A few months ago the Lord gave me the same scripture on numerous occasions - Psalm 138 - and I wondered at the time, why?

I enjoyed looking and studying the Psalm and preached on it quite a few times but felt there was more behind it. The Psalm is an amazing Psalm especially where it is placed in the bible - after Psalm 137 - not chronologically but by its content. Psalm 137 is the Psalm where God's people are silent - they cannot praise God because they are in captivity and they are unable to sing the Lord's song in a strange land.

On two occasions the Lord woke me up during the night and brought this to me quite forcibly and the distinct impression I got was that the Lord was saying 'this is a picture of my people in Scotland'.

Psalm 138 starts on a completely different note - "I will praise You O Lord, with all of my heart; before the; 'gods' I will sing your praise.".

We have looked on silently long enough at all the other 'gods' being raised up in our nation and we seem to be protesting against them and always playing 'catch-up'. It is time, the Lord was saying, 'to concentrate on Him and who He is and for His people to once again lift His Name back up in Scotland.' To start boasting again about Him and declaring to all around 'His greatness'.

To get praise, prayer and proclamation - as found is Psalm 138 back on our agenda and for the streets of our nation to resound again with His people declaring the Name of the Lord. This was something that was not to be in pockets but something that was to go across the whole of the country - miles and miles and miles of praise, prayer and proclamation and for God's people to reclaim the ground that has been lost over the past decades. God inhabits the praises of His people and we long for this - not just a visitation but a habitation of the Sovereign God in our midst. Where every aspect of our nation is touched and changed to bring glory to our God.

I don't know about you but I am so hungry for this - like Habakkuk - Lord I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known, in wrath remember mercy. Then it says - 'God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and His praise filled the earth. His splendour was like the sunrise; rays flashed from His hand, where His power was hidden' - Habakkuk Ch 3 v 2-4.

I cry aloud - 'ARISE - PEOPLE OF GOD IN SCOTLAND'. Prepare the way for the coming King - our God and our Saviour.

Jean Black had this wonderful revelation from Luke Ch 10 v 1 - 'After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to visit'. What an opportunity to do the same things - to enter into every village and town preparing the way for the Saviour to come. Connecting Scotland is all about bringing God's people together to praise, pray and proclaim who our God is. Linking up all the prayer groups and prayer walkers in the nation (see Teaching Material page for articles on Prayer Walking) - and that every Christian's home would become lighthouses of prayer (see Teaching Material page for articles on 'Lighthouses of Prayer' - also article on 'Houses of Prayer') and recording what they believe God is saying - then for 50 days beginning next Easter marching through the whole land dispensing the Father heart of God into Scotland.

The name 'Connecting Scotland' was distilled out of our core group and gave their blessing to the vision and the culmination of it would be a National Prayer Walk next spring - starting on Easter Sunday 8th April and ending on Pentecost Sunday May 27th 2007 - from the Shetlands to the Solway and from Western Islands to St Andrews - where God's people would unite together - island handing over to island, village handing over to village, town to town, region to region as the army of the Lord marching once again across our land. Keep checking the National Prayer Walk Page for further information.

We are asking people and churches and organisations to register across the nation now - keep a note of their 'prayer miles' and Prayer Group meetings in a Prayer Journal which you can download and print when you register, to report online or send the information about what you are doing and to record what you believe God is saying to us so we can build up a picture - jigsaw piece by jigsaw piece of what is happening in the nation and the National Prayer walk would be a symbolic joining together of all these jigsaw pieces - Connecting Scotland.

You will be able to download a DVD about the vision. Now is the time to get involved - between now and Easter 2007 - and walk every street in the land, for Prayer Groups to be focusing on local community and the establishing of Lighthouses of Prayer right across our nation - (Lighthouses of Prayer and small group's; i.e. Family Homes, Prayer Triplets, Christians living in the same street, etc, getting together regularly and praying into the community where they live and to pray specifically for 10 people by name. (1000 Lighthouses of prayer = 10,000 people being prayed for by name regularly)

Will you join with us in 'Connecting Scotland' to turn the heart of this nation back to God?

We are looking for village, town and city coordinators who would work with one of our regional coordinators in connecting the Christians together in your area.

Email admin@connectingscotland.com if you are interested or phone 01324 711193 or 07711 318423.

Pastor Bert - Chairman Pray for Scotland.