Dear friends,
Thank you for your response to last week’s
prayer request regarding finances. Many of you prayed and many of you
gave, and it was through your faithfulness that we had quite a
breakthrough. Thank you! We still have a little ways to go, but we are
confident that between your help and the assistance of God, we will have
our needs met. Please keep us in your prayers through the summer
months, as this tends to be a difficult time of the year for ministries
financially, world-wide. We understand that the economy in its current
state can causes concern when giving, but remember that your gifts are
tax deductible when you itemize. Not only that, but you are providing
for those in need around the world. Thank you for your faithfulness.
Our CedarWood outreach has grown so much
in the last year. We have seen a steady increase in the number of
families that we serve, and while we are sad that these needs are
increasing, we are grateful to be in a place that we can help in times
of trouble. Thank you to each of you who have contributed to this
portion of our ministry through funds, food, clothing, and/or
volunteerism. We value your support!
Joel’s Army has had an influx of people
joining since the Washington, D.C. Gathering of the Eagles, and more
applications are flooding in each week. As our team grows, we become
ever more confident in our ability to change the world. As our team
works to connect these intercessors, we have the opportunity to speak
with them and, most of the time, we walk away blessed. We hear reports
of what God is doing through these prayer cells I get excited about what
God is doing! I see a passion rising in the midst of them!
This season in our history, we find
ourselves hoping for a passion to build up within the body of Christ. A
passion for prayer. A passion for service to one’s fellow human being. A
passion for something outside of ourselves that will contribute to both
the wellbeing of mankind and the promotion of the Gospel. Our society
seems so self-centered as of late, and to see the people of God come
together to pray for their nation in Joel’s Army or to see them
contribute their resources to the work we are doing in Cedarwood touches
me deeply. It reveals the desire in your hearts to look into the needs
of others. Thank you for your participation in the work we are doing at
World for Jesus Ministries, and any other efforts your take part in!
Following is the next installment in
Prepare to Prepare the Way. I pray that it will provide encouragement in
your walk with the Lord.
Blessings in Him,
Ricci
Pray to Prepare the Way
Part C
By
Nita Johnson
New Orleans Revival Services
Imagine that if a distant relative whom
you have not seen in years was coming for a visit, and you really,
really wanted to see them. You would be so excited. You have longed to
see them again. You have been waiting, eagerly anticipating their
arrival. You have prepared everything. The house is clean and the meals
are planned; some meals have even been prepared. It will be the best
time this person has ever had in this city as they visit your home. They
were supposed to arrive at two o'clock,
but they did not show up. Would you get up and leave? What would you
do? Would you tell yourself, “Well, maybe something happened! Maybe they
got sidetracked a little bit. I think I'll give them another hour.” One
hour becomes two hours, and two hours becomes three hours, or maybe
even five hours. Maybe they do not even show up until eleven o'clock
that night. Would you sit and wait, or would you get up and go about
your business?
When they finally arrive, would they find you waiting? You would wait
for them because there was a passion in your heart to see them. There
was a love for their appearing.
Several years ago, a family from a Native
American reservation was invited to our Gathering. The man who is a very
powerful elder in the Navajo Reservation had heard that we were praying
for the Native American people, and for God to visit them. When he was
invited, he told his wife and his eight children about the invitation
and how we had been praying for them. He told me, “We packed our
suitcases two weeks in advance.” I said, “You did? Why?” He said,
“Because I was so excited about coming and being with people who love
the Indians. I wanted to see the faces of those who have been praying
for us. It's so hard in the reservations because there is so much
witchcraft. I just wanted to see the face of the people who would pray
for us like you are praying for us. We made our journey here, and we are
so excited!”
During this Gathering, we prayed for
revival to visit the Navajo. In the last meeting of the Gathering, I
asked the Lord, “Lord, if You're going to visit the Navajo in revival,
please give us a sign by sending rain to show us that it would be Your
will.” We asked for rain as a sign because the Navajo had been in a
drought for over three years which had cost them billions of dollars in
losses. . They needed rain more than anything else in the temporal
plane. That was on a Friday. Saturday
morning, the reservation woke up to rain for the first time in over
three years. Notwithstanding, it not only rained in the Navajo. You can
go onto the internet and see for yourself. We have records of it in our
Fresno office. Rain began to pour on the reservations from the South all
the way up to the North in a strip where there had been no rain for a
long, long time. The Indian people were out dancing in the streets.
Back to the Navajo! The next day, it was
raining, so all the elders gathered together because they were
overwhelmed with the fact that God had visited the people with rain. The
only one among the eldership who was saved was the man who had attended
our Gathering. He said that the elders, both young and old, sat there
silently rocking back and forth, with their blankets around them.
Finally, the chief spoke. He said, in their native language, “You know,
men, God has visited our people.” By October, God visited the Navajo
people with revival. This was reported in Charisma magazine. Why?
Because someone was seeking Him! Someone was crying out for the
Messenger to come. Someone had a passion that God would pour out His
glory into the life of a people. Someone wept, groaned, cried, and
wanted it so badly that they sought the face of the Lord until He came.
God wants to come to a people who are
seeking and who have a passion to put other things aside in order to
come and pray. The Argentine revival started with a missionary who
fasted and prayed for eight hours a day, month after month, in obedience
to the Lord. One day, he heard in an audible voice, “Now I will pour
out My Spirit upon the Church. Go tell the people to begin prayer
meetings. Tell them to begin Monday night and to come prepared to stay from eight o'clock until midnight.
If they are not prepared to stay the entire four hours, they must not
come at all.” He thought it was a strange order from the Lord.
Previously he had chosen a most convenient hour for prayer meetings, and
no one had come.
I believe I was told that 13 people came to the prayer meeting on Monday
night, joining the missionary and his wife. During the meeting, the
only inspiration anyone had was from a woman who felt that she was
supposed to hit the table in the center of the room, but she thought it
foolish so she ignored the prompting. They met again on Tuesday and Wednesday night. On Thursday
night, the missionary asked the woman if she was still feeling the
prompting to hit the table. Sheepishly, she answered, “Yes.” Everyone
marched around the table, and each person hit the table—everyone that
is, except for the woman. Finally, she banged on the table, and when she
did, revival fell. Hundreds of thousands of people got saved from that
revival. There was not a huge number of people praying, but one was a
leader in the Church, and he was dedicated.
It is time to seek the Lord. It is time to
get on fire with a passion. My dear brothers and sisters, look at the
wonderful move of God that has been happening in Mobile. People from all
over the country have come, filling up about two thousand seats. It is
not a major soul stirring kind of revival, but it is a revival of
healings and miracles. Night after night, meetings would be held, but
not many from Mobile attended. Not many. The people were coming from out
of state or from a different city. Then the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to
the evangelist, Nathan. He said, “It's time to leave.”
To be continued next week...
In His Love,
Nita
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