| Dear Friend,
 As we join
together at 6:30 today to pray in concert, I would like to share a passage of scripture that has
encouraged and motivated me in my prayer life.
 14 Elisha had
become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of
Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, "O my father,
my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!" 15 And Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and
some arrows." So he took himself a bow and some arrows. 16 Then
he said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." So he put
his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. 17 And
he said, "Open the east window"; and he opened it. Then Elisha
said, "Shoot"; and he shot. And he said, "The arrow of the LORD's deliverance and the arrow of
deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have
destroyed them." 18 Then
he said, "Take the arrows"; so he took them. And he said to
the king of Israel, "Strike the ground"; so he struck three times,
and stopped. 19 And
the man of God was angry with him, and said, "You should have struck five
or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it!
But now you will strike Syria only three times."
--2 Kings 13:14-19
The real victory in this scene was not won on
the battlefield; it was won behind the scenes.
Similarly, real victory is won in our private life--in the "bed chamber" of our
prayer life.
Elisha was aging and ill, so Joash came to him in his bedchamber.
Elisha told Joash, "Take a bow and arrows." Joash took them privately
- the same way we take our weapons of prayer every morning in private.
What we do with our weapons, in this time of prayer, is important. It
determines what God does publicly - in our lives, the lives of those
for whom we are praying; in our businesses, our careers, our families,
our churches. What happens publicly merely manifests what has taken
place privately in prayer.
Elisha had the king pick up his weapon, even though he was only in
Elisha's room, and not on the battlefield fighting against Syria. God
does exactly the same with us. He asks us to take up our weapons in
private prayer. No one is watching. The enemy seems miles away,
unaffected. It's just us and God. This is where the real transaction
occurs spiritually. This is where the final outcome is determined.
This is the place where our weapons are to be first engaged.
Joash picked up his bow and arrow and shot once out the window, as
Elisha had told him to do. The devil would have loved for Elisha to
dismiss it all as foolishness, an embarrassing waste of time. Instead
Joash did as Elisha instructed-he opened his eyes, focused outside the
window and shot an arrow out into the open air.
The Holy Spirit asks us to pray and believe God for things that are
as invisible in the natural as the enemy was outside Elisha's
bedchamber window. It seems as if we're shooting arrows into thin air.
Yet, when we obey, and believe that our authority exercised in prayer
-our worship, our petition, our faith and confession-is accomplishing
what God intends, victory is the outcome.
Joash had to open the window and focus his vision outside. As long
as we remain inwardly focused, defeat awaits us. God wants to open our
perception to the things of the Spirit. He wants to open our hearts to
the needs of the world around us. But we must first fling open
the window of spiritual opportunity by a decision of our will. In
return, the Holy Spirit will give us the very burden and prayers of
God's heart and focus our vision beyond the immediate.
Notice also that Elisha could not do any of this for Joash. It was
a responsibility God entrusted to Joash through the prophet Elisha. In
the same way, God has entrusted to you, through the revelation of
scripture and the enabling of His Holy Spirit, an instruction, a
responsibility to discharge your weapons in private prayer. He has not
asked your pastor to do it for you; not your spouse, your Bible study
leader or...
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 Passionate Pursuit
A Joyful Journey to
More of Christ
Ladies, join us every first Thursday
of the month.
Come
and enjoy coffee and dessert, uplifting music and a transforming
message as Natalie Nichols, founder of Shades of Grace Ministries, shares an encouraging word for
your present need.
Join us as Natalie leads us on a Passionate Pursuit to know Jesus and the power of God's Word more intimately each day.
Mark Your Calendars Now!
November 5 - 6:30 p.m.
 Vein of Silver with Sandra Nichols.
With effortless humor and and engaging candor,
Sandra shares nuggets of godly wisdom gleaned from
the mine of hard times. Sandra's segment will fill you
with joy, laughter and the calm assurance that God is in
control.
 Nothing Less with Natalie Nichols. We were created to know Jesus intimately, to live by
His life andd be satisfied with nothing less! There is no
other joy on this earth but Jesus Christ. How sad, sick
and cheated an existence to accept pitiful substitutes, mirages of happiness. Through these stirring messages, the Holy Spirit will inspire you to make one simple determination that will transform your life:"No matter the cost, I will pursue Christ passionately and I will be satisfied with nothing less!" Moment in Concert
Throughout the Bible
and the history of the great
revivals,
concerts of prayer
have preceded a
life-changing, revolutionary descent of God
upon the
soul of man,
the heart of the church and the life of the
community.
In this new segment, we bring our
instruments of prayer together for a moment in concert.
Hotel Fredonia
200 N. Fredonia
Nacogdoches, TX 75961
Invite Your Friends!
Forward this email to a friend as their invitation.
RSVP online or by phone at 936.569.8741.
RSVP required for dessert. RSVP requested by 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 3, 2009.
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 To the Point
Quotes on Prayer
" Do not we rest in our day too much on the arm of flesh? Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Do not the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth still to show Himself strong on behalf of those who put their trust in Him? Oh, that God would give me more practical faith in Him! Where is now the Lord God of Elijah? He is waiting for Elijah to call on Him.
- James Gilmour
"Be sure you look to your secret duty; keep that up whatever you do. The soul cannot prosper in the neglect of it. Apostasy generally begins at the closet door. Be much in secret fellowship with God. It is secret trading that enriches the Christian. Let prayer be the key of the mornign and the bolt at night. The best way to fight against sin is to fight it on our knees.- Philip Henry
"The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire; it has bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine that is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.
- St. Chrysostom
"We must remember that the goal of prayer is the ear of God. Unless that is gained, the prayer has utterly failed. The uttering of it may have kindled devotional feeling in our minds, the hearing of it may have comforted and strengthened the hearts of those with whom we have prayed, but if the prayer has not gained the heart of God, it has failed in its essential purpose."
- Charles Spurgeon
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 Discover Natalie Nichols and
Shades of Grace Ministries In the midst of severe illness caused by undiagnosed Lyme Disease, Natalie Nichols came to rely on God's Word to comfort and sustain her. Now through Shades of Grace Ministries, she shares how you and your loved ones can experience God's comfort and grace through life's trials.
Our Mission
The core mission of Shades of Grace Ministries is to lead others to seek and apply the Word of God in every circumstance of life.
Our Vision
Shades of Grace Ministries desires to see a world where every Christian walks by faith and stands upon God's promises as found in His Word.
 Watch Natalie's Journey
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In This Issue
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Thursday, November 5
6:30 p.m.
Fredonia Hotel & Convention Center
200 N. Fredonia
Nacogdoches, TX 75961
Invite Your Friends!
RSVP online or by phone at 936.569.8741
RSVP required for dessert. RSVP by Tuesday, November 3rd, 6:30 p.m. _____________
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Shades of Grace now on YouTube!
Click here to visit our channel
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to visit the
Passionate
Pursuit page
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visit Natalie
Nichols on Facebook.
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