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Intention

To celebrate the historic National Day of Repentance and inspire us to believe God for an Elijah miracle for Australia.

Scripture

“Then Elijah said to them, ‘I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire – he is God.”

“Then all the people said, ‘What you say is good…’

“At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.’

“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

“When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!’”

– 1 Kings 18:22–24, 36–39

Reflection

These 21 days of prayer and fasting for the election are called Turn the Tide.

The only way to turn the tide of evil in Australia is first to call the body of Christ (you and me) to repentance, as the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 states.

Secondly, we must cry out to God for a miracle.

That miracle is the undeserved gift of repentance, as mentioned in Acts 5:31 (NKJV): “Him [Jesus] God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” All Christian churches acknowledge forgiveness of sins as a gift from God, but so is the ‘ability to repent.’

The good news is that “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). We all deserve judgment as individuals, as does our nation. But the blood of Jesus has a ‘greater cry’ than my sin and our nation’s sin.

Thirdly, we have to deal with false gods in our midst. On Good Friday, I wrote an article called “Baal, Molech, and Ashtoreth: How Ancient Demons Are Rewriting Australia’s Culture.” Read it here to get the big picture.

In summary, the dark trinity – Baal, Ashtoreth, and Molech – represents ancient demonic forces that opposed God and corrupted Israel throughout the Old Testament. Baal, the storm and fertility god, lured people into idol worship, forsaking the true God for prosperity and control.

Ashtoreth (also known as Ishtar), goddess of sensuality and war, promoted sexual immorality and spiritual deception. Interestingly, one of its many incarnations was half man and half woman, which mirrors our current obsession with transsexualism.

Molech demanded child (baby) sacrifices. Each year, Australia kills almost as many babies in abortions as were lost in every war since the Boer and First World Wars, right up till today. That tally is approximately 103,000 lives lost.

Spiritually, these entities still manifest today – in the pursuit of power (Baal), sexual sin (Ashtoreth), and the destruction of innocent life through abortion and now legalised euthanasia/assisted suicide (Molech).

Scripture warns us not to tolerate such darkness (Deuteronomy 12:31; 1 Kings 11:5). As believers, we are called to spiritual vigilance, repentance, and prayer.

On Easter Saturday, I wrote a second article to inspire prayer titled “21 April 2025 National Day of Repentance and Australia’s History of Prayer”. For more information read it here.

The good news is that today is a very historic one: the National Day of Repentance. We invite you to join us as you are able. You can gather at home on your own or with some friends and pray through the Scriptures found on the A4 info poster.

Better still, join us on the Zoom link below anytime between 9 AM and 5 PM AEST (see Zoom link below). If you are close to Parliament House in Canberra, come and join us on the lawn to pray, repent, and take communion.

It is our hope that, ultimately, we will pray into the issue of the modern-day worship of these ancient evil entities: Baal, Molech, and Ashtoreth. Together, by God’s grace, we will make a difference.

Video

Prayer

Father, we thank you that “mercy triumphs over judgment.” We all deserve judgment as individuals, as does our nation. But the blood of Jesus has a ‘greater cry’ than my sin and our nation’s sin. Turn our hearts back to you in Jesus’ name!

Father, thank you for the undeserved ‘gift of repentance’ as mentioned in Acts 5:31. We repent in Jesus’ name!

Father, we submit ourselves afresh to the lordship of Jesus Christ and plead the blood of Jesus. We reject all demonic intrusions in our nation in Jesus’ name and cry out for revival, repentance and reformation for Australia through and because of the blood of Jesus.

Father, we thank you for a Mount Carmel miracle today in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Author Bio

Warwick Marsh has been married to Alison since 1975, and they have five children and ten grandchildren. He is a family and faith advocate, social reformer, musician, TV producer, writer and public speaker. Warwick is well known in Australia for his advocacy for prayer, children, marriage, manhood, family, fatherhood and faith.

Prayer Points and Purpose for Turn the Tide 2025

1. A righteous government that upholds truth and Christian values. 1 Timothy 2:1–4

2. Wisdom for voters to perceive the true agenda of political parties. Proverbs 14:15

3. A church that disciples the nation in this window of grace. Matthew 28:18–20

We invite you to support this prayer campaign to multiply prayer in Australia for the 2025 federal election. Every donation to the Canberra Declaration helps us promote prayer and make a stand for family, faith, freedom, life, and the good news of God’s love through Jesus Christ, His Son.

View Turn the Tide: 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Devotionals

IMPORTANT NOTICE: We invite you to register and participate today in the National Day of Repentance. View the promotional video here. For more information and to register, click here.

Join us today for the National Day of Repentance on Zoom:

TIME: 9 AM – 5 PM (AEST), 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM (SA & NT), 7 AM – 3 PM (WA)

ZOOM URL LINK: zoom.us/j/776881184

Join us for our nightly Zoom prayer call:

DATES: Every night from Sunday, 13 April to Saturday, 3 May

TIME: 8 PM (AEST), 7:30 PM (SA & NT), 6 PM (WA)

ZOOM URL LINK: zoom.us/j/776881184

ZOOM TUTORIAL: youtube.com/watch?v=pAMDxH_H_Cs

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