1.10.11

October 2011

                Where has September gone?! I feel like I just sent you a newsletter last week, but yet so much has happened this last month! I am doing my prayer-room hours from 6am-9:30am and although I am the worst morning person on the planet, and it is a complete switch from the night-watch, I am enjoying it. Thank God for coffee! On the other hand, I am able to visit the night-watch for a few hours on the weekends, so I guess I am getting the best of both worlds.
                The other day, we had a class on intercession. I knew in my mind what intercession was, but I always had a hard time explaining it to others. The primary principle of intercession is simply to tell God what He tells us to tell Him. You might be thinking, “That doesn’t make any sense, why doesn’t God just do it Himself?” But the purpose of that is to partner with His heart to release power in certain areas (for example, the ending of abortion in our nation, or something as simple as praying for a friend). God speaks the word, it moves our heart, then we speak it back to Him and it moves His heart. A good picture of this is a father with his son. They are making a sandwich and the son wants to help open the jar of peanut butter. The father of course doesn’t need any help with that, but he wants to develop more of a relationship with his son, so he allows the son to put his little hand on top of his big hand while opening the jar. I love this picture, because it helps me remember why I do what I do in the prayer room every day. The Father has deep plans burning in His heart, and we all have the privilege of helping them come to pass.  I keep coming back to the truth that God moves at the sound of my voice. I know that my prayers are shifting and moving things, not by my own power, but because I am partnering with the desires of His heart. And I’ve seen the truth of this in different areas of my life. Oh, and one of the many plus sides to praying for others is that it causes multiplied blessings to return back on the life of the intercessor. (Luke 6:38)  I think that is one of my favorite parts of it all!
                In addition to this, most of my bible-study time has been focused on the Song of Solomon. It is quickly becoming my favorite book in the whole Bible. Mike Bickle(director of IHOP-KC) has an amazing verse-by-verse commentary on the Song of Solomon at www.mikebickle.org under the “Current Recommendations” section. 
                TCI is going well. We are spending our class time preparing for our trip to Detroit on November 4th-13th to do ministry and missions in the most condensed Islamic city in the nation (Dearborn, MI) and TheCall conference on November 11th. My newsletter next month will come a bit later than normal so I can tell you all that happened while we were there!
God bless you!
   

30.8.11

September 2011

           
I have finally arrived in Kansas City! The past couple weeks have been an awesome adventure already, meeting new people, seeing what my classes are like, and of course encountering God in the prayer room. As a first year student, most of my classes are focused on the four core points IHOP’s foundation is built on; Intimacy with Christ, the prayer movement, the end times, and being a Forerunner, like John the Baptist, in this day and age.  I am also taking the classes “A Life of Prayer” and “Foundations of Grace”.
But in addition to these basics, I also have some extras in my schedule because of my enrollment in TheCall Institute (TCI). These extras include a TCI practicum once a week with Lou Engle (co-founder of TheCall and founder of the  Bound4Life organization), a LIFE siege once a week where we actually stand in front of an abortion clinic for anywhere between one to two hours, wearing  red LIFE tape over our mouths, silently praying for the unborn. And finally, we will be travelling to Detroit for TheCall conference on November 11th.  TCI is a very small program with about 25 people, so I am excited about getting to know these individuals who will be walking beside with me for this year.
I want to thank you again for prayerfully and financially supporting me because I know I wouldn’t be able to do it without the provision God has given me through you.
God bless you


For more information on TheCall, TheCall Institute, or TheCall Detroit in November, go to www.thecall.com