PRAY CENTRAL
FLORIDA
Dear
Fellow Prayer Warrior, July, 2008
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. “TheCall” DC is coming in August, please see Current Prayer Events for details. I
apologize for not putting out a June newsletter and Prayer Wall but my Mom went
to be with the Lord and my kids and I were with her in North Carolina for the
last few weeks of her life. What a blessing to be with someone who knows they
are going to heaven. She was at peace and didn’t want the doctors to delay her
promotion. At her memorial service we shared stories about how God had touched
many people’s lives through my Mom and we had a joyous time of celebrating her
life.
Update on the Lakeland Healing
Revival
The
Lakeland Healing Revival with Todd Bentley is still going on but will begin
traveling around the world after August 23rd. Every single night many people
are healed of all kinds of sicknesses. Multitudes have been saved and many have
been delivered of various things. I was watching it on the internet and trying
to write this newsletter but I kept being drawn away to worship. Then they
shared a testimony from a church that had been watching the revival together.
They sent a missions team to Guatemala and while the
team was in a small village of 90 people a girl in the village died. The team
prayed over the girl and she was raised from the dead. Then the whole village
listened to the preaching and the whole village got saved. Todd Bentley then
shared a brief salvation message and stressed that salvation is not saying “the
sinners prayer” but it is repenting from a life of sin
and committing one’s life to the lordship of Jesus Christ. After that I watched
Todd water baptize people in a big above ground swimming
pool they set up under the tent. It was the wildest baptism service I have ever
seen with people shaking under the power of God and coming up shouting and
being set free. Several whole families got baptized together like in the book
of Acts. He baptized people one at a time for over an hour, hearing their
testimony and profession of faith, and then they went off the air with
thousands in line to be baptized and Todd still going strong. You can check it
out for yourself on GodTV (us.god.tv)
and Todd’s web site - www.freshfire.ca from
7:00 p.m. until 11:00 or sometimes later each and every night. God.tv sometimes broadcasts it at different times – check
their schedule online. They also have previous days
meetings on demand. People are calling in and e-mailing that they are being
healed as they participate from their homes. For the latest information and
Todd’s schedule go to his web site - www.freshfire.ca.
The meetings are now held in an air-conditioned tent with room for 10,000
visitors at the Lakeland Sun ‘N Fun campground at Linder Regional Airport, 4175
Medulla Rd. Lakeland.
Ongoing
Prayer Themes - please include some of these when you pray for the city -
An increase in the manifestation of God’s supernatural
power – healings, signs, wonders
Wisdom and blessing for our president and other
national, state and local elected officials
God's redemptive purposes to be fulfilled in Central
Florida
Unity of the Body of Christ and purity in the Body and
in relationships between leaders
Vision Orlando, Space Coast Prayer Network and Deland
pastors
The scourge of abortion to be removed from our city
Christians to tithe and give offerings so “the devourer”
will be rebuked in our city
Homeland security
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
See page 2 for Current Prayer Events
An E-mail version of this
newsletter (with more stuff!) is also available - send me an E-mail to sign up.
See this newsletter on the web at www.christiansnet.com/praycf/praycf.htm.
George Kern, 405 East Jersey St., Orlando, FL 32806,
407-245-1132, praycf@juno.com
PRAY CENTRAL
FLORIDA
Page 2 July,
2008
Verify event details with the
contact person or web site before attending. Listing does not necessarily imply
endorsement by Pray Central Florida. For more
events see the Z88.3 web site - http://zradio.org.
July 25th – Awaken the Bride Service. Join this City wide worship rally
with intense worship led by Corey Asbury from IHOP-KC, a passionate
message, a time of intercession for central Florida & prayer
ministry for the sick. Orlando House of Prayer, 495 W. Silver Star Rd., Ocoee. (407) 877-5970.
August 16th
– The Call DC - TheCall
is a solemn assembly-a gathering of all ages, races and denominations. The 12
hours of TheCall are spent primarily before the Lord
in the place of repentance, prayer, and worship. Location: DC National Mall.
Info: www.TheCall.com. Broadcast
live on God.tv (us.god.tv).
Daily – various times
– Orlando House of Prayer - get a
taste of IHOP without having to fly to Kansas City. Location: 495 W. Silver Star Rd., Ocoee. Web site for info and
schedule: www.worshiphouseofprayer.com,
or call 407.877.5970, ext. 201.
Weekdays –
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – all day worship and prayer hosted by Love of Christ Ministries (Mack McCambridge). Location: Faith World church, Orlando. Call
407-292-0966 for info.
Tuesdays – 6:00 a.m. - Sanford
Ministerial Fellowship. Info:
Jeff Krall - 407-322-9222, jmkrall@bellsouth.net.
Tuesday and Friday
mornings – Full Gospel Businessmen’s
Fellowship.
Fellowship and bible study breakfasts and monthly evening meeting. Contact Joseph Shaia for info -
407/682-3216.
Tuesday
evenings - 6:00 p.m. – Community Healing & Prayer Service. All Saints Church, 338 East
Lyman Av. Winter Park.
Call 407-647-3413 for info. www.allsaintswp.com.
Tuesday evenings - 7:00 p.m. - Servants of the Most High and
Intercessory Prayer Network of Central Florida. Prayer and fellowship in the Longwood area. For info, call Maureen at 407-332-7286 or
e-mail IPNCF@ruii.org.
Second Tuesday
– 7:00 p.m. – Team Resource –
fellowship of leaders of front-line ministries. Normally meets at Calvary
Assembly, free dinner provided. Michael.Radka@wellcare.com.
Thursday
Evenings – 7:30 p.m. Oviedo Healing
Rooms - Healing in the Name of
JESUS through the Power of GOD's Presence and Prayer. 145 W. Broadway Blvd., Oviedo. Call 407-529-7111 for
appointment (suggested but not necessary) www.OviedoHealingRoom.com.
Friday
evenings – 7:30 p.m. – International Concert of Prayer – prayer for
Orlando, USA & the world. At Greaterlife Church in
Oviedo, call Pastor Jeff Good for information at 407-365-5950.
Saturday mornings – Aftercare Network Meeting. Networking ex-inmates
and Aftercare Providers. Call Chaplain Fleeks
at 407-529-7500.
First Saturday of month - Prayer
for Muslims - 10:00 a.m.-Noon, Orlando. Peter Shadid
- 240-6272.
Peter has a team reaching Muslims in
Kissimmee and can train people for outreach in Orlando.
Second
Saturday of month – 9:30 a.m. - KNEC (Kingdom Network Empowering
Communities) –Orlando. Contact: Bishop Helligar –
407-299-6677.
Second and Third
Saturdays – 5:00 a.m. City-wide Prayer
Meeting. Hampton
Inn at 7448 International Drive, Orlando. Sponsor: Pastor Mary Norman,
321-276-5352.
Third Saturday of month – Prayer
for the Persecuted Church. Longwood. Email
amystrang@aol.com.
Daily - Lighthouse Report (with Steve Douglass) – on the web at www.lighthousereport.com
Pray
Central Florida – Praying for Central Florida and encouraging the Church in
Central Florida to pray
And
here is the extra stuff you don’t get with the snail mail version...
=================================
(1) THE CALL DC AUGUST 16, 2008
(2) NOVEMBER ELECTIONS | PARTY PLATFORMS
(3) Prayer Surge
(4) Florida marriage amendment
(5) National City Impact Roundtable Update/News
(6) Insight: An Interview With Alice
*NPPN -
NATIONAL PASTORS' PRAYER NETWORK - US
A
Ministry Network Of The Mission America Coalition
OUR
VISION-
Identify
And Encourage Pastors' Prayer Groups In Cities And
Communities
Across
America So That Pastors Lead Their
People Into Praying For And Sharing Christ With Everyone In Our
Nation.
Subscribe
to the NPPN: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm
**********************************************************
(1) THE CALL DC AUGUST 16, 2008
From:
Intercessors For America <ifa@ifapray.org>
To:
praycf@juno.com
Date:
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:02:39 -0400 (EDT)
Subject:
Wednesday Prayer Alert | July 23:
THE CALL DC AUGUST 16, 2008
A brief glance at the headlines of our daily newspapers exposes the frailty of
the moral fabric of our nation as the corruption of sin digs its claws deeper
and deeper into the hearts and minds of our young people. Abortion continues to
claim over 1.6 million unborn lives every year in the U.S., wiping out nearly
one-third of an entire generation born since 1973.
The growing slave trade of pornography, homosexuality, human trafficking, and
sexual perversion-not only accepted by the culture, but now shamelessly
promoted by it-has claimed countless young men and women, pilfering the Kingdom
of the Lord's inheritance.
In 2000, 400,000 people, both young and old, gathered on the National Mall in
Washington, DC to fast and pray believing the dream that a nation can change.
That gathering and many others have imprinted tens of thousands of young
people, initiating a 24-hour prayer revolution and inspiring a dream in their
hearts that they could be a voice and real agents for change. Our nation
continues in crisis and we feel it is time for TheCall
to go to a national scale in another historic gathering in our nation's
capital.
TheCall isn't a conference or a festival; it is a
solemn assembly-a gathering of all ages, races and denominations. The 12 hours
of TheCall are spent primarily before the Lord in the
place of repentance, prayer, and worship. The hour is late and the time is
urgent. Our nation is in desperate need of revival. We are seeing some signs of
God moving, but we do not have what we need. Full-scale revival is only ushered
in through the collective body of Christ uniting in repentance and prevailing
prayer.
When there seems to be no remedy, when there seems to be no hope for a nation,
God still has a holy prescription . . .God has a
dream. "Blow the trumpet in Zion, gather the people, call
a fast." (Joel 2:12-18)
See you from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the DC National Mall on Saturday, August
16th! Pre-Call conferences are also convening.
- Gary Bergel, TheCall DC
Advisory Council
TheCall has invited churches and small groups to join us for
a
National
Live Pre-Call Rally with Lou Engle
Regional
Pre-Call Rallies
Friday,
July 25, 7 pm, Silver Spring, MD
Saturday,
August 2, 5 pm, Paducah, KY
Sunday, August
3, 6:30 pm, Melbourne, FL
Contact
information:
TheCall
10524B Grandview Road
Kansas City, MO 64137
Phone: 816.285.9351
Email: Response@TheCall.com
Web page: http://www.thecall.com/Groups/1000000220/TheCall.aspx
From: "Lou Engle" <mail@thecall.com>
To: "George Kern" <praycf@juno.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:46:50 +0100
Subject: Only 24 Days Until
TheCall DC! Important Information...
Pre-Call
Conferences - August 14th & 15th
Join us August 14th-15th for the Pastors’ and Leaders’
Pre-Call Conference and the Forerunner Pre-Call Conference. These are FREE
two-day conferences to prepare our hearts before the Lord for TheCall DC on 08/16/08. Lou Engle and other nationally
known speakers and worship leaders will be there. Visit www.TheCall.com/DC for more information and to register.
As the persistent, lazy heat and the
commotion of summer marches on, our nation finds itself in the midst of a great
spiritual battle. Rarely seen in the media and not frequently seen by the eye
of flesh, deep below the surface a battle wages over the destiny of our
nation. As you read this, ungodly and immoral legislation giving license
to homosexual marriage literally rests in the hands of a few judges in the
Supreme Court of California. Daily the unborn of our nation are being
sacrificed to the “God of convenience.” Currently our nation stands in the
midst of a whirlwind of confusion over what issues are political and which ones
are moral. Truly our nation stands at a pivotal threshold—the hour in
which we stand is urgent.
As waves
of darkness break against our shores, a concurrent move of the Holy Spirit
today is breaking forth from the heart of America. Men and women of
different races and backgrounds are joining together to cry out in the place of
prayer and fasting for an inbreaking of God’s mercy
in our nation. In grassroots prayer meetings across America, the Holy
Spirit is falling on hungry hearts, igniting wholehearted love for God and
releasing the groans of Spirit-infused intercession. God is not through
with America.
In less
than one month men and women, young and old, from across the nation will gather
together on the Mall in Washington, DC to cry out to our merciful God for
another great spiritual awakening in our nation. Coming from the most
obscure parts of our country, busloads of people will be flocking to our
nation’s capital and for a prayer meeting! People are booking
entire airplanes—not to attend a great sporting event or to see a celebrity
rock star—but to join the body of Christ in a corporate bowing of the heart in
repentance. Truly, God is doing something in this hour that is beyond our good
ideas or ministry plans.
Today, even as you read this, across the nation local radio stations,
nationally known news agencies and respected newspapers are filled with a new
sound. Piercing through the political jargon of talking heads, God has
miraculously opened up massive doors in the media for TheCall
to trumpet this new sound in interviews with Fox News, the 700 Club, The
Christian Post and the Washington Times.
We
encourage you to stay connected in a practical level with the movement that God
is miraculously raising up. You can do this by:
Important
Reminders: Plan Your Trip to DC on 8.16.08
Here are some important reminders and resources for
planning your trip to DC on 8.16.08:
For more
important information and ways to plan your trip to DC on 8.16.08, visit www.TheCall.com/PlanYourTrip
*************************************************************
(2) NOVEMBER ELECTIONS | PARTY PLATFORMS
From:
Intercessors For America <ifa@ifapray.org>
To:
praycf@juno.com
Date:
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:02:39 -0400 (EDT)
NOVEMBER
ELECTIONS | PARTY PLATFORMS - Affirm the sovereignty of God and the supremacy
of Jesus Christ over all U.S. political parties, candidates, super delegates,
platforms and the August 25-28 Democratic and September 1-4 Republican
nominating conventions. (Col 1:9-20) Intercede for the drafting of all party
platform planks, that God will anoint and use individuals to advocate and
uphold the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and biblical morality.
Intercede that Godly candidates be granted resources, media attention, and
favor with voters. (1 Tim 2:1-4, 1 Jn 5:14)
***************************************************************
(3) Prayer Surge
Prayer
Surge Now Invites You to
JOINT
PRAYER MEETINGS ACROSS AMERICA
Saturday
Mornings
8AM
Eastern, 7AM Central, 6AM Mountain, 5AM Pacific
Use the
Conference Call Number & Access Code:
1-712-432-9998
& 526338#
(Alternate
Number: 1-712-432-1690 & 399430#)
***********************************************************
(4) Florida marriage amendment
July 11,
2008
To: Pastors and Christian Leaders in Florida and Arizona
From:
Pastors and Christian Leaders in California
We are a
collection of California pastors – writing to pastors in FL and AZ. Our three states have something in
common. On November 4,California, Arizona and Florida will be voting on the
definition of marriage. As California pastors, we are honored to partner
with our good friend, John Stemberger in Florida who
has worked so faithfully for marriage and family. We now join him!
On June 25th, over 1,600 of
us joined together to protect marriage in a Statewide Pastors
Conference Call. We gathered at 101 locations throughout the state. Now we are preparing for our next conference
call.
3 STATE CONFERENCE
CALL – INVITING YOU Two thousand pastors and Christian leaders
across California are coming together at 200+ locations (host churches) for a statewide Pastors Strategic Protect
Marriage Conference Call (1 hour and 45 minutes) on Wednesday, July 30,
at 10 AM in California and Arizona, and 1 PM in
Florida.
May we invite all pastors and Christian leaders
from Florida and Arizona to join us for this
gathering? Would it be beneficial for us to have “three state solidarity” on this issue from now
until November 4, Election Day?
If so, would you please
forward this email invitation to
every Florida and Arizona pastor and Christian leader you
know. We plan to offer the
conference call in simultaneous Spanish translation.
HOSTING
A SITE If you, as a pastor, are
willing to host a gathering of Florida or Arizona pastors
and Christian leaders at your church, please see the PS section at the end of
this letter
FORWARD
AND ALERT US TO NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES Additionally, please forward this email to as many Florida and Arizona pastors
and Christian leaders as you can - or email us from Florida at
marriagequestion3@skylinechurch.org and from Arizona
at marriagequestion2@skylinechurch.org with the names of
pastors and Christian leaders so that we can keep them informed of future
developments.
STRATEGY In addition, we will cover the strategy for preparing for (and winning)
the California, Arizona and Florida Constitutional Marriage
Amendment votes in November. This is a winnable war. And,
unfortunately, the freedom to proclaim the Gospel hinges on the outcome of this
election.
Here in
California, we are focused on a 100-Day Prayer Period will launch July 28,
ending at the election, November 4.
Within that 100 day period, there will be a 40-Day Statewide Fast, from September 24 to November 2. Individuals
may fast portions or all of the 40 days, as they are led, or they may fast in
“relays” as teams. If you feel it
is pleasing to the Holy Spirit, we invite our pastor friends
in Florida and Arizona to join us in this prayer and
fasting period.
In our
hearts, we know that what is really needed is more than a
voting victory in November. What is needed
is revival and an avalanche of Holy Spirit-given evangelism. That is why
we pray.
RESPONSE
NEEDED NOW Online registration for the meeting is available on www.protectmarriagesd.com Please register on-line to insure sufficient
materials are available for those attending at each location.
Brothers and sisters, so called gay marriage is not
inevitable. This IS winnable!
We pray
blessings on you – Florida and Arizona – this day.
Your pastor
friends… in this ultimately victorious battle,
Jim Garlow, Skyline Church, San Diego
Chris
Clark, East Clairemont Baptist Church, San
Diego
Miles
McPherson, The Rock Church, San
Diego
Jack Hibbs, Calvary Chapel, Chino Hills (LA area)
Jim
Franklin, Cornerstone Church, Fresno
Dudley Rutherford, Shepherd of the Hills, Porter Ranch (LA area)
Timothy
Winters, Bayview Baptist Church, San
Diego
Along
with 1600 other CA pastors and Christian leaders who
love Florida and Arizona
PS - WHAT IS NEEDED IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HOST A SITE
If you can host a site, or if you know of a pastor
who will host, please contact Chris Clark at marriagequestion4@skylinechurch.org if from Arizona
or marriagequestion5@skylinechurch.org if from
Florida, or call 619-415-5453 ASAP if you are willing to host.
In our
June 25 statewide pastors call, we offered only audio capability (with
some 200 power point slides for the 90 minute event). For our July
30 three-state call, we hope to present two technological options for site hosts:
(1) Webinar (a seminar broadcast via the internet) or
(2)
Conference call (such as we did for our June 25 gathering).
We are
currently testing our capability to broadcast this and future conference calls
to sites that have a broadband (Cable, DSL, or T1) internet connection for the webinar. Future emails will communicate the details
for the site hosts.
If we are
able to go live with the webinar format in July,
sites must be able to project the internet-based presentation (audio and video)
from a computer.
If you do
not have broadband, and prefer to utilize the conference call format, you only
need to have speaker-phone capability that can be adequately amplified, along
with the ability to magnify or project a PowerPoint presentation.
Be
assured that the information shared will be extremely beneficial for the future
of the cause of Christ. Saying it another way, it is worth canceling all
other appointments in order to be present at one of these locations.
From:
"Yes2Marriage.org" <ActionAlerts@floridafamilyaction.org>
To:
"George Kern" <praycf@juno.com>
Date:
Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:03:58 -0500
Subject:
120 Days Left To Get the Word Out
120
DAYS TILL THE VOTE
ON MARRIAGE IN FLORIDA
Help us get the word out through one of our
many viral marketing and social networking tools!
George
Here are some ideas for you to help us get the word out on voting yes on
Amendment 2 to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman:
1) First,
you can help us get the word out by using this special forward to a
friend E-mail tool HERE to get this e-mail message to all your friends and
family and ask them to sign up for our e-mail alerts.
2)
Educate yourself on the deception of our opponents and help us reach our 4,000th
YouTube Debate clip viewings of
Yes2Marriage.org Chairman John Stemberger exposing
our opponents dishonesty on a live Fox TV
debate. We are only 284 views away from reaching 4,000! Click HERE to see the clips and other videos.
3) Help
us reach our 2,000th member goal on our Facebook
page – we are now only 375 members away from reaching 2,000 members of the
group. If you are a Facebook member, click HERE, join and ask all your Facebook
Friends to join.
4) Check
out our BRAND NEW Yes2Marriage.org BLOG launched today and give
us your opinion on Governor Charlie Crist's
recently announced engagement to be married HERE.
5) Find a
Yes2Marriage.org Meet Up Group in your area and attend a local meeting HERE. If there is
not one in your area, consider starting one and contact us.
6) Make a
much needed Online Gift today for $100, $50 or even $20 to support this
historical and important effort HERE.
************************************************************
(5) National City Impact Roundtable Update/News
From: MS <admin@cityreaching.com>
To:
praycf@juno.com
Date:
Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:01:38 -0500
Subject:
National City Impact Roundtable Update/News
From:
Jarvis Ward, Glenn Barth, Phil Miglioratti
and Tom White
The
National City Impact Roundtable Lead Team
Dear Friends:
We hope that you will be encouraged, informed and engaged as you review this
National City Impact Roundtable update:
• The four of us: Jarvis, Glenn, Phil and Tom will continue to serve as the
National CIR Lead Team and key points of contact for regional CIRs'.
• There will not be a National City Impact Roundtable scheduled for 2009.
• The next National City Impact Roundtable is set for 2010. If you would like
for your city/community to be considered as the potential host for the 2010
National CIR, contact us at info@cityreaching.com.
• Our goal is to strengthen our Regional City Impact Roundtables by helping to
facilitate up to 10 Regional CIRs’ in fall/winter of
2008 and throughout 2009.
> Regional CIRs’ help to “feed into” the National
CIR.
> The CIR was intended to be “owned” by local leaders maximizing their
involvement and spreading their impact locally.
> Regional CIRs’ are less expensive, and, for many
people, more accessible than national meetings. (In the past, it has been
cheaper to jump in a car/van with 3-5 other leaders from a city and drive 1-3
hours to attend a regional CIR).
> We recognize that there are significant changes underway in our Nation’s
economy and in the economy of many ministries and congregations and therefore,
we all agreed that cultivating our regional bases is of the Lord’s leading
> Finally, hosting regional CIRs’ help to keep the
CIR Movement decentralized as was intended from the start.
• We will contact potential regional CIR hosts soon. If you are interested in
hosting a regional CIR either this fall/winter or sometime next year, please
contact info@cityreaching.com.
• We are planning to convene a National CIR Leaders Summit perhaps in Jackson,
MS in 2009
Contact us if you have questions:
Jarvis Ward
For the National City Impact Roundtable Lead Team of:
Jarvis Ward, National Facilitator
City/Community Ministries
Mission America Coalition
Jarvis@missionamerica.org
(601) 932.4522
Phil Miglioratti, National Coordinator of LC2C
Mission America Coalition
phil@nppn.org
(847) 991.0153
Glenn Barth, President
Good Cities, Inc.
glenn@goodcities.net
(952) 975-0516
Tom White, President
Frontline Ministries
cosmictommy@earthlink.net
(541) 754.1345
************************************************************
(6) Insight:
An Interview With Alice
From: Alice and Eddie Smith
<usprayercenter@cs.com>
To: praycf@juno.com
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:57:09 -0400
Subject: Insight: An Interview With Alice (072108)
Insight from Eddie and Alice
For our wonderful Insight Newsletter family.
Have a
blessed week!
An
Interview With Alice
Interviewer:
Alice, your first hard cover book is about to be
released, the title of which is, Spiritual Intimacy with God: Moving Joyfully into the Deeper Life. That title is
intriguing. What do you mean by the term "spiritual intimacy"?
Alice: Spiritual Intimacy is a heart-to-heart,
spirit-to-spirit relationship with Jesus. This has nothing to do with anything
sensual or sexual. At salvation, Jesus came into our heart, and at once we
became his spiritual partners. He longs for us to know him at a deeper level
than just as an acquaintance.
The way of the bride and the bridegroom is analogous to our intimate journey
with the Lord Jesus. At salvation, we are wed to him. We say yes to the
commitment, but we don’t really know what to expect.
As we spend time together his love changes us. We become more open and loving
toward those around us. We become more like him. And as we realize that nothing
can separate us from his love, trust is learned and relearned in the privacy of
our hearts.
Loss can’t separate us, ruin can’t, storms can’t, betrayal can’t—even death
can’t. That love becomes a firm foundation that we can always count on. Knowing
that we can always fall back on God’s love gives us the freedom and courage to
take risks and do whatever he tells us to do. A love that cannot be taken from
us is a love that will eventually foster enough trust to change us.
When God refers to us as the bride—and men he’s talking to you too—he means
that he is married to the idea of remaking you and me into everything we are
capable of being. Saying, “I do” to him is saying that you will let him love
you into change—and eventually you will be so transformed that others do not
recognize the former you.
Interviewer:
Tell me a little about how you developed a close
relationship with Jesus? How long have you been living in an intimate
fellowship with Christ?
Alice:
I was 15-years old when my life was completely
transformed by Christ. Immediately, I longed for a personal friendship with
him. So each day after school I would spend 5-10 minutes just sitting in his
presence. I learned some important steps that helped our friendship grow. This
is how it started.
Now after 43 years, my relationship with Jesus is so much deeper, and my life
message is spiritual intimacy with God. Each Christian can experience a depth
of knowing him that they never dreamed possible.
Interviewer:
Why do you find that so many Christians struggle with
understanding or experiencing this kind of relationship?
Alice:
Christians struggle with intimacy because of many
reasons, of which several might be a wrong association of God to an earthly
father or male figure. Or religious teaching that insisted that God is distant
and uninvolved in their lives. Fear of God in a way of punishment. I write
about many others in the book.
Interviewer:
In your new book Spiritual Intimacy, you
talk about four seasons of our Christian life that we all will experience. Can
you tell us more about this?
Alice:
We will walk through “Seasons of Disclosure”, where
the Lord is revealing prophetic promises, future benefits, and it’s the
springtime of your Christian life.
Then just as we enjoy this season, it will change to “Seasons of Passion.” This
is a season where the summer of answered prayers, open doors, influence and
favor surround us. We are ready to take on the devil, until we find that “the
devil in the mirror” is our own independent spirit. Part of our independence
comes from seeing the power of our spiritual gifts at work and the favor of God
resting on us. The temptation is to transfer our reliance from the Lord of
the work to the work of the Lord. When that happens, humility is
insidiously replaced by pride.
Next
are the “Seasons of Stripping” and none of us like this season in life. Still
experiencing success, we don’t want to change our stride. We’ve finally
acquired some confidence, some wisdom, and some maturity. The works planted in
spring are now robust and ready to be harvested, but we forget that harvesting
means stripping the vines until they are bowed and barren.
Most of us enter times of stripping, satisfied from the past harvests our works
have produced. Suddenly, a distinct shift occurs in our ability to make things
jive. Sifting through the rubble of our works to find another task to complete
for God, results in disappointment. We struggle to find satisfaction in past
accomplishments and who we once were, but the way is not there.
The
last is “Seasons of Cave Dwelling.” Winter kills! Surface things, selfish
things, must die; only the root endures. Life goes underground. Even the
animals go into hiding. The sounds of silence pierce the atmosphere with cruel
isolation. Living waters turn to icy lakes. Everything is damned up: halted.
Winter is heart surgery without anesthesia. This is the “where are you God”
time in our Christian walk. But these seasons are a glorious part of learning
God’s ways.
Interviewer:
In your book, you write about intimacy killers. What
are some?
Alice: There can be many intimacy killers. In my book, Spiritual
Intimacy, I talk about how performance (trying to measure up), unforgiveness, prayerlessness, and self-hatred are a few of
the killers of a close relationship with Jesus Christ. There are many others I
write about too.
Interviewer:
In Spiritual Intimacy, you suggest that prayer
and intimacy go hand in hand. What is your reason for saying this?
You can’t love someone you hardly know. I love my husband, Eddie, and I spend
time with him. I know what he likes to drink and eat. What his hobbies are, and
what brings him joy. The reason I know is because I spend time with him. Often
Christians want an intimate relationship with Jesus, but they aren’t willing to
spend time in prayer to know and learn what is on his heart.
You
know the old adage: “I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”
Well, it’s true! When a chicken’s head is chopped off, it will race frantically
about for a while, but eventually it will simply collapse. Frankly, nothing
could more accurately describe the prayerless
Christian. We were born to stay connected to the Lord through prayer, and
without his headship, our frantic efforts to look effective will drop
lifelessly to the
ground.
Interviewer:
Alice, you discuss the many rewards of spiritual
intimacy. Can you give us some?
Alice:
Favor is one reward. We referred to them as the
“teacher’s pet.” The teacher appeared to like those students more than the
others and would give them extra privileges and
attention. In the same way, even though God loves all of us, the Lord’s
intimates have so earned his trust that they receive extra privileges and
attention too.
When you are experiencing God’s favor, you are singled out for a blessing
because you have been close and dependable in his sight. People with God’s
favor carry his influence and become magnets for attracting others to help them
accomplish God’s purposes and plans.
Wisdom
is another reward. It’s easy to identify wisdom in an intimate’s life. It shows
up in an ability to understand the things of God. It is also evidenced in right
responses and accurate answers.
Of
course, one of the most amazing rewards for being an intimate is the anointing,
which is the presence of God flowing through you with
his power, strength, wisdom, counsel, or anything else you need. The anointing
has been described as God putting his super on your natural, and then letting
him move supernaturally through you.
Interviewer: If you would, share with us the essence of your book.
What would your closing statements be?
Alice:
Jesus longs to have an intimate relationship with his
bride. It was God’s idea to call us this intimate term—his bride. It’s all
about family. We are the bride of Christ, Jesus is our bridegroom. God is our
father, and we are part of the family of God. Scriptures says we are the
children of God, and even sons of God. It’s true that God doesn’t have
favorites, but he does have intimates. And Jesus wants us to be his intimates.
NOTE:
Remember during the summer months you can receive a (15% discount) on ALL
our books, CD's, DVD's and recommended reading until August 31. So
take advantage of this first time ever opportunity. Call 800-569-4825 or
713-466-4009, or order online at www.prayerbookstore.com
Blessings, Alice
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Pray Central Florida – Praying for Central Florida and
encouraging the Church in Central Florida to pray.
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