Daniel’s Response May 27, 2007

This morning as my phone buzzed in my ear alarming me that sleep was no longer welcome in my room, I laid there for awhile and began thinking about the 40 day fast coming on Mon (which for some reason I though was starting tomorrow) and suddenly the first part of Daniel 9 popped in my head.

The story is this: Daniel is in captivity in Babylon with the many others of his people and they have been there for 70 years. Daniel knows the season and the year, and knows that deliverance is close at hand (I wonder what tipped him off, besides knowing Jeremiah’s words). He is familiar with the texts of history and their prophetic words, Jeremiahs being that after 70 years deliverance would come. (2 Chron 26:21) The text reads:

“I Daniel, understood by the books the number of years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would acomplish seveny years in the desolation of Jerusalem.
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.”

Daniel knew the word, the prophecies that were given. He recognized the year and season they were in. Daniel didn’t just wait to let it happen knowing that it would, he threw himself into prayer and fasting. Instead of being passive and simply letting things happen, he understood that he played a dynamic role to play as an intercessor in the unfolding of God’s plan to release His people from their captivity.

This morning I was thinking about our (IHOP”S) own prophetic history and how Mike put the two seasons (1983 and 2007)together in all the parrallels and prophetic words and dreams. It seems simular to Daniel’s time, knowing it’s time for something big, yet climax is still yet upon us.

We have promises from the Lord and it is abundantly clear to those that are paying attention that He desperatly wants to answer. What was Daniel’s approach? Prayer and fasting. The Lord said 24 years ago he would answer and May 28 and for this long there has been nothing, until now. 2007 and 1983 all over again plus the fullfillment of dreams some had then. May 28th is in two days and what is the Lord’s answer(besides GODTV)? A 40 day fast with the nation for revival.

I feel pretty honored to be living in this season of history, a little terrifyed, ok a lot terrifyed and I don’t really feel adaquete for this (which is probably why I’m here) but here I am, let’s do this fast with excellent spirits and pray in the promises over our house and the nation in this season.

I feel like we could simply stand in awe at what the Lord is doing and terrifically marvel, which is not necessarily bad, but let’s be ones that would pray in the promises and not just watch them unfold. Many have dug the trenches and done most of the dirty work for us, (we are all newbies at this) but our role is just as dynamic, let’s pray in the rain.

Parks May 21, 2007

Nothing insightful to say, other than I love parks and I love going to them and reading books on a blanket. I love the russle of the trees that produce a music that nothing manmade can produce. I love watching hawks make themselves completely unwelcome in the tops of trees as they make all the other birds angry, creating a hullaballoo of a rucus. I love the sun and the shade of the trees. I love that the Lord gave us outside. I love the feeling of not wanting to drink a whole bunch of water because the bathrooms are always locked and you feel super tired and dehydrated when you finally leave. I know that’s weird, but it’s that feeling of exausting your body because you actually used muscles that you sometimes forget you have, because blue chairs don’t seem to take advatage of them. I love the next day when my arm hurts becuase we continued to play catch. Oh I just love outside. That’s it, simple yet beautiful. The End!

Becoming Prayer May 16, 2007

I had a thought last night as I was prayer leading that I thought I would share. I was thinking about what I posted yesterday about leading the nations in prayer, and this is what came in.

Ezekiel and John were both told to eat the scroll. They were to not only give the message, but to become the message. Their lives were to be the message everywhere they went. Revelation 10 speaks of the messages of the messagers that many of us are called to proclaim, a message that we must become, not just preach.

With this concept in mind I was thinking about prayer and how much bigger it is than this prayer room. The prayer room is a gift to us as intercessors so that we would 1. actually pray and 2. sustain it in a community where others are called in the same way. What we do is so much bigger than our little room, it’s not about the prayer room, but about the prayer movement. Meaning we are to not just pray, but become prayer. Our lives must be a pleasing fragrance to the throne of Heaven, every little second of every day.

Our prayer room is becoming a place where we come to serve the nations, not to just have personal devotional time, (though you can do that, totally!) but to come and serve real people across the globe that we will never meet.

My thought in summary, the way we must become the message we preach, we also must become prayer. We get to serve the nations in prayer, by becoming it for them. To know and feel His heart and emotions for them, that they would do the same and Israel would be saved, then He will return. (amongst a whole lot of other events, obviously!)

Leading the Nations May 15, 2007

So today I was thinking about the magnitude of Godtv and what it means for us as a house. I was thinking about how we need perspective in our thinking in word and in deed, and in the reality of our hearts daily as we proceed to teach the nations prayer.

This is a crazy thought, we have been praying for 8 years now that the Lord would raise up prayer around the earth, and He is, but who would have thought that it would literally come to our doorstep and that WE would be the ones to teach hungry intercessors how to pray? As I have been pondering this today I wondered how many in our midst are thinking about this. How many in their blue chairs realize that they are the ones who are shaping a culture and bringing transformation even if they are never behind a camera, or will they be?

I was struck today by our need to really be thinking this way, as leaders (everyone on staff in our house are leaders, even if they don’t consider themselves as such) we must rise up with the spirit and answer the invitation. This means storming the throne for perspective in how we live our lives, are we really gaining His heart in the place of prayer in the secret place

I want to hear what you think about this, what does it mean to lead the nations in prayer, what does it mean we are teaching them how to pray? What does it look like practically, spiritually, etc. What do you think?

Southern California May 1, 2007

Here I am home in the beautiful yet terrible lonely state of California. I thought I would do a little journaling while there is a little bit of down time at the Spink home, though I’m not exactly sure what down time means out here or if it even exists, but whatever.

It’s funny how much you forget about how things are where you grew up. I forgot how many 9 million people really were. I forgot that there are 3 second stop lights on the freeway on ramps and you have to wait in line behind 7 cars, then finally when it’s your turn you have to excel to 60 mph in like 2 seconds because there are two semis about to crush you if you don’t get ahead of them. Once you have done this successfully, you find yourself going like 78 miles mph and cars are still passing you in the slow lane. UUGG!

Oh but the view! I love waking up every morning to either the bright beautiful sun, or the marine layer that will burn off by 11. I love that even in April we can lay out in the sun and go swimming in 85* weather, or take a hike to the top of the mountain and see the entire inland empire and point out all the high schools by the only clear spot of green. Of course don’t let me forget the beautiful sunsets over the ocean where the rest of my life began.:)

I find myself doing old habits that I did in high school, but I don’t do now in KC, because it’s familiar out here. That’s kind of funny! I take all the same short cuts to get home, I still think my old friends live at the same houses and hang out at the same places. It’s like you’re sucked into the twilight zone and all the old emotions and feelings come back with different songs, faces and voices. (not sure how I feel about that one though)

Most of all though my heart is awakened again and just simply aches for the people and the kids in Azusa. My brother has started this small group for them in his apartment, just to love these broken kids and show them Jesus. In a city that is 60% mexican and the rest a mixed group of pretty much everything else, extremely low incomes, drugs and gangs everywhere, large families find themselves shoved into two bedroom apartments with not much to salvage. It’s not rare to find 13 yr olds in the midst of gangs and drugs, completley sexually active and wondering if their girlfriends are pregnant.

I’m finding more fuel for my prayer life, my heart aches for these kids. They just come over simply to hang out and talk. They just want to be loved. It’s just like being on a missions trip where they all jump in your truck and want to play soccer, except I can drive 20 min and be in San Marino or Beverly Hills, some of the richest cities in the nation. These kids need Jesus and I can’t wait to see the fruit of what my family and our prayers are doing for these families.

I love that what we do actually makes a difference for these ones, I love that we can help even from our blue chairs in Kansas City. Praying for salvation and deliverance.