Research

From the Cape Breton highlands to the wild waters and rugged coastline of the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean, to the red sands of the Northumberland Strait and all points in between, Nova Scotia is a beautiful province. 

I have lived here a good portion of my life, spending my childhood in the southwest and the last 13 years in the north.  If asked, I would say I am an ocean girl, living never more than 30 minutes from the ocean. 

I love Nova Scotia and its people.  We are known as friendly and hospitable, while at the same time, slow adopters of anything new and reticent to completely welcome those “from away”. 

A Prophecy & A Prayer

Nova Scotia is also a province with a solid Christian heritage.  You would be hard pressed to find a community without a church nearby.  Although many of our churches are declining in numbers, there is a strong remnant who are actively following Christ and doing his work. 

Many in this province have been praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit to come and revive the Church and draw many more to Jesus. I believe because of these fervent prayers, God has spoken to some about the future of Nova Scotia. 

Last fall we welcomed two teams of speakers from the United States who travelled around the province to share a word from the Lord.  Prophecy was spoken over Nova Scotia that a great revival would begin here and spread to the rest of Canada and beyond.  As a result, those who were already praying were encouraged to press on and many others joined them.

Since that time, we have had many challenges:

• the global pandemic which almost completely shut down our province and separated us from the rest of Canada
• a heartbreaking and senseless tragedy which took the lives of many
• and a myriad of other more local losses. 

But despite this, many churches are reporting more people attending online services and prayer meetings.  Instead of the social distancing separating us more, we have been brought together by our shared struggles and tragedies.  Everywhere you see Nova Scotia flags and tartans flying and #NSStrong posted.

What is God doing through all of this? 

I don’t know. 

What will things look like when we are able to get back to “normal”? I don’t know that either, but I hope we will be closer to God and more fervent Christ followers. 

When will this prophecy over Nova Scotia come into being? Again, I don’t know.  However, I do believe that it won’t happen until we commit ourselves to united, concerted prayer and be ready to move into the opportunities presented to us by God.

I love my province and know that God has great things in store for us. 

So I pray:  Come, Lord Jesus, and unite and revive your Church!  Come and pour your spirit over this land so that the name of Jesus will be lifted high!  Come and move your people to share your love with our hurting world.  Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Shelly Lyons and her husband Shane live in Oxford, Nova Scotia. She serves on two teams at Outreach Canada.  Shelly is the Atlantic Regional Coordinator & National Project Administrator for Simply Mobilizing Canada. She is also part of the MORE Network, where she serves as the Director for Classic ReBoot, a transition retreat for Missionary Kids transitioning back to Canada.  If Shelly had a free afternoon, you'd probably find her either reading, or spending time with her husband & her dog!