“I have a dream”
Not that many years ago, a man named Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech entitled, “I Have a Dream”, that helped
change the world for the better. In that message he shared a dream where: “my four little children will one day live
in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He also
went on to say: “I have a dream that one day ‘every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made
low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together’.” (Is. 40:4,5). Martin Luther King Jr. understood that the kind
of change of attitude that would bring about his dream required the power of God.
I too have a dream. My dream is that the FMCIC one day will become a house of prayer for all nations and that our
prayers will help bring about a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our land and beyond (especially our next
generation), so that “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all shall see it together.” Our nation desperately
needs that and I believe God wants to grant that. I am so thankful that the leadership of our movement decided
that, as a family of churches, we will make prayer a priority. They recognized that just working harder and smarter
is not going to bring about the renewal of our movement. They took intentional steps towards that “dream” and I
pray that every one of our churches will do the same.
I believe the pandemic is showing us that, more than ever,
we need the power of God to enable us to advance the Kingdom of God on earth. My dream is that every pastor
and leadership team of every local Free Methodist Church in Canada, will make that same decision and begin to
intentionally seek God as to how they can make prayer a priority in their church, not as an end in itself, but to
enable them to be one with Jesus in relationship and mission.
Prayer Points for our August 26, 2020 National Prayer Meeting:
1. Pastor Pierre’s son, Prudence, is still in a coma in the hospital, but the family is encouraged and there are
signs that his recovery is moving in the right direction. Please continue to pray for Prudence and for Pastor
Pierre and the family for strength, for peace and for comfort.
2. For our FMCIC 2 task forces: a) exploring our relationship to the LGBT+ community, b) engaging women in
leadership, as they begin to write their reports. Pray that God will give them wisdom and understanding that
comes from the Holy Spirit and not humanity, so that we will better know the will of God in these areas of
concern in our day.
3. For Rev. Keitha Ogbogu of West Springs FM in Calgary and the newly appointed ‘anti-racism’, or ‘proequality’,
or ‘we’re all made in the image of God so how do we live fully into that’ task force. (Actually, the
Board of Administration did not give the task force a name, they left that to the task force to decide.)
4. For each local church as they figure out when and how to return to face-to-face services, and to discover any
new and fruitful ways God would have us “do church” in the days ahead. For example, how to follow up with
the new people viewing our online services, or how we connect relationally with each other in small groups
using the internet, etc.
5. That God would prepare the church for the challenges of living out our Christian lives in a world that is
becoming increasingly indifferent and even hostile towards us that is bold, Spirit-empowered, joyful and
winsome.
6. That God would pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the FMCIC (Zech. 12:10).
