters in Pakistan praying for the Lighthouses of Prayer to become fully operative.

Lighthouses of Prayer needed in every nation
      Since 2004, it has been my intention to encourage the establishment of Lighthouses of Prayer in each nation in which we have ministered and in each city or town. The list is long and covers many parts of the world. Having twenty-seven days in South America in March provided many opportunities to encourage believers to become prayer warriors and establish Lighthouses of Prayer. In three nations—Venezuela (12), Paraguay (4), and Uruguay (2)—there were eighteen prayer seminars with around 2,000 in attendance. Each participant was given a Spanish prayer seminar workbook provided by our Doorkeepers and other friends in the United States. If you tracked us westward across Venezuela beginning in Caracas, you would need to mark Valencia, Barquisimeto, Acarigua, Guanare, Barinas, Merida, Santa Barbara, Valera, Maracaibo, and San Cristobal along an arc of over one thousand miles. It was only through the grace of God that Isaiah Rajas (a leader in the Venezuela Baptist Convention), Adam Nathanson (my interpreter), and I were able to carry out the most rigorous schedule I have ever attempted. 

     In Paraguay, there were seminars in Capiata, Carapegua and Itaiuli in a fifty mile arch outside Asuncion, the capital city. The seminars in Uruguay were in Montevideo, the nation’s capital.
    There were 155 pastors in the seminars. Many stated plainly that they were going back to their churches and teach their people what they had learned. In Venezuela, particularly, these pastors were seeking renewal and revival among their churches.  206 churches were registered. There were 185 first-time professions of faith and 440 reaffirmed their faith. Miles traveled totaled 13,300.

Prayer and financial support
      Since the international phase of our prayer seminars began in 1985, we have trusted God and told the people of the need. In every incidence (now fifty-five nations), the support has been forthcoming. The budget for this venture of faith to three nations was $8,640 (including international and domestic travel (for a team of three), prayer seminar workbooks, lodging, food). 120 contributes gave $10,981 which provides enough funds to return to Venezuela July 30-August 8, when I will conduct a prayer seminar/evangelism clinic for 500 pastors. These pastors will spread out across four states in the Andes Mountains for evangelistic services the next two weeks.