Prayer and Fasting 2016 Day 3 - A people of the Word of God

Day 3 - A people of the Word of God

Isaiah 66:1-2 "For all these things My hand has made, and so all these things have come into being [by and for Me], says the Lord. But this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a broken or wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word and reveres My commands." (Amplified version)

What causes God's focus/attention to be drawn in favor and trust toward a believer?

What does it take for us to tremble at God's words?

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 "And you shall remember [always] all the ways which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart (mind), whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 He humbled you and allowed you to be hungry and fed you with manna, [a substance] which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, so that He might make you understand [by personal experience] that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

What is God looking for in our relationship with Him?

What is the mindset that we are to develop in regard to His word?

2 Timothy 3:10-17  All scripture (the written word of God) is given to make us ready!

What vital graces do we receive from God when we learn and know His word?

Wisdom, faith, love, perseverance in persecution, freedom from deception

What impact is God looking for when we embrace and love His word?

Teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness (God's ways)

What result comes to the believer who lives fully by God's word?

We become adequate and equipped to do God's works and will

Hebrews 4:12  The sword/scalpel of God in our hearts

A dead word/literature or a living heavenly force?

What does it do to us and for us?

It pierces where we can not penetrate to reveal thoughts and intentions/motives of our heart to set us free from fleshly deception

Jeremiah 23:25-29  God's word as power to destroy false revelation and reveal truth

Why does God reveal that His word is like fire and a hammer?

John 17:14-19  His word is the truth that has the power to set us apart from the world and protect us from Satan

Though we are in the world, the Word of truth has the power to sanctify us from the world

Joshua 1:5-8  Promises for success and dominion

What does God tell Joshua to do with His word?

Psalm 103:19-21  Harnessing angelic power and support

What can we unleash when God's word is in our mouths and intercession?

Prayer and Fasting 2016 Day 2 - A people who know God's ways

Day 2 - A people who know God's ways

Psalm 81:11-16  God utters His heart's cry for His people so that He can bless and protect them: "Oh that people would listen to me and walk in my ways!"

The ways of God are more than his will or commands. They are the “paths” that God Himself travels consistently that stem from His nature, character and glory. They consist of His values, priorities and practices. They are the sum total of what we call “good” and “perfect” and ‘holy”. They form the culture of heaven.

More scriptures to ponder and pray through:

Exodus 33:13  The prayer of Moses: Let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight.

We don't really know God until we understand and walk in His ways

This lifestyle creates favor with the Lord

Deuteronomy 10:12-22  What does the Lord ask/require of us for our good?

Fear God, walk in all His ways, love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul,

            keep His commandments

We must circumcise our hearts and soften our necks to do this

For the Lord is like this....so you too be like this....

Deuteronomy 30:15-20  We determine life or death, prosperity or adversity by whether (and how much) we love God, walk in His ways, obey His voice and hold fast to Him

1 Kings 8:36-58  Solomon's prayer: May the Lord be with us that He may incline our hearts to Himself to walk in all His ways

God has a role (if we so desire) in turning/bending/inclining our hearts to choose and love His ways

1 Kings 11:33  Solomon and his posterity lose their potential destiny and opportunities by turning away from God's ways

Walking in God's ways involves doing what is right in His sight

2 Chronicles 17:3-6  Jehoshaphat's kingdom was established by the Lord because he followed David's example, sought after God and took pride (Hebrew: his heart was high) in the ways of the Lord

Psalm 25:4-5  David's prayer to know God's ways

Isaiah 2:2-3  What the nations will seek in the last days

Isaiah 55:8-9  Our ways and thoughts versus God's

A key to walking in Heavenly power and authority

Hosea 14:9  What the wise understand and the righteous do

Revelation 15:2-4  What we will be singing in heaven

Hebrews 3:7-11  We can know His works but not know His ways

Our hearts condition determines how much of God's promises and rest we will experience

Prayer Guide Overview 2016

Prayer Guide

Week of Prayer and Fasting January 3-9, 2016

Sunday - Preparing the way for the Lord

Read Luke 1:15-17

Pray for hearts to be turned back to God

Pray for a greater release of people connecting to the Father's love

Pray for a hunger to come for the right ways of God and to be like Him

Monday - A people who know God's ways

Read Psalm 95 and Psalm 81:11-16

Examine your own heart before God: Do I know and love God's ways?

Pray for a people who will fully walk in God's ways, not their own

Pray for a people who will fully represent God in His character 

Tuesday - A people of the Word of God

Read Isaiah 66:1-2 and Matthew 4:1-4

How much is your own life directed by God's Word?

Do you have a plan this year to increase how much of His Word you read, know and meditate on?

Pray for a people to rise up who tremble at God's Word and will walk in humility

Wednesday - A people who walk in true humility

Read Zephaniah 2:3 and James 4:5-10

Have you sought humility? Have you humbled yourself under God's hand?

Pray for a people who have no need to be anything other than God has made them to be, without pride or the fear of man or needing the world's approval

Thursday - A people who walk in love

Read Ephesians 3:14-19, John 13:34-35, and 1 Corinthians 13

Have you made the decision before God to consciously love other people as God has loved you?

Ask God to teach you how to love as He loves

Pray for a people who will truly love the world and demonstrate His heart and Kingdom in these last days

Friday - A people who may ascend the hill of the Lord

Read Psalm 24 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

Have you sought purity in God's eyes? Do you want to please God with your clean hands?

Pray for a people who walk in holiness and Christlikeness

Pray for a people to arise who may ascend the high places of God in these last days to receive all the promises

Saturday - A people who experience fulfillment of promises

Read Luke 1:39-45, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Joshua 23:14-15

Are you aware of God's promises to you? Are they in front of you to believe and receive them?

Pray for a people who will believe God fully and position themselves to receive

Pray for our church to experience fulfillment in 2016 for all that He has spoken to us over the years

Preparing the Way for the Lord in 2106

Every year in December we are afforded the opportunity to reflect on the events that came by God's hand to the earth to bring us our salvation through His Son, Jesus. The story is spectacular as we read it in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. And there is more than a story written down of what happened. The record of what God did, what He said and to whom these things were done and spoken, still speaks to the listening heart two thousand years later as Jesus prepares to come again.

In Luke 1 we read that the angel Gabriel came with a message of good news, not only for Zacharias and Elizabeth who had longed for a son, but for all Israel and those in the nations who longed a Son from Heaven who would fulfill God's word through the prophets to release a new Heavenly Kingdom of light.

But Gabriel revealed that God's plan for bringing His Son involved preparation. And that is where Zacharias and Elizabeth's son comes into the picture. God had uniquely prepared them to bring forth and parent a son who would in turn prepare the hearts of the people to receive the ministry of Jesus. This son, whom Gabriel directed should be called John (God's gracious gift or Jehovah has graced), would operate in the special anointing prophesied by Malachi: the spirit and power of Elijah. And this is the anointing that Malachi revealed would be operational in the last days before Jesus' second coming.

What does the anointing do? It prepares hearts to respond to God and receive His Kingdom dominion. How does this function? Gabriel reveals two things to Zacharias: turning the hearts of the fathers back to the children and turning the hearts of the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous. This was necessary as preparation before Jesus could effectively release the Kingdom of God to Israel and the nations. And I believe it is necessary still for today's church to function in this to prepare the world for Jesus' second coming. But it will not happen through us until it happens to us.

The wounds of the various forms of fatherlessness in families (and churches) and the breakdown of healthy family culture has been used by the enemy to distort the face of Father God, hold people captive to an orphan mindset, and to steal the spiritual inheritance intended to flow through generations. And this has a profound affect on the second function of the anointing.

God's Kingdom can not flow into the earth through a people who have rejected God's family culture of righteousness even though they may believe in Him and have received his gift of forgiveness. This is not about a set of rules we follow, but a desire to be like the Father and walk in His ways. This is the "attitude of the righteous" that forerunners carry in themselves and seek to release into other's hearts.

The original Greek language that Luke uses in his gospel narrative describes a people who have allowed their hearts to embrace and long for insight and understanding of God's heart, character and perfect ways, that they might enter into that family likeness. But no one does that unless their hearts have been "turned back."

This Christmas my prayer for you and me is that we ask Holy Spirit to turn our hearts back to the Lord. If you have experienced wounding rather than nurturing from your earthly father, ask Holy Spirit to heal your heart so as to fully be able to respond to God as your perfect Heavenly Father. Ask that all spiritual inheritance that belongs to you through your family line be restored as you turn back to embrace family culture.

If you have not had a desire for God's heart and ways, ask Holy Spirit to turn back your heart to what you have been missing from heaven. Cry out for insight and understanding into Who your Heavenly Father really is and that you would love everything about Him in order to be like Him. And open your Bible again to search for the knowledge of Him.

I believe that 2016 will be the most amazing year yet for those who let their hearts be "turned back" by the Spirit of Elijah. When you read in the gospels what this son, John (the Baptist), accomplished to prepare people to embrace Jesus and His Kingdom, you can believe that it will happen again through us who have received the Holy Spirit without measure.

Miracles and Obedience

I have a great appreciation for miracles. As a boy about to enter my teen years, I seriously doubted the existence of God. But in a church meeting one day, I witnessed people being healed by the supernatural power of Jesus. I could literally feel that Jesus came into the room. People who were sick or in pain one minute were completely healed a minute later. I knew that Jesus was real, and I decided to follow Him at that time. Over the years, I went on to learn about ministering in the power of Jesus, and I've seen crazy things—the deaf hearing, the blind seeing, the lame walking, and much more. The supernatural things I read in the Bible have become an important part of my life. All of these things have had a tremendous impact on my faith and the faith of others as well. I'm now an ordained pastor with Global Awakening and I've gotten to travel and minister with some of the greatest revival leaders in our day. I love the supernatural works of God, and I might not have given my life over to Jesus if it hadn't been for seeing His power. But in all of this, I have learned something: the atmosphere of miracles doesn't automatically create obedience for God or people who love Him.

In Matthew chapter nine, two blind men were following Jesus, begging Him to do something about their blindness. Jesus did not heal them out on the streets, but instead He waited to speak with them until they were inside. Miraculously, their sight was restored! Then the scripture says, "Jesus warned them sternly, 'See that no one knows about this'" (Matthew 9:30, NIV84). Jesus warned them sternly. He was serious, and they knew it. You would think that out of their awe for who He is and His power—and just out of gratefulness—they would gladly do what He asked. That is not the case, however. "But they went out and spread the news about Him all over that region" (v. 31). Even though He—the worker of miracles—had warned them sternly, they did exactly the opposite. And boy were they excited! They probably thought they were doing Jesus a favor. But whatever it was that they thought, they were disobedient. Even though they experienced the supernatural and heard the audible voice of God, they did what felt better to them.

It has been my observation of the revival movement—of which I am an active part—that although we have miracles, manifestations, the prophetic, signs, and wonders, we often suffer from the same problem as these blind men: we are still disobedient. In the atmosphere of miracles, incredible things are happening. It is exciting! I'm not sure that I've experienced anything more exhilarating then seeing blind eyes get healed. And I love the passionate times of worship that go on in our meetings. But at the end of the day, I have to ask myself, has my excitement about miracles turned into obedience to God? Sometimes when I say I love God, what I really mean is that I am impressed by His the great things He does and I like the way He makes me feel. But Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). Do I love Him like that?

On another occasion, Jesus made these clear statements: 

Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:22-23)

You see, the presence of the supernatural in our lives or the ability to perform miracles does not automatically mean that you and I actually love God. It's possible to hang out in revival atmospheres all the time but never really get to know the One we say it's all about. So we believe in Jesus—just like the demons do. We think He is awesome—just like the demons do. But do we obey Him? 

It's possible to do miracles and still do evil. That is why He called them evildoers! It is possible to be a part of thriving revival/renewal/prophetic/Charismatic/Pentacostal/Kindom/healing/whatever-label-you-want church and still miss the point. (It's possible to be the pastor of a church like that and miss the point. Our goal should never be revival. It should be Jesus.) In the King James Version, it says that Jesus called them, "Ye that work iniquity." That is a scary thought to me. Can we work miracles at church meetings and "iniquity" the rest of the time? In the original Greek, these words mean, "to do business without the law, because of ignorance or contempt." You see, Jesus isn't just interested in giving us warm, fuzzy feelings when we sing worship songs. He is looking for people who keep His law in their hearts at all times. They do business—they do life—with His law in mind. He's looking for people who love Him and who will do what what He says. When Jesus made these statements, He was saying that many people will assume that the amount of spiritual activities in their lives will cover over the fact that, throughout their daily life, they break His commands, either because they are just ignorant or because they do know but still don't care. And He will plainly tell them, "I never knew you."

Christianity without miracles is missing something. Christianity without tangible demonstrations of the Kingdom of God is incomplete. But the miraculous and the atmosphere of the supernatural without obedience is just as bad or worse. I would rather show up in Heaven saying, "I didn't know miracles were available" than to show up and say, "I experienced thousands of miracles but I didn't care to obey You, know You, or love You."

Immediately following these statements, Jesus went on to say:

Why do you call me, "Lord, Lord," and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. (Luke 6:46-49. Also see Matthew 7:24-27.)

In the revival movement, we have got to understand that enjoying miracles and the awesome things God does is no substitute for obeying God! Miracles are a proof of God's love for us; obedience is proof of our love for Him. The context of this parable about the wise and foolish builders is when people thought that just prophesying, doing miracles, driving out demons, and saying "Lord, Lord" meant that they knew God—but they didn't! Fools can walk in supernatural power. A new believer can operate in any gift of the Holy Spirit. But a wise person builds a solid life that grows the fruit of the Spirit.

Miracles and revival are incredible parts of our inheritance as children of God. But many people sitting in revival meetings are about to experience their lives getting shipwrecked. That's a prophetic word by Jesus Himself. For many people, the damage will be beyond repair. They will pay the price in their bodies, their finances, their marriages, and their families. Why? Because they like to sing worship songs, but not live worship lives. They like to listen to powerful messages, but they don't powerfully obey. They like to ride the wave of emotion that comes with renewal, but they don't take the time to dig down deep. They don't want to move the dirt out of their life so they can rest on solid rock. But Jesus also prophesied that there would be some who would hear His words and take them to heart like their lives depend on it. And these people, He said, will be unshakable. 

I am not saying in any way that miracles are bad. I love them, and that is how Jesus drew me to Himself. But just like the blind men, it is possible to experience the goodness of God and His power but still choose to disobey. It is time we listen to the voice of the Miracle Worker and obey Him.

I challenge you, if you are reading this, to ask yourself some hard questions. I'm asking them to myself. Do I have a heart to obey? Do I actually love God, or do I just appreciate the benefits of being near Jesus? Am I actively digging down deep so I can have a solid life, or am I content with a shallow life where I am led solely by my emotions?

I pray that, together, we will become people who love the miracles and obey the One who works them. I pray that the miraculous will increase in all of our lives, but I pray that our response to His voice will also increase. I pray that we will choose to dig down deep and live solid lives that terrify the devil and glorify Jesus.

Books of Heaven

"In Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are your thoughts to me, oh God! How vast is the sum of them!" Psalm 139:16-17, NASB.

Remarkably, there have been some in recent history who have been caught up into heaven and taken to the vast libraries kept by God. David's excitement about a book that exists in heaven written by God about him is not just a poetic thought. He who "knows the end from the beginning" has placed such value on our lives that He has written about us before we were born. He is not thinking new thoughts as my life unfolds. Rather He is carefully watching over with joy the destiny He purposed for me in Christ, executing with precision the unfolding of the glory He crowned me with in advance. David lived with expectation to see His Heavenly Father's hand in daily events, establishing things David could never make happen in His own power. There are those who live each day according to the book written in heaven with their name on it, signed by God in advance. They make choices toward a larger future that God has ordained for them. The circumstances of their life are always viewed in the overshadowing of the book. When we move from hope to confident faith (living according to what I have seen in the unseen realm of God) we are far more daring and agressive toward the future. The events that occur in my life are not seen as random and uncontrollable, rather they are the markers of a executed heavenly plan that are right on schedule in my destiny and shared glory with the King of Kings and His kingdom. Do I value myself as much He does?

A Daily Guide for the Week of Prayer and Fasting – January 2014

Theme for the week. God has brought us to the brink in 2014 to inherit promises both individually and corporately. We are stepping into a season of dreams fulfilled and influence increased. He is calling us to see what belongs to us in the Kingdom, to understand what we must do to prepare, to give ourselves to those things wholeheartedly, to embrace what only He can do for us and through us, and then to receive. We are aligning ourselves with Heaven’s purposes more precisely than before in unity as His body in the Flathead Valley. We have already received the double sign of supernatural birthing in Rwanda, completely by His power. We are positioning ourselves to see the most amazing year in our church’s history and for its individual members.

We will be following daily two main sections of scripture from Isaiah 54:1- 17 and from Joshua 2-6. Both sections speak of God’s work to bring His people into their inheritance and how He would have them prepare themselves to receive it. Let Holy Spirit give you insight, revelation, wisdom and faith as you meditate on these passages each day and pray through them for your individual circumstances and for our church.

This prayer guide is for your personal time with the Lord. Try to make use of all or part of it each day. This will keep you in sync with the rest of the church, even when you can’t make it to the corporate meetings. But then bring this with you and any notes you may have written down to the meetings at night. We will be praying through these things as a church in our evening meetings.

Expect God to speak to you in other ways. You may receive revelations by insight, vision or dream. Please write these down and give them to one of the pastors or other leaders. We want to glean all that God may be saying to us during this week that prepare us more adequately for the year ahead.

Day 1 – Read Joshua 1:10-11; 2:1, 8-11, 23-24; 3:1

• Focus: God brought His people after 40 years to the border of the land He promised to them for their inheritance and destiny. They were camped at the Jordan River looking across into Canaan and at the walls of Jericho in the distance. You can only possess what you can see in advance. What has Holy Spirit shown you that belongs to you that you would possess in this next year? What are some of the dreams not fulfilled? Ask the Lord to reveal His heart for you and what He has in store for you that you have not yet seen or possessed. Write it down as a record of your faith and what you expect to see come to pass in 2014.
• Read Isaiah 54:1 – Are there things that seem to have been lost to you and dreams/visions that have died? Can you envision with God something greater than the original?
• Read Ephesians 1:15-23 – Ask God for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to open your eyes to see what you have not seen, believe what you have not believed, and receive what you have not received. Ask Him to show you who we are as the church in this valley.
• Intercession: Begin to proclaim what you see from God and what is coming to you by His hand. Begin to thank Him for what only He can do. Begin to shout for joy and sing over this next year, rejoicing over your inheritance.
• The church: Declare what God has for us in 2014 and what we will see Him do for the church, in the church and through the church to our community and the world. Be specific and bold. Write it down.

Day 2 – Read Joshua 3:2-4

• Focus: God is taking us where we have never been before. While that is very exciting, it can set us up for mistakes and presumption and bad plans if we are not careful how we move forward. We must have the fear of the Lord and regard this journey as holy. We must let God lead us and not get ahead of Him. We must pay close attention and do what He says, when He says to do it. We must also be ready to act without fear as we keep our eyes on His word, His works and His leaders. Can you see God’s holy hand on your future? Do you believe that He is orchestrating things beyond your understanding? Is there anything in your life hindering you from following God and embracing His plans to get you into your future inheritance? How is your relationship with God’s appointed leaders in your life? Are you a Lone Ranger or in unity with your church family?
• Read Isaiah 54:2 – In order to move into what God has for us, we also must be ready to expand, take risks and move into new territory. The old must be replaced with the new. We must embrace the extravagance of God and what He believes about us and our future. He is already out front in our future seeing our tent full of children. He is excited! What does enlarging, stretching wide, not holding back look like for you? Write it down. Commit yourself before God to do what He shows you to get ready.
• Read 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 – Are you as determined as Jabez to experience God’s blessing in 2014 and move into new territory? Is it bigger and better than you think? What do you believe about God’s desire to answer that prayer for you and our church?
• Intercession: Get your heart right before God to follow Him no matter what into your future, not getting ahead of Him, not lagging behind in fear and unbelief. Recommit yourself to God’s church and the leader’s He has placed in your life. Declare out loud what actions you are taking to receive what God is bringing, describing in as much detail as you can what it will look like and feel like when it comes. Declare what will happen to those around you when this begins to happen to you. Thank God in advance for what He is bringing and how He will do what only He can do. Pray for other churches to be blessed with increase in the next year.
• The church: Can you see how God is expanding our territory and why? How much are you a part of this? What might you do to be a part of this as it unfolds in the days ahead? Write it down. Prophesy into the heavens what great things are coming for our church body and the blessing we will be to our community and the nations.

Day 3 – Read Joshua 3:5-6

• Focus: Even though the Israelites had God’s promises and could see across the Jordan River their inheritance waiting for them, they had a barrier between – the river at flood stage. They needed God to do something they could not do. But before they would be able to walk through on God’s supernatural working and presence (symbolized by the ark of the covenant), they had to prepare themselves personally and corporately. Joshua commanded them to consecrate themselves a day in advance of the miracle. The word consecrate means to cleanse/purify/dedicate. It often involved the washing of one’s body and clothing to prepare for a special God assignment. It was sometimes accompanied by the anointing of oil after washing and the wearing of special clothes. The people were going to pass through God’s presence as they passed through the river. Joshua knew that the people must prepare themselves in holiness and reverence for God Who would be in their midst and open up the way for them. If you knew that tomorrow God was coming into your life circumstances to do something for you beyond your imagination that would shock and terrify everyone who heard of it, would you get yourself ready, body, soul and spirit? Or would you be laid back, careless and self-focused? You might be asking yourself in advance, “What’s it going to be like when God comes in our midst? Can I handle being that close to God? What will happen to me/us afterward? Will we be prepared for what God is releasing?” If God is going to do something off your map this year to bring you into your destiny, what do you need to do to get yourself ready? Or are you distracted with lesser things? Ask Holy Spirit to prepare your heart for the experience of walking through 2014 in the midst of God’s fiery presence and on the raw power of God like you have never seen.
• Read Isaiah 54:2 (second half) – Not only do we need to stretch out our tent curtains but we must strengthen our tent pegs and lengthen your cords to the pegs. Part of our preparation for God coming do amazing things to enlarge our inheritance is to strengthen what we already have with God. You can have a great tent but your tent will not stand without being secured to the ground and against the winds that come up against it. And the bigger the tent, the bigger and stouter the tent pegs and the longer the cords. You and the church cannot ride on yesterday’s knowledge and experiences. How strong are you in God’s Word? How is your prayer life with God? How is your daily worship? How is your fellowship with the saints? How accountable and committed are you to your church? What are you doing right now daily/weekly to strengthen your faith and walk with God? Will your present walk with God hold up with what God is bringing to increase you? Write down what needs to change.
• Read Revelation 2:1-7 and Hebrews 12:12-13 – Are there areas in your life that you know are weak and could crumble under pressure? What needs to be strengthened? Write those down. What are some of the things that you used to do earlier in your walk with God that you no longer do? How is your love for God compared to then? Would anyone know by watching you that your love is stronger or weaker? Part of your personal consecration and the way you strengthen your church family is to examine what needs to be restored and increased in your walk with God and then take action. After you indentify these things, repent of losing this ground and ask Holy Spirit to strengthen you. Dedicate your eyes, ears, hands, feet, mind, mouth and heart to God for holy purposes in 2014.
• Intercession: present yourself to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Confess the areas in your life that may have been neglected and need strengthening. Declare that Jesus is your Lord and you are following Him into 2014. Declare your strength in the Lord and the power of His might (Eph 6:10). Begin to describe what your tent will look like in 2014 and why your tent pegs will hold strong no matter what comes against you. Pray for the whole church body to become strong in God and His purposes. Pray for other churches to be strengthened. Pray for more of God’s power and presence to bring us through into our inheritance. Prophesy the mighty wonders God will do tomorrow as we consecrate ourselves to Him.
• The church: Can you see what would happen if each believer in our church were strengthened and consecrated to God? What would our meetings look like? What would begin to happen? What great things can you imagine God will do through our church to touch our valley? Write these down as you see them.

Day 4 – Read Joshua 3:7-17; 4:14-18; 5:1

• Focus: The future and hope that God wants to bring you into in 2014 is supposed to look impossible to the world. Our dreams are to be fulfilled through impossibility. This is how God’s Kingdom is revealed in the earth. This is what gives us the confidence to know that God is with us and will do all that He promised us. This is also what causes our enemies to greatly fear our presence and see us as unstoppable. But know that no one walks across a dry river bottom with the river at flood stage until they put their feet in the water with God. No one walks on water without getting out of the boat first. Are you the kind of believer who likes to see the impossible happen in your life? Do you spend time imagining what God could do to shake things up through miracles? Are you content to live a natural explainable life? Are you willing to embrace the risk of stepping out with God into things you have not experienced yet? Do you believe that your Heavenly Father loves you so much that He wants to do these kind of things for you? Do you know that He would show such favor toward you that others usually don’t see? Write down what an impossible-God-wonder would look like in 2014 for you to receive your inheritance and dreams. Write down what you would need to do to be a part of it.
• Read  Isaiah 54:3 – When God begins to move out in power so do you. We were made for this experience of heaven invading earth, releasing the impossible. It results in movement and increase. God’s intention for us is to take new territory, to “spread out” to the right and the left. This was His original command to Adam and Eve. But it was never to be by their own power, but by God’s. “Not by might or by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6). God sees you dispossessing those who are squatters on your inheritance and restoring places made desolate by the enemy. What a glorious call on our lives! In fact, this is how you know you are really fulfilling God’s plan for your life – when you see these results. We are called to “inherit and inhabit.” The word translated “spread out” actually means to “break forth or burst out”.  This is what happens when God’s power shows up to take us into impossilities. Walls come down. Locked gates open suddenly. Treasures are discovered. Mountains melt like wax. Ask Holy Spirit to help you imagine what breaking forth into your inheritance looks like. How might you see His power in the year ahead? Write down what you thought was impossible in your life or circumstances and how God “bring you through on dry ground” to receive His blessings. Are you praying for supernatural displays of God’s rule and reign that will affect how people see God and His church?
• Read Nehemiah 6:15-17 and Acts 5:11-16 – Do you believe that God can move heaven and earth in such a powerful way around your life that others are affected and respond to God? Have you ever asked God to make your life a living display of His goodness that powerfully draws even the most hardened sinner to Him? Can God do something so amazing through our church that shakes the whole city and state? What will it take for you to be available for that result through your life? Through our church?
• Intercession: Ask Holy Spirit to increase your expectation for God-sized displays of impossible break-throughs. Ask God to open your eyes to see what He is already doing and preparing to do. Ask the Lord of Hosts to bring your life and our church into the realm of “exceedingly abundantly beyond what we could ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20) and that it would result in Jesus getting glory in His church (v.21). Pray for those God-ordained “breaking forth/bursting out” events in your life and our church. Pray for this to happen in other churches. Ask God to help you inherit your land of promise and to inhabit desolate places ruined by Satan’s working. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to give you a massive harvest through His power.
• The church: What inheritance and habitation does the Lord want to give our church in this valley, this state and in the nations? How much impact does God want us to have in our region? With gov’t officials? In shaping our culture? How many people and other churches does He want us to impact with His Kingdom? What will it look like when that happens? How might your destiny be involved/fulfilled when our church breaks forth?

Day 5 – Read Joshua 5:2-10

• Focus: One of the most remarkable as well as perplexing things that God leads the Israelites to do before they begin to possess the land involves ordering Joshua to immediately circumcise all the uncircumcised males in their midst (which would have been the majority – all the males under 40 that had been born during the 40 year wilderness trek). It is remarkable because God wanted this done before they received their inheritance and before they celebrated the annual scheduled Passover (which was scheduled 3 days later). It is perplexing because circumcision would render their army helpless (from pain and dressing the wounds) against their enemies, who could easily have wiped them out in a moment. Why did God not order this to happen before crossing over? That place which was in full view of Jericho would be called Gilgal – rolling away, rolling off. It would also be known as Gibeath-haaroloth – the hill of foreskins (we’re talking hundreds of thousands). Gilgal would go on to be the main camp for the Israelites while Joshua led them in their conquest of Canaan in the years to come. It would be the place where Samuel would offer sacrifices to the Lord for all Israel. It would be the place where Saul would be anointed the first King. It was the place that Israel piled up twelve stones taken from the bottom of Jordan River when they crossed over on dry land as a memorial to God’s power to bring them in and a sign of God’s faithfulness to fulfill all His promises to them in the future. What a place to have in your life! But it all began with circumcision. God said that through the circumcision He had “rolled away the reproach of Egypt” from them. The word reproach here means shame or disgrace. Circumcision was a covenant sign in the body itself of faith and full submission to God and His Kingdom. It was also a physical sign of separation from the world and from other gods. Is it possible that your success in seeing God go before you with power and your ability to receive your inheritance is directly connected to dealing with your past involvement with another kingdom and past identity? Can we really handle the great things God will give us and be trusted with them if we carry the shame of past idolatry and adultery with the world? Will we be faithful to God without renewing our hearts before God in deepest commitment? Many times after this moment in Gilgal God would talk to the people about the condition of their hearts and call them to circumcise their hearts afresh to love Him and surrender to His ways. How about you right now? Write down any thing Holy Spirit reveals to you about your heart commitment to God that needs to be freshly recommitted and surrendered. Is there anything in you that is distracted by the world? Is there anything from your past that still holds you in bondage? Are you lacking in confidence to move forward with God because you have shame and guilt in not being right with God? Are you ready to let God have His way with you completely? How does the lack of circumcision of the heart affect our whole church and it’s ability to move into our future?
• Read Isaiah 54:4-5 – Though our past may have limited us in what we have experienced thus far with God and affected our ability to receive our inheritance, God is still the One who is committed to our future fruitfulness. As an amazing husband he invites us back through repentance to experience what only He can do to make our future better than we could have imagined. He says that what He is going to do will be so good that we will forget our past failures and foolishness. Are we afraid to come to God as our Father, our Husband, our Redeemer, our Lord? If we have shame that creates fear to move ahead with God, we will not be successful in our inheriting and inhabiting our glorious future. Write down any fears you have about fully surrendering to God. Write down any shame that have not let God forgive and remove from you. Ask God to forgive you and receive it as done through the blood of Jesus. Now forgive yourself and let it go. Finally, let your super-husband embrace you with love and speak of your amazing future to come. If these things have kept you from pulling in close to our church and being committed in relationships and to leadership, renounce this mindset and purpose to take your place in the family. We need you!!!
• Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 – Ask God to show you any unholy alliances that are hindering you.
• Intercession: Pray for our whole church body to embrace a fresh circumcision of heart before God. Pray for a full surrender and total trust. Pray for the Spirit of Holiness to sweep through our ranks. Ask God to grant repentance that enables us to experience freedom and change at the deepest levels. Pray against deception, pride and hardness of heart that keeps us in the dark.

Day 6 – Read Joshua 5:13-15;

• Focus: After celebrating the Passover as a newly circumcised group of people, still in awe of God’s power and faithfulness because of how He brought them into their land of promise supernaturally, Joshua is now contemplating the next step of how they will take their first city, Jericho, whose walls were high and inpenitrable. He is walking nearby Jericho, perhaps on a prayer walk, looking for God’s strategy of success. He may have been trying to use his previously learned skills of warfare as he planned out the attack. He may have been pondering how God would aid them in giving the city to them. He may have been worried about other adversaries joining with Jericho to fight them. As God leads us into our unknown future according to His promises and we try to move with Him, we often have many questions and concerns about the details about what, how, when and where. We are often in need of a sense of security, trying to second-guess what will happen next and what is required of us. What happens next to Joshua as the leader is not only surprising but necessary. He is seeing a powerful man standing in front of him, waiting with a sword drawn for action. What does this mean? Why is he here? Where did he come from? Is he friend or foe? Am I in danger? Joshua is thinking in purely human terms and tries to place this man in a controllable category to deal with. He is not prepared for the answer to his questions. It is natural for us as followers of Jesus to be nervous about the future God is bringing us into and wonder how well we will do as we consider what might be “out there” to oppose us and stop us. The easiest thing we know how to do, without much thought, is to imagine problems, weaknesses and failures. After all, what we are hoping for requires God doing something we have not seen Him do before. And we usually don’t feel worthy of it anyway. But here you are. You’ve done the best you know how to follow God to this point. You are trying to believe and trust. You are trying to be brave and step forward. What is the number one thing Joshua needs right now? That God is going to answer all his prayers? That everything is going to be perfect with no problems? No! He needs to see God and Heaven’s army going ahead of him to accomplish God’s will in the earth. It’s almost as if this captain of the Lord’s host (which could have been Jesus Himself) was telling Joshua, “this isn’t about you. You are just part of the bigger plan I am working out. Now get in line behind me and recognize who’s really in charge around here. My sword will determine the outcome.” And Joshua chose a very good response – he takes off his sandals and falls on his face in total trust and submission. Where you and our church are going in 2014, what we will experience of His power, and what we receive of His increase, is not about you. It is about God’s Kingdom. Ask yourself what you real priority is for your life. What are you really living for? Write down what of Heaven’s plan will be accomplished through your own breakthroughs and expansions. Write down who is with you and what they are going to do in you, around you and through you. What does taking off your sandals and falling on your face before God before you head into 2014 look like in your life?
• Read  Isaiah 54:7-13 – What attitudes does God express toward you as He sees Himself taking you into 2014? Compassion? Kindness? Unfailing love? Is this what you are expecting from Him next year? This would be a good time to stop and dance. When He comes with His power to do for you and our church what we could never make happen ourselves, what can we be looking for? While we are enlarging the place of our tent, He will be bringing us back to Himself, establishing us in His unshakable Kingdom, building up a house/fortress around us with precious stones/jewels, securing our children with His wisdom and peace. What does that look like in your life? Write some of that down. Begin to praise and thank Him for how good He is and what you will taste and see.
• Read Hebrews 1:7,14 and John 1:51 – How much support will you receive from heaven this year?
• Intercession: Ask Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see what Heaven is doing around you. Proclaim your ability to see with spiritual eyes the hand of God and the working of angels. Proclaim an open heaven over your life and our church. Ask for more angels to show up and accomplish God’s great plan in your life and our church. Declare the release of the sword of the Lord in our city. If these are like the days of Noah to God concerning our blessing, declare what that will look like.
• The church: Are you praying for your leaders to see God? Are you believing God to show Himself strong for our church? Will you be a part of God’s plan to win His battles through our church?

Day 7 – Read Joshua 6:1-21

• Focus: After Joshua came into alignment with the captain of the Lord’s host, he was ready to hear God’s plan for action and start receiving God’s inheritance. God’s first command to Joshua was to “see” what was already true in heaven. God did not say, I will give Jericho into your hand. Rather, He said, I have given. Big difference. What does God have in store for you and our church in 2014 that is already accomplished in heaven? It has already been given/done. Write that down. Can you see it yet? We must move from just hope to expectation of the finished work. We must see. What you see you can have. Then God told Joshua how to receive what was already given. God will show us specific things to do in this year that will open up our inheritance. He has His way of doing things. Sometimes His preciseness has to do with His holiness and perfection. Sometimes it has to do with how we will get the glory for what He does. Sometimes it has to do with protecting us from things we cannot see ahead. Sometimes it has to do with testing us in our obedience and trust of Him. Remember, “there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of destruction” (Proverbs 14:12). To get God’s results His way, it also required total unity of the people. They had to be in agreement, submitted to God and their leaders, ready to move as one unit. If anyone had acted independently, it would have wrecked it for all. And there were no casualties. God knows how to do what only He can do and pull it off in way that shocks us and those around us. They had never seen walls fall down around a city. They had never experienced things move at the sound of their voices and their trumpets. They were in training by God for how heaven invades earth through His people. How much did this affect their expectation for future expansion after Jericho?  What Joshua saw that day was the fulfillment of his prophetic word 40 years earlier of what God would do to give the land to the Israelites (Numbers 14:6-9). But on the day he and Caleb took that stand with God and gave that word, they were not received, but mocked, and almost killed. What have you been saying in past years about the moment you are heading into now? Are you ready to receive what you have been expecting? It is never too late to start declaring the great things heaven has in store for you and our church. Write them down now in advance of their happening.
• Read Isaiah 54:14-17 – There is a heritage for the servants of God – an inheritance. That has always been God’s plan for His people. And often when it comes to us, it is after so much attack, struggle, disappointment, failure, set-back, misunderstanding and even mocking from the enemy. So when God brings the breakthrough it will also feel like vindication, the evidence that you were right in what you were believing and acting on. It is God’s great joy to display your faith and obedience in Him to the world when He fulfills your dreams and gives you your inheritance. This is the year for your life to show the world that following Jesus is not only right but worth it. This is the year for fruit to be picked and enjoyed from the tree you have been cultivating and pruning. This is the year for Jacob to receive Rachel as his own with riches because of his faithful labor and be vindicated in uncle Laban’s eyes (Genesis 31:1-18). And God has said that He has protection for us even when people are upset at our receiving what they don’t have. God has the final say over weapons people choose to raise up against us. This is not a year for fear but victory. How important is it for you remind yourself of God’s promises and confirm in your own heart that you will not be disappointed? Have you looked into your Heavenly Father’s eyes to see that He is surely faithful to you and knows the plans He has for you? Have you seen that the plans are good? The proof of what you have seen and known is that you have hope and can speak of a glorious future. Write down what your hope is. Plan to speak to someone else about what is coming in your future from God.
• Read Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 2:1-4; Joel 2:8-11 – Do you see God’s plan for unity among His people, living in honor and interdependence with each other? How much power does that release in you? Can our church move into its future any other way? What change might you need to make in your own heart to be in unity with other believers and with your church? Write down how your commitment to your church family will increase the likelihood of fulfilling your destiny. Write down what is preventing this from being more real in your life. Will you commit yourself to be part of God’s last-days army?
• Intercession: Declare what you “see” as already true in heaven concerning 2014. Declare what God will do to help bring this about and protect you. Ask God to strengthen you in your faith and perseverance to receive what belongs to you. Proclaim God’s plan through our church to fulfill God’s plan for you. Declare how God will use you in the church to make her mighty.