A Call to all those who long for His appearing - we must pray & never give up!
On Sunday night (22) I will leave for several weeks to visit our sister churches in Brazil. I will first be present at an ARC conference in Belo Horizonte, and then visit and teach in a number of churches in Belo Horizonte, Nova Lima and several other local areas. I am very much excited and looking forward to the trip, although I will miss Gail and the girls.
More than anything I am traveling to Brazil for a time of seeking the Lord, of opportunities to receive prayer and to muster prayer for what is closest to my heart - the move of the Spirit here in N.J and the U.S. One of my intentions is to raise up a band of faithful Brazilians who will intercede for the church here in Essex County. I also hope to experience a renewing of my heart to continue building, strengthening and calling for intercessory prayer for the church and the hope of a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage you to keep before you Jesus simple parable of persistent prayer in Luke 18
(1)And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. (2)He said,
I have taken some time to lay out an agenda for prayer that I trust will help you know how to pray, and what it is we are after. Take the time to cut and past this into a document that you can print out and refer to for guiding your prayers.
(1) For the Holy Spirit to do a work in our hearts which make us ready to receive a great out pouring of the Holy Spirit. (Truly repentant, full of faith and expectant hope)
(2) That God will raise up a mighty army of intercessors – at LOG, at the churches of CFA (West Essex Baptist, Bethany E. Free, Calvary E. Free, Brookdale Baptist, Redeemer Presbyterian, Living Water, Deliverance, Jesus is coming (Irvington), Good Will Rescue Mission, and Joy Community), and in all of Essex County.
(3) That God will build bridges of trust across racial, ethnic and cultural differences that allow the church in this region to come together for great public expressions of unity in prayer.
(4) That these relationships will allow for new works of mercy and compassion toward the poor and the needy.
(5) That God will allow for an effective call to prayer and commitment to Jesus to go forth to the young men and women in this area. That in particular CFA planned “For such a time as this” (Next Generation Leadership and the coming move of God) conference will come together with great passion, unity and sense of divine purpose. That there will be a spirit of cooperation between all the churches and that many young men and women will hear the call to take up ownership for the condition of the church and give themselves fully to pray and work for change.
(6) That God would raise up a special day of repentance, intercession and worship in Newark. That somehow God would allow CFA, and many others churches in Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange and the communities surrounding Newark to come together in a powerful day of repentance and public unity. Pray that this would also involve a great public expression of racial unity.
(7) That God would make possible 50 new churches that will join the CFA. That this addition would be a testimony to the heart of God to bring His people to a place of desperation, passion and unity for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
(8) That God will bring a surge of conversion to each of the churches of CFA. In particular that God will stir up a strong passion for the lost, and that he will deposit new strategies for reaching lost people, and for expressions of His love and concern for the needy.
(9) For God to show us (Lamb & churches of CFA) the kinds of changes that He desires for each of our churches. That the Holy Spirit will stir up passionate worship, anointed preaching, new works of compassion, mercy, and out reach to the needy, the poor, the broken-hearted, and those in various kinds of captivity. That our churches would be transformed into beacons of light and hope with great power in the Holy Spirit. May the Lord send new anointings for healing, prophecy, deliverance from demonic oppression, and any gifts of the Spirit which will help the church to fulfill its mission.
I urge you to begin praying for the various requests. Learn to make them a daily part of prayer life. Come and join with us on Tuesday or Thursday morning as we pray for these things. Think of being alive in a time when these prayer requests are answered. Imagine living in a time when Spirit-filled, passionate followers of Jesus are praying with great faith and expectation. Imagine God breaking down cultural, racial, ethnic, class and denominational barriers and the church in this region reaching out together to the lost, doing programs of poverty relief, ministry to at risk families, and reaching those who desperately need Jesus. Imagine new and creative projects which are inspired by the Holy Spirit and enabled and empowered by the Spirit. That is what we are praying for, that is what we desperately long to see, that is what makes this season of concentrated intercession so important.
I will be blogging from Nova Lima, and Belo Horizonte. Check back often over the next few weeks… I will have pictures and stories to encourage you…
peace,
the black dwarf