Prayer Summary for Thursday, April 30, 2015

Morning prayer began with worship

Then Pastor Ray shared…

The scripture I had this morning was Acts 2, “when suddenly there came…” What came? “…a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast and it filled the whole house in which there were sitting.” I spent some time thinking about where the sound came from and how people were drawn to it. In the New Testament, at least 60 or more times it talks about sound or wind. And only one time it’s translated the way it’s translated here in Acts 2 as “rushing.” Some of the other translations are “bring forth,” “carry or bear.” This scripture really implies that the noise, the sound, the rushing of that mighty wind came from where? It came from heaven. To where? Earth. That was the great promise of the Father when they were told to go to the upper room and wait. When you think about it, it’s the most dramatic invasion from Heaven. It transformed the whole city. How about right now? What about a sound from heaven that would come into the cities and transform them? People were drawn. They heard the 120 out in the street praying in other tongues, praying in different languages. But they weren’t drawn by the tongues. They were drawn by the sound! And that’s when they heard the 120 speaking in other tongues. How did that happen? At that time, there was no social media and no handbills sent out.

Sandy and I were just in France and we were staying in an apartment in the city. That’s what we like to do. We joke about it with Pastor Marie and her sister that when we’re there, we pretend we’re living there. And if you live in a European city, you don’t go get in your car and go to the market. Most times, you don’t have a car. If you go to the market, you take a hike. If you’re blessed, your apartment is furnished with a little cart to fill up. Or if you want to go to the bakery for a croissant, you take a walk to get it. We had a sitting room that had double French windows and they opened out toward the street. We could see all the activity. Every morning when I got up, I could see all the people and the activity, and the teachers are with the children. I was thinking about how that sound at 9 o’clock in the morning when everyone was getting ready to do what they’re going to do for the day, how they were drawn to the 120 at the upper room. The Bible makes it clear that the whole city was drawn to that place. They dropped everything.

That’s what I’m saying… what about now in these days in the cities? If and when the sound from Heaven would come and penetrate the hearts. The days just before that sound came, the people had put Jesus on the cross and now they’re drawn to the 120 and the first thing they want to know is “How can we be saved?” That’s when Peter went from hiding to standing up boldly declaring before the people. Three thousand were saved on that day. Wow! What a shift in a city in the people. The air was filled with a sound that had never entered the earth before. Rushing… mighty… wind. Have you ever tried to visualize what that would be like? When suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing of a violent tempest blast and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. But it filled the city. It drew the hearts of the people and it opened up their ears and hearts to Him. So they were drawn to Him. That’s what we need in the earth these days.

Yesterday, we were praying at noon in here and we were talking about how we’re called together corporately. We all have an important part. We’re all individuals but we’re all called together. So we were talking about that in meetings and any time we’re joined together, it’s not just one big “ME” or one big “YOU.” It’s all of us together as we bring our supply. We were going over that and the Spirit reminded me that individually each one of us is so important. He loved us so much that He sent His Son. We’re very important. He loves us. But He set it up that it’s even more critical that we’re joined up. That we’re not just an individual out somewhere trying to make it through. We get connected when we get in the body. He just showed me how much more critical and important it is for people to be joined up to the local church and get in their places, the positions they’re called to. Whatever that might be. And that’s the way He created our lives to function where we can be more caring about others than we are about ourselves. Just giving out the power of the Holy Spirit. Laying hands on people. Praying for people to be healed. Encouraging people. This is nothing new but what was emphasized to me is the importance of being an individual but being connected together in the body of Christ. Each one of us is equally important. And we all do our parts. Guess what? We’re going somewhere to happen. We’re blessed!

I’m going to have Mike our camera man share something this morning that he experienced here in the chapel a couple weeks ago. He’s on the camera right now but he’ll be coming up here after he locks the camera down.

Mike shared…

It was about a month ago, we were singing in the spirit and praying for about 15 or 20 minutes. I was back there praying and all of a sudden out of nowhere, so loud, I heard the blowing of a ram’s horn. I actually looked up. Everything in here just kind of went away and all I heard was that horn blast. I heard it for a good two or three seconds and then it went away. But it made me realize that when we’re in here praying in the spirit that there are sounds in heaven that we don’t even know are going on. We just hear what we hear in the natural but there are sounds of power and victory and marching and we’re taking over places of darkness. Ever since that, now when we pray in the spirit I’m kind of waiting to hear…

Ray shared…

I did a small, intimate wedding one time where someone at the end of the wedding blasted the shofar. I just about ran out of the room! It was intense. But it was a celebration kind of thing. I looked up a couple things like when there is a shofar sound. A lot of times, it was before war and it would rally the troops for action or call the people together for prayer. It’s described almost like an air raid siren. That’s how brother Mike said it was; it was a sound for a couple seconds that he heard by the spirit. It can alert us to danger. That’s the way it was. For us, for believers, the blast represents kind of like a shout of victory. That’s the way I look at it. I saw this in Numbers 10:9; it says when you go to war in your land… Whose land? Yours. Mine. Our land. The things we’ve been called to declare, take authority over. When you go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresses you, blow an alarm with a trumpet that you may be remembered before the Lord your God and you shall be saved from your enemies. In light of everything else, we have a sound. We have a sound! I’m not necessarily looking for the sound of a shofar. I’m just looking for a sound. A sound from Heaven. It doesn’t matter to me what that sound might be. That sound could be crying. Sometimes silence is a sound. I read an email yesterday from England that came because of the meetings that we had in France but this particular man said that when the meeting opened and this young lady got up to sing, as soon as she hit the first note, he sensed the anointing and the presence on those words. That set him up for the rest of the meetings. The anointing. That’s what we’re looking for, isn’t it? Whatever it is that it would be the anointing of the Holy Spirit directed by Him. When I was telling Erika about that this morning, she reminded me of something else that took place.

Erika shared…

Years ago, Rodney Howard-Browne was in a meeting in the Carpenters’ church. There was probably several thousand people there. They were worshiping and suddenly, numbers of people could hear the sounds of angels singing and it went on for a lengthy period of time. Probably ten minutes. Later, we got our hands on the video and watched it over and over and over again. Nobody was speaking. People were just laid out and you could hear this angelic choir. Most amazing. The presence of the Lord is with us all the time, but we’re looking for manifestations of God Himself in a variety of ways and means which will by the Holy Spirit apprehend men. Cause them to stop in their tracks and acknowledge Him in some way. Now as Pastor Ray said, we don’t want to put our human limitations on it. God Himself through sound created the heavens and the earth through the spoken word. He brought into existence the very creation in which we live. So today in order to answer the cry of humanity and the desire of the Father’s heart that all men would be saved, that everyone would have the opportunity to know that Jesus paid the price for their sin, there must come some sounds. Sounds from heaven. Sounds from God Himself. Sounds from the Church of the living God. Sounds that exceed any man’s comprehension but sounds that will pierce and penetrate a society that is depraved and needing a Savior.

Erika prayed…

So, Father, we’re just highlighting this to you today. There are so many ways that we could pray and things we could say. But, Father, we’re looking today at the almighty unlimited God, the self-existent One who can proclaim Yourself in any way, who can display Yourself in any way. It would be in accordance with the need of the day, so, Father, we’re lifting our voices—which is a sound—up unto You in unutterable languages. For we know not what to pray but You’ve given us the Holy Spirit to help us to pray and express in a supernatural way that which bears witness with our hearts about some things that must come forth today. We’re not trying to dictate to You, Father, how it should be, but we’ve seen it in the Word. We’ve experienced it naturally. We’ve read about things. We may have heard some things ourselves and they’ve marked us. They’ve marked our spirits. They’ve marked some cities and nations.

Our eyes are upon You
We yield to the Holy Spirit and pray about these things
Maybe it would be a cry in a different way
A piercing that goes beyond even the sounds of ears but penetrates the spirit to bring them near to You
A day in which a new sound must be played
There must be an ascendency of the sounds from heaven and the church of the living God
They must be amplified
We hear and speak some sounds
Sounds that override the clutter and clamor and noise of the world’s system
Apostolic—taking territory as we go
Sounds that would break and sounds that would take
Sounds to heal and sounds to make kneel
Sounds from heaven—restoring sounds, renewing sounds, equipping sounds
Sounds that call, sounds that strengthen
Sounds that loose!
Powerful sounds, sounds of power and anointing
Sounds that make room and bring forth in advance
Sounds of victory and overcoming
Sounds that repair and that prepare
Sounds that awaken, that bring an alert, that open up the ears, and make a way
Open, pierce, penetrate
Sounds that bring light
Miracle sounds, sounds of change, sounds of turning and breakthroughs and ways to go

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