2020 Prayer & Fasting: Day 7 – Awake Oh Sleeping Church!
Romans 13:11 “And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” The church is at a standstill, dry, empty, and there is no water, (the word of God) to water the thirsty souls of men. The Lord says in this season arise and prophesy to the dry church, where there is no concern for righteousness. The word of God in Ezekiel 37: 3-5 “Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.” And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life”. As intercessors, we must arise NOW and prophesy unto the church. God did not prophesy but with the power of His word in us, He has given us the authority to prophesy unto His church until His word in Revelation 21:2 come to pass. “I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” It is time for the church to wake up from slumber. The world has no direction, yet the church carrying the light is not able to lead because it is made up of dry bones. No wonder one can hear the church spreading lies and misleading people in the hour when the church is supposed to be giving direction to the people of the earth. The Lord says wake up from sleep and speak the Word He has put in you. Call on His name! He is still seated on the throne waiting for the church. If the apostles of old had slept, the foundation they laid for the current generation would have had issues. Yet the Bible says in John 14: 12 “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” The Apostles did theirs, what about us today? Where are the miracles today that we read in the Bible?
The church is sleeping because we have abandoned our first love and we are now in love with the world. Arise and call on the church from the four corners of the earth to return back. Revelation 2:4-5 “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
The church has slept with the prophetic message which is the reliable Word of God for the dying and dark world. Pray that the church will arise from its slumber and get back to work, declaring the word of God which will shine away the darkness and bring life to the world again. 2 Peter 1: 19-20 “We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.”
The Apostle on the day of Pentecost received power that empowered and changed them and they were able to change the world from coast to coast. Pray for change of heart and devotion to this call of the church. Pray for unity in the church. Acts 2:1-4 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The Apostles spent time in prayer and the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit visited them. Pray that the church will go back to the foundation left by these people in the Bible. We cannot expect a visitation without paying. During their regular prayer meetings, the whole place was shaken. Cry out for this hunger to pray in the church again. Acts 1:14 “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers”. Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Cry out that the ministers of the gospel must arise in this dark hour and take up their rod so that the living waters may flow again over the church. Numbers 20:8 "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
Jesus is still calling on the church to arise and pray with Him just for one hour. The burden for souls is too much. Ask the Lord for strength. I am afraid the temptation has already entered the church, if not where are the prayers? Mathew 26: 39- 41 “Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour? He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation.”
Pray that the church will arise from the ashes and cloth itself with the garment of righteousness again. Isaiah 52:1-2 “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2Shake off your dust! Rise up and sit on your throne, O Jerusalem. Remove the chains from your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.”
Ask the Lord to take us to that place where we become so burden with His plan that sleep will run away from us. Daniel 6:18 “Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.”
Pray that the church will get the revelation like the psalmist to declare no sleep until the Lord transforms His church, our families, friends, neighbors, nations etc. Psalm 132:4-5 “I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
We must arise and return to the way of holiness. Isaiah 35:8 “And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it, only those who walk in that Way--and fools will not stray onto it.”
The Word of the Lord is truth and must be declared for it to come to pass upon the earth. Isaiah 45:23 “By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will confess allegiance.”
Pray that the church will arise and hate sleep. Sleep has brought spiritual poverty over the church. Proverbs 20:13 “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.” Proverbs 6:10-11 “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
Oh, church we have been given the power to declare life back into the church. Lazarus (the Church) is dead (John 11:14) but Jesus is here (Note: “Not was here”). The resurrection and the Life. John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life”. Pray that Jesus the light may shine forth yet again: Ephesians 5:14 “So it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
Call on the church to arise with its spiritual eyes open to see the light in the mist of the darkness that has covered the earth. The church has the light and it’s time to let it shine. Isaiah 60:1-2 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.2For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.”
Arise, challenge the spirit of the enemy of destruction and stealing over the church and declare life unto the church. Jesus did not die in vain. Luke 15:24 “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!' So they began to celebrate.” John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
Call unto the fire of God to arise and scatter all the demonic altars of sleep and slumber in the house of the Lord. Jeremiah 43:12 “I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed.”
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