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Religious Freedom: God in the Public Square Can you imagine an America where you can only worship, pray, learn about God and talk openly about Him inside a designated, state-sanctioned and overseen building? Such is life for some Believers in other nations worldwide. Sadly, some Christians in America relegate themselves to this position as a matter of course anyway. Break out of your box, Church! Get your faith out in your neighborhoods, cities, schools and workplaces before you can’t. Your gifts weren’t meant to be for the Body of Christ alone, but to show those who don’t yet know Him just how very much He loves and cares about them. Your God-given creative ideas are meant to change society and benefit the populace. Your faith can be an example to the struggling. Get your faith-filled hands on the sick and hurting. Feed the sick, deliver the oppressed, invent something life-changing, write legislation, govern righteously, and change the world in Jesus’ mighty Name! “If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before my Father in heaven.” (Luke 19:32-33; NIV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Commit to the Lord that you will be His vessel in the public square and encourage other Christians to be also. Pray for the Church that they will not fear being open about their faith in public. Ask God to pour out His creativity on His Body, resulting in witty inventions and solutions to systemic problems in the nation. Decree that the Ekklesia will legislate in the heavens and that many will be called into government positions from local city councils and school boards to state and national legislative levels. Pray they do not miss their opportunity to make a difference. Pray for the persecuted Church in the nations of the earth. A prayer you can pray: Lord, I commit myself to You as Your willing vessel to be used by You in the public arena to declare Your greatness and great works. I call forth my brothers and sisters in Christ, that they would make the same commitment. Lord, break fear off of us and grant us a holy boldness! Give us ears to hear and the words to speak to legislate Your Will into the nation. We call the Ekklesia to take their places on governing bodies from the local to the federal levels. We intercede for those persecuted for their faith in Christ in other nations of the earth. We declare, “Kingdom of God, COME!” Today’s decree: I decree that the Ekklesia will declare with boldness the decrees of the Lord in the public arena, and the nation will shift as a result!

Religious Freedom: Prayer in School There is a quote by an unknown author that even President Ronald Reagan used a version of in a national speech. It says something like this, “As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in school.” As humorous as that quote is, there is nothing funny about the fact that a simple 22-word prayer was removed from schools on June 25, 1962. The United States Supreme Court decided that day that the simple prayer constituted government-sponsored prayer, and so they removed it. A door was opened to a full-blown attack on Christianity in the public school system that has grown worse year by year. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6; ESV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Student-led prayer is not illegal. Encourage your children to pray at school in a group with their friends, over their lunch, with someone in need. (My daughter once prayed for a teacher’s broken arm to be healed and it was! The teacher loved her after that and returned to church and her faith in Christ, as a result.) Pray that teachers and administrators will be open to prayer in their schools, that those who are Christians would boldly pray for students as they see needs, and challenge laws that prevent it. Intercede for parents to encourage their children to pray in school and to set an example by praying publicly in other places, such as restaurants, etc. Pray that Christians run for School Board positions and change the regulations in their districts, as well as work toward changing legislation affecting education in their states. A prayer you can pray: Father, expand the knowledge that student-led prayer is not illegal in school! The enemies of the cross may rail against it and challenge it, but it is our first-amendment right. Embolden our children to honor You despite any peer pressure. Help them to see the many needs around them and to step in and ask if they can pray. Stir Christian school parents, school administrators and teachers to encourage their students to pray. We call forth those that You have gifted with an ability to govern to take their places on school boards, so that they can affect education in their communities and states. In the name of Jesus, amen. Today’s decree: We decree the school doors are open to freedom of prayer and exaltation of Jesus!

Religious Freedom: Freedom of Speech The people of God are meant to be salt and light to a dying world (Matt. 5:16). We’re meant to be examples of Christ (1 Timothy 4:12-14). The third chapter of James gives us strong and clear direction on carefulness in what comes out of a Christian’s mouth. We are to remember that the world is watching and listening to us. Let us speak words of hope, words of grace, words of Christ’s loving acceptance and encouragement. We are to build others up and tear down the demonic structures that hold them captive. We are to speak words of faith and life and that abundantly—those things Jesus came to give us. We must speak Truth into a dying world, both in our pulpits and in our daily environments. Political correctness would limit that speech. Media shaming seeks to limit that speech. May we fear our God and open our mouths and speak with the freedom we currently have into the world that desperately needs to hear the message of Truth that we, His people, carry. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29; ESV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Repent if you have kept your mouth shut either out of fear of man or to keep peace at all costs. Ask God to break any fear or the effect of political correctness off of you, so that are able to share the love of God with those around you. Intercede for this nation, that the fear of man and political correctness would fall away. The structure is cracking! May it fall completely! Call for truth in the media. Start today to speak words of life over others. Look for opportunities to encourage and build others up. Speak out those words of life. Tell someone you meet about Jesus, the One that you love! A prayer you can pray: Father, forgive me when I have been afraid to let others know that I love You. There is a time to open my mouth. I do not need to speak in defense of You, for You need no offense. However, keep me from bowing under a spirit of political correctness, so You can use me to set captives free. Fully break the effect of this spirit off of our nation! We call for Truth in the media! Expose twisted words of propaganda. As for the Church, may we choose to speak words of life, so that many come to know Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Today’s decree: The Ekklesia will speak life-giving statements throughout the fullness of our days in every arena of our authority.

Religious Freedom: Freedom of Worship How wonderful it is to worship our Lord and Savior! We may worship quietly and thoughtfully or loudly and boisterously. The point is that all Americans should be able to worship God as we desire without government intervention of any kind. This is not the case in many other countries in the world, where worship is dictated by government or limited by government. In some, individuals meeting clandestinely in homes to worship are arrested, tortured and even killed for doing so. There are those in this country who are pushing hard to limit Christians’ worship to church buildings only. “If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.” (John 8:36; GNT) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Worship the Lord for a few minutes in a manner that is comfortable for you. Thank Him for the freedom in America to do so! Pray for the persecuted Church world-wide. Ask God to provide a way for them to freely worship Him! Ask the Lord to make His Church more bold in our public declaration of His loving reality. This is not the time to shrink back, but to be bold and expand His Kingdom in our communities and in this nation. If you have the opportunity today, go to a public place and either alone or with a friend, sing a song of praise or a hymn. You might be surprised to find that others join you! A prayer you can pray: Father, I worship You! (Take a few minutes and worship Him with a thankful countenance.) Lord, we intercede on behalf of the persecuted Church world-side. Strengthen and encourage them. Grant them freedom and grace. Let us not take for granted the freedom of worship that we have. Show us how to be bold in this season. We must expand Your Kingdom in this nation and should not be afraid to do so. May we take every opportunity and even stretch ourselves to publicly worship You. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Today’s decree: I am free to worship my Lord Jesus anywhere I desire and however I want to in America!

Religious Freedom: First Amendment to the Constitution This week we will be focusing on the subject of religious freedom. This is a Constitutional right, as outlined in the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17; NIV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Thank the Lord for our U. S. Constitution and for the Wisdom He bestowed on men who sought Him, bringing down that Wisdom to lay the foundation of our government. Ask Him to preserve our first amendment right to worship Him as we desire, that we are able to choose where we worship and the manner in which we do. Pray that American Christians would realize how bold they can be to talk about Jesus everywhere they go. This is an American right and it cannot be taken from us! Forgive those who are trying to restrict our religious freedom. Truly, they do not understand that to restrict the First Amendment freedom of Believers, they will eventually restrict their own. A prayer you can pray: Father, we thank You that You supplied Wisdom to those who wrote out founding documents. You gave us the freedom to worship You as we desire. We declare that men’s interpretation of our founding documents cannot remove this right from us! We can boldly pray anywhere we want, including in our schools and government offices. We can speak on any topic we need to, and even dance in the streets to You, as King David did. We forgive those who have misinterpreted the First Amendment or who have acted to stop Christian religious freedoms. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. Today’s decree: According to the First Amendment of the Constitution, we have freedom of religion and we will not be afraid to act like it!

Praying Out Corruption: Kingdom Overcoming “When we step into a dark room in our home, our very first instinct is to turn on a light, and that instinct has influenced the position of the light switch: it’s generally right near the door. Flip the switch, on comes the light, and immediately away goes the darkness. It ceases to exist where the light is present. It is relegated to the shadows where the rays of light are not yet infiltrating. But even so, the darkness is compromised. Darkness cannot abide where there is light. Let’s review Jesus’ instructions to the 70 in Luke 10. First, he told them to speak peace to every house (v.5), in essence, turn on the light. Bless, don’t curse. Second, He said, ‘Eat what they set before you.’ Fellowship, don’t avoid. You don’t have to talk. Just eat and drink, but keep the lamp burning. Then He told them, ‘Heal the sick who are there.’ Minister, don’t ignore. Finally, at the close of His instructions, Jesus said, ‘Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’  Understand this, that even though your ‘peace-speaking’ may seem but a flicker of light in a very dark place, Jesus says that flicker is impregnated with all the power and resources of the kingdom of God.” (Dave Thompson)1 “The kingdom of God has come near you.” (Luke 10:9; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer1: Review Luke 10:1-18. Accept and embrace the truth of every verse in prayer. Armed with greater understanding and faith, speak peace more boldly to every house you enter, physically or in prayer. Reclaim every dark place for which Jesus has already paid the price of redemption. Make this your lifestyle, for you and your family, from this day forward. Determine to let no corrupted word leave your mouth, but that every word be full of the peace of God. Speak peace, and follow the trail, because now you know that there is a trail. A prayer you can pray: Father, let the truth of Luke 10:1-18 penetrate deep within my soul. Let it transform me. May I enter every dark place I go each day knowing that I am filled with Your Light. I am a Kingdom-expression. May I speak truth and peace into each dark place, shedding abroad the depth of Your Love for each one there. May my words be filled with grace and faith! Let miracles follow me as I minister Your reality everywhere I go, and may this nation change as every one of Your precious Saints does the same. In Jesus’ powerful Name, amen. Today’s decree: In reclaiming the darkness by showing forth His Light, we spread His Kingdom abroad in this land! 1 Dave Thompson, Sr. Vice President, Harvest Evangelism.

Praying Out Corruption: Partnering With God “Ten years ago, the City of Parañaque, The Philippines, was barely hobbling along under the weight of a 1 billion peso debt. Crime was on the increase. Jails were full. City streets were largely left without lights at night due to lack of funds. Fraud and collusion were rampant in government and in the marketplace. Drug trafficking seemed unstoppable.  Morale was so low and city services so lacking that the inhabitants had allowed their cemetery to literally become the garbage dump for the city, with refuse piled so high it spilled over the walls. It was said, ‘You can tell when you are in Parañaque by the smell.’ That’s when King Flores went to the Mayor to ask what his felt need was, to which the Mayor responded, ‘We don’t have funds because people are not paying their taxes, and when they do, it is too often the result of price-fixing and bribes.’ King and his team offered to pray and asked permission to come once a week at City Hall to do it. Less than two months later, the Mayor came to report that, strangely, people were starting to pay their taxes, and to inquire of King if they could come to pray more often at City Hall!” (Dave Thompson)1 “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  (I Pet. 5:8; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer1: Say, “Yes, Lord,” to His invitation to partner with Him to change your community and nation. Using your newspaper and newsfeeds, begin to identify the felt needs of your community and of the people who are influencing it. Wherever you find the evil one roaring, roar back! Ask the Lord to open doors for you to offer prayer to people who are in authority in your city. Entreat the Lord for insight, words of wisdom and words of knowledge to pray with accuracy. Pray with faith! Righteousness exalts a nation; sin is a disgrace to any people. (Prov. 14:34) A prayer you can pray: Lord, we cry “YES!” We say yes to partnering together with You to change our community and nation. We do not understand the fullness of what You have put within us, Your Church. If we did, we would surely not shrink back! Help us to find the places where the enemy is trying to gain or keep a demonic stronghold in our realms of influence. We will roar back against it! Please open doors for us to pray with those in governmental authority over us in our cities. Thank You for providing words of wisdom and knowledge that are accurate and will touch their hearts. Jesus, we desire to exalt You in this nation! Amen. Today’s decree: Our cities will change as the Ekklesia partners together with the government leaders, providing prayer, encouragement and Godly advice. 1 Dave Thompson, Sr. Vice President, Harvest Evangelism.

Praying Out Corruption: Uprooting Corruption and Replanting “I first met Mrs. Allen Kagina in Uganda in 2004. She had just been asked by President Museveni to direct the Uganda Revenue Authority which at the time was considered to be the second most corrupt institution—public or private—in the nation. Taxes were being avoided. Corruption was rampant. The country was dependent on foreign aid to the tune of 46% of her budget. The number of URA employees was exorbitantly out of proportion. People would have to be dismissed. Guilty parties would have to be brought to justice. It would take a great deal of wisdom, courage and creative genius to revert the situation. Mrs. Kagina, together with her intercessor husband, Paul, employed prayer, dedicating the Agency to the Lord and raising up prayer from without and within. So powerful was the change in the spiritual climate, Allen related to us on one occasion that a prominent leader in the business community had recently called her personally, saying, ‘I need to come see you to repent for not having paid my taxes.  Please calculate what I owe and please add the interest due.’” (Dave Thompson)1 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’”  (Luke 19:9-10; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer1: With eyes of faith, visualize corruption being uprooted by the power and presence of God across our land.  Let your faith arise! Pray for a visitation of the Holy Spirit and courage upon the people of faith who are working in environments compromised by corruption. Keep speaking peace and blessing over the “houses” of Government, Business and Industry, and Education, beginning in Washington, all the way to your community. A prayer you can pray: Father, cause faith to arise in me, so that I can believe that corruption in America can be uprooted by Your power and presence. Do for the U. S. what you did for Mrs. Allen Kagina in Uganda. I pray that you would visit Your people who are working in corrupt environments in business, and especially in government. Grant them courage and boldness to confront this darkness, Lord. We say, “Grace, grace, grace” to corruption in the mountains of Business, Education and Government. Deliver, Jesus, deliver! Work miracles on our behalf. Amen. Today’s decree: As we pray, God will deliver the arenas of influence in business, education and government form corruption, just like He delivered Uganda when Mrs. Kagina prayed. 1 Dave Thompson, Sr. Vice President, Harvest Evangelism.

Holy Spirit, Reveal Corruption In Luke 19:9 (see below), “the word ‘that’ is the key word, because it begs the question, ‘What was lost?’ When we look back to the Garden of Eden, we find there is a three-part answer. 1) Not only did man lose his intimate relationship with his Creator, but 2) intimacy in his relationship to his fellow man (or woman, in this case) was also lost, and one of their children murdered another. But beyond that, 3) the Garden itself—the “marketplace” of Adam’s day—was lost. Jesus was therefore forecasting in Luke 19:10 what His objectives were for what He was about to go through beginning in Luke 22: the redemption of everything that was lost.” God graciously revealed and made a way of deliverance from the corruption that man brought in through sin. (Dave Thompson)1 “Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.’” (Luke 19:8-9; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer1: Agree with Jesus that He came “to seek and to save [everything] that was lost—people, their homes and households, and their marketplace environments. Let faith arise that corruption can be revealed, combatted and eradicated by the power and presence of the Lord. Let your “Peace speaking” grow stronger and more fervent. Let compassion rise in you toward those who are stuck in their corruption. Cry out for the salvation of everyone and everything that was lost. A prayer you can pray: Father, we are so very thankful that You have provided salvation to us, reversing the curse of corruption that came in through Adam and Eve’s sin. Lord, this corruption affects everything from our personal lives to our relationships to the marketplace and into our government. We are asking, Holy Spirit, that You would expose and remove the corruption that afflicts us. We will open up our mouths in prayer and in truth, confronting corruption where we find it. We choose to forgive the corrupt. Give us Your compassion to pray for their deliverance. Help the Trump administration to root it out of our government. In Jesus’ name, amen. Today’s decree: The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost! 1 Dave Thompson, Sr. Vice President, Harvest Evangelism.

History Can Be Healed Even though legal provision was made for the realignment of the ages to God’s will, the work isn’t finished! He is taking humanity down a pre-decreed path of restoration (see Acts 3:21) toward the katartizo-ing* of all things. America’s history is a part of this. God declared that she would exist for His eternal purposes. And though He knew there would be dislocations and shameful seasons, He decreed healing in the form of revivals, abolitionists, and yes, even a Civil War—for we had to have that painful course correction to realign us. Through them all, He was healing and realigning history!1 “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3; KJV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Thank the Lord that He creates moments in history that cause all of society to line up with His Will! He can and does “course-correct” a nation. Ask God to realign the nation again and that we would repent for our sins, past and present. Pray that as a nation, we would once again go back to the place He ordained, where we serve others and honor Him. A prayer you can pray: Lord, thank you that You have a pre-determined plan and You are following it. When we get off course as a nation, You katartizo us right back into the plan. It may be painful and embarrassing at times, but when Your work of course correction is exactly what we need, the blessing will outweigh the pain. Thank you for forgiving us our sins. Katartizo us back into full alignment with Your plan once again, Lord. Amen. Today’s decree: Put us back on the course You created for America before the world began! *“Prepared” is the Greek word katartizo, which means “to put something into its proper position.” 1 Material taken from History Maker, by Will Ford and Dutch Sheets, Regal Books, ©2004.

Realigning History’s Dislocations “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3; KJV) “Prepared” is the Greek word katartizo, which means “to put something into its proper position.” It’s a word used to describe setting a broken bone or popping a dislocated joint back into place. It’s also the word for alignment. We know that God aligns and, when necessary, realigns the ages. However, He also realigns history’s dislocations. He heals the breaches. As the Great Physician, He adjusts misaligned humanity back into alignment and He snaps history’s dislocations back into place.1 Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Thank God that when we mess up His plan, He is able to snap it back into place and get us back on His track! Intercede for the United States, asking God to realign us as a nation, so that we line up once again with His plan and the purpose for which He established us. Worship Him, because He loves us more than He judges us and He is more than able to correct history. A prayer you can pray: God, You are just amazing! Why do we worry about anything? We are so thankful that You have chosen to allow us to partner with You in prayer to accomplish Your plans. However, when we mess things all up, You are able to snap things back into place, even our history, Father, and get things back in alignment with Your plan! Great Physician, realign America today! Thank You, Lord. Today’s decree: We declare that the breaches will be healed and history’s dislocations will be put back into place. 1 Material taken from History Maker, by Will Ford and Dutch Sheets, Regal Books, ©2004.

Identificational Repentance Everlasting God (Olam El) permanently forgives our sin when we repent. Because of the blood of Jesus, He remembers our sin no more! When we repent, it is as if we never sinned! Daniel showed us that we can take up a position of repentance for the sin of our nation. He will listen to the petition of His saints washed in His blood! “I prayed to the lord my God and confessed: ‘Oh Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.’” (Dan. 9:4; NLT) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Thank the Lord for saving you and permanently forgiving your sin. Acknowledge that He is willing to listen to you, His child washed in the blood of Jesus, when you present the sin of your nation to Him. Read the prayer from Daniel 9: 4-19, inserting your city, your state, and the United States of America as the location. A prayer you can pray: Dear Everlasting Lord, thank you so much that you have removed my sin from me as far as the east is from the west and you remember it no more! It feels so good to be completely forgiven and I desire that others might know this freedom, as well! Thank you that you hear my prayers on behalf of my nation. (Read the prayer from Daniel 9:4-19 to the Lord inserting your city, state and the United States of America as the location.) Amen. Today’s decree: I decree that God has forgiven me completely from my sin and that He hears my intercession on behalf of my city, state and nation today!