Prayer: March 2009

Every month we will have a monthly prayer topic. We want to encourage you to pray along with us since one puts a thousand to flight and two puts ten thousand to flight. If you can, pray at any of these times – 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm. We’ll always know someone is praying with us and power will be going forth. Of course any time that works for you will be good.

Pray wherever you are at the following times with Center 31:
6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm........Call it the "6-10-2-6-10 times"!

If you have prayer requests, please send them to info@center31.com, so we can stand with you.

Prayer Topic:
Women of Influence

This month we will focus on being "Women of Influence" (Proverbs 31:10-31). March 26-28 is our annual WOMEN OF INFLUENCE CONFERENCE! Pray for God's will in the conference and that many people come with open hearts, ready to receive God's Word and be influenced to live for Jesus. Pray that the speakers are blessed and safe, that they bring the Word in wisdom and understanding by the Holy Spirit, so we will be transformed.

Let's also pray for women to stand for righteousness, that we will not give in to our flesh or be swayed by pressure to do wrong. May we be doers of God's Word, and not hearers only (James 1:22). May we hunger and thirst for righteousness (God's way of doing and being right), so that we can do things decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). May we submit ourselves to God and serve Him in integrity (moral uprightness) and in humility. May we be true Christians (obedient to God's Word), understanding and submissive wives, wise mothers.

With love,
Colleen
K Y E O J

God Reveals Himself In His Name

We have the opportunity of having a personal time of prayer with God each day. This brings me to the Name of God we can meditate on this month :

EL SHADDAI - God Almighty

Genesis 17:1-2 "And when Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, 'I am God Almighty, serve me faithfully and live a blameless life (be perfect). And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will bless you exceedingly".

El Shaddai refers to a field that produces abundance. It could also mean breast, or 'the many breasted One'. This signifies nourishment and productiveness. God is more than enough to meet your needs in every situation, Hallelujah! God has set the natural course of events. For Abraham, God made a covenant with him and then reversed the course of nature and provided a miracle contrary to natural laws by giving him a son.

God is all sufficient, He wants to bless, nourish, and multiply us.
(Genesis 35:9-11, Genesis 48:4, John 15:2,16, Ephesians 3:19-21).

PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is a real person. He is the third person in the Godhead. He is joined to the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19). Father God speaks out, Jesus is the Word that goes forth, and the Holy Spirit excecutes the Word.

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT - COMFORTER, COUNSELLOR, INTERCESSOR

When Jesus left the earth after offering His life as a ransom for our sins, Father God sent the Holy Spirit to the earth. He is omni-present (Psalm 139:7-13).

John 14:16-17 says, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that will remain with you forever - the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you (constantly) and will be in you".

Wow! That is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead!!! He lives in us.

2. THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Sometimes you will have a sense to pray for something in particular. You may not even know what to pray, but there is a stirring in your heart. That is where we use the gift from God of praying in the Spirit, or praying in tongues.

We are baptized into the Holy Spirit resulting in speaking in tongues. (Acts 2:1-4, 2:17-41). The Holy Spirit is a gift to us from Father God to those who obey Him (Acts 6:32). We receive the Holy Spirit when we pray (Acts 8:14-17).

The gift of tongues is a sign to unbelievers that God is really here (1 Corinthians 14:22-25).

1 Corinthians 14:1-2 says, "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God, for no one understands him, however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries". When we pray in the Spirit our mind doesn't understand because we speak by the Spirit of God directly to Him (1 Corinthians 14:14).

3. BUILDING STAMINA IN PRAYER

As we pray in the Spirit, our human spirits are developed and refreshed. We must have a balanced lifestyle of reading God's Word and praying in the Spirit. The Word is like milk or bread or meat, prayer in the spirit is like living water. Water is vital for us to be refreshed and revived. When we don't drink water, we are faint and weak.

Bobby Jean Merck tells that the Greek word for faint and weary is KOPOS, meaning labor, a beating, to toil, trouble or vexation. When we don't pray in the Spirit, we become faint and little problems cause us to be vexed and overwhelmed which immobilizes us.

As we pray in the Spirit daily, our stamina to pray is increased. We may receive new spiritual words or even new tongues.

4. PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT RELEASES GOD'S WISDOM AND DIRECTION TO US.

I've been in situations where I had no clue what to do next, so I began to pray in the Spirit, and then ideas came to mind to know what I should do next.

1 Corinthians 14:4 says, "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church". Last week my friend Pam told me what edify means - to be informed or to receive insight.

While driving to an outreach in a township in South Africa, Mark & I were praying in the Spirit to prepare ourselves. The Holy Spirit impressed on Mark to turn around immediately. He obeyed, and as we looked into the rear view mirror, we saw a mob of millitant, riotous youth marching towards us. Had we not turned around, we would have driven into a life threatening situation. God is so faithful to warn us by informing us by His Spirit.

5. BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT TO INTERCEDE FOR OTHERS

He will share scripture with you and show you things to come (John 16:13 Amplified Bible).

When you pray in the Spirit, hidden things are revealed. He will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) things to you (John 16:14-15). Sometimes He will bring things to mind as in John 14:16. He slips a thought to you for you to pray about. Perhaps a face will come to mind in prayer, and you begin to pray for this unknown person. A lady had an experience like this where she was fervently praying for a Chinese man whom she had never met. Months later, a missionary came to her church and showed a photo of the Pastor she had seen in her mind. He had miraculously escaped from a communistic prison camp at the time she prayed.

Romans 8:26 reminds us that when we don't know what to pray for as we ought, the Holy Spirit prays the perfect will of God through us.

6. PRAYING FOR YOUR FUTURE

Ephesians 6:10-17 show us that there are 6 spiritual weapons. Dr. Rick Renner includes verse 18 as the seventh weapon, "Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere". Prayer in the Spirit is like a lance or javelin that goes ahead of you into the future to tackle situations that you are not aware of.

Intercession opens doors for us. There may be situations where things that must happen don't seem to be happening. I needed a visa to re-enter the United States after visiting South Africa. The authorities wouldn't grant the visa, so Mark, myself and many others prayed in the Spirit for our visa. Within a week of reapplying, the authorities granted the visa - 32 hours before we were due to fly out! What relief to trust our Mighty God who makes His power available through praying in the Spirit.

When we receive a prophecy, it won't just come about on its own. We must mix faith with it by praying in the Spirit and speaking the Word of God. We must do our part to birth the plan of God through prayer. As we pray, we stop darkness and God's will is accomplished.

7. PRAYER IS GOD'S POWER AVAILABLE TO US

El Shaddai - the God of more than enough is released when we pray in the Spirit by faith. We enjoy this gift as we speak directly to God by the help of the Holy Spirit! Praise God!!

If you would like prayer to be filled with the Holy Spirit, call (708) 614-6000 during office hours, (9am - 5pm) or email info@center31.com.

Written by Colleen Aitkenhead. Wife of Mark Aitkenhead district pastor at Family Harvest Church in Tinley Park, Illinois. Mark and Colleen have three children – David, Josh and Shaylee.