The best known prophetic vision of revival in these islands is that of Jean Darnall, who was shown the fires of hungry believers seeking New Testament christian life, followed by lightning striking the fires and a great explosive wave of evangelistic fervour sweeping the land. What is not well known is that when she toured Scotland in 1987, she said wherever she went that the first sign of the great awakening would be a men’s prayer movement. This is in accordance with the scriptures, since they exhort first of all that prayers be made for all men that all may be saved, and then direct the men specifically to fulfill this most essential and holy ministry with uplifted and clean hands in every place without wrath or doubting.

Let us therefore heed the prophetic word and follow Jesus Christ in His mighty intercessory ministry and not fail the test by losing faith in God’s promise to Britain to restore its greatness and bring forth a new generation of holy missionaries who will not fear to evangelise the nations that are now held down in the darkness of false religion and idolatry.

I am reminded again of Winston Churchill’s moment of greatness when he rallied and fortified this nation to fight against the onslaught of an evil tyranny. Just three days after assuming leadership of a divided and irresolute country, and in the face of the breach of the defences of France and the Low Countries, he announced a policy of total war unto victory, and reversed the tide with faith and great courage. Taking up his task ‘with buoyancy and hope,’ he led the people of England into battle: “Come then, let us go forward together in our united strength.”

This not a time to give up, nor to draw back, but rather to march forward in unity and determination and fervour. The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ is shining still – let us work while there is still light.

My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

(Hebrews 10 v 38)

Let us not be of those who shrink back to destruction, but be those who persevere in faith and hope and victory over the powers of darkness which assail us.

The fires of war are building in strength in the Middle East, and especially over the rocket war, for the Moslem nations have found a way to challenge Israeli military superiority without committing themselves to all-out battle. Syria is especially vulnerable to being used as a proxy by bigger powers who are currently close to breaking American military and economic hegemony through pressure in those areas combined with the subversion of that nation’s Christian foundations both in the church and in the social sphere. Oh that we would wake up and see the danger before it is too late.

In the natural what is happening is that Ken Gott, who is God’s apostolic leader for the North-East of England, arrived back yesterday from the revival meetings in Lakeland, Florida, where the Spirit of the Lord is being poured out in a wonderful way and there is a visitation of the Lord in signs and wonders and miracles and raising of the dead. Fervent prayer is needed for Todd Bentley who is a mighty man of God if rather immature in his sometimes embarrassing vanity with respect to his ministry and possibly vulnerable to deception by dark angels masquerading as angels of light. With depressing predictability the self-appointed watchdogs of the internet have launched into the attack like dogs on a wounded prey and will slow the move by hemming him in with accusations and vilification that only the holiest saint would be able to endure without flinching in the battle.

Meanwhile the leader of the Argentinian revival in the 1990s, Claudio Freidzon, assumes his mantle as fire carrier, arriving in Newcastle upon Tyne today to minister in the church which Ken Gott leads, and we may be sure that the Lord will use him in power to release the apostolic anointing that is needed to break through the religious spirit that dominates and controls the pentecostal and other Spirit-filled churches in the area. Oh that the Lord would raise up men of grace and power and much Christian love, men like John Wesley who preached on the Newcastle quayside and Smith Wigglesworth and others who breathed the Spirit of freedom and holiness in the birth of the English pentecostal movement in Sunderland. Pray for us that we will lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of us.