Prayer: June 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:
Awakening in the Body of Christ

April is a beautiful time of year - springtime with all the warmth and new life. Easter reminds us of the marvelous resurrection of Jesus from the dead, that through Him, God has given us eternal life - we
can walk in newness of life!

This month, let's pray for an awakening to recognize who our holy God is, a freshness in our response to Him, and power to be His ambassadors on the earth! All power and authority has been given to us through Jesus Christ. Let's pray for the Pastors and churches of our nations to awaken to the return of Jesus, and that we fall on our knees in repentance before God, so that God will heal our land (2 Chron. 7:14).

Also, let's pray for our DR. ROBB THOMPSON, it's his birthday this month!!!! Praise God for his discipline, integrity, excellence, insight and vision. He is here for such a time as this. Let's pray for wisdom, knowledge, understanding, strength, courage and foresight to accomplish all God has for him! May his territory of influence be enlarged. Thank you Lord, for Pastor Robb!

Always remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for those in positions of authority.

Your sister in Christ,
Colleen

Please pray the Lord protects our country and gives our President wisdom. Pray, too, that the Lord gives Prime Minister Netanyahu wisdom to protect the Jewish people at this critical hour, and that the Lord would use him to explain to world leaders -- including those in Washington -- who the leaders of Iran really are, what they really want, and how far they are willing to go to accomplish their objectives.

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 :

ADONAI

The character of God is revealed through His name ADONAI. Adonai means "Lord, Master or Owner". It is the plural of Adon, showing the Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Adonai also represents our response and responsibilities from being owned by God. When we give our lives to God, we declare Him to be our Savior. But do we declare Him Lord?

Acts 2:36 says, “God has made Jesus... both Lord and Christ”. "Lord" means: the Supreme Being, God, Jehovah; the Savior, Jesus Christ; a person who has authority, control, or power over others, a master, chief or ruler; owner of land.

God is our Adonai, and we are His purchased possession. A master would purchase a slave who was responsible to OBEY EVERY ORDER of the master. He was subject to the Master's desires. The Master provided his home, food, direction and protection. After 7 years, the servant was released from slavery, but if he loved his master, he could BY CHOICE become his BONDSERVANT for life. Then his ears were pierced with the master's markings.

We can choose to be the bondservants of Christ, doing and saying only what He has commanded us, as He obeys Father God. Jesus became the bondservant of God when in Gethsemane He said, "Not my will (by choice), but YOUR WILL BE DONE!" Jesus came to complete the Father's will and was pierced for the Master.

"AWAKE - JESUS COMETH"

The land near where I was born was a gold mining area, called the 'Witwatersand". I lived in the same house from birth until I married Mark. So every week when we went to the fresh produce market, we would drive past this huge black mine dump (like a mountain of sand that had been sifted for gold). On the mine dump, the words had been painted in white, "AWAKE, JESUS COMETH".

As a small child, I was so impressed that someone other than my Grandparents knew this. I would think about Jesus coming back and resting on that mine dump.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED, THE MESSAGE REMAINS……

Although many years have passed, the message remains the same! We have prayed for our government and leaders, yet they have not brought the solution. The solution to all of our lives is an awakening to God the
Father, the Messiah (Savior, Anointed One) Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

When we acknowledge that God is real, alive and holy, we can awaken to who He is. When we PRAY and SEEK HIS FACE, we will bring the solution of an awakening to our world.

PRAYER IS THE KEY

Prayer is the key to the awakening. We put our faith and trust in God as the answer and solution! There must be an awakening of our awareness of God - a desire for Him - and a yearning to live a life to PLEASE HIM as Adonai. We know God through His Word.

Phil. 2:13
For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.

EXAMPLES:

Mr. E. M. Bounds (1835-1913) was a devout man of prayer. In his book THE POWER OF PRAYER (Preface vii), he wrote, "To pray is the greatest thing we can do: and to do it well, there must be calmness, time and deliberation; Otherwise it is degraded into the littlest and meanest of things. True praying has the largest results for good; and; poor praying, the least. We cannot do too much of real praying; we cannot do too little of the same. We must learn anew the worth of prayer, enter a new school of prayer. There is nothing which takes more time to learn."

Johnathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a theologian. He noticed a “general deadness” in the land. (Does this sound like our land today?) He set himself to seek the Lord through prayer. He started a small prayer group, which grew, attracting other ministers who began prayer groups in their churches. As a result, whole communities were changed and saved. The focus of their prayer was salvation of the lost and an acknowledgment of God's Holiness.

WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE OUR NEED FOR GOD.

Prayer is vital in an awakening. As we seek God and acknowlege (recognize) Him as Jehovah, the Only True God, Holy and Righteous, a powerful presence of God is manifest, and people become concerned
about eternity. We abandon our own agendas and focus on God, His Kingdom and souls (Matthew 6:33).

As we awaken to God, He reveals Himself through His Word. As we lift Him up in our witnessing, He draws people unto Himself for salvation! As we witness everyday, our power is derived from the Word of God and prayer.

SOWING AND REAPING

Coming from a different country, I have seen the seed sown by America for the salvation of the nations. Let's pray for the harvest of salvations in America. Over the last 15 years, I've seen men reap what they have sown. GOD'S WORD IS TRUE! It will come to pass. John 3:16-17, God sent Jesus so that we would be saved through Him.

HUMILITY

Come before God in humility, be broken and contrite (showing sincere remorse). Then be confident about God before men. Pray with your heart, believing in faith that God will answer your prayer according to His Word. Pray with someone!

Will you acknowledge Adonai?

Resolve in your heart that in your lifetime, if there is only one person that God will work through, it will be YOU. KNOW GOD, awaken to Him through prayer, AND MAKE HIM KNOWN!

Hab. 1:5
The LORD replied, “Look at the nations and be amazed! Watch and be astounded at what I will do! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.

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.