Prepare to Pray for Revival

Prepare to Pray for Revival

Is there a prayer God cannot answer? In the book Highway of Our God, Catherine Booth sets forth the idea that there is prayer that God cannot answer. The reason she gives why God cannot answer certain prayer is that it would break His Law. She questions why some professing Christians say that they pray but get no answer to their prayers and wonders why they do not give up praying.
In a message Catherine spoke these words in reference to unproductive prayer, “This is a very God-dishonoring experience, and to account for it something must be wrong either with the supplicants or the Giver. Often I feel what a deeply dishonoring thing it is when Christians meet, as they do to pray for revival or for some specific thing in their churches and in their families, and it never comes.”

She continues, “It is not because God is asleep, or that His arm is shortened. It is not because He cannot pour out His Spirit and give us glorious times of refreshing. There is only one reason and that is His people ask amiss. They do not fulfill the conditions of prevailing prayer. They are not the characters to whom God has made promises to hear and answer prayer. The promises are made to those who keep His commandments, who walk in the light and have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who can make intercession for them. How can the Holy Spirit make intercession for a person when He is not in them?”

Let’s think about that and break it down. There are spiritual laws or principles regarding this amazing gift of prayer. First God hears and answers the prayer of the unsaved when they pray for salvation. That is a good thing for us because it opens a whole new level of praying to us. Prayer is communion with God and involves listening as well as speaking. For the Christian, prayer becomes our “vital breath our native air” for we enter God’s Presence through prayer.

Catherine Booth called effectual prayer a four linked chain that connects our souls with the heart of God. The first link is fellowship with Jesus. The second link is obedience to His commands. The third link is the intercession of the indwelling Spirit. The fourth is the exercise of prayer.

If you have experienced a season when God has not heard your prayers, consider it may be that one of the links has broken. First examine your heart and habits. According to the Psalmist if we hold sin in our hearts, God will not hear our prayer. Harbored sin can break the four linked chain. Enter God’s Presence in prayer and confess your sin. Ask God to reveal anything that does not please Him and repent of it. Then ask God to show you how to pray.

The Giver is ready to pour out His Holy Spirit on The Salvation Army, upon your corps, your community and your family. Ask God how you should pray and get ready for the answers!

A Shepherd’s Note

I like sheep and shepherds. Here is a note for some companion shepherds:

Dear Wooliam and Bahbera;

Congratulations on receiving your commissions and your first appointment. By now you have unpacked your boxes and found the ones containing your books and notes from Training School. If things went “normally” you have found that you have very little time to consult the collective wisdom found in those resources. After the appointment service, you may have had the opportunity to meet a few of your new congregation. Reality began to peek through the excitement of the commissioning process. You are now shepherds and these folk are just some of your sheep. Oh the prospects, oh the potential, and oh the problems you now assume. Oh the prayers you will pray.

You arrived at you new appointment. You checked out the quarters. You checked out the office. You looked at the corps schedule. You met with more of your people. You checked out the community. You grabbed the brief of appointment left by the officer you followed and reality hit you like a ton of bricks. You are shepherds of this corps and of this community. Oh the prayers you prayed.

I hope you are still praying. It is all a bit overwhelming at first. Yet, it so exciting. The reality of ministry is that while it may look glamorous, it is a lot of hard work. That is why you are called a shepherd. Now it begins to dawn on you that you are going to define just what kind of shepherd you will become. The choices are fairly simple. You can be a good shepherd. You can be a hireling. You can be a bad shepherd.

A good shepherd truly cares for the sheep and is willing to sacrifice for them. A hireling takes care of the sheep and is willing to sacrifice them. A bad shepherd cares about what the sheep can sacrifice for him or her.

A good shepherd follows the example of Jesus Christ who is the Good Shepherd. Do you remember that great description Jesus gave which is recorded in John 10? King David was literally a shepherd of sheep before he became a shepherd of a nation. His experience with sheep prepared him to take care of a nation. It also gave him insight into the kind of care God gives to us. Those thoughts are recorded in Psalm 23 for you to look at. A good shepherd remembers that she or he is a sheep of the Great Shepherd and gives the same kind of care to the flock that they expect from the Great Shepherd.

My prayer is that both of you will be good shepherds and not hirelings or bad shepherds. Good shepherds know their sheep. You have probably met most of the people who are connected with your corps as members of the Sunday congregation, members of the advisory board, and members of your corps programs and maybe even some of your donors. Because of the unique calling God has given to The Salvation Army, you must learn that your flock is also the neighborhood and community that you serve. Members of your flock sleep on the streets at night and some of them are lucky enough to have a car as their hotel. Members of your flock run out of resources before the end of the month and will come to you for groceries. Members of your flock are beaten, used and abused by the very people they trust the most. Members of your flock are little lambs that go to school without breakfast and if you do not get involved in your community those lambs may go without lunch if there is not a lunch program at the school. Members of your flock frequent bars and back allies to feed addictions and spending money that should have gone to feed and clothe their families. Members of your flock are in the local jails and prisons. Members of your flock are the forgotten people in hospitals, nursing homes and in their own homes held hostage by failing bodies. Members of your flock have aids and are dying in hospice centers without the chance to experience the love and grace of God because they have been deemed unfit because of their sin. Not every member of your flock will come to you. You must go to them.

The hireling says, “I am busy enough with those who come to me to worry about those who are out there.” The bad shepherd says, “If they have made choices that put them in harm’s way, they deserve what they get. Besides if they don’t support the corps, why should the corps support them?” The good shepherd finds a way.

The hireling and the bad shepherd say, “DHQ and the Community want programs. They expect us to keep a regular schedule of ministry. They expect us to work all week then provide them with entertainment on Sunday morning. Boy am I glad they don’t expect us to have Sunday night services and open air meetings any more. Now I can be home to watch TV with my family. Well, ok the family is at home watching TV in their own rooms or playing computer games, but we are home together.” The good shepherd finds balance between work, family and self. The good shepherd says, “These are the needs of the corps members and the community. What kind of programs can help meet those needs? How do I equip and enable members of my flock to give leadership to those programs?” The good shepherd remembers that God is our greatest resource and will supply what we need when we ask.

The hireling prays when in need. The bad shepherd prays when all else has failed. The good shepherd bathes everything in prayer and teaches others to pray. The good shepherd understands that most of the spiritual battles are won first in prayer and second in praise. The hireling and the bad shepherd rarely express sincere praise to the Great Shepherd because they don’t recognize grace when it comes. The hireling runs when things get too hard. The bad shepherd digs in and clings to the security of officership all the while sacrificing one sheep after another. The good shepherd gives knowing we can never out give God. Things may be hard, but God will see us through every battle. Prayer and praise are two of the good shepherd’s best weapons.

Well, I think my point is made. As you grow in grace and toil on as shepherds you will face many choices that will define your worth as shepherds. May Jesus who is the Great and Good Shepherd guard you and enable you to be like Him. May you always make the choices that will brand both of you as good shepherds. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Yours in Christ,

A Companion Shepherd for the Lord

Won by ONE

Can you remember the first person who led you to a believing faith in Jesus? I think it was my Mom. My earliest memories include her telling me about Jesus and praying with my older sister and me every night before we went to bed. I remember her taking us to Church and Sunday School. Then as life became more complicated for her she stopped going, but made sure we went. As a single mom trying to raise five children in the sixties, the best paying job she could find was to work as a bar tender for a female bar owner. She felt this “disqualified” her as a “respectable” church member. Then she got out of the habit of going. When she changed jobs and began to work as a manager of a convenience store, she worked seven days a week. Mom has had a lot of challenges to her faith. She has returned to her strong faith and is now one of my strongest prayer supporters.

The picture of my sister and me was take before we went to church one Easter. I was three and Arlene was four.

There were certain key points in my life when God used people to say and do just the right thing that helped me grow in my relationship with God as He worked out my salvation. That is why I am convinced many people contribute to bringing us to Jesus and so that we can experience Salvation. Salvation is a moment in time decision and a life time process. Jesus saves me and continues to save me every day of my life. This truth is hard for a finite mind to grasp much less explain. (Many theologians have argued the process and would disagree with the simple term I just used.)

There are a lot of people on my list: I praise God for Majors Dick and Martha Beaver, who were my first corps officers. They expressed the love of God to our family by being there for us. Because of their commitment to the Lord, I realized my call to be and officer. (They helped me learn that God could even use someone like me if I surrendered everything to Him.) I thank God for Majors Ron and Donna Wendt who were there for me when I needed to mature in my relationship with Jesus. Lt. Colonels Chris and Jani Buchanan helped mold me as a creative thinker. My prayer warrior friends bump into me and keep me on track. My husband’s self discipline and integrity have helped shape my core values. Writers, speakers and friends have contributed to the improvement of my understanding of spiritual things.

Some people have planted seeds, some have watered them, some have even added the fertilizer – many people have contributed to who I am today and who I am becoming. Daily I thank God for the faithful servants who have worked for Him by contributing to my life. Ultimately I thank God for the ONE who gave His life to win my salvation. I am won by ONE. He will work through me to Win others.

Everybody Should Know!

This chorus has been running through my mind. “Everybody should know. I’ve found such a wonderful Saviour that everybody should know.” Have you ever made a wonderful discovery that you cannot wait to share with others?

Jean Bauer, our new administrative assistant in the Women’s Department, asked me if I have ever heard of a product called Goo Gone. “Yes!” I replied enthusiastically, “It really works.” We talked about its good smell and other attributes that makes it a great product. This is not an advertisement for a product, just an example of casual conversation that leads to either a discovery or a conformation about a discovery. Maybe it will help serve as a reminder to talk about our wonderful Saviour.

The lead in could be something like, “Have you ever heard about Sin Gone or Joy Giver?” (Depending on the context of the relationship you have or the need of the person you are sharing with.) “Sin Gone, what is that?” “It is a wonderful discovery I have made and I think everyone should know. You see all of us, no matter how good we try to be have broken God’s law and that separates us from God. That is bad news. We try to have a clean record, but we mess up. The good news is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to take away our sin and give us a clean record so that we can have a relationship with God…”

Win one woman for Christ this year. Ask God to show you who you need to win and how to win them.

WOW – Women need support of other women

WOW – Women need support of other women

This summer has been a long drawn out process to do a simple remodel and a couple of jobs in our home. What should have taken three weeks has now melted into four months. Part of the problem is that I gave the construction workers a time line that they ignored. So when they did not make my first dead line to be finished before we left on vacation, we had to stop the work until we came home. Then I gave them another three weeks to start the next portion of the project and get it finished. They did not start on time and surprise, they were not finished and time. We had to stop the work for another week. They promised me they would be finished today. You guessed it; they are not finished and seem to have no intention of finishing. I had a melt down yesterday and two special women were just where I needed them when I needed them.

The first woman who was there for me was a fellow officer and friend. For some reason I began to cry when I was relating my frustrations of the morning which included a basic sponge bath because debris in the pipe goofed up our remaining shower. My friend new that I did not need her to fix my problem, I just needed a hug and a listening ear. The second woman who was there for me was my Mom. She called last night to see how things were going. When I told her about coming home to find my home messed up, my shower fixed but dirty from the workmen and the events that took place to lead to my second melt down she listened. She sympathized as I told her about coming home from a long day at work and scrubbing the shower and just as I finished rinsing it the shower clogged again. She listened without judgment as I told her about my temper tantrum. She cheered me on as I told her about calling up the contractor and giving him an ear full. She understood when I told her how close I came to using unsanctified language to get my point across. When I told her I fixed the shower myself and meekly asked Don to call the contractor back and let them know they did not need to make an emergency visit. Then she prayed with me and reminded me how much she loves me and that God loves me even more. Together we laughed about all the crazy things that have gone wrong with this simple job. Then she helped me to consider what God may want to teach me or help me see through this experience. One thing is that I celebrate how my Mom has come back to the Lord in the last fifteen years and how she has become a prayer warrior. Another thing is to celebrate all of the wonderful women God has brought into my life.

My husband is wonderful, yet being a man he is wired to respond differently to me when I share something. The first response is that he thinks I want him to fix the problem. After all if it is important enough for me to talk about it and use up his listening time, then I must want action. I have to preface my words with “just listen, don’t act” unless I want him to tell me how to solve my problem. His second response is to listen, but not to hear what I am saying. Sometimes he hears but does not listen. The women in my life are wired to listen and to hear what I mean to say or cannot say. They usually know when to hug, when to help and when to pray.

God designed women to need each other. Generally we women herd and huddle together while the men tend to go solo. It occurs to me that there are women out there who have no women friends who support them. Who can be there for them? I understand that often mothers with small children feel isolated and friendless. What if a mother with small children, decided to start an outreach ministry to other moms who had small children? She could go to her local fast food place that has a children’s playground and hang out there about once a week with her kids. She could begin to pray and ask God to bring other women to the same place and for boldness to approach them with conversation. She could begin to build friendships. Then that could lead to a group that wants to do a quick prayer time and pray for each other and their children. (Praying with their eyes open to watch the kids) Occasionally a short Bible devotion could be shared. The new friends could be invited to attend Women’s Sunday at the corps or other fun corps event. WOW! That is just one idea. Think of the possibilities. Consider for a moment, where to lonely women hang out? Go there and make friends for Jesus and when you have won them, you can win them! Parks, libraries, frozen food isle at the grocery store, coffee shops, and book stores are a few places you may find lonely people. Are any of these places your field to harvest? The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest and ask Him to send more workers.

Happy Birthday Eva!

Have you ever had the opportunity to take an adult to Disneyland for their first visit? Thanks to some wonderful friends of the Army, a birthday wish was made possible for Commissioner Eva Gaither. We picked Commissioners Gaither up at LAX on Tuesday, September 5. They were scheduled to be our guests for the Territorial Executive Councils and for the public Welcome of the Cadets. There was an unscheduled time for Saturday morning and Lt. Colonel Don Bell attempted to find out what they would like to do for that unscheduled time. They said that they would like to think about it.

Colonel Bell went on to tell them about where we were going to stay and about eating one of our meals in the Disney area. We discovered that they had not been to Disneyland and they were excited about eating at a Disney area restaurant. We made a phone call to our ever resourceful Martin Hunt, who made a contact with someone who had contacts. The arrangements were made for our National Leaders to tour Disneyland on Saturday morning. (We went along with them.)

We were met by our Disney Ambassadors, Becky and Alexia, who whisked us into the park and took care of us in such a wonderful way that we all felt loved. It was truly the happiest place on earth as we left our cares behind and entered into the experience. It was exciting to see two people enter the Disney experience for the first time. We did not think to bring a camera, so I took pictures with my phone. (Ah, modern technology!) Our ambassadors gave Commissioner Eva a button to wear that told the entire Disney cast that it was her birthday. They all took a moment to wish her a happy birthday. The Disney cast went out of their way to make her feel special.

The Disney train took us half way around the park and let us off at a ride called Small World. Have you been on the ride? You embark on the Small World cruise by getting into a small boat. The boat takes you around the world. People from every country and every tribe are represented, even Atlantis. The last world is where all of the races and people have come together, and they are wearing white. I always say that is heaven. We also joined them on a Jungle Cruise, a Pirate’s Cruise and a River Boat Cruise. We ended the day at Disney with lunch. Our ambassadors walked us to the car and gave Commissioner Eva a birthday gift. Before we got into the car, Commissioner Israel Gaither asked out ambassadors if we could have a word of prayer with them and they happily agreed. It was a happy time for us and we want to go back.

I hope every Women’s Ministries group and every corps is like Disneyland. What is that? Yes, you read it right. What if every corps and every WM group was a place that radiated the joy of the Lord in such a way that once someone visits they want to come back? What if every corps and every WM group was a place that we wanted to bring new people because we knew it would be a great experience for them? What if every soldier and every member of our WM groups felt like “cast members” who work together to help their visitors and fellow cast members feel the joy of the Lord’s Presence?

At the Welcome of the Cadets Commissioner Gaither gave a call to come forward to pray. People responded and I leaned over to Don and said, this is the “Holiest Place on Earth” right now. What a wonderful day! I wish you could have been there!

WOW Reports

WOW Initiative reports are coming in from the divisions and they look exciting. September launches intensive prayer times for the WOW Initiative. Tuesday, September 19, THQ will use our chapel time to pray for the territory’s WOW Initiative. The Southwest Division will have WM rallies through out the division to introduce the WOW Initiative and “rally” the women to Win Other Women for the Kingdom of God, The Salvation Army and for Women’s Ministries. All ten divisions will have a session devoted to WOW at their October Officers’ Councils. Hawaii is launching its “Women of Worth” theme for the first quarter of the new program year. Golden State has already met with their Women’s Commission to make plans for their January Women’s Retreat. Sierra del Mar has made plans for a series of rallies that will occur this spring as they Bring Other Women to the planned events. Alaska is making plans to enable every corps in the division to be represented at the WOW Luncheon in June. Every division has made plans for the traveling “prayer pots” to be at every corps in the division for a week in the new program year. (We will saturate this WOW Initiative and WOW Luncheon in prayer!)

Please send the blog link to your friends so that they can join the WOW Initiative as prayer warriors and to challenge them to Win One Woman for Christ in this next year.

What Have I Accomplished?

It happened again. I was in the middle of my prayer time and lifting up names of family and friends who are either unsaved or not in fellowship with God. Some of these I have been praying for a long time. The thought occurred to me, “what difference has my prayers and witnessing made?” Then my mind wandered as I started to question what I have accomplished in my life at all. Sure I have been an officer for 29 years, but what lasting changes have occurred as a result of my ministry. Have I had any impact for the Kingdom of God? My thoughts began to spiral downward because I did not feel that I could point to any one accomplishment. Then God intervened and reminded me that what I have accomplished for His Kingdom is not as important as what He has accomplished through me. Some of those accomplishments, I may never remember or even know. I found comfort in that truth. I also found a new energy to serve God as His chosen vessel. Trust and obey and let God worry about the results. At least for another day.

Recapturing the Awe

Recapturing the Awe

How is your prayer life? I just read a great article found in the September/October issue of the Discipleship Journal titled Return to Awe and written by Tim Muehlhoff. The subtitle is “Invigorate your prayers with a focus on God’s majesty. While attending a prayer conference he heard the speaker say, “I’m going to ask God to show up today” as they were invited to join the speaker in prayer, the writer caught himself wishing that his latte was a little warmer and noticing that a girl was already starting to go to sleep. The writer kept wondering about the speaker’s bold request for God to “show up.” He wondered if God ever did show up.

As I read the opening of the article, I asked myself, “Did the casual approach of many of those attending this prayer seminar prevent God from showing up in their lives or perhaps even the whole seminar?” If we really don’t expect God to show up, how can we expect Him to show up? If we don’t respect the Glorious Presence of God enough to prepare ourselves for this awesome encounter, is it any wonder that we don’t experience the “Wonder and Awe” of His Presence? When God met with the Israelites in the wilderness, He told Moses to instruct the people to wash themselves (baptize or immerse themselves in cleansing water-preferably running water), put on clean clothing and prepare to meet with God. We are so familiar with God, our Father, Creator, Maker, Savior, and Friend that we forget that He is the Glorious, Awesome God, Ruler of all creation.

Have we been too long at ease to experience the awe? The writer of this article concludes that it is possible to recapture the awe. First you must prepare yourself. If you were going to get to meet with some important person like the President or the Queen, you would prepare yourself. Why would you not prepare yourself to meet with God? Yet think back to last Sunday or the last time you had your devotions. Did you really expect to meet with God? How did you prepare your mind, heart and body for this glorious meeting? I think of married people. When we were dating our spouses before marriage, we used to prepare ourselves. We would feel a certain thrill of being in their presence. Now that we are married and committed we are familiar with our spouse and can take them for granted. My husband and I try to practice at least once a day the thrill of each others presence. We take the time to look at each other, really look to see each other. Then we say, “I love you.” I try to look at Don at different times of the day and remind myself of all he does for me and how much I love him. It helps me keep the awe of romance alive.

If you want to recapture the awe of God, stop before you pray and just look at Him through the eyes of your spirit. Think of who He is and then tell Him you love him.

Linger in that Awesome Presence for a while and enjoy the blessing of just being with God.

Now that is a WOW experience! He is the Wonder of Wonders. He is the Wonderful Omnipresent Word and He is in love with you!

The photo is a watercolor version of a photo by Lorna Mac Glashan.