By: Reverend Malcolm Hedding

Contending in Prayer against Principalities and Powers

“And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, nor the noise of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing I hear.” 

– Exodus 32: 17-18.

There is no doubt that the Church in general needs to rediscover the role and power of prayer. Jesus said that His house should be “a house of prayer for all nations.” Today this house is mainly a house of singing!

Our prayer meetings are weak and badly attended and consequently our projection of ministry is greatly lacking in power. The early church by contrast made prayer a feature of every meeting. This is the testimony of the Book of Acts (Acts1:14).

We need to urgently adopt this way of life together as, if we don’t, we shall “win on the grandstand but lose, where it counts, on the field!” The words of Moses will thus continue to haunt us when he said that he doesn’t hear the sound of defeat or victory but that of a good time.

More important still is the fact that great events are taking place in the world that require our most urgent intercession. Israel is facing an unprecedented threat from more than one source but in particular from Iran. The President of this nation continues to call for Israel’s destruction and is rapidly developing the nuclear weaponry to make good this threat. Scripture has always warned that Israel, by virtue of her peculiar God given call and mandate for the sake of the world, has been subjected to programs of destruction. (Note Psalm 83)

History, sadly, well testifies to this.

In addition, the arrival of North Korea on the world stage as a nuclear power is deeply troubling, not only for the nations of the region but also for the United States of America. This is so because the North Koreans are quite prepared to sell their arsenal to the highest bidder! International terrorists have no doubt taken note. Iranian observers were recently in North Korea to witness that countries nuclear achievement and there is a growing relationship developing between Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Iran. The USA and Israel are in “gun sights” of these nations. Just two years ago Ahmadinejad of Iran hosted a conference that not only denied the Holocaust but also fantasized about a world without the United States of America.

While all men are entirely responsible for their actions it is true that behind these people are dark principalities of destruction and deception. Paul wrote that we are to recognize this and thus oppose these principalities through the struggle of prayer (Ephesians 6:10-12). Prayer is hard and demanding work and yet it constitutes the mighty power of God when discharged faithfully. We neglect it in our churches to our peril! Paul, writing to the Church at Philippi said, “In all things by prayer……” (Philippians 4:6). If we took this simple advice we would see so much more of the “hand of God” in our communities.

This letter is then an urgent call to prayer. Prayer for your great nation, your church and for Israel. We believe that prayer can change all things and that God in Christ is calling our ICEJ family to faithful prayer. Please join us as we begin a campaign to call on God as never before. To help you we have some “prayer pointers” that you can use each week to focus your intercession. Get your home group or prayer meeting involved and add these pointers to your own devotional life. Let us not be guilty of just singing while our world burns and our churches lack power!

Yours in Jesus,

Rev. Malcolm Hedding
 Executive Director
 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem

©2010 International Christian Embassy Jerusalem