Now is the Time to
Pray Without Ceasing!
As we come to the end of this first month of January, 2015, I pray you have spent time seeking the Lord on what He would have you do in the coming year. It is quite human to pray each day for a list of all that we want from Him. It is from a Kingdom perspective that we learn to seek Him concerning what He wants from us. We are in a most challenging season. For those who spend time in Scripture it is a time foretold centuries ago. What is taking place in our world comes as no surprise.
How Do You Define Strong?
There is much deception, hearts fail, the love of many grows cold. What once was ordered is now disordered and chaos ensues. Much frenetic energy permeates the atmosphere. What was right is now wrong and what was wrong is now right.
In the midst of this, President Obama announced in his State of the Union address this week that, “The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.” The ‘shadow of crisis’ implies that crisis is at a distance casting a shadow. When in the middle of crisis the shadow certainly has passed. No longer at a distance, the crisis is now. In a country where we cannot even name our enemy as radical Islam; in a country where Christians are more and more limited yet Muslims are infiltrating our schools with their call to prayer; in a country where race is pitted against race from our leadership; in a country where veterans who serve to keep us free come home to little if any support; in a country without secure borders and so many other major troublesome issues, it does not appear that the State of the Union is strong.
Know Your National Roots!
Know that this country was founded on Christian principles even though at times we are being told otherwise. Know that as long as we as a country stayed faithful to the Lord, we walked in His favor. Know that despite how things look in the natural much can be done. You have an assignment ‘for such a time as this.’ It is no longer a time for church ‘as usual.’ It is no longer a time for being a Christian ‘as usual.’ Your prayers for this country are crucial. Whatever is going on in your personal life, take time daily to pray for this country. What happens here not only affects each of us but also reverberates throughout the world.
Focused Prayer Avails Much
In Esther’s Warriors, we ‘pray the states’ each week. Now more than ever, pray the state of your heart. Pray the state of your family. Pray the state of your neighborhood. Pray the state of your city. Pray the state of your county. Pray the state of your state. Pray the state of this Nation. To take back the ground we have lost, each of us must step out with a clean heart. Whatever may have gone before, release it to the Lord, so you can move forward unencumbered. The enemy loves to distract through conflict and strife. Walk away. Stay focused on clearing your heart minute to minute. This is not an easy task but it is crucial today and possible with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Pray for your family, your neighbors, your city, your county, your state, your country. God has positioned you exactly where you are right now. Your heartfelt prayers in your spiritual sphere of influence join with the prayers of others. It is when we each humble ourselves, repent and turn from all that is not pleasing to God, pray and seek Him that He promises to hear us and heal our land. This promised healing must come first to the landscape of each individual heart. Then and only then can we expect to come together corporately so He will heal our land.
This week ‘pray the state.’ Focus on healing prayer for the state of the seven areas of your heart, family, neighborhood, city, county, state and Nation. Seek Him in each of these and ask Him to lead you to His will for you in this season. You are called to step up to a Kingdom walk. Christians are under attack on so many levels and in so many venues today. The time for idly professing Christianity is over. May our prayers be fruitful as we join together spiritually ‘for such a time as this!’
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” ~Jesus, Matthew 12:25
“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” ~Jesus, Matthew 21:43
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” ~Jesus, Matthew 24:6-13
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ~Jesus, Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3 ;6, 13, 22
“…If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” ~2Chronicles 7:14
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise…from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” ~Esther 4:14
“For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined.” ~Isaiah 60:12
“And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” ~Jeremiah 29:7
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” ~James 5:16b
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” ~1 Peter 2:9-10
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” ~Billy Graham
“We are never defeated unless we give up on God.” ~President Ronald Reagan
“I know the President has said that we are not a Judeo-Christian nation. But guess what? He doesn’t get to decide that, we get to decide that.” ~Dr. Ben Carson
“In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States…We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps finally, staked of the experiment…” ~President George Washington, April 30, 1789
“In the name of God, Amen… We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith [bold emphasis added] and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God…” ~Mayflower Compact, November 11, 1620
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives.
God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May the Lord keep them safe. Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Muslim extremists and all forms of terrorism. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history.
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi and for safety in Israel. May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we may arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history.
The lives lost in Benghazi, the continuing targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, Operation Fast and Furious, the Department of Justice targeting journalists phone records, the National Security Agency overstepping its legal authority are hardly “phony scandals.” We continue to pray for truth to prevail in each of these situations. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for those relentlessly targeted and for all of us who call ourselves American. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk with the Lord, saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America. Fail not in this hour.
Please Join Me In Prayer
Father we thank You for Your Word that if we come to You with humble repentant hearts You will hear from heaven and heal our land. We repent now of any personal sin. We repent for any sins committed as a Nation. As we seek Your face lead each of us to Your perfect will. Guide and direct our steps “for such a time as this.” Break every stronghold that would keep us divided and away from Your grace. Raise us up to bring Your Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven in this season. Shine Your light of truth into the darkest hallways of our government. Turn the minds and hearts of our leaders to You. Thank You for keeping Your hand on America. We humbly pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and amen.