| CHRISTIAN LEADERS URGE DAY OF PRAYER by Julia Duin, The Washington times March 3,2003 |
| A Colorado Springs prayer ministry is calling all Christians today to a worldwide day of prayer because of a likely war with Iraq and the belief that today's 03/03/03 date signifies the Trinity. The World Prayer Team; a ministry of the 8,000 - member New Life Church; also in Colorado Springs, has sent out e-mails to church groups worldwide directing them to several websites -- among them http://www.internationalwallofprayer.org, http://www.newlifechurch.org, and http://www.worldprayerteam.org -- begging Christians to pray that the war might be averted. The date doubly significant, says New Life pastor and World Prayer Team President Ted Haggard in a message posted on both sites, because New Agers also revere the third day of the third month of the third millennium. The Islamic calendar also begins its new year this week. "While all this is beneath the radars of the secular news media," he wrote, "it is clear to many Christian leaders that the world is on the brink of a spiritual battle of monumental proportions. The epicenter of this struggle is the Middle East. A battle is going on for Jerusalem and Babylon (Iraq), biblical centers of spiritual light and darkness." The World Prayer Team, also known as the World Prayer Center, claimed to play a role in the 2000 elections when it activated networks of "prayer warriors" around the country to pray for G-d's choice of a candidate to win. Some even travelled to South Florida to pray near the hottest spots in the contested election. Mr. Haggard has recently spearheaded an initiative for one million Christians to pray for President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq and go into exile instead of going to war. A Jan. 19 meeting at the church to pray for the Iraqi leader attracted 1500 people. Saddam has been linked by the prayer center to the ancient Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, as the two have ruled over the same territory. "The World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs has been contacted by people from all over the world to say that G-d is impressing upon them to call their churches, networks, and/or ministries to special prayer on March 3, 2003," Mr. Haggard said. "These believers do not know one another, are not connected to one another and do not know that the others are saying the same things. The Holy Spirit is speaking to His Church, and He is calling His people to prayer," he said. "If we pray, we will see a miracle. If we don't, many will unnecessarily suffer." |