When God intends great blessing for His people, He first of all sets them a-praying.’ And these words bring human responsibility and Divine sovereignty together, where they belong.’ - Matthew Henry
It's time to get a-praying
Since we've returned to in person church at Shiloh Church in Oakland, there has been a group of us who meet before service at 7:30 a.m. in order to pray together before the corporate worship begins.
When we first returned, I don't think anyone expected to go right back to March 2020 but I also don't think people expected the services to be as dry as they were.
I think after a year of being apart we were trying to figure out how to worship together again.
I think we also understood that something is different this time. We are not going back to the way things were. More is expected of us now because God is going to take us deeper and to a new level. This really is the time of revival and awakening.
I believe that the more we continue to show up in pre-service prayer, the more God continues to meet us each week in the service.
Each week the services have been getting more and more intense and attendance is growing.
History shows that all Great revivals are birthed in prayer. If we aren't praying, then how do we know what we're supposed to be doing and which way to go?
If we're trying to have a revival without prayer, then we're going to do a work in the flesh and that will fail.
We can only have revival with the Holy Spirit and much of that comes from prayer.
We must get to praying.
The Upper Zoom
For the last year, I've been taking part in the Upper Zoom with National Community Church in Washington D.C.
What started as a prayer meeting after Pentecost last year has been going strong 3 times per week. It's been amazing to take part in it especially because I'm on California time and getting up at 4 a.m. for the prayer meeting has been challenging but rewarding. (although I've been sleeping through it more these days)
There are people from all over the world taking part in the Upper Zoom. People from England, Africa, India, etc.
We've even had international speakers from Ethiopia, India, Europe, and Turkey speak to us. It's been cool and encouraging to hear what God is doing throughout the world.
The Upper Zoom prayer group prayed for the 2020 Election that there would be no violence after the results occured.
After the Capitol Insurrection on January 6, that evening the Upper Zoom Prayer group prayed together because so many people at the church were personally affected. National Community Church is located in Washington D.C. and close to capitol hill so this was personal.
During Inauguration Week, we prayed for there to be no violence and I believe God heard us because there was a peaceful transfer of power.
National Community Church Prayer Pastor, Pastor Heidi, has said that there have been Upper Zooms started all over the country. I'm excited that our Shiloh Young Adult Impact ministry is having its first Upper Zoom this week.
I feel strongly that Young Adults need to stretch and dig their heels in to pray. We've been so brainwashed and bamboozled by this consumer Christianity that it's time to get uncomfortable and show up for early morning prayer.
Perseverance through Unity
This past week one of the leaders shared at our pre-service prayer that he was tired.
I was tired as well.
I think that's a strategy of the enemy to tire us out so we will want to give up and quit. This is exactly why we need the group. Take it from me as someone who taught Group Fitness for years that there is power and energy through the group. When you're ready to quit, the group will keep you going.
The way we're not going to give up is to stick together.
The Battle of Jericho together
I've been thinking a lot about the battle for Jericho. God didn't tell Joshua to march by himself. That would have been too discouraging and depressing. He had everyone march together. I'm sure there were even some skeptics in the crowd because every time I read this story, I definitely think I would have been a skeptic.
Even if the skeptics didn't vocalize it (because God had wisely told Joshua to not allow people to talk), I bet some were thinking this is a terrible waste of our time but because everyone else was marching around, they didn't give up.
However, the kicker of the story is how it starts off. God tells him from the beginning: I've already given you the victory. They just need to show up and do what God said to do.
Joshua 6:2
But the LORD said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors.
What if Joshua saidWell the Lord has given us victory...so we can march until we get tired or when it looks like it's going our way. No way. The people had to march the way God told them.
Same with us.
We can believe that God has given us the victory, it can be right in front of us, and we just need to take hold of it but we make excuses or let fear stop us. It's easier to quit when we're by ourselves but it's harder to quit when we're in a group and unified.
If we don't want to get weary in well-doing, then sometimes we need to unify with others. It is easier to persevere through being unified with others in the Body of Christ.
I believe there are even some prayer requests among the Shiloh Young Adults that will be answered as we unify together in the spirit because we need to have testimonies of overcoming in battle together.
"Something" is going to happen
I believe "Something" is going to happen. There will be some type of national or international upheaval. That doesn't even take a prophetic gift to sense that's something is up because I was listening to a political podcast and one of the hosts said that it feels very tenuous right now and like we are in the eye of the storm.
I believe that is why God is setting us a-praying. The church will take its place this time because the usual suspects will not have the answers and their influence will be nil.
This is how the revival and awakening will take hold. Right now we have a nation that doesn't believe that it needs God. They think politicians, scientists, and celebrities have the answers but they don't. This nation is going to learn that their issues are spiritual in nature and we will see a spiritual awakening.
It's not just us feeling a stirring to pray. Bible teaching and Jesus Loving preacher Beth Moore said similar on her social media page
So what would happen if we all started praying for the move of God? What would happen among us if we all got together and started praying for God's will to be done on Earth as it is in heaven.
What if we stopped praying for just me, myself, and I all of the time and really began to lean into what God wanted to do in our country. What if we made the shift from Marketable Christianity to actual servant Christianity? How would things change?
All of the distractions of the past few years have taken our attention off of the gospel and saving souls. Instead, the church has focused on politics, movements of the moments, and marketing.
This has not made the American church any stronger and in fact, I believe this has made things worse. We see the results of this as church membership and numbers of professing Christians continue to sink to new lows.
2020 was a real wake-up call to the church and if we still aren't listening, then I don't know what we are doing.
Revival is Here
I believe we're just at the beginning of revival. I think 2020 was really the pregame along with the training simulator. How will we react when a crisis hits? Will we continue on? Are we able to adapt? Why are we in it?
Since Revival is here and God is getting ready to move in a mighty way, he's telling us to pray and seek him just like the early church did. This is how they were able to move in prayer.
Acts 4:23-31
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.
24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,
‘Why were the nations so angry?
Why did they waste their time with futile plans?
26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle;
the rulers gathered together
against the Lord
and against his Messiah.’
27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.
28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will
.29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.
30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
Let's get a-praying Saints!
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