The secret behind prayers that are like "a single stroke of the Spirit"

In Christian/ prophetic circles, the sense is that we are living seriously close to the end days; and that as people of God, we need to arise. To me, that means growing in intimacy with God ... from which flows the anointing from Him to fulfil the purpose for which He has created us. As time is short, each of us in the body of Christ (with our different gifts) needs to be positioned where we can make maximum kingdom impact. And we need to be obedient (meaning brave, faithful, secure in the Lord's ability to hold and help us) when He calls us to an assignment greater than ourselves. In the last days, the darkness will be unprecedented; but so will God's glory ...

Elijah was called to a giant-sized assignment. He was called to a spiritual battle against the false prophets of Baal. He called for a very public showdown at Mt Carmel between the God Almighty and the false Gods that the people of Israel were worshipping.

In a public showdown, where he was clearly outnumbered, Elijah needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God would show up. This is what transpired in 1 Kings 18:36-37

"At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

At Mt. Carmel, Ps Peter Tsukahira said something that pierced my heart. He said Elijah's prayer from 1 Kings 18:36-37 was like a "single stroke of the sword of the Spirit" ...

How many of us yearn for this ... that we know so clearly what God's will is for a person or situation that when we pray, it is like a "single stroke of the sword of the Spirit"?

David Davis in his book "The Elijah Legacy" helped to crystallise the secret to Elijah's confidence, and the authority he wielded, at that showdown on Mt Carmel.

He writes: "The courage of Elijah was a great challenge to us. To what can we attribute the courage of a single man publicly standing against an entire nation? We don't know that Elijah was naturally courageous or confrontational. I believe the answer can be found in the prophet's simple prayer on that memorable occasion.

He implored "the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel" to hear and respond to him, because "I have done all these things at Your word" (1 Kings 18:36).

Every word and action of Elijah on that day was dictated and directed by the Lord. God told him specifically what to do - the 12 stones, the trench, all of it. Prophets walk in the power of a word not their own, but from God. "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." (Ps 119:105)

The source of Elijah's courage was his absolute obedience to a word from God. He knew that God watches over His word to perform it. The prophet had also been refined for over 3 years since giving his last public prophetic word. In the Lord's economy, purity always precedes power. Elijah heard, obeyed and prayed a simple prayer, and God manifested his presence."

At a superficial level, Elijah seems like one of God's superheroes. One of these men destined for outsized assignments - a rare breed. But actually, what Elijah achieved is not outside what God calls each and everyone of us to do ... which is to know His voice, and be absolutely obedient to a word from God. Every word and action of Elijah on that day was dictated and directed by the Lord. God told him specifically what to do. Prophets walk in the power of a word not their own, but from God.

Were it be that we too, are people who hear God's voice, and only do what He tells us to do. That alone is what enabled Elijah to pray a prayer that was like a "single stroke of the Spirit".

Is it any surprise that God answered?

What God is zealous for

I was listening to Ps Yang's sermon on zeal recently, and the emphasis was on us having zeal for God. But what struck me was this question: What is God zealous about?

If we know what God is zealous about, we will catch a glimpse into what He will fight for...what matters to Him.

A quick search unveiled this:

1. God is zealous for His name. "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name." (NIV, Ezekial 39:25)

2. God is zealous for Jerusalem. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her." (NKJV, Zechariah 8:2)

Honestly, I have known God is zealous for His name for a while already. But I was truly surprised when Ps Yang shared that God is zealous for Zion. There are very few mentions in the Bible on what God is zealous about - and Jerusalem figures as one of them! That was new to me. It also made me realise how for many of us (including me), Israel has been peripheral to our faith. Yet, it is clearly central to God, and His heartbeat.

Why is God zealous about Jerusalem?

Because it is the city He has put his name on. Forever. Even when the people failed Him, and the temple was destroyed, and the ark of the covenant removed from the Holy of Holies, one thing did not depart from Jerusalem. God's name.

"Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever." (2 Chronicles 33:4) Other verses which say the same thing are: 1 Kings 11:36; 2 Kings 21:4; 2 Kings 21:7; 2 Chronicles 6:6

And because Jerusalem is where Jesus will one day return to rule and reign as Messiah. It is to be where He takes up residence on earth.

This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain." (Zechariah 8:3)

This didn't hit me until it was taught us in Israel recently.

And now that I'm more sensitive to this, that God is zealous for Jerusalem, am also more awakened to the adversities Israel faces. The attempts to divide up Jerusalem continue... with Sweden leading the latest charge. We need to watch this, and pray against it, because this is clearly not what God intends to happen.

Check out what is happening in the latest headlines.

Standing with Israel

I saw a copy of the latest Foreign Affairs at Kinokuniya yesterday, whilst I was there to pick up some books by Joel Rosenberg and Michael Oren ... the former writes about Israel and the Mid-East conflict from a Christian perspective ... As for Oren, his book "Power, Faith and Fantasy" was recommended as a good primer on US foreign policy viz Israel since times past. (All the books are extremely thick! I hope to get down to them!)

Incidentally, Foreign Affairs is also completely online... and I got sidetracked with a piece in the magazine titled "Is Turkey leaving the West?"

Singaporeans can hardly be called parochial. Because we live in a small, open economy, I think we're pretty well-read about international affairs. But following my recent Israel trip, I guess my reading has now been extended to Mid-East affairs, and not just what's happening in Asia, Europe & the US.

This article in Foreign Affairs was interesting to me. I didn't know that in the past, Turkey and Israel were allies... that in 1998, Turkish newspapers wrote headlines championing the Turkish-Israeli alliance: "We will say 'shalom' to the Israelis on the Golan Heights," one read. I didn't know that the tide has been turning since the ruling Turkish party came into power.

According to an article by Soner Cagaptay in The Washington Post in February 2009:

"For years, Turkey has had normal relations with Israel, including strong military, tourist, and cultural and commercial ties. The Turks did not emphasize religion or ideology in their relationship with the Jewish state, so Israelis felt comfortable visiting, doing business and vacationing in Turkey. But (Turkish Prime Minister) Erdogan's recent anti-Israeli statements - he even suggested that God would punish Israel - have made normal relations a thing of the past. On Jan. 4, 200,000 Turks turned out in freezing rain in Istanbul to wish death to Israel; on Jan. 7, an Israeli girls' volleyball team was attacked by a Turkish audience chanting, "Muslim policemen, bring us the Jews, so we can slaughter them."

Anti-Semitism is not hard-wired into Turkish society - rather its seeds are being spread by the political leadership. Erdogan has pumped up such sentiments by suggesting Jewish culpability for the conflict in Gaza and alleging that Jewish-controlled media outlets were misrepresenting the facts. Moreover, on Jan. 6, while demanding remorse for Israel's Gaza operations, Erdogan said to Turkish Jews, "Did we not accept you in the Ottoman Empire?" Turkey's tiny, well-integrated Jewish community is being threatened: Jewish businesses are being boycotted, and instances of violence have been reported. These are shameful developments in a land that has provided a home for Jews since 1492, when the Ottomans opened their arms to Jewish people fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. The Ottoman sultans must be spinning in their graves."

This shift in sentiment towards Israel by a long-time ally is interesting to note. Coming back from Israel, touring the Yad Veshem, and hearing about re-emerging anti-Semitism in Europe - this latest article in Foreign Affairs is sobering. We need to pray for the hearts of the Turks and the Israelis to be re-knitted back to one another! It is sad when friends turn their backs on one another. It's also a sobering reminder to an oft-asked question - at the last, which nations will stand with Israel?

Our secret history with God

From "The Elijah Legacy", a book by David Davis. I found this passage on the secret to Elijah's "divine authority" to be something we should all chew on:

"Every person has a secret history with God. No one really knows this secret life but God and that person. I believe that Elijah had been given such divine authority because of his secret, intimate life with God. He was a man of prayer, communion and dialogue with God. Every prophet is first of all an intercessor, otherwise he or she will be a false prophet. Our public ministry will only be as powerful as our private prayer life. The divine principle and standard has always been "purity before power". Character before commission. Many are powerless because they are prayerless.

Elijah prayed "earnestly" (James 5:7). He "pressed in" with burning, zealous prayer. He would not let go until he received the answer. This was key to his divine authority and power. "We have not because we ask not," Jesus said. We are to "earnestly desire the best gifts", and to "pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy" (1 Cor 14:1). We are to be zealots in prayer. The end-time Elijah company will be zealots for the cause of Jesus - salvation, not destruction - love, not hate.

Elijah lived in "the secret place". Jesus commanded us "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in the secret place will reward you openly" (Matt 6:6). The authority and anointing on Elijah was being produced in the place of secret communion with his heavenly Father. It is the place of stripping and equipping, and the place of prophetic preparation.

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalms 91:1). You can't be in someone's shadow unless you are very close to Him. Elijah accepted the divine invitation. He went and lived at the place of separation and preparation, and the Lord was faithful to His promise. Ravens brought him two meals a day for a year. His daily bread was the Word of God, as he fed on God's faithfulness and drank from the ever-flowing stream of the river of life, the Spirit of God."

Two wonderful worship songs

We sung these two wonderful worship songs in Cornerstone today - We Bow Down (Lenny LeBlanc) and Everlasting God (Chris Tomlin). Love both of them!

We Bow Down (Lenny LeBlanc)

Princes and paupers
Sons and daughters
Kneel at the throne of grace
Losers and winners
Saints and sinners
One day will see His face

And we all bow down
Kings will surrender their crowns
And worship Jesus
For He is the love
Unfailing love
He is the love of God

Summer and winter
The mountains and rivers
Whisper our Savior's name
Awesome and holy
A friend to the lonely
Forever His love will reign

He's the light of the world
And Lord of the cross

And we all bow down
Kings will surrender their crowns
And worship Jesus
Worship Jesus
Worship Jesus
For He is love
Unfailing love
He is the Love of God



Everlasting God

Allenby: Greatness and humility

In Israel, the name of General Edmund Allenby was mentioned twice to us, as one individual who lived out his calling as a great warrior for God.

As the commander of the British forces, he liberated Jerusalem, capturing the Holy City on 9 December, 1917. Although a victorious, conquering general, and the master of cavalry warfare, Allenby and his men famously dismounted their horses and entered the city on foot through the Jaffa Gate. One version of events is that this man of God felt that if Christ Jesus his Lord entered Jerusalem on a donkey, far be it for him to do so on a horse. So he walked in on foot. This is humility worth emulating.

I like this definition by Jack Hayford on how to live out humility (esp Points 6 & 7, when we find out how great is God's special calling on each one of us):

1. Never slight anyone who cannot help you to favour someone else who can
2. Treat everyone with respect, whether you like them or not
3. Be willing to admit you need prayer
4. Try to always encourage others
5. Always forgive quickly and be hard to offend
6. Always be thankful and never really sure why God wants to use you
7. Let whatever God does for you or through you never cease to amaze you

Speaking of making a difference, the Singaporeans among us on the SOM had a warm fuzzy feeling while in Israel when we heard about the good things our fellow countrymen had done. This latest SOM school comprised about 90 of us from the nations - there were Finns, Americans, Australians, Singaporeans, New Zealanders, Canadians etc, and a couple from Ghana. And guess what? The Ghanaian couple was there on the sponsorship of an annonymous Singaporean! Whilst in Israel, we also heard from the pastor of a thriving Arab Christian congregation that a number of years ago, God called him to build a new church. The building project cost millions, and at crunch time, when he needed finances in to pay the contractors, his banker called him to say that USD 50,000 had been wired to him. And again guess what, the money had come from an annonymous Singaporean!

Wow. I was quite floored. God has blessed our little nation with prosperity for a reason, and I am soooo proud of fellow Christians in our land for blessing the nations. Go Singapore!

Prayer today: Father God, thank you that by your grace, we can be the force that changes the world. This is true wherever you have placed us - in the marketplace, in government, in the military, in education, in church, in the media, or the arts. When you enable us by your spirit to do amazing things for you, help us to be humble and never cease to marvel at what you do for us or through us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Why Israel testifies to God's faithfulness

Many Jews today still bear the scars of the Holocaust - believing that God forsook them in those dark days. And that has been a large barrier in their coming to Yeshua, or Christ Jesus. Walking through the Yad Veshem, it is easy to see how deep the wounds are, and how much healing has to take place. But God is faithful.

My two weeks in Israel were spent with the Mt Carmel School of Ministry - a wonderful ministry by a bunch of Israeli believers (Peter Tsukahira, David Davis, etc) on what God is doing in the Holy Land. It is a vital ministry, because so few of us in the Gentile nations know the prophetic significance of what God is doing in our generation - particularly with regards to Israel.

In Ezekial 36:17-18, God prophesises that he will "disperse" and "scatter" the people of Israel throughout the lands and nations, to "judge them" for shedding blood in the land and "because they had defiled it with their idols". This was fulfilled, as we know, in the Jewish diaspora.

In verse 24, however, He promised through the prophet Ezekial that "I will take you out of the nations (plural); I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land."

The reason God said He would do this is that when the House of Israel was scattered, His holy name was profaned among the nations. But God said when He brings back His people into their land, "then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD" (Ezekial 36:23)

"Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,'but 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers." (Jeremiah 16:14-15)

"Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children." (Isaiah 66:8)

I didn't know how staggering these verses were until it was explained to me at the School of Ministry. Then my eyes were opened. The formation of the State of Israel (following the Holocaust) on May 14, 1948, is a fulfillment of God's promises to the Jewish people in Ezekial, Jeremiah and Isaiah. Since 1948, millions of Jews (from the former Soviet Union - the north country), Africa, Europe, the US, etc, have returned to the land in one wave after another. God is restoring the glory of His great name.

Why is this significant for us believers?

Because Israel is the great prophetic event in our day. For 2,000 years, the Jewish people have wandered from nation to nation. God says that when they had no rights, no dignity, no identity, massacred, pushed from border to border, His name was profaned.

But He never forsook them. And His gathering of His people back to the land is testament to that. He is a faithful God who keeps covenant for all generations.

Our generation is a witness to these things, and to the fulfilment of one of the most prophetic events as laid down in the Bible.

We have lived to see these things. For that alone, we are highly privileged!

Let us not doubt it. No matter know the world defames or profanes His name, our God is a faithful, covenant-keeping God.

PS. The Mount Carmel School of Ministry describes itself as "an intensive two-week training course for men and women of God who are seeking a prophetic understanding of the Scriptures and an anointing from God for end-time ministry". Having attended the SOM, I highly recommend it to those wanting to understand the sign of the times, and God's calling on your life in this time and season. For more info, click here.