LEAN IN TO THE PURPOSES OF GOD AT THIS HOUR IN CANADA

By Pat Cocking

A few years ago, the Lord gave me a prophetic picture of the church in the nation of Canada. This vision was one of a body of believers who had grown dull in heart and in affection for the Lord and His kingdom. It was clear that there was a strong love for the world and for the carnal desires of man within the Church and that the cross which represented the crucified life was not in place. Through that prophetic vision a word of warning came to the Body of Christ in Canada. If we remained in unrepentant sin then we would suffer its severe consequences; if we turned to Him, He would show us mercy and bring forth the greatest revival this nation has ever seen. "If My people who are called by My name will humbles themselves and pray, and seek MY face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land" 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Our freedom into righteousness and our deliverance from impending judgments were dependent on our response to fulfill the requirements outlined in 2 Chronicles 7:14. If the requirements were not fulfilled, we would be left to the horrific consequence of our sins. His passion was to show us mercy, yet He couldn't until the posture of humility and repentance was set into place.

It was spoken through many prophetic voices across the land that Canada was being given a season to humble ourselves, seek His face, pray and repent. Most prophetic people did not have an exact pulse on how long the season was -- was it one week, one month, one year or a decade? We were however sure of this: that God in His timetable had given us a season to fulfill His requirements. David Demian was given a more specific understanding pertaining to the timing and felt that the Lord had given us a window of one year which ends on September 10, 1999 (Rosh Hashanah).

Many strong prophetic voices have blown the "Trumpet Call" across the nation over the last three years with an intensity that has proclaimed the criticalness of the hour. The response to the "Trumpet Call" appeared to be very slow and weak in the beginnings but in the last seven months (following the Harrison Gathering in December of 1998) there has been an increased intensity in the work of conviction and repentance produced by the Spirit of Grace. This was intensified again following the "Train of Tears".

Something totally miraculous happened at the Gathering in Winnipeg this July that caused us as a nation to take an important turn in direction. It was an extremely significant event for the church in Canada as the Holy Spirit drew people from all over the country and gifted us with the ability to corporately repent, wail, cry and travail before the Lord as we grieved over our sin. It was the most wonderful time that many had ever spent with God.

The Father responded to us through a prophetic word that was delivered by Pastor Emile Abadir following the mass move of repentance and wailing on July 1, 1999. The Father said that He was pleased with us and that He had withdrawn judgment. Mercy had triumphed over judgment. This was a most amazing Word. Our God has manifested tremendous love through this act of mercy but this does not mean that we are established nor are we matured in the complete work of repentance that the Lord is looking for. This is a beginning for us.

It is very important for us to not let our guard down at this time. We have yet to see Canada's destiny in God brought forth. This will require a dependency upon God to show us where to walk next in His process. We have only begun. In this season of grace we must continue to push through and stand watch in the spirit until we see His purposes established in the land. We must not relax in this hour. We must not go back to sleep.

The spiritual atmosphere within this nation is pregnant. Pregnant with destiny. We are on a threshold. It's like a woman getting ready to give birth. But just experiencing excitement over the knowledge that you are going to have a baby is not enough to bring it forth. It takes labor to bring it to birth and God will give us the ability to push forth and deliver. When a woman reaches the time to deliver her baby, her body needs to work with the contractions. The Lord is bringing our nation into a full term pregnancy and He has positioned us to birth our destiny. It is time for us to "push" and lean into birthing contractions. One key way that we can apply this delivery process to our spiritual walk is through prophetic intercessory prayer watches. In Habakkuk 2:1 the prophet says "I will station myself on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me..." If we hear what the heart of God is, then we can lean into His will through prayer and bring forth His purposes.

It is the hour for the Canadian Church to rise up in prayer watches, 24 hour prayer watches in response to the breakthroughs that have already been established as a result of The Gathering . Through the watch of the Lord we can birth our destiny as a nation. "On your walls O Jerusalem (Canada too) I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem (Canada too) a praise in the earth." Isaiah 62:6,7

Let us posture ourselves before the Lord in increased humility and faith as we continue to believe Him for the revival of righteousness in our land. Next step? PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER. Let us cry out for His mercy with more fervency than every before!

"O Canada, we stand on guard for thee".