Nicholas H. Dean

AFA Journal/Engage magazine staff writer

July-August 2013 – For years, Warwick Marsh, founder of Fathers Foundation in Australia, has carried a heavy heart for the brokenness in his country. This burden has guided his ministry and prompted a recent outpouring of joint prayer and effort that, in his own words, “came from my tears for my own country” and “rises above denominations … it is the body of Christ coming together.”

This outpouring came to a climax in the early morning of June 1 when ministry leaders from around the world held a teleconference. From this teleconference, the Billion Souls Revival Prayer Call was born.

Marsh stated that through dialogue and heartfelt prayer, this initiative was unanimously affirmed. Marsh also sent the official call to prayer to AFA stating, “We now together call the world to join with us in 40 days of prayer, fasting and repentance from August 6-September 14, 2013.” 

As followers of Christ, we should be no strangers to prayer. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the author admonishes fellow believers to pray without ceasing. We have a biblical mandate to participate in prayer, and a God gracious enough to respond to our prayers. 

Joseph Parker, AFA director of outreach and intercession, recently said of prayer, “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works. And when God works, He always knows what to do, how to do it and how to efficiently do it. God’s people must make prayer to our heavenly Father one of the great priorities for all of life.” 

Here at AFA, we recognize the need for prayer to be made a greater priority and want to stand with Marsh and others in this call to prayer. We encourage readers to spread the word about the Billion Souls initiative and to participate with us. The four points of the initiative urge believers to:

1. Pray for a worldwide outpouring of the Holy Spirit for revival and transformation of the nations of the world.
2. Pray for a billion people to find Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
3. Pray for an end to abortion and for God to turn back the tide of death and immorality that is sweeping the nations of the world.
4. Pray for a multiplication of prayer, praise and worship across the world as never before, to bring great glory to God.

Prayer leads to action. Action leads to change. Let us intercede and together, by the power of the Holy Spirit, change the nations of our world.  

Editor at world congress
Attending the World Congress of Families in May was an eye-opening and humbling experience. Of course, it was a treat to visit Sydney, Australia, but the more important thing was crossing paths with delegates from pro-family groups around the world.

The thing that had the most impact on me is how many speakers and delegates talked about their burden for the U.S. Traditionally, they have relied on the U.S. to be a beacon of light for the family, demonstrating and extolling its value as a cornerstone of a healthy culture. Now, they see us rapidly retreating from that principle.

Warwick Marsh and renowned Australian photographer Ken Duncan were among speakers who reiterated that perception of the U.S. Theresa Okafor, a university professor from Nigeria, said it is ironic that the western influence which brought the gospel to Africa decades ago now seems to be the very element suppressing the gospel. 

And finally, they’re praying for us. That’s the thing that challenged me to return home and be more diligent in my work at AFA to return the traditional family, based on Christian principles, to its rightful place in our nation. – Randall Murphree