TRUMP’S MOST IMPORTANT INITIATIVE

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President Trump has launched America Prays, calling on Americans to gather weekly in prayer, honour the nation’s Christian foundations, seek God’s guidance, and prepare spiritually for the United States’ 250th anniversary.

Launched Monday at Washington DC’s Museum of the Bible, the America Prays initiative encourages US citizens to dedicate one hour each week to pray for the country, its leaders, families, freedoms and future.

“Next year, we will celebrate 250 years since that Declaration was signed,” President Trump explained. “As part of the grand commemoration, we’ve invited America’s great faith communities to pray for our nation, for our people, and for peace in the world.”

“President Trump has revived one of America’s most prominent and powerful founding principles — we are one nation under God,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. “America is stronger with the power of prayer.”

The America Prays campaign asks participants, where possible, to join with at least ten others each week in collective prayer. The effort extends the faith-driven message of Trump’s America250 campaign, which he launched at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in July.

At that event, President Trump emphasised the historic role of faith in sustaining the United States, saying:

As we prepare to celebrate two and a half centuries of freedom, I am inviting America’s great religious communities to pray for our nation and for our people. From the beginning, this has always been a country sustained and strengthened by prayer. If we bring religion back stronger, you’re going to see everything get better. So as we chart our course toward the next 250 years, let us rededicate ourselves to one nation under God.

The White House has provided participants with suggested resources, including scriptural readings and intercessory prayers for churches and Christian leaders. Scriptures recommended for prayer include 2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalm 33:12, and 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

A 22-page booklet titled Prayers and Proclamations Throughout American History has also been provided, which includes the Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving in 1621, the First Prayer in Congress in 1774, George Washington’s military orders and calls to prayer during the Revolutionary War, President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 call for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer, and Billy Graham’s prayer at the 1969 Presidential Inauguration.

Organisers of America Prays hope that at least one million Americans will dedicate an hour weekly to prayer, fostering a spirit of unity and spiritual renewal across the country.

“PRAYER POWER – CHANGING THE WORLD AND YOU”

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Following the release of his latest book, “Prayer Power—Changing the World and You,” which is drawing lots of positive comments from around the world, Rev. Dr. Stuart Robinson, an award-winning and bestselling author, was asked to share his thoughts on what he sees as the greatest need for God’s people in this hour.

PRAYER MATTERS

In May 2018, 500 former Muslims gathered at night in Nigeria to pray and learn something from God’s Word. Hearing about the meeting, Boko Haram Islamists attacked. They captured 72 men, women, and children and demanded they all return to Islam. Should they refuse, the next morning, their children would be killed while they watched. Throughout the night the captives agonised over what response to make. Then some of the children reported that there was no need to fear. They claimed that Jesus had visited them to reassure them they would be protected. The next morning the Islamists returned, lined up the children, and asked for the adults’ response. It was that they would not revert to Islam. They would not forsake their faith in Jesus. The firing squad was lined up and ordered to aim their rifles ready to fire. Before any trigger was depressed, suddenly the would-be killers were screaming, “Snakes are attacking us.” Some of them dropped dead where they stood. Others dropped their guns and fled.

Seizing the opportunity a Christian darted out, retrieved one of the guns, and was about to shoot at the fleeing killers when a child raced forward calling out, “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot. Can’t you see the men in white are fighting for us?” The angels had arrived. Sometime later upon hearing what had transpired several foreign missionaries came to check it out. In that everyone interviewed recounted exactly the same story, they accepted that it was true. One of them then raised a disturbing question. “Why is it that we never see this sort of event back in our countries?” In another country in which I carry some ministry responsibilities a similarly motivated group were hunting for a local man who was a member of our staff. If they could catch him, they intended to kill him because it was their belief he had committed treason. He had left Islam to follow Jesus of the Bible. The penalty is death. Knowing this many of us were praying for his protection.

Having learned that on his day off each Friday, he cycled alone out to his distant farm plot to tend his vegetable garden, they lay in wait ready to ambush him. Three times they waited to kill him. Three times they failed to attack. Why? What happened? Later they reported, “We couldn’t implement our plan because every time this apostate came, he was surrounded by several men dressed in white.” Those angels—again! These sorts of events, the appearance of angels, bolts of lightning flashing from the sky exactly as it was in 1 Kings 18 with Elijah on Mt Carmel locked in a deathly contest with the 400 prophets of Baal, the dead returning to life and much more, are relatively common in non-Western places in which I am privileged to minister. Why doesn’t it happen in the West?

Reinhardt Bonnke was an evangelist who was invited to come to Australia twice late in the twentieth century. Across Africa, millions of people attended his vast open-air meetings. It is well documented that in those meetings thousands of people were miraculously healed of all sorts of major infirmities. But in his two visits to Australia, in his weeks of ministry, there was not a single instance of anyone being healed or freed from demonic bondage. Why is that? Why is it that in the West, compared with any other era in Christian history, our clergy are the best trained to the highest accredited academic standards, they have the best technology to share their message, from the best facilities money can buy. Yet in every country in the West, the church is in a state of rapid decline, lurching seemingly blindly toward a chasm of extinction. One published report claimed that by the 2090s there may be no current mainline denomination left in the UK.

Here in Australia, we are closing churches at such a rate and selling the buildings to become housing units, theatres, restaurants, or for use by other non-Christian religions. By the 2090s our Christian landscape may look even bleaker than that in the UK. Conversely, there are other countries in which I get to minister, where followers of Jesus are booming on all fronts, growing exponentially despite poverty and persecution. Recently I was working on the manuscript of a book that will be published in 2025. The subject is about just one movement in which there are 452,319 members in 20,651 churches. They have no church buildings, no finance-sapping Bible Colleges, no hierarchical structures, and no trained clergy in our understanding of that office. Their founding leader is still alive and in the prime of life. And there are many other movements like them. Why don’t we see this in Australia?

In that part of the world, a seminar was held for these sorts of church leaders. A pre-condition for being allowed to attend was that each person had to have planted a minimum of 25 churches. None from any Western country could have qualified. Conference organisers were eager to discover what the secret was for such amazing growth often in the most inhospitable circumstances. They paid a team of experts to interview each attendee and report back on their data collation, analysis, and conclusions. The results indicated that there was no regular pattern or methodology that could be codified and on-sold to rescue the spiritually emaciated church of the West. The only element common to each interviewee was the extraordinary importance they attached to prayer. These leaders prayed alone from 4.00am to 7.00am and then met to pray with their leaders before going off to work when offices opened at 10.00am. The churches they led were also noted for their exceptional prayer practices.

They shared this characteristic ministry outcome and way of life with the earliest church in the New Testament. They in turn followed the example and command of Jesus when it came to prayer. In the Old Testament, excluding the Psalms, there are 77 explicit references to prayer. But in just the four gospels there are 94 references to Jesus and prayer. This is one lesson Jesus’ band of disciples never forgot. So, Peter urged believers to remain “clear-minded and self-controlled” so that they could pray (1 Peter 4:7). James declared that prayer is “powerful and effective” (James 5:17-18). John assured us that “God hears and answers” our prayers (1 John 5:15). Paul commands, “Pray continually. For this is God’s will for you” (1Thessalonians 5:17-18). Elsewhere he urged believers in Colossae to “devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). From where did he get that idea? And what did he expect to happen if they did? That pattern of ministry and way of life was embedded in the earliest church from the very beginning.

The Bible says that “they devoted themselves to prayer” (Acts 2:42). What happened when they did that? Again, the Bible records that “every day the Lord added to their number” (Acts 2:47). At first that number was 2000. Then in response to Peter and John’s preaching an additional 5000 men responded (Acts 4:4). When Paul preached in Ephesus (Acts 19:26) a “considerable number of people” responded. That threatened the city’s major commercial enterprise, the manufacture and sale of idols. A riot broke out to stop Paul’s preaching. Whenever people become serious about prayer supernatural things happen. A missionary in China was despondent because there was no response to his labours. He wrote to his mission secretary in England asking if could he recruit people to pray for each of the ten places where he preached. Relatively quickly in seven of the ten locations, the response from locals came and churches were formed. Later when he returned to England and visited mission headquarters, he reported what had happened but could not explain why only seven of the ten responded.

The secretary of the mission replied that when he got the request to recruit intercessors, he succeeded in finding sufficient for seven of the locations. He failed to recruit anyone to pray for the remaining three. “Church on the Rock” in Rockwall, Texas grew from 13 people to 11,000 in just nine years. When its founding pastor was asked to explain the phenomenon, he replied, “I didn’t start a church. I started a prayer meeting.” An associate pastor explained further: The evangelistic programme of our church is the daily prayer meeting… Each morning Monday through Friday we meet from 5.00 to 6.00am for prayer… If we see the harvest (of conversions) fall off for more than a week, we see that as a spiritual red alert and seek the Lord…[5] In Australia and throughout the Western world we have forgotten that nothing of consequence happens except in answer to prayer. But it’s not just any prayer. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark11:22-24).

He said that in the context of moving mountains. The challenge is could any of us pray and without any doubt, believe that a mountain could be moved by prayer? That was exactly the challenge Muslim Caliph Al-Mu’iz of Egypt presented to Christians in 979 CE. On the eastern edge of Cairo squatted Mount Mokattam. It was in the way of the Caliph’s development plans. So, he challenged Christians to live out their faith and pray as Jesus said in Mark 11, that the mountain would be moved. He gave three options: a) Pray to move the mountain. b) Leave Egypt. c) Should they fail—be killed by the sword. Church leaders summoned the church to pray and fast. If they failed the Caliph’s challenge—genocide would be the result. They accepted the challenge to pray and approached a pious shoemaker to pray on everyone’s behalf. He accepted on condition that no one was to know he was the one appointed to pray on behalf of the whole community. He also gave specific instructions on how to pray to be followed by everyone.

On the agreed date, a crowd of Christians gathered as did the Caliph and his troops ready to draw their swords to commence the slaughter. But the moment Simon beseeched the Lord of Heaven and Earth to intervene, a great earthquake hit the mountain lifting it off the ground so that repeatedly daylight could be seen between it and its earth base. Terrorised the Caliph begged the Christians to stop the prayer meeting.[6] Today on the side of that mountain a 10,000-seat auditorium has been excavated by hand. On an appointed night each week, Christians pack that auditorium to pray for the sick. Along one side is a vast shed filled with wheelchairs and crutches, discarded by those who no longer need them. In Exodus 17:10-13 as long as Moses kept his hands aloft in prayer, Joshua and his troops were beating the Amalekites. When he tired and lowered them the Israelites were losing. Aaron and Hur stepped up and held his arms up till complete victory was achieved.

In 2 Chronicles 20:20-30 the vastly outnumbered Jehoshaphat and his troops were about to be vanquished by the Ammonites and Moabites. He called his people to pray and fast. The enemy self-destructed in confusion killing one another. Every Jew in the ancient empire of Persia and Media was about to be killed through a conspiracy hatched by Haman, a leading noble in the court of King Ahasuerus. Then Esther, the Jewish queen, summoned her people to pray and fast. The treachery of Haman was exposed, and he went to the gallows. Genocide was averted. Prayer linked with fasting is even more powerful because it removes two barriers which inhibit the Holy Spirit from working through us. These are a) Self-will and b) Self-gratifying appetites of the body (Galatians 5:19). With prayer linked to fasting according to 2 Corinthians 10:4, the weapons of our spiritual warfare are unleashed to demolish strongholds. In that case there is no limit to what may be achieved.

Wayman Rogers wanted to leave his church because it had plateaued for some time at 200 people. Then the Lord told him that if he stayed and called the people to serious prayer things would change. He did and church grew from 200 to 2000 within a couple of years. But things really broke loose when intercessors added fasting to prayer. There occurred multiple healings and deliverances from demons. The church grew to 10,000. The only problem they encountered was the traffic jams around the church and arguments over who would get to sit in the front rows. In East Germany in 1982, 10-12 people gathered on Monday nights to pray and fast for their nation to be freed from the Communist yoke and to be reunited with West Germany. By 1989 their number had grown to 50,000. Then in 1990, 300,000 of them moved out into the streets praying and worshiping. And in Berlin, the wall separating East from West Germany came tumbling down.

Throughout the West, in every country, the church is dying, and we are descending into deeper chaos. The solution to all of our societal problems will not be found in parliamentary legislation, increased numbers of police on the streets, or costly programs sponsored by our already heavily in debt governments. The greatest need of our day is for God’s people to start to seriously pray, fast, and believe. With the Webb Telescope, we can see billions of miles into space. But we cannot see God in our own lives. We can communicate with robots on Mars but seem to have forgotten how to communicate with the Lord of the Earth. If that is so, our only hope is to humble ourselves as did the first disciples, to kneel and beg, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

Source: Rev. Dr. Stuart Robinson Founding Pastor of Australia’s largest Baptist church; pioneer frontline missionary, international conference speaker, Bible college teacher, and award-winning, bestselling author. https://drstuartrobinson.com

NOW IS THE TIME TO PRAY: FOR LOVED ONES, FRIENDS, YOUR CITY AND NATIONS

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FOR SAVED LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS:

“We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” Colossians 1:9-12

FOR YOUR CITY

 Pray for the churches in your city to be renewed in their efforts to reach the city with God’s Word. As so many of the institutional churches have departed from God’s Word and compromised with the world. Pray that God would convict members of those churches to come out of them. Ask God to pray that He will raise up churches as described in the Book of Acts that will make disciples that make disciples. Churches that will seek to meet the needs of their city, knowing the Lord will guide them if they ask Him.  The LORD says, “I will teach you the way you should go; I will instruct you and advise you.” (Psalm 32:8 GNT)

“In the same way, your light must shine before people so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Pray that people’s hearts will be opened to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as their Saviour. “I tell you for certain that everyone who hears my message and has faith in the one who sent me has eternal life and will never be condemned. They have already gone from death to life.” John 5:24

FOR NATIONS

Jesus calls us to pray for the gospel to be preached to all nations. God created the nations and one nation, Israel, for His purposes, hence Israel needs to be in our prayers.

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Also, in Matthew 28, Jesus tells us that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, and with that authority, he tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus cares about all the people of the world and wants every one of them to be saved, but there are still over 2 billion people who have never heard the gospel before. As Christians, this should move us to pray for the nations.

How can you pray for the nations? There are endless verses and promises about God-loving and rescuing the nations. You can ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in your prayers.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26

You can pray that God would send out workers or missionaries to these people groups, for the believers who are being persecuted, and even for their persecutors. Remember, there is a time coming when every knee will bow and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. However, Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom is next on God’s agenda. We have had 6,000 years with Satan as Prince of this World. Next is Jesus ruling on this Earth with glorified Saints for 1,000 years only then will this Earth be destroyed. Then, after the second resurrection and the White Throne judgment God will usher in a new Heaven and new Earth where only the righteous dwell.

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God.” Romans 14:11

“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.“ Psalms 22:27

Pray that we may help bring people from all nations to salvation so they may be among those standing before the throne of God praising Him.

“After this, I (John) looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.” Revelation 7:9-11

MIRACULOUS TESTIMONY OF GEORGE FOREMAN

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The miraculous story of George Foreman, once the Heavyweight Champion of the World is headed to the big screen.

Inside the ring and out, George Foreman was once a man driven by anger and resentment, raging emotions, and driven to become the world heavyweight champion in 1973. Over a decade later, he did it again, but the driving force behind that record-breaking comeback was profoundly different. Foreman walked away from his boxing career for the first time in 1977 after a significant spiritual awakening. Growing up, his mother, a single parent raising 6 children, spoke of God often, a habit of which Foreman was not fond. But those words, seeds planted over time, sprung to life for the boxing champion as he recuperated in his locker room after a fight. “First time around, I was ambitious: I wanted to be heavyweight champion of the world, rich and famous and all that,” Foreman recently told Faithwire. “Then, all of a sudden, I found out there was more to life. I found God on the dressing room table, screaming, ‘Jesus Christ is coming alive in me!’”

After that life-changing conversion, Foreman’s focus was singular: He wanted to preach the Gospel. All of his stories, from growing up in poverty to becoming the two-time heavyweight boxing champion to reinventing himself as an entrepreneur, to stepping into full-time ministry, are chronicled in the new movie, “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World”.

Many of the lessons he learned in boxing, the now-74-year-old athlete recalled, he channeled into his newfound passion for the Lord. As a scrappy fighter, Foreman had to learn to translate his raw emotion into fine-tuned athleticism. He fought just as hard for his then-burgeoning faith. “I found religion and I realized I was gonna have to fight to be in church on time,” he joked. “It was a fight to keep this thing going, that I would tell the story for as long as I live and not let it get away from me.”

Foreman fought his way to the top of the boxing world, and he battled against faith — until he didn’t. Once he encountered God, Foreman said, “I was gonna fight … to make certain everybody I met knew about it and I didn’t find anything else worthy of my time, other than doing the work of evangelism.” The legendary boxer’s faith is the by-product of his mother’s own devoted relationship with God. Early in his career, he was certain that, so long as he found fame and fortune, she wouldn’t need God, and neither would he. In fact, he thought success would “stop all that praying” his mother did. “But she never stopped praying,” Foreman recalled. “Then I became a minister … and she told me once, ‘At first, I didn’t believe in it. But now, you’re my pastor. I believe in you.’ … She said, ‘You’re my preacher.’ That is the most touching thing that ever happened to me. She believed in me and she believed in what I was doing.”

After years of ministry, Foreman, a one-time boxing champion and Olympic gold medallist, stepped back into the ring with a profoundly different perspective. Bolstered not by anger and resentment but by faith in God, Foreman went on to become the world heavyweight champion a second time in 1994, after defeating 26-year-old Michael Moorer. He still holds the record for the oldest athlete to ever achieve such a feat. Since his salvation, Foreman told Faithwire, his “whole life has been dedicated to evangelism.” In fact, that’s why he returned to boxing, in hopes that regaining such a platform would give him the opportunity to share the Gospel with a greater number of people. “All I want people to understand is … I found God, I found out about Jesus Christ,” he said. “I don’t want that lost. And I think if they go to the movie, they’ll find out there’s more to me than what meets the eye. God is in there.”

POWERLESS PRAYER

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‘‘Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.’ James 5:14-15

The clearly expected outcome – ’the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.’ In verses 17-18, James continues to assert the miraculous power of prayers, offered in faith:

‘Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.’ James 5:17-18

Clearly, James believed that prayers offered in faith would result in the physical, miraculous intervention of God. When we look at the life of Jesus, and the amount of time and energy he devoted to healing the sick, which was an expression of his deep compassion for the suffering, it is easy to see that James was closer to the truth than most Christians are today.

Jesus relied on miracles to confirm his words, moreover, He told us that those that believe in Him will do even greater works than He did. Do we really believe Him?

“I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14

Powerless prayers have been rendered as such by the long, slow erosion of faith among God’s people, and that erosion has been made possible by the embracing of false traditions. For example, the kind of prayers that close with ‘not my will but yours, be done’. This is not stated in faith, in expectation of an outcome, but more as a catch-all – ‘please ignore everything I just asked for, if it doesn’t suit you.’

This is not the model of discipleship we are to follow and teach, where we are completely unaware of the will of God, and our prayers are at best guesswork. Paul urges us to walk ever more closely with God, and increasingly understand his will.

‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.’ Romans 12:1-2

As we yield to God’s mercy and walk closely with him, our ideas are changed. We jettison old ways of thinking, as healthier, more life-giving inspiration arises in His company, and as our minds are renewed, we become more attuned to Him and to His will. Only then, in our closeness with God, where His good, pleasing and perfect will is known, can we pray effectively.

In the early church, the lived experience of the Christian faith was far greater than it is today. There is much we have lost and must seek to restore. Back to the church as God intended as revealed in the Book of Acts.

Praying effectively: James sums it up well:

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.’ James 1:6-8

 Adapted from the excellent article "The Prayer God Can’t Answer" by Duncan Edward Pile Patheos Nov. 23rd 2021

GOD USES SO CALLED NATURAL DISASTERS

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Fire causes an atheist to prayer. Wow! Here’s an ABC report this morning of an atheist’s change of heart during the fires in South East Australia. Read to the middle of this post where he saw God change the wind and save them:

News Channel is chatting to David Geoffrey, the owner of the Wave Oasis bed and breakfast in Mallacoota.

Here’s what David’s saying;

Well, [conditions] are a hell of a lot better than they were. It doesn’t look like it was midnight like it was just before. There’s actually some light coming through the smoke. There’s obviously dangers of spotting and the fires are running up in a northerly direction back towards the Princes Highway. I know that much. But before, it was… It was… Mate, you just don’t want to go through something like this. It was terrifying.

And, um, I’m pretty… I’m a bit emotional still but I’m grateful that our animals are alive and that our guests that were with us are safe. We’ve stayed together. And, yeah, it was horrendous.

I want to give God the glory because, mate, I had a good friend, ex-firie, well, former head of fire department here in Mallacoota, Graham Clarke. He’s been giving me the heads-up. He’s in Canberra but is totally surrounded by fire where he was and was good enough to ring me and he said, “David, it’s at the airport.” So, I knew where it was. The airport in Mallacoota is five or seven minutes away in the car. I knew it was hitting town because the sirens start up.

At that point, I was praying. I was an atheist. I was praying to God, praying to Jesus, turn the wind. You wouldn’t believe it – but I’m going to tell you the honest to God truth. It pushed this thing back against itself. Literally we felt the wind come from off the beach, it shouldn’t have, but it did, but it went back at it. I don’t care if anyone else doesn’t recognise it. It was unbelievable…. We thought it was a fire front about to run over the top of us but what it was was, I believe, God’s intervention, absolutely, through prayer, because it absolutely just burst its smoke and the redness was the sun coming through the smoke, not the fire about to destroy, you know, obliterate all of us down here. Because there’s nothing they could have done if that had happened. It doesn’t matter how many fire trucks you have.

ROLE OF PRAYER IN MIRACULOUS HEALING

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A new report from a peer-reviewed medical journal has put an end to the age-old debate: prayer really does work.

At just one week old, a baby boy was rushed to the hospital. He was vomiting forcefully and struggling to properly digest formula. Before long, doctors diagnosed him with gastroparesis, a rare disease in which the stomach cannot correctly empty itself of its contents.

Photo by Afar Ahmed/Unsplash

Surgeons performed on the baby both a pyloromyotomy, which loosens tightened muscles causing a blockage between the stomach and small intestine, and a jejunostomy, the creation of an opening through the skin at the front of the abdomen for a feeding tube.

He went on to live a relatively normal life, even playing sports.

The boy grew up in a Christian home; he had an active prayer life and participated in church activities every single week. He had safely assumed, though, his disease would just be part of his life — forever.

Things changed when he attended a prayer service

On Nov. 6, 2011, when he was 16 years old, the patient and his family attended a prayer service at a Pentecostal church led by a preacher the case study referred to as a “healing evangelist.”

The evangelist recounted his own miraculous healing after having his intestines severed in a serious accident when a massive truck fell on his abdomen.

While listening to the speaker’s testimony, the teenager recalled his own strange feelings. Here’s how he described his experience:

During the prayer, I felt an electric shock that started from my right shoulder travelling down through my stomach. That was the moment that I knew I had been touched by the Holy Spirit. Since I have been healed of my illness, I have had more energy than ever before, and have thoroughly enjoyed the new adventure of trying all different types of foods. I have entered into the medical field in search to help the sick and needy, and to give back the great care I received as a patient.

In the prior 16 years, the boy was dependent on feeding tubes and could not handle any form of oral feeding. But after that prayer service, everything changed for him.

“His intolerance to oral feedings was completely resolved” after the service, the case study reported.

The boy’s primary care physician described the incredible shift as “difficult to explain” and recommended removing the feeding tubes as long as he was still having no issues after three months.

Even doctors are dumbfounded by his healing

Now 23 years old, the patient’s tubes were taken out and he has had no recurring symptoms since the November 2011 prayer service.

Most interesting, perhaps, is the fact that before the teenager’s miraculous healing, both he and his parents were cessationists, meaning, while they believe God performed miracles in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, they were not convinced he did the same in this modern era. It’s safe to say their perspectives have changed.

Though they can’t rule it out completely, doctors just couldn’t chalk the kid’s healing up to the so-called “placebo effect,” which was defined in the study as “the physical change that occurs as a result of what we believe a pill or a procedure will do.”

“The complete resolution of severe gastroparesis symptoms (i.e., dependence on feeding tubes) is not known to spontaneously occur, and studies of placebos have shown only partial resolution of symptoms at best,” the study’s authors explained.

This case study has left a lot of questions unanswered. It’s even presented new questions. But it has made one thing clear: prayer really does work.

“A noteworthy observation,” the researchers explained, “is that studies showing positive effects of prayer have typically involved intercessors who either professed … being ‘born again’ Christians (with a commitment to daily devotional prayer and active fellowship with their local church) or … faith in healing.”

JESUS WILL RULE & REIGN THE NATIONS FROM JERUSALEM

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I am on the Australian Board of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). Recently, we had our International Conference in Jerusalem which I attended. The following is my report on the conference. It challenged me, I hope it will do so for you.

The Commonwealth of Israel – Releasing a blessing for the nations

November 3-7th, 2018, Jerusalem

The opening address for the conference was given by Jan Sturesson, Chairman of ICCC International on the evening prior to Day One of the conference.

The hour has come for ICCC to serve in a new way – reformation in practice.

DAY ONE

The Commonwealth of Israel – Releasing a blessing for the nations

What does it mean for Israel, the nations and the body of Christ?

The timing and location of the conference was strategic, Israel is celebrating its 70th anniversary. It is no accident that the USA and other nations are or will move their embassies to Jerusalem. Do their leaders know that God will rule and reign from there in the Millennium? Probably not.  Little do these nations know how important it is for them to support Israel:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd divides His sheep from the goats. Then He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left hand.” Matthew 25:31-33

The sheep nations get to live on in the Millennial reign of Yeshua but the goat nations do not.

Will your nation be a sheep or goat nation?

Our International Board were Holy Spirit lead to choose Rick Riding of Succat Hallel as the opening speaker. Aligning with God and His purposes for this time.

Succat Hallel (Hebrew for Tabernacle of Praise) is a dynamic community of worshippers and intercessors from five continents drawn together to stand as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem.

I will urge all people who want to connect with God’s purposes for these “last days” to connect with and support Succat Hallel. Rick challenged me to do all I can to ensure Australia is not a goat nation.

Recent events in Australia, particularly Scott Morrison’s elevation to Prime Minister and Josh Fryberg to Deputy, indicate God has given us a window of opportunity to get in step with His purposes. The fact our Prime Minister and his Deputy indicate they will consider moving the Australian embassy to Jerusalem is another very significant indicator, but requires significant prayer and Holy Spirit led action to become a reality. I will make sure all Prayer Networks in Australia get a copy of this document.

The second speaker, Calev Myers, Founder and President of Arise (Alliance to Reinforce Israel’s Security and Economy) was also a Holy Spirit inspired choice that reinforced the message given by Rick Riding that Israel is on track with God’s plan to be a blessing to the nations with emerging technologies that will change the world. One day of the ICCC conference was devoted to support the first ARISE SUMMIT more on that later.

The rest of the first day of the ICCC Conference was spent on: Leveraging the relationship between business organisations in the body of Christ and the state of Israel. Including Breakout Sessions.

Once again, the choice of speakers was Holy Spirit inspired particularly as Jan shared that he did not think all would turn up. ICCC played a significant role in connecting these men and forming what will be significant relationships – Jews/Christians.

Marian Cohen, Chairman of Israel Federal Bi-National Chambers of Commerce.

Robert Ilatov, Chairman Knesset Christian Allies and Israel Hi-Tech Caucus

Rabbi Tuly Weisz Jerusalem

Leaders of Christian Business Organisations present:

Timo Plutschinski, WEA (World Evangelical Alliance) Business Coalition

Dennis Peacocke, Go Strategic (Strategic Christian Services)

Arleen Westerhof, European Economic Summit

Wim Kater, CMBC (Certified Master Business Coaches) International

Jan Sturesson ICCC International

DAY TWO

Key note: A Commonwealth Future Starts with Prayer

Albert Veksler, Director of Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast Movement

The first-ever Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast was hosted at the Israel Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on June 6th by the Speaker of the Knesset Yuli-Yoel Edelstein and Members of the Knesset, Robert Ilatov (Chairman of the Beiteinu party) and Rabbi Yahuda Glick.

More than 550 delegates from 56 countries attended, representing politicians, pastors, leaders, and business people from all walks of life (ICCC was well represented including our Chairman).

At the reception in the Knesset commemorating the 50-year anniversary of the reunification of the ancient city of Jerusalem, Mr Ilatov (as mentioned, a speaker on Day One of our conference) spoke of the need to stand together to promote the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy of Jerusalem as the undivided capital and ‘eternal home’ of the people of Israel. “Now is the time to put prayer into action and to put pressure on our governments to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem.”

Michele Bachman. Former U.S. Congresswoman. And head of the U.S. Allies Caucus, received a standing ovation as she gave her commitment on behalf of the U.S. to stand with Israel, including a reminder that those who bless Israel will be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3 and Acts 3:25).

After Albert Veksler on “the future starts with prayer”, there was a distinguished panel on:

“How do we stand in the GAP for Israel and Jerusalem?”

Panel speakers:

Dr Jorgen Buhler, Director, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem (trained physicist and ordained minister (German Pentecostal Federation)

Israel Pochtar, Founder of Voice of Judah Israel and Senior Pastor in Ashdad. Hebrew speaking Messianic Congregation.

Voice of Judah Israel is a voice in the land that proclaims the Good News to the people of Israel; reaches out a helping hand to feed and clothe the poor, plants and cultivates congregations, and raises up a generation of servant leaders.

Dr Naim Khoury, cofounder of Holy Land Missions based in Bethlehem working with Arab Christians (60% of church members unemployed)

ICCC’s participation in the first Arise Summit 2018 (Connecting Businesses, Facilitating Investments in Israeli Industries, Advancing Peaceful Coexistence) in Tel Aviv on the third day of the conference was a major initiative for ICCC in how we can stand in the GAP for Israel and Jerusalem.

ARISE exists to combat such threats to the security and economy of Israel through highly strategic advocacy.

What’s the Impact of BDS on Palestinians?

Well over 100,000 Palestinians are employed, this very day, in Jewish businesses across Israel, Judea and Samaria. Currently, some 70,000 Palestinians possess Israeli work permits, with experts estimating that tens of thousands more are employed illegally by Jewish citizens of Israel. Approximately 30,000 Palestinians are employed in Jewish-owned businesses throughout the West Bank, providing upwards of USD $300,000,000 in salaries to Palestinians per annum.

Each salary earned by them supports an average of ten people, due to the traditional multi-generational co-habitation in Palestinian households. The very businesses which the boycott movement would like to shut down put food on the table for approximately 1,000,000 Palestinians every day. 

Arab Christians: All agreed, ICCC needs to consider how we work with people such as Dr Khoury to help, particularly with training (TWL) and mentoring of Arab Christian business people starting in Bethlehem.

Every ICCC Chapter needs to connect with local, State and National Prayer Networks to participate with prayer for the nation, prayer for Israel and other nations as led by the Holy Spirit.

The rest of the DAY THREE provided “A Taste of the Kingdom in business and working life” with testimonies and excellent choice of Breakout Sessions:

  1. Business Clinic for Israeli Entrepreneurs.
  2. Serving the Body of Christ using the new ICCC training materials – Transformed Working Life.
  3. How to make a Biblical based business/life plan.
  4. Stand in the GAP in prayer (What does it mean in real life).

The evening session “Releasing a blessing from Israel to the nations – Business in the days to come” was the last session of the conference as Day 4 was devoted to the Arise Summit.

The speaker Peter Tsuahira, Director of Or HaCarmel (Light of Carmel) Ministry Centre. It is a residential community to be a demonstration of the love of God to Israel. Since its beginning in 2002 it has become a place for the development and launching of new projects and areas of service for those in need. Peter is also an International Business Consultant.

He reinforced the message we had been getting since the start of the conference. God will rule nations when He returns and He will rule with a rod of iron. Zechariah expresses this well.

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain.” Zechariah 14:16-17

For me once again it asks the question; will my nation be a sheep or goat nation and what am I doing now to ensure the truth of where we are in Biblical history is made known.

My calling is to provide resources (power point sermons, podcasts and videos) to equip the “last days” church and to partner with organisations that understand the times and know their calling from God (www.powerpointsermons.net)

I am convinced that apart from its leading role in supporting Israel, ICCC is playing an important role at this time to both train up marketplace leaders and to connect with and support other marketplace ministries.

GOD APPOINTS OUR LEADERS PART 2

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More on God’s intervention in the leadership of Australia as an answer to much prayer going on in this nation. A time for rejoicing, YES! but also a time for us share the good news and expand our efforts with renewed prayer and fasting. Listen to what Warwick Marsh of the National Day of Prayer and Repentance had to say.

Brief summary: “We believe we have had some amazing answers to prayer over the last two weeks. Firstly the Senate rejected Euthanasia on 15 September and a new Christian Prime Minster & Jewish deputy Prime Minster were both unexpectedly elected to lead the Coalition Government on Friday 24 September. We also need to pray that God would intervene to block the Queensland government introducing legalised abortion in Queensland. Please tell your friends to pray, fast and repent for breakthrough in our nation on these dates.”

One article in The Weekend Australian mentions Scott Morrison’s maiden speech in the Federal Parliament in 2008. He described his family and his faith as “the most significant influences in my life”. In that speech he also boldly stated that “our task is not to claim whether God is on our side but to pray earnestly that we are on His”. Consistent with this, we read that “In December Mr Morrison stepped up his role as a leader of the conservative right in the Liberal Party. … He also promised to play a leading role in the push to enshrine further “protections” for religious freedom in law.”

PEOPLE WHO MAKE A LASTING DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD PRAY

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Image result for picture of Jesus christ praying in the garden

Prayer needs to be the first thing we think of, for things to succeed, not the last thing we do when all else fails. The people who make a real and lasting difference in this world are people who first and foremost pray. They pray because they understand who God is and His capabilities (omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent). He is our creator, He loves us and made us in His image to be in communion with Him. Many will choose to trust God more when they realise that not to trust God is to distrust Him. To distrust God is to distress yourself and disconnect from others.

“And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39 

Timing of this event: 11 pm-2 am – Jesus leaves the disciples and goes to pray for three hours. Goes back to the disciples twice, wakes them, calling them to prayer. During the third hour, the sweat was pouring out of him “like blood”. The angels come to his aid, and Jesus is in charge of his body once more, despising the coming shame and trauma he is about to endure (“like a sheep before the shearers is dumb, he does not open his mouth”).

The objective of prayer is not to inform our Saviour and Lord of our needs (God knows everything), but to transform our situations and lives in our time of need (God knows we need it).

God designed prayer to be an effective spiritual muscle that we can freely exercise, in Jesus name, anytime, anywhere and for anything.  The Bible tells us how that “….the effective, heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man – a believer, can accomplish much when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and has tremendous power.