May 2010 by The Joshua Group

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

may 2010

Speaking Faith 5

I Will Rejoice the

The Cycle of Prayer 9

spirIt Of Holiness

FEATURES 5 SPEAKING FAITH When the disciples could not free a child from a demon, they were dumbfounded. They asked Jesus why they were unsuccessful in casting the demon out – something they had done many times before with instantaneous results. 9 THE CYCLE OF PRAYER There is a cycle of prayer that many believers are not aware of, but once it is understood, it can literally transform a persons faith and launch them into an incredibly powerful, effective prayer life and a closer walk with God. 13 I WILL REJOICE People of God, it’s time to shake ourselves loose! How do you let yourself be the spiritual “wild child” that God wants you to be? How do you stir up the joy in you so it cannot be contained? 17 THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS How many times have you stopped short of coming to the Lord with a need because you felt sad, troubled, low on faith, or even frightened? Maybe even the trouble is something you brought on yourself and because of that, you feel unworthy to ask the Lord for help?

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

may 2010

25 MONTHLY

Ministry Spotlight

04 FRONTLINE

Book Reviews

Calendar

07 KNOWLEDGE 15 Q & A 21 SPOTLIGHT

23 PRAYER SECRETS 25 BOOK REVIEWS 27 CALENDAR

Powerful Prayer Secrets

On The Cover: On May 23, 2010, Christians from all over the world will be joining together in faith and raising their voices to God during The Global Day of Prayer.

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Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

MAY | frontline

“Celebrate Mothers”

PEOPLE OF PRAYER Most countries celebrate Mothers Day in the month of May, however, you will find that some celebrate it in February, March, June, October, November and even December. The United States’ first national Mothers Day took place in 1914 after a campaign by a lady named Anna Jarvis. But just nine years after that campaign, Anna did everything that she could to overturn the holiday. Why? Commercialization. Among other things, she became furious at the selling of greeting cards because she thought that writing a personal note to your mother was much more important than the laziness of buying a card. Her campaign to reverse what she had started couldn’t be stopped, and now Americans spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts—like spa treatments—and another $68 million on greeting cards. Mothers Day generated about 7.8% of the U.S. jewelry industry’s annual revenue in 2008 with custom gifts like rings. It’s good to honor our mothers and it’s good to buy them gifts. But let’s take to heart what Anna Jarvis was so upset about. Mothers like gifts, but what they really want is the love and affection of their families. Besides blessing your mom with a gift purchased with money, be sure to show her your love. She deserves it. By the way, Happy Mothers Day to my mom in Oregon. Thanks for always being someone that I can count on. You are the rock of our family. I love you! v RICK THORP, Publisher

PRAYER MATTERS MAGAZINE is a premier online publication that educates, empowers and engages Christians around the world. It challenges readers to take responsibility to advance the Kingdom of God. The mission of PMM is to equip individuals to become more effective in prayer, fasting and spiritual warfare. To submit an article to be considered for publication; if you have comments or questions; or for advertising opportunities, email: contact@prayermattersmagazine.org Copyright Notice: The written and visual contents of this magazine are protected by copyright. Excepting translations, you may not reproduce our articles online or in print without first obtaining written permission. Once you receive permission, inform us where and when the article will be reprinted. Prayer Matters Magazine articles cannot be reprinted without obtaining permission and notifying the magazine. Prayer Matters Magazine is a ministry of The Joshua Group. Copyright © 2010 Prayer Matters Magazine. All Rights Reserved. May 2010 4 Prayer Matters Magazine

Speaking “we sometimes are made to wait while power builds”.

Faith

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

By Roxanne Miles

Why would Jesus charge them with a lack of faith?

When the disciples could not free a child from a demon, they were dumbfounded. They asked Jesus why they were unsuccessful in casting the demon out – something they had done many times before with instantaneous results. Jesus told them that unbelief kept the miracle from coming forth. (Matthew 17:20-21). These are disciples; they are Christ’s closest friends and followers. These are the guys who experienced God’s power first hand. They demonstrated time and again that the power of God resided not only in Jesus, but upon all of them. So what did Jesus mean when He said that, in this circumstance, the welltrained and anointed men of God, suffered from unbelief?

If we say something in prayer, don’t we expect it will happen? If it doesn’t right away, does it mean it won’t? Are we assuming that if our prayer is immediately answered it means that God must have wanted it, but if it doesn’t happen, He didn’t? The disciples had run into their first experience with waiting upon God, and unfortunately failed to understand that they weren’t supposed to stop expecting the miracle just because they didn’t see it happening. When they failed to hold to believing in what they were taught, Jesus called it “unbelief ”. Because they didn’t see it right away, they lost their faithfulness to an expectation for freedom to come. Because results were not instantaneous for them, they doubted it would happen at all. Jesus told them that if they had faith (full assurance, full persuasion, a constancy of profession) as a grain of a mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, move from here to there; and it will

MAY | 2010 move; and nothing shall be impossible unto you”.

movable, and tell it to “go”, you are telling the situation that you expect it to align with God’s Kingdom in God’s timing. You are tellMany people focus on the size of the mustard ing a problem that you expect a spiritual soseed and anticipate that the “littlest” level of lution. You are also professing to God that faith would be sufficient to move a mountain; you know that the seed is planted and that however, there are many other small seeds you are expecting to see it burst forth and that grow into tall and mighty trees. The mus- change the physical in God’s perfect timing. tard bush doesn’t grow that tall compared to the mighty oak – but it does grow persistently and powerfully. The seeds of the mustard plant can grow strong enough roots to break through concrete. You don’t see the power of the roots until the breakthrough happens, but the seeds are producing none the less. Consider it this way, we sometimes are made to wait while power builds. You are waiting for the seed to flourish and gain the strength needed to overcome, breakthrough and otherwise conquer the obstacle that holds it back. Nurture that seed’s growth with a constancy of profession, with a growing expectation. If we can hold persistently to a belief in God The disciples were letting what they saw dic- that doesn’t move regardless of what we see, tate belief; they did not maintain an expecta- then Jesus lets us know that “nothing shall tion of healing when they didn’t see it right be impossible to you.” When we raise our exaway. However, faith requires us to expect pectations, when we hold to consistent prothat our spiritual authority will dictate the fession, when we are fully persuaded; we give physical circumstances around us – not the God the opportunity to build the seed into a other way around. We have to hold onto an force powerful enough to move mountains. v expectation that God’s Word is true until the ROXANNE MILES is currently results are seen. Like a mustard seed we must the Founding Director of Purfirmly plant the expectation with conviction poseful Progress Strategic Soluand continue until that seed has a chance to tions, which is dedicated to helpgrow powerful enough for the roots to break ing faith and community based through. nonprofit organizations succeed Believers demonstrate the strength of our conviction and release our faith through what we say. Praying or stating a confession is not a one time statement or even something we “hold in our hearts”. Faith requires action… speaking is that action. We say directly to anything that stands between us and God’s Will for our lives, “be thou removed”. We tell anything not of God to “go” or “depart” and persist in believing those expectations until visible results appear. When you look at a mountain, which is big and normally im-

through training, group facilitation, project management and strategic planning. Mrs. Miles has been in church leadership for almost 20 years and is a licensed evangelist, leader of intercession, Bible course instructor and regular conference presenter for women. Additionally, Roxanne uses her creative gifts via her ministry “Eden’s Gate”, to demonstrate God’s heart through illustrated sermons, drama and dance. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, USA, with her husband and two sons.

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25 facts about the

dead sea scrolls 1. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in eleven caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea between the years 1947 and 1956. The area is 13 miles east of Jerusalem and is 1300 feet below sea level. The mostly fragmented texts, are numbered according to the cave that they came out of. They have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times.

group of Old Testament manuscripts ever found.

8. In the Scrolls are found never before seen psalms attributed to King David and Joshua. 9. There are nonbiblical writings along the order of commentaries on the OT, paraphrases that expand on the Law, rule books of the community, war conduct, thanksgiving psalms, hymnic compositions, benedictions, liturgical texts, and sapiential (wisdom) writings.

2. Only Caves 1 and 11 have produced relatively intact manuscripts. Discovered in 1952, Cave 4 produced the largest find. About 15,000 fragments from more than 500 manuscripts were 10. The Scrolls are, for the most part, written in found. Hebrew, but there are many written in Aramaic. Aramaic was the common language of the Jews 3. In all, scholars have identified the remains of of Palestine for the last two centuries B.C. and of the first two centuries A.D. The discovery of about 825 to 870 separate scrolls. the Scrolls has greatly enhanced our knowledge 4. The Scrolls can be divided into two catego- of these two languages. In addition, there are a riesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;biblical and non-biblical. Fragments of few texts written in Greek. every book of the Hebrew canon (Old Testament) have been discovered except for the book 11. The Scrolls appear to be the library of a Jewish sect. The library was hidden away in caves of Esther. around the outbreak of the First Jewish Re5. There are now identified among the scrolls, volt (A.D. 66-70) as the Roman army advanced 19 copies of the Book of Isaiah, 25 copies of against the rebel Jews. Deuteronomy and 30 copies of the Psalms. 12. Near the caves are the ancient ruins of Qum6. Prophecies by Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel ran. They were excavated in the early 1950's and not found in the Bible are written in the Scrolls. appear to be connected with the scrolls. 7. The Isaiah Scroll, found relatively intact, is 13. The Dead Sea Scrolls were most likely writ1000 years older than any previously known ten by the Essenes during the period from about copy of Isaiah. In fact, the scrolls are the oldest 200 B.C. to 68 C.E./A.D. The Essenes are mentioned by Josephus and in a few other sources, but not in the New Testament. The Essenes were a strict Torah observant, Messianic, apocalyptic, baptist, wilderness, new covenant Jewish sect. They were led by a priest they called the "Teacher of Righteousness," who was opposed and possibly killed by the establishment priesthood in Jerusalem. 14. The enemies of the Qumran community were called the "Sons of Darkness"; they called them7â&#x20AC;&#x192;

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

MAY | knowledge

selves the "Sons of Light," "the poor," and members of "the Way." They thought of themselves as "the holy ones," who lived in "the house of holiness," because "the Holy Spirit" dwelt with them.

with the Masoretic text as well as widely variant forms. 21. Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls actually appeared for sale on June 1, 1954 in the Wall Street Journal. The advertisement read — "The Four Dead Sea Scrolls: Biblical manuscripts dat15. The last words of Joseph, Judah, Levi, ing back to at least 200 BC are for sale. This Naphtali, and Amram (the father of Moses) are would be an ideal gift to an educational or reliwritten down in the Scrolls. gious institution by an individual or group. Box F206." 16. One of the most curious scrolls is the 22. Although the Qumran Copper Scroll. Discovcommunity existed durered in Cave 3, this ing the time of the minisscroll records a list of try of Jesus, none of the 64 underground hidScrolls refer to Him, nor ing places throughout do they mention any of the land of Israel. The His follower's described deposits are to conin the New Testament. tain certain amounts of gold, silver, aromat23. The major intact ics, and manuscripts. These are believed to be texts, from Caves 1 & 11, were published by the treasures from the Temple at Jerusalem, that late fifties and are now housed in the Shrine of were hidden away for safekeeping. the Book museum in Jerusalem. 17. The Temple Scroll, found in Cave 11, is the longest scroll. Its present total length is 26.7 feet (8.148 meters). The overall length of the scroll must have been over 28 feet (8.75m). 18. The scrolls contain previously unknown stories about biblical figures such as Enoch, Abraham, and Noah. The story of Abraham includes an explanation why God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac. 19. The scrolls are most commonly made of animal skins, but also papyrus and one of copper. They are written with a carbon-based ink, from right to left, using no punctuation except for an occasional paragraph indentation. In fact, in some cases, there are not even spaces between the words.

24. Since the late fifties, about 40% of the Scrolls, mostly fragments from Cave 4, remained unpublished and were unaccessible. It wasn't until 1991, 44 years after the discovery of the first Scroll, after the pressure for publication mounted, that general access was made available to photographs of the Scrolls. In November of 1991 the photos were published by the Biblical Archaeological Society in a nonofficial edition; a computer reconstruction, based on a concordance, was announced; the Huntington Library pledged to open their microfilm files of all the scroll photographs.

25. The Dead Sea Scrolls enhance our knowledge of both Judaism and Christianity. They represent a non-rabbinic form of Judaism and provide a wealth of comparative material for New Testament scholars, including many im20. The Scrolls have revolutionized textual crit- portant parallels to the Jesus movement. They icism of the Old Testament. Interestingly, now show Christianity to be rooted in Judaism and with manuscripts predating the medieval peri- have been called the evolutionary link between od, we find these texts in substantial agreement the two. v May 2010 4 Prayer Matters Magazine

T H E CYCL E OF

PR AY E R

By Rick Thorp

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” ~ Hebrews 11:3

There is a cycle of prayer that many believers are not aware of, but once it is understood, it can literally transform a person’s faith and launch them into an incredibly effective prayer life and a closer walk with God. This study is not for the faint of heart. It is a deep examination of the inner workings of prayer and it may take some effort to fully grasp the concepts presented. While prayer is simply talking to God, there is a whole world of spiritual exchange and motion taking place behind the scenes. When we grasp the importance of prayer (continued on page 11)

MAY | 2010 and what really takes place when we do it, we can become a more powerful force that God can use to advance His agenda in our lives and the world around us. It’s good to dig deeper into the things of God. It helps us see the perfection and magnificence of His glory. Over the next few months, we will discover what the prayer cycle is and how the understanding of it can take us to a higher level in the Lord. What is the cycle of prayer? It is much like other cycles that we are familiar with such as the seasons of the earth. If you start in the winter, you pass through spring, move into summer, go through autumn, and end up at Winter again. The seasons are a natural progression of events that take place in God’s system of order. You can’t stop them from taking place. They are a permanent cycle of the earth. Another example of a cycle is that of the ocean tides. They rise and fall each day according to the gravitational pull of the moon, sun and the

rotation of the earth. The cycle occurs approximately every 12-1/2 hours. If you go to a coast, sometimes the water is right up to the edge of the land and other times its out in the distance. The ebb and flow of the ocean it yet again another perfect system and cycle created by God. A third example of a cycle is that of daytime and nighttime. Within 24 hours we will experience lightness and darkness. This is due, again to the rotation of the earth. Daytime is when half of the earth faces the sun while the other half is facing away from the sun and experiencing nighttime. Sunrise, sunset - another cycle. Of course, these examples are interrelated in the overall construction of the universe, and they all sync together in the grand scheme of things. God’s creation is fascinating, beautiful and mind-boggling. Just like the above examples of the cycles of the seasons, ocean and light, prayer has a cycle too. It begins somewhere, passes through various stages, then ends up where it started. It is a system designed by God that is meant to bring closeness between Him and mankind, as well as bring forth His will and desires into the Earth. Prayer is simple yet complex. It’s not necessary for us to understand the complexities of prayer to make it work, but it can help us pray more effectively when that knowledge is present. Most people see prayer as a straight line: our prayers go up to God and then an answer comes down from Heaven. Up and down in a linear fashion. That is partially true. The part that is missing is that the true prayers of our heart do not originate from us, they originate from God. Once God’s desires are placed in our heart, it is up to us to pray about them with the addition of faith, then release them back unto God. Once that takes place, God will magnificently manifest the answers that are in alignment with His will. This is circular, not linear. To begin to understand the cycle of prayer, we

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

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must start at the beginning -creation and the breath of God. Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Notice the word “Spirit”. We have read this passage countless times in the past, perhaps without knowing what the word “Spirit” really means in this context. The Hebrew for Spirit is “Ruwach Elohim”, and it’s meaning in this passage is: the breath of God, wind of God, blow, exhalation. God’s breath was literally blowing and hovering over the formless earth. He was breathing upon His creation. He was blowing His breath,

even as a blast of air. He was exhaling His Spirit over something that He just formed. His very essence was moving above and across the waters like a wind. The Spirit of God is God’s very breath. Read the scripture again with this definition in mind: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the BREATH of God was hovering over the waters. Can you picture that? Think of how we breathe. We are actually are using many parts of our body simply to sustain our life - our nostrils, diaphragm, muscles, chest, abdomen, lungs, mouth, rib cage, throat, windpipe and other parts, all working together for us to breathe. Air moves into our lungs, our very being, then is released

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MAY | 2010 through our mouths and nostrils, back into the atmosphere where it came from. This is what God was doing. He was breathing His Spirit upon the earth; taking something from Himself, and blowing it over His creation; manifesting something from His inner being and exhaling it; depositing His essence in the form of wind to the foundations of the earth. What do we do before we speak? We take a breath of air. When we speak, sing, yell, whisper or hum, we first must inhale. Once the air becomes part of us, we can then form the words in which we speak. God did the same thing. His Spirit (breath) was moving over the face of the waters - then what happened?...

In creating the physical realm, God’s breath was hovering over…then God spoke and His Words brought the physical into existence. Hebrews 11:3 states, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Something came from the spiritual realm to create the physical realm. Something came from the unseen to make the visible. God breathed, then spoke, then the physical came forth. Something that could not be seen before, could now be viewed. God released His breath (Spirit) and He spoke and created the physical realm. The cycle of prayer begins with the Word of God. He speaks from the spiritual realm and by His Spirit, He speaks to the physical realm. The physical realm is us, the people of God. Prayer does not begin with a child of God. It begins with the Almighty. Next month we will discover the next phase of the cycle of prayer. v

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament… 9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered… 11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass… 14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament… 20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures… 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creatures… 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image… 3

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

PASTOR RICK THORP is an ordained minister that has been in church leadership for over 31 years. He is the publisher of Prayer Matters Magazine; inventor of a unique prayer program for churches called PrayerMap; and is the Director of a grass roots ministry that trains and deploys intercessory prayer groups called Prayer Move America. Pastor Rick is a popular speaker that is passionate about the things of God. He and his team make themselves available to conduct seminars and conferences on prayer, healing and revival. He also serves as a consultant to organizations that desire a stronger, more effective prayer ministry. Pastor Rick resides in the Pacific Northwest-USA with his wife Jennifer, has a daughter Ashley, and two grandchildren, Malachi and Rion. For invitation information, email: contact@thejohuagrouponline.org www.thejoshuagrouponline.org

test imonies

Have you been touched with a miracle? SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY! Needs to be 1000 words or less in Word format. Attach photo and email to : contact@thejoshuagrouponline.org

I Will R

People of God, it’s time to shake ourselves loose! How do you let yourself be the spiritual “wild child” that God wants you to be? How do you stir up the joy in you so it cannot be contained? Can you envision King David as he gave praise to his God- to his friend? Praises poured out of a joyous spirit. David proclaimed that shouts of joy and victory are to resound in the tents of the righteousness of the Lord. Shouts of joy and victory – loud, bold, festive, engaging, moving, and exciting shouts - are to fill the tents of the Lord. Well, guess what? We now are the tents of the Lord.

Psalm 118:15-24 The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. 17 I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the LORD. 18 The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD, Through which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

Rejoice! By Diana Snead

We are buildings, temples or dwelling places, that have not been made by bricks and mortar. We are temples of the Most High God. The Holy Ghost that resides in each child of God makes us into a delightful dwelling place. The Holy Ghost in each of us desires that our Father be exalted, praised, and celebrated. That is what the Holy Ghost wants to do. Can we agree with the Spirit in us? Can we be that tent that explodes with praises of the goodness of God? This explosion is sparked by the fact that the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things for us. The Lord’s right hand has been lifted high to change this world, our lives, our future and our hope. The Lord’s hand is higher than anything that could come against us. His hand is lifted high like a mighty warrior dressed for battle on behalf of them who belong to Him. We serve a protective God and it is a marvelous thing to belong to Him! Let us no longer be sedated in our worship of God. Let us not be lethargic or worried about critical on-lookers. This is

the time to “cut loose” from anything traditional or restraining and to uplift the name of our God like never before. We owe it to Him. Anytime we look upon Him, we can see His right hand is still lifted high. He endures. He conquers. He overcomes. He will always be above all others. Therefore, let us lift our voices, and our hands, let us express ourselves freely in actions of worship to exalt Him like never before. If we dive into Him, if we are willing to go into the deeper waters and climb the higher mountains of praise to be with Him, can we even comprehend the shouts of joys and victories that await us? It is time for childlike joy to reign in our core being; it is time for shouts of victory for what our mighty God has brought us from and through. So go where God is. Open up your spirit to what it wants to do. What a powerful choice it is to simply choose joy. And how strengthened we become when we choose it. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice! v

Diana L. Snead is a licensed evangelist and teacher as well as the Founder and President of Clefted Rock Ministries. She received her ministerial license November 16, 1995 after delivering the first of many powerful messages from the heart of God. Her mission is to “break yokes, pierce hearts, change minds, and transform lives through the power of the Word of God”. Mrs. Snead serves enthusiastically in her church body as administrative assistant for the evangelist team, is a Bible College instructor and a member of the personal ministry team.

Q MAY | q and a

What is the sinners prayer?

17â&#x20AC;&#x192;

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

A MAY | q and a

The sinner’s prayer is referring to any prayer of repentance, spoken or read by individuals who feel convicted of the presence of sin in their life and desire to form a personal relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ. It is any prayer designed to make it simple for one wanting to become a Christian to confess sin, acknowledge the need for salvation, and make a commitment to receive Christ as Savior. The prayer is typically very basic, short, simple and straight to the point.

One must hear the Gospel in order for faith in Christ to be produced in the mind of the hearer (1 John 1:9; John 5:24; Acts 15:7; Romans 10:17). Therefore, all persons who are accountable to God are brought to belief in Christ (John 3:16-18; Acts 16:31). Believers in Christ are then commanded to repent of their sins (Acts 17:30). Following repentance one must confess his belief that Christ is the Son of God: “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-10).

The sinner’s prayer is simply a guideline for those who want to become a Christian. The following is an example of a sinner’s prayer

“Heavenly Father, I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, and that he died on the cross that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come into my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my sins. Because your Word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am born again and cleansed by the blood of Jesus! Amen.

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The Spirit of Holiness How many times have you stopped short of coming to the Lord with a need because you felt sad, troubled, low on faith, or even frightened about your circumstance? Maybe even the trouble is something you brought on yourself and because of that, you feel unworthy to ask the Lord for help? I’m here to open your eyes to the work of the Spirit of Holiness and how what you have tried to fix in yourself can only be redeemed through Him. It’s freedom time! Are you ready to be free?! Let’s start with a great example found in Luke 24:13-49; the road to Emmaus and the disciples in the upper room. The disciples have been hanging out in the upper room for the past three days wondering why their lives have just fallen apart. Jesus, whom they were hoping would redeem them, has been dead for three days and now here comes some women running from the tomb saying that He is risen, gone! The scriptures say that the men did not believe them; they considered their words idle tales.

and then He brings forth the truth even after addressing their lack of faith and slowness of heart to believe. Don’t miss that! He knew the state they were in, but that didn’t keep Him away. He came because of the searching for truth in their hearts. He came because of the Kingdom they were seeking. The confusion Two of these men, after hearing this, contin- didn’t keep Him away when there was seekued on their way home to Emmaus. They are ing for the truth. Since Jesus is the Way, the speaking to each other about all that has taken Truth and the Life; He has to come when Truth place. They are confused, sad and troubled. is sought. You could even call them double-minded. Here is the miracle; even though they are in such a After having their eyes opened by the breakstate, their hearts are searching for truth, and ing of bread, these two men return to the other the earnest searching of their heart attracts disciples in Jerusalem and started to testify of Jesus Himself to their side. He asks them what just happened to them. They were proabout their conversation and even listens to claiming, “The Lord is risen indeed!” Now, their explanation. He waits for the right time while they were testifying as to what just hap-

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

MAY | 2010 pened, Jesus Himself appeared in the midst of them! The testimony of the Lord being alive; the testimony of what they learned being with Jesus was something that brought Jesus’ presence forth in this new place. And what did Jesus say upon His arrival? He first says, “Peace to you.” The disciples were terrified and frightened, troubled, and full of wondering. The point here is that the Lord already knew the condition of their hearts. He knew the doubt in them and what their reaction would be, yet, He also knew that the testimony of the two from Emmaus was enough to overcome the atmosphere of fear so He would be welcomed. Their testimony attracted Jesus. The testimony planted a seed that the presence of God could come in and water.

blood, and how the blood of Jesus is able to cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. That is the working of the Spirit of Holiness! The blood is Holy. Hebrews 10:22 says, “…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” And James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify our hearts, you double-minded.”

In the past, the church has tried to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts through dead works. That is, we try to do many things that are religious or feel right, but aren’t really of God. When we define holiness our own way, we We all want our lives and the atmosphere end up in bondage. We end up tied to things, around us to be inviting to the presence of the rules, people and traditions that aren’t foundLord. Bottom line, we want more of Him; we ed in the gospel of Christ. When we spend our need more of Him -but we live in fleshly ves- time on those things, we keep out the power sels. Even though we are sanctified and set and Spirit of God. God knows our capacity for apart for His glory, we are in the process of making ourselves usable and Christ-like. That takes submission, humility and a thirst for knowledge. We must all strive toward it, yet of ourselves we can do nothing. When we understand that nothing we do will ever conquer our flesh and make us holy, we are positioned for the Spirit of Holiness to come and rule and reign in our lives!

Romans 1:1-4 speaks of Jesus being declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. What does that mean? ‘According’ means, ‘after the likeness of ’. So, it was the power of Holiness, the very DNA of the Father’s Spirit, the Spirit of Holiness, that raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus’ blood is Holy. So the very DNA of His blood is according to the Spirit of Holiness. For His blood is the Father’s bloodline. It is the Holy Spirit that carries holiness and is passed to us – our spiritual “bloodline”. Hebrews 9:11-14 talks about the power of that

May 2010 4 Prayer Matters Magazine

MAY | 2010 evil; He knows our need to be washed by the water of His Word and Spirit. He knows that we can have times of little faith and be doubleminded. He knows all about the frailty of His human creation. He doesn’t want us in denial of these things, but to recognize our need of Him! He says in Hebrews 4:16 to come boldly to the Throne of Grace to find Mercy and Grace to help in our time of need! Your need does not drive Him away! You are the one keeping your distance by not drawing near to Him! Does He not say to seek His kingdom first and all that you have need of will be added to you? He knows what you have need of. But seek Him first! Holiness is not a “perfection” that makes it look like you don’t need anything; holiness is being so real about your needs that you have a deep and personal relationship with the Spirit of God so that you turn to that Spirit and let Him do His work to cover and repair each need.

surrender and humbling yourself under His mighty hand. Being separated from God separates us from the capacity to know and experience holiness. So how do we attract Jesus, the Spirit of Holiness and the Kingdom of God into our life? How do we know the Spirit of Holiness instead of religion, tradition, rigid self-righteousness? We entice Him to come to us by seeking Him first. He knows where your faith level is, whether you are being troubled, or doubleminded but honestly yearn for the Truth and testify about what you know about Him. Be as the father in Mark 9:24, stating, “Lord, I believe: help my unbelief!” Turning to Jesus with an expectation that He will comfort, guide, and explain is an act of faith in itself. Be free, love God and seek Him. Testify of what you know of Him and come to know His Spirit. If you can grasp how much you need Him and how much He wants to be with you, He will make you holy by His Spirit and by His Spirit alone. v

Deborah Cozzetti is Founder and President of ROAR Ministries, in Puyallup, Washington. Deborah is strong in prophetic intercession, worship and teaching the prophetic word. In this move of God that we are starting to ROAR Ministries believes in come into, it will be through the Spirit of Holibeing a voice in the community and with that, Deborah helped ness that the greater signs, wonders, healings to start a local school district and miracles will take place. Remember, it was through the Spirit of Holiness that Jesus was coalition named Franklin Pierce YOUTH FIRST! in raised from the dead! In the presence of the 2001 and was chair for the first two years of operation. Spirit of Holiness all that is not of God and His She currently is co-chair but stepped down as chair in 2003-2004 to help start a nonprofit organization on Kingdom must flee! All sickness, demons, torbehalf of homeless and displaced youth in her counmenting spirits -those things that hinder you ty. In February of 2004, ‘Youth Resources’ became a and this world, cannot dwell and prosper in recognized nonprofit organization. Deborah has been the presence of holiness. While you seek Him the Executive Director of Youth Resources since 2004. and rest in His presence, His blood will cleanse Under “Dabar Ministries”, a writing ministry, Deborah you from your evil conscience, wash your body, teaches the Word of God, declaring the heart & truth cleanse your hands, and purify your heart so of the Lord and destroying the false spirit of this age. that you may serve the living God! It’s about www.roarministries.com

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.â&#x20AC;? ~ Mark 11:24

MINISTRY | spotlight

The Global Day of

Sunday, May 23, 2010

K now someone to s p o

MINISTRY | spotlight

Prayer The primary purpose we gather is for the glory of Christ and the blessing of the nations. To seek God and exalt His Son for one reason only, because He is worthy. The day is approaching when everything will be subject to His glory. We are motivated by who He is not what we will get from our coming together. Ten days of constant prayer: On Ascension Day, millions of Christians will find ways to pray night and day throughout the ten days leading to Pentecost, following the pattern of Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s followers before the first Pentecost. The Global Day of Prayer: On Pentecost Sunday, Christians in almost every country will assemble to pray. Many will gather in small groups in homes, many will assemble in large stadiums and other public venues. In some places, television, radio and Internet will help to connect and align our prayers even more. Ninety days of blessing: As in the first Pentecost, transformed Christians transform their communities as they offer themselves to God as instruments through which their prayers can be answered. The Global Day of Prayer anticipates the forming or furthering of local alliances among pastors, churches, missions and business leaders, to bring practical, transformational blessing to their communities.

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(12)

Twelve Powerful Prayer Secrets (part 7)

By Pastor Terry Harris

ally know that He has this? Do I really know?" So once you've prayed and you know it's in God's hands, then it's time to be still and know that He is God. We know that there are other times when we have to do spiritual warfare, or when we are to pray and take physical actions as well. In this situation, there are no physical actions for you to take. You are to be still. No emails -be still; no phone calls -be still; sit down and be still. You don't need to go take care of anything. When God says "I have it", just be still. Psalms 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God." Just think about that for a moment. This prayer isn’t prayed often, but when it is, God can do special things. It can also be one of the hardest things for us to do. How many of us are good at doing nothing? This prayer secret is simply called, "be still and know". In order to use this prayer there are two things you have to do: Be still and know. Be still -we are so used to taking action and helping God do things, we sometimes forget the art of patience. Every now and then and maybe even more than that, the Lord will say to you, "on this one, I got it." That should be great news for the believer. When you know that you know that God has your situation in control, you can relax. God has it all in His hands. That should be good news. Unfortunately, many Christians find it so hard to just be still and leave it with God.

God loves you so much that there are situations where He is totally going to take it and do it for you. You won’t have to lift a finger. This type of situation doesn't come along every day, but when it does, you have to be up to the challenge. You have to receive the blessing of peace that comes from knowing. While you are being still, there might be things going on around you. Your thinking may be, “I need to do this, I need to do that, I need to go here, I need to handle this", but you have to quiet your mind and listen instead to the Holy Spirit inside you saying, "be still, God has it." When God gives you such a word as this, you don’t want to start messing around with it in the physical. He has told you to be still for a reason. Don’t get in the way of God. When He has told you to sit down, but you don’t, you can get in the way. It’s easier to be still when you have the knowing part down. When you know that God is in charge, you can be still. You don't need to call anybody or do anything, God has it. Then watch in amazement as God manuevers and works among the affairs of men for you.

The second part is to know that He is God. Know that, as God, He has it in His hands. Know that everything is okay. This can be just as hard as the first part because what you see in the natu- The spiritual attacks come when the enemy ral realm can make you really wonder. It is often knows what God has spoken to you. Satan what we see that leads us to question, "do I re- knows that God has said for you to “be still”.

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

What the devil does is to begin to try to get you to stop being still and start taking physical action. Satan starts messing with you so you will take the situation out of God's hands and take it back into your hands. But God has it. He is already sending out angels and releasing His plans for you. But what if you begin to start interjecting physical actions. Can you imagine the angels? They would pull up with shock and say, "God told you to sit down, what are you doing? We got this! Don't make those phone calls, don’t set up a meeting, don’t fret -just have faith and leave it alone.” Remember, God is over everything. God even says, “I will be exalted among the heathen." Many times when God tells me to be still it has something to do outside of Christianity. God can deal with Corporate America. He can deal with the private sector. He can deal with the public sector, even when there are heathens in charge. God is God among the heathen. Even if in your life you have to be involved with ungodly people, God says, “I am exalted among the heathen". The heathen doesn't scare God. The heathen can sometimes concern the Christian, but not God. God is above the unsaved. God can turn that man or woman or even remove them from the situation.

case. He had heard about it. I told him I hadn’t heard anything for about three months so he pulled up the case. When he located the case, it had a statement written on it: “dismissed, lack of evidence”. He said, “Do you want to find out how this whole thing got dismissed?" I said, "No, I don't need to know. It's over”. The situation just disappeared. It looked like it was escalating into one big, gigantic problem, but God could see what He had in mind. I did nothing to stop it. God said to be still. I obeyed, and He took care of it! “Be still”. There are times in these types of situations where God will give such a word as this and when He does, enjoy it. You want to be at a place in your life that when God says, “I got this, you don't have to do anything”, that you can enjoy it. Know that in the battle you don't have to fight, God is going to take care of it for you.

Let's walk through the prayer: "Father I come in the name of Jesus with praise and thanksgiving. Father I have prayed and made my request known. I have given the situation to You. God, I ask that You will help me to be still. God, I ask that You help me so that I don't interfere. God I ask that You help me to leave it in Your hands. Father I ask You to bless me to know that You are God and that You have this. God, You will be exalted. One of my very first experiences with this is Father, help me to be at rest and at peace as you when I graduated from college and went to work bring this situation to pass and perform Your work." as a Federal Auditor and began to move around v the different agencies. When I was with the IRS TERRY HARRIS is the Founda situation came after I left where somebody er and Senior Pastor of Tacoma tried to pin a bunch of illegal stuff on me and it Christian Center in Tacoma, Washington. With Pastor Harris’ leadgot real crazy. My very first thought was, “I'm ership, the church, with over 1200 going to have to fight this.” The Lord ministered members, has been a powerful to me to be still. He said, “you're not going to force in the city and the entire have to fight in this battle. Be still and know.” Western Washington region. After Back then there wasn't email, everything was by close to 30 years of vision and comletter and phone calls. I got a letter from the IRS mitment, the church campus encompasses over 1-1/2 saying I owed 10-12 thousand dollars and they city blocks, and along with the sanctuary and offices, it were going to garnish my wages. Things in the includes a restaurant and a state-of-the-art gymnasium natural will get you to try to respond, but with named Winners. In addition to operating a large church, each letter God said, ”be still and know.” So, I Pastor Harris has taught God’s Word via a weekly telstayed still, and six months to a year later I was evision broadcast, serves on numerous Boards, has audowntown at the IRS office getting forms for my thored a book and continues to be a integral leader of taxes and one of the guys I used to work for saw the community. me. We started talking and I told him about my

May 2010 4 Prayer Matters Magazine

EDUCATION | bookshelf

read

BOO B book

learn Intercession

James Goll

The words of an intercessor are a powerful force for healing the wounds of the past and shaping the course of history. Intercession: The Power and Passion to Shape History helps the intercessor release those words into the heavens and bring down God’s healing results on earth. Jim Goll shifts the focus of intercession away from the typical “shotgun” approach of praying for the whole world in a single prayer. At the same time he impressively portrays how you can focus your prayer on what God desires as opposed to what you need.

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

OKS BOOKS ks

EDUCATION | bookshelf

ENJOY

educate

GROW study

For these and other Spirit-led books, go to www.arsenalbooks.com

Prayers that Outwit the Enemy

Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema Too many Christians feel downtrodden and defeated by the enemy’s minions before the battle has even begun. The result is that while we stand passively on the sidelines, the enemy runs completely amok. Chuck D. Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema say it’s time for all Christians to do an abrupt about-face and start learning how to outwit the enemy of our souls. Don’t be timid or hesitant. Scripture says that we are more than conquerors through Christ. Let Chuck and Rebecca show you how to pray with power and authority – offering prayers of submission, confrontation, faith, wisdom, breakthrough and more – to stop the enemy dead in his tracks!

March May 2010 4 Prayer Matters Magazine

EVENTS | calendar

ap penings

may-june May 7-9 | Jackson Hole, WY WYOMING GLORY INVASION David & Stephanie Herzog www.thegloryzone.org Diamond Cross Ranch Moran, WY 83013 www.diamondcrossranch.net 307-543-2477 May 13-15 | Middletown, OH MOBILIZING THE TRIUMPHANT RESERVE: LET THE PROPHETIC SOUND GO FORTH! Peter Wagner, Chuck Pierce, Kimberly Daniels, Jane Hamon, Tim Sheets www.globalharvest.org The Oasis Church Middletown, OH 888-965-1099 May 23 | The World GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER MISSION: To call Christians from all nations; to unite in repentance and prayer; work together as God’s servants for the blessing and healing of the Nations www.globaldayofprayer.com

Prayer Matters Magazine 3 May 2010

EVENTS || calendar December.09 calendar May 27-29 | Fort Mill, SC HEART OF DAVID WORSHIP & WARFARE CONFERENCE Cindy Jacobs, Ray Hughes, Rick Joyner www.morningstarministries.org MorningStar Fellowship Church at Heritage International Ministries 375 Star Light Dr. Fort Mill SC 29715 877-446-3836 May 28-29 | St. Charles, IL ROCK THE FLOCK Kim Clement, Mark Chironna www.kimclement.com Pheasant Run Resort Mega Center 4051 E. Main Street St Charles, IL 60174 630-584-6300 June 13-18 | Fort Worth, TX REVIVAL Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne www.revival.com Calvary Cathedral 1701 Oakhurst Scenic Dr. Fort Worth, Texas 76111 817- 332-1246

June 26 | San Diego, CA REDEEMING THE RUBIES Rev. Yana Haulsey, Laura Rhinehart, Ann Keane & More www.redeemingencountersministries.com Handlery Hotel & Resort 950 Hotel Circle North San Diego, CA 92108 425-314-5965

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May 2010 4 Prayer Matters Magazine

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