Kingdom Men, Week 7

Give us grateful hearts. Open us to truly accept who You are so that we may be truly grateful. May we accept your goodness, Your mercy, Your love, Your sovereignty, Your standards, Your holiness, Your forgiveness, Your redemption.

I lay down my plans and my dreams. I release them. Do surgery in the hearts of Your men. Remove our plans and our self-made dreams. Remove our affections and replace them with Yours. Remove the idols and the high places that the other gods - the trifles, desires and passions now occupy; that we would have a single purpose and a single vision.

Remove the idols: money, entertainment, distraction, lust, ambition; even the good things that we have idolized: our families, our good deeds, our activities. Anything placed above You in our souls. Put everything in its right place until You alone are high and lifted up, enthroned in each of our hearts. Be enthroned, that everything in us, whether good our bad, is brought to Your feet; released utterly to Your sovereignty: our ugliness, our guilt and shame; our hopes and dreams; our families, our jobs, our identity, our health, our fears, our gifts, our priorities, our worship... until ALL glory is Yours. Be glorified!

Have mercy on us. Give us strength to stand. We know what we have done, we have sold ourselves. May You eclipse our failure. For Your name's sake, oh God, have mercy. May your mercy triumph over judgment.

For Thy sake, O Lord, let Thy face shine on Thy desolate sanctuary. O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Thy name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of of any merits of our own, but on account of Thy great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name. (Dan. 9:17b-19)

Godly Companions

This week, prayer for the Children of The Body was focused on asking the Lord to help them choose wisely when selecting friends and companions. Knowing how much we are affected by those we spend time with, those called by His Name must be careful about the people they spend large blocks of time with. They need to understand how their thoughts, words, and actions are influenced by their companions. Prayer was offered asking the Lord to provide friends and mentors for the Children of His Body who will encourage them in their growth toward being more Christlike. 

A GENERATION OF SUPERHEROES Pt 4 & Pt 5

Wanted to start off by apologizing for the tardiness of these post. As we all know sometimes things can interrupt our plans/agenda. But know prayers for this generation never were missed!

A GENERATION OF SUPER HEROES Pt 4 "Compassion"

Colossians 3:12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

Jesus had compassion:

• Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
• Matthew 14:14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
• Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

and we are called to be "like Jesus", "Followers of Christ", "Christ-like"

I pray for a generation of superheroes that have a compassionate heart.

• Hearts that break for the things the breaks the Lords heart.
  
• Hearts to reach out and change their generation for the Kingdom of God.
• Hearts that are filled with the things of God "righteousness" and not the things of the world.
• Hearts dedicated to serving the poor (ones in need), orphans & widows.
  
• Hearts to spread the truth of the Gospel to a lost, broken, & dying world.
• Hearts to "go" into all the nations with the Gospel starting in their own schools, families, cities, states, & country.
• Hearts set a blazed with a burning passion for the spirit of God.
• Hearts completely sold out to Christ!
  

A GENERATION OF SUPER HEROES Pt 5 "Keep Hold of Peace"

1 Samuel 10:27 But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

I pray that despite the distractions, chaos, rejection and discouragements that this generation of superheroes will arise and be intentional to fight for and keep hold of peace.

• Psalm 29:11 May the LORD give strength to his people!May the LORD bless his people with peace!
• Psalm 34:14 Turn away from evil and do good;seek peace and pursue it.
• 2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
• Ephesians 6:14-16 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
• Mark 4:39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

All lasting peace is found in the "Prince of Peace" Jesus Christ! Trust in Him and rest in the peace he promises!

Kingdom Men, Week 6

Isaiah 43. Verses 1-17: He is God, there is no other. May we have a revelation of who You are. Verses 18-21: The past vanishes, He is doing a new thing, it is beginning now. Rivers in the desert.

Lord, release Your purpose. Revive Your purposes for each individual life. May Your purpose come alive with hope in the heart of each of Your men. Revelation of our true purpose, our true identity - not just survival, not just getting by. May we understand Your love for each of us. I CHOOSE to believe that You love me. May I BELIEVE that what You say extends even to me. May each of us make this choice to believe the unfathomable - that we are truly and deeply loved by You! A revelation of Your beloved. Establish Your Sons!

Purify our devotion until we are wholly devoted to You alone.

Release passion, release purpose.

Strength from heaven to no longer live according to fleshly, self-centered, selfish desires. We are weak, Your strength is perfected in weakness. Give us strength.

Lovers of Truth

Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.


Psalm 25:5
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.


Psalm 119:43
Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.


Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.


Proverbs 23:23
Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.


Jeremiah 7:28
Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the LORD its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.


Oh Holy God,
May those children of The Body, those called by Your Name be lovers of the Truth. May they buy the Truth, spending everything they have in its purchase, and never, ever sell It. May Truth give their spirits such Light that everywhere they go, the Light shines out dispelling the darkness, refuting the lies, foiling the schemes and devices of the evil one. May they allow Your Truth to penetrate to the very marrow of their beings, leaving no corner of their souls in darkness. May they learn to wield Truth in Love for the purpose of Conviction that leads to Repentance and Restoration. May they not only love Truth, may they act on it, doing whatever You ask in complete, instant, cheerful obedience. You are Truth. To contain Truth is to contain You. May the children of The Body be vessels fit to contain You. Fit to hold the drink offering of their lives, poured out in Your service. Poured out to the last drop. Will You increase the capacity of their souls to receive more of You? With every year, day, hour that passes, will You allow them to receive You in a fuller, deeper, wider measure. May they go forth in boldness, proclaiming Truth to a world blinded by lies and shadows. May Your Truth, wielded in Love by the children of The Body, set the captives free. Oh Father, through them, will You stir up a Love of Truth in this city that will testify to Who You Are? Will You grow in them the Boldness that fears no man? May they never compromise the Truth. May they walk in It from a young and tender age. May their parents, or those in authority over them help them to cultivate this Love of Truth. May they have those who are of like mind around them to encourage. May the tide be turned in this city, Father, so that every single knee bows before You, declaring the Truth of Who You Are. 

Prayer for the Singles in the body of Christ...



Prayer for......

Dependency
-Father shine your light, help us see what we are leaning on...if not YOU than we have no sure standing
Critical attitudes
-Help us to repent from it; cut it off at the root.  Help us not to blame YOU or others for our problems
Dissatisfaction
- we repent for us all...and ask you to help us be happy with that YOU'VE given us.  Praise..in all things
Arrogance
-forgive us for the feelings of " better than, superior over" and making others seem small....so we look greater
Avoidance/denial
-cause us to look in the mirror and ask..."God how can I change to be that which YOU have called me to be; teach us to accept our failures and not deny them; help us to stop denying the power we have in God available to us...at all times
Unrealistic expectations
-teach us to be thankful!!  remind us to praise for ALL that we do have; to quit looking at what others have...and wanting it; show us how to wait for you...to give us those things...YOU desire us to have; no more "I want more!"
Isolation
-we repent of self-protection,
-Father, remove guilt; remove shame that keeps us separated from the body;
-forgive us of secret sins...that we try to keep hidden;
-heal hurt feelings....
-help us to forgive
Father God...
-we confess...we have not trusted you like we should. 
Father God...
-heal broken hearts, as we yield to you....
-fulfill our emotional needs;
-ease the aches of the widows and widowers. 
Return us to the word ...
-so that we may TRUST YOU and know....
-that we can EXPECT good things from the FATHER!As the word says...."believe you receive...when you pray"....so it shall be!  Amen

Married Couples in Jesus...

UNITY!

Father,
Please bring unity into our marriages!!

God has been speaking so much to me about how we don't play on the same team but we tend to be on different sides of the net. When I asked Yesterday what to pray for I saw this trend in my own marriage and in other's. We war against each other instead of together against the same enemy. My prayer is that we wouldn't fight against one another, but as Derek Webb says, let a common enemy bring us unity. I long to see us as a body and especially in Christ centered homes be unified in all aspects. The enemy as too long used the divide and conquer method and we have yet to pick up on it! Please Lord, Cause us to LOVE Your methods, Your way of doing things. Please Jesus show us in the midst of a battle that we are each other's ally and that satan is the enemy. Thank you Lord for taking time out to referee for your children, cause us to see when the enemy is using us and rebuke him in Jesus' name and not our spouses.

For the Women of the Body of Christ of Midland~



-thank you! 

-forgive our ingratitude

-allegience-loyalty to Jesus as #1
-repentence from worldliness
-leaders to arise
-false leaders, usurping leaders to give it up or be removed
-struggling women...send encouragement, help, mentors
-draw us where we need to be... connected
-protection for the lonely....from the cry...are we invisible
-rich retreats and conferences...to come from YOU
-those who came in to Singles, churches, etc....searching for love but did not find it...should've been searching for the  Diven Love
...raise our eyes
-make us a beacon to surrounding towns....point the way for the hurting
-simplify to return to prayer gatherings of various sizes
-over come apathy to take back lost ground
-holy anger to arise in us regarding injustice
-that those who roam as lepers outside the city (city=whateveryone else has )would have open ears and hear their calling and placement
...to take their places
-decisiveness for those needed to make decisions in Aug.
-comfort for those who need comfort this week
-for those who've let their singleness label them; we declare we are not....the dysfunctional!

-purpose...to know
-power....to walk 
-passion...to fulfill
-purity...to glorify
-prayerfullness...to change   

Kingdom Men, Week 5

I began by praying the Blood over our hearts and souls. That we would release "our" sins and receive what is truly ours through Jesus. That we would receive our hearts of beloved sons, our righteousness (that Jesus purchased for us), our faithfulness, our purity (of purpose, from immorality), our masculinity, our honor, our obedient hearts. Hearts of obedience, the strength to obey.

Restore us to faithfulness.

God, You are faithful. Thank you for Your faithfulness. You are always faithful to us. You do not ever leave us or forsake us. You never have. Not ever. Thank You.
Purify our hearts, purify our minds.

Turn up the heat, that You may have Your way. Give us strength for the testing and the fire. we want rest, but it's not what we need. We need to persevere. we need Your strength to press on to the end. We must see the testing and trying to completion. Give us strength and pour out Your mercy upon us.

Change our hearts until we take pleasure only in pleasing You. May we find joy in pleasing You... in Your pleasure and delight. Change us until You are our consuming passion and all other pleasures and affections fade.

May we become accustomed to the discomfort of kneeling and bowing.

Discipline us. we have lived undisciplined lives. Discipline us, I ask; though I am afraid to. We have become like the seed which is choked out by the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. Other desires have come in like thorns and choked out our pure desire for You and stifled our fruitfulness. Forgive us. Remove the briars and thorns from our souls - these cares, desires and worries. Tear them out. Burn them out. Set us free!

Come, remove the darkness from this place. Come with Your light, that the darkness will flee.

Personal Holiness

The prayer focus this week for the Children of the Body was personal holiness. I'm praying that they will understand how the enemy seeks to pollute them through compromise with the world. May they have discernment to recognize any ground they may have already given over to the evil one for a foothold in their soul. Once identified, then reclaimed so that they are not divided in their loyalties. May they recognize just how much spiritual power and influence is sacrificed on the altar of compromise. May His Consuming Fire stir up in them an insatiable hunger and thirst for Him. May they recognize that nothing the world has to offer will satisfy, it's merely a shadow and an illusion. May they walk in the fullness of their Inheritance, filled with His Holiness. May they allow Him to take them through the Refining Fire so the dross will rise to the surface where He can skim it off, leaving them pure before their Holy Father. May their be no fear of man in their hearts, but may the Fear of the Lord bear the fruit of Wisdom in their spirits. May He be free to wield them as weapons and tools to accomplish His Purposes and edify The Body.

A Prayer for Vision

(Please forgive my tardiness in posting from my prayer time on Saturday. We are in a season of travel and were in the middle of a sixteen hour drive that day.)

I asked the Lord what He wanted the prayer time focused on, and immediately I believe He told me to spend this focused prayer time on Vision and Purpose for the Children of the Body. 

Because of the intense propaganda campaign the evil one uses against young people in our culture, those called by The Name must intentionally speak about and encourage the understanding of the principle of generational Vision and Purpose. Our children must learn to ask Him to reveal His Plan for them, for how He intends to use them to bring Glory to Himself. They need to see that the way the world defines purpose and meaning in life is an illusion, a counterfeit, for the Truth. The world's view of purpose and meaning is empty and hollow, never bringing fulfillment and peace. However, when those called by His Name walk in Vision they walk in the fullness of what He designed them to be.

And so, the prayer of my heart for this week is that the Children of the Body will press into His Heart to capture His Vision for what He desires to accomplish through them, so they may walk in that Purpose all the days of their lives. I pray their parents will speak this blessing over them and help them refine and focus their God-given Gifts to be used in bringing about their Life Purpose. When they truly understand what He designed them to be and do, the lies of the enemy about their purpose are revealed as the hollow, lifeless illusion they really are.

A GENERATION OF SUPERHEROES Pt 3

Revelation 3:15-16
15“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

I'm praying for a generation of superheroes that are:

• SOLD OUT
• tired of sitting on the fence and are ready to get in the battle
• ready to step into the call God has for them
• fed up with mediocre and average
  
• willing to do what it takes to purse God & rest in His grace
  
• driven to please God and not man
• obedient to the Word
  
• dedicated to the advancement of the Kingdom of God and the spread of the Gospel to ALL nations
• seeking after His righteousness
• humble servants
• powerful prayer warriors
• identified by the love of Christ
  
• producing the fruits of the spirit
• protected by Gods armor
  
• operating in the authority/power of the Holy Spirit
• reflecting the light of Christ

For the singles of The One Body in Midland~

-joy to fall like raindrops on those dry from disappointments
-the light of God's glory to show the hidden things in hearts,
things we feel could never be told--
freedom to let that lie go.
-strength for those standing in spite of
-for the dispossessed
-God, for those who've lost their treasure
and are traveling poorer than they need be
-we pray against a hardening,
and a turning to the ways of the world to satisfy perceived unmet needs
that have really already been met, in Christ
-we pray enlightenment for an ignorance abounding about
an inheritance so expensively obtained
-that the proud,
the "elite", would return again to their knees
and see themselves in laodician need
-that those that self-wound and self-sabotage,
most without even noticing what they do,
would see
-oh, God! for a deliverence from self-focus,
an opening of eyes to see where our pupils lie
-for real homes, places of lodging for those displaced
-for repentence among us,
we thank Thee, O Magnificent One!

Kingdon Men, Week 4

The time today began with thanksgiving and praise, for the Lord's goodness and for His faithfulness; for His unimaginable love. Thanks to Jesus for all He endured for us and for showing us the way, for leaving those behind Him who continued to show the way.

God, deliver us from loneliness and isolation. Give us our voice. SILENCE THE ACCUSER! Come with Truth, cast the enemy into the light.

Ps. 43; 44:4-8, 20-26

Our hearts have been broken. Forgive us for giving up, for accepting defeat, losing hope and giving up on truth. Heal us and give us strength to hope again.

Restore Duty and Honor.

Prepare us for the testing, for the pressure and the loss. Prepare us for Your judgment, for cleansing, for mercy. Prepare us. Give us wisdom and discernment - eyes to see and ears to hear. Open our ears, open our hearts. Do what You have to do, just come.

Unify us. How can You do this but to reveal Yourself? Come and reveal Yourself here in Midland, that we would stand awestruck, dumbstruck, humbled and united in marveling at You and You alone! No longer enamored with our own doctrines, our own "holiness", our own rights. No longer distracted by our petty grievances, by our brothers' imperfections, by who's right and who's wrong. Remove our prejudices, remove our pride. Come and blind us with Your glory. Prepare us for this - for the terrible and wonderful revelation of Yourself. How can we stand in Your presence? We must have You, we must have more of You. Prepare us that we may be ready and not perish in the revelation of You.

Break forth, Oh God. Do not be restrained.


(I finished by praying the words to "Come Break the Chains" by Misty Edwards)

Marriages Week 3

Resilience (resilience)
n.	(r?-z?l"?-ens)
Re*sil"i*ence

The act of resiling, springing back, or rebounding; as, the resilience of a ball or of sound.

The mechanical work required to strain an elastic body, as a deflected beam, stretched spring, etc., to the elastic limit] also, the work performed by the body in recovering from such strain.

This is the word the Lord gave me while I prayed yesterday for what he wanted for Married Couples in Midland's Body of Christ...Resilience. This definition comes from the 1828 Websters Dictionary and I was amazed at the descriptiveness of this word meaning.
The Lord also spoke to me about forgiveness and how these two go hand in hand...
Proverbs 17:9 says: He who forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.
My prayer is that we would be quick to forgive our spouse's offenses and that they would be quick to forgive our offenses...God's word makes it clear that we WILL offend those we love there is no way around that, but "bouncing back" from that is my prayer for Christ centered marriages, to "work...in recovery from such strain" as the dictionary states above...
This is how resilient Christ will make our marriages if we just PUSH through.