Plans to Connect in Canton....11 Days to go!

Greetings Brothers,

Alec, I appreciate your recent posts and I am following the "Divine Experiment". Forgive me for my lapse in posting It has been an absolute crazy past three weeks with many, many distractions. I have been fighting the most dreaded 4-letter word in the English language....B-U-S-Y. It seems that the enemy's most successful tactic with me lately is to get me so overwhelmed with many "necessary" things that my time with my Savior is squeezed and cramped. As I have burned the candle at both ends, I naturally got sick and have been struggling for the past week with a virus that has left me drained and exhausted. Why do we let our lives get so chaotic and hectic?

It seems that we have become so used to running on adrenaline in this culture, that unless you are frantically running every minute for 18hrs per day, we feel that something is wrong. I have set aside Mon. Oct. 22nd as a day of fasting and prayer in preparation for Canton. I know I need a day of quiet reflection (I actually need a week!) to prepare my heart and get "still" in His presence. I will not allow my schedule to deliver me to Canton exhausted and weak. I appreciate your prayers and am thrilled that we will all be together soon.

I recently had a brother ask me if there would be opportunity for some relaxation at this conference so we can relax and get to know each other better. The way this question was asked, led me to believe that this brother was hoping perhaps we could carve out some conference time to socialize. Please don't take this the wrong way, but my prayer for Canton is not that we would find necessary time to socialize. Of course I look forward to meeting and sharing with my brothers, new and old but...Canton for me is the only time this year that I have devoted any meaningful period of time to join with a like-minded body of hungry believers to cry out to God for revival. I am burdened for the church and our country, but selfishly I must confess that I am first and foremost desperate for revival in my own personal relationship with God. So while I am certain we will have much time to share and get to know one another better as we travel back and forth to the hotel etc., I also know that as the Lord gives me strength, I need to be at every session from start to finish. This includes the times of corporate prayer.

Brothers, I feel like a starving man, and I'm subsisting now on crumbs and scraps. I desperately need to be fed by my Heavenly Father and we have now been praying for over 120 days for this very thing. Let's not get distracted by socializing. Let's make sure we show up in Canton prepared. As Paul describes the necessary conditioning of an athlete, let's start preparing far in advance to make sure we arrive rested, and not weary; healthy, not sick; humbled and prepared to hear from God, not distracted by any worldly concerns. This journey has been a true blessing in so many ways and I'm so thankful for each one of the members in this union. As we meet in Canton I know that the Lord will be faithful as His greatest desire is to be intimately involved in every area of our lives.

I am suggesting that the members of the Canton Prayer Union all meet on Tues. at 12:30 p.m. directly inside the main door of the church. (let's say as we walk in the doors, gather to the left side of the entrance.) I am sending Alec an email picture of me so he will recognize me. If we can gather at 12:30 we will be able to exchange greetings and sit together for the first corporate prayer session. I can't wait until we all gather together and we can corporately pray for the first time in person as the Canton Prayer Union. Let's continue to lift one another up and pray for safety as we travel. I will have a sign that says "C.P.U." on it so Alec can get hooked up with us. I have a rental vehicle and Bill also has a vehicle so we will have no problems with transportation. As of right now we are 5 in number. We have 6 double beds available in three reserved rooms. We can always add cots if necessary. We are not a large group, but this group has meant so much to me. Let's pray for any other brother that the Lord would impress to join us. Bill currently has room in his vehicle coming from Ontario and I have invited several other men. I have ceased trying to persuade and now simply make the offer to any the Spirit would lead to join our group. Five is a great number....and three more than John Hyde had as he started the Punjab Prayer Union.

Press on brothers and thank-you for your continuing prayers.

Your brother, Steve