Pray4Guam
Prayers of agreement are even more effective, so here is a place to share insights and revelation to increase our impact.Archive for prayer
Hosanna!
We stand together that Jesus is coming! Every day we honestly anticipate his manifest presence. In fact, His presence can change everything. Saturday we were involved in dedicating the new church ZION CASTLE, a Korean Congregation in Barrigada. The beauty of the Lord expressed in worship and cultural diversity was evident. But even more exciting is when the Lord confirms His word and His presence with Signs and Wonders. He comes to heal and His loving words speak life to our souls. Now the challenge is to slow down enough to listen to His voice. The entrance of His word brings life.
Strategic Prayer Initiative
2010 is to be a decade marked by abundant harvest! At least that is where our faith is focused. We want to see God’s Kingdom come and His will being done here on earth in the same way as it is in heaven. That means we want to see His power and authority in increasingly manifest dimensions throughout our community. To do everything that is necessary to allow souls to experience the tangible presence of Jesus. That is an exciting idea.
So what will that really require? Can we actually expect God’s power to increase if we continue to live life the same way we have in the last decade? Of course! We don’t create the presence of God with more spiritual activity or ministry. We simply open our lives more to make room for Him to occupy. We welcome Him into our world. We invite Him to come and rule and reign. That is where the adjustments come. Our priorities shift as we seek God more and respond to Him more fully. As we listen to His voice, truth fills our innermost being. Lies are exposed and replaced with Life-giving revelation. This becomes our new reality.
This year, we want to invite partners to adopt specific areas to collaborate with the Holy Spirit and intercede with Him that God’s Kingdom will be manifest in ever increasing dimensions in our community. Essentially, I am believing that places in our community will be transformed into places of communion with God. That means for me as we pray for a particular school, we will intercede for the eyes of each student and teacher to become enlightened to the truth of God’s Word. We will pray for righteousness to be exalted. We will pray that wounds of abuse and neglect will be healed and ministers will be raised up to serve in these locations. We will pray that a spirit of discernment will be poured out to cause young people to recognize the difference between truth and error. We will pray that a hunger and thirst for righteousness will be awakened in the hearts of each young person. We will pray for souls to respond to Jesus, to receive His mercy and be born again.
Call2Fall
We are planning to be part of the prayer initiative, Call2Fall on Sunday July 5th. Allison and I will be in England that day and hope to find a ministry in the Rochford area that is actively participating in their own prayer initiatives.
I am challenged by the words, BRING FORTH FRUIT that match your declared REPENTANCE.
Words can be powerful and are important but the Lord is also leading us to take action in all the areas we pray and proclaim are right and true. So, as we repent of our secret sin, are we really building practical boundaries to live differently? We can more easily say “Lord, Forgive Me, for what I am about to do…” and then jump in with both feet because we really know what we are doing is wrong.
But then again, what really is sin? Is it only a violation of a direct commandment of God? Is it also a violation of the nature and image of God that He has created in us? Isn’t sin also simply not staying close to the source of all Life? Every time we step outside of faith that draws life from God alone and go get our need met in some independent way is really sin. Sin is more about separation from God than being guilty of some written law or unwritten code.
So, lets respond to the call2fall and really cry out to God for mercy, forgiveness and restoration. Lord we turn our hearts to You and ask you to cleanse us, change us, and begin to make us whole. Work in us both to choose You and do Your Will.
Setting Captives Free
The Anointing has a special ability to release people from captivity. Having been given the keys of the Kingdom, we now have a responsibility to unlock the chains that hold people captive. Yet in these days, we are seeing more people trapped in compulsive bondage to all sorts of things: alcohol, sex, porn, entertainment, TV, drugs, adrenaline, food…the list can go on and on. It’s not that all the things that ensnare people are inherently evil, its more a factor of people clinging to certain things that meet a need rather than turning to God as our source in life.
God promises to supply all our need according to His great riches. We all need any number of things. Need is not bad, but it must be acknowledged to the Lord and exchanged for His satisfaction. He supplies in the most precious ways and in personal dimensions that are truly liberating.
As the drama to release the Shipping Captain from the control of the Somali Pirates unfolded, my heart is challenged by the strategy that worked to set this captive free. A team of Navy Seals went in and each focused on eliminating a dangerous threat. By each taking a united action with a kill shot to the head, 3 gunmen were brought down, a pirate taken into custody, and a captive was set free.
In the spiritual Kingdom dimension, how often do we really take that kind of action. Most times, our focus is to work with the captive to try and get them to simply walk out with us. We seem to focus our energy on getting people saved rather than delivered. Is there a way to make a spiritual action that works like making a kill shot on a captor? By using kingdom keys, we are able to bind the enemy so captives can safely be liberated.
As stakes are raised in our kingdom conflicts, we are best encouraged to learn from such a strategic level strike force who work together to make a plan, and execute it with perfect timing and syncronized teamwork. Head shots are most effective at neutralizing the enemy threat.
Provision
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
Lord, today we come to worship You, bringing you the fruit of our lips giving thanks as a sacrifice of praise. Our lives are a living sacrifice for you Savior. Make us holy for you are holy. Make us righteous for you are Righteous. Make us like Jesus that we might glorify your Name.
Lead us to the secret place and to the place where you hide your treasure. Yes, reveal yourself for you are the lasting treasure that never fails. All flesh is grass, it withers and fades as quick as the scorching heat touches it. We need the rain of your presence to sustain us and to refresh us continually.
Hide us in your secret place where we can hear your Word. Your Words are the Words of life and they never are void. Yes, Your Words are life-giving. You correct us and cleanse us because you are merciful and loving to nurture us and conform us in your image. Even today your mercies are made new. My cup indeed it runs over.
Why is it that you prepare a banquet in the presence of my enemies. I want to be alone with you. May the lives of those around me hunger to enjoy the abundance found in your house. I have no regrets since I have been found by you and brought close to be cared for by you. Indeed, I am rich because there is no lack in You.
Even here in Guam, my life is filled with the richest of fare. I will not fear or fret the storms that assail others in these days. I am loved and cared for by you.
God of Peace, crush poverty under our feet. As you hold us close in your strong embrace, may the weight of your glory increase in our lives. Every place where the soul of our feet does tread we claim for your Glory. May Your Kingdom Come and Your Sovereign Will be done here in Guahan just as it is in heaven.
We loose generosity and a spirit of cheerful giving upon this land and this people. You are our source and you are the God of Abundance. We align ourselves with you and say we will operate in the opposite spirit that we see in our land. Where there is greed, we will operate with liberality. Where there is bitter envy, we speak blessing and break the curses that wounded hearts have spoken out of their pain. Where there is striving for control, we seek to be at peace with all around us.
Lord, continue to build your house here in Guam. May the people of Zion be cleansed from the vanity that is caused by our pride looking to accomplish even great things for you. This is Your House Oh Lord. The government is on your shoulders. You are our Source. You are our Priest. You are LORD!
Deliver Us From Evil
Lord, we thank you that you reign supreme. You alone are Sovereign God, there is none who compares with you. We acknowledge that you alone are our Savior, Our Provider, Our Deliver. We trust in You, and You alone!
We thank you that no weapon formed against us shall prosper and that you have told us to condemn every tongue that rises up against us in judgement. Lord, Your Love for us sustains us and keeps our hearts and mind stayed on you. Nothing can ever separate us from your love.
We honor You today Lord. We honor your name and do not take Your All Powerful Name in vain to simply consume its benefits selfishly to fulfill the lusts of our flesh or the lusts of our eyes. Cleanse us where we have been moved to seek our comfort rather than your heart. Today we affirm our devotion to you. May our lives be in complete alignment with this prayer by Your inner Working in us Holy Spirit.
Now Lord, lead us not into areas where our hearts may be vulnerable and tempted to dishonor your name. Deliver us from evil itself and the influence of those who are motivated by the evil one. You are manifest to destroy the works of the evil one. Be manifest in our life and the situations we face. Be strength in every conflict. God of Peace, CRUSH SATAN UNDER OUR FEET!
Lord, in our weakness be strong. We acknowledge we are absolutely dependent upon You. We trust in You Lord and praise you for your Victory in our lives and in our land.
Leave us not at the mercy of wicked and unscrupulous men.
Chants for the Glory of God
Renouncing traditions and pulling down family shrines like Gideon did are important prerequisites for God’s victory to come in situations. God is Holy and obedience to His Word is essential. Throughout the islands, chants are powerful tools to call upon the spirits of ancestors to reaffirm devotion, dedication and honor. Many skilled in magic arts have used chants to call fish, sharks or even to seek protection and intervention from the spirit world. It is a way to recount stories of creation, legends and history.
There is a fresh prophetic anointing that is being released in the atmosphere of Christian worship. Declarations, specific scriptures spoken under the anointing, all have tremendous impact in accomplishing God’s purpose. I am not speaking of the ritualistic type of Gregorian Chant. Rather the unique and fresh revelatory chant that would come out of Holy Spirit inspiration for a specific purpose.
In order to realign our hearts and lives according to God’s order, we have seen many in ministry discount and reject practices like chants as cultural remnants of an era long ago. Often, missionaries and Western Christians have minimized some of the practices of traditional cultures without giving full clarity to the source of origin or power of that practice.
I believe it is time to ask God for new chants for our island. A chant that affirms our obedience and devotion to the Lord alone. A chant that renounces all other gods who have been called upon for help in times before. A chant that is redemptive and anointed with the Power of God that sets captives free and heals the land. What are some of the themes that we could explore in our times of prayer today? What would honor God and release His specific anointing for this hour?
Lord let your grace bring fresh inspiration that is needed to release your anointing to transform our community. We pray that we will enter into to your presence and hear the sounds of heaven in a way that will impact our people and set captives free.
How do we Measure Impact?
I have been in many prayer meetings where the level of impact is related more to the intensity level of the event or the emotional experience felt by people who were participants. “Boy that was a great prayer meeting!” My concern is if we are really looking for lasting impact? Has anything or anyone changed as a result of that time of prayer?
I cherish the fact that we are indeed changed by beholding the Lord. So any who spends time in His presence and enjoys the Lord, gazing in His face is truly impacted in positive ways. There is serious trend in a post-modern oriented society to focus simply on the emotional experience felt in a situation to be the prime determination of success in a event. Can we look for more that simply a feeling? How will expand the ways we measure or evaluate the experience we engage in today?
Relational Spiritual Warfare
We have been involved in prayer and missions ministry in the Pacific Islands for 20 years now. I must say that I have appreciated the insight that has come through spiritual mapping principles shared by individuals like George Otis and John Dawson, Dutch Sheets and William Ford. There is a growing realization that wild eyed railing at the devil really is lacking transformative impact. Our challenge is to then get involved in the practical dimensions of community transformation. I think that there is a feeling that prayer alone will change the world. But it does take individuals moving into such situations that are revealed or exposed and tangibly bringing the power and presence of Jesus into that situation.
We continue to endeavor to be sensitive to what Father will reveal in various situations. Our goal is to be salt and light and minister love, and restoration. “The effective and fervent prayer of the Righteous Man avails much.” Prayer is really to directed towards the Lord. Simply our prayer is conversations with our savior. We need not plead with him to save the world. He as paid the ultimate price to accomplish everything that is necessary for full redemption. So the lifestyle of prayer is more the principle that we are to see. What I mean is that prayer in action. Prayer that is tangible. Prayer filled ministry, prayer filled loving expressions. This is a kind of prayer that is transformative because it gets involved in the change. Prophetic acts are not a kind of holy ghost inspired magical art but more importantly, stepping stones to connect the spiritual realm with the material realm.
As Christians we need not shout out the darkness. We are called to be salt and light in the world. The relational component is often the basic missing link. As God speaks His Word into us, and His word becomes manifest in our lives, then like Jesus, we are becoming living epistles read of all men, felt by all in tangible ways. This is the kind of prayer that changes things.
