Have you ever heard the expression: “He or she doesn’t have a hope”? When someone feels or thinks that way about themselves or a situation, they are in a slow death mode, because without hope we feel that all our efforts are futile, the situation will never change and there is nothing to live for. Hopelessness leads to suicide, whether that be literally, behaviourally or strategically. That doesn’t mean they don’t hope for better things, but that they don’t believe that their hopes are attainable and so they give up trying. As Christians, we have a hope that we believe is attainable, beginning in this world and fulfilled in the next. I love how the Apostle Peter describes it:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Pe. 1:3)
This living hope is that this sin-cursed world will someday be recreated and transformed into a place where there is no more sin, sickness, pain or death and that we can be part of this recreation plan through being reborn in Jesus. Talk about a living hope! Through faith in Jesus we are given a new lease on life that not only promises us a future in the new heaven and earth, but also that we can start living like we are citizens of heaven now and partner with Jesus in inviting others to embrace this new hope.
However, for that hope to have legs in and through the FMCIC, we need to ask ourselves at least two questions:
- What are we hoping for as a movement?
- Do we believe that we can attain it through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us?
We can get in a rut as individuals, local churches and as a movement, by not having the kind of hope that stirs us to pray like it all depends on God. Hope and faith go together. Each one of us needs to draw close to God to find out what part He wants us to play in this “living hope mission” and then begin to align ourselves through prayer and action to bring it about.
I had a conversation with a man from Burundi who now lives in Ottawa. He is seeing the great need of the children and youth in an area of the city that is full of new immigrants. Many of the children and youth in that area are from single parent households. As we drove around, he told about how gangs and guns are a constant problem there and how the youth are being drawn into that lifestyle. He shared with me his dream/hope of reaching them with this living hope. How he and his wife are living on one income so that he is free to reach out to them. How he and a man from Lebanon and one from Thailand have started praying in that area, that God would open a way for them to reach them. How he feels helpless but hopeful.
On September 17 we held another Prayer Summit because we believe that prayer is the key to the fulfillment of our God-given dreams, individually and corporately. The theme of this summit was “Helplessness and Hopefulness”. During this time, learned about how these two attitudes are necessary for a dynamic prayer life and spent some time praying into our dreams. I hope you and members of your church were able take part in it. My prayer is that, as a movement, we will experience a renewal that advances the kingdom of God into every corner of Canada and the world that He leads us to.
Ken Roth
National Prayer Team lead
