I was not able to attend "The Response", an amazing gathering of some 30,000 believers in Houston, TX who assembled to worship, pray, repent, and petition God for rain. My husband and I were attending a wedding in Ft. Worth, but off and on throughout the day were praying ourselves for a monumental day and visitation of God.
Sunday morning(the day after The Response)during our pre-service prayer time, as we continued to pray for our state and nation, I saw 3 pictures. The first was a map of the United States and on the east coast and west coast were large dark clouds rolled up like a scroll. The scroll of clouds unrolled and the two met and clashed right in the middle of the map over Texas.
The second picture was a giant cauldron or black iron pot with a large stirring stick coming out of it. The stick was being stirred around and around. The waters were whirling around also and I heard the phrase, "I am stirring the waters".
The third, and last picture was of a stage, and there were actors being placed on the stage almost like chess pieces. I heard, "I'm positioning my people in place and setting the stage".
The drought, the day of prayer, and so much about the day we live in has had me thinking about Elijah and the Prophets of Baal. In I Kings 18, Elijah challenged all 450 prophets of Baal to place the pieces of a bull on the wood and then Elijah would do the same. He told them to call on their god to set fire to the wood, and then he would call on His God. And I so love these words that came out of Elijah's mouth next....."the God who answers by fire- He is God."
And we know well what happened next- the fire of the Lord came and completely burned up the sacrifice and even the water in the trench around it.
It is my prayer and I know the prayer of many, that our God who came and consumed Elijah's sacrifice will come and consume the sacrifice of praise, repentance, and prayers of so many contending for our nation. We pray that the rains come and reveal His glory to everyone, for we know that He "sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous". (Matt. 5:45)
I feel like we are already experiencing the effects of the "stirring waters" as so much around us is being shifted and re-shifted. It makes me think of the vs. in Heb. 12:26, "once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens". Thankfully, "we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken"! It is time to press in to the Unshakeable One and His Kingdom and hold on for the wild ride that will come as the waters stir and the earth shakes.
Out of His goodness and mercy, the Father has been in the process of revealing His incomprehensible love to His children all over the world. Everywhere you go, stories abound of God breaking through in unprecedented measures. He is truly setting the stage and will go to great lengths to make sure that those He wants and gave His life for, will take their place on the stage.
He is also setting the stage with those He has already equipped for this day and hour. Some who have been hidden behind the stage curtain will be brought forward and commissioned into leadership. They have walked through seasons of testing and been found faithful.
Just as Elijah's servant looked into the distant sky and saw a cloud the size of a man's hand, we are to lift our eyes to the horizon with eyes that see what God is doing.
May our faith rise to the level needed to see His plans accomplished on the earth today. May we press in to the Beautiful One who willingly made the sacrifice necessary to restore us to the Father. And may we, as a corporate Body and adoring Bride, take our place on the stage next to the Bridegroom to display the Kingdom and do great exploits in His name.
"Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, and a heavy rain came...."
I Kings 18:45
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