Daughters of Zion Newsletter for July 2009   United Pentecostal Church International Ladies Ministries

Permission to print/copy this newsletter.

IIChronicles 7:14-15
By Lori Wagner,  
www.affirmingfaith.com
 
Prayer Journal I was asked by a respected leader to "read carefully and prayerfully" 2 Chronicles 7:14-15. I meditated on the passage a couple of days, and decided to share my thoughts here. I hope you are encouraged as you read.

THE BACKDROP
Solomon and the Israelites just spent seven days dedicating the new temple - with prolific sacrifices, music, etc. On the eighth day all the people joined together in a solemn assembly.

THE WORD
The Lord came to Solomon the night following the assembly [v. 13] saying...if I (God)sent famine, pestilence or drought, AND ("and" added in place of the semicolon) [v. 14] IF My (God's) people (His own people - the people on whom His Name is called) will:

1) humble themselves (isn't pride the root of all sin?)
2) pray (spiritually commune with God)
3) seek My (God's) face (not His hands...what He can do...but Him)
4) turn from their wicked ways (you and me making personal choices to change)...

...then I (God) will hear their prayers (our prayers to remove pestilence, famine and drought?), and will forgive their sins, and heal their land.

REVELATION
One night, praying at the altar, I don't even recall what I was praying about, the Lord spoke a clear and surprising word to me. He said, "You are the land."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know, the land...What did I make Adam from?"

"The dust of the earth," I thought.

"You are land," He said.

It clicked. I got it. I've been involved with the National Day of Prayer for several years, and 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a key verse used in the organization. I've sung songs about it, organized events around it, prayed it, etc., but in a moment, God gave me revelation.

Adam was made from the dust of the earth, and we are his offspring. We are dust-land. And if we will follow the instructions in this pivotal verse, we will see the PERSONAL healing God wants to bring into our "lands"...our hearts...our minds...our bodies...our emotions.

When our "lands" are healed (you and me), we will impact the communities in which we live. When we are His, we ARE salt and light, and God will use us to bring this same restorative message into the lives of others, who will in turn receive their healing and the affect will ripple into the entire world.

We pray for healing for our nation...our country, but when God speaks of nations, He speaks of people. It won't matter if abortion is the law of the land if the people of the land reject the evil practice. People found a way to commit this heinous crime even when it was illegal, but with a true healing in the lives of individuals, our nation could see a huge decline in the slaughter of innocent babies.

The fight to uphold the sanctity of marriage (laughably promoted by a church with a divorce rate equal to the world's), will be preserved when hearts are healed, delivered from selfishness and relationships restored.

And the list goes on...

PROMISE
Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place [v.15].

What I love about this verse is that God responds to humility and obedience with an ever "present tense" promise. He said His eyes would be open (not opened - a one-time deal), and his ears attent (not attend - attending as something begun and completed). He's saying to me that He will continually be looking and listening - alert to our requests...when we posture ourselves in humility before Him and look into His holy countenance...when we reject sin in all its forms (even laziness, apathy, judgmentalism, etc.) and turn to God, He turns attentively to us and our requests. What an amazing God we serve.
 
 
From the Mailbox 

DOZ mailbox 
Thanks so much! This has been a blessing to me and others. Blessings! -Lisa Hill
 
Thank you so much for sending so many ladies this beautiful and edifying report each month.  May Jesus light your way in everything each month.  Blessings.  -Rev. Mario Alberto Villalta Rivas (Translated from Spanish)  
 
God bless you, I write to thank you for sending  these beautiful and interesting teachings that are of great blessing to the ladies and to ask that you don't stop sending mail that is of great blessing to the sisters in the churches. -Pastor Gerardo Aranda Espinoza, "Nueva Vida" Guadalupe Zacatecas (Translated from Spanish)
 
I look forward
to every issue of DOZ ...much of it I reuse locally - Thank you! -Bonnie Peacock, 1st UPC, Odessa, TX 

My granddaughter Carolyn lives in Nevada. She has been visiting us every summer since she was about 5 years old. When she comes she loves to go to church with us every time we go. Her parents separated this past year. It has been very difficult for her. About a month ago she became friends with a girl from her school that attends a UPCI church. This friend invited Carolyn to go to a youth rally with her. Since then she has been attending the church with her and has received the Holy Ghost. She needs prayers that her mother will allow her to be baptized in Jesus name. I thank the Lord for hearing a grandmother's prayer. I have been praying for years that my children and grandchildren would be saved. I thank the Lord that young people are sensitive to His spirit and that they are willing to witness to others. -JoAnn Hammonds, The Lighthouse Church, Apache Jct. AZ
 
I was hoping
to join your communication list for DOZ as I am the UPCI National Prayer Co ordinator for New Zealand. We have been promoting DOZ at our Ladies conference this last weekend so would love to recieve your monthly newsletters. God Bless you, -Michelle Pearse, New Zealand
 
Thank you so much for the Focused Prayer!!! I made copies and placed them in my teenage daughter's bedroom and in my son's room who goes to college, where they can both see it daily. Whether they tell us or not our children are constantly fighting battles of their own and I know this will be a help to them. Again thanks!  -B. Gamon, Worship & Word, Peoria AZ
 
Prayer Meeting Ideas

We had a wonderful Daughters of Zion prayer meeting last month. We handed out prayer lists and each of us would put our name and our childrens/grandchildrens name at the top and then trade with each sister continuing to put our childrens/grandchildrens names on everyone's prayer list until they were full. We are taking them home for the month and praying over them for great things to happen in Jesus Name! -Michael Caldwell, Faith Tabernacle, Tucson, AZ 
 
 
Focused Prayer - Declaring Victory

Week 1 - Pathway To Victory
In The Name Of Jesus Christ We Pray . . . 
  • Lead us down the pathway to victory.
  • Remove resentment from your people; give them a forgiving heart.
  • Give us a servant's attitude; serving out of love for God and for others.
  • We respect those You have placed over us in our church and in our government.
  • Encourage employees to do their best work and be trustworthy to their employers.
  • May our attitudes and character become a positive influence in society.
  • Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in our hearts.
Week 2 - Seven R's To Freedom
In The Name Of Jesus Christ We Pray . . .
  • Help us to recognize and break the power of the enemy over our lives.
  • Give us a repenting heart that we may confess our sins to You.
  • We choose to remove all evil from our lives; reveal our transgressions.
  • Release us from self-centered desires as we humble ourselves before You.
  • We submit ourselves to You Lord; we resist the devil - He must go in Jesus name.
  • Freely we have received; freely we shall give.
  • Lord use us to help restore the lives of others.
Week 3 - Be Free In The Spirit
In The Name Of Jesus Christ We Pray . . .
  • Forgive us for judging others by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay.
  • Govern our hearts so that we can learn to treat others as we expect others to treat us.
  • Send self-control and faithfulness to the people in our city.
  • Allow Your wisdom to work through every judge and jury.
  • Give us insight and understanding to know the difference between right and wrong.
  • You chose us to serve You; humbly we will do as You ask.
  • Allow Your anointing to empower us to do mighty works for You.

Week 4 - Declare Victory
In The Name Of Jesus Christ We Pray . . .

  • We declare that no weapon formed against us will prosper.
  • Riches and honor come from You for You rule over everything.
  • We give You glory, honor and praise for our victories.
  • We will cling to Your promises as we obey Your commandments.
  • Confidently we make our requests known to You.
  • We give you thanks for Your unending love.
  • Victory is ours through Christ who loved us.

-Brenda Hudson (Used by permission)

"The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from the prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray." -Samuel Chadwick
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; ...honor to whom honor is due. (Romans 13:7).
Daughters of Zion: 1999, World Network of Prayer Director, Thetus Tenney shared an interesting article about the Praying Mothers of Brazil with Gwyn Oakes. Sister Oakes had a burden for this type of ministry and Sister Tenney suggested it as a venture for the Ladies Division. Sister Oakes shared her burden with the National Ladies Committee. Ruth Harvey expressed a desire to work with the program and was chosen as director. From the many titles submitted Daughters of Zion was chosen. Debbie Akers  joined as editor of the Daughters of Zion newsletter.

Join Us in a Unified Effort to Seek God's Face

Ladies Ministries of UPCI has declared 2009 as The Year of Seeking. During this year we will seek God's face through fasting and prayer for an awakening in our souls for His heartbeat.

Unite with us each evening at 8:00 PM (CST) for one minute of prayer as we come before God with humility to seek the paths of righteousness and holy living.

We also ask that you join with us in fasting the first Monday of each month.

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments" (Ezra 7:10).

Archive:
 
 
QUICK LINKS 
 
Subscribe to Our Newsletter!
 
 
 UPCI Ladies Ministry Staff
Prayer Journal   Prayer Journal    Prayer Journal    Prayer Journal    Prayer Journal
 Gwyn Oakes         Linda Gleason      Wanda Fielder         Ruth Harvey         Debbie Akers
UPCI LM President       UPCI LM Secretary           Connections                 DOZ Director           DOZ Coordinator/Editor
Prayer Journal
In this concise resource by Ladies Ministries you will learn the basics. This guide will teach you how to be filled with the Spirit, how to pray, how to study the Bible, and how to obtain the promises of God.
 
Share Alive in Him with friends. It could make an eternal difference for them.

With the ever-popular Award Bible it is an ideal gift for new converts, prison ministry, youth or Bible study groups.
 
Available through PentecostalPublishing.com or in quantity through Ladies Ministries

Visit our web site at: ladiesministries.org  or call 314-837-7300 ext 414