Winning the Battle for Freedom of Speech “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.” (Mark 16:15, 20 NASB). This is part of what we call the Great Commission. The other passage, of course, is found at the end of Matthew 28. Every born again believer is commissioned by the Lord to tell others about Jesus. Holy Spirit often compels us to share our faith with others. Especially when we are newly saved, it is natural to want the whole world to know the One who has set us free from our sin. College campuses are usually places where speech of all kinds is welcome. In fact, young students tend to be so prolific in their need to verbalize youthful opinions that most campuses have “free speech” zones and platforms where they are able to do just that. In the Jesus People Movement of the 60s and 70s, thousands of young people came to Christ on our campuses. As Holy Spirit begins to be poured out again on our youth, we can be assured the same phonomenum will occur. God will awaken the curiosity of a generation to the miracle-working, humanity-loving person called Jesus. With this in mind, can you imagine young believers not being able to share faith in Christ on college campuses in the United States of America? In today’s world, you probably can. Chike Uzuegbunam (Dutch: Pronounced CHEE-kay Ood-zoog-BOO-num) found his voice shut down in 2013 by Georgia Gwinnett College.1 His parents had immigrated from Nigeria and raised their family trumpeting the freedoms of this wonderful country. To Chike, this appeared to be the case, until the day he received Jesus as his Savior and Lord and wanted to tell everyone about Him. Remember how excited you were when you were first saved? Well, in the country he loved so much, Chike surprisingly found that his First Amendment right - “Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech” - was limited. First, campus police stopped him and told him he had to speak from the free speech platform. He obtained the proper permits and scheduled a time to speak from there. Chike even indicated the exact content of his message and told them what literature he might be handing out as asked for on the application. However, as he began to share from the platform, two police officers stopped him again and told him someone had complained about his message.They said he could not share his faith in Christ at all. Sadly, he had no recourse with the school. He found he had to talk about Jesus more privately.2 Consider the content others were allowed to share from that “free speech zone.” Marxist-Leninist beliefs were okay; talking about loving whatever gender you wanted to was fine; but talking about Jesus was not. If we bow to establishments and let these moments go, soon free speech for Christians will be shut down everywhere. Satan would love that to be the case. So, not only for himself, but for all believers, Chike knew he had to fight this limitation of his right to speak freely in public as a follower of Christ. He had to testify. He said, “I felt like I was treated unfairly. From the moment I was saved, all I ever wanted to do was share the gospel—the good news about Jesus Christ—with other people. But they stopped me. I just wanted to love people and share the greatest news in the world with them.”3 Chike decided to take Georgia Gwinnett College to court for violating his right to freedom of speech. When he did so, the college changed their policies and asked the court to dismiss the case. Because Chike had graduated, the court agreed the case was moot. But he did not stop. He appealed because, “I just wanted to make sure my college and other public institutions know they are legally bound to honor the Constitution.”4 Chike was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom. One of its attorneys said, “Sadly, an overwhelming number of colleges and universities have unconstitutional policies in place. They do almost exactly what Georgia Gwinnett did. The Center for Academic Freedom has had over 400 victories against public colleges and universities. Universities are supposed to be about the free exchange of ideas as they help raise the next generation of leaders. Students should be able to speak freely on their campuses. If the government [or another public entity] has no consequences for violating our constitutional rights, then what’s the point of having those rights in the first place?”5 ADF took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, in an overwhelming 8-1 decision, Chike won! He won for every student in America’s public schools. Students will now be able to share Christ freely, without persecution and undue limitation by authorities, on their campuses. Like David, Chike is serving the purposes of God in his generation. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, ‘The just and upright shall live by faith.’” (Romans 1:16-17 AMP) Pray with me: Father, thank You for this courageous young man who fought for his freedom to share the gospel of Jesus Christ on his college campus. Thank You for saving him and putting a fire in him. Lord, You led the framers of the Bill of Rights to write the first amendment. You knew we would need those rights. We won’t give them up. Help us find the boldness Chike had to stand firm like a modern-day David against Goliath. Lord, we are confident you’re about to move mightily on the campuses of America - and other nations, as well. A young generation satan has tried to destroy physically through abortion and spiritually through anti-christ idealogies is destined for a glorious outpouring of Your love and grace. Bring it, Lord! And do so with incredible power and intensity. Let it be a Jesus People Movement, just as occurred in the 60s and 70s, but may this one come with many times more power and results. Overwhelm those in their teens, 20s, and 30s with Your love and power, Lord. Let it be like nothing the world has ever seen! We release the power of Holy Spirit in us to the campuses, bars, apartments, concerts - and everywhere they’re found. We release signs, wonders, and miracles to get their attention and convince them of the gospel. Send laborers to them. Send angels to them. We know You can do this, we know You want to, and we know You will. Thank you. In Christ’s name. Amen Today’s decree: God is coming to rescue the Millennials and Generation Z with history’s greatest revival EVER! _____________________________ 1 https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-968_8nj9.pdf 2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/11/supreme-court-free-speech-georgia-gwinnett-college/ 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZg43pokrxQ 4 https://adflegal.org/case/uzuegbunam-v-preczewski#close 5 Ibid.

Filling the Bowls In discussing why persevering prayer is necessary, we have looked at several issues. First, we noted that God’s power is present in us, the church, not just heaven. He wants and needs this power to flow from us. Prayer is more than simply asking God to do something; we release His power and life as we speak His word and do as He instructs us. Yesterday, we said that since spiritual power is a measurable force, and different amounts are needed to accomplish different things, we must continue releasing Holy Spirit’s power until enough has flowed from us to accomplish the task. We’ll continue this discussion today. Ephesians 3:20 is an amazing verse. Actually, for the sake of context, let’s read verse 21, also. “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and forever. Amen.” The phrase “exceeding abundantly beyond” is one word in the Greek text: huperperissos. Through the use of this fascinating word, Holy Spirit is making an amazing point. The root word perissos in and of itself means “superabundant.” In other words, “more than abundant” or “more than enough.” The same word describes God’s amazing grace in Romans 5:20. With the added prefix huper, however, (huperperissos) the word takes on an almost humorous dimension. In Greek, huper means “beyond” or “more than.” When these two words are compounded together, the word they form would literally be translated: “superabundantly, with more added to that,” or “beyond more than enough,” or perhaps “more than, more than enough!” Paul, in describing God’s power at work in us (as well as His grace in Romans 5:20) is so overwhelmed by what Holy Spirit is writing through him that he says, “God has enough power to do superabundantly beyond - with more added to that! - what we can even ask or think.” No language can do justice to God; He’s simply too great, powerful, and good. Then, the last half of Ephesians 3:20 tells us God is going to do this “more than more than enough” - “through “the power that works in us.” An Expanded Translation of the New Testament by Kenneth Wuest is the most literal and exact translation of the New Testament I know of. Look at his incredible depiction of this verse: “Now to the One who is able to do beyond all things, superabundantly beyond and over and above those things that we are asking for ourselves and considering, in the measure of the power which is operative in us . . .” Wow! I want you to see that God’s immeasurable power is not only in heaven, it’s in us! And Wuest points out that the over and above activity of this power on our behalf is based on the measure of its operation in us. We must cooperate with this power! We must draw on it, activate it . . . and release it! James 5:16 says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV, emphasis added). Wuest translates it this way: “A prayer of a righteous person is able to do much as it operates.” Notice the verse doesn’t say, “A prayer of a righteous person is able to do much because it causes God to operate.” It certainly does so, but the verse is making a different point. It says, “A prayer of a righteous person is able to do much as it [the prayer] operates.” The Amplified translation reads, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [is dynamic in its working].” Wow! Our prayers go to work. And notice the word “continued;” the Amplified Bible captures the present tense meaning of the verb. We have the power inside of us that created the world. We have the same power in us that went into the depths of the earth and took the keys from the kingdom of darkness. But we must release it. Release it and release it and release it and release it some more! Again and again and again! As we do, the Scriptures indicate that our prayers accumulate. There are bowls in heaven in which our prayers are stored. Not one bowl for all prayers but “bowls.” We don’t know how many but I think it very likely that each of us has our own bowl in heaven. I don’t know if it’s literal or symbolic. It doesn’t matter, the principle is still the same: God stores our prayers for release at the proper time. “And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints.” (Revelation 5:8 NASB) “And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” (Revelation 8:3-5 NASB) According to these verses, either when God knows it is the right time, or when enough prayer has accumulated, our prayers in the bowl are mixed with fire from His altar. Picture this: God takes the same fire that fell on Mt. Sinai; the fire that fell at Pentecost; the fire that destroys His enemies; and puts it into your bowl of prayers! Then He pours it all upon the earth...Lightning starts flashing, thunder crashes, the earth quakes. Awesome power is released in the realm of the spirit, which then affects the natural realm. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, each hour I stood over the comatose girl, speaking the name above every name, praying in the Spirit, declaring God’s Word and promises, shedding tears - God was collecting it all until finally, the bowl was full. And on a Saturday morning in 1986, Jehovah Rapha - the Lord our healer - looked over at one of the angels and said, “See that girl in Ohio whose brain is no longer functioning, who has to be fed through her stomach and breathe through a hole in her throat. The one lying there like a living dead person, for whom the doctors say there’s no hope, that she’s going to die? Do you see her? Take this bowl of prayers, mix them with My fire, and go pour it on her head.” The rest is history. John Killinger tells about an interesting method used in the past to break a wild steed by harnessing it to a burro. The powerful steed would take off across the range, twisting and bucking, causing the burro to be tossed about wildly. What a sight! The steed would run away, pulling the burro alongside, and they would drop out of sight - sometimes for days. Then they would return, with the proud little burro in charge. The steed had worn himself out, fighting the presence of the burro. When he became too tired to fight anymore, the burro assumed the position of leader.4 That’s the way it is many times with prayer. Victory goes to the persistent, not to the angry; to the dedicated, not to those who can provide great demonstrations of emotion and energy. We need committed, determined, power-releasing prayer, not once-in-a-while fireworks. Pray with me: Father, we believe the bowls of prayer for America are full. There have been millions and millions of prayers over the past 30 years asking You for forgiveness to America, and for revival. We, Your people, have fulfilled 2 Chronicles 7:14. You never said unbelievers needed to fulfill this verse, that they had to stop sinning before You would heal the land. You said if YOUR people did these things, You would heal the land. And I would also add, Father, that You have always been willing to respond to a remnant. You do not require all of Your people to do these things. In Your mercy, You have always been willing to bring restoration through the few. In fact, You have never done it any other way. We believe that now, You will do as You said, and heal our land. We are asking You for this spiritual healing. We are asking You to cleanse us from the shedding of much innocent blood. We are asking You to heal our land of racism and division. We are asking You to heal us of unrighteous government. We are asking You to heal the younger generation from the humanism and atheism we have allowed to invade our nation. We ask You to tip the bowls of intercession and pour forth Your lightning into America. We ask you to do this also in our churches. Bring Your fire. Bring power to the church once again. Most of all, may we be people of Your presence. Restore hunger for You. Light up the earth, Father, with the greatest outpouring of Your Spirit this planet has ever experienced. We believe this is coming and we will never give up. We will see it... because the appeal still works! In Christ’s name we ask and decree these things. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the bowls of intercession in heaven are filled, and God is going to respond from heaven! Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer. _______________________________ 1 Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Ref. No. 4057 2 Ibid., Ref. No. 5228 3 Ibid., Ref. No. 2596 4 Larson, Illustrations for Preaching, p177, adapted.

Measurable Levels of Power We are discussing why it typically takes persevering prayer to receive the answer to most prayers. Yesterday we looked at the fact that we are a reservoir for God’s power. We are His instruments and outlets of His life. I think you’ll find today’s post enlightening, as well. We do not typically think of spiritual dynamics such as power, love, grace, etc., as measurable substances. But just as invisible elements of our natural world can be measured, such as oxygen or carbon dioxide, there are unseen spiritual substances, as well, which are no less real and exist in varying degrees or measures. For example, there are measurable levels of faith. Romans 12:3 says, “as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” The Greek word “measure” here is metron from which we get the word “meter.” In other words, God has “metered out” to each a portion of faith; from there it must grow. (The Scriptures do not say we only need faith the size of a mustard seed. Some translations do but they are paraphrases - opinions - not true translations. The Bible says we need faith like a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20), small but grows into a tree. There are also measurable degrees of righteousness and sin. In Genesis 15:16, God told Abraham He was going to give the land to his descendants in four generations. The reason He could not give it to him yet was because “the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” The Hebrew word for complete means whole or full. There are measurable levels of grace. Second Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you.” In Acts 4:33, we are told that “with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (KJV). The Greek word for “great” is megas, from which we get “mega.” There is grace, there is mega grace and there is all grace! There are measurable degrees of love. John 15:13 speaks of greater love. Matthew 24:12 talks of a love that has grown cold. Philippians 1:9 refers to love abounding more and more. The same verse that speaks of “mega” grace mentions “mega” power (see Acts 4:33 KJV). The apostles had mega power because they had mega grace! My point is that the elements of the spirit realm are very real. The anointing is real. Power is real. We do not see them but they are there. Measurable, cumulative amounts exist in the realm of the spirit. Logically, just as with natural elements, certain amounts of the above-mentioned spiritual forces must be released in the realm of the spirit to accomplish certain things. Different levels are required for different situations. Just as in the natural you need different levels of power to light a flashlight versus a building, or a building as opposed to a city, the same dynamic is true in the spirit realm. Different amounts of God’s power are needed to accomplish different things. It requires more power to raise the dead than to heal a headache. In Mark 6, Jesus could not get enough power to people in Nazareth to affect a miracle, although enough was reaching them to produce some healings. That is so revealing: sufficient power was reaching the people to produce a few healings, but not enough to work miracles. This certainly proves that differing amounts are needed for different situations. The problem wasn’t with Christ, by the way. The amount of authority and power He possessed hadn’t changed. Nor had His faith wavered. Yet, only enough power reached the people to get a few healings; not enough - because of their unbelief - to work a miracle. That’s remarkable. It is also somewhat sobering, informing us that the corporate faith level when we gather affects what Holy Spirit can accomplish. In Matthew 17:14-21, the disciples had been casting out demons and healing the sick; Jesus had given them authority and power to do so. An insane boy was brought to them, however, and they couldn’t deliver him of the spirit of insanity. Jesus came and it was no problem for Him to exorcise the demon. Though the disciples had enough power flowing in their ministry to deal with most demons and diseases, they encountered one that required more power than they possessed. Again, the obvious implication is that different, measurable levels of power are needed to accomplish different things. Yesterday, we mentioned the reality that we are those through whom God intends to release this power. We do so through the laying on of hands, decreeing His word and promises, and faith-filled praying. Typically, it does not occur simply by asking Him to do something. As God’s partners and conduits of His power, He needs us to release it into situations. Often, the release of this power is a process. We don’t typically pray or command once and experience breakthroughs. Usually, we must do so consistently, persevering until enough power has been released to accomplish what is needed. It is also why the prayer of agreement, which multiplies power, is often needed. When it appears God has finally “gotten around to it,” or when we think a breakthrough suddenly happened, the reality is usually that enough power has finally been released through our prayers to accomplish what is needed. When the prophet Elijah came to a widow’s son who had died, he spread himself out on the corpse face to face and prayed three times before the boy was resurrected (see 1 Kings 17:21). Why did it take three times? Because the man of God wasn’t at the level he needed to be spiritually? Because he didn’t have enough faith? Because he didn’t do it right the first two times? We are not told the reason, but it is not insinuated that any of those things are true. The logical explanation is that he was releasing more life out of his spiritual womb or spirit each time. It takes a good bit of life (or power) to raise the dead! In 1 Kings 18:1, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.” God didn’t say, “I might.” Nor did He say, “If you pray hard enough.” He didn’t say, “I’m thinking about it.” He said, “I’m going to do it.” It was God’s timing, God’s idea, God’s will, and God’s promise. Yet, we are told at the end of this chapter that Elijah labored in prayer diligently - seven times - in the posture of a woman in travail, before clouds appeared and the rain came. He didn’t casually pray, “Lord, send the rain.” That certainly would not qualify as the “effectual, fervent prayer” James 5:16-18 (KJV) tells us Elijah engaged in to first stop, then restart the rain. The question we must ask ourselves regarding Elijah’s prayer is: If it was God’s will, timing, and idea, why did he have to pray fervently, seven different times, until the rain came? The most reasonable explanation is that it was necessary to persevere until his intercession released enough power into the heavens to produce rain. Why did it require Daniel 21 days of praying to receive his angelic visitation? God sent the angel to him the first day he began praying? I would think if God wanted to send an angelic messenger, He could get the angel through immediately. He has enough power, doesn’t He? Then why was this angel successfully detained by demonic forces for 21 days? Because Daniel’s faithful praying was required to consistently release power into the realm of the spirit to influence the warfare. Not until enough power was released to break through the demonic opposition could the angel - with Michael, the archangel’s help - break through with the answer! Please understand, I am not limiting God’s power. I am fully aware that one word from God could rout every demon in hell. What must be factored in is God’s decision to work on the earth through humans. It seems reasonable to me that if a man’s prayers were responsible for the angel being dispatched, they would also be the key to breaking through with the message. As the great writer on prayer, Paul Billheimer said, “Although the answer to his prayer was granted and already on the way, if Daniel had given up it presumably would never have arrived.”1 It was a game-changer for me when this revelation became clear. I realized that when perseverance in prayer was necessary, it wasn’t to persuade God or overcome His reluctance. It was to release more of His power. I realized that if what I was praying about was truly God’s will, it would eventually occur - IF I continued doing my part. Tomorrow, we will discuss how long we must persevere. Pray with me: Father, it is very important that we learn, not only of Your power, but Your ways. We must not only know You can, we must understand how You desire to work. Due to the fact that, generally speaking, You accomplish this on earth through we, Your people, strengthen us in the area of perseverance and determination. May we never quit before we see the results You promised. When we have discerned by Your spirit that it is time for an outpouring of spiritual rain, You said in Zechariah 10:1 to ask for it. We have discerned it is time and therefore are asking You for the rain. We are appealing for a deluge. Let a mighty, mighty outpouring of Holy Spirit come to this nation and other parts of the earth. Pour out Your Spirit as You did in the book of Acts, with great signs, wonders, and miracles. May it be said of us, as it was of them, that our world was turned upside down. And You have said You were going to restore a righteous government to America. We have some righteous leaders who honor You, but the majority in our nation’s Capital oppose You and Your ways. They blatantly oppose Your word and mock You in many ways. We boldly ask You to remove them; shake up our government. From the White House, to the Capitol, to the Supreme Court - we ask You to remove those who dishonor and oppose You. Give us righteous, wise leaders - men and women of understanding and who honor truth. We will persevere in prayer until we see this take place. We ask all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that God is moving in America to bring forth righteousness and a mighty revival. And we declare that we will never relent in our prayers until we see this occurring. Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer. ____________________________ 1 Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975), p107.

Conduits of His Power Yesterday we discussed the need for persistence in prayer. But why is persistence required? Does God have a certain amount of prayers required for certain situations? Do we “talk Him into” doing things? Does God ever “finally decide” to do something? Do we “earn” answers through hard work or perseverance? The answer to all these questions is no. “What about that which is frequently referred to as the prayer of importunity, in Luke 11:5-13?” some will ask. “Doesn’t this story teach that we importune (persist) with God until He decides to give us what we ask?” The answer is an emphatic NO! Persistence in prayer is never required for the purpose of overcoming God’s reluctance. The word “importunity” in Luke 11:8 (KJV) is an unfortunate KJV translation of the Greek word anaideia, which actually means “shamelessness”1 or “bold unashamedness.”2 Aidos, the root word, means “modesty or shame”3 and is translated as such in 1 Timothy 2:9. Here in Luke 11, it is in its negative form, making it “without modesty or shame.” The point of this passage in Luke is the same as Hebrews 4:16, which is that we are to approach the throne of grace boldly, rather than with a sense of unworthiness or shame. Just as the petitioner in the story, we can approach God as our friend, at any time, knowing we are welcome. So why is persistence or perseverance necessary in prayer? In 1984 Ceci was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst which the doctor said would mandate surgery. I asked Holy Spirit to heal her; He responded by instructing me to pray in my prayer language for her an hour a day. I did so, and over a 30-day period, the cyst completely disappeared. Why did it take 30 hours of praying to get the cyst dissolved on my wife’s ovary? In 1985 Holy Spirit assigned me to pray for a young, comatose girl. Viral Encephalitis had damaged her brain, reducing her to basically a vegetative state for the past year and a half. The doctors gave her no hope of recovery. At the instruction of Holy Spirit, I prayed over her at least an hour every week - sometimes two hours - for a year. At the end of that year, Jesus completely healed her brain. Why did it take a year to obtain a miracle for this young girl? (Both of these testimonies are shared in more detail in my book, Intercessory Prayer.) Why does it sometimes require several years of intercession to see someone saved? Why did Elijah have to pray seven times before the rain came (see 1 Kings 18:41-45)? Why did Daniel have to pray 21 days before the angel broke through with his answer (see Daniel 10:13)? Gordon Lindsay, a great man of prayer and the founder of Christ for the Nations, taught much about what he called the “substance” of prayer.4 The concept is that our prayers do more than simply motivate the Father to action. They actually release the power of Holy Spirit from us to accomplish things. Certain types of praying would, of course, do this more than others. For example, praying in the Spirit releases great power. When spiritual opposition is involved, speaking the word of God becomes a powerful sword against those powers (see Ephesians 6:17). Spirit-led declarations or commands release the power of Holy Spirit (see Matthew 17:20; Mark 11:23). The laying on of hands is another scriptural method of imparting power (see Mark 16:18; Hebrews 6:2). That there is literal power in us, which Holy Spirit desires to release from us, is absolute. The power of God that brings life, healing, and wholeness flows out from us - the church. Please don’t assume the power of God flows only from His heavenly throne. He is now enthroned in our hearts - we are the temple of Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19). The word translated temple (naos), means “the holy of holies.”5 We are now the holy of holies, the dwelling place of God and His glory on the earth. When He releases power, it doesn’t have to shoot out of the sky somewhere - it emanates from we, His people, the dwelling place of Holy Spirit. Whether through speaking, touching, laying hands on the sick, declaring, or even worship, when God’s power flows on earth, it is through human vessels. A symbolic picture of this is given in John 7:38, where Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’” Innermost being, (or as the KJV says, “belly”) is the word Greek koilia, which literally means “womb.” Translating the verse literally, we would say, “From his womb shall flow rivers of living water.” The word “womb,” of course, speaks of reproduction, or birthing - the bringing forth of life. A similar phrase is found in Revelation 22:1-2: “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and the Lamb, in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” The picture here is of Jesus as the source of life. Out of Him flows the river of life, with trees on either side. Leaves are produced by the trees, which are watered by the river, which flows from Jesus. People (the nations) eat the leaves of these trees and are made whole. Incredibly, the phrase “river of the water of life” in this passage is the same Greek phrase as “rivers of living water” in John 7. The river of life flowing from the Lamb, one day bringing healing and the wholeness to the earth, is the same river of living water Jesus said would flow from the womb of the church now. We are Christ’s womb, His incubation chambers. As profound as this is, however, it shouldn’t surprise us. Is it not the very power and life of Jesus in us - not our own - we are supposed to minister to people? John 7:39 goes on to say, “But this He spoke of the Spirit.” The river Christ spoke of as flowing from us is the Spirit of God. Obviously, it must be His power flowing, but it flows from us. Holy Spirit doesn’t lay hands on the sick - we do (see Mark 16:18). As we do so, He, inside us, releases His river of power and life to flow into that person. Not only are we Christ’s womb, we’re His mouth. When the Spirit of God wants to release power against His enemies, He uses us to wield the sword of the Spirit - the spoken word of God (see Ephesians 6:17). He doesn’t speak from the clouds; He speaks from His people - up from our spirits, out of our mouths. And this releases God’s power! We are the mouth of God from which His power and life flow. At the time when God was teaching me this in the mid-80s, I had 45 warts on my hands. Some were quite large and had eaten into my fingernails and cuticles on 3 fingers, completely replacing them. They had been spreading/multiplying on my hands for 7-8 years. Doctors told me they didn’t want to burn or freeze them off, for fear of mutilating my hands, nails, and cuticles. Many people prayed for me, with no results. I was in numerous services where “gifts of healing” and “workings of miracles” (1 Corinthians 12:9-10) were occurring, with many people healed - but never me. Finally, Holy Spirit spoke to me very clearly, “Though some are healed through the gifts of my Spirit, others are through the prayers of the elders (James 5:14), and still others through the prayer of agreement (Matthew 18:19) - I will not heal you through any of these methods. You will have to do what I’ve been teaching you - speak My word over your hands every day (Mark 11:23), numerous times each day, releasing My power to them until the healing comes.” I determined to obey. Six or seven times each day, maybe more, I spoke God’s word - which is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) - over my hands, using 8-10 scriptures promising healing and breakthrough. I saw no change for 2 weeks, but as God’s power was released and accumulated, it began to do its work. After 2 weeks, the warts began to shrink. I watched them becoming smaller and smaller each day. As they shrank, finally fingernails and cuticles began growing. Once this process began, it took a total of 2 weeks for all of them to disappear and new nails and cuticles to form. The entire process took a month. What I’m about to say may sound like heresy to some. So be it. Although it was most definitely God’s power that removed the warts and gave me new skin, nails, and cuticles (with no scars), He didn’t release the power - I did. It was Christ’s provision, Holy Spirit’s power, God’s word and strategy . . . but I had to release it. Tomorrow we will talk about why, in most situations, the release of this power cannot simply be a one-time thing. “Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies. And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-sword of the spoken word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17 TPT) Pray with me: Father, we have not done an adequate job of teaching believers regarding Your amazing power and life in us. Therefore, the church has remained terribly ignorant of who we are in Christ, and all He intends us to be and do. The river of life is in us in the person of Holy Spirit. Your immeasurable power is in us. We ask You to increase our understanding of this. Teach us how to be those who release Your power to those who need it. Teach us to release the flow of Your river of life into situations where spiritual death is operating. May new boldness come to the church, and confidence to believe You really do want to work through us. And we ask that all hope deferred be overcome, in order that we may persevere in our intercession. And, as always, Father, we ask You to pour out Your spirit in this nation. As we pray and release Your power, bring the greatest awakening we have ever experienced. Transform our nation and other nations of the earth. We ask You - this very day - move in our land by the power of Holy Spirit. Send revival to our churches, and from there into the nation. In Christ’s name we ask and believe we will receive these things. Amen. Our decree: We release the power of Holy Spirit into every city and neighborhood in our nation, in the powerful name of Jesus! Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer. _________________________ 1 Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977) p38. 2 Jack W. Hayford, Praying Is Invading the Impossible (South Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1977; revised edition, Bridge Publishing, 1995) p55, 1977, edition. 3 Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon, p14. 4 Gordon Lindsay, Prayer That Moves Mountains (Dallas: Christ for the Nations, Inc., revised 1994) p43. 5 Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon, p422.

Two Frogs There are several reasons for the need of perseverance in prayer. Even when asking in faith and for the right reasons, patience and persistence are often needed. Some of the reasons are: God may have a “fulness of time” He has chosen for the answer, a kairos/right time that hasn’t yet arrived. Our development - He may be using the delay to work in us. Other peoples’ actions or choices could be delaying prayers we pray for them. There is another little known reason why it often takes time for prayers to be answered, however. It is a very important truth to understand. Many people give up in their prayers and faith - some abandon prayer altogether - due to a lack of understanding regarding this truth. It is vital that you understand it, so much so that I’m going to do something I’ve not yet done with these GH15 posts: a 4-day series in order to cover the subject well. I believe this teaching could drastically alter your prayer life, perhaps even change your life - it did mine. Two frogs fell into a can of cream, or so it has been told. The sides of the can were shiny and steep, the cream was deep and cold. “Oh, what’s the use,” said number one, it’s plain no help’s around. “Good-bye, my friend, good-bye, sad world” and weeping still, he drowned. But number two, of sterner stuff, dog paddled in surprise. The while he licked his creamy lips and blinked his creamy eyes. “I’ll swim at least a while,” he thought, or so it has been said. It really won’t help the world if one more frog were dead. An hour or more he kicked and swam, not once he stopped to mutter. Then hopped out from the island he had made of fresh churned butter. (Author unknown) I heard this witty poem on the subject of tenacity over 40 years ago in a message by John Garlock, one of my professors at Christ for the Nations Institute. There aren’t many messages a person remembers 40 years later, but John Garlock had a knack and an anointing for preaching “rememberable” sermons. Garlock mentioned the story found in 2 Samuel 23:8-12 regarding three of David’s mighty men: Shammah, Adino, and Eleazar. Shammah had tenacity in the face of a humble assignment, defending a small plot of lentils from a bunch of Philistines. Adino personified tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds as he killed 800 Philistines single-handedly. Eleazar pictured tenacity in the face of incredible overwhelming fatigue, as after fighting for several hours, his hand had to be pried from his sword. I rank perseverance and endurance near the top of my list of most important spiritual traits. And the longer I live, the higher it rises. “Hang in there” didn’t make it into the Ten Commandments, but it did into the nine fruits of the Spirit. The Greek word makrothumia, translated “long-suffering” in Galatians 5:22 (KJV), is defined by Strong’s Concordance as “longanimity or fortitude.”1 That’s what I said, “Hang in there.” In this day of instant everything - from “fast foods,” to “get-rich-quick” schemes, to “how to have the biggest church in town overnight” to “four easy steps to answered prayer” seminars - we are rapidly losing the character trait of hanging in there. We cook faster, travel faster, produce faster, spend faster . . . and we expect God to keep pace with us, especially in prayer. We are much like the African cheetah that must run down its prey to eat. It is well suited for the task, as it can run at speeds of 70 miles per hour. The cheetah has only one problem, however, in that it has a disproportionately small heart, which causes it to tire quickly. If it doesn’t catch its prey quickly, it must end the chase. How often we have the cheetah’s approach in prayer. We speed into our prayer closets with great energy, we sometimes hurry to the front of the church, or perhaps we run to someone else for prayer. But lacking the heart for sustained effort, we often falter before we accomplish what is needed. For our next prayer excursion, we decide to pray harder and faster, when what is needed may not be more explosive power, but more “staying” power - stamina that comes only from a bigger prayer heart.2 George Mueller was a “stayer.” One example of his persistence is related by Dick Eastman in his book, No Easy Road: “The great point is never to give up until the answer comes. I have been praying for sixty-three years and eight months for one man’s conversion. He is not saved yet, but he will be. How can it be otherwise . . . I am praying.” The day came when Mueller’s friend received Christ. It did not come until Mueller’s casket was lowered in the ground. There, near an open grave, this friend gave his heart to God. Prayers of perseverance had won another battle. Mueller’s success may be summarized in four powerful words: He did not quit.”3 The very Son of God spent many entire nights praying in order to connect with the Father and fulfill His ministry. It took Him three arduous hours in Gethsemane to find strength to face the Cross: “He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears” (Hebrews 5:7 NASB). We, on the other hand, have mastered the art of one-liners in prayer, and think if we give God a two-hour service once a week we’re fairly spiritual. “Easy does it” might be good advice in a few situations, but for most of life, including prayer, easy doesn’t do it. A pilot early in a flight went to the back of the plane to check on the reason for a warning light. The problem was a door ajar, which flew open as he approached it. The pilot was immediately sucked from the aircraft. The copilot, seeing by his panel that a door was open, turned back toward the airport immediately and radioed for a helicopter to search the area. “I believe I have a pilot sucked from the plane,” he said. After landing the plane, everyone was astonished to find the pilot holding on to the rung of a ladder, which he had miraculously managed to grab. He had held on for 15 minutes and, still more amazing, had managed to keep his head from hitting the runway, though it was only six inches away! Upon finding the pilot, they had to pry his fingers from the ladder. THAT is perseverance!4 Anyone long associated with the church of the last 50 years, especially in America, knows that our problems do not result from a lack of information or material strength. If we fail in achieving what God needs from us as we run our race, it will be a failure of heart and spirit. Like the frog, I have kicked and swum my way - often over long periods of time - to more victories than I have accomplished quickly and easily. I have fought until my hand clove to the sword, and like the pilot, I’ve held on to the ladder until my hand froze in place. No, I haven’t always won but I have learned, without a shred of doubt, that tenacious endurance is often the key to victory in prayer. But WHY? “Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!” (Psalm 27:14 TPT) Pray with me: Father, yesterday we heard about the importance of dreaming Your dreams for America. We know that those dreams are inextricably related to Your dreams for other nations, as well. You love us all the same. We stir up those dreams, refusing to allow them to die. We will never let go of them - NEVER. The greatest harvest of souls in history is beginning. America will play her part. We continue to ask for awakening in our nation. We release your power and the hovering of Holy Spirit over all of America - every city, every school, every church, every home, and every level of government. Lord, like all successful intercessors, we are determined to be “stayers.” We ask for the fruit of perseverance to be kindled/stirred up in the hearts of Your people. Let another great prayer movement be born in America. You do not want the church praying only during elections. You want us praying always. Help Your people overcome all hope deferred. Pull from them the poisonous arrows of disappointment and despair. Remind them what Paul told Timothy: “Stir up the gifts in you! Fight the good fight of faith! God has given you a spirit of power!” Please do whatever it takes to remove the spirit of complacency and apathy from your people. Let the fires of intercession burn again in this land. Though it only be only from a remnant, You will answer. Our decree: We decree that the church of America is being awakened once again to the power of prayer. _________________________ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. No. 3115 Craig Brian Larson, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1993), p. 245, adapted. Dick Eastman, No Easy Road (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1971) pp. 97-98. Larson, Illustrations for Preaching, p. 14.

Dream Heroic Dreams I have not said much about the elections in awhile. As I stated shortly thereafter, I have not “moved on;” I am moving forward. God always has a way to move us forward into blessing and purpose, regardless of what satan does. The key is always listening to Holy Spirit’s instruction regarding how to move forward into His planned victory. My friend, patriot, and spiritual son, Major (Ret.) William Ostan, recently shared with me some powerful thoughts which shed light on how to move forward in this challenging season. Will is the soldier who introduced me to the Appeal to Heaven flag and I share our story in my book, An Appeal to Heaven. “We all know the church in America has been through a shaking over the past 12 months. And I’m not just referring to the Coronavirus. The outcome of the elections was, for me and many others, a great disappointment. Why? For many important reasons having to do with America’s calling and future, but also because of how hard we prayed for a majority of righteous rulers to be installed in Congress and the White House. “At least for me, January 20th, 2021, felt like the death of dreams as an anti-God administration was officially inaugurated and occupied the place of political power. I’ve felt despair. “But if I’ve learned one thing from over 12 years of active-duty service in the Army, it is that leaders should never operate primarily out of feelings. Yes, it is healthy to process loss emotionally and I have allowed myself time to mourn the results of the election. But once that period of time ended, I quickly moved on to see how I can, as did King David of old, recorded in Acts 13:36, ‘serve God’s purposes in (our) generation.’ The beginning of the answer is simple: it is time, once again, to dream heroic dreams for America’s God-ordained, providential destiny to be fulfilled. “When Ronald Reagan burst onto the national stage while running for President against Jimmy Carter, the ‘Great Communicator’ quickly dispelled the prevailing zeitgeist (the spirit of a particular time period in history as shown by its ideas and beliefs) that greatness and heroism were now anachronistic (belonging to or appropriate to an earlier period; old-fashioned) relics of a bygone era. In many ways, the late 1970s were very similar to 2021. The country was in a malaise. Discouragement and depression were rampant. The past looked far better than the future. Hope was in scarce supply. But God had a plan to turn the tide by sending a ‘happy warrior’ to rouse the nation out of its prolonged stupor. “In his first inaugural address, President Reagan proclaimed, ‘We have every right to dream heroic dreams.’ He went on to say, ‘Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don’t know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond...There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth, and opportunity...Their patriotism is quiet, but deep. Their values sustain our national life. Now, I have used the words ‘they’ and ‘their’ in speaking of these heroes. I could say ‘you’ and ‘your,’ because I’m addressing the heroes of whom I speak – you, the citizens of this blessed land.’[1] “Great communicator indeed! Aristotle summed up political greatness as the ability to translate wisdom into action on behalf of the public good.[2] That’s exactly what Reagan is doing in this speech and there is so much inspiration to be found within that quote, but what I want to focus on are three truths: 1) Heroes still exist today. 2) You are one of those heroes. 3) Heroes must continue to dream heroic dreams. “The culture and the enemy of our souls will rage against all of the above. He will orchestrate difficult circumstances which will make us feel like the heroic is far away, only for a select few, and impossible to fathom. But friend, you must not give in to those feelings or thoughts. They are lies! The truth is that God isn’t done with America and you still have a role to play. A critical, essential role! “May we all, as President Reagan exhorted us to do, continue to dream heroic dreams!” “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ the Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126, ESV) Pray with me: Heavenly Father, we acknowledge you as the Giver of dreams. While we do not like what has happened in the 2020 elections, we trust You and know that Your plans for America’s destiny will not be thwarted. Help us to overcome the places in our hearts where there is unbelief and move into faith. Lord, reawaken dreams gone dormant in us. Heal the parts of our hearts that have suffered from hope deferred. We want to partner with You by dreaming heroic dreams in our own lives, the lives of others, and for our beloved nation. We know that the founding of America was providential and that, as our pilgrim forefathers once said, was for the propagation of the gospel around the world. We know that You are not done with America, and we covenant with You for the fulfillment of all your dreams for her. Father, fill us today with your Holy Spirit and enable us to dream like You dream. Help us in our weakness to operate from Your strength. Remind us that we are part of a great lineage. Bring to mind stories of the heroes of old in the Bible and in the founding of America. God, we know that we are a vital part of their storyline and connected to them through the synergy of the ages. Just like the signers of the Declaration of Independence, we commit our lives, our fortunes, and sacred honor to You, King Jesus. In Your name we pray. Amen. Our decree: We decree that God-dreams are being awakened and reawakened in our land. Portions of today’s post were contributed U.S. Army Major (Ret.) William J. Ostan. He is Founder and President of Arc of Justice | Advocates for Wounded Warriors. His nonprofit represents clients who have suffered injustices in the military’s medical separation process. Will is currently spearheading Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights legislation in Congress. You can find out more about him by clicking the link above. ___________________________ [1] Greatness: Reagan, Churchill & The Making of Extraordinary Leaders. Steven F. Hayward. Crown Publishing. 2005. P. 162-163, [2] Ibid. 17.

The Well-Being of Our Children Most of America’s children are educated through the public school system. Many Christian parents have become increasingly dismayed at the fact that public schools are becoming more and more hostile to Christians. We are seeing what appears to be indoctrination of our children into socialistic mindsets instead of educating them on facts. Social agendas, especially in the area of human sexuality, have become normalized in some school districts. In California, even kindergartners are taught about homosexuality and other LGBTQ issues.1 In other districts, students and teachers have been punished for not using generic pronouns rather than “him” and “her.”2 Requests for the accommodation of transgendered individuals are now being forced in the school environment. Shockingly, we have now moved on to teaching our kids to call on ancient (and demonic) gods for help! On March 10th, Fox News reported on the following proposed CA curriculum. “The California Department of Education has proposed an ethnic studies ‘model curriculum’ that includes, among other things, chanting the names of Aztec gods in an attempt to build unity among schoolchildren: “Included in the draft curriculum is a list of ‘lesson resources’ with a chant based on ‘In Lak Ech,’ which it describes as ‘love, unity, mutual respect,’ and ‘Panche Be,’ which it describes as ‘seeking the roots of truth.’ “The chant starts with a declaration that ‘you are my other me’ and ‘if I do harm to you, I do harm to myself.’ Before chanting the name of the Aztec god Tezkatlipoka, [pronounced tez-khut-luh-POW-kah] the text reads: ‘Seeking the roots of the truth, seeking the truth of the roots. . .”3 City Journal’s Christopher Rufo also commented. [His entire commentary is excellent, by the way, and can be read in its entirety here.]: “Under the guise of ‘equity’ and ‘empowerment,’ activists within the public education system have developed this radical new curriculum in order to transform California schools into factories for left-wing political activism. They have recast the United States as an oppressor nation that must be deconstructed and subverted through politics. The curriculum’s vision statement makes this aim explicit: it presents education not as a means of achieving competency, but as a ‘tool for transformation, social, economic, and political change, and liberation.’”4 You can watch a video of the children doing the chant here. God, help us! All of this is very concerning to Christian parents. There are many Christian private schools, but they are expensive and beyond the reach of many families. Home-schooling is an option for some, but it is challenging, especially when both parents work outside the home. Our public school system needs an overhaul. Nancy Huff has been a contributor to Give Him 15 in the past. She is an educator with a mission of equipping believers to pray strategically for the cultural mountain of Education. In an article written for Intercessors for America, she explains why she believes we have this problem in our schools: “Our forefathers came to America for the expressed purpose. . .to worship a personal God according to the dictates of one’s conscience. For generations, those founding principles were taught by Christian teachers in our classrooms. Biblically-based moral teaching changed in the mid-1960s as lawsuits on school prayer and Bible reading yielded rulings from the highest court of our nation, the Supreme Court. Teachers and administrators, often godly people, fearful of arrests and lawsuits became silent in the classrooms. At that point, America’s education changed. . .” (If you want good resources on praying and acting in the education mountain, Nancy has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools. She often leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the US. Currently, she serves as the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) lead prayer coordinator for education. You can find this book and others she has written to help us pray for the mountain of education here.) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on March 17 that his administration will seek to prohibit the teaching of “unsanctioned narratives like critical race theory” in the state’s schools, saying he is looking to reform state’s school curricula to “expressly exclude … critical race theory” because it “teaches kids to hate their country.” He continues: “There’s no room in our classrooms for things like critical race theory. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money.” Gov. DeSantis noted that in Florida, federal money from the latest COVID-19 relief bill would be used to push civics education “with foundational concepts” as opposed to “unsanctioned narratives like critical race theory.” “We’re releasing a $106 million proposal to make Florida the national leader in civics education,” DeSantis said. “We will invest in actual solid, true curriculum, and we will be a leader in the development and implementation of a world-class civics education.”6 “For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.” (Ecclesiastes 7:12 NHEB) Pray with me: Lord, our children are on Your heart today. We repent on behalf of America for allowing great sin to be ushered in. We (the church) were asleep on our watch, and the enemy made great advances in education. The roots of education in America were strong in You. You were honored by our Founding Fathers in every way. They actively sought Your involvement in their lives and in forming a strong future for America. They knew the education of future generations had to be established on Your word if we were to be a nation of wisdom and prosperity. Without You, that is not possible. Then, satan came in with a different plan. Those who did not know You, Father, rose up and sought to champion a God-less cause. Because believers did not stand against the plan to remove You from public education, our schools are a mess. Our children are being indoctrinated in abominable practices, even calling on demons to “help them be kind and accepting of others!” Your Word is not honored in our schools; they are darkened by humanistic thought and action. Father, forgive us. We ask You now to light a fire within us. We must shine Your light brightly in this dark place of education, doing everything possible to turn it back to a system that honors You. Regardless of how far our education system has turned from You, we know You can reverse it. Give us the necessary leaders and strategy to repair this. Bring a revival of such proportions that it generates the necessary willingness and determination to reform this ungodly mess. Give us breakthrough, Lord. Give us wisdom, influence, and favor for the task ahead. Be glorified in our schools. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Today’s decree: We decree that our children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be their peace. (see Isaiah 54:13) _________________________________ 1 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-oct-16-la-me-gay-schools-20111016-story.html 2 https://time.com/5721482/transgender-students-pronouns-teacher-lawsuits/ 3 https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-schools-aztec-gods 4 https://www.city-journal.org/calif-ethnic-studies-curriculum-accuses-christianity-of-theocide?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Organic_Social 5 https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2021/march/ca-education-depts-woke-curriculum-would-tell-students-to-chant-to-aztec-god-of-human-sacrifice 6 https://www.theepochtimes.com/desantis-doesnt-want-florida-schools-teaching-hate-with-critical-race-theory_3738692.html

Saving Our Children God belongs in our schools. In fact, He is desperately needed there. When America was founded, there was no question in our Founders’ minds whether or not children’s education would include the scriptures. The Bible was seen as a textbook and children were expected to know foundational passages. Society at the time fully recognized there were many topics covered in the Bible that were essential knowledge for life, such as ethics, government, and law. Children were commonly taught to read using the Bible. Dr. Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also considered the “Father of Public Schools Under the Constitution”1. Here is a portion of a letter he wrote: “Dear Sir: “It is now several months since I promised to give you my reasons for preferring the Bible as a schoolbook to all other compositions. Before I state my arguments, I shall assume the five following propositions: That Christianity is the only true and perfect religion; and that in proportion as mankind adopts its principles and obeys its precepts they will be wise and happy. That a better knowledge of this religion is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way. That the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world. That knowledge is most durable, and religious instruction most useful, when imparted in early life. That the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life. “My arguments in favor of the use of the Bible as a schoolbook are founded, [first] in the constitution of the human mind: The memory is the first faculty which opens in the minds of children. Of how much consequence, then, must it be to impress it with the great truths of Christianity, before it is preoccupied with less interesting subjects. There is a peculiar aptitude in the minds of children for religious knowledge. I have constantly found them, in the first six or seven years of their lives, more inquisitive upon religious subjects than upon any others. . .It would be strange if it were otherwise, for God creates all His means to suit His ends. The influence of early impressions is very great upon subsequent life. . . I believe no man was ever early instructed in the truths of the Bible without having been made wiser or better by the early operation of these impressions upon his mind. We are subject, by a general law of our natures, to what is called habit. Now, if the study of the Scriptures be necessary to our happiness at any time of our life, the sooner we begin to read them, the more we shall probably be attached to them.” 2 Imagine if school boards today thought like Dr. Rush. Today we are told our Founders were not believers, and desired religion to be separate from civil society, including in public education. That was obviously not the case. Today, we find ourselves in a consistent battle over allowing Christian students to live out their faith in public schools. There was a time, however, when Christianity, the Bible, and education were intertwined. So much value was attributed to a study of the Bible, it would have seemed ridiculous to separate the study of God’s Word from the education of our young. Noah Webster was a great statesman and penned a well-known dictionary carrying his name. He wrote: "Education is useless without the Bible. The Bible was America's basic text book in all fields. God's Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct."3 Additionally, Mr. Webster fully attributed American greatness - and the continuation of it - as being founded on an education in Christianity and the word of God: "Every civil government is based upon some religion or philosophy of life. Education in a nation will propagate the religion of that nation. In America, the foundational religion was Christianity. And it was sown in the hearts of Americans through the home and private and public schools for centuries. Our liberty, growth, and prosperity was the result of a Biblical philosophy of life. Our continued freedom and success is dependent on our educating the youth of America in the principles of Christianity."4 President John Quincy Adams gave the following advice to his son regarding his education, “I advise you, my son, in whatever you read, and most of all in reading the Bible, to remember that it is for the purpose of making you wiser and more virtuous. I have myself, for many years, made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year. I have always endeavored to read it with the same spirit and temper of mind, which I now recommend to you: that is, with the intention and desire that it may contribute to my advancement in wisdom and virtue.”5 Governeur Morris (of New York) wrote the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. He felt strongly that any education of our young should include teaching on God. Morris wrote, “Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man toward God."6 All of these Founders, and many others, saw the Bible as foundational in providing the character men and women needed for building strong lives and a strong nation. We flounder as a country in some of these areas today because we do not follow the standard of education we started out with - God’s word. It is our history and heritage; as such, it must be recaptured and preserved. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 KJV) Pray with me: Father, we are thankful for our Founding Fathers who spoke freely of their faith in You, based on the Bible. These men did not separate education, government, or even self-governance from Your Word. They knew these things had to be intertwined. They designed a government based on the principles in it, and expected future generations of Americans to understand this as well. It was clear to them, Father, that their children had to know the Bible in order to grow up as the citizens our nation would need. We would need to live and govern by biblical standards. We would need the knowledge found within its pages to give us the basis of our ethics, justice, and law. Your word would form the framework for strong family relationships and structure. All good things were seen to come from Your word. Therefore, we ask You to restore those foundations to us. Make us bold in demanding that the premises upon which America was founded be honored in our classrooms. Forgive us for relenting and allowing the secular humanists to dictate that You - and our faith in You - has no place in school or in society. That’s exactly the opposite of what our Founders envisioned. Awaken the church to engage the culture and demand our children’s right to read their Bibles, study them, and reference them in our schools. We need You in our educational system. We will pray and we will act to restore You to the classroom. We ask You to help us turn around our education system in America. Amen. Today’s decree: America will once again educate the youth of America in the principles found in the word of God. _____________________________ 1 David Ramsay, An Eulogium upon Benjamin Rush, M. D. (Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep, 1813), p. 107. See also Benjamin Rush, Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical (Philadelphia: Thomas and Samuel F. Bradford, 1798), pp. 6-20, “Of the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic.” 2 https://wallbuilders.com/defence-use-bible-schools/ 3 http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Quotes 4 ibid. 5 https://wallbuilders.com/fathers-education/ 6 https://www.wnd.com/2007/06/41899/

Saint Patrick A few years ago, I treated my daughters to a trip to Ireland. I’ve ministered there with my dear friends, the Sambrooks, and love that beautiful land, as do my daughters. They spent 7 days driving through the countryside and the city streets, acquainting themselves with the foods, folklore, and beauty of Ireland. They had a lot of fun driving on the left side of the road and immersing themselves in the life of this enchanting land. The two of them loved being there and even today, feel they have a deep connection to this captivating country. Growing up, I knew nothing of the true meaning of St. Patrick’s Day other than it was associated with Ireland. St. Patrick was a fifth-century Christian missionary and bishop and is widely considered the founder of Christianity in Ireland. Legend credits Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity using the shamrock, a small three-leafed plant, as an example to illustrate the Holy Trinity. The shamrock has since become a symbol for St. Patrick’s Day.1 This day meant to celebrate a man of holiness and sacrifice has sadly been turned into a day for partying and drunkenness. My friend Jacquie Tyre shares the following thoughts and insights regarding Saint Patrick. “I have been considering the parallels between the days in which we live and the times of Saint Patrick. In many ways, they are vastly different. However, there are growing similarities, especially regarding the dark, pagan, barbaric culture rising in our day. “Patrick lived in an age when marauding parties would pillage the land and take captive the young and strong, while destroying the weak and vulnerable. At age 16, Patrick was taken captive by one of those bands of raiders and spent the next several years as a slave on the hills of Ireland, tending his master’s flocks during the inclement and often brutal weather of the Irish hillsides. By his own admission, even though raised in a home of spiritual leaders and the comfort of a nobleman’s home, he neither knew God nor feared Him. Yet, in the place of danger, captivity, and isolation, Patrick encountered God and came to know Him through much prayer, sometimes throughout the night. “Years later, Patrick was supernaturally delivered from captivity and eventually returned to his homeland. Once home, the Lord called Patrick to return to the land of his captivity, carrying the love of Christ to his former captors. He did so in hopes of bringing them into the life he had found in Christ. “In his season of preparation leading up to the incredible impact he had on Ireland, Patrick endured suffering, dangers, loss, trauma, rejection, accusations, betrayals, delays, denials, and persecutions. Through it all, he rejected bitterness and anger, allowing Holy Spirit to use every difficult situation to fashion him into an instrument worthy of the Master’s use. “Once Patrick returned to Ireland, God used him mightily to set spiritual captives free amid a dark, pagan, and barbaric culture. His was a life of absolute consecration to the Lord. Patrick had come to know who God was, and by His grace became, not just a believer, but a disciple - a matured, radical, servant, and devoted minister of the Gospel. “Patrick and the early Celtic Christians, following in the steps of the first-century church, lived lives fully surrendered and consecrated, set apart for the purposes of the Lord. They allowed the work of Holy Spirit to bring them to a place of death to self, fully manifesting the life of Christ. His life in them was truly their life (Galatians 2:20). Therefore, fear had no grip on them; nor did self-preservation, self-promotion, self-defense, self-satisfaction, self-exaltation, or any other self-centered motivation. They denied self and became carriers and conduits of the presence and glory of Christ. “The Celts were people of worship and intercession, opening the way for heaven to invade earth. Through them, God’s glory impacted nations revealing the presence and power of Holy Spirit, and advancing the culture of His Kingdom. They discipled, trained, equipped, empowered, and sent mature believers to take the love of Christ to the world with signs, wonders, and miracles. As true disciples, they produced disciples. The culture of their day was radically transformed by the power of God working in and through them. “We should not romanticize the life they lived, minimize the price they paid, or forget the dangers they faced as they followed Christ in the barbaric, pagan culture of their day. We, too, are called to minister the transforming love of Christ to an increasingly godless and pagan culture. Like Patrick, we must know who Christ is, who He has created us to be, and determine that we will allow Holy Spirit to mature us through every situation. We must trust that He who is in us is greater than those who are in the world, whether they be natural or spiritual enemies. “Saint Patrick was used by God to radically touch lives and impact the world for generations, by conforming to Christ’s nature. His brokenness produced a capacity to birth multiplication and transformative power. Today, in a world seeking to put out the fires of Christ and His Church, we too, must determine that we will keep the fires of purity, passion, and power burning in our hearts. We must fan the flames of revival personally and corporately! “It is often said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. However, repeating some portions of history is a blessing. There is much to learn and emulate from great women and men of the past. Saint Patrick is one of them. God wants to pour out His Spirit and glory again and again. Though some methods change, His nature does not. Let’s seek Him for a new era of glory-awakening that can be seen as a wonderful repeat of history!” As you may wear green today and think of the shamrock, remember the man for whom we celebrate this day, Saint Patrick. In the words of Paul Harvey: And now you know the rest of the story. Pray with me: Father, thank you for the stories and legacies of all the mighty men and women that have gone before us, men and women who were history makers, bringing the Gospel of the Kingdom into the earth in power. Thank you for those, like Saint Patrick, whose lives provide us with countless examples of how You can, and do, work through adversity and to bring forth Your purposes. Forgive us, Lord, for the times we have operated in self-motivated behaviors and choices. Forgive us for when we have failed to embrace Your grace to learn, grow, and mature through whatever circumstances we face. Far too often, Lord, we have chosen anger, resentment, bitterness, defeat, hopelessness and agitation. At times we’ve embraced an identity of victimhood, rather than allowing Your grace to work in and through us for Your Kingdom purposes. Lord, ignite within us as Your people, a holy fire of consecration, with the boldness and tenacity to go and do Your will regardless of what it requires. Enable us to impact our world with the purity, passion, and power of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Loose holy boldness through Your people to ignite fires of revival and awakening in the midst of a dark world that is increasingly pagan, and being held captive to the perversions and debaucheries of this age. As believers of previous ages overcame the evil rule of their day boldly proclaiming Christ with signs, wonders and miracles, empower us to do the same. As they saw radical transformations of individuals and entire regions, we ask You to let it be again in our day! Lord, make us carriers and conduits of Your love, grace, and glory, and use us to be History Makers who advance Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Our Decree: We decree that God is raising up a company of radical disciples who are igniting fires of awakening all across our land. Jacquie Tyre is a contributing author for today’s post. Some of the information was taken from the book entitled Chosen, by Kevin Sambrook. You can learn more about Jacquie or purchase the book on her website or on Amazon. ___________________________________ 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick#Patrick_uses_shamrock_in_an_illustrative_parable

God Is Moving in Tennessee High Schools When awakening and revival come, the young ones will be affected. Many times, they are the first to see and experience it. When the Jesus Movement of the 1970s came, high schools and colleges were swept with a supernatural visitation of the love of Jesus and an awareness of sin. My wife and I both experienced salvation and rededication of our faith during those years. However, many in leadership were not ready for the dirty hippies attending their churches, and many new believers found themselves judged instead of discipled. In 1995, the Brownsville Revival came to the panhandle of Florida. Nightly services were held for almost 5 years. People would stand in line for many hours just to get a seat. This was a revival of the miraculous as well as hundreds of thousands of salvations. There are many stories of children who would go back to their schools after attending nights of the revival, carrying the revival anointing with them. The Spirit of the Lord would sweep across classrooms, with teachers not knowing quite what to do. This is similar to what happened during the Jesus Movement of the 70s. I have had two open visions in my life. Both have been about the coming revival, and both have shown me it will begin with the younger folks and then spread to the adults. In our Give Him15s we have prayed several times for the youth and young adults of our nation, asking Holy Spirit to begin this great outpouring. In today’s post I want to share a testimony from two High School students in Tennessee, informing us of what God is doing there. God is hearing and answering our prayers. Here are testimonies from two high school students in Tennessee. They also wrote the prayer for today as well as our decree: [KATHRYN - a junior at Franklin High School, Franklin, TN] “‘Lukewarm.’ When I think of Williamson County students, this is the first word that comes to mind. Of course, when some who are lukewarm hear this word, their first reaction is ‘at least we somewhat believe in God.’ To be completely honest, for a long time I was one of those students. Jesus says that He would rather us be all in, rather than just halfway. Being a Christian, and truly changing your life to glorify Jesus, is the most amazing thing you can do. The whole reason we are on this earth is to live for Him and bring others to that understanding. Investing your life for eternity is way more rewarding than spending your life just for yourself. “However, in the past two months I’ve grown. Also, I’ve watched as Jesus has used my testimony, and the hope He offered me, to reach people - not only in Williamson County, not only within the United States, but even some in other nations. “I’m here to say that Jesus is moving. It has been so inspiring to watch the Holy Spirit flood the halls of our schools and the hearts of students, some who didn’t even know who Jesus was just a few months ago. The reformation happening among us has been caused by: understanding and emphasizing that Jesus meets us where we are; that He is a God who lends His hand to us and is near to the brokenhearted; that there is nothing He won’t forgive us for; and that His love provides us so much peace and faith. [How did this start?] “About a month ago, a recurring vision led me to sit and think for a while. Jesus was telling me that teens needed to come together and just worship. This led to us becoming a community and family, connected by our common pursuit of faith. I envisioned thousands of people in Nashville coming together to learn about Jesus, worshipping, and hearing each other’s testimonies. At the same time, my friend Josh felt God calling him to unite the churches and spread His word. Together, along with the help of Devers, who already had a huge Bible Study group forming, we started ‘United As One.’ Our goal is to reach as many people as possible, not only in Tennessee, but throughout the nation. We’ve given it all to Jesus and it is in His hands. He has already provided in big ways. We are so excited to see what the Lord will continue to do. REGAN “My name is Regan and I am a senior at Page High School in Williamson County, TN. Currently, we are thankful to be experiencing a massive spread of hunger for the Lord. This student-led movement we’re calling ‘As One’ started with just 20 students and has grown to around 330 in only a couple of weeks. “What is special about what’s happening is the kids’ desire to learn more about God and grow their faith. Students from all over our county have been meeting 3-4 times each week. We meet on Zoom and at various homes for Bible Studies. We’ve gathered at churches to support one another and out in public spaces like our community Rec. Center. Recently we met for worship at the landmark Natchez Trace Bridge, where several people tragically take their lives each year. “Kids are hungry to meet together, share their testimonies, and fellowship. We are learning and growing in the word, and it's really exciting to see us already becoming a big family. This has been such a hard season for so many kids; with online schooling and quarantines, a sense of isolation is very real to our classmates. Christian and non-Christian kids alike are struggling with some of the same things and are able to talk with one another openly. We are praying for each other, and seeking what God has to say about the things we are facing. Kids are getting saved and growing together. Our prayer is that this is only just the beginning. Something special is happening and it is AWESOME to see! “It is really cool because we have all had our own separate relationships and walks with the Lord; but it helps when we can connect as a group - to encourage each other and be salt and light in our schools and community. It is our desire to see this grow and expand in our schools, throughout our state, and across the nation; and that this will be something those of us who are seniors will take with us to our college campuses. We don’t want it to be just a short-lived spark. Our desire is to see this become a sustainable fire, for all to experience God’s loving presence and His redeeming sense of hope. Pray with me: “Lord, we pray for the students in our schools, counties, and our nation. So many are lonely, hurting, and in so much pain. Many look happy on the outside; on the inside, however, they’re struggling, with hearts full of despair that only You are fully aware of. “We pray for them to feel Your love. We pray for them to encounter You and Your presence - fill them, change them. We pray for an awakening that breaks out among students in our nation’s elementary, middle & high schools, and college campuses. We thank You for bringing divine purpose out of many terrible tragedies and ask You to touch, not only students, but also their families. And use this spark to become a beautiful fire of hope and redemption to our nation, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: Lord, we declare there is no problem we face, that You have not already created a solution for. Let us, as a nation, make You bigger than every obstacle we face.”

The Miraculous Meeting The Hebrew word for “intercession,” paga, means “to meet.” Intercession creates a meeting. Intercessors meet with God; they also meet the powers of darkness. “Prayer meetings” are aptly named! Our meeting with God (as we pray) is to affect another meeting. We meet with Him asking Him to meet with someone else. We become the go-between: “Heavenly Father, I come to you today (a meeting) asking You to touch Tom (another meeting). Through our intercession, we bring individuals to God. Whether for a person or a nation, regardless of the reason, when we’re used to create a meeting between God and humans, releasing the fruit of Christ’s work, paga (intercession) has happened. It might be as you are prayer-walking through your neighborhood, asking God to meet with families and save them. It could be a prayer journey into another nation. I have sent teams of intercessors into some of the darkest countries upon the earth for the sole purpose of creating meetings between God and the people there. I have witnessed miracles of healing as God met with people. In 1980 I was on one of my many journeys into Guatemala. On one occasion my wife, another couple, and I were ministering to an older lady who had recently been saved. We had gone to her home to share some teachings with her. Approximately six months earlier this lady had fallen and severely broken her ankle. As is often the case with seniors, the fracture was not healing well. Her ankle was still badly swollen and she was in much pain. While we visited with her, the other gentleman and I both sensed that God wanted to heal her ankle - right then. After sharing this with her and obtaining her agreement, we asked her to prop her leg on a stool and I began to pray . . . sort of. Has God ever interrupted you? He did me on this occasion. (Oh, that He would always be so “unmannerly”!) When I stepped between her and God to affect a meeting, the presence of God came so powerfully into the room that I stopped in mid-stride and mid-sentence. I had taken one step toward her and uttered one word, “Father.” That’s all He needed! It’s as though God was so eager to touch this dear lady that He couldn’t wait any longer. I realize what I’m about to say may sound overly dramatic, but it’s exactly what took place. The presence of Holy Spirit filled the room so suddenly and strongly that I froze in my tracks, stopped speaking, and began to weep. My wife and the other couple also began weeping. The lady we were ministering to began to weep. Her foot then began to bounce up and down on the stool, shaking uncontrollably for several minutes as she had a powerful encounter with Holy Spirit - a meeting! The Lord healed her ankle and filled her with His Spirit. On the same visit to Guatemala, my wife and I along with the couple previously mentioned, were asked to pray for a woman hospitalized with tuberculosis. We found her in a ward with approximately 40 other women, the beds being only about three feet apart. It was simply an area in the hospital where the doctors and nurses could attend to the very poor. Not even partitions separated the women. And yes, this woman was coughing her tuberculosis all over those around her. As we talked and prayed with her, we noticed the lady in the next bed observing us closely. When we finished, she asked if we would be willing to pray for her. Of course we were glad to, and inquired about her need. She pulled her arms out from under the covers and showed us her two hands, curled back toward her body, somewhat frozen in that position. They were totally unusable. Her feet were also the same way. While in the hospital for back surgery, the doctor had accidentally cut a nerve attached to her spinal cord, leaving her in this condition. There was nothing they could do to correct the problem. Compassion filled our hearts as we asked the Lord to meet her need. Nothing visible happened when we prayed, however, but we encouraged her to trust the Lord, then drifted across the room to see if we could share Jesus with anyone else. No hospital employees were present, so we had relative freedom do to as we pleased. Just as we began to visit with another lady across the room, we heard a sudden commotion and someone screaming, “Milagro! Milagro! Milagro!” We turned to look and saw the lady moving her hands wildly, opening and closing them, wiggling her fingers, kicking her feet under the covers, and shouting the Spanish word for miracle. A meeting had taken place! I don’t know who was more surprised - the lady who was healed, the other ladies in the room, or me. I hoped for a miracle but I don’t think I truly believed for one. I remember thinking, “This sort of thing only happened during Bible days.” The next thing we knew, every woman in the room was begging us to minister to them. We went from bed to bed - just like we knew what we were doing - leading women to Christ and praying for their recoveries. I remember thinking, “This is wild. Is it real or am I dreaming? We’re experiencing revival in a hospital ward!” Several ladies were saved, the lady with tuberculosis was healed and another woman who had been scheduled for exploratory surgery the following morning was instead sent home, healed. In general, we just had a good time! We even sang a song or two. Probably shouldn’t have because a hospital employee heard us, came to the room, and asked us to leave. She left but we didn’t - too many women were begging for prayer. A few minutes later she returned and “graciously” escorted us out of the hospital. What on earth can turn a sad, hopeless, disease-filled ward into a church service? God can! God meeting with people. And prayer meetings created God meetings! I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that miracles will always happen as easily as they did on these two occasions. However, we CAN bring individuals into contact with God - and that is the very meaning of the word “intercession.” Whether it takes days or minutes, it’s always worth the effort. The important thing is that we do it. “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10: 8-9 NASB) Pray with me: Father, we meet with You now in order to create meetings between You and others. We thank You for Your open invitation to come boldly to your throne of grace and obtain mercy in times of need (Hebrews 4:16). We ask You to meet with those who do not know You. We pray for our family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. We are confident You love every one of them and want to see them come to know You. We choose now to become the link You need - the connection point - for You to reach them. We are standing in the gap, in the powerful name of Jesus. We ask you to show them Your love, set them free from all deception, and open their eyes to see Jesus clearly. We also meet with You on behalf of our nation. We have wandered far, but we believe You are going to draw this nation back to You. So we ask for millions of meetings to take place between Holy Spirit and individuals in this nation. We ask You to meet with the rich, poor, young, old, Black, Asian, Latino, Native American, and every other ethnic group represented in this nation. We ask that every one of them experience powerful outpourings of Holy Spirit in their communities. We ask You to break down every wall of division between the races and bring the greatest season of racial healing America has ever experienced. We bind the powers of darkness trying to divide us further, and ask You to remove those in government and other positions of influence that are being used to bring further division. And in this meeting with You now, Father, we ask again for the greatest revival earth has ever seen or experienced. Pour out Your Spirit upon millions and millions of people around the world. Transform entire nations. May powerful signs and wonders be released to awaken people to the reality of who You are. We thank You for these things, which we ask for in faith, and in the all-powerful name of Jesus. Amen. Our decree: We decree that millions of Americans are going to meet Jesus in the next few years. Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer.

We Must Pray Regarding the Crisis Along Our Southern Border America has been and remains the most generous nation on earth. Most Americans have no qualms about allowing immigration, they simply desire to see it done systematically, orderly, and with careful guidelines. No intellectually honest person truly believes a nation without controlled borders can survive, any more than a private home allowing anyone to walk in, at any time - interrupting the family routines, sharing possessions, facilities, etc - would survive. We are a nation of immigrants, a melting pot of different nationalities. America has also been a country that provides a safe place for those experiencing oppression. However, immigration must be handled well, protecting both the immigrant and the existing citizens. Jesus desires that we receive His love and extend it to others. However, human compassion can often be misdirected. In an effort to help some, we may harm others. Our nation is currently facing a change in our national immigration policies, causing problems in many areas, including pain for multitudes of individuals looking for hope and a future. There is currently a very concerning situation occurring at the southern border of the U.S. On March 9, CNN reported more than 100,000 migrants were detained at our southern border in February.1 Many in the large migrant groups making long journeys to the United States are looking for a better life in the U.S., some coming from Venezuela. They are empowered by the recent relaxation in immigration policies. However, unknown to the immigrants, the infrastructure is not yet in place to facilitate them. They are arriving at great financial and emotional cost just to be turned back. These hopeful ones are being joined by cartel and gang members, drugs and human traffickers, and possibly even members of international terrorist organizations. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the highest ranking Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, sent a letter to the White House March 5, 2021: “We must acknowledge the border crisis, develop a plan, and, in no uncertain terms, strongly discourage individuals from Mexico and Central America from ever making the dangerous journey to our southern border,” McCarthy wrote.2 As recently as March 2nd, DHS Secretary Mayorkas stated that there was no crisis at the border, calling it a “‘challenge’ that was being managed.”3 By March 9th, he was calling for volunteers from within his department to go and help Customs and Border Protection, “as they face a surge in migration along the Southwest Border.”4 This type of volunteer force was deployed during a similar border crisis in 2019. Fox News stated, “The Trump administration put in place a number of protections to deal with the 2019 crisis and end pull factors bringing migrants north. While critics called many of the policies cruel, numbers declined dramatically.”5 Those policies were actually humanitarian ones instituted through the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). MPP was a diplomatic achievement providing protection for U.S. communities along the border, as well as helping curb incentives to migrants. The latter resulted in protecting people from hardship during long journeys, and being used, abused, and harmed by those looking to take advantage of them. It also protected children from systems unable to properly care for them. Public health laws are being used most often to repel migrants from the borders. Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 or other diseases cannot proceed. This is not the case for unaccompanied children, who we are seeing in greater numbers than ever before.6 We are trying to find solutions to care for them, as we did in prior administrations. Children are the most unfortunate victims of this crisis. According to the documents dated March 8, CNN reports, “More than 3,200 unaccompanied migrant children were in Customs and Border Protection custody. Of those, around 2,600 were awaiting placement in shelters suitable for minors, but there were only 500 beds available to accommodate them.”7 This is up from 1,700 a week ago. Some of these children are sent north by their parents in hopes they will get to relatives already living in the U.S. Some parents are hopeful they will be reunited with them on U.S. soil and given an opportunity to stay. This is a gamble some are surprisingly willing to take. Knowing they may never see their children again, some of these parents believe our nation will provide a future for them. But the risks are staggering. Trafficking, as well as physical and sexual abuse are the greatest risks to these children, which often occurs. Cartels are using the border crisis as a cover to transport drugs; they also extort families wanting to transport their children to America, charging them thousands of dollars these poor people do not have. The cartels then enslave the children, selling them into sex trafficking. We must pray for these children. There are other situations being affected by the waves of people hitting our borders all at once. In Texas, Governor Abbott held a press conference in which he said, "The Biden Administration has created a crisis at our southern border through open border policies that give the green light to dangerous cartels and other criminal activity. Border security is the federal government’s responsibility, but the State of Texas will not allow this administration’s failures to endanger the lives of innocent Texans. Instead, Texas is stepping up to fill the gaps left open by the federal government to secure the border, apprehend dangerous criminals, and keep Texans safe.”8 Governor Abbott noted that the current crisis at the southern border is a direct result of the Biden Administration's open border policies. The Governor stated that over 800 criminal aliens have been apprehended in Texas this year, including sex offenders and gang members, and many of those individuals had been deported before. Cartels are ramping up trafficking and smuggling along the border, overwhelming border patrol resources — a strategy of the organizations to bring more dangerous elements across the border including violent criminals, contraband, and individuals from special interest countries.9 On March 9 Governor Abbott said he would deploy 500 troops to the state’s border with Mexico as part of a surge of resources necessary to stop the increase in illegal activity following federal policy changes. Governor Abbot said, “We will work to step up and try to fill the gap that the federal government is leaving open by making sure we deploy every resource...we need.” 10 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has shut down three border checkpoints in Willcox, AZ, in order to redirect personnel to help with the massive numbers hitting the borders now. This is according to an internal document dated March 9. Closing the checkpoints will severely hamper authorities' anti-trafficking efforts, a CBP source told Fox News.11 Human trafficking is one of the greatest battles of our day. These checkpoints are critical to keep people from being brought into the nation and used as a type of slave labor or to be sex trafficked. Securing our borders should not be politicized. Some have said the left wants the borders open to gain future grateful voters. That would be a poor way to gain them. The cost in human suffering is far too high. Protecting our borders protects communities on the U.S. side of the border and protects the lives of those who would be immigrants. The crisis at the border is a complicated issue. We need God’s wisdom to help us navigate our way through such weighty situations where so many human lives are at stake. Governors need to be listened to. We need national policies put in place to provide pathways to citizenship that do not overwhelm our country or provide easy access to criminals. Contact DHS on their Comment Line at 202-282-8495. Let them know you are concerned about the southern border situation and want closed borders until there is a resolution that will keep everyone safe and provide a sure pathway to legal immigration. America has historically been a melting pot of immigrants, but let’s do it the right way, providing a safe place for everyone involved. “Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.” (Isaiah 60:18 NASB) Pray with me: Unless You guard our nation, Lord, we labor in vain as watchmen. As we find ourselves in a national crisis over security at our southern border, we must have Your help. Our nation is overwhelmed, yet we are just as concerned about the people who have set their hope on America to save them. Many people, especially children, are suffering. Lord, we ask you to protect them and protect our nation from the flood of drugs, cartels, terrorists, and traffickers who now have access to our cities and citizens. We ask You to post angels all along our southern border. Keep our law officials and National Guard safe as they protect us. We decree a supernatural uncovering of everything that needs to be seen. Father, we ask that You keep us safe from politicians using the situation to forward their own agendas. Expose this evil. And Father, more than anything else, we pray for the salvation of the people to our south. Let revival break out in those nations. Pour out Your Spirit on those precious people. And Lord, let it also come to those who are trapped at the border and don’t know what to do. We ask that to our south, and all along our southern border, it would become a revival zone. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: We decree that God will protect our southern border, while also saving the hopeless and helpless! He alone will provide the answers! 1 https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/09/politics/100000-migrants-encountered-us-mexico-border/index.html 2 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-border/u-s-detained-nearly-100000-migrants-at-mexico-border-in-february-sources-say-idUSKCN2AX2FE 3 https://www.oann.com/bidens-dhs-secy-claims-no-crisis-at-u-s-mexico-border-despite-migrant-surge/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bidens-dhs-secy-claims-no-crisis-at-u-s-mexico-border-despite-migrant-surge 4 https://nypost.com/2021/03/09/mayorkas-asks-for-new-volunteers-amid-overwhelming-migrant-surge/ 5 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dhs-chief-volunteers-southern-border-migrant-surge 6 https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/09/politics/100000-migrants-encountered-us-mexico-border/index.html 7 https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/08/politics/children-us-border-patrol/index.html 8 https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-provides-update-on-state-response-to-humanitarian-crisis-at-southern-border 9 ibid. 10 https://www.stripes.com/news/us/texas-governor-sends-500-national-guard-troops-to-border-for-humanitarian-crisis-1.665152 11 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cruz-hawley-blast-biden-overwhelmed-cbp-shuts-down-arizona-highway-checkpoints