Pray for the details (again): 2024 election

August 27, 2020 March 19, 2024

(As you can tell, this article was originally posted about the 2020 US Presidential Election. Here we are in 2024, having just as much cause to pray for this year’s election; even more. We now have nearly four years of experience living under the authority of an administration that seems determined to wreck this nation inside and out. Is that God’s will, his idea, his intention, his goals and purposes for America? I don’t believe that. And so, I’m reposting this prayer and inviting you to join in. Adopt it, amend it or add to it, as you are led by the Holy Spirit.)   

Father, I believe you are calling your intercessors worldwide to pray about the 2020 2024 United States Presidential election.

I believe that you give those believers who will pray insight and revelation knowledge of what You desire that we pray, declare and decree before, during, and after the election.

“In addition to praying for the candidates, pray about
the daily details faced by those in charge of the entire voting process.”

Father, I ask that you supply everything needed by every voter registration office in the United States in order to plan, prepare for and conduct an efficient, orderly, honest and accurate election.

Give the people in charge of those critical offices all the assistance, information, knowledge and wisdom they need in order to plan and prepare well.

Keep them and those who assist them safe and healthy during this process.

Assign angel warriors around every area involved, keeping peace between persons concerned and involved in the work, so that no intentions for trouble-making can be carried out.

Provide the essential know-how, manpower, materials and equipment at all voting places, as well as all locations where ballots will be counted.

Assure that the voting and the counting is done in the most timely and orderly manner possible, without problems or delays caused by people or equipment whether deliberate or accidental, so that the results in every precinct will be accurate.

Importantly, assure that the official reporting — and the media reporting — of the results will be timely, orderly, and accurate also.

Thank you, Father. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

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Intercessors, can you agree with this prayer? Is there anything that you feel needs to be added? Your prayerful comments are appreciated.

Additional prayers may be posted between now and election day. Thank you for reading and for praying.

 

Prayers for America’s governments

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

A 24-hour prayer time was recently called for my church where people signed up for specific times to come and pray. Some of us were asked to write a prayer on a specific subject as a guideline. The following is based on what I submitted that day.

Prayers for Local, State and Federal Government

In Jesus’s prayer in John 17, he did not pray for the world. He prayed for the believers who existed at that time, and those that would exist in the future:

“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine… Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;” (John 17:9; 29)

I believe we should pray for all those who work in government, the elected and the non-elected (staff or volunteers) ones; the Christians and the non-Christians who have been elected, appointed or hired to government positions, in federal, state, regional, county and city governments. That includes all the court systems as well on each level.

These are the people who run the governments of America, many of them behind-the-scenes, invisible people. They pull the strings, make the decisions, even write the legislative bills voted on. Every one of them is vulnerable to make bad decisions, because of the sheer numbers of opportunities and temptations to compromise their principles that they face on a regular basis.

Most of us pray at election time for the people running for office, don’t we? But too often we don’t pray for them afterward. Or we don’t think to pray for the non-elected people who work in government, and there are a great number of them. We need to pray for the lost to get saved, certainly, but also for the faith of the saved ones to be protected.

Below are prayers found in the writings of Paul and others. I believe It would be good for us to use these prayers now for those who work in the various governments and agencies across America.

•  “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” (Ephesians 1:15-19)

•  “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and [in] all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)

• “For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:” (Colossians 1:9-12)

• “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of [this] calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of [his] goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)

• “I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, 5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; 6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 1:4-6)

• “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Gaming the System

“They’re gaming the system.”

That’s what the Lord said to me, several days ago. I was praying, as so many people were, about the runoff election in Georgia.

“What do you mean?” I wondered, when I heard His words. What does that mean, exactly, “gaming the system?” (I looked it up online this morning. Basically it means using rules and procedures meant to protect a system to manipulate that system for a desired outcome, instead.)

His answer wasn’t long in coming.

Patriots are hoping. Conservatives are hoping. Hoping to reverse the current status-quo with one, important election. Voters who are struggling against high prices and inflation worries with Christmas coming up fast, are hoping.

Unfortunately, our hope has been worldly hope. You know, with a 50-50 chance of success. Scriptural hope is confident expectation of future success, not quite the same thing.

Some folks have been planning, meeting, discussing and arguing. Strategizing over best ways to achieve short-term goals, like getting more like-minded voters to the polls, appointing poll workers and poll watchers. Thinking up every way possible to prevent the lying, deceiving, cheating and stealing that has most certainly happened in previous elections.

They have been drafting volunteers, holding training sessions and providing persuasive scripts. Using phone calls, emails, tweets, blog posts, snail mail, social media as well as door-knocking in chosen neighborhoods they are repeating communications in a wide variety of formats throughout the state — and no doubt irritating, annoying and aggravating some people on the receiving end of those pleas.

And behind all this, the Lord continued, all the while many believers are “gaming the system.” Praying, praying and more praying; they’re not just requesting but begging and pleading. Fasting. Reading more Bible than usual. Making promises and commitments to attend church more often, enroll in Sunday School, attend a Bible study, volunteer somewhere, and of course, contribute more cash to worthy causes and in the offering plate.

They are bargaining with God for this short-term but oh, so important positive answer.

There is nothing wrong with all of those things, the Lord told me. They are good habits to cultivate.

But did they ask Me what I wanted them to pray? Or did they assume they knew, they just KNEW that they knew what I wanted and made that the basis for their prayers, their actions and activities, in this short-term effort? All that energy!

Too few of them did. Understand this: My desire, My plans and strategies are quite different, because my goals are different.

I play a long-term game.

Many of MY people, called by MY name, are “desperately” praying for revival across America. Just how desperate are they? They are desperate when they themselves or ones they love are hurting, sick or broke, their situation seeming hopeless.

That’s simply not enough. There won’t be revival, real revival that results in real change of hearts without the key ingredients: Grief. Mourning. Weeping. Conviction! Confession! Repentance.

Over what, though, I wanted to know? Aren’t we the born-again, washed-in-the-blood clean ones, the righteousness of God in Christ ones? Don’t we live the most honest, most moral life we know how to live? What is there for us to weep over?

You have gotten used to the way things are, He said. You have gotten into the mind-set of “I vote. But I’m just one person, there’s only so much I can do, after all.” You have turned your eyes away from the frequent reports of the ugly, sinful, evil behavior and destructive damage being done across this nation, sometimes saying a short prayer as you turn the page, or scroll down the screen, or turn off the TV news. “Help, Lord!” You pray.

But you don’t acknowledge any real responsibility or feel any remorse. YOU didn’t do it, after all. So who is responsible, then?

None of the evil being done in America could have happened without the silence of the people who should have stood up, looked up, showed up and spoken up. No, YOU didn’t do it, but MY PEOPLE did it by their silent, passive acquiescence.

And now when they themselves are “feeling the heat,” they cry out for revival, for an outpouring of my Spirit.

And one is coming, but not like they envision. An outpouring of conviction from my Spirit.

Revival will not come without repentance from the very people who yearn for revival. II Chronicles 7:14 was written with them in mind.

“If MY people, which are called by MY name, shall humble THEMSELVES, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from THEIR wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive THEIR sin, and will heal THEIR land.”

Change the focus. Change the prayer. Change the behavior. Then I’ll change America, and the world, to what I want it to be: Mine.

 

Henry’s Sentries are being called up

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

A radical revolutionary not afraid to speak up against Great Britain, Patrick Henry is most famous for his speech that includes the line, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Governor of Virginia during the Revolution, he fought to add the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution.

As I was dreaming a nonsense sort of dream early this morning, a word from the Lord interrupted my dream quite loudly. “Henry’s Sentries.”

It was so loud, so pronounced, that it woke me up from sleep about 4:00 AM. There was nothing more than that, no explanation, nothing. I couldn’t imagine what it meant.

I know what a sentry is – a guard, a watchman – which is what prophetic intercessors are, in the spirit realm. I am one of those.

But who or what was Henry? Immediately the name, Patrick Henry, came to mind. All I remembered about him was “Give me liberty or give me death,” a statement he made in a speech before the American Revolution.

Questions and more questions kept coming:

• Who exactly was Patrick Henry?
• How was he connected to “sentries?”
• How did he get information that caused him to support resistance to Great Britain?
• Who were his friends, acquaintances, cohorts, compatriots in those times?
• Henry’s sentries — were they secret agents? Spies?
• Pre-Revolution and/or during the Revolution?
• Did Patrick Henry know Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington and if so, were they friends?

I got up, fixed a cup of coffee and went to the computer. Using various phrases to seek out what that word referred to, I learned that without the voice and influence of Patrick Henry, there would be no Bill of Rights attached to the Constitution. That piqued my interest even further.

And then I came across a free online digitized biography of Patrick Henry, written by his grandson William Wirt Henry: “Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence And Speeches V1.”, published in 1891. I found a printed copy online and ordered it. I started reading the digitized  version, taking a break only to go to a Tuesday prayer meeting at my friends’ home.

I have learned some interesting things about Patrick Henry:
– Ordinary looking, unassuming (usually).
– Didn’t care much about his outward appearance or dress.
– Loved music; played the violin and flute.
– Loved fun, quite personable with an excellent personality.
– After a few years of regular school he was tutored at home by his father.
– Closely observed people and things, keeping his thoughts to himself a lot of the time.
– Highly intelligent; a voracious reader.
– A Christian from an early age; knowledgeable of the Bible.
– Possessed a remarkable and accurate memory of whatever he read, saw or heard.

I have also learned some important things about him:
– Married at age 18, he failed at two occupations, then read a couple of law books, applied for a law license, was examined and licensed.
– He began a highly successful practice while still a very young man, serving the working class people mostly; quite successful in court, he soon became respected and well liked in that area of Virginia.
– He was a powerful, anointed orator when he finally began to speak on issues that he felt passionate about. Like freedom. Liberty.
– Elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses on a “fluke,” in just a few short days he became one of the most notable and powerful voices in Virginia politics. Amazing!

I gradually came to realize that Henry’s sentries didn’t live during his lifetime. God is calling them up in OUR lifetime.

Henry was a modern-day Son of Issachar (see note below), one of Holy Spirit’s sentries whose relationship with the Lord, close observation of the times and events he was living through, and courage and willingness to speak out were instrumental in saving the American colonies from the grip of Great Britain.

Sentries like that are needed now, in the time we’re living in. I could name a few that I know of across the nation today, but many more are needed.

I shared about this with the members of the prayer group and was asked to pray a prayer of impartation over the group – there were nine of us there today – for this specific assignment. And so I did.

We are all connected to other intercessors in this area and other places, some prophetic, some not, but we have discovered a common thread in the last few weeks: attacks of the enemy to distract our attention and change our prayer focus.

Some have been hurt in odd accidents, some have become sick with unusual ailments or someone in their families have, and some have been experiencing sudden disturbances in their household or with relatives.

At the same time, there have been a number of great answers to long-time prayers, real breakthroughs.

We are committed to continuing our prayers / commands / decrees, asking the Lord to sharpen our spiritual seeing, our hearing, our attention to his voice; committed to taking greater authority over the distractions of the enemy, to standing up and speaking out when and as the Holy Spirit directs it.

How about you?

……………………………………………..

The sons of Issachar are described in I Chronicles 12:32: “Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command.” They served David well.
See https://www.livingaschristians.com/resources/2020/06/14/the-sons-of-issachar

Lies coming down

I shared this word with only a few fellow intercessors back in February, but this week I’ve seen more and more of it coming to pass.

On Monday night February 14, 2022, as I was praying before sleep the Lord showed me ranks of angel warriors with swords drawn and pointed outwards, preparing to attack.

Father God showed me that he has called Time and the warriors are deploying. He is calling an end to the lies and deception that the enemy has been using across America (and the whole world, for that matter).

The spirit behind all the lies and deception is actually the spirit of fear, He said. Fear of being found out, truth revealed, deceptions uncovered, lies that had brought much influence, power and wealth, while hidden.

Over the coming days / weeks / months there will be a battle of God’s warriors against the spirit of fear behind the lies, deception, all the deliberate falsehoods afflicting God’s people — indeed all people.

You won’t actually perceive this battle very well on the earth for a little while, He said, because it is a purely spiritual battle. But you will perceive the results soon as the lies are made obvious. The lies and deception will come down, will end, and the truth will become obvious.

Soon the spiritual battle will descend onto the earth and the natural world will also engage in this battle. Spiritual warriors and prayer warriors will be put to work more fiercely than ever.

So be alert, be aware, watch and keep watching, listen and keep listening. More importantly, pray and keep praying.

Posted 1 April 2022

 

Why am I upset?

Here is why.

Voting is not just political; it’s spiritual.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”   (Attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.)

Your silence says it all. I don’t feel angry, I just feel sad and grief-stricken at Christians, and especially pastors and other church leaders, who refuse to answer when asked the question,  “Who did you vote for?”

Because it matters.

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14)

“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 NIV)

One candidate claims to be Catholic, but he does not follow the church’s precepts. He was refused communion at a local Catholic church because of that.

He supports abortion (child sacrifice) and many other ungodly things. He promised if elected he would govern by those ungodly beliefs.

He plainly told people to vote for him at campaign events, in news print, emails, snail mail, television and radio ads, billboards and yard signs, on social media and more across this country.

Repeatedly he said, “Vote for me.”

And so, Christian friend, did you obey him? Did you vote for him? This matters. Because if you voted for him, you were spiritually yoked to his platform and principles. You have invited a curse into your life. I can no longer trust you, which is sad too.