CCC Wall of Prayer

I've been thinking a lot about walls recently.

2009-08-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about walls recently.
by Kirsten Cook

Of course this site is to encourage us to build a hedge
of protection around others. We are in the process of
rebuilding at CCC.
As I've been reading Nehemiah I've been challenged
to defend and rebuild 'my section' of that wall.

But there is a different kind of wall. God calls to
us over come many barriers. We erect walls between
brothers/sisters and allow walls of pride, bitterness to
erect walls between us and God. What a warning this is.
My prayer for us all is that our hearts be clean and
pure before the Lord,that truly the fear of the Lord
rule our thoughts and actions.

From Daily Moments in His Presence,
"My people shall not languish in weakness,
or I will be their strength. No evil force
can hold back My Spirit.
Believe Me and trust Me.
You need not plot and scheme and plan.
To doubt and to strive is to detain the Spirit.
He needs not your help - only your submission.
Give it willingly and gladly;
yes, give is quickly,
for the kingdom of God is righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,
and you hinder the Spirit
when these are not ruling your heart. "

The Triumphant Church

2009-06-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
Once again David Wilkerson speaks to my heart and helps me have a bigger perspective on the trials we face. (http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/2009/06/triumphant-church.html)

I read a story once about a man God told to push a bolder in front of his church every day. For years the man faithfully pushed on that big rock. For years that rock never moved even an inch. In despair the man threw his hand up in the air at God. "Why God would you ask me to move this bolder by pushing on it. Can you see after all these years I can't do it". The Lord replied to the man "I never asked you to move only to push on it daily. Look how strong you are now, you are trained and ready to accomplish my plans and purposes".

I think we often don't understand the larger purposes of God when we are facing trials. The victory is not necessarily in moving the stone but in growing strong spiritually while we are pushing on it.

I pray God will bless your prayer time,
~Margot

No One Knows My Name By Robert Pitman

2009-06-09T12:42:00.001-07:00

Hi Wall of Prayer folks,
I ran across an article today that touched my heart. It talks about caring enough to know someones name. While it is not directly on prayer it reminds me that we have an awesome privilege to pray for that person we met during the greeting time on Sunday and how much it shows them the love of God when we remember name and pray about their concerns. They may be just checking out our church and even if they do not make their church home with us they have crossed our path and we should be praying that they do find a place to call their church home.

Here is the link to the article.

http://www.serve-others.com/issue34/index.cfm?id=34&ref=ARTICLES%5FSERVE%21%20SPOTLIGHT%5F262

I Simply Come

2009-04-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

I was working on a way to be able to put some of the songs I have written up on one of my other blog pages. Since this one is about spending time with Jesus I am putting it here for you to enjoy. I hope it speaks to your heart - He is pleased if we simply come.
If this loads to slowly - here is the link to the YouTube version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-2zEeCkMAw

The photos of me were taken by JanDel Sitowski and the other nature shots were taken by me.

May the Lord bless your prayer time.
~Margot

The Fear of God

2009-04-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today I was reading Psalm 34 I was brought up short by how amazing God is to be able to commune intimately with me and you and every other person who whats to be with Him in that same instant. That in each and every instant He is more than enough for each and everyone of us. So I was reading in verses 9-10 "Fear the Lord, you his saint, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." So I sat there thinking how do I fear one whom I have come to love? So I prayed help me understand the fear of the Lord today.

Later in the day Kirsten Cook gave me a paper about a laminin and that sent me to the internet to search more and I came a cross a cross in the center of the whirlpool galaxy and then I discovered some videos by a guy named Louie Giglio. What the heck is a laminin you may ask and I would tell you but Louie Giglio does a far better job in the video links below.

As I prayed today I asked for God to help me to understand the fear of the Lord. I am sure I have only scratched the surface. What is so cool - is how he has gone out of His way to help me understand and I am so humbled by the greatness of God.
I hope you will watch these video links - I know you will be blessed. To know that a God so amazing could want a relationship with a specks of dust like you and me. That He loves and treasures every prayer that rises up to Him like fragrant offering. I pray you will watch these videos and that they will turn your prayer time up side down in amazement and wonder.
May the Lord Bless your prayer time,
Margot

How Great is our God - part 1
How Great is our God - part 2
How Great is our God - part 3
How Great is our God - part 4
How Great is our God - part 5

Naional Day of Prayer & USA Wall

2009-04-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

This came in my e-mail today from Focus on the Family. I pass it along just in case you did not have this info. I love the theme for this year.
Prayer America's HOPE. I have also started another page like our CCC Wall but as a USA Prayer wall. Here is the link if you would like to also be a part of that wall. http://usa-wall-of-prayer.blogspot.com/

Here is the link to the official National Day of Prayer website. http://www.ndptf.org/about/index.cfm

Shirley Dobson had the following to say.

"Greetings from the National Day of Prayer Task Force!

As Chairman, I want to encourage you to mark Thursday, May 7th on your calendar and take time to pray for our country on that day.

Our theme for this year's National Day of Prayer is Prayer…America's Hope! It's based on Psalm 33:22, which says, "May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You."

This is an extremely critical time in America's history. From economic pressures, to the ongoing threat of terrorism, to the unraveling of our culture's moral fabric, many people are dealing with a deep sense of uncertainty and apprehension. "

April Testimonys

2009-04-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here is where I will post testimonies that you share with me.
You will find the most recent at the top.

Shared by Kirsti Cook April 13, 2009
Dear Intercessors,
I missed being with you today. We had a fabulous time at Wapato Point.

Following are the notes from our very special Easter service.
The last song we sang said something about the Stone Being Rolled Away.
That's one of my prayers for our church - that barriers which are keeping
us bound would be rolled away. We also saw a movie called Drumline - excellent
musical movie but the message that came through to us was that brokenness
happened on 'each side of the table' before victory resulted.
Much love and prayers, Kirsti :)

Third Day Hope – Pastor Craig Rayment
North Shore Bible
Hope is believing something good can come out of something bad because God is at work. That’s the Easter story and it can also be your story.

Main Point: A living Savior means a living hope that will help us persevere. Not just to survive but to thrive!
Four Hope Inspiring Events (Luke 24:1-12)
Event #1: Stone was moved. v. 1,2 Matthew says the angel of the Lord moved the stone. It was moved so we could look in.
Event #2: Tomb was empty. v. 3 They were thinking theft, not resurrection.
Event #3: Angels declare. v. 4-12
Event #4: Wrappings were empty 1 Peter 1:3 The Jesus Who conquered the grave can
conquer whatever you are going through. Put your confidence in the God of the Third Day
Many Bible stories are based on these time frames:
1.The 40 day story – these are wait-around-and-learn patience stories:
Noah-days it rained; Israel-Moses on mountain; Elijah-hid from Jezebel;
Jesus-in the wilderness; Disciples-to wait in Jerusalem for Spirit.
The focus here is our need to persevere. These are Crockpot stories.
2. The 3 day story – These are stories about crisis and urgency- microwave stories.
The focus here is on God rescuing, God delivering: Joseph-to cupbearer (Gen. 41:12-13)
Israel-Esther 3 day fast (Esther 4:16) Jonah-in whale (Jonah 1:11) Hosea (6:1-12).
When miracles occur. You are going to live by fear or by faith.
Hope is confidence in God’s Word. Choose faith over fear.

Shared by Kathy Simmons Monday April 13, 2009 after reading the above post from Kristi.
Thank you Margot for passing this on to me. I am blessed. More than I can believe and love to see this confirmation.
"The stone was rolled away!" Wow, it doesn't get any more concise than this. Thanks again and God richly Bless you this day!

The Two Closets - by David Smithers

2009-04-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

I found this article by David Smithers and thought this was good - so I am posting it here.
On an interesting note driving home the other night the verse mentioned below from Isaiah 6 came to mind and I found myself pondering what that might mean to us. " The train of His robe filled the temple" The next day while trying to gain a deeper understanding of the verse. I read some where about how the kings of old when they won a battle would go through the battle field and give the spoils to the soldiers. When they had defeated another king they would cut the hem off his robe and it would be added on to his own robe. The longer the robe - the greater the king. To apply that thinking to the Isaiah 6 verse. Think of the many things that Jesus has conquered - truly the train of his robe does fill the temple. That thing that concerns you has already been added to the hem of His robe. Rather than fuss and worry - we need to praise him and pray to walk more fully in what has already been provided for us. Are we leaving things on the shelves of heaven that could be ours simply by asking and believing?

David Smithers - Is a Church historian that has a passion to see revival that will send out missionaries in this generation. He has a wonderful ministry web site where you can find more of his writings. http://www.watchword.org

The Two Closets by David Smithers

If we neglect prayer, we neglect Christ. Prayerlessness is a sin against the heart of Jesus, which longs to be intimate with His Bride. (1 Samuel 12:23). Prayerlessness is not only a sin in itself, it is the nursemaid of countless other sins. When we neglect prayer we nurture secret-sin and self-deception. As one abandons the prayer closet he unknowingly constructs another kind of closet. It too is a secret place of solitude, yet it is not reserved for intimate union with Jesus. This closet is a place of darkness and shadows where evil motives, bitterness and uncleanness hide. Many Christians who claim to understand the necessity of a holy life still neglect daily prayer and as a result make provision for the flesh. Not only is the prayerless Christian more vulnerable to sin, he is also less likely to recognize sin in his own life. Remember, to be absent from Christ's shining presence in prayer is to be surrounded by darkness and void of true discernment.

The prayer closet is a spiritual greenhouse where holiness and charity can blossom in the light of Christ. As a Christian truly tarries in prayer every impurity is revealed and exposed. In times of true prayer, one beholds Jesus in all His holiness and love, and therefore truly sees himself. The prophet Isaiah clearly saw himself in the refining presence of Jesus. "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:1-5).

To shun prayer is to embrace spiritual blindness! Is your closet a holy place or is it sin's hiding place? There are two closets; which one are you investing in?

The Mighty Name of Jesus Christ Our Lord

2009-04-02T20:55:00.001-07:00

You are the Author and finisher of my faith,
the Alpha and Omega, the Anointed Son of God,
the Advocate with the Father, and the Anchor of my soul.

You are the Bread of Life, the Bright and Morning Star,
the Beginning and the End, the Beloved of the Father,
the Bridegroom of the Church, and the Bishop of my soul.

You are the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth
the Chief Shepherd and Cornerstone of the Church,
the Captain of my Salvation, and the Comforter of my soul.

You are the Door of Salvation, the Desire of all Nations,
the Dayspring from on High, the Diadem of Beauty,
the Deliverer from Evil, and the Defender of my soul.

You are the Ensign for all Nation,
the Exceeding Great Reward for all who Find You,
the Everlasting light, and the Eternal Life of my soul.

You are the Fountain of Life, the Firstborn of many Brethren,
the Friend that Sticketh Closer than a Brother,
the Faithful and True witness, and the Fortress of my soul.

You are the Good Shepherd that Giveth His Life for His Sheep,
the Great High Priest and the Governor among the Nations,
the God of Righteousness, and the Guardian of my soul.

You are the Head over all Principalities and Powers,
the Holy Son of God, the Helper of the Fatherless,
the Head of the Church, and the Healer of my soul.

You are the Image of the Invisible God,
the "I Am' of the ages, the Immanuel,
the Immortal God, and the Inheritance of my soul.

You are the Judge of all the Earth,
the Justifier of all Those who put their Trust in You,
the Just One, and the Jehovah Jireh of my soul.

You are the King of Kings, and the King of Peace,
the King of Glory, and the King Eternal,
the Key of Knowledge and the Kind Shepherd of my soul.

You are the Lord of Lords,
the Lamb of God and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,
the Lily of the Valley and the Light of my soul.

You are the Mediator of the New Covenant,
the Man of Sorrows, the Messiah,
the Merciful Savior and the Maker of my soul.

You are the Name above every Name,
the New and Living Way to God,
the Nazarene, and the Never Failing Guide of my soul.

You are the Only Begotten of the Father,
the Only Mediator between God and Man,
the Only Wise God, and the Offering for my soul.

You are the Prince of Peace,
the Priest of the Most High God,
the Pearl of Great Price, and the Physician of my soul.

You are the Quickening Spirit in the Believer,
the Quiet Place to Those Who Seek Your Face,
the Qualified Opener of Books and the Quest of my soul.

You are the Resurrection and the Life,
the Rock of my Salvation and my Redeemer,
the Rose of Sharon and the Refuge of my soul.

You are the Stone which the Builders Rejected,
the Sure Foundation and the Son of the Living God,
the Shield of Our Salvation and the Strength of my soul.

You are the Tower of Salvation and the Truth,
the Tree of Life and the True Bread from Heaven,
the True Light and the Teacher of my soul.

You are the Undefiled Son of God,
the Uncorruptible One from Heaven,
the Unchangeable Friend and the Upholder of my soul.

You are the Vine of all the Branches,
the Very Present Help in Time of Need,
the Veil that was Rent and the Vision of my soul.

You are the Way and the Wisdom of God,
the Word of God and the Wonderful Counselor,
the Worthy Lamb and the Well Beloved of my soul.

You are the X Cross Bearer for my sin.

You are the Yasha, and the Saviour of all Mankind

You are the Zealous Fulfiller of all Righteousness.

"and they that Know thy name will put their trust in thee"
Psalm 9:10

"I will set him on high because he hath known my name'
Psalm 91:14

"I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee" Psalm 22:22

"An expression of worship toward our goal of a deeper knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." (Northwoods, 1990)

This is all the credit listed - It came to us by way of Kirsten Cook.
Looked like it might have been signed by someone named Bill.

The Heart God Revives

2009-04-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

This prayer tool was brought to our attention by Kirsten Cook who remembers when this was first shared by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and how for days people were before the Lord repenting and praying. It has had a powerful effect on the lives of many people - we pray it will be a blessing in your own prayer time. You can use the link to get a nice printable version that lines up the proud and the broken next to each other. You will find this one towards the bottom of the page. There are a number of other great prayer resources there as well. http://www.ifapray.org/PrayerCalendars.html

Nancy Leigh DeMoss contrasts the characteristics of proud, unbroken people who are resistant to the call of God on their lives. with the qualities of broken, humble people who have experienced God's revival.
Read each item on the list as you ask God to reveal which characteristics of a proud spirit He finds in your life. Confess these to Him. the ask Him to restore the corresponding quality of a broken, humble spirit in you.

http://www.ifapray.org/PrayerCalendars.html

The Heart God Revives
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17

Proud People . . .

focus on the failures of others.

have a critical, fault-finding spirit;look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope, but their own with a telescope; look down on others.

are self-righteous; look down on others.

have an independent, self-sufficient spirit.

have to prove that they are right.

claim rights; have a demanding spirit.

are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation.

desire to be served.

desire to be a success.

desire self-advancement.

have a drive to be recognized, and appreciated.

have a subconscious feeling, “This ministry/ church is privileged to have me and my gifts”; think of what they can do for God

feel confident in how much they know.

are self-conscious.

keep others at arms’ length.

Broken People . . .

are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need.

are compassionate; can forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven; esteem all others better than themselves.

esteem all others better than themselves.

have a dependent spirit; recognize their need for others.

are willing to yield the right to be right.

yield their rights; have a meek spirit.

are self-denying.

are motivated to serve others.

are motivated to be faithful and to make others a success.

desire to promote others.

have a sense of their own unworthiness; are thrilled that God would use them at all.

have a heart attitude that says, “I don’t deserve to have any part in this ministry”; know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives.

are humbled by how very much they have to learn.

are not concerned with self at all.

are willing to risk getting close to others and to take risks of loving intimately.

Proud People . . . (cont.)

are quick to blame others.

are unapproachable or defensive when criticized.

are concerned with being respectable, with what others think; work to protect their own image and reputation.

find it difficult to share their spiritual needs with others.

want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; instinct is to cover up.

have a hard time saying, “I was wrong; will you please forgive me?”

tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin.

are concerned about the consequences of their sin.

are remorseful over their sin, sorry that they got found out or caught.

wait for the other to come and ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding or conflict in relationships.

compare themselves with others and feel worthy of honor.

are blind to their true heart condition.

don’t think they have anything to repent of.

don’t think they need revival, but are sure that everyone else does.

Broken People . . . (cont.)

accept personal responsibility and can see where they are wrong in a situation.

receive criticism with a humble, open spirit.

are concerned with being real; what matters to them is not what others think but what God knows; are willing to die to their own reputation.

are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs.

once broken, don’t care who knows or who finds out; are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.

are quick to admit failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary.

are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin.

are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin.

are truly, genuinely repentant over their sin, evidenced in the fact that they forsake that sin.

take the initiative to be reconciled when there is a misunderstanding or a conflict in relationships; they race to the cross; they see if they can get there first, no matter how wrong the other may have been.

compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel desperate need for His mercy.

walk in the light.

realize they have need of a continual heart attitude of repentance.

continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.

Our Wall is Growning!

2009-04-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

We officially started this Wall on Sunday March 29th 2009. So we can be encouraged and have a way to measure the growth of this wall I am keeping track of the total number of hours people are committing to pray each week. I will up date it weekly in this post so it will all be in one place. Thanks for praying!! The newest information is here at the top of this post.

As of Monday April 13th 2009 there are 40 hours of prayer going up for CCC. I know that a number of people felt - something has changed and a major spiritual breakthrough is happening. I personally felt a greater freedom in our service this past Sunday than I have experienced in many months. If you have a testimony of how you have seen God working send it to me and I will post it so everyone can be encouraged.

As of Thursday April 2nd 2009 There are 29.5 hours of prayer going up to God from this prayer wall. About 3 hours a day and about 7 hours on Sunday. How cool is that - not a bad kick off!

None but Jesus

2009-03-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

I woke up with this song on my heart. It had been one of the songs played at the Spokane Healing Rooms, yesterday during the team prayer time.
I wanted to give you a link to the song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axqXMuW8x1U
Here are the words posted below - perhaps this song will minister to you as it has me.
We want to keep the main thing, the main thing. For me the main thing is my relationship with Jesus. It is then that prayer becomes a time of fellowship and not a religious duty.
May the Lord bless your prayer time,
Margot

Hillsong United
None But Jesus lyrics

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored

When You call I won’t refuse
Each new day again I’ll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You’re Sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won’t delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord Forevermore

March 29 - April 4

2009-03-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am excited that our Prayer Wall is off the ground. Our prayer wall proposal was approved by the board last night. It will be presented to the congregation on Sunday.

Prayer takes a lot of faith particularly for results oriented people. We can so easily get all caught up in serving and forget that our primary focus is our relationship with Jesus. We don't have much of a relationship with people we don't spend time with. If we don't cultivate that relationship with Jesus on a daily basis, our lives and ministries become fruitless. We have to abide in the vine if we want to bear fruit for the kingdom.

My prayer is that we will become a people of prayer. If we will spend time with him in prayer he will inspire and open up for us things beyond what we can begin to imagine possible for our church. The greatest treasure is the richness of our relationship with Jesus.

As of Thursday April 2nd 2009 There are 29.5 hours of prayer going up to God from this prayer wall. About 3 hours a day and about 7 hours on Sunday. How cool is that - not a bad kick off!

Prayer Quotes

2009-03-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

The following are some wonderful quotes I found today about prayer. I hope they speak to you as they have to me today. Above all I hope the inspire you to really pray. I put my favorite two here at the top.

"Prayer does not enable us to do a greater work for God. Prayer is a greater work for God." - Thomas Chalmers

"The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer." – John R. Mott

"We must wake ourselves up! Or somebody else will take our place, and bear our cross, and thereby rob us of our crown." - William Booth

"Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” –James Hudson Taylor

“Wise leaders should have known that the human heart cannot exist in a vacuum. If Christians are forbidden to enjoy the wine of the Spirit they will turn to the wine of the flesh....Christ died for our hearts and the Holy Spirit wants to come and satisfy them." - A. W. Tozer

"A man can not lead others where he is not willing to go himself. Therefore, beware of the prayerless church leader who no longer readily admits his own need for more of the person and power of Jesus Christ. Only a seeking, praying heart can truly encourage spiritual HUNGER in others!" – David Smithers

"He can do all things who prays well. All soul-winners have conquered on their knees. Wherever the secret of prevailing prayer is found, something supernatural will come to pass." - G. F. Oliver

"Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The way to trouble God is not to come at all." - D. L. Moody

"The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel."-Thomas Watson

"We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results." - R. A. Torrey

"The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray." - Samuel Chadwick

What I did not notice last night

2009-03-24T10:26:00.001-07:00

Last night I left my Bible open where I left off reading. This morning I noticed two verses that I did not see last night. They seemed to jumped off the pages at me this morning. Both have been verses that I have stood upon during difficult seasons in my life. So I share them today with you dear reader in hopes that they will be a comfort and and encouragement for you in what ever you may be facing.
The first is Psalm 27:13-14 NIV
I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

For years I thought of waiting to be like a waiter anxious to serve what ever the patron would request. I think waiting can be about that at times. For many years my focus was to serve the Lord in any way that came available that fit with my particular giftings and talents and often in things that just needed to be done by someone. In the last year I have come to see waiting in a new light. Most morning I wake up early enough to spend some time with the Lord. I many not do the same things every morning but that time is set aside foru us. It is our "couch time". In this past year waiting has not been about serving but simply setting aside time for our relationship to grow. I have found the verse above to be true he has opened my eyes to see his goodness even in difficult times. So I tell my heart and yours. "Wait on the Lord; be strong and take heart (or courage) and wait for the Lord.

The other verse is from Psalm 28:6-7 "Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

Is there a song of thanks in your heart today? Does your heart leap for joy? Do you know that he has heard your cry, that he is your strength and shield?
As for me my heart trusts in him and I am helped. My goal is to keep my eyes on him.
We have to choose not to worry about all the stuff that we are facing, our job is to take it to him and to believe that he has heard and has already begun a good work in us and in our situation and he is able and faithful to complete that work.
So I will sing songs of thanks in the midst of the battle because I know my God is able!
I hope you will too.

Blessing in your prayer time,
Margot

I thank God everytime I remember you.

2009-03-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Today I was led during my prayer time to two passages of scripture that have to do with prayer. Both are in the book of Philippians. The first passage talks about thanksgiving in prayer.
"Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
This Wall of Prayer is something that will grow with us - we may not cover all the days and all the hours at first. Every new person added to the wall brings those on the wall great joy and I am confident that God who began this good work in us will carry it on to completion.
The first goal would be to have someone on each day of the week and then someone in the morning, noon and night of each day.

Skip down now to verse 9 - 11 and you get a wonderful Apostolic prayer. A prayer prayed by Paul one of the apostles. We can echo this prayer as we pray for the people of our church. Truly knowledge and depth of insight would be a good thing to pray that we would discern what is best for our lives and families and our church. Our leaders have some big decisions before them as we move towards our annual meeting in April. What a great prayer to pray for our leaders too as they try to discern what is best for our church.
"And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and my be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God"

The other passage I was led to this morning was Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Think about this and Rejoice! we do not have to worry - just take our concerns to God in prayer. I love it that prayer is not some drudgery or legalistic thing but an awesome privilege in being able to have an intimate relationship with God the Father because of Jesus. How cool is that? Written in the margin of my bible on this page is a really wonderful quote and I am sorry I did not write who said it. . " The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere created by that relationship" (If anyone knows who said this let me know and I will edit this post to give them credit for this profound thought.)

I rejoice for those of you who are already praying for our church and for those who will soon hear the call. Thank you for your prayers as we launch this Wall of Prayer.

May your prayer time be blessed,
~Margot

March 22-28th Up-Date

2009-03-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

This is where you would want to respond with anything the Lord showed you during your prayer time or to find out what others have felt during their prayer time.

You never know how something God might show you may affect us as a church and even our community and beyond. A great example of this is the following story about Pastor David Wilkerson of the Times Square Church in New York. You may remember him from the book or movie "The Cross and the Switchblade". If you are interested about what he is hearing from God currently you may want to visit his blog at http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/

In the fall of 2001, Pastor David Wilkerson, of Times Square Church in New York City, was warned by God that a calamity was coming. For six weeks they felt an intense burden and enormous heaviness. A critical need for intercession was so profound that Pastor Wilkerson canceled everything on the church calendar – mission's conferences, youth events and every guest speaker.

For six weeks, there wasn't a sermon. Instead, there was intercession for our nation with weeping and repentance. They knew something was coming and that something was bad. And that something was soon. So they prayed. And prayed … and prayed.

Then Wilkerson felt God telling him something that seemed rather bizarre. He felt God telling him to make sandwiches – lots of sandwiches. What were they for? Who would eat them? That part wasn't clear, but his church did what they believed God was telling them anyway.

And on the 10th of September they stayed up all night making hundreds and hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. By morning they had about 2,000 sandwiches. At 8:46 a.m. The first plane hit the World Trade Center and Times Square Church was ready to feed and minister to rescue workers and victims of our nation's worst attack.

Making sandwiches all night is a strange thing to do. If someone told me to stay up all night making sandwiches, I'd probably tell them they were crazy. But if David Wilkerson says he's heard something from God today, I think we'd be crazy not to listen.

Why Build A Wall of Prayer?

2009-03-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

As we have been praying each Sunday Morning for our church. It has been so wonderfully rich. In that each of us share the things we feel the Lord has shown us during the week regarding the church. This past week on Monday morning I had such a strong sense that God wanted to start a prayer revival. I had been praying about God giving Cheney Community Church a sustainable revival one that would not just fizzle out but that would grow as we grow and as the Church grows.

I had such a strong sense that God would be pleased if we would begin to build a wall of prayer around our church. When I arrived on Sunday for prayer I was told that another of our prayer warriors had gone home to Jesus. We have recently lost two very strong women of prayer, our dear Sandy Thompson and Thelma Beaudreau. The sense of the whole group was that these two dear ladies had passed the baton on to us the intercessors and as I shared about the Wall of Prayer we realized that the baton also extends beyond us to you.

As I thought about building a Wall of Prayer I was reminded of Nehemiah 4:9-19. This is an incredible story of faith and perseverance in the midst of opposition. It says in verse 16 - 18 "From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

We live in troubled times a time when the church needs to be strong and triumphant.
I am forever reminded of the words from 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

I find myself wondering how much more effective we might be as a church and as a people if more prayer was going up to the Father's Throne. I hope you will join us as we build a Wall of Prayer. As you are praying you may like Isaiah hear the Lord say "Who shall I send who will go for us" I hope you like Isaiah will say "Here I am send me"
For me this Wall of Prayer is what I heard the Lord speaking to my heart to build as I was before Him praying. My answer was "Lord send me I will start building a wall of prayer - I hope you will too. Who know what else he will reveal to us as we are more serious about being a house of prayer.

May the Lord bless your prayer time!
~ Margot Cioccio