Insights from a former Member of Parliament

NHOP School of Pray - How to Pray for Government, session 10 of 12 NHOP.ca

Transcript

hi everybody it's Chris byri the director of the national House of Prayer and we are here today with our friend Harold alre he's a former member of parliament from the Kitchener waterl area I love Harold I love his wife Diane Darlene Diane Darlene she she uh leads a ministry here in Ottawa called the Christian Embassy and uh and because of that Ministry I actually get to connect with with Harold quite a bit when he's in town where they doing events and so we come along we love to help them and everything we do because they do so many interesting things and it's the kingdom and it's always good to build the kingdom together it's not all about One Ministry doing all the stuff but it's

all of us working together so today I asked Harold to come in and to talk about being a member of parliament what it was like and just give some give us some insight as to what goes on in the life of an MP especially on the Parliament Hill and in the constituency so go ahead Harold take it away well thanks Chris uh thank you for hosting this session on what you need to know about praying for government and government leaders and I'm thankful for the sessions that have already taken place they have done very well and it's very very informative so as Chris said I had the honor of serving as a Schoolboard trustee back in the 70s and 80s as a chair of the board in the water

County Board of Education in 1982 and then I've also had the opportunity to serve as a member of parliament in Canada's parliament from January 2006 to October of 2019 so through many years of Public Service I have had the prayer support of hundreds of people who have covered me with prayer and I am eternally grateful for their faithful partnership in my efforts to serve Christ Faithfully in the Public Square so thank you for your interest in learning more about that through this series of sessions that Chris and his team are doing as followers of Jesus and those who are committed to obeying scripture we have very clear instructions in 1 Timothy 2 1:4 we read I urge then first

of all that petitions prayers intercession and Thanksgiving be made for all people for kings and all those in Authority why so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and Holiness this is good and pleases God our savior who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth so God's heart is for all people to be saved and to come to know the truth so why are we talking about government why even care about politics just preach the answer is not immediately obvious to that question in fact there are those who actively discourage Christians from engaging in Pol in politics they say stay away from politics just preach and pray but if we

stop and think about it for just a moment governments either allow the freedom to share the good news offering the opportunity to come to the knowledge of the truth or they obstruct that freedom if you've ever looked at a map of of North and South Korea a satellite image at night you will see a very stark contrast one of the countries is dark totally dark the other is all lit up with points of light all across the country why the difference Freedom versus oppression that difference also applies to the spiritual climate in those two countries the one has freedom to propagate the gospel the other does not all because of differences in political systems and government so government is

important as followers of Christ we are called to be beacons of light yes proclaiming the gospel is the primary Mandate of the church but in order to propagate the gospel we need a political system that allows it to happen freely what did Jesus say our lives should be you are the salt of the earth but if the salt loses its saltiness how can it be made salty again it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot you are the light of the world a town built on a hill cannot be hidden neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl instead they put it on his stand and it gives light to everyone in the house in the same way let your

light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in Heaven Again in Matthew 6 we have jesus' words where he was teaching his disciples to pray Our Father in heaven Hallowed Be Your Name Your Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven so if Jesus is asking us to pray for his will to be done on Earth as it is in heaven this is one prayer that we can pray with complete confidence knowing that he desires to answer it if his will is to be done on Earth that means that my will becomes subject to his will it means not my will it means not Satan's will it means not ungodly people's will this is a prayer of complete submission to the father's

will in his devotional heaven on Earth Chris tigen states that this prayer is more than just a prayer of submission it is a Battle Cry against everything that is wrong in this world it's an assertive enforcement of the Divine will over and above everything that contradicts it when we pray for God's will to be done we are issuing a Kingdom Proclamation against the evil one against the ways of the Fallen World against the rebellious spirit that plagues the human race we are calling for the kingdom in every situation in which the fullness of God is not yet come and we are praying according to God's will so pray persistently and aggressively insist that the will of the father be revered

both in visible and in spiritual Realms we have a list of what to pray for we all have a list like that now we need to add some things to pray against pray for whatever doesn't look like God's Will and for God's kingdom that it doesn't look like God's Kingdom for it to go and for his will to be done on Earth as it is in heaven listen to God's word in the New Testament through Paul in Ephesians chapter 5 he says you are once Darkness but now you are light in the Lord live as children of light for the fruit of light consists in all goodness righteousness and truth and find out what pleases the Lord have nothing to do with the fruitless Deeds of Darkness but rather expose them it is

shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret but everything exposed By the Light becomes visible and everything that is illuminated becomes a light this is why it is said wake up sleeper rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you be very careful then how you live not as unwise but as wise making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil have nothing to do with the fruitless Deeds of Darkness don't play around with seemingly innocent little sins do not tolerate them in your own life expose them as followers of Christ we have changed our kingdom Allegiance we have come out of the kingdom of darkness and we have been transferred into the Kingdom of Light

when Satan and his kingdom are here to kill steal and destroy Jesus came to bring life and life to the full we cannot be praying and working to establish God's kingdom without being in opposition to Satan's kingdom and like all Endeavors in life we have the privilege and obligation to partner with God in expanding his kingdom and establishing his will here on Earth I don't know about you but I often hear the phrase God is in control he is sovereign yes God is in control I agree with that but we have a partnership in his work I'm tired of seeing people shrug their shoulders and say oh well God's in control as if we have no responsibility at all that doesn't work for me in my

garden I can't sit in my lazy boy in the spring drink coffee and pray for a good garden and never go out to the garden and work and then expect a good Garden I need to dig cultivate order seeds plant seeds plant and pull weeds and watch for and remove those destructive little pasts if I expect to harvest anything it's a Divine human partnership God's sovereignty does not diminish my responsibility in our world and in our country like in nehemiah's day walls have been broken down but through days of prayer and fasting Nehemiah heard from God what he could do to partner with God in a big rebuilding project we too have the duty to seek God's face in order to discover what role each of us

has in the big project of rebuilding those broken down walls being part of the kingdom of light means that we take seriously our call to be ambassadors for that Kingdom we have the duty and privilege of shining Kingdom light into the darkness that surrounds us and when light appears Darkness has no choice it has to leave so that was a rather lengthy introduction to the topic of praying for government and political leaders but before we can discuss what we need to pray for we need to be aware of our current situation like Nehemiah who took time to inspect the Broken Walls and assess a situation we need to be aware of the realities we are facing in Canada and

then get to work on the repairs for all followers of Christ we do have work to do unfortunately The Familiar saying keep politics out of the pulpit has led to the disengagement of Christians in the political sphere this attitude has been a large contributor to Canada's moral and cultural decline political and cultural engagement is not optional for the Christian it is a command we are required to obey it may look different for different Christians but we have a duty to live out the lordship of Christ in every sphere of Canada including politics and government so now I'm going to list about seven things suggestions of things that we can pray for it's not an exist

exhaustive list by any means but it'll give you some ideas as to where we could start and you can add to it and highlight some of them and others may not be as important for you but here's start number one pray for God to raise up people of integrity and character and hopefully people who are committed to following Christ to offer themselves to stand in the Gap to to offer to serve in political office at the municipal or Regional level or local city count or town councils on school boards or in the federal or provincial level we need men and women of character integrity humility and great wisdom to step forward to serve and then we need armies of Prayer Warriors to surround them and

armies of volunteers who are prepared to roll up their sleeves and support these brave people by doing the hard work of going door too putting up signs and giving generously to campaign resources number two once they're in office pray regularly for your MP or your your uh office suring pray for humility that these people who are leading us would recognize their total dependence on God that they would not become proud or arrogant and thinking that they have all the answers pray for wisdom the issues that are facing our itical leaders today are extremely complex they are much more complex today than when I started back almost 20 years ago so pray for wisdom that they would

see God's perspective God's perspective from reading his word daily studying his word I uh during my political term I I had the practice of reading at least one chapter of proverbs each day and there's 31 days in the month so there's 31 chapters in Proverbs so I always knew where I should be reading and the incredible wisdom of the Book of Proverbs is extremely helpful they may not have time to do intense Bible studies because of their commitments but even a short devotional time reading a short devotional by oswal Chambers My Utmost st's highest Experiencing God by blackaby Daily Bread Ned Christian broadcasters there's other ways that our our MPS and our elected officials can

get some instruction corrective instruction and challenging and inspirational thoughts from daily bread and other books God's word is a light for our path so our our MPS our elected officials need to be spending time in God's word it shows us the way to go God's instructions are always always for our good our political leaders need to Value the principles and precepts of God's word King David political leader from years ago had a very high view of the value of God's word in Psalm 119 he says blessed are those whose ways are blameless who walk according to the law of God blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart they do no wrong but follow his

ways you have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed oh that my ways were steadfast and obeying your decrees then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws I obey your decrees do not utter they forsake me how can a young person stay on the path of Purity by living according to your word I seek you with all my heart do not let me stray from your commands I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you praise be to you Lord teach me your decrees with my lips I recount all the laws that came from your mouth I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches

and meditate on your precepts and consider your way ways I Delight in your decrees I will not neglect your word so pray that MPS and other elected officials will not neglect God's word pray that they will have a high view of God's word that deception will be exposed and truth will be revealed pray for discernment again we have in instructions in Deuteronomy 1718 and 19 where the duties of the king uh that could apply to us as political leaders are laid out for the king Verse 18 when he the king takes control takes the Throne of the Kingdom he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law taken from that of the levitical priests it is to be with him and he is to read

it all the days of his life so that he may learn to rever the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees in Solomon's Prayer as he assumes the kingship of Israel in Psalm 72 give the king thy judgments oh God and thy righteousness to the King's son we prayed for wisdom to make good decisions good judgments and this verse incidentally is inscribed on the peace Tower South window of the peace Tower of our center block of our Parliament buildings I don't have time to read the entire chapter of Psalm 72 but I encourage you to read it and use it as a template as to how to pray for our leaders who will lead us in righteousness to human flourishing to

care for the vulnerable and Afflicted to care for the weak we get needy and to rescue those from oppression number three pray for opportunities for the Member of Parliament to forge strong relationships with others for encouragement for accountability for prayer the weekly prayer breakfast on the on Parliament Hill that happens every Wednesday morning at 7 o'clock is an incredible time for us to come together as members of parliament to pray for each other pray for things that are going on in our individual lives in our famili family's life and to recognize that we as members of parliament that we as the those who represent you in Parliament are dependent on God for every good thing

every every source of wisdom that we need so my experience with Christian colleagues prayer groups and their writings and uh the prayer breakfast that I mentioned earlier were incredibly important for me and so giving me the the strength to stand uh not alone but to stand with my my brothers and sisters on Parliament Hill number four pray for stamina for boldness and courage I the the intense pressures of time and the volume of communications the emails the phone calls the one-on-one meetings the committee meetings the overwhelming expectations the long days and long weeks they become grueling and you need physical stamina and strength and health so pray for health and strength and

stamina for our members of parliament pray that they would stand for truth that their voice would be heard that they would not remain silent on things that are important because as we know silence and in the face of evil is is giving consent to that evil pray that they would seek the praise of God not the praise of man pray that they would have the attitude of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego who were being csed to bow down to the ID of their day pray that our members of parliament those who are serving there serving Christ there in the parliament would have that kind of a spirit that would say we're not bowing down to the idols of our day our God can save us

but even if he doesn't we're not bowing down pray that they will have spines of Steel pray that they would be strong in the face of ridicule and oppression because they will face ridicule and oppression but Jesus has a special word for them in Luke 6:22 blessed are you when people hate you when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the son of man blessed are you when they hate you and insult you and some of the key issues today that we need to stay strong on are freedom of belief freedom of expression protection of human life from conception to Natural death family gender and marriage that we would follow biblical standards because

these standards are all for our good for our human flourishing we are living in a time when good is called evil and evil is called good the very foundations that we have have built on are being destroyed David asked the question in Psalm 113 when the foundations are being destroyed what can the rightous do you and are you and I are faced with that same question today when human life is devalued to the point where we kill our own offspring when the freedom to educate our children is taken away when we lose the freedom to believe or share our perspective or our world view especially when we are totally convinced that these beliefs come from the gracious heart of God from God

himself and as I mentioned earlier every one of them for our good not to make life miserable what can we do what can one person do what can your church do as I mentioned earlier Paul's instructions in 1 Timothy 1:4 I urge them first of all petitions prayers intercession and Thanksgiving be made for all and notice that word Thanksgiving be thankful for your leaders that are in Parliament you may not agree with everything they are doing but be thankful that they've offered themselves to serve with Thanksgiving for kings and those in Authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and Holiness this is good and pleases God our savior and the ultimate

desire In this passage is he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth so there's an implicit assumption here if we're going to have peaceful quiet lives bathed in godliness and Holiness we need to have those in government who will have the courage to introduce and pass laws which will enable Godly and holy living pray that God will raise up leaders who see what has been broken down and will have the courage to work to rebuild but as ordinary Canadians who are not in government positions or in leadership in politics we can't just wash our hands and expect those in government to do what we are unwilling to do in our communities and in our churches if we

are not willing to stand firm on God's Eternal truth from the very beginning of History God's faithful leaders they called out evil they called out evil in the lives of political leaders and in the general population they so offended their audiences that they were hated and even sometimes killed for it the Old Testament prophet John the Baptist Jesus of his disciples the Apostle Paul and countless other Saints give evidence to this so pray for boldness or stamina to stand for truth number five pray that members of parliament that their lifestyle and their deportment will be a positive example of one who follows Christ that they would be people of Integrity that

they will be ambassadors in second Corinthians 5 we have therefore if anyone is in Christ the new creation has come the old has gone gone the new is here all this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ not counting people's sins against them and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation we are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us we implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God so pray that our MPS will conduct themselves with wholesome speech and action that they will be positive and fair employers that they

will treat their co-workers as fellow workers not as employees not as tyrants who treat their their employees like slaves that they will be loyal to Christ and loyal to their political team as long as that political team isn't leading them away from following Christ pray for marriages of members of parliament the marriages of our members of parliament are in danger they're in a very vulnerable position members of parliament come to Ottawa from their respective writings from all across Canada geographically separated often from their spouse The Temptations the isolation the feeling of success hey I've arrived on Parliament Hill I'm a member of parliament look at

me uh and then having others work with them who look up to them and admire them whether those are co-workers or fellow colleagues uh they're away from home they're away from their spiritual support system away from their Church away from their accountability I pray that they would be strong that they would build strong guard rails to protect their marriages because we know you and I know that Satan is out to destroy marriage and I want you as well to pray in a separate category to pray for the members families members of parliament's families yes the marriage is a primary role in that but the entire family also makes huge sacrifices as well children need time with their dad and mom and

elected officials Miss many of the special occasions with their children birthdays graduations music concerts basketball games hockey games soccer games football games and much more now my experience was different when I was entered Parliament my children were all married so I didn't have that uh extra burden of feeling I should be home for these special occasions uh but I know many of my colleagues who have younger children this is a great deal of causes a great deal of stress for them but I do regret that even though I did my children were grown and gone I did miss a number of my grandchildren's special occasions that I would have loved to be present for like

sports and graduations and other special events so pray for members of parliament that they would have uh the option the opportunity to make up for lost opportunities that could have the potential to cause resentment on the part of children and and even your grandchildren so being praying for protection and health for their families for wisdom and discernment for humility acknowledging that each of us are accountable to God for our decisions and actions and hearts that are sensitive to God and His clear instructions and that those who are not yet followers of Christ will become followers of Christ will come to know Christ they will embrace the truth National leadership

briefing if any of you have watched any of their sessions has four pillars that I think we can add with good confidence add to our prayer list pray that we will have members of parliament leaders in our political system who will enact laws which will protect freedom of belief and freedom of speech protect and preserve human right parental rights rather protect and preserve the vulnerable Among Us and pro and that they would not Heap debt on our children and future Generations this is a huge one that I think we're almost oblivious to that we would not heat that on our children in future Generations I want to end my comments with a bit of a disclaimer uh politics

is not the hope of the world it's not the hope of Canada and in case you think that I think that political investment is the answer to our world's problems let me assure you that I I do not think that uh Zechariah reminded us in God's word that his God's work is done not by might or by power but by his Spirit God did work through his people in the Old Testament and the New Testament he called them to go into battle they needed to show up to fight to do their part but God provided the victory again I want to repeat God's sovereignty does not diminish our responsibility so whether Trudeau or Harper or Dean Baker or POV is of Canada whether Lincoln Bush Carter Obama Trump

or Harris as president of the US I can say with confidence God is still Sovereign he is still on the throne he is the king of kings there are three familiar U songs that are words of trust and hope that help me in my journey of trusting God one is This Is My Father's World This Is My Father's World and to my listening ears all nature sings and around me Rings The Music of the Spheres but there one verse in that song that says this is My Father's World and let me never forget that though the wrong seems of so strong God is the ruler yet and that familiar course Because He Lives I Can Face Tomorrow and finally my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood

and righteousness please give me hope so God bless each of you as you serve him Faithfully God bless Canada God keep our land glorious and free and may his will be done on Earth as it is in heaven God bless you amen thank you Harold there were so many great insights there I I I love the 31 Psalms uh Proverbs rather that is such a good takeaway and to hear such an extensive area on praying for MPS you unpacked that wonderfully much larger encompassed all aspects of their lives and I really appreciate that one of the biggest surprises on on what you shared today was I never knew you were a Schoolboard trustee oh that's a that's a long time ago and you know what those

are really significant things many times we don't pray for our school board we don't for municipal leaders and if we've seen anything over the past five seven years that Schoolboard trustees carry something really really really significant because they actually allow they are Gatekeepers and they allow things into our schools and they allow things not to come into our schools so I want to say this to to those of you are out there and listening to this if the Lord is speaking to you about being engaged in Schoolboard trustees you should listen to him and do this because this is such an important area and any area any area if the Lord is speaking to you to be a a regional member a

municipal member an MLA an MPP an MP those are all great things and um I have quite a few friends right now that are are considering running I have a friend out in Vernon who is vying for the for the candidacy uh and she is such a Godly woman and we're praying for her and even now I mean even at this point here're talking with Harolds they're the conservative have 186 vacant candidacies right now and if that the if the conservatives have that we know that the Liberals do so this is a great opportunity to start to pray for emerging leaders and let me just say too Chris that I agree with you 100% to pray for those who will stand for election but you and I know that the percentage

of people who will stand for election for anything is quite small not everybody's called to do that so everybody can get behind one of those people in support of what they're doing in prayer first of all but also we we have like I want to go back to the Divine human partnership we cannot simply be praying and think our job is done y God's sovereignty does not diminish my responsibility and so you can you can be a part of their team resources financially knocking on doors stuffing envelopes you name it exactly and that's how you know I was uh when the Lord started to speak to us about being involved in the political side of things that was around 2023 my Member of Parliament was um was Jim

flare and uh 2013 rather did I say 2013 and uh and so we started to engage but our role we we we got involved with an ed electoral District Association that was an eyeopener for us and this gave us the opportunity to serve now the main goal was to help that candidate get in but my real job was to pray but the way I did that is I was able to preach the gospel like crazy there but I never I said anything about preaching the gospel I did it with my actions I did it with my gifts I did it with everything that the Lord had built into me and you know what I never said Jesus once but they knew exactly who who I was and what I carried and you know and as a result of that I mean even my

pastor Doug Schneider at that time said Chris we want you to run run for MPP and I said no not me this mouth oh this mouth will get me in way too much trouble and and you know what but I was really useful on the back end of things in the background as a support as a and and eventually you know I became a a constituency manager and uh I sat on I think I said on four edas at once and uh but all the time bringing the kingdom of God bringing righteousness peace and you highlight such an important thing because I could never have done even a small percentage of what I did without the large team around me in the campaigns but also in the in between the campaigns the volunteers that helped me

and stood stood behind me in in so many ways so you need a team around you so be part of the team that's a good start exactly and this is how we carry anop of prayer now what our original vision for this that you know when we before we even came to anhop we started to see how important it would be to have praying members in every Eda that's that's what we wanted in every and everyone even the Liberals even the NDP I don't know how you can do that but you know even there because bringing Salt and Light letting Jesus rub off in those areas and to speak speak whatever to speak s light into those areas and I had I had a couple prayer groups that supported me

regularly weekly in prayer as I when I was a member of Parliament and uh I will say that in from my perspective I believe that their involvement their Ministry was equally if not more important than my upfront role so please understand that that's that's really good you know I have have one question here for you it's uh how important is it for us the body of Christ to be build positive connections with their MP I think it's very important and I think one of the ways you can do that one of the ways that uh as you know Chris members of parliament and other elected officials are often asked to be present at special events in their writing uh whether it's celebration of

Canada Day or Victoria Day or you name it there are special events that are happening all the time and and I was so helped by people who came up to me at those events to speak to me face to face with their concerns sometimes uh their criticism sometimes but uh often with a word of encouragement and a word of saying I'm praying for you so if you have a member of Parliament that you see at an event and even if they not don't share your political persuasion or your your Christian values just assure them that you're thankful they're there and you are praying for them and that goes a long way so it's important that we engage with our MPS uh on issues that concern us when certain legislation is

being put forward and too often we only contact them when we're against something that they're proposing Let's uh take time to uh thank them and encourage them for the times that they are on the right track as well too many people think that Christian MPS will stand for the truth and hopefully they will but they still need to hear from your from their constituents because their voices added to the MP's voice strengthen that voice so when I get up in Parliament and I say Mr Speaker I want to share my position on this and I'm opposed to this because of XYZ and I've been contacted by 500 or a thousand of my constituents that strengthens my argument to say this is how Canadians

feel as well so yeah build those strong relationships thanks Chris well Harold this has been great I just love sharing with you we love what you do it's always nice to see you in darling when you coming to town and uh and we just love what you carry and thank you for these words of wisdom thank you for for what you brought thank you for sharing today well thank you and for the other organizations on the hill that partner with us as believing MPS to give us uh ideas courage giving Network opportunities So yeah thank you we cannot do this on our own God bless you God bless you so I'm Chris Viber this is former MP Herold alre and we will see you next time bye for now [Music] [Music]