Dear Praying Friend,

 

It was just a few weeks ago when many of your answered the call to pray for our nation as we united in a concert of prayer to make our appeal to our Judge in the Supreme Court of Heaven.  It is a privilege to pray with all of you who understand the power and influence our prayers can have in our nation and world.  I am writing to you again to encourage you in this most holy calling, and to ask that you would tarry with me in the place of prayer for another 40 days, allowing the Lord Jesus to breathe through us the blessings He wants to bestow on those around us.  The enemy is relentless in his deception and destruction towards men, let us, therefore, not grow weary in our vigilance in prayer before the Father (2 Corinthians 3-5; Ephesians 6:10-18).

 

In our last correspondence, I shared with you that the life of Christ was one of constant adoration and devotion to the Father.  Jesus taught us by example that true adoration of the Father could be found in our posture of prayer. He gave us the model for that prayer, cited above, and recorded in the Gospels of Matthew 6 and Luke 11.  Sadly, it is commonplace that we find ourselves submitting to the form of prayer - resting in the habit and recitation of prayer - while the power is missing.  Spiritual power is what the Church desperately needs in this hour.  That power is only found and exercised in prayer.  It is in prayer that we gain understanding into our power with God and our influence with people.  Intercession is the most important work that has been entrusted to the Church, and within that holy calling is the highest lesson the Lord desires us to learn. He came to teach us the secret of fervent effectual prayer:  opening our hearts to the love of the Father so that we might have our hearts filled with the Father-love of God.  When it comes to adoration there is no greater word than the word Jesus taught us to speak when we pray "Our Father in heaven."  The understanding of the word "Father" in the key to our success in prayer.  When we tap into the heart of the Father we unlock the door to a life of perpetual answered prayer.  The only way to learn that lesson is to live it.  That is why I am asking you to join me in prayer for the next 40 days - June 1st through July 10th - to connect our hearts more deeply to the heart of the Father.

 

While it is customary for summer to be a time for family vacations and taking time off from the "normal" routine and busyness of life, I am inviting you to take advantage of the "down time" to unite as a family in prayer and learn from Jesus how to live as He lived - as the Son of God.  Through His great sacrifice the Father has lavished His love upon us and given us the right to become children of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1). And now because of our great Mediator's faithful intercession before the Father we have the help we need to obtain of all the blessings and privileges that our sonship has to offer (Romans 8:15-17).  The Father has given prayer as our means of communicating with Him, and as such we have the certainty that prayer has an answer - for prayer connects us with the One who knows all, has all, and is all! Charles Spurgeon has said that, "there is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God."  We have been given a glorious gift through Jesus Christ to join Him in His occupation before the throne, by taking advantage of the divine access He has won for us in opening the door to the heart of the Father, and to exercise our privileged position of speaking with God on behalf of men.  

 

Let us embrace the truth that when we pray we are coming to "our Father" who, in His infinite fatherliness, loves to hear His children and help them; Who abounds in love and faithfulness, who is compassionate, tender, patient and wise; Who is all, creates all, owns all, knows all, sees all, and has all; Who looks upon us as dearly beloved children, and, therefore, desires to give good gifts to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11).  When we begin to tap into the heart of the Father, we understand the importance of living as a dependent and trusting child, and acknowledge the necessity of cultivating a life of intimacy and abiding love with the Father.  It is in the depths of this loving relationship with the Father that we will discover that prayer is the secret key to unlocking the gates of heaven to all power and influence in the world and for His Kingdom!  

 

We read in 2 Kings 3:15-20 the Lord speaking through Elisha, "...make this valley full of ditches.  For this is what the LORD says:  You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.  This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; He will also hand Moab over to you....The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was - water flowing from the direction of Edom!  And the land was filled with water."   The Lord has blessings in store for His children when we pray.  Let us now begin to dig our ditches in expectation for what God can and will do.  Let us take our stand in prayer, in one accord all across this nation.  Let us say to the enemy of God, "You have come this far, but no further!"  We are digging our ditches and staking our claim on the land the Lord has entrusted to us.  This is our land, not the enemy's! Satan cannot have our marriages, he cannot have our children, he will not run our schools, he will not sit in the seat of our government and make his unjust laws, he will not fill this land with his deceptive lies, immorality and filth, he will not profane the name of our God, he will not rob the children of God of their inheritance, we will not even give him a piece of our mind for he is not worthy of our thought-life.  All that we are and all that we have belongs to Our Father in Heaven. He alone is worthy!  Satan has taken nothing from us. Everything he has is because we gave it to him. We did not fight.  We let down our guard.  We were fools. But we are not falling for the enemy's lies any longer. We have been given a Kingdom, in the name of God Most High, the Holy One of Israel, and He is seated on the throne in heaven.  To God alone do we place our trust and make our appeals.  It is His Kingdom alone that we are called to steward, and to Him alone will we give our full attention and devotion.  We will no longer allow the enemy to push us back and stir up division and confusion among the children of God.  From this moment forward we are taking up our positions in prayer and advancing the Kingdom of God, and the enemy better get out of the way!  To Our Father in Heaven do we offer all our praise, and to Him alone do we surrender our lives to do as He pleases; we accept everything that comes from His hand, knowing it is for our good and His glory! We are His holy temple, the place where His Holy Spirit dwells. There is no room for anyone or anything that is impure or unholy that will inhibit our prayers or tarnish our witness.  We want the Father to hear our prayers and we want to hear His heart. We stand on every precious promise of His Holy Word - the Holy Bible.  His Word is Truth!  We will not compromise or question His Word, it is not up for debate!  We are digging our trenches in prayer in expectation for the rain that is coming!  Father we ask for You to empty us of all the self-life that is taking up precious space in our hearts that belongs solely to you.  Fill us to the full measure with Your abundant love and life, so we can be poured out like a drink offering upon this dry and weary land.  "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). 

As the well-beloved children of the Most High God, let us stop waiting around for the ungodly to make their decisions about how we should live and what we can or cannot do as Christians.  Let us come together in agreement that Our Father in Heaven knows exactly what we need and what we need to do, and make it a priority to get into our prayer closest and shut ourselves off from the world and tune our ears to His voice, and "be still and know that He is God" (Psalm 46:10).  Let us live like a child of God and tap into all the love, power and blessings He, in His infinite fatherliness, is waiting to give us, simply because we have taken the time to ask (Matthew 7:7).  May these next 40 days teach us to live nearer and dearer to the heart of the Father, so that we can take on His heart, and be filled with His love to share with a world whose hearts are growing colder because we, the Church, have forsaken our first love (Revelation 2:4).  Let us return to the Lord with all our hearts these next 40 days!

 

as we follow the path of perfect love into the throne room of heaven 

and into the presence of our Heavenly Father

to draw strength for ourselves 

and open heaven's gates to pour out God's blessings on others

in the greatest labor of love - PRAYER!

 

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt

to love one another." - Romans 13:8a

 

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to guide you in prayer morning, noon, and night

for the next 40 days.

(Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10)

 

   Our Savior paid the highest price to gain us access 

into the storehouse of heaven - the very heart of God!

It is His desire to lead His children into a life of deepening intimacy 

with the Father, and to open our hearts to be filled with the love of the Father, so that we can pour His great love into the lives of every person He connects our path with.  Let us, therefore, take up our cross and lay down our lives in prayer, and lay hold of every precious promise and heavenly blessing He has available for us these next 40 days.

 

(NOTE:  If you have received this email you are already on the mailing list - please invite your friends, family, and pastor to join us these next 40 days of prayer!  If you have been forwarded this email from a friend, please click HERE to join our mailing list to receive the daily emails.  

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"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you,

being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - 

to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; 

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all

that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations,

forever and ever. Amen."

Ephesians 3:14-21 NKJV

 

1. Begin by establishing a private place to pray and meet with God each day (Psalm 42:1-2; Matthew 6:6).
2. Set aside a specific time each day to pray with your spouse (Matthew 18:19-20; Ephesians 5:22-33).
3. Determine the best time of day to gather with your children/family to pray together (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Matthew 18:3-6).
4. Prepare a prayer journal for the next 40 days and write out the answers to prayer you are seeking: for yourself, your marriage, your children, your family, your pastor, your church, your job/career, your school, your community, the government (local and national), the nation, and for the Kingdom of God.  Prayer is meant to have an answer, so be specific in your requests (and leave space for praise!). (Matt. 7:7-8).
5. Feed on the daily "spiritual" bread and take time to journal each step of this journey (Matthew 4:4)
6. Delight in knowing your Heavenly Father delights in your desire to spend this time with Him each day.  "...He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6b).

 

 

 With prayers and blessings for the journey!

 

Traci Alexander

Trumpet and Torch Ministries

traci@trumpetandtorch.org
www.trumpetandtorch.org