prayer

THE WORDS OF BEGINNING

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It is day 5 of sabbatical.

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My rhythm has definitely changed, but I cannot say I have yet done a lot of “resting”. The weekend was given to three big events designed to bring “Word from God” into my heart.

The events certainly did their job. I have lots to contemplate over the next 26 days.

Even before the events began I heard:

FROM NOW ON.

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AND TAKE THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE WINTER SEASON.

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I ALSO HEARD, IT IS TIME TO PREPARE: A NEW RHYTHM, A NEW ORDER, A NEW ACCOMPLISHMENT, A NEW SIMPLICITY.

Gardener planting seedlings in an enchanted forest beside a cottage

On Friday I attended our church’s men’s conference. The word I heard there was…

WHAT YOU SPEAK WILL BE YOUR FUTURE. YOUR CONFESSION BECOMES YOU.

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On Saturday morning I attended a community conversation where I heard the word…

A NEW WAY OF LEADING LIES BEFORE YOU.

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On Saturday evening I attended TWR’s Prayer conference, where I heard…

THE FALLEN TENT OF DAVID IS RESTORED. ENTER IT. SEE WHAT GOD IS DOING AND JOIN HIM IN IT.

Two adventurers beside a tent in an autumn forest beneath a crescent moon

I took Sunday to rest completely and tom begin unpacking these words with God.

ON THE EDGE

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September 28, three days before my third sabbatical as lead pastor of Cornerstone Church. Sabbatical is a vision quest.

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We are on the edge of God’s next thing for us as a church. I am preparing now: Preparing to engage with the world in a different way;

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Preparing to wait on God until He shows me the future;

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Preparing to rest in the Lord and to let His saving grace wash over me to refresh me for the next work.

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The church is joining me in this work. When we come back together in November we will have fresh vision for 2027 and 2028.

We are on the edge of something amazing!

ABIDING TO THE ANSWER

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I have learned that prayer is not primarily about asking. I have learned that prayer is primarily about connecting.

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Prayer is the place where all the puzzle pieces of our relationship with God and His people come together and solidify into action.

I have learned that before asking I need to connect with God and His thoughts about the subjects that concern me. the Bible calls this connection “abiding”.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

Abiding prayer, then, is the key to successful intercessory prayer (that type of prayer that involves lists of things we would like God to do in the name of Jesus).

Abiding prayer starts with listening…. Listening to the Word of God. Discovering the promises of God in the Bible and learning to stand on them. This requires us to read and memorize the Word of God. For most of us that requires a lot of going over. I generally read a book of the Bible over and over until I have it deep in my heart. My current method is to read through the Bible and in between each book I read one of the biblical books that I have chosen over and over. I have done this with the book of The Revelation, the book of Genesis, and now the book of Psalms. That means I have read through The Revelation 66 times and Genesis 66 times. When you read something that many times through, things start to stick. This is the beginning of abiding prayer.

I will write more soon, but tell me…

WHAT SECRETS HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT ABIDING IN PRAYER?

A PLACE OF PRAYER

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One of the things I am believing for our region is that prayer…and answered prayer will become a hallmark of this place.

I am seeing such an increase of the corporate prayer space and it is very encouraging.

The churches of our region are beginning to come together more and more in corporate prayer. Our church has just completed 21 days of fasting and prayer and now two other churches are walking through the lenten fasting season. In addition we now have daily prayer time established in our town through THE WORSHIP ROOM HOUSE OF PRAYER

You can click that icon for more information.

That’s not all. People are gathering in churches throughout our region for congregational prayer several times a week. We are going to be taking out an ad in the local paper to make the community aware of how much prayer is going on. And we have built a web page to promote those times of prayer.

Click that icon to get more info.

In the days ahead we will see many answers to prayer and great encouragement of faith in our region.

WHAT IS ENCOURAGING ABOUT THE PLACE YOU LIVE IN?

GRAMPA IN THE BONES

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I recently had an opportunity to attend a forum on minster’s health. I was struck by a statement that was made by the forum director. It resonated deeply with me.

YOU CAN HAVE JESUS IN YOUR HEART, BUT STILL HAVE GRAMPA IN YOUR BONES.

The idea is that even after receiving Jesus we all have strongholds. Paul the apostle wrote, ” For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:3-5

I have been left wondering what strongholds were erected in my life simply because I was born into the family I was born into. But it is not just the negative things I am thinking about either. What advantages did my family of origin plant inside of me?

I am praying through that I might capitalize on the latter while tearing down the former.

HOW ABOUT YOU? WHAT ADVANTAGES COME FROM YOUR FAMILY OF ORIGIN THAT YOU CAN CAPITALIZE ON? WHAT STRONGHOLDS NEED TO BE TORN DOWN?

21 DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER 2026 MEDITATION 15

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Here is our noon time meditation for this 19th day of the 21 days of fasting and prayer in 2026.

1 JOHN 4:1-6

 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

1 John 4:1-6 (Source: Equip the Called)Theme: Testing the Spirits
1. Do not believe every spirit, but test them to see whether they are from God.
2. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
3. The One in you is greater than the spirit of the antichrist in the world.

THINKING TIME:

1.HOW DO YOU TEST THE SPIRITS IN LIFE?

2. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST ALREADY BEING IN THE WORLD?

3. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE GREATER THAN SPIRIT WHO LIVES IN YOU?