The team who have just returned from Nigeria: Jan, Sharon, Rachel, Steve, Gwen and Rob, Debbie and Barbara want to thank you for your prayer support having been in a nation which has significant lawlessness and is definitely not safe, yet because of your prayers we felt very safe. We ministered to 1008 people and saw many of them receive inner healing. This side of heaven we will not see the benefit of the ministry, but we saw enough that the organisers were amazed at the Lord's goodness to all the people to whom we ministered. We just reflect all the glory to Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith.

There were 4 areas of ministry: Widows, Pastors and Leaders, War Survivors and Addicts in a Rehabilitation Centre.

Firstly, we ministered to 329 widows on our first Sunday afternoon and we hugged and prayed laying hands on all of them. They left after worshipping and dancing in very high spirits, and we saw their countenance change.

Secondly, we ministered to 90 pastors for 3 days from around the area of persecution many of whom have been attacked by Fulani Herdsmen, Boko Haram and other bandits.  Their lives are very hard and yet they come and worship the Lord and we saw their joy!

A small selection of testimonies from this conference:

A young man: Came to the conference last year. He had conflict with his sister and had not spoken to her for 8 years. When he nailed his forgiveness to the cross last year, he knew something changed. In December she called him and they reconciled. His spirit was lifted, he said "I can now minister to people who struggle with what I struggled with. I am now free."

A young man: His church is full of hurts, wounds and bitterness. He came on the course last year. He took the teaching back and ran a course like this in his church, including nailing forgiveness on the cross. The bitterness and divisions in the church were healed, and it is still in unity.

A young man: He has long had a problem/pain in his body. Yesterday during the prayer led from the front, he was told to touch the area where the pain was. The pain went.

A young man: has recently been transferred to a new position/placement which has really challenged his faith. He saw people massacred like animals and his student's made orphans, deeply traumatised because they had seen their parents butchered. He felt angry with God. Right from the first session, God started to deal with him, he had to forgive himself and realise God is still God. He spoke to the bishop on the phone and said one of the best things ever done for him was to allow him to come here. "It's as if the conference was made for me".  Many more testimonies were given.

Thirdly, we ministered to what started with 100 people on the first day, but this rose to 549 on the second day. They Lord just brought them and touched most of them with His healing.

We taught on anger and these were the areas they stated that made them angry which gives you a taste of what they are suffering:

The Fulani - burnt my house and took all my food, The Fulani killed my brother and burnt my brother, The Fulani Burnt my house, The Fulani killed my father and took all I have, I am angry with Fulani. - they burnt 8 of our villages we can't not return, They chased me from my house, My husband went to check our house and they killed him, They killed my son, my husband and my younger sister I don't have anywhere to sleep I want the Fulani to disappear, Fulani killed my husband - they burnt the house and took all I have. I have nothing, Fulani killed my husband, Fulani killed my younger brother, I am angry with the government and the soldiers who did nothing to protect me, they killed my son, my younger brother. I went to harvest bananas and they killed them, I don't want to see them (the Fulani) and I am angry with them, Destroyed my farm produce - last Friday they killed my uncle - they cut off his head and burnt his body, I am angry with the government - they are not helping!

Testimonies from this conference: 

• A young lady: This morning when I woke up I am feeling better

• A young lady: Could not sleep but after the meeting she went home and slept well

• A young man: I was transferred to a church that was burnt to the ground. It has been very hard to sleep but after teaching I have slept soundly.

• A young lady:  After the teachings yesterday, I went back home and slept. I have not slept well for a long time. I read my bible and then slept. I woke up at 5am and prayed.

 

• A young lady:  I lost everything, but I am feeling better now

• A Pastor:  I went home and lay down and slept - thank you for this teaching

 

• A young lady:  Her father was killed and since then she couldn't sleep. Last night she was able to sleep

• A Pastor:  I felt as though I was going to die but with these prayers I feel I have peace of mind

 

• A young man - said he was happier than everyone because 'this teaching has impacted me and touched my heart' When the Fulani people chased us out - I vowed I must kill them. But when I heard the teaching and I have left everything in the hands of God.

Finally, we ministered to 40 addicts who were also mostly war survivors in a Rehabilitation Centre for 4 days and 37 of them gave their lives to Jesus on the second day. The Lord was working miracles in their lives and some testimonies are below:

• About 20 sleeping better after first day

• A young man - I want to appreciate God and all he had done for me. I was carrying things inside me and when I received prayer they all left me. I have been carrying this weight since 2014. I have been struggling to know how to get rid of this pain until yesterday. Being here has given us hope and freedom thanks be to God.

 

• A young lady - I thank you because I couldn't forgive or forget - I was always angry, but I have forgiven my mother, and God has changed my life

• A young man - I want to thank God - to share from the blessing I have received. Before I got here, I was really grieving- the Fulani took all our food and destroyed our community. I hated the Fulani. But I have begun to see the light of God and have been liberated from the darkness . I have been able to forgive the Fulani. I also feel that I have received forgiveness as well. I also appreciate the Flame ministry. Please Pray for us - please do not forget to pray us

• A young lady - I want to appreciate God almighty.  We know that we are all humans and always fall short but through this programme our eyes have been opened to so many things. We don't know what to say to Flame and we pray that God will continue to guide you

• A young lady - I don't know where to start - I used to be a very angry person - I used to snap. I have been carrying so many people in my heart - so heavy.  I just felt a weight drop from me. I felt to call people and tell them how I feel. To bless them and to love them. We don't want the Flame team to go. I have taken a lot of alcohol but after the prayers I have stopped now. I want to encourage my brothers to stop too.

 

• A young man - before I came here, I was doubting - why I am going there. I said to God if it's your will let it be done. I wanted to live like a new man. If I perish, I perish, if I live if I live. If it's your will let it be done. Last night when I slept, I could feel changes in me. They exposed some secrets - some good teachings. I feel like I am not the Kingsley I used to know. Something came out of me - it's as if I can fly now. We know that Jesus is the only solution.

• A young man- I came here a very grieving and heavy person - a very heavy load for me. I have had the most amazing 4 days of my life. For so many years I have carried such a load and now I have managed to get rid of this load.

37 Giving their lives to Jesus

The team are so grateful to you for your prayers, because without Him we could do nothing! We were carried by your prayers, we received many words and scriptures, and we are aware the Lord did so much. It is like having a field team (us) and you the home team; we work together and stay in unity, and the Lord receives the glory. We know unity commands a blessing! We witnessed it in Nigeria!

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation tribe, people and language, standing in before the throne and in front of the Lamb."  Revelation 7:9

Thank you to all who prayed for us whilst we were in the nation in Central Asia. Jan, Tristan, Robert and Elene are so thankful for the prayers you offered. This nation is high on the Open Doors Watch List, and we were working with a partner who has a very sensitive ministry which we cannot disclose but lives were being transformed. From this ministry we now have a contact to go and minister to at least 50 people who we are told desperately need Flame ministry, so we are asking the Lord if we should return in 2026.  

One pastor also wants us to go to the Presbyterian Church and minister to 100 pastors who need to hear our teaching as our host is keen that the churches hear what we offer. Of course, going to the leaders is what we have always done and is a very attractive opportunity.

The second group of people we worked with who have never had contact with us, are a ministry which develops Discipleship training courses to deliver across the nation to some very needy folk. We ministered to the course developers and facilitators. They were nervous that we were going to be over the top Pentecostal with loud music and lots of shouting! Of course, we are not like that, and they were very happy as they met with Jesus and many of them received healing. One of the Pastors attending wants us to go further north to minister to another 50 people who he says are key people in quite a difficult area where there is much trauma.

 Some testimonies from this ministry:

• One lady was released from the trapped trauma, shame and rejection, from some 3 years earlier, where she was 'dumped' at her engagement party. The Lord broke through, and she accepted that this was the Lord's plan, because that man was not His choice.

• Another lady had debt issues due to an unwise investment where she had not asked the Lord for His guidance. She repented and forgave.

• Another chose to forgive and repent for bitterness and hatred in a difficult situation, where she and her mother were living in her brother's and sister-in-law's house and were being treated like slaves. God brought the healing once the lady confessed and chose to bless.

•  Another lady admitted that because she had some training in Mission school, she felt she didn't need any more 'healing'. However, she heard the Holy Spirit tell her that there were still more healing and revelations that He had for her.  She also submitted her marriage to Jesus; having decided to remain single and serve the Lord, Jesus had brought her a husband. 

• Another lady was delivered of an addiction to food/peanuts, which had put her into fear of getting married. Please pray her ovaries will be completely healed. 

We would suggest that these four sins are the main sins that the Bible speaks of that can bring curse and defilement onto the land. There are others too though, as the Prophet Malachi expresses that even family breakdown can result in a curse upon the land. “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6.

Flame delivers this teaching to many of the nations we go to; nations in Central and West Africa, war-torn nations in Eastern Europe and persecuted nations in Asia. One thing we have seen again and again as we deliver this teaching is the Holy Spirit descending upon the people and giving them a deep conviction of their country’s sins, in the fear of the Lord. Even here in the UK, our land is filled with the idolatrous and wicked sins that bring defilement and curse onto the land, but we, the people of God, can work with the Holy Spirit to see the Kingdom of Heaven come and transform things.  

The scriptures identify several consequences of defilement on the land. Ezekiel 14 expresses that ecological disaster, war or conflict, disease, and famine (even famine of the word of God) can come upon the land because of sin. One African Pastor, on hearing this teaching went to pray over his small holding where he grew crops. He repented of the sins on his land, asked the Lord to break the curses and bring about blessings on the land. The next harvest his crops were twice the height of his neighbours! “How are your crops so big?” His neighbours asked him. “What fertiliser did you use?” He told them that he didn’t use fertiliser, but the power of the Holy Spirit!  

As we resist God’s commands it is possible to even give way for demonic forces to attain positions of authority and rule over the land instead. One example we have of this was in Armenia. In one of the villages there was a particular street which was an accident ‘blackspot’. There had been several fatal accidents on this bend of the road, and it was well known. Two ladies who heard Flame’s teaching then went along the road and stood in the gap in intercessory prayer. They repented of sin on the land, forgave people who had done it and in Jesus’ name rebuked any spirit of accidents that was operating along that road.
A year later when the Flame team went back, they reported that there had been no fatal accidents since that time! Hallelujah!

Is this something that we can all do? Are believers mandated to go around cleansing the land? A part of the discernment to that question is, “What area of land do you have authority over?” Perhaps you own land, your own house, or you have an area of work. If you have any form of legal authority over a plot of land, you have authority and stewardship to cleanse it. You may even rent accommodation or rent an office room. Even if you rent, we would say that you legally have some right over that area. What other areas/building do you have some responsibility or representation over? Your Church, your town, and even your nation? This is an important consideration, as in intercessory prayer for healing the land, you come before God on behalf of a place and people group that you identify with. If I were to pray for my Church, my town, or my nation, I could say to God, “We, the people, have sinned”, and I can personally identify with them. I can’t speak on behalf of people from another country and represent them, they must do it.

God says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” This is incredible! We, the people of God, priests with Christ, have the role and honour to be able to come before God and stand in the gap on behalf of the sins on the land, and He will do what? He will “hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Shalom
As we seek the Lord in the many challenges of our lives, we can speak God’s shalom peace into the most difficult of situations. We can remember and pray the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, Matthew 6:10 and that Jesus came “that we may have life and life in all its fullness”, John 10:10.  

Our response becomes a life of worship, praise and thanksgiving, amid difficulty, a life of prayer and of living out the Great Commission in whatever ways, large or small, that the Holy Spirit prompts us.

What is God saying to the Church today? Go for it, live it and be blessed as you do so. Being led by the Spirit can look untidy, ridiculous, exciting and amazing. There may be sticking points for each of us. My own experience is that every time I think I understand what the Spirit is doing, He “ups the ante”. A challenging journey which can lead to amazing outcomes if we stick with it.

My understanding is that we stand at the beginning of a massive harvest, as people - particularly the younger generation - tire of the world and turn to Christ. In addition, there will be an exponential increase in healing and miracles.

Obedience
So often, we hear His call to us to respond but are slow to obey. I have recently been reminded of something the Lord told me to do some years ago. Although I had prepared myself to do this, I had not “got round” to it. When I repented and did it, I quickly received increased revelation, for myself, in ministry to others and in an opening to speak into church matters. To act “when I have time” hardly honours Jesus as Lord of my life.  

As we prepare for the return of Jesus Christ, let us hold closely to Him, whatever goes on around us, obey His word and trust Him for the outworking of the manifold problems of the church and the world. “To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen”, Ephesians 3:21.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” Revelation 3:22.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Many new age treatments were birthed out of eastern religions, therefore, engaging in their practice puts people under submission to the spiritual authority connected to them, i.e. Satan. To be clear, not every engagement with these practices will result in demonic intrusion, but it certainly makes the person vulnerable to it. Remember the question, “does this honour or dishonour God?” God’s intent is not to deny us but rather save us from the spiritual realities behind these things.

The availability of these practices, and the acceptance of them by some mainstream health bodies (e.g. acupuncture available on NHS and Yoga through social prescribing) is not a validation of the practice. The effectiveness of these techniques in providing some relief from the symptoms is not a validation of the technique. In addition, adding the word “Christian” in the title does not legitimise the regime any more than you can have “Christian Buddhism.” The question is what is going on spiritually?

A casual glance at what is being held in your locality will throw up a multitude of advertisements offering alternative ways to deal with whatever issues you may have, be it stress, pain or ways of improving your wellbeing. Here’s an example, “Dive into guided mindfulness exercises to quiet the mind and cultivate a sense of inner calm. Experience the gentle, healing energy of Reiki, promoting relaxation and balance within the body and mind. Explore guided hypnotic journeys designed to alleviate stress, enhance self-awareness, and foster a deep sense of relaxation.”  

Notice that there is no mention of the deep eastern spiritual roots of all of this and the spiritual consequences of engaging with them. The roots of the practices and the beliefs of the practitioners is important to understand. Not all practitioners are fully aware of the roots of what they are engaged in, but nevertheless they still have a spiritual impact.  

There is a focus on self-actualisation. You’ll hear terms like unblocking, balancing, harmonising; so what is happening here? The premise is that there is an energy in our bodies. This flows along energy pathways and if they get disrupted this leads to the physical problems that a person is suffering from. This energy has names like chakra, chi, ki, meridians. These practices advocate that by meditation, needles, pressure, massage, stones, crystals, magnets, postures, these pathways can be cleared and the person healed.

We are created in God’s image with a spirit, soul, and body, not with energy pathways. The only way to spiritual cleansing and restoration is through confession, repentance and forgiveness. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The alternate view of our created being comes from the enemy as he attempts to subvert God’s created order for his own purposes. Denying God’s created order and turning to other spiritual realities opens people up to the spiritual influences that rule over them. These things are not spiritually neutral. Practitioners of one of these alternative therapies/regimes are often involved in others. So, when someone puts themselves under submission to these practitioners, they open themselves up to these other influences as well. This alternative “energy” does have spiritual power, but its root is demonic. Submission to it leads to greater entanglement and bondage. One Facebook post in response to the advert quoted earlier said, “Seeing my late Dad appear from the mirror during the guided meditation and hand me a ball of light was extremely moving and powerful.” This is the insidious nature of these practices and why they are so dangerous.

Not everyone is impacted to the same extent, some are more susceptible than others, however, there is a spiritual cost, and it opens a door.  

Let’s consider some specifics. 

Yoga.
The aim of Yoga is to make the body more spiritually receptive. Yoga means “yoking” “to unite”. Yoga is a spiritual act of submission looking to connect to a deity, the universal consciousness. It looks to release the kundalini spirit, which is depicted as a snake, at the base of the spine. Each yoga pose is an act of veneration to the universal consciousness and therefore worship of a false god. Exodus 20:4-5 states, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” This warns us against elevating the created above the creator and that what we do with our bodies is consequential. That includes the postures that we adopt. That to which we bow, we submit to.

Acupuncture.
A little research reveals that “in Buddhism, the ‘Acupuncture needle’ symbolizes the Buddha’s touch, specifically his revitalization of Ananda’s crown (crown chakra). This metaphor represents the infusion of energy and wisdom, illustrating the transformative power of the Buddha’s teachings.” This demonstrates that the heart of acupuncture is to connect with a spiritual reality outside of God. This is the root foundation of all therapies/treatments that seek to unblock/realign/cleanse the energy flow in the body, such as reflexology, kinesiology and the like. One delegate at the Forge recalled that he had been directed to have kinesiology by his GP. During a ministry time he testified, “I was set free from kinesiology and released from a spirit during the teaching.”

Reki.
Spiritual healing using the palms of the practitioner as a channel of the supposed universal healing energy. Practitioners seek to make practitioners of those they practice on. Again, this has the same demonic root as acupuncture, seeking to rebalance energy pathways. Where it differs is that there is a more overt impartation of spiritual influence from the practitioner into the person being treated. This creates a strong ungodly link between the two, and whatever is influencing the practitioner can take hold of the other.

Pilates.
Joseph Pilates, after which the exercise regime derives its name, studied yoga, martial arts and zen Buddhism. The postures in Pilates are grounded in those in yoga and therefore have the same aim. A question that is often asked is, “what happens if I adopt the pose but I’m just doing it for exercise?” If I were to prostrate myself in church before God that would be an act of worship. If I were to adopt the same position in a mosque, who would I be submitting to? Again, asking the right question here is vitally important. The enemy’s deception is to say, “this is only exercise, it’s only a pose”, the spiritual reality says differently. The question is, “does this honour or dishonour God?” If I want my life to surrender to God’s Lordship it means that I want to do that which honours Him. It’s not that He wants us to miss out, it’s that He knows full well the damage that is done to our spirits, souls and bodies and therefore we should steer well clear. There are plenty of exercises we can do with no connection to anything founded on eastern religion.  

Homeopathy.
This is where a substance that causes a particular symptom is heavily diluted, in a process called potentization. It is supposed to release healing of those symptoms in those who take the medication. In many cases there is not a molecule of the original substance in the remedy, but there is said to be the essence of the substance.  

It is important to state that this is not an attack on tried and tested medication that have some element of natural ingredients in them. However, this is not what is going on here, rather it is attributing a power to something created that goes beyond its natural properties. The same is true of aromatherapy and crystals. In the case of aromatherapy, it goes beyond being a pleasant smell to being relaxing, de-stressing, calming. These are all inner, spiritual influences. In the case of crystals, it is the resonance that impacts on the inner person. When we engage in these things we are serving that which has been created rather than the Creator and this puts us into bondage.

This is not an exhaustive exposition but rather to highlight how easy it is to be drawn in to the enemy’s deception in saying these things are harmless. A recommended book for a more detailed study is, The dangers of alternative ways of healing by David Cross and John Berry.

We need to be discerning about what we are involved in. Questions we should ask are: What are the underlying principals in the treatment? Who founded the therapy, what were their beliefs? What words or phrases are being used? What is the belief of the practitioner? What else are they involved in? 

So, what can we do if we have been involved in any of these practices? I said at the start this was not to bring anyone into condemnation. This is not the unforgivable sin. Jesus stated, from the outset of His ministry, His desire to see people set free and healed, Luke 4:18-19. This was bought at great cost, “By his stripes we are healed”, Isaiah 53:5. “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin”, 1 John 1:7. The posture of our hearts is the heart of the matter. To confess, repent and forgive. There also may be the need for deliverance.

Let’s seek to honour God in all we do.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Before Jesus
Although I ticked the ‘Christian box’ on a form, I never knew Jesus as my Lord and Saviour until I truly encountered Him on 23 February 2023 when I cried out for help one night; and the God who hears, Psalm 18:6, met me there and lit a fire in my heart to love and serve Him. The next Sunday I was in church and the start of a rollercoaster spiritual journey began. Two and a half years later, with the guidance of Flame, the Lord has brought emotional, spiritual and physical healing. It has opened my eyes to the dangers of giving the devil a foothold; whether intentionally or not. What is more, by the Lord’s grace I experienced the love, provision and sovereignty of God and ‘that in all things He works for the good of those who love Him’ with repercussions that are reaching others across continents.

Since committing my life to Jesus, it hasn’t been an easy ride. We have completed three international military moves with a young family. The initial jubilation I experienced after encountering the Lord wavered as I started suffering floods of anxiety and panic attacks whenever it came to anything to do with church. Yet the Lord kept leading me to step out in faith. A number of months later, I had a fall which led to a severe flare up of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), causing excruciating neuropathic pain limiting my movement and setting me back using crutches, unable to walk more than a few metres, with severe light sensitivity and tinnitus. I say ‘setting me back’ as this all started in my early twenties after a sporting injury, which confined me to a wheelchair and took seven agonising years to learn to walk again. During this time, I resorted to all sorts of treatment, such as acupuncture, Reiki and intensive Yoga; anything to manage the pain, oblivious to the doors it may be opening.

In August 2023, having had adequate improvement in my condition we moved out to Germany for my husband’s posting, though within a couple of months of our arrival things went from bad to worse after a mix up with my medication led to severe psychosis and a hospital stay. The CRPS escalated and I found myself bedbound for three months, unable to cope with light or noise at all, spending long hours in the dark. I gradually emerged over the months that followed; my faith in the LORD more profoundly affirmed.  

The clean-up begins
After a ‘chance’ meeting with Liesel & Rhett Parkinson from the Armed Forces’ Christian Union (AFCU) in Germany in June 2025, Liesel kindly offered to organise some prayer ministry with Val Hall, another AFCU member who also ministers with Flame. I willingly agreed but had no idea what to expect. In July I returned to the UK for my best friend’s wedding, with the help of a wheelchair because of the pain. During my short stay my health deteriorated so much I was unable to travel back to Germany. Stranded in the UK, away from my family, I completed three initial online sessions with Val and Liesel between 9 and 22 July and a further two in August with Val and Sharon Borland, also an AFCU member and on the Flame staff team. The Holy Spirit set the agenda, leading to unexpected areas long buried that needed the Lord’s healing.  

Val said later, “I duly dug out my Ellel notes on deliverance from the ramifications of doing Yoga ready for the first session and was all prepared for what seemed to be a fairly cut-and-dried case. I really should have learnt by now that the Holy Spirit has His own agenda and we must not try to second guess Him!” Each session brought out something new and different, often with a lot of repentance and tears but the Lord is so good and as His light shone into darkness, the healing and freedom came. In the second session, a spirit of divination left my right leg; it was revealed that it came from an encounter with an acupuncturist just before I developed CRPS in 2011. Concurrently, I worked through the Fireside online teachings, finding them so informative, relevant and enlightening; I recommend to all.

A new season
Leading into session five of prayer ministry I was still taking the pain medication, using crutches to walk and was bound by the fear of pain. My husband had brought the girls to join me for the summer holidays but had to return to Germany for a further couple of weeks for work. Whilst things had improved a little, they were still very challenging even the smallest daily tasks caused pain, and light was still a huge problem. By the Lord’s strength alone and provision through the help of people around me and local church club for the girls, I seemed to manage. I had felt prompted to share my testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness during my trials with my local church in Burgh, and for anyone who knows me, standing up and speaking to a crowd is and  was incredibly daunting, but again with my eyes fixed on my Saviour I endeavoured to step out in obedience and faith.  

The day before the last prayer session the Lord gave me the verse Luke 1:74, “That we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear”, although this seemed so far off. Finally, during the time of prayer ministry Val brought up the Yoga and my time in India when I travelled around visiting temples, oblivious to the spiritual world about me. In Goa, I spent a month doing an intensive Yoga course, 6-8 hours a day, meditating and unknowingly devoting myself to other gods through the Yoga poses, with the aim to open what yogis call the chakras and inner eye.

I now see this as the deception it is and opening of doors for the devil. Sharon and Val so gently led me through repentance, forgiveness, breaking ungodly ties and inviting the Lord in to shut what was open and bring restoration and healing.  

I can thank and praise the Lord that I have had no need for the pain medication since that session. With Luke 1:74 reverberating in my mind and the Spirit empowering me, I walked pain free for the first time in over a year and a half! Within a week I had walked 5km and within two weeks ran a 5km with my girls on a family fun run! Memories of the girl’s excitement when they told daddy on the phone, “Mummy lifted us and has been dancing round the kitchen” still bring tears to my eyes. My husband actually said, “You even sound different”. What is more, the bombardment of anxiety and negative emotional assault died to a trickle. I can only raise my hands in awe and thank and praise the Lord! 

And on to Kenya
So…how does this get us to Kenya, I hear you ask…

Back in 2022, during a military posting to Nairobi, Kenya, my husband and I were driving down to the Masai Mara for a weekend game drive. Three hours into the drive on a long open stretch of road, unexpectedly the back wheel of our Toyota came flying off, overtaking us and landing feet away from a man on the back of a motorbike. ‘Miraculously’ we pulled over safely to a bellowing, ‘Praise the Lord’ from the man, who I now know is Justus’s father.

As we set in for a long wait whilst mechanics were sought, I was given the wonderful experience to meet and play with the children at the teeny one-classroom mud school on the hill directly outside where we had stopped. This ‘chance’ encounter started a blossoming relationship between Mama Florence (now Pastor Kishoyin) and Justus her son, a young man with a passion for teaching and empowering those with physical and learning disabilities to receive an education. The school and accompanying church provide a
hub serving the rural community outside Narok town.

Years later, just before I became engrossed in the Fireside teachings, Justus messaged asking if I would pray for them; the rains had failed again, and things were really bad. ‘Coincidently’, Val sent me a link to Flame’s Healing the Land teaching and, watching this, I felt prompted to share the 2 Chronicles 7:14 verse and checked with Val if I could share the teachings as well. She felt sure that Jan would agree, so I sent the link. Pastor Kishoyin and Justus started sharing the teachings throughout their community. On the 20 August 2025, we received a celebratory video of the community dancing and praising in worship that the first rains had come. Encouraged, Justus started translating the Flame teachings into Kiswahili and Masai to share with local church elders and his bible study group. By 8 October, 3 Bishops, 8 reverends and 17 pastors were coming together to pray!  

On the 29 October Justus gave us a resumé of how the teaching had been received. On Generational Influences he said, “One of the most powerful teachings; many shared positive feedback as they discovered how to break negative cycles and embrace God’s blessings for their families. We can thank and praise the Lord that the rains have now come, and the crops are beginning to grow!”

Justus has since returned from a trip to Nairobi with the Kabirus Missionaries to share the teaching more widely. He says, “I am especially glad that the Kabirus missionaries have accepted the teachings and now they are spreading across two counties. This marks a great step in expanding the message of healing, restoration, and hope through Flame International teachings.”

I thank and praise the Lord for all those who work with Flame International and for their teachings, love and care in ministry. Through a ‘chance’ conversation and offer of prayer from Liesel, the Flame teachings are beginning to multiply around Kenya and, God willing, will come to be shared with some churches out here in Germany bringing God’s blessing to others - surely (the LORD) has done great things’, Joel 2:20, and ‘it is marvellous in our eyes’, Psalm 118:23. Please thank and praise the Lord with us for all that He has done and is doing and pray that the teachings can reach more people around the world, bringing freedom and blessing.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Blessing
We bless the United Kingdom with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We bless the atmosphere to have the presence of the Living God permeate our society with His love and peace, and we bless the United Kingdom to have the Spirit of God flow unhindered to redeem this nation for His plans and purposes. In Jesus’ name, Amen.  

Prayer for restoration
We thank you, Almighty Father, that your heart is to restore and you long to restore all things to yourself. Thank you, Lord, for continuing to work in all our lives even when we turn from you. We pray for a great restoration of destiny and calling in our land, for people to recognise you and be delivered from the tide of secularism and false religions that spreads across the United Kingdom. We pray that a real sense of righteousness and justice will be restored in our nation and that godly laws will be re-instated. We prophesy that all that the enemy has stolen will be restored to the people and that our laws and judicial systems will once again be held in high regard as honest, true and trustworthy.

Proclamation
We declare that your ways are not our ways; they are so much higher and greater. We declare a turning in the land towards the living God. We declare that our Christian heritage will be restored and our Christian roots will once again be the very foundation of who we are as a nation.

Warfare
We resist and reject every spirit that has motivated secularism and false teachings that rise against our God. In the name of Jesus, we pray for a turning of the tide toward the truth and the knowledge of Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

A final Blessing
In the mighty and most powerful name of Jesus we bless the nations of the United Kingdom to be restored to their great inheritance in God and to be pioneers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We bless the Gospel to go forth in power again from the United Kingdom to the nations of the world. We bless this nation to be a forerunner in walking in the ways of the Lord, and for revival to flow out from this land, Amen.

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On Wednesday afternoon God answered our prayers. Four special guests arrived at the Catholic Conference Centre: 

• Stephen the Vice President of the Police Christian Union. 
• Dr Michel Nsabiyumva a medical doctor and born-again believer who devised and has been running a secular Trauma Healing programme for 8 years. He has recently been charged by the President to roll out the course across the Police Force. 
• A Major in the Police and a member of the Police Christian Union, and 
• Nibitanga Cecile also a member of the Police Christian Union. Cecile remembered me from 15 years ago and testified that she and her pastor husband are using the Flame notes in their pastoral work.

Two other key attendees were Remy, a man of influence closely connected with the Police, and Bruno, a retired Lt Col and a key contact with the military. We had been praying for this meeting but very unsure of it happening. Only God could orchestrate such an event and He amazed us all. For two hours I shared who Flame is and why we had returned to Burundi. Emmanuel opened the discussion when the issue of trauma in the government and the nation was sensitively discussed. This then culminated in total agreement that Flame and the Police Christian Union (as lead) would work together, and a strategy and action plan implemented, underpinned by prayer and intercession. An air of praise and thanksgiving to God filled the room but we all understood that there is much work to be done.

Our final day and day of departure opened with a breakfast meeting between Emmanuel, Alison, Sharon and me. We reflected on what was shared the previous afternoon, what this meant, and might look like. Emmanuel is a strategist and had already come up with an outline for the next visit in June 2026 and probably a follow-up mission in the Autumn. The detail is to be prayed in but in outline our small Flame team will train and minister to the Burundi team drawn from the priesthood (the priests). Selected prayer ministers from this group will join with Flame to teach and minister to senior officials (the prophets) who will testify to God’s healing to their senior managers (the kings). The priests not selected as prayer ministers will form the intercession group to intercede for the prophets and kings.

What seemed impossible to achieve in 4 days was proved possible for God and we rejoice in the plans and purposes revealed to us by God. The hard work continues across Burundi where the light of Christ is already shining into the darkness, and the valley of poverty, death and destruction looks full of hope for this nation. We stand with those who are already preparing the ground. We cannot and do not underestimate what God can do and so we remain obedient to His plans and prayerfully seek to understand His wisdom. I am reminded of an African proverb so apt for Burundi. “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

My name is Nduwayo Bernard, and I am a pastor at Shammah Temple Fellowship. I am married and blessed with three children.

In 2013, I attended a trauma healing seminar organized by Flame International in partnership with Harvest Initiatives in an Anglican church. The five days I spent at this seminar had a profound impact on my life.

The Biblical approach introduced by Flame International focuses on restoring relationships that have been broken due to sin. It encourages repentance and emphasizes prayer as a significant tool in breaking the bonds of negative spirits and attitudes.

In our country, we endured a period of war, and during that time my brother was taken by the police and killed. We were never allowed to see him again, and we could not even bury him. This deeply affected me emotionally. However, during the seminar, I made the choice to forgive the police officers, and when I brought my pain and concerns to the cross, I was set free from the emotional bondage I had been carrying.

In my pastoral ministry, the teachings I received from Flame International have equipped me to help others identify the root causes of their problems and guide them toward reconciliation with God.

I learned how to pray for believers who are affected by trauma and how to support their emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. I now recognize how to help people heal in every area of their lives —spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The Biblical teachings I received from Flame International are practical and can be used effectively in the church. I also learned the importance of truly listening to others, allowing them to express their pain and find healing through God’s love and grace.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

I had always asked why I couldn’t sense God’s love for me, despite having an undeniable conversion, being baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit back in 1980.

Now, by laying hold of the teaching and ministry, I was gradually being cleansed and delivered from many things that had crushed, bound, and imprisoned my human spirit. As childhood trauma was lifted off, and I chose to forgive my parents, I was able to connect with God spirit to spirit and receive the healing flow of His life and love.

God was indeed strengthening my innermost being with His divine might. Through faith, the life of Christ was being released deep inside me and now I find that the resting place of His love has become the very source and root of my life. I am increasingly discovering the astonishing magnitude and intimacy of Christ’s love being poured into my spirit. I am being filled to overflowing with the fullness of God. (Reference, Ephesians 3:16-19 TPT).

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

The Forge teaching in Leeds had a significant impact on all of us. We sensed the Lord gently changing us, little by little, and when Forge 2 came to an end, we didn’t want the journey to stop. The teaching was impactful, and for some of us the prayer ministry groups had a profound effect on our lives. We began to wonder: was there more that the Lord wanted to do?

Along the way, we formed meaningful friendships with others on the same journey—people who understood us and shared a common vision. We knew we would miss the monthly gatherings where we experienced the Lord’s presence through worship, teaching, and ministry. At the same time, a growing desire stirred within us to offer this life-giving ministry to our friends, families, and wider community.

At the final Forge session, a sign-up sheet was shared for anyone interested in keeping in touch and around 15 people added their names. Val, who led the course, also indicated that if we wanted to continue — perhaps by holding a healing day in Leeds — she would be willing to support us by travelling over, setting the programme, and providing spiritual cover, which we felt was very important. So, we prayed and sensed we should move forward.
A Zoom meeting was arranged to pray together and explore the possibility of a healing day, followed by a second meeting to allow time for further prayer and discernment. At that second meeting, it was agreed that we would proceed with a Spring Healing Day in April in Leeds. A committed team of 12 people came together to serve.

The same church used for Forge 2 was booked, with one team member taking responsibility for arrangements in consultation with Val. She also hosted the day, prepared the room, and organised the worship. Flyers were printed and shared by the team and Flame, and we made a conscious effort to personally invite friends, family, neighbours and those the Lord placed on our hearts.

Following the Healing Day in Leeds in April 2025, we witnessed the Lord moving powerfully in people’s lives. The team served with unity and joy —welcoming guests, praying around the room, practising dramas, gathering contact details, and offering prayer ministry in pairs. Many shared how they felt the strong presence of the Lord and how blessed they were by the teaching and ministry, with some travelling long distances having set off very early to attend.

Encouraged by the momentum, we continued to pray and plan. Team members were invited to stay connected through monthly Flame Intercession Hubs, both in person and online. Following further prayer and Zoom meetings, two more Flame Healing Days were planned — one in June and another in October. We praise God for what He is continuing to do in the Leeds area and look forward with gratitude and expectation.

If you would be interested in hosting a Healing Day at your church, please visit
www.flameinternational.org/healingdays to get in touch.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

The fear of the Lord has been a burning passion in Tristan’s life, consuming and driving him close to the Lord since he was a young boy, so this is a book birthed in revelation and business done with the Lord on his knees and face.

Tristan reminds us that we should earnestly desire to know the fullness of who Jesus is. God, the Father, loves us and has called us to know His Son so that we may be saved but now that we have received the grace of God and been adopted into His family, we are called to walk in His holiness, becoming more like Christ. And this is where the book challenges us as the Body of Christ to return to the fear of the Lord because ‘through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord, evil is avoided.’ Proverbs 16:6.

In Proverbs 8:13 we also read that ‘the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil’ and here Tristan hits the nail on the head by stating that the key to Christian living is obedience and faithful living, and when we hate evil and are motivated to stay away from sin, the path of obedience is set before us.

As an ex-soldier I was struck by the term ‘made ready’ in the title, which reinforces the sense of urgency and is a direct call to action as the Church once again takes hold of the fear of the Lord in preparing for the return of Christ. Tristan highlights that as Noah was warned of the coming wrath of God on the earth, in faith he believed it to be true, and was gripped by a holy fear. So too must we be attentive to the approaching Day and make ourselves ready.

In Jesus’ prayer for His disciples and all believers in John 17, his request is, “Holy Father, protect them, by the power of your name”, because the Good Shepherd knows we need protection from the evil one, which will keep us holy and committed to God and His holy ways. And here Tristan once again brings the same point home – that the fear of the Lord is essential in our lives for ‘the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’ Exodus 20:20. It is a deeply challenging book that can help us keep alive to the Holy Spirit, being constantly aware that we are carriers of the presence of God, and you cannot fail to hear the prophetic clarion call running through the pages urging us to make ready in the fear of the Lord for the return of the Messiah. But it is also an easily navigated book, grounded in scripture and giving us practical examples of its outworking in life as a Christian seeking to follow the Lord.

Let me end with the words of Oswald Chambers, a missionary and YMCA padre who died in 1917 whilst on active service, and a man who lived in the holy fear of the Lord: “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”

New Forge in Crewe
Having established the Forge in the Northeast for almost 4 years, we are pleased to run the Forge in the Northwest for the first time and grateful to West Street Christian Fellowship (WSCF), Crewe for allowing us to use their church building. Although there are no future plans for a Forge in Leeds, we are building on the foundations laid by running Healing Days in the Bridge Community Church (BCC), Leeds 
(see Rhoda’s article on page 34).

Rev Simaya & Rev Joel
These are ordained reverends in Liwolo who have also been trained by Flame.
They join us at YWAM to be on team, which also continues their training as they work alongside us. We caught up with them recently about the work they are doing.    

Rev Simaya 
“Flame Teaching has been the right tool for Liwolo Diocese in South Sudan. Last year we decided to cleanse and prepare the land using Flame teaching, and we witnessed many positive results. The rains did not stop, people had enough food, and the birds and insects that used to destroy crops were no longer a problem. Many people even returned voluntarily from Refugee camps in Uganda, to their homes because conditions had improved. I am using the Flame teaching a lot with church leaders because there is a lot of trauma and healing is needed.”

Rev Joel
“In December, we organised training of nine members of the Mothers Union. I used Flame International topics of Forgiveness, Fear, Father’s Heart and Healing Damaged Relationships.

“With the above training, lives have been transformed and two people gave their life to Christ Jesus. People said after the training that their families are renewed and strengthened again, most have restored their hope and trust in Christ, they would like more training like this. It has really impacted the Mother’s Union in my church.”

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Val and Sharon visited Bujumbura, Burundi between 3 – 9th October. This mission was in preparation for a Flame team to return in Spring 2026 to assist Dr Emmanuel Ndikumana and his team in the pursuit of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation at the parliamentary level of leadership.

On Sunday, Sharon preached on Healing from Trauma, which was well received. Several people expressed that they had been touched by the Lord, including one of the pastors in the church, and another lady whose long-term stomach pain was healed. The Lord appeared to have directed some specific people to be there – 3 people said that they had either not been to this church for some time, or had only been attending for 2 or 3 weeks. All 3 felt that the message Sharon preached was especially for them. They all went on to receive prayer ministry during the following 2 days and also brought 2 other family members who were prayed for.

We had two half day sessions with Emmanuel's team and invited guests. Around 20 attended each day.  The first morning was an opportunity for everyone to introduce themselves and then for Emmanuel and Val to share with everyone. Emmanuel leads Partners Trust International Church, with a mission to work behind churches and Christian ministries as a resource church, including running a Theological College. Val spent time explaining why we had come, some of the early history of Flame in Africa and particularly Burundi. During the second session, we taught on Fear and Forgiveness with many people releasing people from their unforgiveness.

We were encouraged that, even from the small pool of people we met during our visit, several had previously received training from Flame International and all were using what they had learned to minister to others. One of them was an excellent co-lead in our prayer ministry sessions.

We were delighted that Emmanuel was able to arrange a 2-hour meeting with several high-ranking Christians who work closely with the Government. These people all agreed that there was a great need for healing from trauma amongst senior people in the government and on a broader level across all leaders. Emmanuel emphasised to them his desire to support them to achieve this and spoke very highly of what he had seen during our visit.

As well as seeing Jesus touch individual lives and bring some healing, the outcome of this visit is an invitation from Emmanuel, supported by the high-ranking people we met, to go ahead and plan a mission for next year. Many details have yet to be worked out, but the outline is that we will do some training and ministry with church leaders, who will then partner with us to provide training and ministry to senior government officials. Following what we shared about the importance of prayer in all our work, the people we met are committed to promoting and growing their own prayer and intercession.

We have really felt the Lord's hand on this mission and are so grateful for our prayer supporters. We had many messages of encouragement, some specific words/scriptures, but we are also grateful to know that there were many people quietly praying for us. We rely on the Lord’s leading in planning a return visit in 2026 and for our hosts to gather those who the Lord wants to encourage and heal. We believe that the healing of these senior church and government leaders is key to unlocking healing from trauma across the nation of Burundi.

"Instead of shame and dishonour, you will enjoy a double share of honour. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours." - Isaiah 61:7 (NLT)

Between 1-7 November, Tristan and Sharon visited pastors who lead a Farsi-speaking church in Athens. The mission was to help train these wonderful pastors in the healing ministry so that they could be greater equipped to minister to the people who come through their church and the people who they disciple online in their home country.

We arrived on Saturday and immediately went out for dinner with a Middle-Eastern pastor who was on a Flame conference two years earlier. He had only recently arrived in Greece, and it was important to sit down and hear his story. We met with him again later in the week and had further catch-up and a brief time of ministry where he opened up his heart. He shared his huge appreciation for Flame's ministry and is hungry for more. On Sunday, after a morning of administration and intercession, we visited our hosts church and it was a great blessing to meet the people who we were to later on minister to throughout the week.

On Monday we began our training sessions, and this carried on through the week until Friday night when we then left for the airport. These days were busy, but so wonderful. In the mornings we spent between 2-3 hours with our hosts, and were also joined by one of our host's brothers and his wife for the first three days. These morning sessions were brilliant. Much of it was spent sitting on the floor, sharing out many Flame teaching notes, and then discussing the teachings. This was almost one-to-one training and we found it to be incredibly effective and very rewarding.

After our morning sessions we went out for lunch, enjoying much Greek Cuisine and culture. Promptly, we always headed back to our host's house for an afternoon Prayer Ministry Appointment (PMA) with a member of their church. These PMA's were set up by our hosts so that we could minister to several members of their church throughout the week. The purpose of these PMA's was more than that though, as we used these times of prayer ministry to further train our hosts in the ministry and then use them as helpful springboards to further equip them in the morning sessions! These afternoon PMA's lasted between 2-3 hours, giving us a little gap to then return in the early evening to our hosts house to join them for dinner and then minister to another person in the evening. Like the afternoon PMA's, these evening PMA's were about 3 hours long. Throughout the week we ministered to 9 people in total in these PMA's and what God did was amazing!

8 of the 9 people we ministered to were Farsi-speaking believers and we were overwhelmed at how God was opening deep wounds in these people and ministering His healing. 

• One lady couldn't forgive herself for a mistake she had made in her home country which caused her to flee to Greece about 10 years ago. Her husband remains in her home country, and this pain had caused her much bitterness in her heart. She was even more bitter and at pain as it seemed that every door that she asked God to open for her family, remained shut. She was in very difficult circumstances. We saw this but recognised the shame deep down that held her back from forgiving. Through the word of God, the Lord brought her out of her shame, into His restorative power for her, she forgave herself and was set free from so much bitterness. Her countenance had changed! About two days later, she testified that the Lord had opened a door for her family!
• One elderly man wanted us to pray for his children and his grandchildren. When asked to pray for him, he kept on declining; his heart seemed pretty closed. After a couple of hours of talking, prompting and some prayer, we felt the prayer time was coming to a close. Just then, he "emptied his heart" to us, sharing a deep hidden pain, and said that he felt the presence of God was so strong, he had to confess his sin and pain! The Lord then did some deep healing in him, and the PMA continued!
• Another lady was deeply crushed in spirit, largely under the oppressive ways of her past religion. We asked the Lord Jesus to cut her free from old covenants and their powers and to abide in the Lord's covenant and she received much freedom as she began to understand the truth of God's ways and love, for women and for men!

These are just some testimonies of what the Lord did, but there was much more that we don't have space to share. Finally, on Friday, we asked our hosts to lead the final two PMA's so that they could put into practice what we had shared with them in the morning sessions and seen what we had done in the afternoon and evening PMA's. This was the cherry on top! It was amazing to see the husband and wife minister in the power and leading of the Holy Spirit to two more members of their church, and we are so excited that they have Flame's teaching notes and a heart for this ministry. We believe we will continue to strengthen them in their ministry and we continue to follow the Lord's guidance as we do that.

Thank you to all of you who prayed for this mission. I hope these testimonies prove that the work done was not done in man's power, but in the power and presence of God in answer to many people's prayers! We praise God for all He has done through all of us who prayed, gave, and were a part of this mission!

Listening to God, everyone can be prophetic! 
Prophetic prayer begins simply with listening to God. Listening prayer is not a gift reserved only for gifted people, but it is a skill for all believers to develop. Not everyone is a prophet by calling and gifting, but everyone can prophesy, 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 — every Christian can listen to God and speak words of life for the purposes of strengthening, encouraging and comforting others.  

There are different levels of the prophetic, and here we refer to “Ground Level Prophetic” where everyone can be prophetic; everyone can hear the voice of God, John 10:27, and engage in intercession, as we are being led by the Spirit of God.

Before we dive into prayer based on a list of prayer requests at a prayer meeting, can we lay aside our own agendas, and take time to listen to God for His heart, His thoughts and His agenda?

To effectively listen to God in prayer and be led by the Holy Spirit, we have to grasp some of these Biblical principles:

1. Lordship of Christ. Luke 6:46, John 10:27
Acknowledging Jesus as Lord means we live lives of surrender where we are ready to obey and follow the Lord, not only when it is reasonable and convenient to us, but even when we may not understand it. See the example of Abraham in Genesis 22 when the Lord told him to sacrifice Isaac. If Jesus is Lord in our lives, we can be confident that He speaks to us, and we do hear His voice.  

2. Clean Hearts. 1 John 3:21-22, Psalm 66:18
Repent of any unconfessed sin when we prepare ourselves to listen to God in prayer.

3. Be Filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18, Luke 11:11-13
Ask for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit and trust the Spirit to lead you in the prayer agenda. This also includes being willing to lay aside your own burdens for what you feel you should pray for.

4. Faith. Hebrews 11:6
When we come before God in prayer, we must be expectant for Him to speak, and that He will lead us by His Spirit. For this reason, it is always good to start prayer with praise and thanksgiving — whether in musical worship or a time of spoken praise — because praise calls us out of the drudgery of the circumstances to fix our eyes on the magnitude of who God is.

5. Be Still and Wait on the Lord. Psalm 46:10, Psalm 130:5-6
Before you dive into intercession, take time to wait on the Lord in silence, trusting Him to bring to mind scriptures, pictures and impressions for what to pray for and how you are to pray it.  

There is no formula to practising listening prayer or prophetic intercession, but if we live out these Biblical principles, personally and corporately, we will experience intercession as exciting Spirit-led times of partnering with God.

Discernment in the Corporate Setting
Unlike individual prayer, corporate intercession requires us not only to listen to God, but also to one another. There is power in agreement when two or three come together in prayer, Matthew 18:19.   

In my mission organisation (YWAM), we are trained to practise listening to God in corporate intercession through the teachings of Joy Dawson. How do we effectively listen to God as a group, and discern what it is that God may be leading us to pray for?  

Take time as a group to prepare your hearts before God in praise, worship, thanksgiving and waiting on the Lord. Share your impressions with one another before you dive into intercessory prayer.  

When the Holy Spirit is leading the prayer meeting, He may give “a piece of the puzzle” to each member in the group, so don’t worry if you do not fully understand the scripture, picture or impression that you may have received in the time of silence and waiting. When you share your piece of the puzzle with the group, perhaps everyone will see a bigger picture and gain greater clarity on the direction of prayer the Holy Spirit is giving the group.

What if people in the group receive different insights that don’t seem to fit together? The Holy Spirit is dynamic, and the way He speaks and works in each of us can be dynamic. If people in the group seem to be receiving different agendas in prayer, or if clarity is lacking, we can go back to the Lord again, ask for clarity and wait in silence to listen and discern.

Some Biblical principles to consider in group discernment:  
Humility
Philippians 2:1-8, Ephesians 5:21
We are to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”. Is there humility in the group, or does someone always have to be right? If others are sensing the urgency to pray for another world event, can I lay aside my own prayer burden and agenda for this prayer meeting?

Unity
Psalm 133, Philippians 2:2
Can the group come to a place of agreement to pray from a place of unity in the spirit? There is power in agreement, Matthew 18:19.

Love
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Love is the mark of character of someone who has matured in the prophetic. The more prophetically gifted we are, the more we need to mature in love and operate our gift
in love.  

In corporate settings, corporate humility leads to corporate unity, which then gives us corporate authority in prayer! Above all, prophetic intercessors learn to grow and mature in love, for without it, our prophetic gift can be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal at its best.

Mediating through Identificational Repentance
 “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Is there sin in the land that hinders answers to prayers? Perhaps there is a need for Identificational Repentance where the people of God are called to stand in the gap — to identify with, confess and repent for sin in the land. Some examples in the Old Testament are found in Nehemiah 1:6-7, Jeremiah 14:20 and Daniel 9:8-20. None of these characters had necessarily committed the sins they were confessing, but as leaders, they representatively confessed the sins of their forefathers and their people. God heard and God responded.  

The Bible indicates that while God most definitely engages with us individually and personally, He also relates to us as families, tribes and nations. In the West particularly, where individualism has infiltrated the church, our emphasis has been on personal salvation and relationship with God. We need to recover an understanding of our corporate identity as people groups before God. God does not punish the children for the sins of their fathers and mothers, but the consequences of the iniquity of the forefathers can still have an effect upon the children. It falls on the Church in each generation to take corporate responsibility for the spiritual state of their church, people group and nation.

Even when we feel we cannot identify with the ethnic history of the people we are praying for — where we see division, brokenness and the failure of the Church in the land — can we identify with the prejudice, the judgments and the lack of love in our own hearts for our neighbour when we come into intercession for that particular nation or situation? Instead of praying, “Lord, have mercy on them”, can we stand in identification and pray, “Lord, have mercy on us”?

Corporate humility leads to corporate unity, which truly gives us corporate authority in intercession.  

In prophetic intercession, we have the privilege of partnering with God by listening to His Spirit, laying a hold of what God wants to do in the spirit realm, and releasing it from heaven to earth through our lives of surrender, obedience and intercession as God’s ambassadors on earth.

Teaching 
The Ukrainian chaplains and their spouses come from a very different theological background to the Flame team. Teaching on subjects such as Healing the Land, Spiritual Warfare, Deliverance and Generational Influences proved to be challenging for some of the delegates. By the end of the conference, however, most delegates had grasped it enthusiastically. Andrew, as he was about to leave, told us that he had decided to preach on Healing The Land the following Sunday at church. Another Andrew said, “Thank you for the teaching, especially Generational Influences and Healing the Land. In the post-Communist time many or all areas need to be cleansed.” One of our interpreters, Tanya, said, “I have wanted to forgive but I didn’t know how, but you have shown me how to hand my judgment to Jesus”. Tanya, one of the war widows, added, “Thank you everyone. Every story I heard, I could see in my life. The dramas were very special. I was able to give my pain to the Lord. I had been holding it for a long time. I burst into tears.”  

Prayer Ministry 
We had three afternoons of prayer ministry with the delegates. One delegate had been in a car crash 20 days previously, had chest pain from the seatbelt and a fear of getting back into cars (not helpful if you are a roving chaplain and pastor). He received prayer for this and his need to forgive the other driver and, the following day, told us that he was healed. Others received healing for fear, suppressed emotions, low self-esteem due to criticism from family members, and difficulty in forgiving themselves or others. Yarik told us, “I learned to entrust my feelings to God. I can give my judgment and fear to the Cross. I learned to discern which emotions are godly and to forgive myself.”

Sense of Unity 
On the first evening we were introduced to the rich harmony of local voices and the skilled playing of the accordion. The presence of God was in our worship from the start. Throughout the week the worship was enriched as we sang, simultaneously in English and Ukrainian, a number of songs familiar to both communities including 10,000 Reasons, Light of the World, and The Splendour of the King being just three examples. Though we had different words, we had the same heart and a touch of heaven as all nations worshiped. That same sense of unity came out in times of prayer as delegates opened up about deeply personal battles in front of people who, only 3 days earlier, they had not known. More importantly, however, we strongly sensed a deep spiritual unity which benefitted all aspects of the conference. Flame’s values include always connecting the spirit, soul and body. It was rewarding to see that heads, hearts and bodies were enriched by the content, drama and practical actions such as exchanging of gifts, nailing discs to the cross, and hugging!

Compassion 
The delegates told us that this sense of unity arose not only from the teaching but from the atmosphere of the team’s compassion and love. Within the Ukrainian culture it is not normal to offer praise in case it leads to pride. Negative criticism however, mixed with domination, manipulation and control, is quite normal. It was, therefore, a hugely positive experience for the delegates to be affirmed, loved and praised. This, mixed with the compassion they experienced from members of the team, proved to be transformative for many of the delegates. Oleksii commented that it was inspirational to see the truth of scripture practically worked out at this conference, adding, “You have prayed a lot, and we feel these prayers. We see the spirit, soul and body always walking together.” Lyuba added, “You are so sincere. This wins our hearts.”

Rest and Recuperation 
We recognised that we all need to value self-care and not be drawn to the dangers of self-comfort – to look after not just the spirit and soul, but the body as well. Most delegates have not had more than a weekend away for over three and a half years. Every day is filled with uncertainty, loss and grief as their country is pounded and their people killed. On arrival at the conference, therefore, the female delegates were met with an opportunity to have hands massaged, nails painted, and to be presented with make-up bags and products. Somehow the language barrier dissolved, relationships formed, and much laughter was forthcoming. Every day the delegates were given gifts, which had been collected and beautifully crafted by the  female members of the Flame team. Furthermore, the conference included time to relax in the saltwater spa near to the hotel, enabling husbands and wives to hold each other, relax and enjoy time together away from the stress of their current existence. This became, therefore, their first period of Rest and Relaxation since the main invasion began. In response one spouse said, “Thank you for the rest. We have many programmes, but to have rest with our spouses is special.”  

Prayer and Family Support  
God planned, and achieved, a great deal of good work at this conference. The enemy, on the other hand, was eager to stop it but, through prayer, wisdom, support and leadership, God overcame these obstacles. It has been wonderful on reflection to see how He does immeasurably more than we can imagine. The success of the conference was, therefore, completely dependent on the mountain of prayer support we received prior to, and during, the mission. The many e-mails, pictures and scriptures sent in were hugely helpful in encouraging the team, affirming what we thought was happening, guiding our thinking on how to move forward, and giving us insight into what was happening in the spiritual domain. Equally important, however, was the support of our families, friends and churches, without which we would not be able to come on mission.  

Conclusion 
So, what do you say to the bereaved parent or spouse, the family that has lost their home, or the pastor who has lost another member of their congregation? And how, as a Flame team, do you speak into that situation when you have no language in common? Often, you can feel overwhelmed and inadequate. But, when we trust in God, show compassion and love, point them towards the helpful scriptures through interpreters, and lead them to take the right steps to cut themselves free, confess, repent and forgive, it is amazing what happens. In short, we can help to point them towards Jesus – not just a vague concept, but a series of practical actions which will lead to healing and freedom.  

Vlad, as a volunteer chaplain, spends one week in every four on the front line working as a chaplain in a casualty treatment centre. He routinely helps with medical stabilisation, supporting medics with the treatment of casualties, dignified care of the dead, comfort, prayer and refreshments for the medical staff on duty. His role is to serve.

On one occasion there was a casualty who appeared to have been dead for 20 minutes with all monitors flat-lining. Vlad went over to the casualty, whispered into his ear and said, “If you can hear me and wish to say the prayer of repentance, repeat after me.” Moments later, the monitors burst into life and medics were running around the room. The casualty came back to life and the next day confirmed that he had heard every word Vlad had said, and that he had repeated the prayer of repentance.

One night, a female doctor told him, “I appreciate you being here, but I don’t believe in the God you serve.” However, she did ask for proof of existence in the shape of a quiet night with very few casualties, adding that he should come to see her the following morning to discuss the outcome. That night, there were indeed very few casualties. The following morning the doctor met with Vlad, and she dismissed it as a coincidence and demanded a second night of limited casualties. This time the doctor slept in until 11AM the following morning because there were no casualties at all overnight. When Vlad found her, she had been in tears that morning and had begun praying!

Vasily is the coordinator of over 400 volunteer military chaplains with the Baptist Union.  He and his wife Jane invited us to deliver teaching and ministry to their volunteer military chaplains. This is a ministry that reaches both the traumatised and those who care for the traumatised. The trauma was apparent every time we heard any drone-like noise resulting in an outbreak of fear amongst the delegates.

Oleksii shared a story.  He had travelled to the front line to give a mobile phone and power block to a tank commander and had also picked up some paper angels made by some school girls with additional needs, one of which he gave to the tank commander. Shortly after this the tank was hit and burst into flames. All the crew got out safely, but the tank was abandoned as a burning wreck. The tank commander went back a week later to see if his new phone was salvageable. On a shelf inside the gutted tank was the phone and power pack unharmed, sat on a shelf with the paper angel sat on top.

Igor is a volunteer chaplain, and his wife Tanya was not a committed Christian on arrival at the August Conference. They had been at the June Conference but on 2 July, their house was decimated by Russian Missiles. Igor is an active Compass church member, and also a chaplain in the frontlines and in hospital.

He has lost all his property due to his house, workshop and car being burnt because of the explosion. The Compass church Chaplains’ van is also damaged. Igor’s wife Tanya was injured but is now out of hospital. Their family of three (they have a teenage daughter) have lost all their possessions. They both received prayer and received a measure of healing. Tanya gave her life to Jesus in church on the Sunday after the August Conference.

Tanya (left) is a war widow. Iryna (right) lost her son - her only living relative. These two have become close friends and assistant volunteer chaplains since their losses.  

Tanya said: “Thank you everyone. Every story I heard, I could see in my life. The dramas were very special. I was able to give my pain to the Lord. I had been holding it for a long time. I burst into tears. In the prayer groups there were tears.”

While we were on mission the US owned Flex factory, a few miles down the road, was hit by 2 cruise missiles from Russia. The fires were still burning when we drove past, the devastation was huge. The 600 night-shift staff were evacuated with minimal injuries, but the impact on the community is huge. 2,300 people lost their jobs overnight as a result of this strike – many will have mortgages or loans which they will now be unable to pay. Many other properties had been damaged, and it was noted that most citizens and small businesses in Ukraine do not have insurance.

What is False Religion? This sounds like a loaded question. My prayer is that you catch something of what the Lord wants to speak into this. Some of these things are going to be strong. I pray that you read with an open heart and weigh what’s being said against what the Bible teaches.

We live in a pluralistic society. The watchword of the day is that you can believe what you want to believe. No right, no wrong. The notion that there may be such a thing as false religion doesn’t sit particularly well. It was not the message of love, forgiveness, grace and mercy that caused the early believers to be locked up, beaten up, whipped and killed! It was the message of exclusivity. One way to salvation through Jesus. One of the costs of following Jesus revolves around what He says about himself.  

As we approach this subject the posture of our own heart in this is of vital importance. Every single person, irrespective of where they stand in regard to faith, is a person created in the image of God and therefore has the utmost value and importance to Him. He died for them as much as He did for us. The most important thing here is to ask for God’s heart, not to come from a perceived position of superiority.

Jesus states in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” He is the way, not a way. He is the truth, not a truth. He is the only way to eternal life.

Why does this matter so much to God? Exodus 20:3-5 says, “You shall have no other gods before me … You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.”  

God is always righteous, proportionate and just in the expression of His emotions. The jealousy of God is not the green-eyed monster, or insecurity that comes of being usurped by somebody else. It’s actually a measure of His love for us. It is a righteous zeal for His people and for His glory. It is a protective love that demands exclusive devotion to Him and Him alone. God’s jealousy for us is rooted in His holiness and desire for a loving, covenant relationship with humanity. One of the reasons for God’s jealousy is that He knows full well the damage that is done to us in the worship of false gods.

We need to guard our own hearts and ask whether or not we have inadvertently set up a spiritual idol in our hearts that has supplanted the place of Jesus in our affections. One of the signs might be our attitude towards people who have a different view to us. Do we find ourselves moving into pride or superiority, harbour bitterness, unforgiveness or a sense of anger that people don’t see things the way we do? We need to be careful with the things that have an appearance of the spirit, but the enemy is using to gain a foothold. It’s about being alert to the sort of things that gain an ascendance in our thinking and so become a spiritual idol that dominate our thoughts.  

Isaiah 45:5 states, “I am the Lord and there is no other; besides me there is no God.” We live in an era where people think that all religions are basically the same. Isn’t it just God and He is the same for every religion? The answer is no. Not only is God not the same in all religions He is not the first among equals either, He is the one God. He is utterly and totally unique. Yahweh stands alone and there is no other.

If other religions are not worshipping the God of the Bible, who are they worshipping? Isaiah 14:13-14 says, “You said in your heart I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high. I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.” We hear the repeated refrain, “I will, I will, I will.” God has clearly said besides Him there is no God, so who is being worshipped elsewhere is counterfeit, of the enemy, the devil. The devil craves the worship meant for almighty God. It is what got him thrown out of heaven in the first place, but it has not lessened his appetite to receive the worship that is meant for God. He doesn’t come with a big arrow saying, “I am the devil”, he comes as an Angel of light, the Prince of lies, the deceiver. As unpalatable as this will sound to modern ears other religions are worshipping the enemy, Satan, the devil. One of Jesus’ temptations in the desert was Satan saying, “If you worship me, I will give you all of this”. He still craves worship.  

Isn’t it arrogant to say that we’ve got it right and everybody else has got it wrong? You believe what you believe, and I’ll believe what I believe. No, the truth is true because it’s the truth, not because I feel that it’s true. We don’t have faith because we have the best argument, it is true because this is truth.

Those involved in false religion may well be sincere in their beliefs, but sincerity is not the truth. There is a thought that religions are all fundamentally the same and superficially different. The reality is that they are fundamentally different and superficially the same. Someone once said that all religions could all be wrong but it’s a logical impossibility for them all to be right.

How can we engage with those from other religions? We need to come with humility, love and compassion.  

What about those who don’t believe that there’s a God at all? There’s the question about suffering. There is so much suffering in the world there can’t be a God. There is a fundamental weakness in this premise, if you take God out of the equation the problem is still there, the suffering is still present, the question still requires an answer. We worship the God who enters into man’s suffering and who Himself suffers. November 2023, Ayaan Hirsi Ali posted an article on Unheard entitled “Why I am now a Christian.” She states, “I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realisation that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable — indeed very nearly self-destructive. Atheism failed to answer a simple question: what is the meaning and purpose of life? Bertrand Russell and other activist atheists believed that with the rejection of God we would enter an age of reason and intelligent humanism. But the ‘God hole’ — the void left by the retreat of the church — has merely been filled by  a jumble of irrational quasi-religious dogma. The line often attributed to G.K. Chesterton has turned into a prophecy: “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”

There are fundamental differences in religions in relation to the nature of God, the person of Jesus and the means of salvation. 

First, the nature of God. He is creator. In the beginning, God. He is eternal. He has always been. Mankind was created in His image for relationship with Him. Due to the fall, death enters man’s experience. However, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 He has made Himself known to us. He speaks to His people. He is Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 He lives in us. He is our Father.

What is the nature of God in Islam? Islam is an Abrahamic faith; however, Allah is certainly not the same as Yahweh. First of all, there is no Trinity. Allah is so transcendent that he is not personally knowable. He doesn’t speak directly but through angels. Although he did speak to Moses. There’s no personal relationship, no intimacy. Allah is in control of every detail, so no free will. Allah does not love those who sin.  

What about Hinduism? There’s not one God but multiple, millions of them. Some benevolent, some malevolent. Creation itself is an illusion. It just came into being so you can’t really trust it. The gods came later. There’s no such thing as evil. What you work towards is self-actualization.  

In Buddhism there is no creator, no afterlife, there’s nihilism. If you achieve Nirvana, you get absorbed into nothingness. There’s no personality. Whereas God says to us, “I have called you by name.” Suffering is an illusion because all of the problems that we have stem from desire and therefore enlightenment comes from overcoming desires.  

What about the person of Jesus? He is God with us, Emmanuel. He came in flesh, born of a virgin. Jesus said he who has seen Me has seen the Father. He is the name that is above every name, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The gospels describe His scourging, His crucifixion, the spear thrust into His side, His last breath, His burial and resurrection three days later.  

In Islam Jesus is known as Isa. He is considered a highly revered prophet of God but not the son of God, merely a messenger. They believe He was born to the Virgin Mary, performed miracles and that He will return to earth before the day of judgement. Muslims advocate that Jesus was not crucified. The Quran says, “they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but another was made to resemble him.” Some consider that Judas was put in his place. In Hinduism Jesus is just one more god of the millions that exist. In Buddhism he is considered a compassionate teacher and a wise guide. A bodhisattva or highly realised being but not as a divine figure or the son of God.  

Finally, what about the means of salvation? Within Islam it is through works. The five pillars - the declaration of faith, the prayers, alms, fasting and pilgrimage. Deeds are weighed in a balance with the hope that the good deeds outweigh the bad. Within Hinduism they’re looking for a liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. This is achieved through self-realisation. In Buddhism the hope is your good deeds will allow you to be reincarnated better than you were before until you reach a place of enlightenment. The Bible says, “man is to die once and then face judgement.”  

The common factor in all three is salvation by works or self-effort. As a result, there is no assurance. Romans 5:8 says, “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life.” Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Ephesians 2:8-9, “It is by grace you have been saved through faith this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God. Not by works so that no one can boast.”  

When we consider those from other religions we need to come with a heart of compassion. We want Jesus to reveal Himself to them. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. I don’t believe anyone is argued into the kingdom, but plenty are loved in!

Galatians 5:25 tells us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit.” Scripture gives numerous examples of being led by the Spirit: Jesus facing temptation in the wilderness, Luke 4:1, Ananias meeting with Paul after his conversion, Acts 9 and Paul being called to Macedonia in a vision, Acts 16.

However, this may not be the day-to-day reality in our lives. Our minds seem to get in the way! We may know the scripture, “Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”, Romans 12:2. But do we really take on board that this transformation comes through the renewal of our minds? So often we allow our minds to control what we do, without having submitted that thinking to the prompting and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. So often, we think we know the answer, particularly if we have met a situation before - it worked last time, so we think it will do so again. The wisdom and leading of the Holy Spirit may be different. We can focus on ‘fixing’ something rather than listening for the Spirit’s ways. The enemy targeted Eve’s mind at the Fall, inciting her to reason that eating the apple was, “Good for food and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom.” Genesis 3: 6. God prioritises our relationship with Him. Do we focus more on ‘works’, on getting something done?

Years ago, I was returning from a training event when the Lord spoke, telling me to be less sensible. As I worked with this, I slowly learned that if I allowed a ‘passing’ thought to land - instead of instantly dismissing it as impossible, inconvenient or too challenging - I would often find that the Lord was speaking about doing something unexpected. Some of those things felt strange but have produced significant fruit. A couple of ministry examples may illustrate this.  

On one occasion, I was asking the Lord what He wanted to do in someone’s life. He told me to ask if there was something she had never shared with anyone. I began to argue that the person had so many caring responsibilities she was unlikely to have the head space to respond. When I did ask her, she immediately shared an abusive situation from the past that she had never told anyone before. We prayed for her, and she went away with the same responsibilities but markedly lighter in her spirit, no longer feeling used and abused.

I also argued with the Lord when a young person asked for prayer, she was certain that she would be healed that day. Her condition was the same as a family member for whom I had prayed for over many years. My argument was that I ‘could not raise her hopes’. The Lord told me to declare “in the name of Jesus Christ, be healed”. After what felt like a lengthy struggle, I got the words out. And she was, indeed, fully healed.

Both incidents show that God’s wisdom and timing are far superior to mine.

Is it fear of losing control that blocks us from listening for the leading of the Spirit? Is it past abuse or involvement in the occult or Freemasonry somewhere on our family line? Intellectualism, pride, shame, family ways of doing things? Or simply a conviction that “I’m not like that”?  Whatever it is, we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit if this is Him speaking to us and hand any issues over to Jesus, confessing our fault and seeking His forgiveness and cleansing. The Lordship prayer is a helpful declaration of submission to Him.

The Western world is renowned for education and reason, perhaps largely due to the Grecian thinking which influenced the Enlightenment or Age of Reason of the 18th century. Certainly, many of us have been trained to think things through, weighing the pros and cons, and coming to a reasoned conclusion. We give a lot of attention to the question “why”, sometimes instead of addressing the pain of a situation.  

We are created in the image of God, with spirit, soul and body, 1 Thessalonians 5: 23. Our minds are part of our soul, together with our wills and our emotions. However, it is through our spirits that God communicates with us, not our souls. Soulish decisions are not helpful. In soulish prayer, the desires of our own hearts, unsanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit, take pre-eminence over the desires of the Holy Spirit of Jesus – and can also seek to manipulate the will of whoever we are praying for. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts of a need for change not our arguments.

If we accept that “as a man thinks, so he is”, Proverbs 23: 7, KJV, we need to look carefully at our thought life. My own experience is that I was seriously limited in the flow of the Holy Spirit in my life until I was convicted of ‘mind control’ – and repented of this.

So, do we feel programmed to “idolise” our minds? To be challenged on this at a personal level may feel totally alien. However, we know the Lord tells us to have no other gods but Him. May we examine ourselves and ensure that there is no root of such idolatry in us, that we really do allow God to be Lord of all our lives and be transformed by the renewal of our minds; and, indeed, in all things, to be led by the Holy Spirit of God.

A prayer to submit every area of my life to the Lordship of Jesus

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge my need of you, and I accept you now as my Lord, my Saviour, my Redeemer and my Deliverer. I invite you now to be Lord and to rule and reign in every area of my life. 

I submit my spirit to you Lord - my worship, my conscience and my spiritual understanding. I submit my mind to you Lord - my thoughts, my understanding and my imagination.
I submit my will to you Lord - my intentions and all my decisions.
I submit my emotions to you Lord - my feelings and my reactions.
I submit my body to you Lord - my physical health, all my actions and all my senses.
I submit my sexuality to you Lord and all its expressions.
I submit my finances to you Lord and all my material goods.
I submit my time to you Lord - my work, free time, my sleep and my dreams.
I submit all my relationships to you Lord - my family, my marriage/my singleness, my church fellowship and my friendships.
I submit my plans to you Lord - my ambitions and my future.
I submit to you Lord the manner - and timing of my death.

Lord Jesus, I thank you that your blood was shed so that I might be free and cleansed. I recommit myself to you, body, soul and spirit. Amen

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Refuel 2025 
Another blessed time was had again this year at Refuel ’25. It was a joy to see old friends and meet new ones, who came to sample Forge teachings through our workshops, leading to prayer ministry in the afternoons. The dramas that accompany the teaching led to the aspirations of many a closet thespian being realised, with much hilarity on occasion! – but always powerfully assisting in getting the point across.

New Chair of Trustees
I am delighted that Chris New is now the new Chair of Trustees for Flame, after attending Forge 1 South and having been on mission in Ukraine and survived! Nick has now finished as Chairman after 14 hard years as a Trustee, of which 9 years were as Chairman. A big thank you to Nick and a warm welcome to Chris!

DRC
Two Evangelists from Bukavu Diocese, DRC - Bora Uzima and Birindwa Fidele - attended the 12-day Trauma Healing School in Kigali, Rwanda. They were sponsored by Flame International who has worked with the Bishop of Bukavu Diocese for a number of years, most recently in October 2025. The two Evangelists thoroughly enjoyed their training and learnt a lot which they will apply back in their Diocese to train others and help bring relief from trauma.  

Fireside
After 5 years of running the Fireside, we’ve decided to pause it for 2026 while we focus on Bespoke Courses and prayer events through the year. We’ve loved the online community that has formed around the Fireside and hope that this will continue through other online events we’ll
be running.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Read more Burning Issues articles here.

Praying for a World in Crisis by Pete & Pip Gardner is a very timely book indeed. Pete and Pip are aware of the times we live in and have a lot of insight into the spiritual dynamics at work and the political crisis at hand, having had experience in an NGO closely affiliated with the UN. Even though they have been praying for and watching the growing crisis that is coming upon the world for many years, the Lord only released them to write a book about it in 2024, published in 2025. Therefore, this book is incredibly relevant to the times we are in now, with tensions in geopolitical agendas, wars, and rumours of wars. More importantly, they give prophetic vision as to what the Spirit is calling for His Church in these days, amidst the difficulties, reminding us that, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint”, Proverbs 29:18. If anyone wanted to be encouraged and directed by the Spirit amongst these increasing global tensions, then I strongly recommend you read and take to heart the message in this book.

Pete and Pip very clearly expose the work of the ‘Cosmic Powers’, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, and how they work to cause crisis on the earth. It is really helpful to read their insight into what these cosmic powers are and how they ended up in the place they are now. They link the Old Testament “sons of God” in the early chapters of Genesis to the “spiritual forces of evil” written about in Ephesians 6. Their main goal is to delay the return of Christ by hindering and preventing the fulfilment of the Great Commission which precedes the Lord’s coming, Matthew 24:14.  

They write, “Every advancement of the Great Commission is a judgement on Satan and speeds up his eternal demise. Michael E. Norton writes, ‘The great commission is the highest, most pure form of spiritual warfare’. This is why Satan continues to fight and resist its completion. He continues to manipulate the minds of men to resist the progress of the Great Commission.”

Pete and Pip focus the believer’s attention therefore, to the return of Jesus. Prayer is so crucial to wrestling these powers at work against the coming of the Kingdom. But how do we pray and what are the most strategic areas for prayer in a world that is in crisis? This is what Pete and Pip write about, highlighting 5 key areas of prayer; the Church, the persecuted church, the unreached, geopolitics, and the Middle East/Israel/the Jewish people. More than that, Pete and Pip guide the reader with accurate biblical insight into how best to pray for these areas. When I read it for the first time it struck me how simple it was, how clear it is in the Bible, and how it can be so easy to still not pray what the Scriptures are guiding us to. One point to note is their very helpful insight into why it’s so important to be praying for the leaders and authorities within nations, explaining that they will be main targets for the cosmic powers to influence, as biblical history reveals. I am grateful for the encouragement and direction written in this book. It continues to fuel the fire for faith-filled prayer.

The book finishes with chapters guiding the believer how to be alert and watchful in the last days and to not come under the depression and hopelessness that global events and the mainstream news can easily put people under. Our focus is the Day of the Lord, the return of Christ, our eternal salvation, and it will be a wrestle to continue to hold that as the priority focus in our lives. Prophetic, insightful, encouraging and comforting! This book is fantastic!

"Does not my word burn like fire?" says the Lord. "Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?" Jeremiah 23:29

This verse was sent by a dear prayer supporter and sums up this mission, because the word did burn like fire and the delegates hearts and their countenances were transformed by Jesus, who is the word. We saw this on the faces and in new behaviours of so many delegates.

The team: Jan, Val, Ian, Sharon, Chris, Andrew, Mark and Lucinda, Zillah, Morna, Rachel, Steve and finally Nigel our photojournalist, are all grateful for your prayers. We know the Lord answered so many prayers as we witnessed changes in the lives of delegates.
 
We spent three days preparing for the delegates arriving with personal prayer, corporate prayer, and intercession. We also rehearsed the dramas which went down extremely well with the delegates. I noticed during the teaching that personal testimonies from the team were remarked upon and helpful for the delegates. We prepared a Declaration based on Isaiah 43:18-21 which we proclaimed most days. This preparation was invaluable for team bonding, spiritually and physically. Before we started on the first day of the conference, 4 ladies on the team headed up by Zillah gave hand massages to the ladies who arrived, and some had their nails painted. It was a time of great fun, an ice breaker and bonding with smiles and laughter. It was a great start to the programme.

We then had 5 days of teaching and prayer ministry. The programme flowed well mostly with 4 teachings in the mornings and then two sessions of Prayer Ministry in the afternoons. The delegates also had a 2-hour session at a Spa, (this is not like a UK SPA, but huge swimming pools filled with chemical's which are good for their bodies!), in the afternoons which they so enjoyed, and the team recognised that this was ministering to their spirit, souls, and bodies. Many of the delegates never take a take a day off. They work 24/7! We also gave small gifts each day, provided mostly by our generous team and the Ukrainians, both male and female, loved them.

Zillah teaching on Wednesday morning!

The prayer sessions had mixed responses and the male delegates struggled with female facilitators which may have stopped them receiving ministry. It is very hard for all of them to open up, possibly because of the communism many have lived through or on their generational lines (secrecy and control being the issues). One Pastor/Chaplain was going home to teach about Generational Influences in his church on Sunday. They really started to understand the impact of communism on their generational lines. Fear teaching was also very well received as well as Truth and Lies. The Handing over their Judgement to the Lord (Forgiveness) was very hard and this is particularly so as they are still at war. The Father's Love was enacted out at the end with huge hugs from us to them and were enjoyed. All the teachings were helpful to them, and they have now filmed the teaching, which will be available to them to watch again.

Meeting in prayer small groups!

Hugs offered after Fathers Love teaching!

Early on the Thursday morning at 04.37 am two Cruise Missiles were despatched by the enemy of Ukraine and bombed a factory which employed 2300 people. There were 600 on night shift and thankfully the warning a few minutes before meant they were all in the bomb shelters except two security staff who are still in hospital. The impact on the economy and the community is far reaching, and will impact mortgages, loans, and daily living. There is no insurance in Ukraine so many livelihoods were lost that morning. We knew nothing until later in the day.

On Saturday morning we went on a trip to the Carpathian Mountains, hosted by Vlad, Chad and Mary. We viewed the Flex factory which had been bombed out by Russia a few days earlier. I want to tell you a story told by Vlad the Volunteer Chaplain about his work on the frontline: Vlad, as a volunteer chaplain, spends one week in every four on the front line working as a chaplain in a stabilization centre (casualty treatment centre). He routinely helps with the cleaning and treatment of casualties and also provides drinks and food for the medical staff on duty. He told how, one night, a female doctor told him she did not believe in God and asked for proof of existence in the shape of a quiet night with very few casualties, adding that he should come to see her the following morning to discuss the outcome. That night, there were indeed very few casualties. The following morning the doctor met with Vlad and she dismissed it as a coincidence and demanded a second night of limited casualties. This time the doctor slept in until 1100 am the following morning because there were no casualties at all overnight. Now the doctor was hiding from Vlad and he had to track her down. He said she herself is now praying.

I am giving some testimonies which we received publicly from the delegates:
 
Firstly, on Sunday we were told that one lady, the wife of a Volunteer Chaplain who had attended our conference gave her life to Jesus at church on Sunday. We believe the Holy Spirit was working through the Conference and we rejoice with the angels that she is saved.
 
A man
The UK are standing firm with Ukraine, and you have shown us that this is also spiritual. I joined international prayers last night. We have enjoyed you a lot and I hope you have enjoyed us.
 
A man
I enjoyed seeing scripture through drama. You have prayed a lot, and we feel these prayers. We see the spirit, soul and body always walking together.
 
A man
I am thankful that you are with us, and we are with you. We share unity in Christ. It is a big joy to support one another. It is very special that the UK brothers share the Word with their jackets on. We value this. Ian – thank you. Jesus in you is bigger than you are. Jan – you have a wonderful, powerful team. Your discipline is an example to us.

A man
I learned to entrust my feelings to God. I can give my judgment and fear to the cross. I learned to discern which emotions are Godly and to forgive myself.
 
A woman
You gave a good illustration of generational influences through drama. This has been a chance to look at myself from a different perspective. I can see how I impact future generations.
 
A woman
I have new perspectives and good examples of how to do it in my life. Every day something special was revealed.
 
A man
Thank you, especially to Ian and Chris for their personal testimonies. They speak from their own experience.
 
A man
Thank you for the teaching, especially generational and healing the land. In the post-Communist time, many or all areas need to be cleansed. We have a good foundation. Churches have a responsibility to do this after the war.
 
A man
Thank you for the rest. We have many programmes, but to have rest with our spouses is special.
 
A woman
It was an accident that I was here at this conference. I didn't know what to expect except to be an interpreter. I have dreamt of rest which has stayed a long time. I didn't know how it was going to happen. Here I got rest and spiritual renewal. I have wanted to forgive but I didn't know how, but you have shown me how to hand my judgment to Jesus.

A woman
Thank you everyone. Every story I heard, I could see in my life. The dramas were very special. I was able to give my pain to the Lord. I had been holding it for a long time. I burst into tears. In the prayer groups there were tears.
 
A woman
You are so sincere. This wins our hearts.
 
A woman
MY favourite topic was control. It touched me because there have been people who have controlled me outside, but I have learned that I can still be free on the inside.