Five days National Fasting and Prayer Conference of the Assemblies of God, Ghana has commenced in a powerful mood. The Biennial Prayer Conference is organized by the Executive Presbytery of the Church for all Pastors in the organization. This year’s conference is organized in two zones. Zone A is being held at the University of Cape Coast Auditorium 900 with Pastors from Central, Western, Volta, Eastern A & B and Greater Accra Regions from 19th– 21st August, 2019. Pastors in Ashanti, Northern, Upper West and Eastern C Regions are also meeting at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi from 21st – 23rd August, 2019.
This programme is organized by the leaders to pray for the revival of the church. At the opening of the conference, the Assistant General Superintendent of the church Rev. Dr. Paul Henry Dsane explained what has necessitated the gathering. He opined that the church is living in a very crucial moment, hence the need to fast and pray. According Rev. Dsane, the five days’ conference is to pray for spiritual awakening because the church and most pastors are sleeping and need to awake. He further indicated that many have disregarded God’s standard for worship and His word and have also marginalized His warnings, “therefore, we are gathered here this week to humble ourselves, seek God’s face and make solemn covenant with Him”, he emphasized.
Rev.Dr. Dsane mentioned a number of leaders in the scriptures who during their administration called for revival. Notable among them were, Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8, 9), Joel (Joel 1, 2), Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20: 1-29), King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29, 30), King Josiah (2 Chronicles 24), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 10:7-9) etc.
Rev. Dr. Dsane continued that the time has come for the pastors and the church to avail themselves for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. According to him the church is sick when the power of the Holy Spirit is not moving in it. He asked the hundreds of pastors gathered to cry to God to bring revival into His church again. He prayed that the church needs fresh fire of the Holy Spirit. “We have gotten to an era where the church is saddled with all kinds of programmes and the concerns of some pastors are not about how many souls are won to the Lord but what they are eyeing is money and material things”, he noted. He advised the pastors to make room for the Holy Spirit to take over. “Pastors must allow the Holy Spirit to take over their lives and the churches”, he reiterated. Rev. Dsane further indicated that the church has become lukewarm and worldliness has also garnered into it; and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is the panacea to these deliquesces.
Rev. Robert Arhin, the chairman of the Decade of the Holy Spirit led the passionate gathering into a powerful prayer session. Executive Presbytery members present at the opening session were Rev. Dr. Sam Ato Bentil (General Treasurer), Rev. Dr. Kwame Bansah (General Secretary), the Regional Superintendents from Southern Zone and some former E.P members.
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Report by: Rev Kwame Asiedu Obed A
