Brothers,
Our exciting journey is nearing the first checkpoint. Yes, I believe this is but the first of many significant markers that God has in store for any man who will continue the wholehearted pursuit of HIM.
In the past two days I have talked with several of you dear brothers and my excitement grows with every conversation and every exchanged email. God is doing the work that He promised He would do, as we have tried in our struggling and stumbling way to walk 135 days in focused prayer and intercession for each other, and His bride. We desperately need revival and today He has focused my mind on a section of scripture that I have never noticed before. Prayerfully consider the following:
"Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven and you on earth; Therefore, let your words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
Even during these past days, I have many times offered the "sacrifice of fools" in my private prayer time. I have rushed into the presence of God and blurted out my hurried and hectic prayers and then, glancing at my watch, I have rushed back to my crazy, noisy world.
There have been many words over these past months, words of prayer, words on this blog, words in email, words spoken in messages we have all been encouraged by. I really feel that now, for these last few days of this segment of our journey, I need to get quiet and still before God and listen to HIM. It hurts every ounce of my flesh to be still and quiet because I have been conditioned to noise, to movement, to blurting out things I haven't adequately thought out. I need rest and I need peace before my Lord. I need to heed His word, "Be still, and know that I am God."
If you, like me, want to be open, available and honest before God, would you consider for these last few days before we meet in Canton, to be quiet and still before our awesome God?
When I spoke with Bill and Billy earlier this week, I was humbled to hear how God is moving and working in our very midst! What would God speak to your heart this week if now, as you approach a huge milestone on your journey, you were to simply seek His face in quietness and stillness before His throne.
I look forward to gathering together for the first time as the Canton Prayer Union and hearing how God has worked over the past 135 days. It has been my privilege to have traveled this path with you.
Looking expectantly towards Canton...
Your brother, Steve
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Our Numbers are Growing
Praise God for the 2 men who have decided to join us in Canton. Justin and Tim. Brothers, please pray for these men. They will now become a bigger threat to the ruler of this world. They will need our daily prayers as our Lord prepares their hearts for our journey to Canton. The enemy comes to destroy, but our Lord comes that we may have abundant life. This life is through his Holy Spirit. Continue to pray for the other 3 seats in my van (4 seats if we sit real close). I am getting very excited about joining all of you in the prayer room in Canton. Pray and seek after God like you never have before. Flee if you must, stand firm if you can , but be on guard always. The enemy is a liar.Run after Godliness. Pray, pray and then pray again !
Your brother in the battle,
Bill
Your brother in the battle,
Bill
Friday, October 12, 2007
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
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
Monday, October 8, 2007
Floods on the dry ground
Dear Brothers,
I still feel very unworthy to be part of the Canton Prayer Union, but praise the Lord for it. It has become something very precious to me. "O God, make us all absolutely real with You and with each other."
Thank you, brothers for your blogs, for your prayers and for your fellowship in the gospel.
I would like to follow up what Steve said about praying for those who will be attending the conference, and especially the speakers. Pray against the attacks of Satan. The devil will be working overtime to destroy everything to do with this conference. So claim the protection of the blood of Jesus on yourselves, on all the speakers, on all the attenders, on all the travelling to and from the conference, and on all the arrangements. Bind "the strong man." Pray that the devil will have no influence, that he will not get even a toehold in, and that only the Lord Jesus will be exalted.Pray against pride in any form. Pray for Greg Gordon and all the speakers, that they will be kept humble before the Lord. Pray that they will think and live and prepare in the light of eternity.
"Lord, cause them to live pure, holy and simple lives before the world, that the evil one may find no occasion to trip them up. Instruct them so that they say only what You want them to say, and say it with passion and with tears. Lord, use them to start a fire that will never be put out, that will sweep across America and the Western world. Lord, we are tired of anaemic Christianity. We want to see reality. We want to see You in all your grace and glory and holiness. Lord we are thirsty, and the land is dry, and You have promised to pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground, so we stand on Your word, and claim Your promise. O Lord hear, O Lord forgive , O Lord, have mercy, and do a work in these days that will make people`s ears tingle.
"Once, in Romania, I saw the Lord do a work that I would not have believed was possible. He poured out His Spirit and did a work of conviction that I could never have done in a thousand years. Let us pray and believe that God will do a work at Canton that we would never believe if it was told us, a work so wonderful and amazing that only He can do; greater than anything seen before. "Lord, increase our faith."
Bound together with you in the name of Jesus
Alec
A Canadian Thanksgiving
Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving from your Canadian brother who is so very, very thankful. I am thankful for my brothers who have to committed to pray with and for me. Billy ,thank you for your e-mail. God only knows what your prayers have proteted me and my family from. I am thankful for my brother who I will meet for the first time in Canton. I look forward to the day when God may show us the true effect of our prayers. Thank you Alec for your gift to us of "The Divine Experiment. Today is Day 9-Desparate Hunger. I am more hungry today than ever before. I will also meet you for the first time in Canton. I am thankful for the brothers who I will be bringing to Canton with me in my Van. Right now my van is empty but I am trusting God to fill it with other men who are hungry and desire to have God REVIVE us. God is faithful. I am thankful for my brothers who will join me in praying for my van to be full. My son Davey called me yesteday to tell me that his friend from Mexico has e-mailed his church (in Mexico) about the conference, and said expect a "Mexican invaision". I am eternally thankful for my brother Steve. You may never know until we are in our Lords presence , how much your friendship and example have meant to me. Your crown awaits. Continue to run the race, brother.
I am thankful for answered prayer as I "reluctantly" met with my pastor this week. God humbled me and proved his faithfulness once again. I shared my desire to pray for revival in our Church. The meeting went far better than I had anticipated. Just be faithful and leave the consequences to ME, God told me. Praise God !! I told him that I felt led to begin a prayer meeting at the chuech on Sunday morning at 8:30 am. We will pray for REVIVAL. What a glorious time we had ... all 3 of us... my wife Debbie, Tim (another hungry brother) and myself. "Where 2 or 3 are gathered.... Thank you Holy Spirit for being there. During the church servive I had an overwhelming and miraculous sense of peace come over me. This is a miracle in and of itself. I have not been very happy or peacful in any of the church services for a long long time. I have been praying for God to change the people, and God has changed me. Praise God for prayers answered how our Lord chooses and not as I think they should. God spoke to me so very clearly during the worship time and I leaned over to Debbie to tell her that God had just told me "I have heard your prayers". He really told me. I instantly wrote this down with the date of Oct. 7,2007 as a reminder for when the enemy tries to convince me that this journey is just not worth it and that I am on my own. NO,NO, My God has heard my prayers.
I am a very thankful man. Thank you brothers for your prayers. We must get more intense. I look forward to our gathering together in about 2 weeks
Your brother in the battle, Bill
I am thankful for answered prayer as I "reluctantly" met with my pastor this week. God humbled me and proved his faithfulness once again. I shared my desire to pray for revival in our Church. The meeting went far better than I had anticipated. Just be faithful and leave the consequences to ME, God told me. Praise God !! I told him that I felt led to begin a prayer meeting at the chuech on Sunday morning at 8:30 am. We will pray for REVIVAL. What a glorious time we had ... all 3 of us... my wife Debbie, Tim (another hungry brother) and myself. "Where 2 or 3 are gathered.... Thank you Holy Spirit for being there. During the church servive I had an overwhelming and miraculous sense of peace come over me. This is a miracle in and of itself. I have not been very happy or peacful in any of the church services for a long long time. I have been praying for God to change the people, and God has changed me. Praise God for prayers answered how our Lord chooses and not as I think they should. God spoke to me so very clearly during the worship time and I leaned over to Debbie to tell her that God had just told me "I have heard your prayers". He really told me. I instantly wrote this down with the date of Oct. 7,2007 as a reminder for when the enemy tries to convince me that this journey is just not worth it and that I am on my own. NO,NO, My God has heard my prayers.
I am a very thankful man. Thank you brothers for your prayers. We must get more intense. I look forward to our gathering together in about 2 weeks
Your brother in the battle, Bill
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The Divine Experiment
Dear Brothers,
It is a privilege to pray with you, brothers, and I am looking forward to what the Lord is going to do at Canton. Pray, not just for the conference, but for the city. I long to see the heavens rent, and God coming down on the whole area, so that the atmosphere is changed, and there is an awareness of the presence of a holy God, as happened here in Wales on November 12th 1904.
I have just come across "The Divine Experiment," a 21 Day Prayer Guide, designed to help undistracted seeking of God`s face for 21 days. As it is exactly 21 days to go before the conference, I recommend its use.
You can find it on www.thedivineexperiment.com
Click on to the 21 Day Devotional Prayer Guide, and then download an Adobe PDF Sampling of the guide.
I don`t know about you, brothers, but I am finding myself more and more wordless before the Lord. "O God, have your way with me, and use me, even me."
Yours, for Him alone
Alec
posted by Alec @ 13:34 0 Comments
It is a privilege to pray with you, brothers, and I am looking forward to what the Lord is going to do at Canton. Pray, not just for the conference, but for the city. I long to see the heavens rent, and God coming down on the whole area, so that the atmosphere is changed, and there is an awareness of the presence of a holy God, as happened here in Wales on November 12th 1904.
I have just come across "The Divine Experiment," a 21 Day Prayer Guide, designed to help undistracted seeking of God`s face for 21 days. As it is exactly 21 days to go before the conference, I recommend its use.
You can find it on www.thedivineexperiment.com
Click on to the 21 Day Devotional Prayer Guide, and then download an Adobe PDF Sampling of the guide.
I don`t know about you, brothers, but I am finding myself more and more wordless before the Lord. "O God, have your way with me, and use me, even me."
Yours, for Him alone
Alec
posted by Alec @ 13:34 0 Comments
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