January 2010--this is a quiet time of year on the Battlefield at Gettysburg. The winter is one of the best times to visit the battlefield. No throngs of summer tourists. It is very peaceful. It is a very good place and time to pray for our soldiers and our nation and indeed the salvation of souls.

In contrast, during the Civil War battle at Gettysburg, there were the deafening sounds of cannon fire for over two hours on the afternoon of July 3, 1863. General Pickett was preparing his rebel army for their charge onto the open fields outside of downtown Gettysburg to engage with the Union Army. This was their last hope to push through the Union line. Thousands of soldiers were praying that day knowing that they were marching to their death.

Today, men have arrived back at their homes from the battlefield of Gettysburg after attending the CBMC 2010 Men’s Conference to engage in the Battle for the Truth. About 160 gathered in Gettysburg to be equipped, challenged, fed from God’s Word during our three day conference. It was not just another conference, men’s lives were transformed by the call on their lives to know the truth, have passion for the souls of men and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Many attendees stated it was the best men’s conference they ever attended. I say that the strong presence of God is what made this conference so impactful for the men. God was present because of the prayer and the voices of thanksgiving for what God was going to do.

Prior to anyone arriving in Gettysburg for the first session, there were nine scheduled prayer walks on the site of the conference at the Wyndham Hotel and Conference center. Pastors of local churches stated that they wanted to pray for Christian business men coming to Gettysburg. There was an oppression on this town that they knew God wanted to remove and our conference could be the start of that revival. Each of the nine prayer sessions was characterized by thanking God and then praying for the enemy to be restrained. A list of ten prayer requests were circulated to each of the churches and then the parishioners gathered at the hotel site, obtained permission from the management to pray. Each doorway in and out of the hotel was a stopping point on the prayer walk.  They said

“Heavenly Father, please enter into this place and make preparations for the conference. We pray for good weather so men can get here, we pray for the speakers and workshop leaders and those organizing the conference. We pray for the finances so that all obligations would be met. Lord, we pray for the hearts of the men attending that they would be transformed for Christ’s glory. We pray for the hotel staff and the logistics for the conference. We pray for our town that revival would come."

Amen.

God answered and is answering these prayers. We were encouraged and blessed from the moment the conference started and knew it was because this event was bathed in prayer. It did not stop there. In addition to all the individual prayers of the men attending the conference, a group of men gathered each morning during the event to pray. These were powerful times because we knew we had already possessed the land God gave us and now we were praying for victory in Him. He has already won the battle and the war, we were just following in obedience as we prayed for miracles in men’s lives.

How did He answer? We don’t know all the individual stories of changed lives, but we know it happened. One story was shared by Philippe who had been praying for his parents in their native Haiti. Having just experienced a devastating earthquake in their region, Philippe has just been able to establish contact with his parents and heard the good news that his sister had prayed to receive Christ during our time at the conference. New birth in the midst of some much pain and destruction. God is so faithful to answer our prayers.