Power in Weakness

The second goal of corporate prayer is unity with one another . When the Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost, they left no detailed descriptions of that famous upper room prayer meeting that preceded it - only the terse inscription of Acts 2:1 - "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." These brothers and sisters were operating out of 40 straight days of fresh encounters with the living Christ. In this place of unity with the living God, they moved into unity with one another. It is good and pleasant when brethren dwell together in unity! As Psalm 133 declares, it is "like the precious oil upon the head...for there the Lord commanded the blessing - life forevermore" (v.2-3). Once the anointing flows from the Head of the church, Jesus, on to His body in prayerful unity there comes with it a mighty blessing from the Father Himself. This may sound foolish and impractical, but the best way to maintain unity with one another ...

God is shaking the foundations of the church and turning our hearts back to our First Love. He is restoring the tabernacle of David, a house of worship and prayer that will be the centerpiece of every other form of ministry. Even as Jesus was zealous for the temple of the Jews in the first century to be cleansed of idolatry and to become a "house of prayer for all nations" once again, He is zealous in our day to do the same in every church, ministry, and Christian University that bears His name. The current financial crisis that so many are experiencing is only a hint of the great shaking that is to come upon the entire church, and then the whole world. Will we learn to build our lives and ministries on the Rock of His Kingdom through intimacy with Him, or will we stay upon the sand of worldly wisdom and charismatic personalities? The alarm is sounding: drop your other ambitions and worries and make prayer the first priority once again. Only gold refined in this heavenly ...

It’s one of the sweetest scenes in the Scriptures; a radiant picture of grace in a room full of cold stares and shadows. You can almost smell the perfume emanating from the page… In Luke 7 we are shown a portrait of mercy like no other. In a house of feasting religious leaders, a “sinful woman” is kneeling behind Jesus with unmasked gratitude. She came with the intention of anointing his feet with perfume, but before she could even begin she broke down and found herself weeping on hands and knees. When she first walked in she was a spectacle; now she was on the verge of being the laughingstock of the party, maybe the whole town. The other elite guests mused to themselves, If the man she honored were truly a prophet and knew all things, he would surely scorn this harlot. He would cast her away in a second. She was a sinner; what does a holy man have to do with sin? Despite their thoughts, Jesus says nothing as awkward silence creeps into the mini-festival and the woman goes on to pour f...

As we pursue a life of abandonment to God through prayer and worship we are inevitably bound to run into obstacles along the way. This should come as no real surprise - there is nothing that hell fears more than a son or daughter of God that is bent upon seeking the Kingdom first in this way. If you feel like you are the only one that is struggling to answer the call to “pray and fast” in a way that is exceptional in western Christianity, do no fear – you are not alone. True surrender to Jesus does not come naturally. I should tell you up front that it will be one of the greatest battles of your life. The devil, the world, and even your own sinful flesh are raging against you, and rare are the friends that will encourage you in these noble heavenly pursuits. Yet Jesus does not leave us unequipped. The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7, gives a map for holy living that starts and ends with radical prayer. However, the way is different than one might think. To most Christians, th...