July 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.

***** N E W S F L A S H *****

Let's pray for the following branches of our country, the Great United States of America:

Executive Branch of Government
Congress
Legislative Branch of Government
Military
Media
Educators
Business
Pastors & Churches

2 Chronicles 7:14
"If MY PEOPLE, who are CALLED by My Name will HUMBLE themselves, and
PRAY and SEEK My face, and TURN from their wicked ways, then I will
HEAR from heaven, and will FORGIVE their sin and HEAL their land"!

Prayer Topic:
Fathers and Authorities

"In the beginning ... God created the heavens and the earth ... Then
He created man in His image and likeness" (Genesis 1:1, 26).

Father's are created in God's image and likeness. They are to be
honored (to be esteemed or regarded highly). An interesting promise
results from honoring your parents (physical and spiritual) - you will
live long on the earth. The Father is the leader of the home and
spiritual head, he is the counselor and visionary. The Father Figure
is an authority figure: one who brings instruction, warning, training,
correction and discipline.

Even if your Father didn't know or understand God's plan for
fatherhood, let's pray for our Dads and bring them before Father God
in prayer. Pray for their salvation, that they may truly KNOW FATHER
GOD! John 17:3 says, "Now this is eternal life, that they may know the
FATHER, and Jesus Christ whom He sent".

Pray that our Dads will have a revelation of who Jesus is, and that
they may walk in the Spirit of wisdom, knowledge and understanding
( Ephesians 1:17-20), that they may be strong in the Lord and in the
power of His might (Ephesians 6:10). Pray that no weapon formed
against them will prosper, that they may have a walk worthy of the
Lord, fully pleasing Him (Colossians 1:10). May our Fathers be filled
with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding (Colossians 1:9), that they are strong and courageous
(Joshua 1:9) and they fear God and it brings health to their flesh and
strength to their bones (Proverbs 3:7-8).

Please pray for your Fathers, or if you are married - your husbands,
or any authority in your life - the President, our Pastor, our Bosses
etc.

Above all, HONOR FATHER GOD, worship and obey Him in all you do, this
proves your love for Him!!

Praise God for His Word so that we can pray according to His Will.
Hallelujah!

God Reveals Himself In His Name (cont.)

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 :

flash_hm jehovah nissi.jpg

Jehovah Nissi means 'Jehovah, my Banner'. God led His people, step by step, victoriously out of Egypt, Exodus 17:15. Moses held the rod to enforce God's power as a symbol of His presence.

In Moses' time, a banner was a pole with a bright or shining ornament glistening on the end. 'Banner' means to glisten, a pole or ensign, a standard, or a miracle. 'Standard' represents God's cause. It is a symbol of God's victory. Jesus Christ is TOTAL VICTORY!! He is the VICTOR and CONQUEROR.

Jehovah is Righteous, He hates sin. If you hold His standard of victory high (God's Word), sin can't overtake you. Conquer evil by doing good! Jesus, the Victor & Conqueror has made us victors, that not even the gates of hell can conquer us.

Jesus was lifted up on a banner or pole - THE CROSS! The cross is not a sign of defeat - but of VICTORY! Hebrews 13:5.

For us to share His victory, we must be IN HIM. 1 John 5:4, Rom 8:31, 37 says, "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us"! When we join ourselves to Christ by doing His Word, we become victors and conquerors IN HIM. Look to JEHOVAH NISSI - our Banner, Miracle, Champion and Victory. You can only win in God's strength, not your own (Deuteronomy 20:3-4). Ps 118:6 says, "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" Read these verses: 1 Cor. 15:57, 2 Cor. 2:14.

Put Pen To Paper

Habakuk 2:2, "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it". The Message Bible says, "Then God answered, write this, write what you see: write it out in big block letters, so it can be read on the run. The vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming - it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time."

There is nothing worse than having a lot to do and no direction as what you should do first. You feel like you are running around accomplishing nothing ... Like a headless chicken!!

Sometimes it can be like that in prayer too. You have so much to present to Father God, seeking direction, asking for protection, etc., but it is all too overwhelming when the pressure is on.

Here's something I have found to be very helpful. Prayer is a dialogue with God. So when you pray or talk to God, He will respond. Have a prayer notebook or journal ready. This is your display of expectancy before God.

As you pray, you will find that God leads you to pray for certain things. As you note what He leads you to pray for, you may find patterns in your prayer - God may lead you to pray for the lost, the government or the churches. As you hear God's voice in prayer and see Him perform His Word, you will get boldness over seeing God's will come to pass. If God leads you to pray prophetically, you may be praying about something in the future which doesn't make sense to you. As you note it, you can go back later and see that those things actually happen. How wonderful to pray God's will.

One Easter, Mark and I prayed for friends and family to come to know Jesus in an outreach at our church. We wrote their names down for all to see. For a month we prayed for our friend from High School - Ross - who needed salvation. He was dating my friend Claire. When Mark & I invited him to the Easter services, he declined as he was going to church with Claire. We were disappointed, but kept praying. A couple
of days later, Claire called me excitedly to tell me that Ross had dedicated his life to Jesus that weekend! Hallelujah! What we prayed for DID come to pass. Pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Acts 12:5, Romans 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:3.

As you document what God is leading you to pray about, it is a record of God's fulfillment of what He has spoken to you. You may forget what He tells you in prayer, so record it.

SET YOUR FACE LIKE FLINT:

When praying for a specific outcome, DON'T GIVE UP. If the Holy Spirit is leading you to pray about a particular situation, you pray the scriptures into that situation and write it down.

If it doesn't come about within days, DON'T GIVE UP. The answer may be taking time, but keep agreeing with God's Word. Stay the course!

Isaiah 50:7 says, "For the LORD God helps Me, therefore I have not been ashamed or confounded. Therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame".

When we make Jesus Savior, we must also make Him our Lord. As Lord He is our Master and Owner. We submit to Him for His direction and will. We lay down our own desires to fulfill His.

Then we set our faces like a flint to obey Him. Flint is a very hard stone, unyielding and opaque. It is used for striking a fire. In prayer we must always stand our ground and use the authority given by God (Luke 9:1, 10:19) to speak His plan into being to establish His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33).

Remember, THE SPIRIT that raised Christ from the dead LIVES IN YOU! Show your love for God by praying His will through obedience to His Word. There is no other way to live!

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.

Information about Adonai from The Names of God by Marilyn Hickey.