Tuesday, November 29, 2016

God pointed out a promise to me!

Last night at Elevate Prayer, a weekly Monday night prayer meeting of Life Church Huntsville, God kept urging me to turn to Acts 2.  I thought, "I already know what is in Acts 2."  But it kept coming, so I sat in my seat to read. 

It read, "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.  And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.' " (Acts 2:16-17, 21 NKJV)

I had no choice but to hit my knees and cry out to Him that I receive this promise, and to pray this promise over my prodigal!  The presence of God was so very palpable.  It was a God-ordained prayer!!  He called me to that very moment, and it was incredible!

Suddenly, my focus was changed to the music that was playing.  The song was "Standing" by William McDowell.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lGwzKP5tcQ) 

God had created a very special time of prayer for us, and I am grateful.   I do "believe every single word!"

Friday, October 28, 2016

I just had to share this word:

(Isaiah 49:24-25) “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered?  But thus says the LORD:  ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children.’ ”


It does not matter the strength of the one who has taken our prodigals captive; God Himself has promised to save our children!

Believe it!

Friday, October 21, 2016

I have been searching the scriptures looking for prayers and promises for our prodigals, and I found one that I just had to pass along.

Promises from Isaiah 49 for our Children

Most of Isaiah 49 is a promise regarding our children, but a few verses stuck out.
 
8-9a:  "Thus says the LORD:  'In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; That You may say to the prisoners, "Go forth," To those who are in darkness, "Show yourselves." ' "

10:  " 'They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by spring of water He will guide them.' "

14-17:   "But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.'  'Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb?  Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.  See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.  Your sons shall make haste.' "

22:  "Thus says the Lord God:  'Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.' "

25:  " 'For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children.' "

I believe Him!

Tami

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

A Prayer for Someone Else or for Yourself

Father,

Make ___________ free.

Free from the devil.

Free from addictions.

Free from bondage.

Free from chains.

Free from evil.

Free from evil influences.

Free from sin.

Free from bitterness.

Free from pain.

Free from doubt.

Free from strongholds.

Free.

Free to love You, LORD.

Free to serve You.

Free to fulfill his/her calling and purpose.

Free to live.

Free to love.

Free to have the "life more abundantly.' (John 10:10)

The scripture that I pray so very often comes to mind.  "Father, I pray that ___________ will come to his/her "senses and escape the snare of the devil," who has taken him/her captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:26)


Tuesday, August 16, 2016

I just HAD to share some praise reports!

First, God has saved another prodigal connected to our Life Church family!

Also, a mom from Life Church has a son who was running with a crowd that was not a good influence.  He was going to hang out with them, but was delayed in a long check-out line at the store.  (Can we say, "Thank You, God?")  While he was delayed, one of his influences was shot twice.  This son was protected and has since denounced his friendships with them, and the father’s heart has reopened to him emotionally.  God is amazing!


From another mother who has just started receiving our promise/praise/prayer who is praying for her son and daughter-in-law:  “Wanted to share a praise.  Took 2 oldest girls home after school yesterday and witnessed a smile and good conversation between my daughter in law and <my granddaughter/her stepdaughter>.  I was so very thankful!  My spirit was leaping. Praise our sweet Lord and Savior - I am thankful for every positive affirmation!  (a good start - God is on the move)  thanks for your prayers!”
I thought you might like a little faith-booster!  I know that to me this seems more like a shower than a raindrop!
Thank You, LORD, for answering our prayers!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Mind the Gap.

We returned home from London on Sunday. 

Each time we boarded the tube to traverse the city, or exited to see new things, a recording would say, "Mind the gap."  There were signs that reminded people, as well as refrigerator magnets and other memorabilia.  This is important because people have gotten their feet caught in the gap between the train and the platform, and injury occurs when the train departs. 

Evin and I were standing in a check-out line in London, and it hit me that there had to be at least a devotional in this slogan since I could not shake the phrase.  What fun that would be! 

Suddenly there it was!  And it was a restatement of one of my callings.

As pray-ers for prodigals, we are called to "mind the gap!" 

Ezekiel 22:30 says, "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." 

We are to make walls to protect our loved ones.  We are to stand in the gap for them in prayer.  I never want it to be said of me that I missed an opportunity to "mind the gap." 

This is something I can do. 

While we were in Paris, I did miss an opportunity.  I saw an young man sitting on a wall with a t-shirt that read, "No Hope Left."  That struck me hard.  I have been praying that I would be the answer to someone else's prayer to be a witness to his or her prodigal, but I missed this opportunity, partly because of fear.  I walked away without sharing that there is hope in Jesus.  I am ashamed and very sorry.  I have apologized to God, and I have prayed for that young man repeatedly, but I never want to miss that opportunity again.  Lesson learned. 

Let's look for opportunities to not only mind the gap in prayer, but to mind the gap for the prodigals of others through a helping hand, outright witnessing, and being an example of godly joy and peace. 

Mind the gap!

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Exceeding Great Army

This week, a story in the Bible has been blessing me.  I am filled with hope, anticipation, promise, and a prayer that is powerful, because it is based on the Word of God.

Ezekiel 37:10 says, "So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army."

Let me set up the story.

The first two verses of this chapter says, "The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.  Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry."  (NKJV)

The LORD took Ezekiel to the valley and caused him to walk around to look at all of the dry bones.  He wrote that they were "very dry."  They had apparently been dead a long time. 

I think the parallel between these bones and our prodigals is obvious. 
     1. They have been dead a long time. 
     2. They are very dry spiritually.  
     3.They have all been alive at one point.
     4. God can raise them up, breathe life back into them, and use them to fight for His kingdom.

The first two are hard to take.  It is so very hard to think of our loved ones being spiritually dead after having known God.  In fact, in addition to being sad, I get really angry about it.

But the fourth point is powerful.  Just like Jesus forgave the paralytic lowered by his friends through the roof and forgave his sins, demonstrating what He can do spiritually through what He did physically (Mark 2:3-12), He demonstrated through the "exceedingly great army" what He plans to do in the lives of our prodigals. 

I have been moved for several weeks now to pray for our prodigals that they would be "saved, sanctified, filled with the Spirit, and anointed to fulfill the purpose, ministry, and calling for which they were created."  I am asking God to do spiritually what He demonstrated physically, to raise up "an exceedingly great army" to fight along-side us. 

Can you imagine what your loved one will do for the kingdom of God once he or she is saved?  Remember, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" (Ephesians 3:20).  Because of the things they have experienced, they will reach people who will not give us the time of day.  They each have a calling on their life, and God will redeem all they have gone through!

God has already begun the return of the prodigal army.  He has saved 22 people on our list, and He is working in the lives of the rest! 

I give Him the praise for these that have been saved, and I thank Him that He is still working in the lives of the others to raise up this "exceedingly great army."
 

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

"When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them:  for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."  (Deuteronomy 20:1 NKJV)

We may not fight battles with warriors on horses and riding chariots, but there are plenty of times when we feel we are outnumbered and that the battle is too difficult.  But this verse tells us that when this happens, we should look back at the great things God has already done in our lives to remind us that He can and will deliver us yet again, that HE will be with us in our battles. 

Our enemies are just as real as the enemies of the children of Israel, but we are not fighting flesh and blood.  We are fighting "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."  (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV)

Has God saved anyone you know?  Has God saved anyone with a difficult past? 

Has God healed you?  Has God healed you or anyone against all odds?  

Has God provided for you?  Has God provided for you when there was no other way?

Has God broken strongholds? 

Has God delivered?

Has God sanctified?

That is the God that will be with you in this fight, the one you are fighting today, whether it be for healing, for salvation, for your family, for provision, for deliverance.  God, "who brought you up from the land of Egypt", is with you!

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Order

"Every time God spoke during creation, order came out of the chaos."  (Thomas Madden at Life Church Huntsville over a year ago.)

This applies to our lives as well, even the lives of the families with prodigals. 

He also said, "Speak prophetically the word of the Lord."

Then he talked about how satan is not omniscient.  He does NOT know everything.  ("But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." -- 1 Corinthians 2:7-8)

He said, "All that satan is doing in my life is a set up by God for His will to be done, for the glory to be revealed."  That is powerful, especially for those families with prodigals.

Then he gave some direction:  "We have to roll the stone away and move into spiritual warfare.  We are the ones who rolled the stone over the situation and decided to just cope." 

So. . . roll the stone away; move into spiritual warfare; speak prophetically the word of the Lord; and NEVER believe satan's lies. 

Saturday, January 23, 2016

My Testimony Now

I have a testimony now, even before my prodigal is saved, because I have been promised!

2 Timothy 1:12 says:  "For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day." 

Being ashamed is a trick of the devil. 

And we have a testimony now, because we KNOW WHOM we believe, and if He has promised, it is a done deal!
How does a prodigal come to his/her senses?

A prodigal comes to his senses in the same way the stomach hungers for food:  the conscience hungers to be cleansed. 
"You touch Me; I'll touch them."

I was going through some notes in my phone, and I found this little nugget.

Sammy Rodrigues was preaching at the Church of God General Assembly on 8-1-14, and he said the above quote.

He also said, "The purpose of God is greater than the brokenness of man," and "Today's complacency is tomorrow's captivity."

This was a definite raindrop for me.  God IS greater than the brokenness of any prodigal, and I do not want to be complacent in my prayers for our prodigals. 

If I touch the LORD for my prodigal, He WILL touch my prodigal!

Friday, January 22, 2016

Dry Bones, Live!

"The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.  Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.  And He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'

"So I answered, 'O Lord GOD, You know.'

"Again He said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:  'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.  I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live.  Then you shall know that I am the LORD.' " ' " (Ezekiel 37:1-6)

Do you know someone who seems completely dead, someone that seems unable to every live again?  Then read what happens next.

"So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.  Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

"Also He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, "Thus says the Lord GOD:  'Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may   live.' " '  So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army."

This stirs me with excitement!  I love that he was able to see the awakening, the life coming back into the dead army!

Speak to the dry bones of those prodigals you love.  Speak life to them. 

Say, "Dry bones, live!"

Bless the name of the One Who can make this happen!