How to Pray for Healing: From Furious Love Event - Viewpoints DVD - YouTube

How to Pray for Healing: From Furious Love Event - Viewpoints DVD - YouTube:

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Bill Johnson - Power Of Worship In Spiritual Warfare. - YouTube

Bill Johnson - Power Of Worship In Spiritual Warfare. - YouTube:

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Prayer and Revival

The Role of Prayer in Spiritual Awakening The Following is an Excerpt From the Book "Prayer Storm" Written by James W. Goll

Without prayer, revival will not come. But, what does this kind of prayer look like? In 1976, an Oxford-educated church historian named J. Edwin Orr gave a talk entitled “The Role of Prayer in Spiritual Awakening” at the National Prayer Congress in Dallas. A videotape of his presentation was made and it is still available today. Here are some excerpts from it: Dr. A. T. Pierson once said, “There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.” Let me recount what God has done through concerted, united, sustained prayer. Not many people realize that in the wake of the American Revolution there was a moral slump.... Crime, drunkenness, profanity rose to alarming levels. Churches stopped growing and began to shrink. Christians were so few on the campuses of Ivy League colleges in the 1790s that they met in secret, like a communist cell, and kept their minutes in code so that no one would know....The Chief of Justice of the United States, John Marshall, wrote to the Bishop of Virginia, James Madison, that the Church “was too far gone ever to be redeemed.” Voltaire averred, and Tom Paine echoed, “Christianity will be forgotten in thirty years.” How did the situation change? It came through a concert of prayer.... In New England, there was a man of prayer named Isaac Backus, a Baptist pastor who in 1794, when conditions were at their worst, addressed an urgent plea for prayer for revival to pastors of every Christian denomination in the United States. Churches knew that their backs were to the wall, so the Presbyterians of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania adopted it for all their churches. Bishop Francis Asbury adopted it for all the Methodists. The Congregational and Baptist Associations, the Reformed and the Moravians all adopted the plan, until America...was interlaced with a network of prayer meetings, which set aside the first Monday of each month to pray. It was not too long before the revival came. It broke out first of all in Connecticut, and then spread to Massachusetts and all the seaboard states - in every case entirely without extravagance or outcry. In the summer of 1800, when it reached Kentucky, which was a lawless territory at the time, it burst into wildfire. Great camp meetings were held, and pastors of every denominational affiliation assisted when as many as 11,000 people came to one communion service. Out of that second great awakening ... came the whole modern missionary movement and its societies. Out of it came the abolition of slavery, popular education, Bible societies, Sunday schools and many social benefits.... However, by the mid-1800s, conditions had deteriorated again. In September 1857, a man of prayer, Jeremiah Lanphier, started a prayer meeting in the upper room of the Dutch Reformed Church consistory building in Manhattan. In response to his advertisement, only six people out of the population of a million showed up. But, the following week, there were fourteen, and then twenty-three, when it was decided to meet every day for prayer. By late winter, they were filling the Dutch Reformed Church, then the Methodist Church on John Street, then Trinity Episcopal Church on Broadway at Wall Street. In February and March of 1858, every church and public hall in downtown New York was filled. Horace Greeley, the famous editor, sent a reporter with horse and buggy racing around the prayer meetings to see how many men were praying: in one hour, he could get to only twelve meetings, but he counted 6100 men attending. Then a landslide of prayer began, which overflowed to the churches in the evenings. People began to be converted, ten thousand a week in New York City alone. The movement spread throughout New England, the church bells bringing people to prayer at eight in the morning, twelve noon, and six in the evening. The revival raced up the Hudson and down the Mohawk, where the Baptists, for example, had so many people to baptize that they went down to the river, cut a big hole in the ice, and baptized them in the cold water: when Baptists do that they really are on fire... Out of this revival came a young shoe salesman whose name became a household word, D.L. Moody. More than a million people were converted to God in one year out of a population of thirty million. Then that same revival jumped the Atlantic and appeared in Ulster, Scotland, Wales, and then on to England, parts of Europe, South Africa and South India - anywhere there was an evangelical cause. It sent mission pioneers to many countries. Effects were felt for forty years. Having begun in a movement of prayer, it was sustained by a movement of prayer. That movement lasted for a generation, but at the turn of the twentieth century, there was need of awakening again. A general movement of prayer began, with special prayer meetings at Moody Bible Institute; at the Kenswick Convention in England; and places as far apart as Melbourne, Australia; Wonsan in Korea; and in the Nilgiri Hills of India. All around the world believers were praying that there might be another great awakening in the twentieth century.... Among the most notable results of this prayer is the well-known Welsh Revival of 1904... The movement went like a tidal wave over Wales. In five months there were a hundred thousand people converted throughout the country....It was the social impact that was astounding. For example, judges were presented with white gloves, not a case to try: no robberies, no burglaries, no rapes, no murders and no embezzlements, nothing... As the revival swept Wales, drunkenness was cut in half. There was a wave of bankruptcies, but they were nearly all for taverns. There was even a slowdown in the mines. You say, “How could a religious revival cause a strike?” It did not cause a strike, just a slowdown, for so many Welsh coal miners were converted and stopped using bad language that the horses that dragged the trucks in the mines could not understand what was being said to them, hence transportation slowed down for a while until they learned the language of Canaan. (When I first heard that story, I thought that it was a tall tale, but I can document it.) That revival also affected sexual moral standards, I had discovered through the figures given by British government experts that, in Radnorshire and Merionethshire, the actual illegitimate birth rate had dropped 44% within a year of the beginning of the revival. That revival swept Britain. It so moved all of Norway that the Norwegian Parliament passed special legislation to permit laymen to conduct Communion because the clergy could not keep up with the number of the converts desiring to partake. It swept Sweden, Finland and Denmark, Germany, Canada from coast to coast, all of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, touching also Brazil, Mexico, and Chile.... As always, it began through a movement of prayer, with prayer meetings all over the United States as well as the other countries; and soon there came the great time of the harvest. So, what is the lesson we can learn? It is a very simple one, as direct as the promises of God in Scripture: If my people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.(2 Chron. 7:14 [rsv]) What is involved in this? As God requires us to pray, we must not forget what was said by Jonathan Edwards: “...to promote explicit agreement and visible union of God’s people in extraordinary prayer.” What do we mean by extraordinary prayer? We share in ordinary prayer in regular worship services, before eating and the like. But, when people are found getting up at six in the morning to pray, or having a half night of prayer until midnight, or giving up their lunchtime to pray at a noonday prayer meeting, that is extraordinary prayer. But, it must be united and concerted. [Excerpted from a transcription of “The Role of Prayer in Spiritual Awakening,” a talk given at the National Prayer Congress in Dallas, Texas in October of 1976 by J. Edwin Orr. Used by permission of Campus Crusade for Christ/Randolf Productions, Inc. and the J. Edwin Orr Foundation.] Dr. Orr just touched on a few highlights from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Again and again we see the powerful effect of prayer in bringing about true revival. It takes a lot of prayer to bring true revival. It takes an army of intercessors praying over time. Those who pray for revival do not need to be in the same room at the same time, although sometimes they are. They don’t even need to speak the same language, because they might come from different countries. But they do need to be united in purpose: “Lord, send your Spirit.... Revive us again!... Rend the heavens and come down!” Expectantly! James W. Goll

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Effects of prayer...

"The Burn" in Turkey wrote this post. Thought it might encourage those of you who pray for Long Island. There are lots of things that we never get to hear or see in our weak little watches that make room for God's beautifully strong power. 


Call to Cry Out as Ramadan Begins

On August 1st millions of Muslims across the globe embarked on a month-long season of fasting and prayer. This is the Muslim month that commemorates when Muhammad first began receiving the Qur'an. It is a holy month for Muslims and they fast from sun-up to sunset, not eating any food, not having sex, not drinking any water, coffee, even their own saliva, and not smoking. Then they party all night with massive community feasts.  Many Muslims also use this month to seek after God for blessings, dreams, visions, healing, forgiveness, and breakthrough.  This month is an incredible month to CRY OUT for the 1.6 billion Muslim people who have never encountered Jesus!

As we have released a sound of worship at Burns in Muslim majority areas like Turkey; Iraq; Indonesia; and Bradford, UK, we have seen Muslims receive physical healings, emotional healings, encounters with God's presence, and salvation.  Recently, while singing out Joel 2:28 during a late night Burn set, a Muslim man living in a nearby neighborhood had multiple dreams of Jesus.  Early the next morning he awoke, googled dreams and visions of Jesus, and found the church that we were burning in.  He and his entire family came to the church where he shared his dream with the pastor.  He stated, "I saw Jesus in a dream, and He said, 'Come and follow Me.' Here I am with my family.  What do we need to do to follow Jesus?"  As we release sounds of worship and intercession in the darkest areas, the light of Christ breaks in!!!

CRY OUT and release intercession and prophetic declarations over the Muslim world during this season of historic shifting!

· Join with us this month to cry out for a release of dreams, visions, and encounters with Jesus all across the Muslim world.
· Pray that the sons of Ishmael will receive the Father's blessing!  Cry out for fresh sounds and strategies for the Burns in areas with Muslim populations.
· Pray that God would draw Muslims into the Burn for encounters with Jesus in Turkey, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Germany, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Detroit, and Bradford.
· Pray daily during Ramadan with believers across the globe with this Prayer guide  http://www.30days.net/muslims/ category/featured/

An "equipment" dream

I had a dream last night that is making me think this is a direction for prayer. In the dream, I was addressing a dearly loved pastor of a church I had been part of. She was in pain but still functioning- feeling betrayed because I/we left. I was telling her how much I loved her and being there and had never left in my heart but I couldn't stay if she kept things so isolated and independent. I said (in essence) "I never wanted to leave you. You wouldn't allow us to bring who we are to the table and seek God together. We needed you to include us in the process rather than assume that you had all of the answers. You were the one who showed me the door. I'd gladly walk back in if you would just allow for us to come together as a Body/Family, seek God together and contribute who we are in Him."

In the dream, she had allowed little children to run wild on the stage and they had broken the connection of the wiring to the main speakers. She had not protected the "equipment" God had given her. I knew I had the skill to fix it and I began to pump gasoline into the connection ( I had an abundance of fuel). Then, I realized that wasn't the answer. I needed to fix the wiring by hand. I needed an understanding of how the wiring should be connected to the main speakers. I knew she needed the gas in a container instead in order to power all she would need for a service. It was a gift I was glad to give so I looked for the main mixing board which had a tank in it and began to fill it up instead.


I think perhaps the dream was pointing to the Church and not her church per se because in my mind, I was seeing that I was a part of a number of church communities that were separate but all "one"  in continuity (and having similar troubles). I believe the skill required an understanding of how and where power connects (relationship) and the fuel is worship-filled prayer/ faith. The container is the corporate community and the mixing board is where all of the gifts come together to make a beautiful sound. The "speakers" were fine but the connection of the main wires to the main speakers were broken right at the connector. There were three prongs and one of the prongs needed to be fixed. Seems like a point for prayer.


Father, I pray for insight, wisdom and skill to fix the "connection" and healing for the Church to function in the power you intended for it.

Hosea 5 Revisited

Hi folks, I ran across this post (below) I put out on Facebook in March and I thought perhaps I should share it here for the sake of prayer for the region. Below, I mention a dream I had regarding Hosea 5. I am revisiting it because I realized that a trusted friend pointed out verse 4 as a key verse and of late I'm beginning to get some understanding:

4 Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a spirit of harlotry is within them,
And they do not know the LORD.
How did I land on that again? because I can't shake Revelation 2:1-7 as a word for Long Island for a few weeks now

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.

As best as I can figure, the works/deeds we are to return to are: the first (protos agape) works — the "first" works which flow from "Abiding in Love" (John 15). Jesus is referred to as the "prototokas", the proto-type/first-born of creation in Colossians. If God is Love (agape), then, in essence HE is the Protos Agape.

Honestly, I'm convinced we are to be a people who are head-over-heels in love (agape - not eros or philos) with God and abounding in (agape)love for one another. We can not be or do this without going back to the Prototype... Jesus Christ. This "protos agape"is not exactly just “feel your first feelings” love but intentionally cultivating intimate relationship with the archetype - The Protos Agape - Jesus, and seeking Holy Spirit to give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of HIM.

I believe these "protos agape" deeds come from knowing, in a very real way, the One Who loves us and all that moves His heart; caring for what and who He cares about- moving with Him as He moves. It comes from being a student of His Heart and knowing that we are, moment by moment, being loved by Him/Abiding in Him and He in us. It comes from resting in Him and then, flowing from that, comes “faith which works by love", i.e., works flowing from "our (protos agape) first love". Look at the Hosea passage again:

4 Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a spirit of harlotry is within them,
And they do not know the LORD.

The issue was that their "deeds" WILL NOT allow them to return to their (personal possessive) God. Why? They did not "Know" the Lord (Intimacy is absolutely implied). (Note: clinging to our own broken "idolatry"; deeds of personal iniquity for comfort is also a snare and another part of this but not really the main point of Hosea 5)

Could it be that our deeds are getting in the way of our "knowing" God? Could it be that because we do not "Know" God, our default is to do the religious sort of deeds that make us feel like we're doing our part as "priests" (the point of Hosea 5) while missing HIM altogether? Could it be that we must walk out of our religious persona (an aspect of slavery/bondage) and return to the One Who loves us (The Protos Agape).


Hosea 6:7 " I'm after love that lasts, not more religion. ..." The Message


I don't claim to have the full understanding of the dream or the biblical passages .... I'm just thinking that perhaps there is a word of encouragement for the Church on Long Island and some direction for prayer. We can do an awful lot out of our need/desire to be acceptable to God. We can allow our flurry of "busy " activity in the church/marketplace mask the idea that it is really just drawn from "harlotry/idolatry" where we get our sense of being loved/acceptable from somewhere/someone other than God. Maybe our idol is a leader who we hope will recognize us, church activities and even works of justice - really just about anything/everything can jump into that spot .... BUT God must be our repeated choice for that spot. That is "overcoming".

Don't get me wrong, "Do mercy, love justice and walk humbly with Your God" is my prayer. I am quite confident that God REALLY cares about the issues that bind Long Island/NYC and deeds of mercy, justice and generosity are key. However, I believe that the proto-type or launching position of every one of these Kingdom activities are best engaged in and most effective from the vantage point of cleaving to/clinging to/abiding IN Jesus and Jesus in us.

I'm beginning to believe that God really is Love and abiding in His Love is where it is safest to choose "the weakness" of prayer and acting in faith so that His strength can actually be manifested. From that posture, His Presence is ALL. His Love is expressed in strength/power; power that comes from His presence - rooted in loving relationship and expressed in faith.

We probably need to ask ourselves, have our deeds prevented us from knowing our "True Vine"... our protos-agape (First Love)?

At the HoP we've been praying for Long Island to re-focus on Jesus and re-establish or nurture that relationship so that we have the reward of being over-comers. All that being said, will you make yourself a cup of tea/coffee and read the post below. Then, knowing God has granted this to us, please join us in praying First Love into Long Island/NYC? <3 t



Present musings of prayer - March 5, 2011

Friends, I honestly believe that the Lord is speaking to the Church. I sent the following note to someone and then just read the attachment from Sean Feucht who was passing on a word from England. I'm including my portion of my note so you have a track record of some of the thoughts in the House of Prayer and the context of the England "word". Yesterday we were praying through the "new sound" topic and the Lord was showing us that it was not a new, cool "music" from Heaven but it was the song of cleansed hearts that had returned to God, maintained love and justice and were waiting upon God. (Hosea 12:6)

My dreams, our prayer meetings, the books I have been led to and one circumstance after another have been leading up to this. The Lord sent me a dream awhile back and in it He sent a messenger to tell me, "The Lord has granted to you Hosea 5." In the dream, it was in the context of interceding for mercy to avert a giant plane crash. I have been puzzling over it ever since because it is not an easy word. I am guilty of all that is written there....really everything that Paul addresses in Romans 1 & 2 and then some. I have repented repeatedly but I know there is repetitive compromise in my thoughts and inner man and that is the key that is broken for me and the bondage He is wanting to unlock and set me free from.

As a matter of course, I have been praying for myself and others every day for months now (along with the Ephesians prayers), "Lord, I pray that your Light, Your Love and Your Truth will penetrate my heart, my thoughts, my inner man and let your light shine throughout my inner man so it shines through me and there is no place I keep hidden from You and make us at peace with Your love." He is doing just that. Now, as I think about the dream and others like it, I believe that what He was saying is that He is granting repentance and forgiveness over these issues and then positioning us to pray with appropriate fear before Him and without haughtiness or judgment for the region so we restore one another with gentleness. I believe that He is helping His Bride step free from the deceptions we have comforted ourselves with and as we stand in overcoming faith, we will not be in fear as the shaking continues and instead will be an effective ambassador to the world. It is His mercy that He is extending to all. I believe that The Lord is graciously removing Egypt and Babylon from our hearts. We have been praying for the Church on Long Island/NYC but more so for ourselves first that these paradigms would be removed from our hearts and lives. He is showing us Mammon's hold on the Church, NY and ourselves.... As He cleanses Egypt, He is showing us that what is in the natural is speaking of the spiritual. Egypt is symbolic of bondage, slavery, oppression, fear and control. It is the idolatry of death - making a name, fortune/fame, identity for ourselves. The principle of Babylon is religion/religious spirits, idolatry, judgment, a haughty spirit, independence from God and building a (religious)community in our own strength and based upon our own self-righteousness and charisma - clearly all of which is without Him.

He had us steeped in this yesterday in prayer. The day before I was in 1Corinthians 6 where Paul writes that we must clean out the old leaven and be strengthed by Christ overcoming as the Passover Lamb and then yesterday I landed on the scripture in Hosea that says "But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always." Hosea 12:6. He's so Sweet and Kind and terrifying in His Holiness.... Thanks for understanding.


A thought of present meditation >>>After David and His mighty men were ransacked in Ziklag and they had grieved and wept thoroughly for all they had lost (their women, children and all possessions) David strengthened himself in the Lord and then inquired of the Lord as to whether he should pursue the Amelekites, the Lord said "Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.” 1Samuel 30:3ff I love you, t


From: Sean Feucht
Sent: Sat, March 5, 2011 4:05:49 PM
Subject: Word from England
Hey friends -

A fiery and prophetic word one of our guys in Leicster, England had just yesterday! I feel there is something on this and so I wanted to pass it along for you to pray/seek God into.

Leicster is on track to be the first Muslim majority city in Europe and God is igniting a blaze there right now that will be hub for all of England!

Lets read, pray and press into this word!

Sean
hi Guys,

the Lord's been impressing a word to me i feel i need to pass on-

it comes out of reading 2chron 14-15-16

word of the Lord march 2nd

i believe there are a number of key things here the Lord wants us to see and implement in the current season we are in its a long read but God is in it and i urge you to read and listen to the lord as you do this is a key year of preparation God is shifting out the old to make space for the new just look at the news!

2Ch 14:3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high
places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:

the Lord is calling for a deeper consecration our confidence must be rooted in Him alone all we do must be rooted in intimacy with him alone,

2Ch 14:4 And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers,
and to do the law and the commandment.


As leaders we MUST call the people to seek the Lord and walk in purity as we prepare for what the Lord has began to release

2Ch 14:5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and
the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. 6And he built fenced
cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years;
because the LORD had given him rest.


personality performance based worship must be cast aside, God and God alone must be the focus of our praises the new song of the Lord will begin to dominate worship so his people are move by him instead of a favorite melody or nostalgic memory of a past move or encounter,
2Ch 14:7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make
about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us;
because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath
given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.


the cities of Judah(praise) must be fortified, this applies on a personal corporate and city wide level as a people we must be a people of his presence and nothing else, God is not first on the list HE IS THE LIST!, secondly as we move forward the Lord is going to begin to raise up cities of praise were worship will become central this will begin to create glory spots were all expressions of church will see growth regardless of denomination style and stream

The Lord is already moving and bringing breakthrough, the places were this will be sustained will be the places that put seeking God at the centre, as opposed to programs and conferences, as things get fuller this will become increasingly challenging Like Jesus we must honor God’s presence above what is presence is producing, we must guard against addiction to the works of God above the presence of God!
2Ch 14:11 And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is
nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no
power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go
against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against
thee.

The places God is going to move is not dependent on how strong or weak a church or ministry is rather it hangs on how they value his presence
2Ch 15:7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your
work shall be rewarded. 8And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy
of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out
of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had
taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was
before the porch of the LORD.

2Ch 16:10Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house;
for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some
of the people the same time.

1. how the church responds to the prophetic in this season will have major implications on where God moves, some settings will need to repent for rejecting and even persecuting true prophets and the prophetic before they enter in, those who fail to do so will like Asa be crippled in their walk and fail to see the promise.

2Ch 15:10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third
month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they offered unto the
LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred
oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12And they entered into a covenant to seek
the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

1. there is a growing movement of redials, people who dedicate themselves to seeking God at an entirely new level of intensity these will gather from across streams not for a conference but simply to seek God and much of this will take place on a grass roots level,
2Ch 15:10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third
month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they offered unto the
LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred
oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12And they entered into a covenant to seek
the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to
death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14And they sware
unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and
with cornets. 15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all
their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of
them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.

these meeting will be a long way from seeker friendly, they will be messy long and loud and the more radical the message the more they will thrive this will have an impact on main stream church in that everything will be pushed up as a result in some settings there will only be one or two who are truly seeking God but they will infect those around them.

2Ch 15:16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he
removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and
Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

i felt the Lord saying the church must honor her fathers and mothers but not tolerate idols of the past the way God moved yesterday is yesterday we must not be governed by the past rather in should be our starting place some things simply need to be cut off and cast aside what was must make space for what is and what shall be old structures must be cast out to make space for the new Maachathites = “pressure (literally she has pressed)” we must not allow the past shape of church to become restrictive to her future

IHOP-LI: The Ark House of Prayer
Montauk to Manhattan: Every House a House of Prayer
http://www.IHOP-LI.com
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/IHOPLongIsland
http://burn24-7.com/locations/usa/long-island/
http://gworship9.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IHOP-LI/
Love is on the Loose

Not Judgmental but Prayer-mental ~ Francis Frangipane

Not Judgmental, But Prayer-mental

Mercy, Not WrathThe church is created not to fulfill God's wrath, but to complete His mercy. Remember, we are called to be a "house of prayer for all…nations." Consider passionately this phrase: "prayer for." Jesus taught His disciples to "pray for" those who would persecute or mistreat them (Matt.5 44). When Job "prayed for" his friends, God fully restored him (Job 42:10). We are to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps. 122:6), and "pray for" each other so that we may be healed (James 5:16).

According to the Word of God, the Lord "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim. 2:4). Therefore, Paul urged "that entreaties and prayers…be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority" (vv. 1-2). You see, the call is to pray for people.

"But," you argue, "my country (or city) is a modern manifestation of ancient Babylon."

I don't think so. But even if it were, when the Lord exiled Israel to Babylon, He didn't order His people to judge and condemn their new cities. Rather, He said, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you…and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare" (Jer. 29:7).

Time after time, the scriptural command is to pray for, not against; to praymercifully, not vindictively. God's call is for prayer moved by compassion, not condemnation. Indeed, at its very essence, the nature of intercession is to appeal to God for forgiveness and redemption to come to sinful people.

We have studied what is wrong with our society and can prove, with charts and surveys, the trends of sin, yet we have failed to appreciate the influence of the intercessions of Christ. We consider ourselves experts on the nature and cause of sin, but deny the nature and cause of Christ, which is redemption. Friends, being informed by the news media is in no way the same thing as being transformed into the nature of the Savior.

The media sees what is wrong with the world and exposes it; Christ saw what was wrong and died for it. If one could gaze into the image being created within the heart of the church, one would find that it would be more the cynical attitude of the news media than the redemptive attitude of our Shepherd. Righteousness must ascend higher than ascribing to the moral views of our political party; we are called to the standards of God.

Study Isaiah 53. It reveals in wondrous detail the Savior's nature: Christ numbered Himself with the sinners (v. 12). He interceded for the transgressors (v. 12). He is "with us" (Matt. 1:23) and "for us" (Rom. 8:31), even when He is speaking to us of our iniquity.

But the world sees a church with rocks in its hands, looking for adulterers and sinners. We have become the "church of the angry Christians." In the drama that is unfolding in the world today, we have not usually been playing the role of Christ, but more often the part of the Pharisees. Let us drop the rocks from our hands, then lift our hands, without wrath, in prayer to God (1 Tim. 2:8).

"Prayer-Mental," Not Judgmental
God does not want us to be judgmental; He wants us prayer-mental. As instinctively as we have judged people, we should pray for them instead. Today, countless Christians are angry with their elected officials. We say our anger is "righteous indignation." I too feel this troubling that people elected to serve have so misused our national treasure, bringing our nation to near ruin. Yet, if my goal is to be like Christ, I must remember: Jesus expressed "righteous indignation" for, perhaps, a total of one hour during His recorded ministry. Once was for the hardness of people's hearts (Mark 3:5), another was for the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes (Matt. 23:13-36), and other times were at the temple when the Father's house was used for something other than redemptive prayer (Mark 11:17). So, yes, Jesus was angry, but His anger was always replaced with love and intercession for God's people.

How long has your anger lasted? Are you sure your love has not grown cold? Are you sure you are not seeking to justify a root of bitterness and call it righteous indignation?

"Well," some argue, "our government officials have sinned." When Paul called for prayer for kings in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Nero was emperor of Rome. Nero was one of the most corrupt men who ever lived. He did not have an illicit relationship or two; he had public orgies. He skinned Christians alive. There were occasions when he illuminated his night banquets with living torches, Christians, who were tarred and then set ablaze on poles. Nero and his guests dined surrounded by Christians dying for their faith. Yet Paul wrote that we should pray "for kings and all who are in authority" (v. 2). Nero was king when Paul wrote this command.

Some may misread my words, assuming that I think there is nothing wrong in government or society. Yes, there are many things wrong in our world, and God will certainly call us, at various times, to confront the sins that plague our lands. However, my concern is not as much with the White House as with the Lord's house! If we are not praying for our elected officials, the least we can do is to stop cursing them!

The Father's house is to be a house of prayer for kings and all in authority. We can adamantly disagree with the political views that a leader has, but we must also adamantly cry to God on their behalf and serve as intercessors, even for our cultural enemies.

I can understand the reason for anger toward elected officials, especially if we consider that they are not doing their jobs. But if all we do is judge them, we are not doing our jobs. It is not the Holy Spirit within us that calls for God to judge sinners; it is our frustration with people and the delay in the restoration of righteousness. My friend, beware; for when you pray for judgment to come, remember that it begins "with the household of God" (1 Pet. 4:17). To pray for God to judge a nation or city for its sins actually initiates judgment from God on the church for its sins! And the Almighty will start with those who are quickest to judge others!

When I pray for the political leaders guiding the United States, I ask the Lord to protect them from the influence of ungodly counselors. Where they have failed, I appeal to God to forgive them and to show mercy in regard to the relaxed moral standards of our land and especially concerning abortion, which breaks the Lord's heart. For those who are clearly corrupt, since we are a democracy, I pray that God would replace the evil leaders with righteous leaders.

The Lord desires for us to "stand in the gap" (Ezek. 22:30), positioning ourselves between the failings of man and the sufficiency and forgiveness of God. Then, He calls us to persevere in this intercession until, in one form or another, righteous change occurs in our society.

For all who are embittered with their nation's leaders, remember: each of us must give an account for our sins at the "judgment seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10). Let us consider with holy fear the warning of God: "Judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).

Father, I ask You to forgive me for my lack of forgiveness toward our elected officials. Lord, I ask You to forgive, cleanse, and renew them in Your mighty presence. Appear to them, Lord, in the night hours; save them from the lies and plans of hell. Touch and heal their families, and renew them as well in Your love. Lord, I ask You to forgive my harshness toward all who have offended me. O God, this day, deliver me from my judgmental attitudes! Help me to remember in all things and at all times that "mercy triumphs over judgment"!

The Mission Field: Planting Season- Planting a Missionary!

We have been steady in "tilling the soil" in prayer for Long Island/NYC for four years now. Our commission is an inter-denominational mission base that worships God and prays for Long Island/NYC 24-7-365. This is not simply a good idea. It is God's idea. It is prayer that ushers in revival for the church and paves the way for the region to shift from the "world system" into the Kingdom.

In order to fulfill this goal, we know that we need Father to provide full and part-time missionaries who will give of their time, finances and energy. In the economy of God's kingdom, we reap what we sow.

On Tuesday Evening, Angela DeLuca is going to be at IHOP-LI , speaking about her call as an intercessory missionary. We were "lent" her services for this year and Father is calling her back to Kansas City to serve there. She has been given to us as a "seed for the sower" and we want to honor the gift Father has given us and bless her with support from Long Island. We have a wonderful opportunity to "sow" an intercessory missionary and pave the way for others to engage in this expression of mission here on Long Island. We believe that as we freely give, we clear the way for more missionaries here as well.

Please ask Father if He would like you to come and learn about what we are building here and in KC and if He would like to gift you in joining us in supporting her. She will need prayer support and financial support. She will also need TLC and communication as she leaves her family to engage in night and day prayer on behalf of NY and the Nations. What follows is her note.

"You are invited to partner with me in ministry!

I am moving back to Kansas City in July to re-join staff at IHOP-KC, and I am in need of financial and prayer partners. I would love to have you come and fellowship with me over some pizza, and share with me as I tell my story. I will be giving a presentation after dinner to walk you through how the Lord has called me into this ministry of worship and intercession, and to tell you more about the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, where I will be serving.

Here's the plan:

6:00 ~ Pizza & fellowship
6:30 ~ Ministry Presentation
7:00 ~ Invitation and prayer
7:30 ~ IHOP-LI worship and intercession

I have truly enjoyed building friendships with each one of you, and would love to share with you in this ministry. Please be praying and asking the Lord if this is something He would have you sow into. I am excited for what the Lord is doing through the prayer movement and would love the opportunity to excite your heart as well!

Hope to see you there!

Blessings,
Angela