Knowing Jesus…

Right now, John Weisman is sharing about the growing desire on our hearts to know and encounter the reality of Jesus.

Worship, Prayer, Fasting…Live

We are here and the worship team from our host church,1st Baptist Church, here in Ellwood City, PA is leading us in worship… Holy, Holy, Holy. God we bless Your name.

Day 7 – Saturday

Scripture Reading: Rev. 2:4-5
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Prayer Focus: Return to Our First Love & Revival
This is so key. If we see abortion overthrown, same sex marriage voted down, “morality” restored in America and we miss Jesus, then we have nothing. Jesus is the treasure our hearts our searching for. We can only be satisfied in Him.
• Crown Jesus King – We acknowledge that our hope does not rest on the platform of any political party, nor on the shoulders of any candidate, our hope is in Jesus. We crown Jesus King and put our trust in Him for real transformation.
• Change in the Atmosphere – As ambassadors of the King and His Kingdom, we are privileged to bring the atmosphere of heaven with us. God is releasing creativity into His people in every sector as they focus to be the change in the atmosphere. Pray for excellence to rest upon key kingdom influencers to change the way people look at family, religion, education, business & finance, the arts & entertainment, government, and science and technology.
• Kingdom Come – As the atmosphere changes, we are believing for frequent “in breaks” of the Kingdom where people witness the reality of God’s kingdom come and will being done, on earth as it is in heaven. Let’s begin to move into agreement with heaven and tolerate on this earth, only what is present in heaven.
• Breakthrough – Without a doubt, there is coming a day, when we will be living in a realm of breakthrough that seems unimaginable today. But that day is coming, and is not far off for a generation that will possess the promises of God. It is time to move in expectation. Our day demands it. We have prayed too long without seeing breakthrough. It is time to step into tomorrow and pull it into today. No more cowering to cancer, no more fear financial ruin, no more, No More, NO MORE. Our God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He is able to do exceedingly above what we can ask or think. Let’s focus our prayers on being the bride that is ready for breakthrough and living in a way that shows we will be good stewards of that breakthrough power.

Day 6 – Friday

Scripture Reading: Is:35:8-10
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
The excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“ Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Prayer Focus:Return to Destiny
In the first chapter of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah makes a stunning observation. “…She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome…” (Lam. 1:9) This passage applies to the lives of individuals, but it is specifically speaking about Jerusalem. The city the God had set aside as His choice. “The City of God” suffered a tremendous collapse because she failed to keep her eyes on the destiny that God had intended for her. My heart breaks when I consider the prospect of a great collapse in our nation, but my hope is in the faithful love of God to call His people to return to Him. As we pray for our nation today, let us pray for a “return to destiny”.
• Raising a Generation of Revivalist – It is time for a generation to be raised up with revival in mind. That they are taught and trained from their childhood about the ways of the Lord. It is time for fathers and mothers to realize their assignment as spiritual nurturers that are to play an active roll in raising kids up for God’s purposes. I believe that there is a generation that will see and recognize the fullness of God’s glory on the earth. Let’s run after God and blaze a trail that will allow those who follow us to go farther than we have gone. Let’s believe that there is a level of increase that will allow the next generation to move forward into their destiny with greater momentum that we have thought possible.
• Campus Revival – Across the nation, campuses are catching fire. Grade Schools, High Schools, Community Colleges and Universities all ready to ignite for the King. College students are the most “unchurched” group in America, yet these students are hungry for something more than what they have known. Let us give ourselves to seeing prayer raised up over every campus in America, and to see revival fires burn. – Father, we pray for revival to break forth on every campus in this country. Transform halls of learning into apostolic training centers. We pray for student leaders to be raised up from every region of this nation, and from every nation on the planet. Raise up fathers and mothers who will encourage, protect, nurture and release these student leaders to light the world on fire.
• To the nations – America has historically been a missions sending nation. In this day, it would be tragic to walk away from that portion of our destiny. We need to see leaders raised up who will act as agents of transformation here in this nation, but we must also pray that our quive will be filled with excellent arrows ready to be shot out into the nations. God, bring a revival to this nation that will result in the greatest missions movement in history. Let the gospel of Your kingdom flow forth to every nation, tribe and tongue. God, we say “Yes” to the harvest. We lift up our eyes and say “Now is the time for us to shine…” Here in America, and to the nations. God end abortion, and send our seed to carry Your glory to the ends of the earth.

Day 5 – Thursday

Scripture Reading: Is:35:5-7
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
The excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“ Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Prayer Focus:Return to Justice
The Lord loves justice and continually in His word He says He is against those who pervert it. There are strong warnings to those “who call evil good” and we have become a nation that has embraced evil and called it “human rights”. God have mercy on us. How do we correct this injustice, by returning to the One whose throne is just. It begins with a return to the real gospel of the King
• Return to the Gospel of Jesus – We have made the gospel about what happens when we die, about heaven or hell, but the gospel Jesus preached was the good news that He had brought His kingdom with Him. That things would be different now. That there was complete redemption through Himself to the Father. It was a gospel of power and affected change now. Paul said it was like dynamite. It changed things. Father, forgive us for turning Your powerful good news into a set of spiritual laws. Forgive us for making a love relationship into a legal document. Reveal the gospel of Jesus to us, that we would daily drink of Your salvation.
• Return to the Poor – “He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.” Deut 10:18 The heart of God is for the poor and broken. Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor, but yet the church so often feels the need to protect God from the poor. It is an illogical fear to need to protect God from the needy, but yet it is our reason for rejecting the poor. God, forgive us for our unbelief and for not taking care of the poor the way you instructed us to. Give us a heart like Yours. A heart for redemption and deliverance. A heart that does not judge a man based on his need. give us the courage to step into Your abundance, so that we can demonstrate that in You, there is always enough. Lead us to the poor, and use our hands to meet their needs.
• Return to Love & Unity – Father, we acknowledge that Your plan was for us to be known as Your Son’s disciples by the way we love each other. Instead we are most known for our division. heal our brokenness. Forgive us for our prejudice. Father, erase the denominationalism in Your church. Forgive us for racism and elitism. May our hearts be focused on being one with You and our brothers and sisters. Make us one, Lord. Let the power and synergy of the Church arise to meet the need of our day. We know that Your Spirit is mighty, we pray that by our love and unity, Your Spirit would be released to transform the kingdoms of this world into Your Kingdom, O God.

Day 4 – Wednesday

Scripture Reading: Is:35:1-4
Prayer Focus:Return to Purity & Character & Day of Prayer for World Economies
One of our country’s greatest needs is to move away from a spiritual condition that was found at the end of the book of Judges. The last verse of the book says:In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Relativism is the norm for a generation, and the ‘moral fiber’ of our nation is lacking. The need is not for behavior modification, but for true purity to be rediscovered. This can only happen through encountering Christ and putting on His righteousness. As a prayer focus, a return to purity and character is primarily a spiritual one.
• Spiritual Purity – In Matthew 5:8, Jesus said “Blessed are the pure in heart,For they shall see God”. Purity is a matter of the heart. Proverbs 4:23 says ” Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” God, Come pour out purity on Your people. That what we say, and how we live would reflect the perfect purity of Your heart. Give us the courage to live life after Your Spirit instead of being driven by our fleshly desires. God cause our nation to see. Cause our nation to return to a place of spiritual purity so we can see. We repent for compromise. Now is the time for us to shine as a bright city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Restore our light, to a pure church that will not hide it under a bushel.
• Sexual Purity – As we deal with spiritual purity, give us the authority to restore sexual purity in our culture. That we would not seek to exploit others, or to defraud ourselves by giving our affections to sexual perversion. God, raise up men and women of purity that will reject the unspoken acceptance of pornography among Your people. Lord, reveal the truth about the emptiness that trying to use sex as a way of bringing value brings. May we not try to find value in being sexually desired, but rather in the knowledge that You have a Holy desire that burns for us. God, we cry out for a national return to sexual purity. We dream of a culture where men protect women sexually, and that women are honored. Forgive us for walking in lust and breaking down what you intended “intimacy” to be, both spiritually and sexually. Forgive us for tolerating sexual perversion in Your church. Deliver us from our perversion. Reverse the trend. We turn back to You as Creator, and we worship You and not Your creation. Hold back the flood of homosexuality and bi-sexual experimentation that a generation sees as normal. Have mercy and grant us a full return to You.
• Integrity of Heart – God, we want our hearts to be filled with a holy substance that is thick and dense with faith and purity. Restore real integrity to Your people. We say “Enough, Enough, Enough”. We know that we can no longer lower Your standard to our level, but we must rise up, and we must raise our children up to walk “Uprightly” and humbly with You. We long for the church to be filled with breakthrough power, and to truly re-present You on this earth. Give us the excellent character to properly steward such things. Let us be known as Daniel and his friends, as men and women full of excellence and integrity. God, we ask you to come on a generation and raise up men and women of righteousness that will walk according to Your heart. Let there be Enoch’s released, who are known for pleasing God. We hear You calling for integrity in our marriages and finances, for humility and servants heart that demand we walk not after the basic principles of this world, but after the heart of heaven. We say “Yes” to You. Give us the courage and strength to carry this out.

IMPORTANT WORD FROM CINDY JACOBS!

From Stephen Strang’s column in the November 2008 issue of Charisma, quoting Cindy Jacobs, co-founder of Generals International:

“And the Lord says: ‘I am answering your prayers and have begun the cleansing of Wall Street, exposing the wickedness and greed in high places. Pray now, and I will begin to give the leaders of the nation wisdom on how to revamp and reverse the debtor system currently in place. This is a course correction. If you do not pray at this time, you will miss your day of visitation and the economy will collapse, causing a ripple effect that will sweep the nations with a major tsunami wave.
‘This wave will begin to touch the ground, as even the harvests of the world will be affected. Food shortages, hyperinflation, and other sorrows, especially affecting the poor, will take place.
“However,’ the Lord says, “if my people respond and fall on their face and cry out at this time with a mighty cry, I will hear them and heal their lands.
“Hear, O nations of the earth! Respond with weeping and travail and pray for the stock markets and economic systems. Pray for your leaders as well, for the earth is in the throes of a deep shaking at this moment, for the systems of the earth must be reformed.
“Do not despair and think that I cannot heal — that I will not hear your crying to Me from My throne in heaven. My ear is carefully listening for your sound so I will reverse the curse and bring a blessing upon your lands.”

Click here to go to Generals International for Info about Global Day of Prayer for Economics

Day 3 – Tuesday

Scripture Reading: Ez 37:11-14
Prayer Focus: Prodigals Return – the word prodigal comes from the words drive away & squander. I think it is significant in our prayers for the the prodigals to return to acknowledge that much of the reason that the prodigals have left the Father’s table is due to the fact they feel driven away. We need to pray and make sure our hearts are aligned with the Father’s heart and not the elder brothers. Let’s pray for these three aspect in the return of prodigal sons and daughters.
• Healing of the brokenness – Prodigals experience brokenness and disconnect from God as they wander away. Let’s pray for the Lord to move in a sovereign way in bringing healing to old wounds. Let’s pray for encounters of Love that would soften hearts. That even in the midst of riotous living, God would being to come and reveal Himself and heal hearts.
• Clarity of Vision – Let’s pray for “pigpen encounters”, where prodigals realize the emptiness that living apart from the Father brings. Let’s pray for the ears of prodigals to hear the call of the Father to come home.
• Celebration in the Church – Pray and repent on behalf of the church for allowing prodigals to feel unwanted and undeserving of a place in the Father’s house. We must stand against judgment and a religious spirit, and celebrate with the Father at the return of each and every prodigal.

“A Culture of Life” in Death Valley

In the current election cycle, we are hearing about a “culture of life”. This is the new catch phrase that serves the old “pro-life” or “anti-abortion” crowd. I say yes to to this new life culture, but I find the phrase sounds funny to me. After all, we as a country have lived with legalized murder for 35 years now. Over 50,000,000 Americans have been killed since the Supreme Court passed down their ruling in Roe v. Wade, and abortion is now a seemingly logical and responsible choice for those who find themselves in an unwanted pregnancy. So it sounds funny when I hear political candidates speaking about a “culture of life”. Maybe not funny, but definitely foreign.

Recently I have been reading Ezekiel 37 and the vision of the dry bones. (It is actually quite disturbing when you visualize it.) The prophet is led by the Lord into a valley full of very dry bones. The Lord asks the prophet a simple question, “Can these bones live?” The prophet does not respond with a faith-filled “yes”, but rather he replies by saying, “You alone know.”

In America today, we face a valley of death, and it is more than just the abortion issue. It is an absence of life in so many key areas of our culture. Our personal freedoms have purchased the right for us to indulge in whatever pleases self, and even “Joe 6-pack” can tell you that we have developed some unhealthy taste in life.

So what is our response as we hear the Spirit say “Can these bones live?” As sure as I could say, “You alone know”, I know that God is looking for those who are willing to say “Yes. These bones will live.” God is calling His people to return to Him. There is a heavenly whistle in the wind, and as our spiritual ears catch the sound of His call, we must run to Him. We must run and we must call others to come as well.

We must stand in the midst of a culture of death and call to the four winds for the life and breathe of God to come. We must not be distracted by the shaking and by the rattling of the bones being violently put back together. We must not be content to see the body receive sinews, flesh and skin. we must stand and prophesy until the life of God comes and an army arises.

One more thing, at the end of the dry bones encounter, God talks about how he “opens the graves” that the people would know He was God. I just have to say that there is no culture of life, where there is no hope for resurrection. We need to stop honoring death and press into resurrection life in our culture.

Day 2 – Monday

Scripture Reading: Ez 37:7-10
Prayer Focus: Righteousness
• God’s plum line – That we will cease from doing what is right in our own eyes, and allow the standard of God’s heart to become our target. The righteousness of God is only found in Christ and in humbly walking in the Spirit.
• Ending of Abortion – Over 50,000,000 babies have been legally murdered since 1973. Our “Freedom to Choose” has led to over 4,000 Americans being put to death each day. That is more than the total number of deaths on 9/11 and close to the number of deaths in the war on Iraq.
“Jesus, I plead Your blood, over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, End Abortion, Send Revival to America.”
Lou\'s Prayer
Amazing \'Prayers for Justice\' from bound4life.com
• Protection of Marriage - 3 states already grant same-sex marriages, a measure that I believe cuts at the family in an unprecedented way. Legalizing same-sex marriage seems to remove restraints that only allow the deception that feeds the homosexual life-style to flow forth unobstructed. On November 4th, voters in California will vote on Proposition 8, the first time voters have been given a chance to voice their views on the issue.
God, we pray for the institution of the family to be protected. God we pray for freedom for the homosexual, and that the love of Your Son, Jesus would be poured out. Forgive the church for not speaking the truth in love, but rather by distorting the truth through hate. God, we agree with You that marriage is between one man and one woman for life, and ask that Your Spirit be poured out in California and that marriage would be protected. God, restore the family in our nation, that we would be strong and that are children would have good foundations.