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This article was originally published in Edition (3) of Prayer Magazine, Summer 2005. Delta Force 33k
For those who take their prayer lives seriously, hearing phrases like: prayer is ‘The Key’, not ‘A’ key and powering wholesale community transformation through prayer - tends to catch your attention! Well, in the most unlikely of places – the Rhondda Valleys of Wales – there’s something big, something really big, happening when it comes to prayer. I say unlikely, because Rhondda with less than six hundred believers in a population of 85,000 is the most secular part of Wales and the United Kingdom and quite possibly, Europe too. But things are changing and there’s a sense that ground is being taken back for the Kingdom. In fact, there’s an army on the march; a mighty prayer warrior army called the Delta Force. The Delta Force 33k vision is a key part of a process aimed at seeing wholesale community transformation come to Rhondda and, working hand-in-hand with the amazing Sporting Marvels vision (see www.sportingmarvels.com) , it’s a modern day living out of 1 Corinthians 3:7 which says ‘neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, only God who makes things grow’. “It’s a simple formulae, really”, explained Phil Davies, director of both projects, “Sporting Marvels is the all-community seed-planter whilst Delta Force 33k is the all-community waterer or nurturer, watering the Gospel seed planted by Sporting Marvels and by any other seed-planting ministry, church or activity. And Jesus in His mercy, is the only one who saves. It’s all about Him, and for His glory.” “Both Sporting Marvels and Delta Force 33k are servant visions”, added Phil – serving God’s vision for wholesale community transformation. They are Kingdom visions, Kingdom focussed and Kingdom driven. The significance of the ‘33k’ is that there are 33,000 homes in the Rhondda Valleys, so the aim is to mobilise daily prayer on a one intercessor per home equivalent basis, praying every day forever until Jesus’ return. So, how do you go about mobilising 33,000 people from a pool of five or six hundred? “Clearly,” said Phil, “the maths don’t work if you take the problem at face value! But nothing is impossible to God and He’s always got the answer. He is putting us on the hearts of people all over the world and it’s just another indication that the move of God that we are experiencing may well be focussed locally, but it is being resourced globally and potentially, will have global implications”. When Phil explains that the Delta Force already numbers more than two thousand five hundred registered prayer partners drawn from thirty-one different countries, you get an idea of what he means. From as far afield as Australia and Argentina, Canada and Columbia, Kenya and Korea, New Zealand and Nigeria, Uganda and the Ukraine, God is sending His reinforcements. “It’s quite amazing that people from all over the world are coming to our aid”, Phil said. “God has heard our cries. When prayer comes out of a heart that has pure and right motives and is endeavouring to love God and people according to Jesus’ love commands, then we can ask for whatever we like in prayer and it will be given unto us. When our heart is right with God, He will give you the desires of your heart”. Phil and his co-trustees at Sporting Marvels – Chris and Clive Jones and Ps John Bullock – are men of passion; men who love Jesus and who want to see His Kingdom come, to their area and to the world. Many areas will have men and women like this, of course, but what you sense when you speak with these particular men, is that they have a strategy for seeing it happen; a God-given strategy. The original vision for Sporting Marvels, came out of what was in effect, a ten year prayer meeting when Phil was asked by John Bullock “what would you do for God if you knew you could not fail?” That was 5th July 2002, and five months later Phil found himself in Guatamala for a high-profile Community Transformation Conference. He’d travelled to Central America with his good friend, Carl Brettle, editor of Prayer Magazine, and it was there that the prayer vision was birthed. Chart the progress and you can’t fail to be impressed. “In a society that doesn’t have Christian role models or big, well-resourced churches able to run community outreach programmes, our kids are growing up with no understanding of Jesus or His message. Someone has to plant the seed that gives them the chance of finding Him as Lord, Saviour and King. In Sporting Marvels, God has given us as the vehicle to seed plant the entire community and through the Delta Force, He’s given us the nurturers to water the seed. We know that as long as we do our bit, God will do His bit”. “The prayer vision has always been much more than just Sporting Marvels,” said Phil, “it’s always been about fuelling God’s plans for the wholesale community transformation of Rhondda and for absolutely anything that falls under that umbrella; churches, ministries, people. Everyone benefits from their prayers and there’s no doubt that the spiritual climate of Rhondda is changing and improving all the time. The local newspaper, the Rhondda Leader’, bears effective testimony to this; today’s issues bear not a jot of resemblance to the dark days of 2002, dubbed ‘the worst year on record’. Praise God, the headlines have lost their ability to leave your stomach in knots! Whilst we can’t prove it or quantify it, we believe that it is the existence of the Delta Force, the prayers of the saints, that is what’s driving this change. “The Delta Force is no passive army; it’s a spiritual fighting force, forcefully taking ground for God, powering wholesale community transformation as it does so. Just imagine what it’s going to be like when there’s 10,000 or 20,000 or when all 33000 are in place”, Phil added. “It’s going to be awesome.” THE VISION – God has given us a vision for a Prayer Warrior Army numbering 33,000 praying for the Rhondda Valleys into wholesale community transformation – that’s every sector, every age group, every sub-culture – for His glory. BIRTH – The Prayer Vision was birthed in Guatemala on 1st November 2002 (five months after the birth of the Sporting Marvels vision) when we felt God say that you can’t have an operational strategy to seed-plant a community without a prayer strategy to nurture the all-community seed. Prayer is “THE” key, not “A” key, says the Lord. THE GOAL – To mobilise prayer for Rhondda on a one intercessor per home equivalent basis praying every day of every week forever, until Jesus’ return. WHY 33,000? – The significance of the number is that there are 33,087 homes in Rhondda; so the aim therefore, is to mobilise daily prayer on a one intercessor per home equivalent basis! Imagine it!! Every home covered in prayer, every day!! We declare that Jesus will be exalted to His rightful place as Lord, Saviour and King of the Rhondda Valleys. PRAYER WARRIOR COMMITMENT – The Prayer Warriors are asked to commit to a minimum 5-10 minutes each day, though we’ll all praise God if anyone is led to pray more. We also ask that where possible and practical that the prayer warrior tries to mobilise others to pray, perhaps through a prayer meeting, or via your church, family or friends. OUR COMMITMENT TO THE PRAYER WARRIORS – We promise to keep the prayer warriors informed and updated with news, specifying and prioritising prayer requests and promise to pray for them, their families, their church and community at all our office prayer times. If you like this article, why not subscribe to Prayer Magazine - Click here to Subscribe {LINK : https://www.prayermagazine.
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