NATIONAL SOLEMN ASSEMBLY UPDATE

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

That greeting has been given countless millions of times over the past day or two in many languages in countries right across the globe. It is given in good faith as a message and an expression of hope to the person to whom it is spoken. But let us pause for a moment and ask the question what would need to happen in my life for me to be able to call 2007 a truly happy year.

To the carnal mind the answer would probably be something like "for me to get everything I have ever desired or asked for". For many Christians the answer may be similar but of course spiritualised to something like "for God to positively answer all my prayers and meet all my needs." By those measurements we are hardly likely to ever experience real happiness for that is not what the Christian walk is all about.

To those who seek after the deeper spiritual meaning to life a "Happy New Year" will come when "we seek after what God wants for us and to allow Him to align our will to His." Now that is likely to result not only in true happiness but also some radical changes to how we live our lives, what we see as important, and how we communicate with God.

With that understanding perhaps we have reason to believe that 2007 may bring greater spiritual advance, and thus greater "happiness" than in recent years. We base that assumption on the changing pulse of the Body of Christ that we are picking up.

One the of roles of those who intercede is to discern changes in the spiritual seasons as they begin to occur so that they can seek to bring the people of God into alignment with where God is taking those who will follow into the next season of our spiritual journey, either as individuals, His Church or as a nation. We are picking up such a change at present as more and more Christians become dissatisfied with "churchianity", realise that their prayers alone are not bringing the answers they expected to the many issues we face, for instance, the breaking of the drought, and that God is calling us to repent and return to a more meaningful personal relationship with Himself as a means of obtaining the spiritual breakthrough we all desire to experience both nationally and personally.

The National Solemn Assembly is the attempt by the Prayer Movement to find a vehicle that will carry us into the season of God where He desires to do a deeper work in our personal and corporate lives than we have been prepared to allow Him to do in the recent past. Not everyone will understand this season but for those with an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church at this time this Assembly is a critical crossroad where we have a choice to take a new road that God is calling us to walk with Him, or simply remain on the old familiar road we have been traversing in the hope it will somehow get us to where God wants us to go.

The realistic assessment of many people, particularly those with a heart to pray, is that at the start of 2007 both the physical and spiritual drought in our nation is worse than at the beginning of 2006. A desperation is beginning to emerge which says we must seek to understand what God is trying to say to us and we must be willing to obey His word even at personal cost to ourselves.

I remain optimistic for the future for I believe that God has a purpose and a destiny for us as a Nation that is yet to be fulfilled. However whether we take the road that leads to the fulfilment of that purpose and destiny or continue to traverse the "old road" for several more years is very much dependant on our understanding as to whether God is speaking to us at this point in time, what He is saying, and how we respond.

God is patient, so He will wait for however long it takes for us to decide we need to turn back to Him, but the plight of our nation cannot wait as another year of drought (both in the natural and the spiritual) will see the drying up of rivers, the loss of previously productive land and the wholesale misery of many whose livelihood will be destroyed. The situation is no less critical in the spiritual realm and no less destructive to the spirits and souls of men and women.

In the Prayer Network we finished 2006 seeking the face of God. We commence 2007 preparing our hearts for the response that He is calling forth through the National Solemn Assembly in March. We believe the situation is so serious that we are calling on all praying people to a further 40 day period of reflection and preparation beginning on Australia Day 26th January and concluding a few days before we begin our time together in Canberra and around the nation. We will announce more on this in the next week or two.

We cannot overemphasise our belief that this is a sovereign time in the spiritual history of our nation that requires a sacrificial response and we strongly urge all our members to seriously seek the Lord as to whether you are meant to be in Canberra for this historic event. We challenge every community around Australia to ensure they pool resources to send at least 3 or 4 from their community to Canberra irrespective of what may be being planned locally for those that cannot get to Canberra. Please do not take the easy way out by simply "joining in at home" but make the sacrifice to journey with us to the "mountain of the Lord" in our national capital.

We are currently in negotiations with authorities in Canberra seeking to be allowed to hold the Sunday afternoon session of the Solemn Assembly in the area in front of Parliament House. What a powerful symbolic act it would be for thousands of Australian Christians to kneel in humble repentance acknowledging our need of God, in front of our National Parliament, the place of political power in Australia and the symbol of man's wisdom and attempts to find answers to issues affecting a whole nation that can only be found in God.

Our nation is in desperate need of both natural and spiritual rain. We believe the breaking of the physical drought is dependant on the breaking of the spiritual drought which in turn is dependant on us humbling ourselves before Almighty God and recommitting our ways back to Him. Will you please join us in Canberra for this National Solemn Assembly. We believe our future depends on it.

Brian Pickering
National Coordinator
Australian Prayer Network

P.S. If you believe in what we are doing and are in a position to assist us financially in meeting the considerable cost associated with organising such an event we would be very appreciative to receive any amount God's lays on your heart to be sent by cheque payable to the Australian Prayer Network to PO Box 31, Epping NSW 1710. We are also happy to receive credit card donations to 02 9876.2419 or to supply bank account details to those wanting to make direct payments into our account. To request such details please write to .