It’s time to unclog the wells

April 30, 2021

Recently I heard someone say, “We need to dig the wells again.” I thought that meant we need the anointing of God that once flowed freely in the life of the church. Remembering the 1970’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Florence, I murmured a quick prayer, “Do it again, Lord, do it again here!” (But the words I’d heard were “We need to…”We need to…”)

At a meeting with several other intercessors this week, the Lord began speaking to us:

“The spiritual wells of the Holy Spirit that were opened here in the 1970’s have become clogged with chunks and rocks and boulders and dirt. Doubt, unbelief, wrong belief and ignorance. Anger, worry, anxiety, frustration, depression, disappointment, even complacency and apathy have been piled on.

“Many distractions and diversions, the ordinary busyness of life have been dumped in until there’s little sign the wells were ever there. It’s time to dig those wells out. You, this small group of you, can begin that process.”

(Holy Spirit continued…)

“New wells are being dug, present tense. Where a well never existed before, a new well is springing up — in a living room, a storefront, a back yard, a church building, a workplace, even a school. Young children who were told Bible stories about Jesus now believe them; Jesus is their Savior now. They are beginning to pray for their family and classmates, teachers and other adults. They will pray for the sick and they will be healed.”

As he spoke I began to see these new wells, almost like grass sprouting up here and there. But these weren’t water wells — they were oil wells, each one topped by a flame! I realized that they weren’t just wells of God’s manifest presence, these were wells of his supernatural power. “Fire power,” to ignite his passion in our hearts to see people saved, truly saved. Rescued, healed, and delivered.

His supernatural fire to burn away things in our lives, including some things that aren’t bad in themselves but would hinder God’s plans. (Matthew 3:11-12.)

The message ended with a thought-provoking statement, two assignments, actually:

If you truly desire revival, you have to “re-dig” the old wells, clean out those self-imposed blocks of spiritual debris; and

Dig new wells for the Holy Spirit’s presence to flow through, not allowing preconceived notions and memories of his past work to create blocks to his working now.

How, Lord? How do we do this? Here’s what he answered.

• By repentance, prayer and intercession, praise and worship
• Listening and obeying the Holy Spirit as he specifically directs our actions, our prayers and decrees
• Allowing the gifts of the Holy Spirit to operate in our lives
• Teaching the Word, including by “show and tell.” Dealing with Ignorance in the body of Christ, as much as it depends on us; our words, testimonies and examples are powerful
• Exercising authority over spirits of compromise, complacency, apathy, deception and distraction in our own lives and in our areas of influence

Repentance and forgiveness aren’t just important, they are essential.

Some of us were here when God’s spirit was poured out in Florence, and some of us are responsible for clogging up those wells.

We took his blessings for granted. We got busy with life, we let distractions and diversions block his presence. Deception too, believing the lie, “That was nice, but this is real life.”

Others of us weren’t even born yet, but that’s no excuse to accept the status quo.

We can take the initiative to repent as did Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 1:5-11.) Ask for forgiveness and extend forgiveness. Ask the Lord what to pray and pray that; what to speak, then speak that.

God delegated his authority to the body of Christ to decree, declare and command what he wants done in the earth. Do we really want to see revival?

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Matthew 3:11-12 (NASB) “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Nehemiah 1:5-11 (NASB) “I said, Please, LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.”
“Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I have chosen to have My name dwell.’”
“They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. Please, Lord, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to [fn]revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man. Now I was the cupbearer to the king.”

Don’t blame the General

If you don’t fight in the battle, don’t blame the General when you lose.

More darkness is coming

Esther's Petition

Last night before going to sleep, I had been praying for specific people that came to mind, pretty much as usual. After the last one, I asked the Lord to please speak to me. I had been “doing all the talking,” and even though I knew he had wanted me to pray for those people, now I wanted to listen.

More darkness is coming, he said.

Oh, Lord, I said, again? We’ve had a lot of darkness lately, haven’t we? And there’s a global revival going on, isn’t there?

Yes, but more darkness is coming. More trouble, anxiety, depression, worry, anger, fear, money problems, health problems, family conflicts, community disagreements, arguments escalating into fights, warfare between peoples, between nations. All of it is escalating.

Where there have been floods and fires, hurricanes, tornadoes and super storms, there will be drought. Famine will be accompanied by a lack of resources, and…

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Dream warnings

Notice the original date of publication; it’s still relevant, maybe more relevant today than it was then. WAKE UP, the Holy Spirit is not just saying, He’s yelling. And some are indeed waking up now. I’m so very glad they are. Will there be enough of them?

Esther's Petition

I’ve had several prophetic dreams in my life, and I still remember each one vividly, either in part or in whole. The first was many years ago (1970s, I think) and involved the believers of my town being called individually by the Holy Spirit, families instructed to gather in a central location to be collected by the Lord, as the time had come for the final global warfare.

It was incredibly thought-provoking, especially when I learned over the next few days that similar dreams were being reported by many other Christians across the world, one even dreamed by a sister-in-law. The scenarios were different but the interpretations were the same. An increase in evangelism resulted, at least for a time.

A very different end-time dream occurred some years following that one, involving only me, myself, being instantly transported to a recessed doorway half-way up a mountainside on the other side…

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He’s taking the blinders off

April 12, 2021

“We’re in a time of spiritual pause,” the Lord said to me last night. He is turning his “ship of state,” the body of Christ, to re-focus their attention.

I had been feeling a bit off spiritually, mentally, emotionally, during the day. It was sort of like waiting for the other shoe to fall. I’m sure you’re familiar with that icky feeling. I’ve felt it several times in recent years. It’s always significant, I’m sure, but just what the significance is hasn’t always appeared. And so as I prayed last night, I asked him “What’s going on, Lord?”

And that’s what he said: A spiritual pause; a re-focusing.

I imagined a huge ship. The captain can’t just jerk the steering wheel to change direction, it takes a while for a ship of that size to make a turn. It moves slowly, slowly, bit by bit until the change is complete.

He is mobilizing his spiritual army and changing directions of the entire army, the Lord told me. It will take a little time. How much time? I asked, but he didn’t say.

He went on. The body of Christians worldwide have been acting like race horses with blinders on. Running around and around, horses wear blinders to block out distractions from their main focus — getting ahead. And so it has been with the human race, he said, even many if not most Christians.

My inner vision switched from the horse racetrack to the “rat race…”

What has been our focus? I asked myself. The main focus of myself, my family and friends, other people I’ve known in and out of church over my lifetime? I gave that some thought.

It wasn’t complicated. Here in America, we’ve been so focused on getting through school and college, getting a job or career, we’ve put blinders on ourselves out of necessity. We needed to avoid being distracted by less essential things, hindrances to a successful life.

Many of us focused next on getting married, having a family and raising kids. Buying a house, then a better house. Dealing with everyday stress with hobbies or vacations. Community volunteering for good causes. Trying to save for a “rainy day” or retirement. Taking care of any health problems that arise in ourselves or the family. Those things were important, weren’t they?

And of course unless we ourselves were called to a ministry of some sort, a Christian’s life meant going to church, supporting ministries and missions, praying and studying the Bible as much as possible. In our spare time we kept up some with current events, especially those that affected our own. There’s nothing evil in any of that, is there? I was thinking.

No, the Lord said, but I’m taking the blinders off now. I’m refocusing everyone’s attention. Directions are changing.

My people will see things they don’t see now. They will see what happens in the spirit world as well as the natural world. They will discern, begin to sense and feel the warfare going on around them.

Distractions? Oh, there will be a lot of distractions.

They’ll notice people they didn’t notice before. The man hurriedly walking down the street. Tired clerks in the store. Shoppers without smiles. Neighbors you see but have never met, co-workers you don’t really know, church members whose faces you recall but names you don’t. People in stores. Gas stations. Doctor’s offices. Hospitals. Workplaces. Needy people under attack everywhere you look, worried, anxious, sad, angry or depressed. Some are desperate. Disconsolate. There’s no more time for complacency in the body of Christ.

Along with distractions comes discomfort, he said. Unease and dissatisfaction. This war may have started without their notice, but they will notice it now.

There really is a war, there really is an enemy, and the enemy really is out to kill everyone he can — believers and non-believers alike. But while the warfare is escalating, the turning is accelerating. A change in direction is coming: the army is mobilizing.

I was concerned about what I was supposed to do with what I was hearing. Why are you telling me all this? I asked.

Well, you’re not the only one, he said. As he spoke I could almost see a small smile on his face. Listen. Discern. Arm. Pray and intercede. Decree, declare and command.

Watch and warn. And so I am.

Who’s your daddy

Esther's Petition

My personal journey to know Abba Father, elder brother Jesus, and constant companion Holy Spirit is ongoing, very much a present-tense process. Every day I get to know him a little bit better. Every day he shows me himself  better, and also myself better – ways in which I should and can grow and mature.

He tends to change my thinking, change my agenda and change my itinerary! He always leads me to understand his ways better, and also to understand the ways of others better.

He shows me the world in all its complexities, both natural and spiritual, sometimes taking me behind the scenes to see what is really going on. That is sobering and at times I would prefer to avoid it. Necessary to intercede, he tells me, I’m right here, don’t be afraid.

Every day he is more fascinating to me, more terrifying, more affectionate, more… just…

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Warrior in Chief

This is going to be long. Hope you will be patient as you read, and also pray as you read.

The other night as I prayed, I asked again, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “Chief Warrior. Lead Warrior.” Oh my.

A lengthy conversation ensued with images and descriptions of what those two terms mean. The next morning I did some online study on what those functions look like in the natural world. All of that brought on a great deal more prayer about these functions in the spiritual world, and the conflict going on in the heavenlies today. I began to realize that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are involved in spiritual warfare a great deal, more than I usually considered.

Leading the army of Israel, Joshua met a man one day who described himself as captain of Jehovah’s army. Joshua asked him, Whose side are you on, ours or theirs? It soon became obvious that this was no ordinary meeting, not an ordinary man or even an ordinary angel – if there is such a thing. It was Jehovah God himself.

“And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy. And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:14-15 KJV)

Thinking about these things, I asked myself (and the Lord) another question. Is there a difference between Chief Warrior and Lead Warrior? Yes, there is, and God is both.

The Chief Warrior is in overall control of all military branches. This work includes:

— Supporting the overall mission of national security and defense
— Information gathering
— Intelligence receiving
— Decision making
— Strategic planning
— Appointing and delegating authority
— Providing funding, people and materiel to carry out plans
— Giving orders

The Lead Warrior carries out those orders, leading and fighting alongside other warriors.

In America, “The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of all United States Armed Forces as well as all federalized United States Militia. In this capacity, the president exercises supreme operational command and control over all military personnel and militia members, and has plenary power to launch, direct and supervise military operations, order or authorize the deployment of troops, unilaterally launch nuclear weapons, and form military policy with the Department of Defense and Homeland Security. However, the constitutional ability to declare war is vested only in Congress.” (From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powers_of_the_president_of_the_United_States)

One notable American Chief Warrior was President Dwight D. Eisenhower. While he had extensive military experience, he never fought in combat. A notable American Lead Warrior was Douglas MacArthur, who fought in combat but was never President.

Several American Presidents did serve in both functions but not simultaneously, including George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt. None served in both capacities at the same time.

However, King Albert I of Belgium did. “King Albert I of Belgium (during WWI) was one of the last Kings to take the risk of joining his men in battle. When Belgium entered the war, King Albert I took personal command of the Belgian army… With him in command the Belgian troops were able to hold off Germany long enough for Britain and France to prepare for their own clash with the Germans. He never stopped fighting with his men… It was said that whenever he was on the front lines the Germans refused to fire on him out of respect for him being the highest ranked commander in harm’s way… At the end of the war, King Albert I led the Army Group Flanders and liberated Belgium. Once Belgium was free King Albert and his family returned to Brussels to a hero’s welcome.” (From https://historycollection.com/7-royal-escort-kings-led-armies-battle/)

I firmly believe that God himself is involved in spiritual warfare a great deal these days, as Chief Warrior AND Lead Warrior. Who do you suppose is winning this global battle?

Warrior

Thoughts about who and what God’s warriors actually are, continued.

Esther's Petition

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” Jesus said. “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” (John 14:15, 21, 23 NIV)

If we love Jesus, we will obey his commands, his principles, precepts, injunctions. His teachings. This doesn’t say we will TRY, it says we WILL.

Including: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20) (Everything he had commanded the disciples? That includes heal the sick, cast out demons, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead.)

And not only those things, we will do whatever he says to us personally, present tense…

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Under cover of darkness

Last night as I prayed, I asked “Who are you, Lord?” again. He replied, “Chief Warrior. Lead Warrior.” Oh my. A lengthy conversation ensued, with images and descriptions of just what those two terms meant. As I study and meditate further on all that, I thought I’d re-post an old post or two about who, and what, God’s warriors are.

Esther's Petition

In recent weeks I have experienced a peculiar sadness, an unexplained grief in my spirit off and on.

No matter what else I was doing – housework, grocery shopping, reading – I would begin to feel grief-stricken, as though something really bad had happened somewhere, or was getting ready to.

I was 14 the first time this happened, June 16, 1957 when my great grandmother Mary Emily Dunnahoe Springs died. I didn’t know her really, had only visited her once or twice with my grandmother. I knew she’d been bedridden because of a broken hip for years, but had no idea she was sick otherwise.

Spending the summer at my grandparents’ farm in Effingham, I had just gone to bed when suddenly a horrible sadness come over me for no reason. I was wondering what on earth was wrong with me when the phone rang and my grandmother Mimi went…

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