“Praying is not easy, but being gathered in worship and prayer helps carry you along in your prayer life.”

Jenny Burr
Spur Ottawa Correspondent

Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing, but many of us struggle to pray for longer than 15 or 20 minutes. Imagine spending 24 hours focused on prayer!

Love Ottawa is sponsoring its 20th National Capital Region Prayer Summit for Pastors and Leaders.

“The prayer summit is that special opportunity, each year, to take time to seek the Lord with the leaders of the Church in Ottawa,” says Richard Long, Director of Love Ottawa and a 10-year veteran of the prayer summit. “We come back from this prayer gathering with a new, unified vision for reaching our city for Christ.”

The prayer summit will be led by Tom White and his wife, Terri. Richard describes White as “one of the world’s foremost facilitators for prayer summits.”

“As Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary we are praying that we will help shape its history to be a nation which brings glory to God.”

“One of the things that Tom and Terri are passionate about, along with our team,” says event coordinator Ken Roth, “is we want to develop a culture of prayer in the city, which will increase Kingdom influence in our region, our nation, and our world. As Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary we are praying that we will help shape its history to be a nation which brings glory to God.”

The event is for pastors, leaders, and their spouses.

“We really want spouses to attend so that, as a couple, they can grow in this essential Christian discipline [of prayer],” Roth shares.

Roth has been involved with the prayer summit for fifteen years. He attended his first summit in 2001. That same year, he moved to Ottawa to pastor a church and has attended the summit ever since.

“Eventually I became part of the leadership team that organized it,” he says. “Now I coordinate it on behalf of Love Ottawa.”

“Praying is not easy—otherwise we would do it more.”

First time attendees can expect to spend 24 hours with pastors and leaders who desire to know God better through prayer, and to pray for the Ottawa region and for Canada.

Roth explains, “Praying is not easy—otherwise we would do it more—but being gathered with other leaders in worship and prayer helps carry you along in your prayer life, like when you are part of a large choir. Our prayer facilitators are very experienced in leading a group like this and are very sensitive to the Spirit of God. New friends will be found and one can expect to enjoy the company of so many committed leaders.”

Previous prayer summits were held annually in February, at regional campgrounds. However, the event is growing, particularly in couples attending together, so this year they needed a larger setting. The summit is being held March 19 to 20, 2017, in Cornwall, at the Nav Centre.

Past participants say they return to the prayer summit so they can experience a renewed relationship with God and because it allows them to connect with other leaders.

The summit’s registration deadline is Sunday, March 5, 2017. You can find more information on the event registration page.