24-7 Prayer Arise

The Roots of the 24/7 Prayer Movement

2010-07-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

“For more than one hundred years, beginning on August 26, 1727, there was a Moravian brother or sister somewhere engaged in prayer, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Among the brethren this meeting was known as the ‘Hourly Intercession.’ There was literal prayer without ceasing for one hundred years.”

God is doing something big all over the world. None of us has come to the full understanding of what God is beginning to create throughout the nations. He has so much to teach us about prayer as we look at history.

It’s exciting, it’s radical, it’s exhilarating and at the same time, it calls for a deeper level of commitment than any of us have ever known before.

Day and night prayer is certainly possible. The way has been paved before us in the spiritual realm. As we arise in 24/7 prayer - or even consider the idea - it is important that we look at our historical roots. Understanding the historical beginnings of day and night prayer should challenge and give us courage for the future.

It has been done in a place called Herrnhut (meaning “on watch for the Lord”) in Germany. It can, therefore, be done in each one of our cities. In, fact, it is going to be worth more than we can right now comprehend, because it is of the highest value to God. This 24/7 prayer meeting started over 280 years ago and launched a worldwide missionary movement!

The results of the 24/7 prayer movement will shake the entire world and will reach from one nation to another. There will not be a place on earth that will not be touched dramatically by 24/7 prayer. Therefore, we must not give up the vision because of the difficulties. We must look forward with anticipation to what God is going to do through united prayer and fervent devotion.

The Moravian 100-Year Prayer Movement

“The very zealous Moravians had found a worthy leader in Zinzendorf. He was a man of serious devotion, fervent prayer, and was known for his commitment to radical holiness. In modern terminology, we would say that he had a tremendous hunger for God."

The Moravian, 100-year prayer meeting started in 1727 by Count Zinzendorf. He was a deeply spiritual man and traced his intense devotional life to one event on a single day when he visited an art gallery and saw a portrait of Christ wearing a crown of thorns on his head. At the bottom of the picture was written:

“All this I did for you, what are you doing for Me?”

Count Zinzendorf was only 19-years-old, but as he read this, he was so touched by the Holy Spirit that it completely changed his life forever. He could never live the carefree lifestyle of a European nobleman. He dedicated his entire life to the service of Jesus Christ. Count Zinzendorf gave inspirational leadership to this prayer movement through the love that he had for the church and for prayer. His acceptance of even strangers, his selflessness, and his great love for the Lord and people inspired others.

He had a powerful interest in prayer. He would set aside whole days and nights to fast and pray when he was a university student. This 100-year, non-stop prayer meeting began because of his steadfast faithfulness in prayer in his small corner of the world called Herrnhut. Doesn’t that sound familiar to some of us who feel like we are on the back seat of the desert in a tiny corner somewhere trying to start prayer?

The group of men and women Count Zinzendorf led in this 100-year prayer meeting were called the Moravians. The Moravians followed his example in living a holy and loving life. “In every detail of their lives - in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties - they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet.” Their powerful motto was “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love.” Their testimony has spread all around the world but it began during one Communion service. This is what happened:

“The Holy Spirit fell on the group as on the day of Pentecost. Hearts were radically changed, and prayers were answered beyond expectations. Many more villagers began to set aside time for earnest prayer. Soon, prayer was going on 24 hours a day. Even the children organized prayer circles. This wave of prayer did not cease for a hundred years. So transformed was the village that John Wesley, visiting in 1738, called it the happiest place on earth!”

Shortly after this 100-year prayer meeting started, Count Zinzendorf felt strongly that they were to spread the gospel of Jesus to the unreached people around the world. The focus of fervent prayer became world missions. This became known as the Moravian mission movement. They all felt the call of the Great Commission. More workers were sent out to the foreign missions since the first century. Within 20 years, the Moravians sent out more missionaries than all Protestants in the previous 200 years!

The continuous prayer meeting that God is presently initiating around the world will have the same focus.

This is the season of harvest in every nation of the world. As we pray, we will receive the heart of God for the nations. We will receive the burden of the Great Commission and the anointing to reach our neighbors. We will no longer be able to contain or restrain the empowering and convicting force of the Holy Spirit. This is where we are now headed.

With my experience in the 24/7 House of Prayer movement, I notice that we are beginning to move into more prayer for the nations and for the lost. In an early Sunday prayer meeting at our church almost every prayer was concentrating on the lost. As we were praying Scripture, there was a harmonious direction in prayer towards the harvest and towards lost souls. God is directing our intercession. His heart is towards the lost and the nations. This prayer meeting was very powerful, and I believe it is because God is saying something.

He seems to be showing us that it is time for all of us to open our eyes and look onto the fields, for they are ripe for harvest (John 4:35). He is beginning to focus us onto the lost just as he did with the Moravian prayer movement.

Ways to Apply the Moravian Example

“He dedicated the rest of his life to the service of Jesus Christ” - Pray that those in your prayer meeting will grow in an intense personal devotional life. Expect God to deepen everyone’s dedication to the point of sacrificial living.

“The Lord gave the entire community a burning desire to see sinners come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ” - Open your heart to those who do not know Christ. Be a witness and shine God’s light outside of the prayer meeting.

“The Lord gave the entire community a renewed call of the Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel” - Incorporate times to pray for the lost and for the nations. Be willing to reach out to the lost where you live.

“This resulted in the greatest concentration of Christian workers being sent out into foreign missions since the first century” - Expect that God will call some from your prayer meeting to go to the nations. Be willing to go or to send as God directs.

“This fueled young Zinzendorf’s fire for evangelism” - Expect God to burden those in the prayer meeting for evangelism and for your city. Cry out to God for your city. The Moravians had a burden for the lost.

“He was a man of serious devotion, fervent prayer, and was known for his commitment to radical holiness” - Expect God to move those in your prayer meeting into radical holiness. There is no room for sin in one who is hungry for holiness. Confess all known sin on a daily basis.

“In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love” - Let unity and harmony be a high priority in all of your prayer meetings. Do all things in love.

“In every detail of their lives - in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties - they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet” - Live out the Sermon on the Mount as best you can as a group and individually. Let your life shine for Christ in the marketplace.

“Prayers were answered beyond expectation” - Expect God to answer your prayers. Look forward with anticipation for the answer to your united prayer. Expect souls to come to Christ in your city.

“I have one passion; it is he and he alone” - Narrow your life down to a passionate pursuit of Christ.

Is your passion for Christ? God’s first priority is that we love Him with all of our heart (Matthew 22:37-38). It’s the First Commandment and it’s a wonderful foundation for all of life. In giving God extravagant devotion, we make a great impact on the world around us. There is sustaining power if we make Him our foundation. It takes time and effort to prioritize our lives towards God and the prayer movement. It goes against the world system.

But it’s dynamic - It’s refreshing - It’s absolutely life transforming - It’s the highest and greatest lifestyle.

Life is becoming very pressurized because of constant change and stress. God wants to teach us to live without fatigue and sweat. There is purity in being devoted to Christ and the devil knows it. He aims to get us off track and confused (2 Corinthians 11:3). But God wants to show us the highest way to live. Our primary calling is internal. When we are energized by intimacy we will be able to sustain spiritual intensity throughout our life. God is searching the earth to find those whose hearts are loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is searching for those who will pray.

Are you willing to pay the price to seek Him, not only for yourself, but for your own city? It’s time to lay the foundations for 24/7 prayer in all the cities throughout the earth. Let’s change the history of His church worldwide. Let’s adopt Zinzendorf’s motto personally and corporately: “I have one passion; it is He and He alone.”

We just relocated to Kansas City, and today I was praying at the International House of Prayer. They are in the 11^th year of non-stop prayer. A few hundred passionate intercessors were there praying. You are invited to pray with them at anytime day or night at http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000058181.

"Zinzendorf’s motto, ‘I have one passion; it is He and He alone,’ would fan into a movement that God would use to change the history of His church.”

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

To subscribe to Intercessors Arise, click

intercessorsarise-international-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org

The Roots of the 24/7 Prayer Movement

2010-07-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

It’s exciting, it’s radical, it’s exhilarating and at the same time, it calls for a deeper level of commitment than any of us have ever known before.

The Moravian 100-Year Prayer Movement

“All this I did for you, what are you doing for Me?”

The continuous prayer meeting that God is presently initiating around the world will have the same focus.

Ways to Apply the Moravian Example

Let the Moravian example challenge you to rise up higher in prayer than you have ever been before. The following quotes taken from the Moravian prayer movement are ways you can apply this in your prayer meetings.

“He dedicated the rest of his life to the service of Jesus Christ” - Pray that those in your prayer meeting will grow in an intense personal devotional life. Expect God to deepen everyone’s dedication to the point of sacrificial living.

“The Lord gave the entire community a burning desire to see sinners come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ” - Open your heart to those who do not know Christ. Be a witness and shine God’s light outside of the prayer meeting.

“The Lord gave the entire community a renewed call of the Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel” - Incorporate times to pray for the lost and for the nations. Be willing to reach out to the lost where you live.

“This resulted in the greatest concentration of Christian workers being sent out into foreign missions since the first century” - Expect that God will call some from your prayer meeting to go to the nations. Be willing to go or to send as God directs.

“This fueled young Zinzendorf’s fire for evangelism” - Expect God to burden those in the prayer meeting for evangelism and for your city. Cry out to God for your city. The Moravians had a burden for the lost.

“He was a man of serious devotion, fervent prayer, and was known for his commitment to radical holiness” - Expect God to move those in your prayer meeting into radical holiness. There is no room for sin in one who is hungry for holiness. Confess all known sin on a daily basis.

“In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love” - Let unity and harmony be a high priority in all of your prayer meetings. Do all things in love.

“In every detail of their lives - in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties - they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet” - Live out the Sermon on the Mount as best you can as a group and individually. Let your life shine for Christ in the marketplace.

“Prayers were answered beyond expectation” - Expect God to answer your prayers. Look forward with anticipation for the answer to your united prayer. Expect souls to come to Christ in your city.

“I have one passion; it is he and he alone” - Narrow your life down to a passionate pursuit of Christ.

But it’s dynamic - It’s refreshing - It’s absolutely life transforming - It’s the highest and greatest lifestyle.

"Zinzendorf’s motto, ‘I have one passion; it is He and He alone,’ would fan into a movement that God would use to change the history of His church.”

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

To subscribe to Intercessors Arise, click

intercessorsarise-international-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org

God's Invitation to Greatness

2009-07-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19).

Establishing a House of Prayer in your church or city is pursuing greatness in God’s sight. You are involved in one of the greatest things you can ever do for God. He wants to transform our thinking and understand His invitation to greatness. Think about it - What do we really want - fame before man or before God? Lasting greatness is not in the praise of man but in the affirmation of God. He has placed within our heart a longing for greatness. He looks at the heart; He looks at our obedience and motives. He sees our hidden heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He sees what we do in secret, in the hidden place of prayer. Jesus wants to unlock our hearts and minds so that we are fully alive in Him. And this is how he will reward us (Matthew 6:6). Most of what we do now will not be fully known until the age to come.

When we build a House of Prayer, we are building upon a foundation that cannot be shaken (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). We are pursuing greatness in God’s sight. When we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will be judged by the motives of our hearts and the established thought patterns behind our actions. God is evaluating our hearts. Moses prayed, “Please, show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18-19). He understood the true meaning and purpose of life. When we meet God face-to-face will He ask us, “How much did you seek me?” “How much did you love others?” “How much did you let me transform your heart in the prayer room?"

Let God measure the success of what we do. He is looking for faithfulness (Luke 16:10-12, 1 Corinthians 4:2) and relationship (Luke 10:20, Matthew 7:23). We must be faithful stewards as we pray and prepare our Houses of Prayer. Our goal is to help prepare the Bride for her destiny (Eph 5:225-27). Our identity is found in being a friend of the bridegroom. He must increase and we must decrease.

We do not possess the fragrance of Jesus through education or money. God is raising-up the uneducated and unknown to turn the world upside down (1 Corinthians 1: 27-29). The power of the Kingdom will not come through the best training programs in the world. It will come through those who train in the desert, in that secret place of prayer. Moses had the best training in the world (Hebrews 11:24) and was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but he needed 40 years in the desert. Daniel had the best education, but it was in the secret place where he became wiser than all the wise men of Babylon. He was steadfast and prayed three times a day even when it endangered his life. Nothing - absolutely nothing - could hinder his commitment to prayer, not even a den of lions!

In Acts 4:13-16 we see the boldness of Peter and John because they had been with Jesus. Others realized this and marveled. They were uneducated and untrained yet their lives were ones of power. These men had the vision and commitment to pray and spend time with God. They accepted God’s invitation to greatness. As we wait for the coming of God’s Kingdom we can walk in that same power, but we must see with eyes of vision God’s great invitation to us. We must have hearts of commitment to pray and advance the prayer movement. We need to believe that God wants to spread 24/7 Houses of Prayer throughout the entire world. We must have vision for our city and our church. God is inviting us to greatness in His Kingdom.

Positioning Your Life for Greatness

“Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:42-44).

Spreading the vision for prayer and starting a House of Prayer in your church or city will take a great deal of faithful serving. It will take hard work and endurance. There will be times when you wonder if you are doing the right thing or if it will ever happen. The opposition from the enemy will be great. But this is God’s personal invitation to greatness for you. God designed you for greatness (Matthew 5:12, 18:4, 11:11). Deep in your heart you desire greatness, significance, dignity, nobility, honor, and impact. You want to be great in God’s sight. You are learning to live for His Kingdom purposes.

The Sermon on the Mount is all about the lifestyle of the Kingdom. In obeying it, we position ourselves for greatness. We pursue obedience in our speech, our physical appetites, our time, our money, and our eyes. We renew our inner man for eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:16-127). We work to become faithful disciples of Jesus through our heart obedience and our ministry impact. We respond to all that the Holy Spirit shows us so that we may be worthy of our calling (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). Our eternal destiny is to possess Godliness and become like God in character (Ephesians 5:2, Romans 9:29). This can be cultivated in the prayer room and the development of our secret life with God. He sees our heart. Seeking to lovingly obey is never in vain. We should seek to live out the 8 beatitudes in our daily life. He is looking for a people who obey Him wholeheartedly. The Sermon on the Mount is the core vale of God’s Kingdom and the litmus test to measure our true success in life. We are on a journey to greatness. Matt Chandler from the International House of Prayer writes about God’s invitation to greatness:

“The Sermon on the Mount is the litmus test to measure our success in life, spiritual development and ministry impact. Our foundation call (internal) is to live out the 8 beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) as we pursue 100-fold obedience (Matthew 5:48, 6:22). The beatitudes are like 8 flowers in the ‘garden of our heart’ that God wants to fully blossom…. God invites us to greatness without regard to our outward achievements or the size of our ministry impact. Rather it is based on the development of our inner man in love, meekness, and revelation or in righteousness, peace, and joy in the spirit (Romans 14:17). Without the paradigm of being on a journey to greatness, the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle is much more difficult to sustain. Living in light of receiving reward in heaven and being great in God’s sight is a major theme that is emphasized in Matthew 5:5, 12, 19. 46, 6:1 4, 6, 18, 20, 7:2.”

The prayer room helps us to become great in God’s eyes rather than mans. It helps us to pursue the journey to greatness. As you attempt to get involved in His House of Prayer in your city or church, realize that it requires humility and a servant’s lifestyle (Matthew 20:26-27). Those who lead in Houses of Prayer open the way to God’s pathway of greatness. They must be willing to go through difficult and refining situations that seem unbearable at times (Isaiah 48:10). Jesus went through the cross for the joy set before Him. We must trust his leadership of God, live in His grace and for His glory (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 12 Corinthians 4:17, Romans 818). We are partnering with Him and are seeking heavenly rewards instead of earthly ones (Matthew 6:1-20).

I heard about a famous professional baseball player who said that the aim of his life was to hear his manager say to him, “You are the greatest player I have ever coached.” He was motivated by the hope that one day he would hear his manager’s affirmation. How many multitudes of athletes feel like this? But how much more should we as Christians be motivated by the hope that one day we will hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness’” (Matthew 25:21). What more could we ever want? In starting and maintaining Houses of Prayer we are seeking for God’s “Well Done” in our lives and are involved with what God’s cherishes and esteems so highly (Matthew 25:21).

Establishing 24/7 Houses of Prayer helps to bring God’s people into a love relationship with Him and helps them establish a close partnership with Jesus on earth. This brings glory to God in the deepest sense. Prayer is rooted in humility and takes time and energy. But when you do this, you are investing your time and energy in order to help others grow in righteousness, peace, and joy.

Let’s press on with diligence and faithfulness (Philippians 3:12-14). He will help each one of us to be faithful in the face of pressure, obstacles, and difficulty. He will help us endure the mundane and smallness of working day-by-day and week-by-week as we get started. This matters to Him. We are living for a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. It’s a daily adventure in pleasing God. It’s all part of God’s invitation to greatness in His Kingdom. This invitation brings transformation in every area of our lives. Our hearts and our thoughts are transformed.

God is developing us in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12. He is our source, and we are absolutely dependent on Him. Let’s wholeheartedly pursue his fullness and hunger and thirst for His righteousness. We are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10, 4:12, 1:28-29, 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23). We are seeking to be obedient and perfectly established (1 Peter 5:10, 1 Timothy 6:13-14). We are seeking a blameless life. In the prayer room, we learn to hunger after God, we grow in purity of heart, we learn to become peacemakers, and we grow in meekness. God brings inner and outer transformation. Then we take Him with us out into the marketplace and people are drawn to the Holy Spirit living within us.

We are living in a transitional time in all of history. The Holy Spirit is preparing us for a release of His glory upon the Church. There will be a mighty release of signs, wonders and glory at the end of the age (Joel 2:28-29). This will bring transformation. God is right now shaking everything that can be shaken in the nations (Haggai 2:6-7). He is inviting everyone to become great in His Kingdom. He designed us for this. True greatness will be fully manifested in the age to come, not here. It will be based on our heart’s response, and it is available to all (Matthew 5:19, 20:26-27, 23:12). Let’s seek Him in all that we do with a childlike faith and a humble heart. He is transforming our hearts and our minds. It’s time to see life from His perspective. Let’s position our life for greatness in His Kingdom and accept this wonderful invitation.

Recently I was sitting in the back of the International House of Prayer room (IHOP) in Kansas City. I was looking at 100’s of young people who were accepting God’s invitation to greatness with glad hearts. It was powerful.

“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me (Matthew 18:3-5).

Transformed Hearts in the Prayer Room

2009-07-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

“Cultivating a responsive heart of extravagant devotion to Jesus takes time and deliberate effort. Love does not grow automatically but rather it automatically diminishes unless intentionally cultivated. A responsive heart to God, renewed in freshness and tenderness, is precious and rare, to be guarded with great care and renewed day by day. Satan’s first priority against the Church is to lead us astray from cultivating the ability to be responsive to God with wholehearted love and extravagant devotion. If Satan leads us astray from the purity of devotion to Jesus then our service and love for others will eventually fail.” Dana Candler

As we build the House of Prayer in our cities, we must realize that it’s all about God coming and taking His place in our hearts. It’s about loving God and preparing the earth for the reign of Jesus, the King. It’s about obeying the first commandment: “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38). The fire of loving God will ignite our faith to live a life of prayer and devotion. He wants us to turn to Him with all our heart (Joel 2:12). Then He will pour out His Spirit in our nations.

God wants to transform our hearts in the prayer room. There is no better way to experience a changed heart as in the prayer room. He wants to impact our hearts so that we impact our cities and the nations. If we love God, we will love others better and with a much greater consistency. Let’s remember that the Church of Ephesus had left their first love (Revelation 2:1-5). Their once fiery love and passion for Jesus had grown cold. Their minds had been led astray from the simplicity of pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Loving God and living a holy life must be our primary focus.

Houses of Prayer help us to encounter God on a deep level. Growing in an intimate relationship with God should be our ambition, our highest calling. This means that we know and are deeply known by God. We have a relational knowledge of God and not just a factual understanding. God is a person to be known, and our knowledge of Him produces affection. We position our hearts in the prayer room to receive the love He desires to manifest to us. He wants to partner with us, and He releases blessing to those who are in unity with His heart. Loving God was Jesus’ last public invitation and declaration before He went to the cross (Matthew 22:37-38). It is the great commandment and first priority to God. We impact His heart when we love Him. This should be our life focus (Song of Solomon 8:6-7).

As a child I would try to catch butterflies in a small net. In those days there were several country roads where they loved to freely fly, and monarch butterflies were plentiful. In many of my travels to other nations I have seen outstanding displays of God’s creative and rather remarkable handiwork in butterflies and moths. The colors, designs, and sizes are beyond imagination with reds, yellows, and oranges etched into a perfect design.

We can learn a lot from these colorful insects, and I am sure we can all testify to the transformation (metamorphosis) that takes place as we watch the miracle of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. A crawling ugly and repulsive caterpillar crawls up into a ball and seems to have died with no appearance of life as it lays imprisoned in a tomblike cocoon. Suddenly after a long time delay - it struggles - it pushes - it endures - it works hard to break out of that cocoon and comes forth as a beautiful and graceful butterfly! And did you know that the whole purpose of the butterfly is to reproduce itself, and it spends all its life seeking to do this? It’s amazing! But there is a great problem when this struggle doesn’t occur.

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day when a small opening appeared, he sat and watched it trying to struggle its body through the small hole but without making much progress. It seemed to actually stop and go no further. He thought, “I’ll help free this butterfly”. So he took scissors and snipped off the cocoon. The butterfly easily emerged but had a small body and shriveled wings. He thought the wings would expand, and the butterfly would fly. It didn’t happen. The butterfly could never fly but could only crawl in it’s swollen body and shriveled wings.

No beautiful transformation took place.

That man didn’t realize that it was necessary for the butterfly to struggle in the cocoon to get through that tiny opening. Fluid would force its way from the body of the butterfly to its wings, making it ready for flight once it achieved freedom from the cocoon. God wants to bring transformation into His Church. He wants to transform all of our lives. Often we want the easy way out. Struggle, tests, trials, and tribulations are not pleasant words. But this is exactly what we need in order to see transformation in our lives. This is what is needed in the prayer movement as God brings transformation onto the earth.

Developing 24/7 prayer in our cities and increasing the level of prayer in our churches involves perseverance and struggle. But it brings transformation in our lives personally, corporately, and regionally. Obstacles are necessary for transformation. We would be crippled and without strength without them - We need to struggle to see things from God’s perspective and do things His way - We need perseverance as we prepare for His soon return to earth. He is strengthening our character and stabilizing our hope in the eternal. He is creating within us a faith in His promises.

How do we grow in intimacy and the knowledge of God?

God must reveal Himself to us, and He does it as we behold Jesus in the prayer room (Hebrews 1:1-3, Matthew 11:27, Colossians 2:2-3, 1:19, 2:9, 2 Corinthians 4:6). God wants us filled with fiery love and desire for Him, and the prayer room is the perfect place to cultivate this transformational love relationship. What we behold of God’s heart we become. We are like the beautiful emerging butterfly. Our identity is in Jesus. We discover who we are and what is our worth and destiny by encountering His heart for us in the prayer room. We become successful as lovers of God, and we begin to measure our success in an entirely new way. Imagine what will happen in our cities when God’s people begin to measure success in this way. There will be no more envy and competition. We will be seeking God and His ways, not ours.

When we prayerfully adore and study the person and work of Christ in the prayer room and live obedient lives, we grow in intimacy. This is not studying academically, but it is more a drinking in of the beauty of Christ just as we would behold a beautiful landscape. We fix our attention and affection upon Christ. We listen carefully - We hear - We behold - We gaze in stillness upon Christ and are transformed into His likeness. We use Scripture as we do this, and we give God our time. Jesus must be our focal point. Our hearts will be unsatisfied if He isn’t. He must be central in our study, devotion, and discipleship. We must be dynamically connected to Him. We are His inheritance and delight (1 Corinthians 3:23, Song of Solomon 7:10, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, Romans 14:8).

God is using prayer to help prepare and purify His Church all across the earth. Remember that a 24/7 House of Prayer in your city will help prepare Christians to live fully for God. God is using the prayer room to sanctify and cleanse His people and make her a Church filled with His glory. The Church is like the transformed butterfly emerging from its cocoon. In the prayer room we learn to abide by dialoging with God and listening to the Holy Spirit actively within us as He gives us wisdom, direction, and empowers us to live the Christian life - We are attentive and engaged - We are developing a heart connection with the Holy Spirit - We are learning the reality of John 15:5-7. In the prayer room we cultivate a transformed heart. Don’t be discouraged by any difficulties you encounter as you build 24/7 prayer in your city. God is developing a beautiful butterfly and teaching you to fly. Remember that without Him we can do nothing, but with Him we will bear much fruit!

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Spreading 24/7 Prayer Worldwide

2009-04-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

“If Christians prayed as Christians ought - with strong commanding faith, with earnestness and sincerity - men, God-called men, God-empowered men everywhere, would be burning to go and spread the Gospel worldwide. The Word of the Lord would run and be glorified as never known heretofore. The God-influenced men, the God-inspired men, the God-commissioned men, would go and kindle the flame of sacred fire for Christ, salvation, and heaven, everywhere in all nations. Soon all men would hear the glad tidings of salvation and have an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.” E. M. Bounds

There is no doubt about it. Day and night prayer ignites the power of God to release the fire of the Gospel throughout the earth. Every nation, every city, every people group, every neighborhood cannot miss the tremendous influence of the atmosphere of prayer released from the 24/7 prayer room. There is something deep and far-reaching that happens when God’s people give themselves to 24/7 prayer and intercession in a given location. It cannot be measured by human means, but its’ dynamic power can set the fire of God loose in a nation in a way that is beyond comprehension.

I have heard of evangelists going to a region, locking themselves in a hotel room, praying unceasingly for days, and then going out and sharing the Gospel with incredible results. If one man can see that happen, imagine the effect when the Church worldwide gives itself to prayer and actually makes prayer its primary business. Then we shall surely see things happen! None of us have gotten there yet, but it certainly should be our highest ambition and shall take a primary role as we see the end-time scenario unfold before us.

Perhaps one of the greatest prayer warriors in all of history was Praying Hyde of northern India who lived from 1865-1912. He would miss meals and would bow down or lie on the ground because of intense travail, and cry out to the Lord daily for souls. He was burning within for the salvation of the lost. Finally with an agonizing passion for those without Christ, he began to pray that God would let him win a soul to Jesus every day that year. At the end of the year, four hundred souls had been won through his daily witness. The next year Hyde cried out to the Lord for two souls a day! That year about eight hundred had responded to Christ through Hyde. But his heart grew in intense desperation, and he began to plead to God for four souls a day. That year he led four souls a day to Christ. He would first travail for the lost, and then go out and speak to men and women about how to find eternal life through Christ. He first prayed, and then he witnessed. After praying, the Holy Spirit would lead him to the right individuals. Multitudes came to Christ through this praying man. What a fantastic method of evangelism!

The ministry of Anna is increasing across the earth. God is raising up individuals who give themselves to day and night prayer as she and Praying Hyde did. Anna in the Bible, even though extremely old, worshiped God night and day almost all her life. We read in Luke 2:36b-37, “She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” God is raising-up intercessory missionaries who pray night and day. The urgency of the hour and the present emphasis on prayer makes 24/7 prayer a possibility in this generation. We cannot do without intercession and individuals who give themselves to prayer like Anna. The need is too great.

Catch and Spread the Vision for 24/7 Prayer

"Prayer is the key to reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus. The greatest forces of power in the universe are mobilized, and history is made when we pray. God is looking for men who will stand in the gap on behalf of the land” (Ezekiel 22:30, Isaiah 59:16, 63:5). E. M. Bounds

24/7 Houses of Prayer are spreading all over the world. Prayer rooms are also being established in churches throughout the world. Not only are churches starting them, denominations and Christian organizations have started prayer watches. The Salvation Army in Australia and in England started praying 24/7 for a week in 52 of their branches with immediate results! YWAM, with 16 bases in Western Europe, set aside an entire year where each base took responsibility for a week and filled the whole year with 24/7 prayer. In 2005, thirteen denominations and Christian organizations in England alone started filling the whole year with 24/7 prayer. Several prisons in Argentina have established 24/7, 365-day prayer watches where the inmates pray for their families, communities, their country, fellow inmates, and the world! Inmates are converted and change their lifestyle. Breakthroughs are happening in the prisons. Here’s how you can catch and spread the vision:

• Rejoice that God is awakening the watchmen – Watch the Awaken “Awaken the Watchmen” video to find out how the 24-7 prayer movement is spreading worldwide! This is a powerful video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFMircbzC6w

• Daily pray that a 24/7 House of Prayer starts in every city in every nation - Keep on praying for your own city to catch the vision for 24/7 prayer.

• Register your prayer watch - www.global24-7.org is a website with the purpose of registering and encouraging prayer watches from all over the world. This will support what God is doing worldwide and help to link 24/7 prayer in different regions of the world.

• Start a one-month 24-7 House of Prayer in your city - If you desire to start a one-month 24-7 House of Prayer in your city, join the Intercessors Arise International Network for encouragement and networking with others with the same vision for their city. If you haven’t yet received an invitation, write to me at deb@intercessorsarise.org.

• Start a one-week House of Prayer in your church - Use my book Intercessors Arise: Personal Prayer that Changes the Word on prayer to help encourage your church in intercession and train people in prayer.

• Learn from other 24/7 Houses of Prayer - Notice how they are functioning, what they teach and emphasize. Observe the creativity in each one. Here are a few House of Prayer websites to encourage your heart in how the 24/7 prayer movement is spreading worldwide, but there are dozens of websites.

24/7 Prayer internationally - www.ihop.org
24/7 Prayer in Israel - www.jerusalempraise.com
24/7 Prayer in Washington D.C. for justice - www.justicehouseofprayer.com
24/7 Prayer internationally among the youth - www.24-7prayer.com
24/7 Prayer in Hollywood for the media - www.unitedprayerforhollywood.org
24/7 Prayer in Canada - www.nationalhouseofprayer.com

I highly recommend the book Red Moon Rising by Pete Greig and Dave Roberts. This book gives the amazing story of how the 24/7 Prayer Movement is spreading worldwide among the youth. They have 24/7 prayer rooms that have grown into 24/7 prayer houses called “Boiler Rooms” and are modeled after the ancient Celtic monasteries. These Boiler Rooms are mission-focused and are places of disciplined prayer and outreach to the poor. They pursue missions, justice, hospitality, and prayer. As the world gets darker, they are spreading all over the world at an incredible rate and the vision is catching fire. Here is their incredible testimony:

“A movement to encourage churches to make room for nonstop prayer has spread to 63 nations in the last seven years and is especially multiplying in the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. ‘We don’t have a fixed number of prayer rooms because they can take off so quickly,’ said Pete Greig, 37, who founded the 24/7 prayer movement in 1999 in Chichester, England. Named for its nonstop concert of prayer, 24/7 has meeting places as diverse as a bus in the slums of Delhi, India, and a brewery in Missouri. Volunteers pray, usually alone, in one-hour shifts, round the clock, seven days a week for global issues and requests they receive from their international website or from their local communities. Visitors are free to drop in, pray and talk. 24/7 also has planted itself in places where there is a crisis, such as Lebanon during the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, and in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Teams also live long-term in needy communities in Mexico, where intercessors can be found ministering among pimps and prostitutes. ‘In a squatter’s camp in Soweto, South Africa, we’ve seen 64 prayer tents spring up in just two years,’ Greig said. ‘The local man who spearheads them said 80 percent of new converts in the camp are maintaining their salvation, and the local police chief says crime has dropped by 20 percent.’ Greig said the movement is being fueled by young people who are passionate about prayer, justice and missions.”

This is only a small taste of what is happening worldwide in the area of prayer. Our God is creative, and we see the unique ways he initiates 24/7 prayer in different nations. Day and night prayer will lead to the final gathering of the worldwide harvest. Let’s jump on board and prepare for this harvest and the salvation of millions of souls. Let’s learn from the outstanding example of Praying Hyde and as we pray, let’s expect to see many souls saved. It is time for the Gospel to advance.

“If men would pray as they ought to pray, the marvels of the past would be more than reproduced. The Gospel would advance with a facility and power it has never known. Doors would be thrown open to the Gospel, and the Word of God would have a conquering force rarely if ever known before.” E. M. Bounds

The Power of a Praying City Church

2006-12-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

The Power of a Praying City Church

“The life of the church is the highest life, and its office is to pray. Its prayer life is the highest life, the most fragrant, the most conspicuous. When God’s house on the earth is a house of prayer, then God’s house in heaven is busy and powerful in its plans and movements. ‘For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people’ (Isaiah 56:7), says God. Then, His earthly armies are clothed with the triumphs and spoils of victory, and His enemies are defeated on every hand… The very life and prosperity of God’s cause - even its very existence - depend on prayer. And the advance and triumph of His cause depend on one thing: that we ask of Him.” E. M. Bounds

There is power released when the church in the city prays! What is needed in the worldwide Church at this hour is a unified, praying Church. There is the need for supernatural power. Only the power of God will defeat the attacks of the enemy in our cities. When the church in a city or region decides to drop its own agendas and decides to come together to pray day and night in a central location, there is great spiritual power released into the atmosphere, the very power of God. Prayer will affect everything! It will affect time, places, occasions and circumstances. A praying church within the city brings success and supernatural power into that region.

“Success is sure to follow a church given to much prayer. The supernatural element in the church, without which it must fail, comes only through praying. More time in this bustling age must be given to pray by a God-given church… More heart and soul must be in the praying that is done if the church would go forth in the strength of her Lord and perform the wonders that is her heritage by divine promise.” E. M. Bounds

We must get on our knees and seek God passionately. The obstacles towards city transformation are many. We must believe that our cities can be transformed by the power of God. We must know that none of us has the answer to our city, only God does. We can’t figure out how to bring revival into our cities. God is the one who transforms. It is time to shake off our apathetic lifestyle, and expect the supernatural from God. We must have no hidden agendas or selfish motives. This is all about the Kingdom of God and intimacy with the King. We must stop our busyness, remove ourselves from the distractions all around us, and become passionate for God. It is time to seek the Lord.

Requirements for Powerful Transformation in Your City

“The time has come to lift the bar of expectations. Transformation is attainable for God. This is the heartbeat of God. It is not the work of man. It’s the finger of God. ‘If you call on me, I will answer.’ He takes care of the problems. The church becomes a beacon of light and hope.” George Otis, Jr., Transformation video

God wants to come into your city with His presence. He is greatly concerned with your city and cares deeply about reaching the people who live there. We need to ask ourselves, “What are the requirements needed to bring God’s power into our city, power that will reach the lost and set the captives free?” “What is required for transformation in our city that will change the face of everything?” The following are principles that will help bring life and transformation into your city:

· Invite God into your city - Ask Him to increase your capacity to desire Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to empty you of self-satisfaction and fill you with Himself. Pray this for all the churches in your city. See Isaiah 62:6-7.

· Walk in holiness and humility - God wants to change us first. He is drawn to holiness and humility. He wants to remove all pride from our lives. Decide not to let others offend you, and forgive daily. Choose to walk in humility. See Isaiah 66:2.

· Make an individual decision to pray and seek God - Revival begins with individual obedience and solitary decisions. Come to God afresh and commit your life to Him totally and without reservation. Ask Him to change you, and find others who have made that personal commitment. It always starts with a few. These are the ones who will press through in prayer and cry out to God for city transformation.

· Repent of the sins in your city - Why is there a lack of blessing in your city? Map the history of your area and deal with past sin. Understand the depth of God’s feeling of unresolved corporate sin. Past iniquity can be dealt with only through prayer and repentance. Repent of anything that offends God.

· Make prayer a priority - Fervent prayer will release God’s destiny for our cities. Be willing to persevere in prayer with a holy determination. Determine not to let go of God until He breaks through. Become desperate for God.

· Expect God to work uniquely in your city - Don’t think He will do the same in your city as another one. The work of God comes through prayer, and it is unpredictable and out of man’s control. God will show up in unexpected ways. We think our strategies are the way, but God sees things in a much more powerful dimension.

· Seek for unity among the churches in your city - Remember that God doesn’t need a majority but a few churches coming together with hungry hearts for the cause of revival and transformation of the city. The presence of God will bring supernaturally unity as we cry out to God for it. Seek to unite with other churches in prayer for transformation.

“Unity is a revelation of the spirit of God that sees that only together can we get the results that God wants. I need my brother. I can’t do it alone. We must give ourselves away to one another and to Him. We must look at ourselves in a kingdom connection. It is in all of us, not one of us.” George Otis, Jr., Transformation video

Are we willing for God to transform our cities through prayer? Are we willing to pay the price? For many of us, God has brought us to the point of desperation. We are willing to lay down our own agendas and get on our faces before God for however long it takes. We have seen that our own methods and plans will never change the increasing darkness that is permeating our land. We are becoming desperate, and that is a good place to be. Seeking the manifest presence of God in a region is risky, but it is the way towards a true and powerful transformation in your city.

“It’s risky, aggressive, and brought about through prayer. It’s not predictable and out of our control. There is an unexpectedness of God. We are fooled by strategy. We lack God’s processing power. You can’t format God. We are proud and impatient. God’s approach is to come in through the back door. He shows up, not shows off. There is a flow with the Holy Spirit that is not stage-managed. He is willing to be invited but only on his terms. The light of God is a surprise. Leaders must be committed to a community. They must persevere through apathy and not give up. I can’t coast and there is no time to say, ‘I’ll relax’. It’s not a quick start but a long run. The goal is to get to the last day and then face Jesus and through everything to direct men and women toward the Kingdom. God is looking for a man who will take the burden on himself for the nation. God is looking for leaders who will stand in the gap for their nation, who don’t care who gets the credit. They are not stakeholders but shareholders. They give God the glory. Revival leaders are often unlikely choices. The measure of leadership is not influence with the public but influence with God.” George Otis, Jr., Transformation video

Are you ready for transformation in your city? We are right now in a region in southern Spain that is seeking God for transformation. November 1st started a month-long 24-7 House of Prayer situated in a central location in the region. God has provided in an amazing way a large 200-year old hotel for this event. This place is set apart this month to seek the face of God and invite Him to come and transform Spain, Gibraltar and North Africa. Churches and individuals in the region are dedicating time in the prayer room. They are choosing to unite and drop their differences. They are seeking God’s Kingdom purposes for this region. Individuals from several other countries are coming to this area and dedicating large amounts of time in the prayer room. We invite you to join us in prayer for this area called Campo de Gibraltar. See www.campo247.com for prayer requests and updates. We also invite you to pray the following prayer for your city and believe God for a mighty transformation. “Lord, whatever it takes. Give me the grace to get there. I will live and die believing for my culture to be transformed.” It’s time to believe that God will transform our cities. May God bless you as you apply these principles and seek God’s face for transformation in your city.

“The life, power, and glory of the church is prayer. The life of its members is dependent on prayer. The presence of God is secured and retained by prayer. The very place is made sacred by its ministry. Without it, the church is lifeless and powerless. Without it, even the building itself is nothing more than any other structure. Prayer converts even the bricks, mortar, and lumber into a sanctuary, a Holy of Holies, where the Shekinah dwells. Prayer separates it, in spirit and in purpose, from all other buildings. Prayer gives a peculiar sacredness to the building, sanctifies it, sets it apart for God, and conserves it from all common and mundane affairs.” E. M. Bounds

The Power of Intercession

2006-12-17T15:54:00.000-08:00

THE POWER OF INTERCESSION

“Of what infinite importance is the place the intercessor holds in the KIngdom of God! Is it not indeed a matter of wonder that God should give men such power? Yet there are so few who know what it is to take hold of His strength and pray down His blessing on the world. God rules the world and His church through the prayers of His people. That God should have made the expansion of His Kingdom to such a large extent dependent on the faithfulness of His people in prayer is a stupendous mystery and yet an absolute certainty. God calls for intercessors; in His grace He has made His work dependent on them. He waits for them.”

May God motivate us to take hold of the powerful ministry of prayer and intercession. I am convinced that prayer and intercession is so powerful, so mighty and so far reaching that no words can describe its’ true worth. I love prayer and intercession. I saturate myself with whatever I can learn and read about this tremendous ministry. I love prayer meetings. I am absolutely convinced that prayer moves the hand of God. I have been involved in prayer for over 30 years, and I believe in it wholeheartedly. I have dedicated my life to help facilitate the worldwide prayer and mission’s movement. I want to give my energy to encourage prayer in every believer because it is just too important to take lightly. I believe that all of us are called to pray and intercede. Every Christian must learn to pray. Many of you are called to a high level of prayer and intercession.

In order to grow in prayer, we must realize that everything good is costly. Prayer and intercession will cost you. We read in Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourself to prayer, being watchful and thankful”. This is not some half-hearted endeavor but it will cost sleep, time, and energy. We have to exercise our faith because we don’t always see the results immediately. It’s a choice to pray and not give up. We must see with the eyes of faith and vision the potential and power of prayer. Vision determines priorities, and our priorities determine our destinies. It needs to be a high priority in our life. I made it a priority in my life years ago, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

“What an unspeakable grace to be allowed to deal with God in intercession for the supply of other’s needs! To be able to take part in Christ’s great work as Intercessor is such a blessing. It is wonderful to be in close union with Him and to mingle my prayers with His! What an honor to have power with God in heaven over souls and to obtain for them what they do not even know or think!”

God is making sure we mean business with our vision. He will test us in perseverance and faith. We must get desperate. God is looking for people who will prepare the way for the Lord. Prayer must be a choice, a priority, and a discipline. God wants to impart greater faith in your life for prayer. Wherever you are in prayer today, God wants to bring you further. He is not condemning you or comparing you with others. God wants to take you from where you are to where He is. We’ve all gotten somewhere, and we can all go a lot further. God wants to develop a strong life of prayer and intercession in each one of us.

“What a mystery of glory there is in prayer! On the one hand we see God in His holiness, love, and power waiting and longing to bless man. On the other hand there is sinful man, a worm of the dust, bringing down from God by prayer the very life and love of heaven to dwell in his heart. But the glory of intercession is so much greater: when a man is bold and asks from God what he desires for others. He seeks to bring down on one soul, or it may be on hundreds and thousands, the power of the eternal life with all its blessings.”

I want to share with you a few big keys that I have used in unlocking the door to fruitfulness and power in my own prayer life. This week in “The Power of Intercession”, I will share five keys. Next week in “The Spirit of Intercession”, I will share four more. I encourage you to pray daily regarding these keys. We long to be wholehearted and passionate. We long to do great things for God. We long to make a deep and lasting impact. In order to do this, we must lay hold of prayer and intercession with all our heart. God is maturing us for harvest. Although I have mentioned these keys individually in one way or another in other letters, they need to be emphasized again and again because they are so vital to power in intercession. I believe that these keys, if taken seriously and applied, will open a wide door into your destiny.

Keys to Power in Intercession

“Intercession! Would one not say that this is the very holiest exercise of our boldness as God’s children? It is the highest privilege and enjoyment connected to our communion with God. It is the power of being used by God as instruments for His great work of making men His habitation and showing forth His glory.”
· Cultivate praise, worship and thanksgiving - Worship and praise God throughout the day. Worship changes our lives and how we see our situations. It is a joyful key to living successfully in the end time. As we ascend to the throne room in worship, then we can descend back into the harvest field here on earth, pray, and war for its release. God can give us keys during our seasons of worship that unlock the path before us and bring glory into our situations here on earth. Everything in us should give praise to the Lord." David says in Psalm 34:1, "His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Practicing praise and worship throughout the day will lead us into a more powerful life of intercession.

· Raise your view of God - He wants to give you a bigger picture of Himself. Raise your expectation level of what God can do in your life supernaturally through prayer. What glasses are you looking through? How do you see God? How does He see you? Whenever God brings us to a new level spiritually, we must adjust how we see God. Warfare is not primarily taking authority over the devil but it is discovering the majesty of God and His supremacy. Many of us feel small. That’s ok if we see how big God is in us. Our view of God is most important and will bring us into a more powerful life of intercession because we begin to view everything from the greatness and supremacy of Christ.

· Let God stretch your faith - Believe Him for something bigger than yourself. “Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God." Are you trusting God for something that is bigger than yourself that only He can do? Are you stepping out of your comfort zone and asking Him for things that are God-sized and not man-made? Let us keep in mind that God will not do anything without believing prayer. We read in Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Exercising faith empowers our prayer life.

· Practice fasting in your own life - Have regular times set aside for fasting and prayer. Fasting empowers intercession. Fasting and prayer purifies us and makes us ready for harvest. The benefits of fasting are numerous. Fasting brings the body into subjection, breaks down barriers and helps us to focus on God. It sets the captives free and breaks every yoke. In Isaiah 58, we find 24 benefits of fasting. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6. Fasting is key for a life of power in intercession.

· Practice purpose-driven prayer - Focus on God’s plan rather than your own needs. When we focus on the negatives and our own needs, we are practicing problem-driven prayer. Purpose-driven prayer focuses on God's overarching plan. By faith you can pray for his maximum glory to be achieved in any situation. This frees the Lord to replace your problem with His provision. God wants to move us into a much higher realm of His purposes. As our hearts touch the heart of God, we begin to have His desires and goals. We see things as he sees them. We are committed to His glory. A powerful life of intercession is a life that practices purpose-driven prayer.

God wants us to be powerful in intercession. He wants to release each one of us fully into our destiny. Where are you today? Are you willing to pay the price to develop in your prayer life? Is prayer an ever-growing object of intense desire for which you long and live? Are you willing to rise up to a new level in intercession? I believe you can. When we get to heaven, we will never, ever regret the time we have spent in prayer on earth. It is then that we will see the reality of the glory of God that was released on earth through the power of our intercession.

“If we, as helpers and fellow laborers with the Lord Jesus, are to share His power of intercession, there will need to be with us as well the travail of soul that there was with Him, the giving up of our lives and their pleasures for the one supreme work of interceding for our fellowmen. Intercession must not be a passing interest. It must become an ever-growing object of intense desire for which, above everything, we long and live. It is the life of consecration and self-sacrifice that will indeed give power for intercession.” Quotes by Andrew Murray

Watchmen for Your City Through 24-7 Prayer

2006-12-17T15:27:00.001-08:00

Watchmen for Your City
through 24-7 Prayer

“A watchman on the wall does many things. He carefully watches what is happening and alerts the community when good ambassadors approach the city… A watchman also warns the city far in advance when an enemy approaches. He sounds an alarm to awaken the people because he knows ‘to forewarn them is to alert and arm them.’ Then they quickly can rally to take their stand on the wall against the enemy before he wrongfully tries to enter into the city.” Jim Goll

24-7 prayer can change the atmosphere of your city. If there was ever a time when we needed to be alert for our cities and pray day and night, it is now! Too many evil things are happening at an increasing rate. We have the secret of prayer and God’s presence that can touch our cities and ward off the evil intent of the enemy. 24-7 prayer is much more powerful than we realize. It can release the power of God and His anointing in even the darkest of places.

“Does it surprise you that the word used for intercession, paga, is also translated ‘boundary’? It really shouldn’t. It only seems logical to me that perimeters of protection be linked to prayer. I want to state emphatically: We can build boundaries of protection around ourselves and (our cities) through intercession. What a comfort to know that this truth is inherent in the very meaning of the word. And it is certainly consistent with the watchman anointing.”

I cannot think of a better way to protect our cities than to have 24-7 Houses of Prayer. This is going to be a necessity in the coming days. Through 24-7 prayer you can pray into the atmosphere of heaven and bring heaven’s will to earth, praying the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. What is the central dream of your city? What is the plan or purpose of God for your city? There probably is a good and evil side to the dream. You must realize that God anticipated your city and planned it. It does have a divine purpose, and there is the need to cry out to God 24-7 for the fulfillment of that purpose. You need to protect the dream of God for your city. It is time to rebuild the walls of our cities through 24-7 prayer.

“Protection is an important aspect of the watchman anointing. Watchmen are guards, bodyguards, doorkeepers and, generally speaking, those who protect by covering in prayer.” Dutch Sheets

24-7 Prayer for Your City

“Your city is God’s city. The people are made in His image. Satan is an invader and a usurper operating in our territory. God did not give demons authority over your city. Demons have infested the earth’s atmosphere since before the creation of mankind, but they can only extend their authority into a town or an institution when people sin. When you look into the history of your city, you will find clues as to what is oppressing the people today. This is our planet, and the only authority Satan has is stolen human authority.” John Dawson

God wants you to be watchmen through 24-7 prayer for your city. Your city is God’s city! Here are some ways you can bring intercession for your city into your House of Prayer:

· Cover your city with continuous praise and worship - God gives you His heart for your city through worship, and therefore a positive attitude is important. Instead of complaining and reacting toward the sin in your city, praise God for the good things. Satan is already an accuser, so praising God and declaring by faith the eternal purpose and dream of God over your city brings in His presence and defeats the enemy.

· Wait on the Lord for insight - Don’t depend on your own wisdom, but listen to God with childlike dependence. God will open your eyes as to what He wants to do in your city as you set aside your own agenda and wait upon Him. The Lord will give you His strategies for reaching your city.

· Identify with the sins of the city - We can all identify with the roots of any sin in our city. The potential is in each one of us. We need to identify in personal and corporate repentance. Nehemiah identified with the sins in his city and prayed, “I and this people have sinned” (Nehemiah 1:6-7).

· Overcome evil with good - This will give you great victory in your city. Come in the opposite spirit. If there is a lot of violence in your city, demonstrate the spirit of peace. If your city is full of greed, demonstrate generosity. If there is hate, live a life of love.

· Travail over your city - You birth God’s dream in your city through travail, just as a pregnant woman travails to give birth to a child. You must pray until something happens, and this takes dedication and perseverance. This has everything to do with faith for your city and revival.

“The level of a spiritual victory for your city is directly affected by two spiritual conditions: the intensity of your desire and the size of your faith. God wants to see if you want the minimum or the maximum. Do you want institutional survival - or citywide revival?” John Dawson

Day and Night Prayer is Spreading throughout the World

“I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7).

· The Launching of a Spain/North Africa House of Prayer - We are leaving for Spain in just a few days to conduct a month-long 24-7 House of Prayer in southern Spain/North Africa. We would appreciate your prayers. The doors are still open for participants who will be with us in person or in spirit. For information and prayer requests, see our website www.campo247.com.

· The Registration of Prayer Watches - www.global24-7.org is a new website with the purpose of registering and encouraging prayer watches from all over the world. This will help to link 24-7 prayer in different regions and support what God is doing worldwide. The leader of this ministry said the following:

“We are seeing somewhat of a movement happening in terms of night and day prayer in South Africa. 27 Months ago we had some 20 watches going in the nation, averaging about 12-13 hours a day. Right now, we have over 2230 going, averaging between 15-17 hours a day. It is growing wild and fast.”

“Watchmen are ordinarily placed on the walls of a city to give notice to the rulers of coming danger. God appoints watchmen not only to warn men - often they will not hear - but also to summon Him to come to their aid whenever need or the enemy may be threatening. The great mark of the intercessors are that they are not to hold their peace day or night, to take no rest, and to give God no rest, until the deliverance comes. In faith they may count upon the assurance that God will answer their prayers.” Andrew Murray

The Key to Transformation - Desperation

2006-12-17T15:09:00.002-08:00

The Key to Transformation -
Desperation

“The key of holy desperation for the presence and ministry of Jesus is required in order for us to move out of our complacent, satisfied existence. Desperation is the underlying fuel that ignites our hearts for unity, prayer, worship, and repentance. If we aren’t longing for Jesus our ministry activities will be routine and hollow. There is certainly no shortage of ideas, plans, methods, books, teachings, programs, and activities in the church; what we are suffering from is a drought of desperation for God!”
Rhonda Hughey

Are we desperate enough for transformation? Are we each willing to pay the price that desperation requires? I have just begun to taste the level of commitment necessary for city transformation. We have just finished a non-stop 24-7 house of prayer throughout the month of November. It has radically changed my life, just as it has so many who have stepped into the fire of God’s presence in this location in southern Spain. Prayer lives have been challenged. The question is, “How far are we willing to go? How desperate are we willing to become? Can we even begin to think about going back to how things were even one month ago?” The answer is “No!” We must proceed. We have stepped in this far and the levels of commitment required are going higher. God is challenging us to a new phase, a new mountain to climb for His glory. The battle has been great, but there is no turning back.

There is something so exceeding real and alive to this dimension of living. There is something so necessary and dynamic to this taste of unity between the churches. Suddenly, we are realizing that we are in this together, and we desperately need one another to touch this region with God’s glory. We begin to value and love the body of Christ in all its’ dimensions as we have never done before. We begin to understand what it means to be members of one another. We have tapped into God’s wonderful plan for Kingdom living, and we can never return to the old ways. We are willing to radically change our personal lives and reprioritize everything! God has brought us all to the end of ourselves, and we are beginning to find true life together! It’s all the way forward for city transformation, and for once, we feel really alive with the purpose of God!

Indicators of Transformation

“The decision to make a radical lifestyle change and realign our hearts with the Lord is a matter of our will availing itself of God’s grace and reprioritizing our time and commitments. We can willingly and purposely begin to pursue God! When we do, He responds, and the more time we spend in His presence, the more desperate for Him we will become. It’s an interesting dynamic; the hungrier we are for Him, the hungrier we will become for more of Him!” Rhonda Hughey

There are ways we can evaluate our cities and see if they are on their way towards transformation. There are several ways to discern if the signs of transformation are present and increasing in our city. George Otis, Jr. gives several indicators of transformation. Below are some of these indicators adapted from his study. Take time to regularly evaluate your city and pray through these indicators. Study and pray these verses over your city for each one. Your city is on God’s heart. Pray until transformation becomes a reality in your city!

· The political leaders acknowledge their sin and dependence on God - II Kings 11:17-18; 23:2; Jonah 3:6-9.

· The economic conditions improve - II Chronicles 17:3-5; Psalm 144:14; Isaiah 60:5; Amos 9:13.

· Kingdom values are integrated into daily life - Ezra 10:4; Nehemiah 8:10; Ecclesiastes 10:17; Acts 19:17-20.

· Crime and corruption diminish - II Kings 12:13-15; Nehemiah 5:6-12; Isaiah 60:17-18.

· New laws are put into effect - II Chronicles 19:10; Nehemiah 10:31.

· There is a decline in divorce, bankruptcy and suicide - Nehemiah 12:27-28, 43; Isaiah 54:11-14; 62:3, 7; Jeremiah 30:17-1; 31:11-13; Hosea 2:15.

· The natural environment is restored - Leviticus 26:4-5; II Chronicles 7:14; Ezekiel 34:27; 36:29-30.

· Christians take responsibility in healing and helping their community - Isaiah 58:10-12; 61:104.

· Christians take revival into other cities and nations - II Chronicles 17:9; Isaiah 61:6; Acts 11:20-26.

An Invitation

“To walk through the doors before us, the doors of intimacy, hope, and heaven, and to respond to His generous invitation, we need only one master key: the key of holy desperation. Are you desperate for His presence? Then open the door…”

Lord, help the Church in my city to focus on your Kingdom in everything we do. Make us desperate for Your presence. Bring the churches in my city together in unity. Teach us to walk together and love and esteem one another. Help us to find ways to worship and pray together. Reveal to us our city through Your eyes. Teach us brokenness and humility. Help us to walk low and give You all the glory. Help us to walk in repentance. Give us a heart for the lost and the broken-hearted in our city. Help us to walk in Your authority and power and minister to people outside of our church building. Fill our city with a spirit of prayer and intercession. Make us holy and righteous. We seek Your face. Make us hungry. Make us desperate for You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psalm 14:9-10).

“To be desperate means to be without hope in your current condition and to know that in your own power you don’t have the necessary resources required to change it. People who are desperate become determined to find help, often taking great risks to meet their desperate need. In the communities where transforming revival has occurred the people of God were desperate enough to change their lifestyle and their priorities and to commit their time and resources, making everything secondary to the desperate pursuit of God in their midst. They cried out in desperation, and the Lord heard their cry.” Rhonda Hughey

The Manifest Presence of God

2006-12-17T15:09:00.001-08:00

The Manifest Presence of God

“When God’s presence becomes a tangible reality in a community, the church then becomes a catalyst for growth. God’s presence is more effective than our best church growth methods. When God’s presence is tangible, supernatural ministry results and becomes a magnet for hungry souls and broken people.” Rhonda Hughey

There is a popular Christian song that we have been singing and praying here in southern Spain. The song goes like this, “Let it rain. Let it rain. Open the floodgates of heaven and let it rain!” The prayers are getting stronger, more intense and are uniting with more faith. There is a great desire for God to open the heavens and flood down His manifest presence upon the land. One church after another is coming to seek the presence of God, sometimes two or more churches together, individuals, small groups and larger ones. There is a heart-felt expectation that God has heard our prayers and will answer. So we continue to pray that He will open the floodgates of heaven and come and rain His presence and fire on the land. Everyone is feeling the presence of God in the prayer room. The prayers have continued non-stop since November 1st. Lives are being changed radically. Tonight there is a 6-hour prayer meeting for healing, and there is an invitation for all the sick to come for prayer. As God descends upon the land, His people are rising higher into the throne room of heaven.

Evidence of God’s Manifest Presence

God longs to open doors of spiritual reality to us. He wants us to sit with Him in heavenly places. We must live with a spiritual vantage point from the throne room of God. The throne of God is the seat of His authority; it represents the place from which He rules and reigns over the nations. Jesus invites us to this place of authority and victory. We have to see the Lord! We have to accept the invitation to come up higher around the throne, to behold Jesus, to see Him and believe! Once you see this, you have hope; and once we see what God sees, then we can come into agreement with His purposes. If we cannot see God’s kingdom purposes, we cannot agree with them!”

What is the evidence of God’s manifest presence upon a city? Slowly meditate on the following words as you think about God’s presence in your city: renown, joy, praise, honor, awe, tremble, abundant prosperity, peace, boldness, miraculous signs and wonders, Holy Spirit, crown of splendor, royal diadem, holy, great delight, married. What does God’s manifest presence look like and how do things begin to change?

· A new Spiritual Identity - God’s people begin to be personally transformed. They begin to know their spiritual identity in Christ. There is an increased intimacy with the Lord, both corporately and individually. They begin to release God’s glory to others. They bring light into the darkness and carry His presence wherever they go.

“Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all the nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it” (Jeremiah 33:9).

· A New Spiritual Authority - A personal and corporate refining takes place. There is no more compromise or complacency, but there is steady growth in holiness. Passion for Jesus becomes the highest priority. The church has a new spiritual authority that greatly impacts the city. The Spirit of God is released through the church radically, and signs and wonders take place.

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-31).

· A New Spiritual Purpose - The church begins to really know her purpose, and begins to love and serve the city. Captives are healed and set free through the Spirit of God. Strongholds are broken. The church is an agent of change in the city. People are drawn to Jesus and the church because God’s people are carrying God’s presence and glory into the community.

“So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6).

· A Transformation Takes Place - City transformation and fruitfulness begins to take place. The Kingdom of God begins to touch the earth and kingdom vision is released. There is city transformation that reflects God’s glory and beauty. The city has a new name and is no longer deserted or desolate.

“You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take great delight in you, and your land will be married.” (Isaiah 62:3-4).

“We must become hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus in our midst. We must cry out in desperation for God’s presence to be restored in our lives, our churches, and ultimately in our cities. We must treasure the manifest presence of God, because as Jesus said in John 15:5, “Without Me you can do nothing.” Rhonda Hughey

The glory of God is contagious. Hunger for His presence increases. Many individuals who have been here in Spain praying say that their lives have been changed even after only a few days. All of a sudden everyone is seeing what is really important in life. I have heard passionate prayers, I have seen many tears, and I have heard many cries for God’s presence to come to the city. God is doing something big. Everything is narrowing down to one thing - seeking God and His manifest presence in Campo de Gibraltar (www.campo247.com). We invite you to seek the Lord for your city. Give God extravagant time. Pray through the above points for your city. It is time for us to hunger for God’s presence. We can’t do anything without the presence of Jesus. It is time to seek the Lord.

“Information doesn’t transform cities. Conferences can’t transform a city! Education can’t transform a city! Having citywide ministry programs or large networks cannot transform a city. Only the presence of Jesus can bring transformation, and only individual people willing to get on the altars of prayer to contend for His presence will become the kindling for God’s fire.” Rhonda Hughey

Hindrances to God's Presence

2006-12-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

Hindrances to God’s Presence

“Have you ever wondered if it is possible to get God’s attention or attract His presence? And if it is possible, then why don’t we spend more time doing those things that welcome His presence? God’s Word establishes clear principles regarding His presence. There are things that prepare for and welcome the presence of the Lord - things like prayer, unity, worship, and a broken and contrite spirit. There are also things that cause Him to withdraw or remain at a distance.” Rhonda Hughey

Jesus is knocking at the door of our cities. Can you hear His knock? Are you aware that Your King wants to visit your city, but He will not force His way in when there is no invitation. It is the responsibility of the church to welcome His presence into the city. He is the honored guest. We must roll out the royal carpet for our King, and invite His glorious entrance into our cities. We must do this together as the corporate church in the city. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we desperate enough?” “Do we long enough for His presence?” “Can we live without Him in our city?” “Are we willing to seek Him together as the city church?

“It’s not possible to have a lasting corporate impact on a city as a single congregation. God hasn’t constructed the rules of life that way. It requires corporate unity and agreement to accomplish corporate results… God has ordained a corporate church in each city! There is something bigger than our local congregations! There should be one Shepherd and one king enthroned in our cities. We must start with a common vision and purpose and then build according to God’s blueprint, not our own. We can’t start with our own empire and then try to build up to who God is. He will step down to us in response to our desperate cry.” Rhonda Hughey

We are presently in an area of southern Spain where there is a big invitation for God’s presence. Many of the churches are seeking God’s face and are crying out for His presence. There is a non-stop prayer meeting where there are prayers asking God to come and dwell in this area of Spain, Gibraltar and North Africa. There is one prayer meeting after another - sometimes two churches meet at the same time, sometimes there are one or two praying in the early morning, and at other times there is loud praying and praise, and the room is filled with the fragrance of Christ. The expectation level is growing. The hunger is increasing, and God is changing all of our lives in the midst of it all. Would you join us in prayer that God would visit and make His presence known in this area of the world called Campo de Gibraltar? See www.campo247.com for details. Last night the pastors in this area spent the whole night in prayer together! There is the sense that prayer has reached a new level, and there is a magnetic attraction to the prayer room. I find it quite appealing and can’t wait to get to the prayer room. There seems to be an unusual grace at this time to pray long hours where it seems but a few moment.

Roadblocks to God’s Presence

“We haven’t yet realized the consequences of our lack of unity and refusal to contend for God’s presence. I want to encourage you to consider the condition of your city: Watch the news, read the newspaper, listen to conversations, and look at the people around you. Let the condition of your city break your heart and draw you into intercession for a breakthrough of God’s presence.” Rhonda Hughey

Just as there are roadblocks keeping you from reaching your destination when driving a car, there are roadblocks to God’s entrance into your city. There are many obstacles to God’s presence. The following are a few key barriers together with verses relating to these obstacles. I encourage you to pray that God removes these roadblocks that keep His presence from entering your city. Pray that God removes them from your own heart.

· Pride - We are often self-righteous and think we are good, but Jesus is our example of humility. God hates pride, and He will not bring His manifest presence into our city when we are walking in pride. We often try to get to the highest position, but Jesus carried a towel and washed His disciple’s feet.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)

· Idolatry - Idolatry diminishes God’s glory. When the presence of God is not in a city, it is the fault of the churches. We are responsible. Whatever we substitute for our love for God becomes an idol. These idols may be sports, TV, material possessions, etc. Think about where you spend your time, and examine your own heart.

”Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4).

· Immorality - The temptations towards sexual sin is everywhere. Every believer must guard against this. Pray for purity in the body of Christ. God is revealing sexual sin in his church. He will make His presence known when His church walks in holiness.

”Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (I Corinthians 6:18-20).

· Unbelief - We must believe the promises of God and have faith to believe He will accomplish them. Unbelief denies his promises and power. It will prevent us from entering the promised land. God promises us that if we ask in His name, He will do it (John 14:13-14).

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

· Distractions - Distractions are everywhere. We must give God unhurried time and undistracted hours. We can no longer get busy with secondary things when the King wants our attention. The amazing thing about this month of prayer is that we are learning to focus only on the Lord Himself. God desires that we seek one thing.

”One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

· Luke-warm Hearts - So many in the church have left their first love, and their hearts no longer are passionate towards God. They have settled for a luke-warm life. God wants us to be on fire for Him. One of the recurring prayers during this month is for the fire (fuego) of God!

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other. So, because you are luke-warm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

· Religious Spirit - This is a counterfeit form of life and Godliness. It may look good on the outside, but it is based on human wisdom and agendas. It may have many programs but it is a substitute for Jesus and is totally disconnected with real life.

”… having a form of godliness but denying its power” (II Timothy 3:5).

· Disunity - God will not make His presence known to a disunified church. We must learn to value the other parts of the body of Christ. We must see that we fit together and cannot reach the city by ourselves. We desperately need each other. See Psalm 133.

”I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23).

One thing that God wants us to realize is how very desperately He cares for the lost in our cities. He is a compassionate God, and the pain and cries in the city have touched His heart deeply. He wants us to partner with Him in bringing hope to our cities, but He cannot do this if there are barriers preventing His presence from entering the place where we live. He is the answer to all the problems and pain. His presence in our cities will make all the difference.

Father, we pray that you would visit us, and make your presence known in our city. Remove the distractions in our churches that keep us from you. We want to seek only one thing - you and your presence. Take away our luke-warm hearts, and set us on fire for you. Forgive our disunity, and bring your church in our city together as one. We repent of any pride in our lives. Teach us to walk in humility. Remove all immorality and sexual sin from our city. Take away our idols. We want to worship only you. Give us faith to believe that you can change the situation in our city. Let your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We invite you as King into our city. We choose to partner with you for transformation in our city. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

(Pray the above prayer naming your specific city and repenting of any sins and barriers to God’s presence in your city or personal life. Be very specific.)

“When we see the ruined condition of our cities and communities, it should break our hearts and stir us to prayer. We have underestimated the pain in God’s heart over the devastation and brokenness of people who live in darkness. Isaiah 9:2 declares what the result would be when Jesus’ presence came to earth: ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light’. God fully intends to continue to bring hope and restoration to forsaken, desolate communities, and He is looking for those who will partner with Him.” Rhonda Hughey

Pursuing God's Presence

2006-12-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

Pursuing God’s Presence

“In every revival in history we read a similar testimony. When God responded to His people by sending His presence, He didn’t just work himself into their routine religion - He overtook them by His power and glory! He left a trail of glorious chaos in His wake - weeping, repenting, rejoicing, reconciling, changing of habits, healing of families! Nobody wondered if Jesus was involved in these meetings. There was no doubt in their minds and no lack in their hearts.” Rhonda Hughey

The purpose of our life is to pursue God. It is what we were created to do. God wants us to seek and long passionately for His presence. His presence is real and tangible. It will change our lives completely. The problem is that most of us are not aware of what is available to us. Our hearts are not burning for God, and we have settled for lesser things. As I mentioned last week, right now we are involved in a month-long prayer meeting where several churches in the area of southern Spain called Campo de Gibraltar are seeking God’s presence. What is happening in the midst of this prayer meeting is that our level of hunger for God’s presence is increasing. We are discovering in a deeper dimension that God’s presence is needed to reach the city, that God’s presence needs to be pursued and that we cannot live without it. I encourage you today to seek God fervently for His presence in your own life, in your own church and in your city. This is what real life is all about. God loves to be sought after. His presence and Spirit will move us forward into realms of fruitfulness beyond our wildest imagination. But we must hoist our sails and catch the wind of His Spirit. The breath of His Spirit will change the face of everything, including our own lives.

“The breath of God’s Spirit must fill the church, empowering it to move forward into God’s destiny. God’s Spirit births every movement of the church. Without being Spirit or presence-driven, the church sits listlessly in time, like a sailboat going nowhere in a calm sea. We can use our paradigm as paddles and row as hard as we like, but the forward progress is negligible. Or, we can hoist our sails of worship, catch the wind of His Spirit and move forward into His purpose, plans and productivity (fruit) in ministry.” Ministries Today

The Bible and Pursing God’s Presence

“We must become hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus in our midst. We must cry out in desperation for God’s presence to be restored in our lives, our churches, and ultimately in our cities. We must treasure the manifest presence of God, because as Jesus said in John 15:5, ‘Without Me you can do nothing’” Rhonda Hughey

The question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we hungry enough to pursue God’s presence?” Are we desperate for God to transform our cities? The cost is high. This month we are finding that out that as we spend hour after hour in prayer, we are being stretched in our capacity to seek after God. It will cost to seek God’s presence. It will take diligence and time. We will have to clear our schedules of so much busyness if we want city transformation. We will have to sacrifice. But it will be worth all the pain. Are we willing to pay the price? Are we willing to pray with others of different denominations and backgrounds? It will take the churches in the city coming together to see city transformation.

The Bible has so much to say about God’s presence. God longs for us to build a house where He dwells. The following are verses to challenge you to pursue God’s presence.

· II Chronicles 7:14 - “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

· Isaiah 66:1 - “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build for Me? And where is the place of My rest?”

· Isaiah 56:7 - “Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

· II Chronicles 7:15-16 - “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”

· Isaiah 62:4 - “No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.”

· Ephesians 3:17-19 - “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

The testimony to what happens when God’s presence arrives is quite astounding! Are we ready for it? Can we handle the depth of work His Spirit will do in our own individual lives that will prepare and empower us to reach this desperate and dying world? Here is a testimony of what actually happened when God showed up! “In that old building, with its low rafters and bare floors, God took strong men and women to pieces, and put them together again, for His glory. It was a tremendous overhauling process. Pride and self-assertion, self-importance and self-esteem, could not survive there. The religious ego preached its own funeral quickly.” When God’s presence touches our prayer meetings and our churches, all flesh must die. We see the futility of our own ways of doing things, and we begin to see the majestic wisdom of God and the attractiveness of Jesus. We begin to line up with His ways, and what once was a barren way of trying to produce life becomes a supernatural encounter with the presence of the living God. This brings forth amazing fruit in every dimension of our lives. Doesn’t this seem to be a better way of life than what many of us have tried for so many years?

“Shouldn’t Jesus himself be the preeminent attraction? We can promote our church programs with precision and good marketing techniques, but when somebody who is blind or deaf gets healed, or a political leader gets saved, or once-barren land produces a bountiful harvest, people will flock to church. God is His own best promoter! He just shows up and effortlessly turns our routines into supernatural encounters that are life changing.” Rhonda Hughey

The Foundations of America

2006-12-17T14:57:00.001-08:00

THE FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICA

George Washington (Founder of our country): "Bless O Lord the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy son, Jesus Christ."

Patrick Henry: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Abraham Lincoln (16th president): "It is the duty of nations as well as of men to won their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."

56 men signed the Declaration of Independence and each one knew, when they signed their name, that they were risking everything, including their lives. Will we not stand for truth that it might prevail and that God may become King and Ruler of Hampton Roads and of America?

Bill Bright says, "From the days of Columbus on, God used great care in forming the United States of America, creating us to be a worldwide influence." The New England Confederation proclaimed in 1643 said: "We all came to these parts of America with the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ."

When the Jamestown settlers stepped ashore, they immediately planted a cross and claimed the land for Christ. Governor William Bradfore in referring to the pilgrims' mission in the new world said this, "They cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least making some ways toward it, for the propagation and advance of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work."

The Mayflower Compact of 1620 declares that the Pilgrims came to advance the Christian faith for the glory of God. They believed they were part of God's plan to raise up a nation from which they and their descendants would not only enjoy the blessings of a new land with religious and political freedom, but also touch the world with the Gospel.

The Puritans had made a covenant with God and understood the powerful significance of this. Winthrop said, "Thus stands the cause between God and us. We are entered into covenant with Him for this work. We have taken out a commission . . . But if we neglect to observe those articles, and dissembling with our God shall embrace the present world and prosecute our carnal intentions, seeking great things for ourselves and our prosperity, then the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us, and be avenged of a perjured people, and He will make us know the price of such a breach of such a covenant."

God's blessing comes with a purpose. "We as a nation seem to have forgotten that life is more than a series of causes and effects. Just as there is a goal, a destination to which God is ultimately leading each individual, God also has a specific and definite goal for each nation. Throughout American history, we see dramatic evidence of God's hand molding and shaping this nation into a vessel He can use."

Like our forefathers, we must fight for our nation and claim it for God. It is time to arise in believing prayer and take back this nation for God through 24-7 prayer. We need to cry out that His destiny for America will come to pass. We need to pray that we will be a blessing to the nations of the world.