Research – prayer is good for the body as well as the soul

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength
They shall mount up with wings and eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faith.
(Isa 40:31)

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Research shows that prayer is good for the body as well as the soul:
https://renewaljournal.com/2019/08/11/israeli-research-prayer-is-good-for-the-body/

RESEARCH SHOWS PRAYER IS GOOD FOR THE BODY AS WELL AS THE SOUL

A new Israeli study has found that praying regularly can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 50%. The study, which was funded by the National Institute of Health in Washington, D.C., found that women, who have a significantly larger chance of developing forms of dementia, could stave off the disease through prayer. The findings confirm earlier studies that indicated religion can play a positive role. “We found that people with higher levels of spiritual well-being had a significantly slower progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” Yakir Kaufman, the head of the neuropsychiatric department at Herzog hospital in Jerusalem said.

The Israeli organization Melabev has ten centres serving about 600 Alzheimer’s patients for whom prayer is part of the daily routine. “If prayer is done in a centre or a religious facility, it is communal and there is a social aspect,” Susan Sachs, the director of public relations and development at Melabev said. “It gives hope and perspective, and for many people it helps retain their dignity. They’re doing something that they did all their lives.” Melabev provides an alternative to institutionalizing Alzheimer’s patients by providing a full day of activities. Sachs estimates there are 100,000 people suffering from the disease in Israel.

The centres provide them with laminated cards with the most popular prayers printed in large type, although many of the patients rely on memory, which also helps strengthen their cognitive function. While prayer has some cognitive elements, it strengthens emotional functioning even more. As the patients’ cognitive function declines, his or her emotional function may be strengthened, according to Leah Abramowitz, the head of the Institute for the Study of Aging at Melabev. She said that, “It’s like a baby who can feel his mother’s emotions and will start crying if she is angry or tense. It’s like the person who is fully blind having more acute hearing.”

Prayer can also lower stress levels – one of the risk factors for Alzheimer’s. Other risk factors include high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. As people live longer, there is more chance that they will develop dementia. Israel’s life expectancy – 80 years for men and 84.2 for women – is the world’s fourth-highest, exceeded only by Japan, Hong Kong and Switzerland. Professor Rivka Inzelberg of Tel Aviv University, who led the research, told a conference that the study indicated that 50% more women than men suffer memory impairments. She said “rituals, like prayer, are especially comforting to Alzheimer’s patients. Prayer is something that went into their long term memory many years ago. It is a ritual that is very comforting for them.”

Source: The Media Line
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RESEARCHERS FIND THAT PRAYER IS BENEFICIAL EVEN ON A SCIENTIFIC LEVEL

An interesting study was recently done by German psychologists at Saarland University and the University of Mannheim, on the effects of prayer on those who pray. Some of the findings revealed that praying can help a person maintain self-control and resist temptation, as well as help alleviate depression and other benefits. In the study—published online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology—the authors noted that “a brief period of personal prayer changes the self-control depletion effect…these results are consistent with and contribute to a growing body of work attesting to the beneficial effects of praying on self-control.”

The 79 participants—41-Christian; 14-atheist; 10-agnostic and 14 of other religions—were given tests designed to measure their level of self-control when faced with temptation. The researchers found that those participants who prayed before the start of the test showed they maintained high levels of self-control to the end.

In another study, the effect of a belief in God in relation to treatment for depression was researched. The results showed that those patients who had no, or only a slight belief in God were “twice as likely not to respond to treatment” than the patients who claimed to have a higher level of belief in God.

January, 2014.
[We know it first and best from the Bible. Nice to have confirmations.]

 

Included in  BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL 

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS FROM BOOKS)

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Answered Prayer

Answered Prayer

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See also:  24/7 Worship and Prayer

Jesus said a lot about prayer and prayed constantly himself. Some examples:

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10 Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!  (Matthew 7:7-11)

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.  (John 15:7-8)

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” 13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.  (Luke 18:10-14)

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matthew 6:9-13)

Some examples of Answered Prayer

A pastor asked me to give him examples of prayer being answered that I had seen, so that request developed into this summary. Prayers get answered in many ways, not always immediately, but sometimes it is immediate. We need to trust God.

For 80 years I have loved it when we pray at home, personally or together. One night I was saying goodnight to a grandson, about 10 years old, who had a migraine headache. The Christian doctor had prescribed tablets to deal with it. I put my head on his head and prayed for him, led to say, “Infirmity get out in Jesus’ name.” I felt something happen. His migraines stopped and he has not needed the medication since.

Christian Heritage College Class

A student we prayed for one morning in our class went to her doctor that afternoon for a final check before having a growth removed from her womb. That afternoon her doctor could find no trace of the growth after checking with three ultrasound machines, so he cancelled the scheduled operation.

“My class at college laid hands on me and prayed for me,” she explained to her doctor. “I believe God healed me, and that’s why you can’t find the growth anymore.”

“I don’t know if God healed you,” he responded. “But I do know that you don’t need an operation.”

Home Group

We often pray specifically for one another in home groups and see many prayers answered.

We prayed for a young lady who found it difficult to keep a job because she worked slowly. She then got a job as a helper in an old people’s nursing home. The matron kept her employed, even though she was slow, because she chatted a lot with the old people while caring for them and cleaning their room. They appreciated the extra time she spent with them.

*****

A woman in our group had pain in her lower back. A nurse in our group was led to put her had on the lady’s back and simply pray, “L4 be healed, in Jesus’ name.” The pain left her Lumba 4 vertebrae area.

*****

Hilary Mackerras (now in Glory) played piano in our home group when we were led to move it to Trinity College chapel where I taught. It became an interdenominational renewal fellowship at that time with anointed worship blessing many. My Renewal Journal began there and continues still – www.renewaljournal.com

 

Some overseas examples from my book, God’s Surprises:

a-gods-surprises-all
God’s Surprises – Blog

God’s Surprises – PDF

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Africa

“Can I take some bread home?” asked a tattooed young man at our communion service in the slums of Nairobi in Kenya, East Africa. God’s Spirit had prompted me to buy a few loaves of bread, bottles of drink, and plastic glasses for the congregation. We shared real drink and bread together among 30 people in their corrugated iron shed where I was the guest preacher.  We prayed, as usual, a blessing on the bread and juice.

“It’s your bread,” I answered. “You decide.” He quickly shoved a handful of bread into his pocket. Then most of the others did the same. Two weeks later, Frank, the young pastor, emailed me: “I’ve visited the slum homes of those people and they are still eating that bread. It’s still fresh.” Apparently God multiplied it.

Frank and his wife Linda then offered free bread and drink each Saturday for hungry, skinny slum people, usually catering for about 50 people. Sometimes many more turned up and they always had plenty. Apparently God kept multiplying it as needed.

*****

A young pastor in Ghana in West Africa invited me to hold meetings there. So I arrived with three others from Brisbane during our college break in July, forgetting it was monsoon time in Ghana. We flew into a deluge of rain on a Monday. Our hosts planned night meetings in the market from Tuesday, with morning teaching in a local church.

“Can we hold the night rallies in the church?” I suggested.  “Oh, no,” they said. “Only church people go there. Meetings in the market attract the crowds.”

“What about the rain?” I asked.  “God sent you, so he’ll do something,” they responded, full of faith. We prayed together.

We drove for over an hour in the pouring rain from Accra, the capital, to the town of Suhum in the hills for our first meeting on Tuesday night. The heavy rain had flooded the power station there so the whole town was in darkness. We prayed earnestly, asking God to take over.

Within 15 minutes the rain stopped, the town lit up with power, and we began. Those excited Africans sang and danced for over two hours, attracting hundreds to the service. All that week we had clear skies and large crowds. Church teams prayed for hundreds of people. Many were saved. Many were healed. One man testified, “I came to this meeting blind, but while you were singing I found I could see.”

Heavy monsoon rains began again the day after our meetings ended, so heavy we saw it reported on international TV the next week.

Nepal

A friend of mine worked with the United Nations in Nepal. He loved to help and support pastors and leaders there. We visited him many times and I spoke at pastors and leaders meetings in Kathmandu, in West Nepal and in East Nepal. Some of those pastors walked for two or three days across the high ranges just to attend.

Their churches are saturated in prayer. I prayed in their “Power House”, the upstairs prayer rooms of their church in Kathmandu. Those small upper rooms, open 24 hours a day, had many people going there to fast and pray, sometimes for many days.

We saw God’s Spirit move beautifully and powerfully in those meetings. Many were filled with the Spirit and healed. I heard a young man from one of their church bands praying eloquently in beautiful English – but he cannot speak English. They pray for one another with strong faith, expecting God to save, heal, deliver and anoint them. He does.

India

Our team visited Grace Bible College in New Delhi founded by Dr Paul Pilai. Paul had stayed in our home in Brisbane when he visited Australia. He was converted after a young Christian girl prayed for his healing while he was very ill in hospital and he recovered miraculously.

He told us how his students and teams started new churches in villages and towns. They often faced angry opposition. One fanatical group burned their meeting tent and attacked them, hitting them with clubs, trying to kill them. They broke Paul’s arm and burned the tent. Suddenly handsome Indian men surrounded Paul’s team and miraculously moved them away to a safe place nearby.  The team could see their burning tent in the distance. Those angels told Paul that God would send him back there. A few years later they were invited back and started a church there in a home.

Grace Bible College, the largest in India with around 600 students, trains people to evangelize and plant churches, especially among unreached peoples. Their graduates often face persecution and some have been martyrs. What a humbling privilege it was to pray with the staff there and speak to the crowded hall full of such committed students.

The Philippines

I taught on revival at a seminary in Manilla in the sweltering heat of the Philippines. An assignment I gave my M.Th. students was to report on revival and miracles. One Baptist pastor, who was also a police inspector, reported that a church he visited sent groups of young people to sing and speak at hospitals and nursing homes.

One of those teams held monthly meetings in a mental hospital. The staff said that their patients may not understand much, but those patients did enjoy the singing. About 40 came to the first meeting. The team offered to pray for anyone who would like prayer. They prayed personally for 27 people. The next month when the team returned, all those 27 had been discharged and sent home.

China

I visited China with a student from college. His parents worked there. The woman pastor-evangelist of a house church invited us to her church in a high-rise unit. The young man who met us at the gate could speak English. He feared that the security guard might ask awkward questions, but as we walked in around 7 pm, the guard had his back to us, talking to someone else.  When we left after midnight, the guard was gone, probably sleeping.

Around 30 people sat on the floor and sang softly in worship. We spoke and then found that no one would leave until we had prayed for them personally. That took a while! They were happy to slip away one-by-one, just as they had come. Most were new Christians who believed because a Christian prayed for their healing. They believed in prayer and miracles just as in the Book of The Acts. Their simple, strong faith and humility moved and challenged me deeply. One man we prayed for later that night also became the leader of another house church. They keep praying, and God keeps moving on them.

Australia

We visited Elcho Island in the north where revival broke out and spread through Aboriginal communities all across northern Australia. We drove the 50k on dirt tracks to the north end of the island where a small community of 30 people prayed together every morning and evening. They prayed for revival. We joined them.

They had seen revival begin after aborigines on Elcho Island prayed desperately for revival amid increasing crime, drink and drugs. The night their pastor, Djiniyini Gondarra, returned from a holiday they met of Bible Study and prayer in his home. God’s Spirit fell on them as they united for the closing prayer. That prayer and ministry went all night. People were filled with the Spirit, discovered many spiritual gifts, and saw healings and reconciliations. Everywhere their teams went they saw God moving on the people in local revivals.

South Pacific Islands

Many revival movements swept the South Pacific islands. I was blessed to see some.

Solomon Islands

God poured out his Spirit on children and youth in the Western Solomon Islands from Easter 2003. They loved to sing and pray daily in the church after school. God gave them visions, revelations, words of knowledge about hidden sins and bad relationships and many other spiritual gifts such as healings and speaking and singing what God revealed.

*****

We saw God touch around 1,000 youths at a National Christian Youth Convention in 2006. One night at the convention they responded, running to the front of the open-air meeting. For half-an-hour their worship team sang “He is Lord” while we prayed for them. They fell like dominoes. Many testified to healings, visions and revelations. One young man returned to his village that night and found his mother ill, so laid hands on her and prayed for her. She was healed. His brother then asked for prayer and he too was healed. The young man had never done that before.

A whole group from the Kariki Islands, further west, saw revival in their islands on their return. God moved powerfully in every meeting they held and in personal prayers.

*****

The church leaders in one village on Simbo Island told me how their prayer teams of about 20 people always pray for the sick. The medical clinic on that island has no entries for anyone from that village, except for babies born, since they started praying like that.

*****

Vanuatu

I visited Vanuatu often from 2002 and saw many prayers answered and many revival movements. Here are just a few examples.

God’s Spirit fell on the Law School of the University of the South Pacific just after Easter 2002. The Law School is in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. Many law students were dramatically saved and transformed at their open-air rally. Those committed students went on missions to other South Pacific nations and to Australia with me. We saw large numbers saved, healed and filled with the Spirit.

*****

At a church service in Port Vila, the capital, a nurse told how she had been on duty when parents brought in their young daughter who had been badly hit in a car accident, and showed no signs of life – the heart monitor registered zero.  Leah was in the dispensary giving out medicines when she heard about the girl and she suddenly felt unusual boldness, so went to the girl and prayed for her, commanding her to live, in Jesus’ name.  She prayed for almost an hour, and after an hour the monitor started beeping and the girl recovered.

*****

A young man from Brisbane who joined me on many mission trips, prayed for a heathen chief’s son’s leg which was immediately healed. So I asked the lad if we could go to his village to pray for people. He checked with his dad and for the first time ever a mission team was invited to come to that ‘custom’ heathen village. Everyone that young man prayed for in that village reported that the pain left

Our revival team, on Pentecost Island, including the two of us from Australia, trekked for a week into mountain villages.  We literally obeyed Luke 10 – most going with no extra shirt, no sandals, and no money.  The trek began with a five-hour climb across the island from the western shore to a village on ridges by the sea on the eastern side.  We prayed for people many times in each meeting.  At one point I spat on the dirt floor, making mud to show what Jesus did once.  The wife of the President of the Churches of Christ, then jumped up asking for prayer for her eyes, using the mud.  Later she testified that the Lord told her to do that, and then she found she could read her small pocket Bible without glasses.  So she read to us all.  Meetings continued like that each night.

*****

I heard the sound of angels singing about 3 am in a remote village.  It sounded as though the village church was packed.  The harmonies in high descant declared “For You are great and You do wondrous things.  You are God alone” and then harmonies, without words until words again for worship “I will praise You O Lord my God with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore” with long, long harmonies on “forevermore”.  Just worship.  Pure, awesome and majestic.  The team stayed two extra days there – everyone received prayer, and many people surrendered to the Lord both morning and night.  Everyone repented, including us, as the Spirit moved on us all.

*****

Fiji

I was part of two teams from Kenmore Baptist Church (now Riverlife) in Fiji with Ric & Ann Benson, and Jesse and Cooky Padayache. Many were saved and healed. Jesse prayed with a sick man in the hospital, and then everyone in the ward asked for prayer. They were all discharged within a week.

I prayed for many people there then and also in other visits. At one revival meeting, everyone I prayed for said their pain had gone. Two partially blind boys told their parents that after prayer they could see clearly.

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 (2 Chronicles 7:14).

 

Links to Prayer Blogs

God answers prayer, but not always in the way we hope or expect or pray. We pray in faith, including “Your will be done.”

Books with revival reports

 

a-gods-surprises-all


God’s Surprises – Blog

God’s Surprises – PDF

READ SAMPLE

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Flashpoints of Revival
Flashpoints of Revival – Blog

Flashpoints of Revival – PDF

READ SAMPLE

Details on Revivals Index

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Community and Ecological TransformationSouth Pacific Revivals – Blog

South Pacific Revivals – PDF

READ SAMPLE

Updated version includes 21st-century reports

 

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A Great Revival Stories All1Great Revival Stories – Blog

Great Revival Stories – PDF

READ SAMPLE

Best revival stories from the Renewal Journals

 

Blogs on answered prayer

 X-ray shows brain tumour healed after prayer

nepalNepal: deaf-mute boy healed by Jesus

Alec-Rex-350x251Adelaide man’s near-death miracle

woman Muslim woman returns from the dead to tell about Jesus

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AIDS God saves and heals including HIV

DimuthMiracle Baby

1
Dreams Amid Persecution

He woke to find a blanket on him – there had been none in the cell

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I

Imam hated Christians

until Jesus raised him from the dead

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Sol IsSolomon Islands:

Hostile tribe’s chief died and met Jesus

by Dick Eastman

Ch 2: Mountains of Mystery

 
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More Miracle Blogs

Mama Luka

“Before they call I will answer”
Helen Roseveare in Africa
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4Modern Day Daniel

Baby China: Life-changing Miracle

duststormGod protects new believers

 

Healing Blogs

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cfan1He woke up totally healed

in Ghana

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GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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X-rays show brain tumour healed after prayer

X-rays show brain tumour healed after prayer

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X-rays show brain tumour healed after prayer

https://renewaljournal.com/2019/04/17/x-rays-show-brain-tumour-healed-after-prayer/

Doctors’ X-rays confirm divine healing of Cookie Padayachee’s brain tumour through prayer.

 

October 1989 X-ray – 1.5cm bone density cancer tumour surrounded by inflamed tissue.

September 1991 (straight after prayer healing) – tumour and inflamed brain cells completely gone.

 

Her husband Jesse prayed for her.  He has seen many others healed through prayer also.

 

“We have to check this out because it is impossible.  I have never seen anything like this before,” the doctor stammered.

 

With amazement and disbelief the Radiologist proclaimed that this was indeed a miracle.  “I am a man of science, I don’t believe in God but I have to admit that there is definitely Someone up there taking care of you.

Facebook: Cooky Padayache – https://www.facebook.com/cooky.padayachee

Facebook Photo: Evangelist Jesse and wife Cooky:

Added to Blogs Index 3: Miracles

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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X-rays show brain tumour healed after prayer

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24/7 Worship & Prayer

 

24/7 Worship and Prayer here for 100 years – click to see 9 minute video

24/7 Worship & Prayer

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See also: Long-playing Worship Music
See also:  Wonders of Worship
See also: How Great Thou Art – anthology
See also: Messiah & Hallelujah Chorus
See also: Hallelujah Chorus – International Choirs
See also: Virtual Choirs & Orchestras 2020
See also: Easter Worship
See also: Christmas Worship
See also: 24/7 Worship & Prayer

See also: The Amazing Journey of 24-7 Prayer

See also: Answered Prayer

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
 
We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.
 
As o’er each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.
 
The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren ‘neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.
 
So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.
John Ellerton, 1826-1893

 

You’re welcome to join our Prayer & Worship group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1089282907909139/

Two invitations:

1.  You are invited to join us in your home praying each Saturday night and Sunday morning for your church services, its leaders, and for God to move powerfully among us all.

2. This is my invitation for you to be included among our informal groups of people committed to worship and prayer for at least an hour a week, in addition to church services. You can contact me on geoffwaugh2@gmail.com to be included anonymously.  Some people give at least one hour a day to worship and prayer. You may be doing that anyway so you may like to be included in this praying friends group. I love to play worship CDs or YouTube Mix worship as listed below.

Prayer and worship constantly rise to God globally, and we just add ours to encourage one another. I like to write a brief quote from Scripture daily in my diary in red biro, mostly truth impressed on me by God’s Spirit. It became inspiring journal entries for over 50 years. It’s easy to read through different translations of the New Testament in less than a year, one chapter a day. Or you could read each Gospel in a month, one chapter a day. 

There are 260 chapters in the New Testament, so it’s easy to cover that in a year. Each Gospel has less than 30 chapters so it’s easy to read a Gospel in a month, a chapter a day.

There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament. This gives a total of 1189 chapters in the Bible. Psalm 117, the shortest chapter, is also the middle chapter of the Bible, being the 595th Chapter.

You could listen to background worship music for an hour or more as you worship and pray – in your chair or even in bed, with CDs and YouTube.  YouTube video “Mix” gives you similar recordings – often a surprise. 

Here are beautiful worship recordings you could play while you work and pray:

CHORAL

Also on Wonders of Worship

Long Playing Background Worship


10 hours of Christian music – background worship


Favourite Old Hymns – 8 hours – more background worship


America’s 25 Favourite Hymns (1 hour, 7 million views)


100 Praise & Worship Songs (3:30 hours, 50 million views)


120 Bible Hymns – in harmonies, no instruments (5:45 hours, 1 million views)


Elvis Best Gospel – 1 hour

Hallelujah

Messiah – Lyrics with Bible verses and references


Hallelujah Chorus – international choirs


Hallelujah (Handel) – with Andre Rieu


Hallelujah Chorus – First Baptist Dallas


Hallelujah Chorus – 2,000 choristers in English – France


Hallelujah Chorus – Anthony Burger piano and band


Messiah – 2:17 hours (3.4 million views, Hallelujah at 1.36 hrs)


Handel’s Messiah – Sydney Opera House


Messiah – 2:38 hours (1.5 million views, Hallelujah at 1:54 hrs) with commentary
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis


He shall reign forevermore & Hallelujah Chorus


Joy to the World & Hallelujah Chorus selection 

Modern Worship Songs


Beautiful Praise and Worship with Lyrics (2:15 hours – 5 million views)


Beautiful Worship & Inspirational Songs (2 hours)


Because He Lives


10,000 Reasons – Bless the Lord (Matt Redman – 185 million views!)


He Touched Me Medley – Heritage Singers


Worthy is the Lamb – Brooklyn Tabernacle (20 million views)


Agnus Dei – Worthy is the Lamb – Michael W Smith


Agnus Dei – Worthy is the Lamb – Michael W Smith & First Baptist Dallas


Reckless Love – Michael W Smith (1 million views)


Worship with Michael W Smith (1:15 hr, in Canada, 2.4 million views) 


Worship – Michael W Smith (1:15 hours)


Jesus shall reign

Uptempo Hymns 


How Great Thou Art


Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee


All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name & Crown Him with Many Crowns


Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise


Rejoice, the Lord is King


All Creatures of our God and King


Praise Him, Praise Him, Jesus our Blessed Redeemer


Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine


When we All get to Heaven


My Jesus I love Thee


Abide with Me

Hymns


America’s 25 Favourite Hymns (1 hour, 1.6 million views)


120 Bible Hymns – in harmonies, no instruments (5:45 hours, 1 million views)


How Great Thou Art – Songs of Praise (1.7 million views)


How Great Thou Art – Chris Rice (over 26 million views!)


How Great Thou Art – updated (over 13 million views)


How Great Thou Art – Billy Graham Choir with George Beverly Shae


How Great Thou Art – last time with Bev Shae


How Great Thou Art – Bill & Gloria Gaither live


How Great Thou Art – Combined Choirs Arrangement


How Great Thou Art – Loyiso Bala ft. Don Moen


The Story of How Great Thou Art with choir and scenes


Gloria – Angels from the Realms of Glory (26.8 million views)


The Lord’s Prayer – Ardrea Bocelli & choir (8 million views)


The Lord’s Prayer – Only Boys Aloud


I Hear Thy Welcome Voice – Only Boys Aloud (in Welsh, 3 million views)
Wash me, cleanse me, in the blood that flowed from Calvary

I Hear Thy Welcome Voice – (in Welsh, male choir of 8,000, 1.4 million views)


Crown Him with Many Crowns – Live from St David’s Hall Cardiff – with Orchestra


Crown Him with Many Crowns – Fountainview Academy


Thine be the glory (music by Handel)


To God be the Glory


All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (Diadem, 1.6 million views)


All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (Diadem)


And Can it Be (Charles Wesley) – Songs of Praise (3 million views)


And Can it Be (Wesley) combined congregations


And Can it Be (Charles Wesley) – Songs of Praise (3 million views)


And Can it Be  –  African – in English and Swahili


Christ the Lord is Risen Today (Charles Wesley)


He Lives  –  I serve a risen Saviour


Joy to the World


When the Trumpet of the Lord shall Sound (1.4 million views)


Whispering Hope


Praise Him, Praise Him, Jesus our Blessed Redeemer


Love Divine – Blaenwern – 1,000 voices in English & Welsh

Hymns set to Popular Tunes


Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee
Music: Ode to Joy, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony


Down from His Glory
Music: O Sole Mio (The 3 Tenors, Rome)


I Cannot Tell Why He Whom Angels Worship
Music: Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)


Make Me A Chariot of Fire
Music: Theme of the film Chariots of Fire


Be Still My Soul
Music: Finlandia


We Rest on Thee
We Rest on Thee – photos of 5 Ecuadorian martyrs
Music: Finlandia

 

INSTRUMENTAL

Long Playing Instrumental

100 String and Praise Favourites – Maranatha Strings & Steve Anderson (4 hours)

Hymns & Praise Music – Instrumental (7 hours! 2 million views)

Holy Spirit I Need You – Alone with Him – Prayer Music (5 hours)

Instrumental Hymns (3.6 hours)

Beautiful Hymns (3.5 hours)

Popular Hymns and Bible Praises, Instrumental – 3 hours

Beautiful Instrumental Hymns – Tim Janis (2 hours)

Beautiful Instrumental Hymns – the Love of Jesus – 1 hour

Beautiful Instrumental Hymns – Prayer & Devotion -1 hour

Songs of Praise – Mantovani Orchestra – 1 hour

26 Old Timeless Gospel Hymns – 1 hour (7 million views)

The Beauty of Hymns, Instrumental – 1 hour

Piano & Orchestra Hymns – 1 hour (Greg Howlett, 1 million views)

Maranatha Music 1, 2, 3 – Instrumental Worship (2 hours almost)

Individual Instrumental

Glory – Michael W Smith with orchestra (50 min)

Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah – Kim Collingsworth

And Can It Be – Kim Collingsworth on piano

How Great Thou Art – Norm Hastings on piano

How Great Thou Art – piano arrangement, Wilson Chu

How Great Thou Art – piano arrangement, Mark Hayes – Carson Atlas

How Great Thou Art – Piano and Orchestra – Dan Forrest

How Great Thou Art with Moonlight Sonata (piano and strings)

Nearer my God to Thee – Andre Rieu (19 million views)

Amazing Grace – Andre Rieu (4.6 million views)

Crown Him With Many Crowns – Trumpet and Orchestra

In the Sweet Bye and Bye – piano with variations

Let our praise be to you as incense


Praying Hands  (Albert Durer)

Benedictions

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26 – Aaronic Blessing)

 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
(2 Corinthians 13:14)

 

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, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.
(Ephesians 3:20-21)

 

Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
(Jude 24-25)

 

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

(Romans 11:33-36)

 

 

Bible Prayers

A few Bible prayers you can pray as you read.

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matthew 6:9-13)

*

Yours, O Lordis the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
Now therefore, our God,
We thank You

And praise Your glorious name.
(1 Chronicles 29:11-13)

*

Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just [a]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
(Psalm 51:1-17)

*

Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’  …

Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.
(Acts 4:24-30; Psalm 2:1-2)

 

Devotional Resources

 Answered Prayer

a-gods-surprises-all


God’s Surprises – Blog

God’s Surprises – PDF

READ SAMPLE

*

windowsill-window-500px The Windowsill of Heaven

Every morning, lean your arms awhile
Upon the windowsill of heaven,
And gaze upon your Lord.
Then, with the vision in your heart,
Turn strong to meet your day.

 

Unite PicGlobal Prayer Resource Network
Join Christians praying at 11.55am daily

 

IB prayer passion


Let’s Pray
Ideas for studies
*
 
 National Prayer StrategyThe 10 Domains
for prayer and mission
*
*

 

10 CommandsGod’s Positive Will
A Christian Perspective on the 10 Commandments
*
 

Easter Friday lambChristian Passover Service

The Last Supper

 A retelling of the Lord’s Supper

*

 

Some kinds of prayer (ACTS)

I Thank you Jesus childrenAdoration – worship

Confession – concentration

Thanksgiving – praise

Supplication – intercession

*

 

Ways we pray

I Kids praySpeaking – eyes closed & open

Thinking – meditating, fellowship

Writing – journal, diary

 

 

I Father son kneelSongs – worship, repentance, faith

Instruments – guitar, flute, piano

Media – CD/DVD/smartphone – background music & worship (car, home, bedroom)

 

I Dance of praiseTV – prompted by news, needs

Relaxed – in bed, shower, cooking, cleaning

Active – walking, riding, cycling, dancing

 

B 2 Cor 5,7 live by faithIB Prayer hands linkedIn need – “Help” (eg exams, crisis)

With others – home, meetings, coffee, church

 

 

News for Prayer & Support

Joel News – https://joelnews.org/

 God Reports – http://blog.godreports.com/

Australian Prayer Network – https://ausprayernet.org.au/

Renewal Journal – Blogs Index

Moravian Revival

Here is part of the story of the Moravian Revival from the first issue of the Renewal Journal (available as PDF, eBook and Paperback):

Renewal Journal 1: Revival – PDF

At Herrnhut, Zinzendorf visited all the adult members of the deeply divided community. He drew up a covenant calling upon them ‘to seek out and emphasize the points in which they agreed’ rather than stressing their differences. On 12 May 1727 they all signed an agreement to dedicate their lives, as he dedicated his, to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Moravian revival of 1727 was thus preceded and then sustained by extraordinary praying. A spirit of grace, unity and supplications grew among them.

On 16 July the Count poured out his soul in a prayer accompanied with a flood of tears. This prayer produced an extraordinary effect. The whole community began praying as never before.

On 22 July many of the community covenanted together on their own accord to meet often to pour out their hearts in prayer and hymns.

On 5 August the Count spent the whole night in prayer with about twelve or fourteen others following a large meeting for prayer at midnight where great emotion prevailed.

On Sunday, 10 August, Pastor Rothe, while leading the service at Herrnhut, was overwhelmed by the power of the Lord about noon. He sank down into the dust before God. So did the whole congregation. They continued till midnight in prayer and singing, weeping and praying.

On Wednesday, 13 August, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all. Their prayers were answered in ways far beyond anyone’s expectations. Many of them decided to set aside certain times for continued earnest prayer.

On 26 August, twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted together to continue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated by lots to different people.

On 27 August, this new regulation began. Others joined the intercessors and the number involved increased to seventy-seven. They all carefully observed the hour which had been appointed for them. The intercessors had a weekly meeting where prayer needs were given to them.

The children, also touched powerfully by God, began a similar plan among themselves. Those who heard their infant supplications were deeply moved. The children’s prayers and supplications had a powerful effect on the whole community.

That astonishing prayer meeting beginning in 1727 went on for one hundred years. It was unique. Known as the Hourly Intercession, it involved relays of men and women in prayer without ceasing made to God. That prayer also led to action, especially evangelism. More than one hundred missionaries left that village community in the next twenty-five years, all constantly supported in prayer.

Here are more links about the Moravian Revival:

Renewal Journal 1: Revival includes this article

Renewal Journal 1:  Revival

 

Renewal Journal 1: Revival

Renewal Journal 1: Revival  PDF

Reproduction is welcomed.

Available in book form (republished 2011)
Renewal Journal 1: Revival

Renewal Journal 1 article: Power from on High

The story of the Moravian Revival

*

This story is also a chapter in Great Revival Stories

Great Revival Stories – PDF

Great Revival Stories – Amazon

PDF Books and Journals are also on the Main Page

The Spirit Of The Moravians – 9 minute Video

 

 

 

Photo Album – Herrnhut and Berthelsdorf: Visiting the Moravian Revival locations


Answered Prayer

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX 

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

 

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The Whatcom Story: how day and night prayer impacted a community

The Whatcom Story: how day and night prayer impacted a community

by Jason Hubbard

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The Whatcom Story:
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Index of Renewal Journal authors
Free PDF books on the main page
FREE RENEWAL JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION: for updates, new Blogs & free offers

USA: The Whatcom Story: how day and night prayer impacted a community.

Almost every significant move of God in history was preceded by fervent, united prayer. This inspired Christians in Whatcom county on the north-west coast of the United States to establish a ‘canopy of day and night prayer’ over their region. The results are astonishing.

“One night I was in church and I heard a prophecy that God would move by his Spirit over the native north-west tribes of the United States,” recalls Viola Riebe of the Hoh River Nation. “It would be like a tsunami, gaining in power, moving from the natives to other churches.”

For Riebe this was a hopeful prophecy, as back in 1700 a giant earthquake in the area generated a tsunami that almost devastated her native tribe. She felt God wanted to turn the negative past into a positive future.

In 2008 a house of prayer was launched in Bellingham, the county’s seat, a community of 90,000 people. This Light of the World Prayer Center (LOWPC) included native American believers and Christians from other churches. Together they established a day and night prayer watch, similar to the Moravians in Herrnhut.

 

Native American prayer meeting

 

The Spirit of the Moravians

“What God has been doing in Whatcom county is linked to this town in Germany,” says Jason Hubbard, director of the LOWPC. “God led me to visit Herrnhut, home of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians. I learned their amazing story of awakening into prayer and missions. The passion of these Moravian believers was ‘to win for the Lamb who was slain the due reward of his suffering’.*  Inspired by their example, we wanted to be a modern-day expression of this powerful movement of united prayer and missions.”

* This quote has been attributed to missionaries Johann Leonhard Dober and David Nitschmann, two young Moravian Brethren from Herrnhut, Germany. When God called them in 1732 to minister to the African slaves on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix in the Danish West Indies, they were willing to sell themselves to a slave owner if that was the only way to reach the slaves. As their ship pulled away from the docks, it is said that they called out to their loved ones on shore, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!”

The World Prayer Center

Reaching the Unreached 9-min 2019 version – Revival
Click to watch the inspiring video ‘The Spirit of the Moravians’

 

Pastors and churches team up in prayer

Whatcom county could certainly use a change in the spiritual atmosphere. “Over the last several decades we have seen tragic church splits among God’s people, an increase of witchcraft and sexual immorality, pastors who have fallen,” says Hubbard. “However, since day and night prayer has been established in a simple way, senior pastors are gathering monthly to build spiritual friendships and seek God for the
county.”

“This is an unbelievable blessing,” says Grant Fishbook, pastor of Christ the King. “Trust has been built over time as the message sunk in that we’re not each other’s competition. Our competitor is the devil, but we are family and on the same team. We love each other and want to live that out. Now the pastors text and call each other for encouragement and drink coffee together, because there’s a genuine interest in what’s happening with each part of the family. They ask: How are you doing,
how can I pray, how can I support you?”

“When we exalt Christ, it brings us together,” says Shawn Cunningham, pastor of Hilcrest Chapel. “We have seen a growth and increasing unity among churches in Whatcom county and that has come through the power of prayer. Prayer by nature unifies God’s people.” 

Alvin Vandergriend, church prayer coordinator of the 3rd Christian Reformed Church, agrees. “A canopy of prayer is a covering of God’s providential blessing over a territory. Prayer is where we access God’s resource and heart, where he empowers us to fulfil his mission. For all the years I’ve been involved in ministry, I’ve never seen pastors come together like now in Whatcom county – in the numbers they are coming
together, the prayer that happens there, and the encouragement they give each other. It is quite amazing.”

 

Pastors’ Prayer Meeting

 

Ivan Montenegro testifies of revival

In Whatcom county 80 pastors out of a hundred are now praying consistently together. This includes the native, Hispanic and Korean churches, it’s a truly multi-cultural expression of the Body of Christ.  Pastors have also been sharing their pulpits and holding joint community services with thousands of people coming together.

Phenominal church growth: 10,000 salvations, 80 church plants

The unity also led to an explosion of church plants – 80 church plants in a decade – with 10,000 first-time salvations of people who were baptized in water. This is a phenominal church growth in what has historically been one of the least churched areas in the United States.

The 15,000 member strong Hispanic community experiences a real revival. Ivan Montenegro, church planter with the Hispanic Church, reports: “Every day we see people come to Christ. We started 11 new churches and baptized at least 1,500 people, which is a 10% growth.  If you ask me: ‘How come?’ all I can say is: it’s the fire of God through prayer. Every church in our area is growing.”

Churches also developed a county-wide men’s ministry. These men come from 40 different churches and see their lives transformed through the gospel and prayer. Raul Chaves, Men’s pastor at Band of Brothers, says: “Healing is taking place in these men and their families. They become the men God intended them to be. And it’s all about prayer. We pray before, during and after everything we do.”

Source: Jason Hubbard, LOWPC, edited by Joel News.

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX 

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Revivals Across the South of USA

Revivals across the South of USA

In Corpus Christi, Texas, New Life Church has seen sustained revival since June 2018. (Levi Guzman)
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Revivals across the South of USA
:
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Revivals Across the South Could Point to the Third Great Awakening

January 29, 2019 – by SHAWN A. AKERS

We’ve heard of the Toronto Blessing and the Pensacola Revival. Now we’re hearing of unusual revival spreading across the South of the USA.
This article was featured in the November 2018 issue of Charisma.

North America has hosted many great revivals over the last few centuries. Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield led the First Great Awakening in the colonial United States in the 1730s and 1740s. In the early 1800s, the Cane Ridge Revival in Kentucky kicked off the Second Great Awakening. People came from around the world to witness the Holy Spirit’s power at Azusa Street Revival of 1906. And in the 1990s, thousands flocked to the Toronto Blessing and the Brownsville Revival.

Now, mere miles from the site of the original Cane Ridge Revival, seeds are being planted for the next great move of God—and maybe even a Third Great Awakening. Earlier this year, traveling evangelist Rick Curry visited Mt. Carmel Christian Church in Paris, Kentucky. The church was founded in 1818 by a man denounced by his former church for attending the original Cane Ridge revival. Curry was invited to preach at Mt. Carmel’s 200th-anniversary celebration, which happened to fall on Pentecost Sunday. During his message, revival broke out and hasn’t subsided since.

But this Kentucky city isn’t the only one experiencing revival. In fact, it’s just one example of an insatiable hunger for God’s presence breaking out in cities and towns across America.

At New Life Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, pastor Mike Fehlauer says an incredible move of God has taken place since he and his staff decided to “get out of God’s way and give the Holy Spirit room to work.” Since June, New Life has seen more than 300 baptisms, numerous salvations, and physical and emotional healings and deliverance.

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Christ Fellowship Church in Dawsonville, Georgia, has experienced revival since February under lead pastor Todd Smith. This charismatic church of 350 people has witnessed more than 865 baptisms. Smith says people have travelled hundreds—even thousands—of miles just to “walk into the baptismal waters and feel the presence of the Lord.” As a result, many have been miraculously healed and delivered from addictions and emotional scars.

Even the U.S. military base at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, is feeling the Spirit’s fire. The Baptist Press reports that chaplains have seen “an incredible hunger for God,” with nearly 2,000 soldiers giving their lives to Christ since March. In Greeneville, Tennessee, a tent revival led by evangelist D.R. Harrison has lasted over five months and led to hundreds of salvations.

Pat Schatzline, an Assemblies of God minister and travelling evangelist who has studied revivals and written books on the need for spiritual renewal, says these revivals show the church is on the cusp of breakthrough.

“It is the embryonic stages of the Third Great Awakening,” Schatzline says. “… I believe that with all my heart.”

Baptisms in Georgia

The Dawsonville revival began when God gave Schatzline a vision of a mysterious pastor. Schatzline didn’t know who the man was, but he could see he was wracked with despair, sitting alone in a dark room. Hundreds of miles away, pastor Smith was doing just that, crying out to God and looking for a sign that he should continue to lead Christ Fellowship Church.

“If You don’t move, I’m done,” Smith said.

Smith got his sign when Schatzline reached out through a mutual friend. Schatzline gave Smith a message: God is coming to Christ Fellowship Church, and He is going to restore the promise He gave you eight years ago.

Then Smith received a prophetic vision of his own. He saw the church’s baptistry—the baptism pool was full, and a strip of fire appeared on top of the water. Shortly after, Smith says, God “sat down in our building and rocked our world.” Christ Fellowship hasn’t been the same since, attracting visitors from South Carolina, Minnesota and even California.

“The presence of God and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost have just erupted here,” Smith says.

Prior to the revival, Christ Fellowship conducted only a handful of baptisms each month. But since February, more than 40 people often experience water baptism in a single service, pushing the services well past midnight. One Sunday night, 114 people were baptized. Such high numbers of baptisms didn’t start immediately. But Smith says they quickly multiplied as the power of God manifested and people hungered for healing.

“The fame of his name and what He was doing in those waters began to spread,” Smith says. “When we would give the invitation, you would see 30 or 40 people run to the front to get baptized. The power of God was violent in the water. People would thrash around. Fire confronts what is going on in their lives. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen. And it has nothing to do with us as a church or any personalities involved. It’s simply God’s presence and His power.”

Some are calling the meetings a “baptism revival,” a term Don Allen, lead pastor of The Church at War Hill, says he’s never heard before. But after preaching several times at Christ Fellowship, Allen’s seen it for himself.

In the baptismal waters, numerous individuals have been healed of longtime physical ailments. Smith says the church is careful to record and follow up on them with health-care professionals so as not to minimize God’s glory.

One example is Amanda Boan, an 11-year-old who shunned foot surgery to remove an extra bone in her foot that caused her foot to twist to the side, leaving her with great pain and a limited ability to run. Boan was baptized during a Sunday-night service and continued to believe for her healing. At a service soon afterward, Boan went up to the altar and experienced instant healing: “It was like my foot was tight and then it was loosened.”

She could place her foot flat on the floor and run around the church without pain. Doctors confirmed she no longer needed surgery.

Amy Ransom also received healing. For almost three decades, Ransom suffered debilitating migraine headaches that also affected her financially due to the out-of-pocket medication costs. During a Sunday-night service, Ransom knew after fasting and praying she had been healed.

“I have gone from having daily migraines for 28 years to none,” Ransom says.

And Donna Posey, a longtime Christ Fellowship member, says God healed her of bone loss in her mouth during the second revival service in February. The condition had lingered for years, and because she didn’t have enough bone to support her dentures, implant surgery was her only option. After fervent prayer for the affected area, Posey visited her dentist, who confirmed 30 percent bone gain in her mouth. Posey says her dentist “looked at my X-ray and asked me if I believed in miracles.”

But healings and deliverance aren’t all this move of God has produced. It has had a profound spiritual effect on other churches in the region.

“We’re watching people from all faiths come here and receive what the Holy Spirit has for them,” Allen says. “Not only are we seeing salvations and miracles, but we’re seeing reconciliation among the churches here, the body of Christ really working together. You are literally seeing the miracle of unity. Our church has seen renewed prayer exponentially. Our people are now interceding for Todd’s church and for others. It’s amazing.”

Renewal in Kentucky

After the Cane Ridge Revival sparked the Second Great Awakening, revival spread across the American frontier. Now Mt. Carmel Christian Church has become the site of a new revival.

After Curry preached at Mt. Carmel’s 200th anniversary celebration, he says, the altars were filled at the conclusion of the first service in May. The meetings became so popular they had to be moved to a bigger facility, nearby River of Life Ministries in Paris, and the house is packed three nights a week.

“As worship filled the old sanctuary, we heard a remarkable sound,” Curry says. “It sounded as if every person in the sanctuary started simultaneously stomping their feet on the old wooden floors. I felt quickened in my spirit that it was the sound of the Lord coming upon the land. The sound of jubilant breakthrough resonated from the hearts of the people in that service, and it was as though we all knew revival was being birthed.”

Ministers from throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Oklahoma and New Jersey have reportedly visited the revival in Paris.

“We have seen hundreds, a thousand come to the altar,” Curry says. “People have been saved, delivered and many are returning to the Lord, surrendering their yielding hearts. We have seen many miracles and healings that are really stunning in this stage of the revival. We have seen pastors and leaders repenting, weeping and laughing in an outpouring of the refreshing.”

Repentance in Texas

Fehlauer says Jesus has always been the focus of New Life Church’s kingdom purpose. The multi-campus church grew from 650 to nearly 3,000 members since he took over as lead pastor in 2011.

But he admits something had been missing from the South Texas church’s services.

“I believe that Jesus has always been at the centre of what we’ve done, but I think our bandwidth was too narrow as far as the anointing and the presence of God is concerned,” Fehlauer says. “We weren’t giving Him time or enough room to do what He really wants to do here. God directed me to preach about the presence of the Lord and the hunger for Him. It’s His words, not mine, and I would say unequivocally that one of the biggest reasons we’re seeing this is that these people are hungry for more than the status quo. Since we started this, the presence of the Holy Spirit has been thick, and the expectancy for God to move has been very strong.”

At the first meeting, Fehlauer says more than 100 people responded to the altar call for repentance and salvation, and 10 people were baptized. The next week, another 100-plus people came forward. Soon after, many individuals expressed to church staff their desire to be baptized.

“Most of these people who come to our church are new Christians, and they don’t have any point of reference for any of this,” Fehlauer says. “But these people are spontaneously running to the altar because they’re desperate for everything God has for them. I’m talking about real Acts 2:38 repentance, when Peter said to repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. People addicted to pornography and some to drugs have come to ask for forgiveness, and they have experienced deliverance and healing. We’ve had men come clean about adulterous affairs. It’s inspiring to see them repent of the hurt they’ve caused others.”

Fehlauer recalled the testimony of one woman from another church in Corpus Christi who visited New Life this summer. After one service, she approached a wife of one of the pastors. She told the pastor’s wife she had visited a couple of Brownsville Revival meetings in Pensacola, Florida, in 1995. The woman said she hadn’t experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence like that again—until now.

New Life’s executive pastor, Dan Goodson, 59, lived through the Jesus Movement in the 1970s. He also spent 12 years as the COO at Joyce Meyer Ministries and several years as the executive pastor at Destiny Church in St. Louis. But he says he’s never seen a hunger for Christ like the one New Life is experiencing.

“It’s really incredible how authentic this is. It’s not man-made,” Goodson says. “People are coming to the altar and just laying their burdens down. We’ve had people come to the altar, and they don’t know why they’re even coming because they’re unsaved. They’re wanting to get water-baptized because they are hungry for something they’ve never had. That’s how heavy the Holy Spirit has been in our services.”

Third Great Awakening

Schatzline, who has preached multiple services at Dawsonville, says what’s happening in Georgia, Texas and Kentucky is “a sovereign move of God.”

“Unfortunately, many churches have learned structure, systems and ambience,” Schatzline says. “They remove one-third of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit—and one-third from 100 is 66.6. That is the spirit of the Antichrist. What I think these pockets of revival are proving is that God is going to do things differently than many people think. It’s happening on the backroads and not the crossroads. It may sound like an odd term, but I feel like God is kissing the faithful—the ones who are pressed in, the ones who still believe. Those are people who have stuck to the core values of fasting, prayer and preaching the cross, and the results are now visibly manifesting in these churches.”

Allen agrees with Schatzline’s assessment of revival.

“I have personally begun to study the significant movements of the Great Awakenings,” Allen says. “When prayer increases and people repent to God and each other, that’s when the Spirit moves and great things happen.”

Curry says he has little doubt that a Third Great Awakening is on the horizon.

“I truly believe this is the seedbed of awakening,” Curry says. “I believe America’s greatest awakening lies ahead of us and not behind us. I believe that transforming revival will come to this nation soon.”


Shawn A. Akers is a content development editor for Charisma Media.

Fresh Outpouring at Asbury University, Kentucky

Reports from Asbury University say that a revival has broken out in the chapel of the small Christian college campus in Kentucky. 

On the morning of February 8, 2023, a seemingly normal chapel service took place at the campus’ Hughes Auditorium. It included a message about confession and repentance, according to reports. After the service was over, a group of students stayed behind to continue worshiping. Then more joined them.

According to reports being shared on social media, students remained in the chapel reading Scripture, praying, singing, and sharing personal testimonies.

“God began pouring out his love among the students in a profound way. The students continued praying and worshiping even though chapel had concluded,” Asbury Theological Seminary Vice President of Formation Matt Barnes wrote on Facebook.

All classes were cancelled for the first week of this revival. Reports continue to tell of this revival spreading to other colleges and universities.

Dutch Sheets describes his open vision about revival: Video
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=flashpoint+dutch+sheets+revival&view=detail&mid=65AAD5E962FC76EB8A9D65AAD5E962FC76EB8A9D&FORM=VIRE

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GENERAL BLOGS INDEX 

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Revival Fires in West Virginia

Revival Fires In West Virginia

 The Amazing Story Of How The West Virginia Revival Started

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The day after some 70,000 people jammed the L.A. Coliseum to cry out for revival [Azusa Now, April 9, 2016] God sent the wind of the Holy Spirit many miles away to a humble town of 500 in West Virginia coal mining country.

“We’ve prayed for many years for this,” says Mitchell Bias, pastor of the Regional Church of God in Delbarton, West Virginia. His church had a live stream from the Azusa Now 2016 event on April 9th with their own prayer gathering, but little did he know what would happen, beginning the next day.

It seems Pastor Mitch had invited Matt Hartley, a 31-year-old evangelist from Tennessee, to preach at the church’s “spring revival.”

west-virginia-revival

“I felt impressed of the Lord to connect with him,” he notes. “I knew he was a young evangelist.”

After Hartley checked his schedule, he proposed April 10-13 for their event. “He came and started that Sunday. We had tremendous services the morning and evening on the 10th,” says Pastor Mitch.

The next day Hartley spoke at a chapel service for the church’s Christian school in Williamson, the adjacent town, which Pastor Mitch describes as another “tremendous” gathering.

On the 12th, Hartley spoke at a prayer club meeting at Mingo Central High School at the invitation of the students. The club normally has 30-40 students show up, but everyone was shocked when 450 students arrived – more than half the high school.

“He (Hartley) preached the Gospel, preached against sin,” Pastor Mitch recounts. “I know it’s not popular, but he did. It wasn’t a lengthy sermon.”

At the end of the message, Hartley gave an altar call. “He gave an invitation and 150 students responded to receive Christ. There was a lot of emotion. They cried. He prayed for them. They were touched. It was a move of God,” Pastor Mitch says.

Carrie-Elia-baptism-1

“The Lord did it. It was a sovereign move of the Lord.”

 

Called the Greatest Spiritual Awakening in their History

There’s a new sound coming forth from the hills of southern West Virginia – a sound many prophets have foretold but haven’t heard until now.

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For the past three weeks, the large sports complex in the small coal-mining town of Williamson, West Virginia, has been filled to the rafters with people crying out for God.

It all started when Tennessee evangelist Matt Hartley visited a local church for what was supposed to be a three-day revival service but it just kept going.

“This is not man-made, charismatic, hyper-spiritual,” Hartley told CBN News. “This is the presence of God that is overwhelming us, that is being released upon hungry people that are tired of just stagnant Christianity and “safe” church.”

screenshot-www.viralbeliever.com 2016-05-03 05-17-38

“They want Jesus more than anything else. That’s why they’re here,” he said.

Hartley also spoke at the local high school where revival seemed to break out among the students.

screenshot-www.viralbeliever.com 2016-05-03 05-20-51

“Four-hundred to 450 students got saved at Mingo Central from Matt Hartley coming in and speaking at a voluntary prayer club,” Katie Endicott, with the Mingo Central High Prayer Club, told CBN News.

“It has just gone from school to school, from youth group to youth group,” she said. “Denominational barriers have just been cast down and we’ve just had a great spirit of unity.”

Many are calling it the greatest spiritual awakening in southern West Virginia history.

“We couldn’t have done this if we wanted to,” Endicott said. “We’ve had so many revival services, so many special services and nothing like this. This is true awakening.”

Endicott says prayer plus desperation has paved the way for this spiritual breakthrough, especially among the young people.

“Oh my gosh, it’s amazing!” 18-year-old Belfry High School student Andrew Fletcher exclaimed. “I’ve never seen something like this happen where the young people just get on fire.”

“It’s really cool to come to church and it’s really cool to worship God – nobody’s judging you or saying anything about it because they’re all with you,” he continued.

“We’re starting to have prayer circles at school and we’re reading and having Bible studies at school,” he said.

Others, like Erica Priest of Lenore, are seeing God answer very specific prayers.

“My husband just got saved this morning,” Priest said. “I’ve been praying for him for seven months and he’ll be baptized this Sunday.”

Hartley believes the sound of revival now being heard in these West Virginia mountains has the potential to spread around the world.

“I believe God has preserved this state for the end-time awakening that’s coming to America,” Hartley said.

“I believe that this is the beginning of where it happens and it’s going to spread as a wild-fire throughout the nations of this world, that Jesus is going to be exalted,” he predicted.

“And the more Jesus is exalted the more the river of God is going to flow — and we have not seen anything yet to what God is releasing,” he said.

Source: CBN News

West Virginia Revival Update: Appalachian Awakening Spreading To Neighboring Counties

Students who have walked the halls of Mingo Central the last couple years say the West Virginian high school has a different feel these days.

Prayer has mostly replaced profanity in the hallways. Bible studies are more frequent than fights in the cafeteria. And every morning, a group of students meets at the flagpole before the first bell to read Scripture and pray.

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“The Lord has swept through this area,” said Aerianna McClanahan, a junior who is part of the Mingo Central prayer club. “People have been on fire for Him. The thirst we have here is unquenchable.”

Today, on the National Day of Prayer, many southern West Virginians plan to stoke the flames of their regional revival by standing with Franklin Graham during his Decision America Tour stop in Charleston. After all, prayer is at the core of what’s happening in their community just 90 miles southwest of the State Capitol.

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“We know this [revival] was birthed in prayer so we know the only way for it to continue is to stay in prayer,” youth pastor Katie Endicott said. “We are not looking for this season to end here in southern West Virginia. We really believe that revival is going to spread all across the state. It’s going to spread all across the nation. We want to partner with all of our brothers and sisters, and we want to stand united and pray together.”

An ‘Appalachian Awakening’

 

Many credit a Tennessean evangelist, who has conducted several revival services during the last month in Mingo County, for triggering change. Within a month, hundreds of students have given their lives to Christ and thousands region-wide have been impacted. The Mingo Central prayer club sponsored a student-led worship event that drew almost 3,000 people and included baptisms in an inflatable pool on the school’s football field.

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These events have been pivotal, Endicott said, but the native West Virginian knows the roots of this “Appalachian Awakening” go much deeper than that.

“This is an area that has really been consecrated in prayer and through prayer for generations and generations,” Endicott said. “This has been decades in the making. People have been praying for this their whole lives.”

People like her dad, a pastor, who would wake up at 4 a.m. to go to church and pray. Or her uncle, who actually quit his job so he could devote his entire day to prayer. She admits the family wasn’t too sure of that decision, but the fruit decades later speaks otherwise.

A Generation Rising Up

 

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Lives are being touched, like that of junior Blake Hackney and senior Savannah Estep. Both Mingo Central students accepted Christ during this time of revival.

“It took all this for me to understand that I have a Lord and Savior,” Blake said. “I felt a huge boulder was off my shoulders.

“What motivates me is I think about God. I think about what He did. He died for us so us wretched sinners could have eternal life. He died for me so I’m going to live for Him.”

Blake, Aerianna and Savannah are among the hundreds that are now involved in the school’s prayer club, which is planning another football stadium gathering in mid-May. They’re diving into God’s Word and quickly dismissing the thought that this might be just a trend for the area.

“We’re praying that we’re a generation that just wakes up and uses what God has given us to break all the generational chains and curses,” Aerianna said.

These students have seen hardship as family members and friends have lost jobs in the coal mining business and elsewhere. Economic depression is real in this county, where more than 28 percent of people live in poverty. Drug use is rampant, and at least one report ranks southern West Virginia in the top five for fatal overdoses.

“Our area has been devastated by the economy and by drugs, and like I said, people have prayed and they have prayed and they have prayed, but it has been such a place that has been gripped by all this stuff,” Endicott said. “It was overwhelming, and people were really losing hope.

“This [revival] moment has really turned everything around. People are excited. People are passionate. People have joy. People have hope. You can’t go anywhere without hearing what God is doing.”

A Region-Wide Movement

screenshot-www.viralbeliever.com 2016-05-03 05-27-16

The movement of God hasn’t been limited to Mingo County, though. In nearby Logan County, junior Skyler Miller felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to just start preaching one day. A two-time leukemia survivor, Skyler always leaned on God, but he actually began a personal relationship with Jesus after his second diagnosis.

On March 24, 2016, three years to the day of his initial diagnosis, Skyler preached to a group of his friends during his lunch period. He gave an altar call at the end and many, including some curious passers-by, accepted Christ.

Watching God move in the region has been a blessing for Endicott.

“This is what we have believed. We did not give up hope. We always knew that the Lord was going to send true revival and true awakening to southern West Virginia. We’ve had many revival services. We’ve had great moves of God. But there has been nothing like this.”

Source: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

If you would like to accept Christ and make Him your Lord and Savior, go here.

West Virginia Revival Update: Evangelist Declares “God’s Not Done Yet!”

After a few weeks of rest, the young evangelist at the center of the revival in West Virginia that brought 4,000 to Christ, says God is not done pouring out his Spirit in coal country and beyond.

“Hear me, West Virginia. I know that God has moved in the last eight weeks where over 4000 people have come to Jesus, but there has been warfare ever since, and the devil is trying to abort what God has started,” Matt Hartley said.

He spoke at the Williamson, West Virginia Field House on August 8th, and will be speaking at the same venue the following two nights. Next week he will preach in Huntington, West Virginia, near the Ohio border.

“Hear me tonight. Man didn’t start this thing, and man cannot control it. It was started by a sovereign God and tonight there is a sound of heaven about to be released in this room,” he declared.

Hartley preached from 2 Samuel 5 when God instructed David in his fight against the Philistines with an unconventional warfare strategy: First, God said to “circle around behind them” and wait near the Mulberry trees. “And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the Mulberry trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

Hartley-preaching
Matt Hartley preaching.

When God’s people allowed the Lord to fight the battles, victory was always assured.

“There is a sound tonight that hell is getting nervous over. I prophesy that God shall arise and His enemies will be scattered,” Hartley declared.

“God is connecting heaven with earth, and there is a sound as God begins to walk through West Virginia. I hear God walking through West Virginia tonight, setting captives free.”

Many are praying the revival will sweep the United States, including Hartley. “I hear the sound of God walking through America. I hear the remnant wailing and weeping for His presence to come. There is a sound being released. God is preparing to take this awakening further than you could have imagined it would go,” he declared.

One participant, Bo Copley has been at almost every revival meeting, and last night was no exception. “The atmosphere was still really great. The presence of the Lord was all over the building. It was very similar to the other services,” he observed.

Hartley-ending
People are coming to Christ at the revival.

“There is a sense of urgency around what Matt says. He doesn’t water down the Word. There should be a sense of urgency because people are either going to spend eternity in heaven or hell.

“People said after four weeks the revival would die down, but then it went even further. God started it, and He is not finished. If He’s not through, it will not end.”

Related links:

Revivals Index

Blogs Index: Revivals

LINKS TO REVIVAL RESOURCES

f-akersRevivals Across the South of USA

Virginia2Revival Fires in West Virginia

ASUCurrent Revival in America’s Largest University

Blessings BibleAtheist Author Recognizes Global Faith Revival
 

Renewal Journal authors

Authors of Renewal Journal articles

Revival Library – revival-library.org

Revival Quotes

Tommy Hicks’ Revival Vision

FREE PDF Books – see Main Page

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS(BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Current Revival in America’s largest University

Current Revival in America’s largest University

ASU
By George Otis, Jr.
President, The Sentinel Group
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Current Revival in America’s Largest University
https://renewaljournal.com/2018/11/16/current-revival-in-americas-largest-university/
*
*
As of Fall 2018, every single nation on earth is represented at Arizona State University! Over 150 nations have someone on the ASU campus, while other nations are involved online – including North Korea and Antarctica! From this one place, Spirit-led believers have the potential to impact the entire family of nations, just as the apostles did on Pentecost!
This huge university, the largest in the United States, has been in the grip of a bona fide spiritual awakening.
By our definition, formed over twenty years of monitoring transforming revival around the world, a true awakening means the work of God is comprehensive. This stands in contrast to a human campaign or initiative where results are typically confined to a single category or location within the community.
At ASU [Arizona State University], God’s sweep is as broad as it gets.
Not surprisingly, united prayer has proven to be a major factor behind these happy developments. After several tough years where campus ministries tended to go their own way, things took a pleasant turn in the fall of 2017. Instead of the usual two to three ministries coming together before God, prayer events at the local Campus Christian Center were rocking a three-fold increase in intercessory participants.
This past spring, fully a dozen ministries united behind a forty-day prayer focus where petitions were lifted day and night from a tent erected near the main campus square. The initiative was so fruitful, the ministries decided to continue the effort over the balance of the academic semester.
This fall, the tally of participating ministries and campus churches reached seventeen, as a fresh fifty-six-day campaign drew prodigals, atheists, Muslims, New Agers, and students suffering from depression. In addition to witnessing numerous conversions, healings, and deliverances, the intercessors also watched God begin to move among the University faculty and administration.
One of the more significant breakthroughs involved the school’s Interfaith Council of Religious Advisors. For years, the woman directing the council was motivated to establish ASU as a model of the global interfaith movement. Unfortunately, this highly syncretistic vision proved to be a major hindrance to the gospel. As time went by, her attitude toward Christians hardened, and ministries found their access to campus facilities severely limited.
Faced with this opposition, students and ministry leaders began to pray that God would either change this woman’s heart, or install someone more sympathetic.
It did not take God long to act. Within a period of weeks, this woman who had so vexed campus leaders disappeared from the Interfaith Council. None of the Christians on campus seemed to know where she had gone, or why. She was simply no longer there. Her replacement, a man even more hostile to the Christian cause, was similarly prayed out. Today, the council is headed by the son of a Baptist minister!
Even more dramatic has been the departure from the university of notorious atheist Lawrence Krauss. Virulently anti-Christian, the highly-paid professor routinely packed out Gammage Auditorium on campus by bringing in atheist luminaries such as Richard Dawkins and the late Stephen Hawking.
A theoretical physicist, Krauss founded the Origins Project in 2009 with the aim of placing the university at the forefront of the New Atheist Movement. By promoting hostile, anti-religious rhetoric and policies (“teaching Creationism to youth is child abuse”), Krauss bullied Christian students and faculty into silence.
During the worst of Krauss’s campaign, God assured one late-night intercessor that the professor would be brought low, and that the backbone of the atheist movement on campus would be broken.
Given Krauss’s fame and tenure, this prospect was almost unimaginable.
And yet, on Oct. 21, 2018, Lawrence Krauss announced his resignation after being stripped of his role as an academic chair and as the Director of the Origins Project. This action came in the wake of an impending termination procedure urged by the dean of ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
According to ASU provost, Mark Searle, action was taken because the physicist “violated the school’s sexual harassment policy and code of ethics.” In a July 31 letter to Krauss, Searle told the professor his behavior was “unprofessional, reflects a failure of leadership, and is extremely disappointing.”
As for the Origins Project itself, the university newspaper notes that “sources point to a very different future for the project.” The initiative has already lost its name.
With Krauss out of the picture at ASU, Christian faculty in both the arts and sciences are again raising their flag.
A March 2019 conference on Science and Faith allowed students to engage faculty in six fields, an approach being lauded by the university president. As one professor’s official profile declares: “Through his work he intends to glorify God, from whom all good things come.”
Transforming winds have also been coursing through the university’s athletic department. Just last month, over 100 Christian student athletes attended an all-sport gathering in the men’s football facility that featured worship, prayer, and inspirational messages.
Many athletes were touched at this student-led event as the room was charged with the Spirit of God. One of them, star wide receiver N’Keal Harry — whom many analysts peg as a top-15 pick in the upcoming NFL draft — gave his heart to Christ and is devouring the Word. He is arguably the most popular personality on the ASU campus.
And Harry is but one of an estimated twenty to thirty football players who have turned their lives over to Jesus in recent months. The wrestling team has also been impacted through the open witness of Austyn Harris and All-American Josh Shields, and encouraging reports are coming in from athletes associated with hockey, lacrosse, gymnastics, track, swimming, and volleyball.
Dorm and Greek life are likewise feeling the impact of the Gospel. As one knowledgeable source told me, “Before this year, it was hard to find any Christians in the Honors dorms. Now, it seems like they are everywhere!” Better yet, they are uniting in prayer that God’s purposes will be realized in the lives of these elite students.
So much more could be said, but I’ll leave you with the observation one student athlete shared with me earlier this month: “The identity of ASU is being flipped.”
As of Fall 2018, every single nation on earth is represented at Arizona State University! Over 150 nations have someone on the ASU campus, while other nations are involved online – including North Korea and Antarctica! From this one place, Spirit-led believers have the potential to impact the entire family of nations, just as the apostles did on Pentecost!
Here is how you can be a part.
First, we need people who will partner with us to supply transformation video libraries to the dorms and athletic teams at ASU. There is great interest in these stories, and I believe they will inspire students to embrace even more of God.
Second, we believe God has called us to document this unfolding story on film so it can stir up faith on other campuses. We began this effort during a short visit to the ASU campus two weeks ago, but we want to return in late January to film a much larger set of interviews and events that are being arranged.
This story has already stirred audiences in several states. Just last week, I was able to share highlights with campus ministers from all the Ivy League schools plus Stanford University. This coming May, these leaders will join us on a revival exposure tour to see more of God’s handiwork in the Fiji Islands.
We need approximately $25,000 for these undertakings. If you can make a year-end gift to the ministry on Giving Tuesday (November 27), this will allow us to capture and transmit this glorious story to thousands.
Finally, please continue to pray for us as we complete other important research, training, and media projects. It is our heart’s desire to offer up some much-needed good news in this dark and uncivil hour.
Warmly,

The Windowsill of Heaven

The Windowsill of Heaven

Every morning, lean thine arms awhile
Upon the windowsill of heaven,
And gaze upon thy Lord.
Then, with the vision in thy heart,
Turn strong to meet thy day.

Poem by Thomas Blake 

In the early days of his ministry, Dr. Theodore F. Adams vacationed in Wisconsin where he attended an outdoor vesper service led by an Episcopal rector who recited the verse above. Dr Adams never forgot those words. He committed them to memory.

callout
From 1936-1968 Dr. Adams served as senior pastor of Richmond’s First Baptist Church. During that time he referred to this verse countless times as one of his favourites. He even had desktop placards made and sent to every member of the church.

Many readers are aware that the beautiful stained glass windows surrounding the FBC Sanctuary were part of a renovation project initiated by Dr. Adams in the late 1940s, but they may be unaware of the message he left in one of the windows by which we remember him today.

In the commission of the windows’ refurbishment, Dr. Adams’ goal was twofold. The larger windows that surround the balcony were to portray the significant events in the life of Jesus, while those below were to demonstrate how followers could live out Jesus’ lessons in modern times. Each upper window correlates to the one below it and is interpreted there for modern understanding. Each window is also accompanied by a scripture passage – except one.

There are two windows in the church picturing Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, one in the Chapel and one in the Sanctuary. The Chapel window’s focus is on prayer, but the story in the Sanctuary’s window shows Jesus, having been strengthened by prayer, telling Peter, James, and John, “Behold, the hour is at hand—Rise, let us be going.” The light shining on Jesus comes from heaven and affirms Jesus’ declaration that, “Thy will, not mine, be done.”

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The Garden of Gethsemane 

Bathed in sunlight in the corollary window below kneels a lone figure, praying the very poem that begins, “Every morning, lean thine arms upon the windowsill of heaven.” These verses are not found in the Bible, but send the message that made such a marked impression on Dr. Adams’ life that he was determined it be memorialized in this window.

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The Windowsill of Heaven

Could he have guessed that with each reading, those who remembered him would also see him reciting it before a congregation of First Baptist Church members, even today?

In writing about Dr. Adams, Dr. W. Randall Lolley, former pastor of FBC Greensboro, NC, says that Dr. Adams was a man, “who truly perceived the earth as the ‘windowsill of heaven.’ Every person he met, every event he enjoyed, every experience he knew worked ‘inside/out’ rather than ‘outside/in.’”

May we put into practice these words so dear to Dr. Adams.

Source: First Things First, the online magazine of Richmond’s First Baptist Church

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God saves and heals – including HIV

God saves and heals – including HIV

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God saves and heals, by Daniel Kolenda:
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See also: He woke up totally healed, by Daniel Kolenda
Kampala, Uganda – Day 1
May 06, 2012

We are rejoicing tonight after the first meeting of our Gospel Campaign here in Kampala, Uganda has just come to an end.

 

The very fact that we are here is a sign and a wonder in itself.  We experienced a miracle of provision a couple of days ago that has made this event possible and already we can see that this is going to be a historic event.  Here are just a few things that have happened since we arrived:

•      Many of you may be familiar with the remarkable story of what happened in Jinja, which is located just about an hours drive from where we are now.  (If you’re not familiar with this story, you can read all about it in Chapter 30 of evangelist Bonnke’s autobiography – Living a Life of Fire).  Today, for the first time in two decades, evangelist Bonnke set foot on Jinja soil again to pray for this city that has suffered so much since those events transpired some twenty-three years ago.  Hundreds of pastors came out to meet him and the presence of God moved in a very special way.  I wish I had more time to tell you the whole story, but suffice it to say that what Satan meant for evil, God has turned around for good.  The peace of God has returned to Jinja and a new day has dawned!

•      Last night we were received by the president of Uganda, his wife and his whole family at the state house, where we had dinner and wonderful fellowship. Afterward, evangelist Bonnke preached the Gospel and we prayed over the first family.

•      Tonight evangelist Bonnke preached a powerful evangelistic message and thousands responded.  Then we prayed for the sick and wonderful miracles of healing began to take place

•      An old lady who was totally blind in both eyes received her sight tonight 

•      A father carried his daughter from the hospital with the intravenous catheter (from an i.v. drip) still attached to her arm.  She was inflicted with both typhoid fever and malaria. Tonight she was totally healed and she walked, unaided, up onto the platform to testify.

•      A man who had a severe back injury in a motorcycle accident was confined to a back brace.  Tonight, after the power of God came on him, he ripped that brace off and began to dance and jump!

There is much more – too much to tell.  We are so grateful to be here and so excited about what Jesus will do here in Kampala this week. Please bombard heaven for us this week.  Pray that every chain will be broken and every captive set free.

Kampala, Uganda – Day 2
June 07, 2012
 
This morning was the beginning of the Fire Conference here in Kampala.  Rev. Peter van den Berg and I ministered to the pastors and church workers who have come from far and wide to receive an impartation for their lives and ministries. 
 
I believe that the Fire Conference, in many ways, may have an even more long-term impact than the crusade itself because it’s multiplication effect.  Once the crusade is over, these ministers, filled with power from on high, will take up the baton and continue on to see Uganda impacted for eternity.
 
Tonight, after I preached the Gospel, there was an overwhelming response from those who wanted to repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Thousands were born again into the Kingdom of God.  And the blood that brought salvation is the same blood that brought healing tonight;
 

– A lady who had four lumps in her breasts said that, during the prayer, she felt heat cascade over her and she felt like things were leaving her body.  Afterward, she checked her breasts and found that all the lumps had completely disappeared along with all pain!

– A woman who had fallen into a pit and broken her arm went to the doctors, who put it in a cast, but it did not heal properly – it was twisted and misshapen.  But during the prayer she said she could hear popping and cracking coming from her arm.  Before her very eyes that twisted arm snapped into place and is now perfectly normal!

– Another woman who had a back injury also heard the bones snapping and popping as the spine righted itself and now she is completely well!

– As I was praying for the sick and rebuking sicknesses, demons began to manifest all over the place.  Many were violently thrown to the ground as the demons were leaving their bodies.  This mass deliverance that started tonight will continue tomorrow night.  I will be breaking the familiar local curses in the name of Jesus and we will burn the articles of witchcraft that are brought; charms fetishes, amulets, idols etc. 

Please pray for a mighty and complete deliverance tomorrow for the people of Kampala.

 

Kampala, Uganda – Day 3
June 08, 2012


This is a very special year for the nation of Uganda.  They are celebrating 50 years of independence and everyone is using the word “Jubilee.”  But the greatest jubilee of all is the Good news of the Gospel; proclaiming liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and setting free those who are oppressed.  I believe this Gospel campaign is a prophetic sign to this nation and what we are seeing this week is not only a sign but also a wonder.

After preaching the Gospel and breaking the curses tonight in the name of Jesus the power of God began to roll across that field. 

A young man, totally blind in both eyes for five years received his sight tonight! 

Another young man with AIDS was hit by the power of God on Wednesday. He said he felt electricity going through his body.  He was so sure he had been healed that he came forward to give his testimony.  But the ushers told him to go see his doctor and have a check-up.  Tonight he brought the diagnosis straight from the hospital – I read it with my own eyes – HIV NEGATIVE! 

A crippled girl walked for the first time tonight as well as a lame woman who was carried to the meeting!

These are but a small sampling of the many wonderful things that Jesus is doing.  But the greatest miracle of all was the many thousands who surrendered their hearts to Christ tonight, making him Lord and Savior.  This is the Jubilee that Uganda needs and this is the acceptable year of the Lord’s favor!

Kampala, Uganda – Day 4
June 09, 2012

What a glorious day we’ve had in the presence of the Lord.  The Holy Spirit fell in power in both the Fire Conference this morning and then again in the mass meeting tonight.  As Peter said on the day of Pentecost, “This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel.”  Many demoniacs were delivered, deaf ears were opened, paralytics walked and tumors disappeared!

Multitudes responded to the Gospel and received Jesus as Savior and Lord.  Our bodies are weary, but our spirits are soaring.  We are looking for one more mighty harvest tomorrow night.  I believe Jesus has saved the best for last.  Please continue to pray for us.

 

Kampala, Uganda – Day 5
June 10, 2012

 

Uganda is a nation that has been in the news a lot lately.  The Kony 2012 initiative put the international spotlight on this country that has been plagued by violence, bloodshed and mass murder.  We have seen a lot of concern for the people of Uganda – even to the point of putting up posters and petitioning government officials.  But perhaps the most significant thing that has happened this year is the Gospel crusade that has just come to a close here in Kampala.  It is likely that more people were born again here this week then in any other single place on the face of the earth.  We have seen cripples walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, tumors disappear, mass outpourings of the Holy Spirit, witchcraft abandoned, repentance and restitution, forgiveness granted, curses broken, demoniacs delivered and the blessing of God descend in a huge, public, national and prophetic expression of the Kingdom of God!  This is what we came here for; this is God’s initiative – HARVEST 2012!

Although the Devil did everything he could to stop this crusade from happening; financial difficulties and logistical challenges, many dangers, toils and snares, the Lord has been faithful, you have prayed for us and helped us financially and now the work has been done.  Local congregations are bursting at the seams with new converts and the Church has been elevated; not only in a spiritual way but also having received the public recognition of the President himself and the First Lady who personally attended the crusade.

I mentioned before that, this year, Uganda is celebrating 50 years of independence and it is being called a “Jubilee” year.  It just so happens that, even though we weren’t aware of any of these things, the Lord directed us to be in Uganda this year, not once, but twice (it is the only nation we will be in more than once this year).  

I can’t help but feel that there is an extraordinary spiritual significance that is far deeper than we even realize.  HARVEST 2012 continues next month as we return to Uganda, this time to the city of Gulu (which happens to be very close to where Joseph Kony was born and is now home to thousands of refugees, displaced during the hostilities between the government and Kony’s army, the LRA).  God has a plan for this nation and we (you and us) have a strategic part to play.  Thank you for interceding and also for standing with us financially.