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As women join together in the Karoo town of Middelburg next weekend to seek a closer walk with God they will be encouraged to know that men in the area will be praying continuously for them for 40 hours from 5pm on Friday (January 27) to 9am (January 29) on Sunday.
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The men who will be participating in a monthly 40-hour prayer event in the run-up to the Karoo Mighty Men Conference (KMMC) in Middelburg in April decided to put their prayer weight behind the women attending a Hadassa Women’s Conference in a local school hall.
All of the churches of Middelburg are supporting the women’s conference which is part of the Hadassa (“Esther”) conference movement that started in Pretoria in 2006 and which has spread throughout South Africa and the south of Namibia. Sine the first conference at Moreleta Park NG Church more than 22 000 women (and a small number of men) have attended Hadassa conferences during 127 outreaches. According to a conference press release it provides women with “an intensely personal experience” in which they have an opportunity to restore their relationships with the Lord.
More information about the women’s conference is available at 082 879 9217 or 082 368 3726.
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According to KMMC prayer convenor and Middelburg farmer Dave Turner, the prayer intensity will continue to mount as the Mighty Men event starting date of April 27 approaches. Five to six prayer groups had already been established in Middelburg and other Karoo towns and the goal was to mobilise prayer groups throughout the Eastern Cape as well as in parts of the Northern Cape and Orange Free State, he said.
He said that the prayer activity, which began last year, was in fact broader than the second annual KMMC, where thousands of men will camp together on Rusoord farm, Middelburg for a weekend of Christian fellowship and ministry featuring Mighty Men founder Angus Buchan. Intercession for revival and transformation in South Africa was a key focus of the prayer initiative. The programme included weekly one-hour prayer meetings and monthly 40-hour prayer sessions in which men took on one to three-hour shifts. During the 40-hour event, there were prayers at a venue in Middelburg throughout, as well as men praying in other areas on a roster system.
He said teams of men would pray continuously throughout the final three weeks before the KMMC. If enough prayer teams were in place it was hoped that teams from various towns would take turns coming to the KMMC venue itself, thus ensuring 21 continuous days of prayer on the camp site.
The leaders of participating men’s prayer groups would be able to share strategic prayer information on a forum in a restricted area of the KMMC website, said Turner.
Information on how to participate in the KMMC prayer programme can be obtained from Turner at 049 842 1911, 079 879 1848 or devlei@vodamail.co.za.
More information about the KMMC can be found on the website which is currently being updated. Full details about the 2012 event are expected to be online within a week.
The strength of prayer! Will we ever truly understand it’s power and the blessing it is for our God to hear those prayers?