Prayers of agreement are even more effective, so here is a place to share insights and revelation to increase our impact.
Archive for transformation
February 14, 2009 at 1:49 pm · Filed under Culture, Foundational Understanding in Prayer and tagged: alignment, anointing, breaking the curse, chant, Culture, healing, land, magic, prayer, tradition, transformation
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.
January 29, 2009 at 12:53 pm · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: emotions, experience, fruit, growth, intensity, prayer, results, transformation
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?
January 16, 2009 at 10:45 pm · Filed under Spiritual Mapping and tagged: change, God, prayer, prophetic acts, Spiritual Mapping, transformation, word
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.
December 18, 2008 at 12:58 pm · Filed under Foundational Understanding in Prayer, Uncategorized and tagged: confession, cross, God, humility, Jesus, prayer, pride, transformation
Prayer is not only the term we describe our conversations with Father God, it is also our method for our releasing heaven on earth. As the human soul comes into connection with Almighty God, we draw from His life-giving anointing. We drink deeply from the wells of salvation and our soul is restored. In the same way that if we stop breathing, our bodies will die, if we stop praying our spirits will expire.
God invites us to come to Him and promises that He will supply all that we need according to His Riches in Glory. Depending on the life of Father has been fully displayed by Jesus, always drawing from His life. Laying aside all that was divine, he took on Human flesh and became subject to normal human limitations. Yet Jesus continued to operate supernaturally throughout His ministry. As man he lived as an earthen vessel filled to overflowing with the life and presence of Father God. He only did what was revealed by Father. He only spoke what he heard Father speak.
Many times our prayer is more of a monologue rather than a two-way conversation with God. We often share our list of concerns. We may even prepare a great argument for our case with God, informing Him of what is wrong or out of order as if He needed someone like us to tell Him what was going on. How that must testify of our lack of faith in the omniscient nature of Father who knows the end from the beginning and made provision all the way through. Our times of prayer involve much more listening and receiving the inspiration of the Lord Himself.
Today in prayer with our Pastors, I sensed God was releasing a new kind of anointing upon our group. Since 2004 I have endeavored to maintain a weekly prayer time specifically for Guam and its leaders. I invited pastors to come and pray with me and we have had a steady remnant attending for these past 4+ years. Sometimes our focus is more of a personal nature. Sometimes for specific ministry issues. I feel the focus of 2009 will become more of a community nature. Because of this I will starting to journal the leading that Holy Spirit brings through our prayer conversations. Here I hope will be a respository of spiritual mapping for Guam and the Pacific Islands. I feel God is calling for this time be a time when the watchmen of prayer come together to share insight and revelation. Also, we will have time to pray together and support each other so that one does not become prey to the enemy.While the potential to become the target of spiritual attack is always present, we understand that any strategic level prayer will have the highened efforts of the enemy to seek our removal. Therefore we need no be even more on alert as watchmen on the wall to quench every firey dart that may be used against one of us. Mercy must triumph and flow in abundant supply. Judgemental attitudes have no place though discernment and wise judgement is essential. Humility and confession is necessary.
One picture I have in my spirit at this time is the importance of transparency. What I am seeing in the spirit is sort of a medieval wall with a watchman on that wall. The watchman’s has an important role serving as sentry for the defence and protection of the kingdom. He also is positioned high to be able to see any strategy unfolding in the enemies camp. His role is important offensively as he can discover weak areas in the enemy camp and even share his information with the whole who can then mount an initiative to advance Kingdom initiatives and dispossess the enemy.
Standing there as a lookout, it seems as they may be an easy target of the enemy. In order to advance against a city to accomplish the particular mission, the first order of business is to eliminate the watchmen. In Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, as Sam and Frodo were seeking to advance upon the mountain of Mordor and came under attack, they used the ring to become invisible. For us, as saints of the Most High, we use confession to make us transparent, and come under the protection and power of the Blood. The bullseye painted on our flesh nature is dealt with, pride is brought low as we humble ourselves in prayer. The power of the Cross released in confession would seem to make us expose our vulnerabilities and is in the eyes of the world, foolishness. For us, it is always the way we access the power of God for our salvation and the outpouring of God’s spirit on the Land.
If my people who are called by my name, humble themseleves and pray, and seek (crave) my face, turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14.
