It's so important to keep a prayer journal to keep track of what the Spirit is speaking to you. I think many of us pray, forget what we prayed for, and then fail to give God the credit He deserves because we forgot what we asked for in the first place. We've got to write down the revelation.
Today we fasted for favor. We're specifically praying about the Union Station situation. Here are some of the things the Lord is saying to us:
We're not going to try to "get out of this" without figuring out what God wants us to "get out of this." We feel like there is something that God wants us to notice that we haven't noticed. And there is something He wants us to be that we haven't been.
We feel like God want us to pray with specificity. A lack of faith produces vague prayers. Bold faith is all about getting painfully specific in what you are asking the Lord for. One of our specific prayers is that God would soften the hearts of key decision makers just like He hardened the heart of Pharaoh. A few of the situations we're looking at would necessitate God radically changing some hearts.
Finally, the Lord gave someone in one of our small groups a word: II Chronicles 20. What a chapter for this chapter! I'd encourage NCCers to read it and get it into your spirit.
"The battle is not yours but God's."
"You will not even need to fight."
We're marking His word and standing on those promises!
"The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor."
How are we going to get out of this predicament? Praise. We're going to worship our way out of this and into the place God has promised. I love the way this story ends. The people of Judah faced certain death, but God intervened. He fought for them. And he turned the valley that would have been their mass grave into a valley of blessing.
"They gathered in the valley of blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there."
Today we fasted for favor. We're specifically praying about the Union Station situation. Here are some of the things the Lord is saying to us:
We're not going to try to "get out of this" without figuring out what God wants us to "get out of this." We feel like there is something that God wants us to notice that we haven't noticed. And there is something He wants us to be that we haven't been.
We feel like God want us to pray with specificity. A lack of faith produces vague prayers. Bold faith is all about getting painfully specific in what you are asking the Lord for. One of our specific prayers is that God would soften the hearts of key decision makers just like He hardened the heart of Pharaoh. A few of the situations we're looking at would necessitate God radically changing some hearts.
Finally, the Lord gave someone in one of our small groups a word: II Chronicles 20. What a chapter for this chapter! I'd encourage NCCers to read it and get it into your spirit.
"The battle is not yours but God's."
"You will not even need to fight."
We're marking His word and standing on those promises!
"The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor."
How are we going to get out of this predicament? Praise. We're going to worship our way out of this and into the place God has promised. I love the way this story ends. The people of Judah faced certain death, but God intervened. He fought for them. And he turned the valley that would have been their mass grave into a valley of blessing.
"They gathered in the valley of blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there."
8 Comments:
Thank you, Mark, for this insight. I am a pastor who was in attendance in Prescott, AZ this week.
Now I get to watch your church, and you specifically, MODEL LEADERSHIP...as was presented in the teaching.
Pleas let us know how it went in the process and the outcome.
Love it Mark. Going to be fasting with yall in the Dominican Republic tonight. Also praying for the Lord to make us stewards over a specific property over here.
Thanks dear brother for your words of wisdom,encouragement..As a pastor in a church in the south of Sweden I have enjoyed the privelege of daily watching/reading/meditating upon the words in this eminent blog.May God surprise you even more of His Mercy,goodness,protection,joy and abundance!
Joakim Freiman
Husband to Johanna since 1997
Father of four lovely children
Shepherd&Communicator
Elim Church
Trelleborg
Sweden
Hi Mark
I saw Ed Schmidgall this past weekend at a funeral for my uncle, and he told me about what was going on with your church, and said he was flying in to help you figure out some options. Just wanted you to know I'm praying with you guys that God's plan will be revealed in all of this. I appreciate you!
Tim
Joakim,
I'm half swedish :) Sure would love to visit the motherland someday. Thanks for the encouraging word.
Mark
Mark,
We spent some time in worship this moring praying for you guys. NCC also gave me a great example to use in my sermon this morning. Thanks for being faithful.
I love that II Chronicles 20 came from someone in a small group, and it's influencing the direction of the whole church. I love that it didn't have to come from a pastor, a staff member, or a director to be considered vision.
I wouldn't have found your blog without the email from Multnomah...I'm SO GLAD that I clicked over. I've been posting things on my blog this year that sum up what's going on in my prayers.
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