Day Eighty-five

For awhile I had felt the Holy Spirit’s prompting to establish the discipline of fasting on a regular basis in my life. I was procrastinating and dragging my feet about actually doing it, though. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Not surprisingly, as I began to feel more and more convicted to do so, my bible study leader just happened to speak on the topic. Don’t you just love how God does that? :)

Fasting is not a common practice amongst Christians today. In fact, most are surprised to realize that fasting is something that Jesus expects His followers to do. Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:16 and 6:17 begin with: "And when you fast…But when you fast…"  Notice He doesn’t say ‘if’, but ‘when'.

In ‘Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life’, Donald S. Whitney lists ten purposes for fasting:

• To strengthen prayer
• To seek God’s guidance
• To express grief
• To seek deliverance or protection
• To express repentance and the return to God
• To humble oneself before God
• To express concern for the work of God
• To minister to the needs of others
• To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God
• To express love and worship to God

Whitney also writes: ’There’s something about fasting that sharpens the edge of our intercessions and gives passion to our supplications. So it has frequently been used by the people of God when there is a special urgency about the concerns they lift before the Father...fasting is one of the best friends we can introduce to our prayer life.’

Will you consider fasting from something one day this week for the purpose of strengthening prayer for Deeper Still? It doesn’t have to necessarily be food. It could be the phone, media, computer, friends, sweets, etc. As you crave the item you are giving up throughout the day, allow that to be your prayer prompt; thus, spend that time feasting on God and prayer, rather than on the craving.

Dear Father,

I thank you that You are the one who sustains us. I thank you that ‘man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4)’. May I experience this truth through and through as I fast from _______ and feast upon You and Your Word instead. I pray for Kay, Priscilla and Beth today. I pray that You will give them a liberal dose of Your wisdom while preparing their messages. Give each of them ample time to seek You in prayer and in study of Your Word in regards to Deeper Still. I know that You long to give good gifts to your children, especially gifts that are in line with Your Word and its promises. We are praying for your presence to be felt by each of us at this conference, that You would touch each of us in the exact way we are needing to be touched. You know each of our needs, Lord. We stand here with arms wide open—fill each of our arms to overflowing!

In the amazing, loving name of Jesus,
Amen.

Day Eighty-four

• Stage: Pray for Priscilla, Beth, Kay and Travis and other ‘on stage’ folks at this event. Pray God will give them His words to speak and sing and that seeds would be planted deeply in each woman’s life, reaping a bountiful crop.
• Technology: Pray that the temperature, sound, video, and lighting would all serve to enhance the message rather than distract from it
• “club” level: Pray for all believers who attend this event, that their eyes would be open to see the lost and hurting who surround them, and that they would reach out in love and caring.
• The crowd: Pray that every last seat would be filled and that those seated furthest from stage would draw near to the throne of God.
• Safety: Pray for the area surrounding the arena: for the safety of those traveling in, for safety in the parking lots, and for the safety of the ladies throughout the event.
• Fellowship: Pray for a sweet spirit of fellowship among the women in the arena. Ask that we would be clothed with patience and love for one another despite long lines to seating, bathrooms, refreshments, and more.

Prayer Walking

After praying for the five areas above, spend the rest of your time doing a ‘virtual’ prayer walk through Freedom Hall. Use the diagram of Freedom Hall (below) and as we pray over the different areas, trace your finger along the areas that we are praying over. Try to picture individual women’s faces in your mind as you pray.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much, Lord, for bringing the very last Deeper Still event to our city. Thank you, Lord, for being sovereign over the fact that we will be convening in Freedom Hall. Oh, make this place worthy of its name on this day and set the captives free, Lord!

Thank you that you are El Roi — ‘the God who sees me’. You see us—you see each individual who will be sitting in the seats of Freedom Hall on June 10-11. You see all of the stresses, hurts, and trials that each of us are facing and You want to meet with us and minister to us. Thank you, El Roi.

Lord, touch deeply each woman in the 300 section: I pray that they will not feel removed or far from the stage, but that they will feel deeply connected and engaged with all that is going on. Speak specifically to each woman’s heart. May they get answers to questions they have been pondering and praying over, Lord. May there be relationships reconciled on this day... For the lost sheep in the crowd, oh gather them in, Lord. Call out to them and bring them running! For the women in the 200 section: I pray for a spirit of joy to come over them at this conference. Let this joy be their strength as they deal with life’s difficulties and circumstances. I pray they would see the glory of Your renown and they would never forget it, Lord. May it change them forever. Open up the blind eyes in this section and give them spiritual sight! For the women in the 100 section: I pray for Your supernatural love to come down upon them and be felt in a very tangible way. May they truly know on this day that they really are the apple of your eye. Deliver those that need to be delivered from strongholds. May You and You alone be their Stronghold! For the prodigals in this section, bring them running to their Father! Let this be the day of salvation, Lord! For those in the stage area: I pray that out of your glorious riches you may strengthen Kay, Beth, Priscilla and Travis with power through Your Spirit in their inner being...give them the ability to convey how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ! Let their messages be filled to the measure of all the fullness of You! Now to You who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to Your power that is at work within us, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen.

Please join us in praying over Freedom Hall

Prayer Sisters,

We will be meeting Friday morning, June 10th at 10 - 11 AM to pray over the seating and sections of Freedom Hall.  We will also be praying 4:30 - 6 PM prior to the event.  Hope to see all of you there!  Thank you for participating in the eternal work of praying in this event over the past eighty-five days!  I am looking forward to God 'bringing it' and bringing it BIG on June 10-11!  He is in the business of changing lives...looking forward to seeing Him do this through Deeper Still!  (Please post any questions you might have about praying together in the comment section).

Day Eighty-four

Well, I wish that our sewage situation had ended there, with no other problems. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning... When the plumbing company came out a few days later to run their camera through the sewage line, we were told our pipe was caving in and needed to be replaced immediately. They also told us that we should not use our water and toilets at all during this time. Thus, we had to pack ourselves and our five children up for four days and move in with friends. Long story short, by the end of the week, our line still wasn’t repaired. We had been told contradictory information by so many different people that our heads were spinning from information overload. The story changed by the hour and after awhile I couldn’t even keep up with what was happening. It felt like chaos and confusion, not to mention we were all emotionally and physically drained.


It was quite the ordeal, but it had a beautiful ‘Jehovah Jireh’ ending. The break in the line was finally determined to be the responsibility of the city sewage department and they repaired it for free. Why it took so long to get to this answer, we’ll never know for sure. But I have a sneaky suspicion the enemy was working overtime from all angles to wear us down.


You see, this was one of the weeks I had blocked out to spend writing this prayer guide. And wouldn’t you know, one week later, as I try to finish writing, there is a stomach virus sweeping through our family? Oh, the adversary is such the author of chaos, confusion, disillusionment and discouragement. He does not want anyone praying for this event because he knows that prayer defeats. He knows women’s lives will be changed. Frankly, it excites me that he is worried; it excites me that our prayers are moving and shaking in the heavenlies!


As we pray, the enemy is going to do everything in his power to keep prayer from happening. Jesus says in Matthew 10:16 to be ‘shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves’. The enemy’s goal is to make you fail. He will try to wear you down little by little. We must be prepared and aware of his tactics as we take on this very important job of intercessor.


Dear Father,


Thank you for the honor of interceding for the women who will be coming to Deeper Still. Thank you that we live in a country where we can openly pray to You and we have access to Your Word. May we not take that for granted, Lord! You tell me in Your Word: ‘Submit myself to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from me'(James 4:7). Lord, I want to have a submissive Spirit towards You. I want to make prayer an absolute priority because You command us to do so. And because the more time I spend in prayer the more time I spend in sweet fellowship with You. Lord, may my prayers for Deeper Still exceed this prayer guide—give me a burden to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Keep me alert and in constant prayer for all of the saints….I lift up the City Coordinator of Deeper Still, Gwen Paten, and her entire task force that is working with Lifeway for this event. Keep the enemy from distracting them from the purpose You’ve given them. May their plans succeed for Your glory and renown! I also pray for the Lifeway staff in charge of Deeper Still Louisville—for organization, prayerful direction, thanksgiving and joyfulness as they work on this God-ordained event. Thank you Lord, that you are faithful and You establish us and guard us from the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3)!


In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Day Eighty-three

Jehovah Jireh

As I’ve mentioned earlier, my husband is currently out of a job.  One day we walked down into our basement and found that sewage water had backed up into our home.  Now, this is a great nuisance for anyone.  But when your husband is out of a job, it is not only a nuisance but a grave financial concern.  It just so happened that a few days prior, someone had felt led to give us $200.  Thus, our prayer was that it wouldn’t cost more than this.   Because it was the second time this year that we were having to fix such a problem, we wondered if it could even be unclogged.  So our other prayer was that it could be fixed without having to be dug up, as that would be extremely expensive.  We waited, prayed and wondered how God would pull us out of this one. 

Well, Mr. Plumber showed up and  worked and worked.  Finally, he finished and I internally held my breath for the verdict:  He said, "I really had a hard time unclogging it; at one point, I thought it wasn't going to happen.  Finally, though, I was able to cut through the bad spot... I’m not sure how long it’ll last though—it is definitely a temporary fix.”

Temporary, but fixed.  We’ll take it.  Jehovah Jireh to the rescue.

"Since we weren't able to clean the line as well as I would have liked, I am going to send our people out and have them go through the line with a camera and video that will let us know exactly where this bad spot is and what is causing it.  This normally costs $300, but we are going to do this free of charge." 

Wow--this will let us know the exact location (without spending anymore money) so that we can hopefully fix this thing ourselves.  Jehovah Jireh strikes again.

"The total bill is $205, minus your on-line coupon, brings it down to $185...' Jehovah Jireh provides with change to spare...

At first I was bummed we had to use the $200.  We figured that would be grocery money for later in the month.  Yet, as soon as I thought those words, The Word of words came to me: ''do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' (Matt. 6:31-34) 

Oh, God, you're right as usual.  Why would I horde this money to provide for a future provision?  The Great Provider is in the business of providing our daily manna, our daily bread.  He provides day by day, step by step.  There is no need for striving and toiling after 'our plans'...He has already written the story from beginning to end, and since He created the universe and everything in it, shouldn't I trust that He's got it all under control?

Tomorrow's a new day--the great I AM who raises life from the dead can provide our future daily bread.   I'm sure of it.  

Do you struggle with running ahead of God with your own plans and agenda?  Are you trusting Jehovah Jireh, the One who Provides, for your ‘daily manna’? 

Dear Father, 

We have such a difficult time waiting.  Our culture demands us to hurry through our lives.  With our schedules packed and planned to the nth degree, we could easily be called the ‘Day Planner’ generation.  Forgive me for allowing my planning to quench your Spirit out of my day.  Instead, may I learn to give up my control and wait on You.  I specifically ask that You forgive me for not waiting on You for ________________________.  Oh, help me with this!  Give me patience and trust.  Help me with my unbelief!  Thank you that You want to answer this prayer. 

Thank you that you are—indeed—Jehovah Jireh, the Great Provider!  Lord, I pray that You would provide each woman at Deeper Still exactly what they need on June 10-11.  If they are struggling with fear, provide them with peace.  If they are struggling with unforgiveness, provide them with a forgiving heart.  If they are struggling in their marriage, provide them the courage to take that first step towards reconciliation.  It they are struggling with selfishness, provide them with the ability to put other’s first.  Whatever the struggle is, Lord, come through with Your sweet provision!

Lord, when we run ahead of You with our own agendas, we spend ourselves in our own strength, which leads to exhaustion.  Instead, may we hope and wait on You, Lord.  Then, You will renew our strength.  Then, we will soar on wings like eagles.  Then we will run and not grow weary.  Then, we will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

“Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord,

Our God, You reign forever, Our hope, our Strong Deliverer,

You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God, You do not faint You won’t grow weary,

You’re the defender of the weak, You comfort those in need, You lift us up on wings like eagles."

Thank you, sweet Jesus. 

In your trustworthy name we pray, Amen.

Day Eighty-two

The Deeper Still Conference will bring a diversity of women—women with all different stories, women with all different pasts. Today I would like to focus on the fact that there will be women at this conference that are really hurting. They may be fighting an addiction. They may be going through a divorce. They may be dealing with an eating disorder. They may be in an abusive relationship. Perhaps they are struggling with depression, loneliness, unforgiveness, anger…the list could go on and on. The reality is that everyone has something in their life that they are struggling with.

Life is hard. It’s going to throw us some curve balls. However, no matter how big the struggle may seem, God is BIGGER. Let’s focus today on asking God to throw the chains off on June 10-11! Let’s boldly pray that He will bring many women out of captivity, that women will break free from their pasts, from their sins, and from temptation. Let’s pray that the women will be throwing shackles off left and right and that the name ‘Freedom Hall’ will acquire a whole new significance. Let’s anticipate God showing up at Freedom Hall and setting the captives free!

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. Psalm 40:1-3

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you that You hear my prayers. Thank you that You love me and the women who will be at Deeper Still with an everlasting love. Thank you that You promise to be with me wherever I go. I am praying, Lord, for an over-abundance of Your presence on June 10--11. A presence that will almost knock us down. I pray that this weekend will be the days that women can mark on their calendar as the days that they became a former pit dweller. Let this event be the place that You lift them out of the slimy pit and out of the muck and mire. Set their feet on a rock and give them a firm place to stand! Put a new song in their mouth, a hymn of praise! Let the change be so evident to those around them that many will see and fear You and put their trust in You (Psalm 40:1-3)! Lord, we pray that your Sovereign Spirit would be upon Priscilla, Kay and Beth—anoint them to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release prisoners from darkness (Isa. 61:1). May they say, ’captives, ‘come out,’ and to those in darkness, ’be free!’ (Isa. 49:9) and LORD we pray that through Your mighty dead-raising power, YOU WOULD DO IT! Open the eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isa. 42:7). We pray that Your beloved daughters would free themselves from the chains on their necks, shake the dust off , rise up and sit enthroned (Isa. 52:2)! May this be the day they are no longer captive by sin but captivated by Christ. Thus, leading them to be captive in Christ’s triumphal procession and using them to spread the aroma of the knowledge of You everywhere (2 Cor. 2:14). As they leave the conference, Lord, and the enemy tries to capture them back, I pray that they’d demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Lord, free so many people on this weekend that many will call the stadium ‘Freedom Hall’ for a new defined reason. I pray they’d never be able to see or be at Freedom Hall again without remembering what You did, that it would forever serve as a memorial marker. Lord, You are El Gibbor, the Mighty God, the champion of the war. Show yourself as El Gibbor at Deeper Still and do the miraculous.

In Jesus’ strong name we pray,
Amen.

Day Eighty-one

Praying Specifically

My husband lost his job about three months ago. While it has been a treacherous road, we have had the privilege to see God work in miraculous ways. We have witnessed that God is— indeed— Jehovah Jireh, the Great Provider . He has provided specific provision in answer to specific prayer requests. It has— and is— building our faith on a whole new level. From a financial viewpoint, we have literally been backed in a corner with no where to turn. No where, that is, except ‘up’. As we have come to Him in our neediness, He has shown up—not only with tangible provision but in sweet, sweet fellowship.

About six weeks ago, our washer quit working. We didn’t really have too many options to consider. We didn't have extra money for a washer, nor did we believe the Lord wanted us to go into debt to purchase one. Thus, we began praying daily for a washer—specifically, that someone would happen to have one that they weren’t using. Now, being that we have five young children, laundry is a bit of a priority at our house! It piles up quickly, for sure. After the first seven days of having no washer, I took about twelve loads to the laundry mat. We realized that the expense of the laundry mat was going to add up quickly. Yet, we knew that borrowing money to buy a washer was not God’s will. So we continued to pray specifically and wait on God.

Day fourteen, still no washer: My sister-in-law is at her daughter’s ballet class, talking to another mother—a mutual friend whom I haven’t talked to in months. During a random conversation, the friend mentions that they happen to have a washer sitting in their garage, not being used. Of course, my sister-in-law filled her in on our situation. The friend immediately called offering to give us the washing machine. Oh, how God loves to answer us specifically! He is the God over random conversations, providing when we least expect it!

Today’s prayer will be one of specifics:

Lord,

Your Word tells us to not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to You. Lord we lay our specific requests before You, asking You: to bring a multitude of women to Deeper Still on June 10-11! Fill that stadium to overflowing! Lord, we also ask that You would be the Lord over parking and traffic. Let the women be able to maneuver in and out of the parking lot easily. We pray there will be no traffic jams on Friday night, hindering women getting to the event on time. We pray that You will be with each and every group that comes, delivering them safely to the event. We pray women who are meeting each other will be able to find one another easily. We pray over the lighting and the sound system. Let there not be any technical difficulties. Let the mics and acoustics work correctly so that the women can hear the messages clearly. We pray over Beth, Priscilla, Kay, and Travis’ flights—that there would be no delays and they would arrive on time. We also pray that they would stay well and free from any kind of sickness. Keep their voices working strong. We pray for the praise band, for safe and sick-free travels. May their instruments function properly. We pray for the volunteers and paid workers—that there will be enough of them to man this event and that things will flow smoothly. Lord, You are the God of order. Reign over every little detail. We love you, Lord!

In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.