| January Newsletter
Author: Colin Millar
Story: HELP! A LONG TIME PRAYER ANSWERED
Colin: Amongst the strongest prayer bridges of friendship established over the past four years are those with 8 or 9 prayer leaders in our community. One of those blessings is Carol Ham.  Exciting and unexpected job changes have happened in both Ron and Carol Ham’s lives. This is freeing Carol to come alongside me to begin using both her business and ministry experience toward Igniting Prayer Action in our community and city. Uniting together, sharing resources and experiences will allow us to multiply the ministry of IPA-which serves as a catalyst to cause Kingdom activity to occur through prayer.
Carol: Colin and I have had the opportunity to co-labor alongside each other on different projects, each representing different church families, but uniting in prayer for our community. We both share the same passion to encourage prayer in the body of Christ and believe wholeheartedly that our Father in Heaven moves when His children pray. So, I am excited and expectant to join the work of Igniting Prayer Action in our community alongside my brother. It is our desire to equip and encourage fellow believers in their own prayer life, as well as, to equip and empower fellow prayer igniters to impact our community for Christ. We also hope to be a resource to area churches who want to go deeper in prayer.
One of the most exciting opportunities that God is opening to us is igniting prayer in the marketplace.
IPA’s Kingsway Consultants
Today, those in business are recognizing that God has given them unique opportunities and resources to impact God’s Kingdom. Yet, how often in the busyness and demands of the workplace do we take time to pray?
“Time spent in prayer will yield more than that given to work. Prayer alone gives work it’s worth and its success. ” Andrew Murray
Prayer is the single most powerful and yet the most underutilized resource given to the body of Christ.
IPA-Kingsway Consultants will bring this most powerful resource to your place of business. How this will look will be unique as God guides for your company. Our Purpose is to deploy Marketplace Prayer Teams in partnership with Corporations to pray God’s purposes, plans and promises into and over corporations, their owners, management, staff, customers and vendors.
These are some of the options:
One, we will come on site to pray with you/management team and/or staff on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. Two, we will pray for your company and individual prayer requests in a weekly united gathering of corporate prayer teams. Three, we will provide one on one times with any employee who may desire individual prayer. We pray that if God moves in your heart to become a PRAY NOW person at your work that you will give us a call at IPA.
PRAY NOW Testimony
I was recently at lunch with Bryan Frenchak and the waitress was particularly busy and I did not sense the Lord leading to ask how I could pray for her, like I generally do in restaurants. In the midst of our meal though, the Lord reminded me to ask her how I could pray for her. Maria spoke little English but with surprise at being asked such a question said: “Please pray for my family.” I asked her if we could PRAY NOW with her right at the table. She agreed and so I prayed briefly for God’s blessing and favor and a deep appreciation was expressed and we saw an excitement in her eyes. I did not sense she had a relationship with Christ yet was not led to say anything more. Well, 5 minutes later she comes back to the table leading what turned out to be her supervisor and both of them were just beaming with radiant joy!
Bryan and I looked at each other as Judy shared in fluent English how just that morning she had asked Maria for the 4th time to consider coming to church with her. She had just shrugged and walked away. Judy then shared how Maria was so blown away that two men should pray for her right there in the restaurant and she Knew God had told her through that prayer that she MUST go to Judy’s church. Praise God and alleluia. We asked several questions about salvation through Judy and it became clear that she did not know the Lord personally. Judy assured us that she would see her into the family. YEA!! IPA
GIVING BEGETS BLESSING
If we continually press into the heart of God He keeps us on a path of increasing sanctification. A month ago I walked into Randall’s, turned a corner near the pharmacy area and staring me right in the face was a book with a one word title “FASTING”. There was no doubt this was the Lord, for now I am in a fast which I began on January 1st.
Nothing will cause you to walk in the process of sanctification more than a fast from the big daddy of all desires, FOOD!
Jentezen Franklin, the author of FASTING, gives an incredible brief call to action from Matthew: 6. I want to share how the principle of a cord of three strands not easily broken is be lived out in our daily walk with Christ.
Matthew: 6 includes three statements that make up this HEART CORD of three strands that when practiced produces an abundant Christian life. They are:
1. When you give….
2. When you pray….
3. When you fast….
When you give:
When I was 15 I waited tables as my first job. I very soon discovered that I could often read people by how generously they tipped. There were always the blow me away ones who surprised you either way! One thing I learnt was to be a generous tipper myself. Now I would like to encourage you that Giving is the FIRST strand or discipline that is a core essential of a fruitful life in Christ. Give your tithe to your local church; in the Pray Now story with Maria, our waitress, anything but an overly generous tip would have destroyed our witness of Christ’s love so witness or not when you eat out give a lot cheerfully.
If God leads you to give to Igniting Prayer Action you are enabling the growing work of IPA to take place particularly in our new focus of Marketplace prayer teams. Please ask God if He would have you give financially to IPA.
When you pray:
In my life the simple discipline of “PRAY NOW” is used by the Lord to bring His intervention in people’s lives every day. Will you accept the challenge now and GIVE the gift of prayer to someone God puts in your path today? If you would like to invite friends and family round for an evening we can do a mini school of prayer and share with you the adventure filled life of watching God act when you pray! In my joy journey with New Haven House of Prayer we are always looking for more intercessors to join our Divine Appointment (DA) teams, you will receive deep blessings as you simply minister through prayer on a DA team. Go to www.newhavenhop.com and click DA
When you fast:
This is the area of my weakness. I have fasted from 1 -21 day periods over the last 18 years but fasting has only seasonally been a regular discipline. Within the House of Prayer (HOP) movement there is the opportunity to join people round the world who fast every Tuesday (24hrs) and then the first Monday-Wednesday of every month (72hrs). I strongly encourage you to read the book “FASTING” by Jentezen Franklin. I have read 10 good books on fasting but this is the best, most practical, scripture based and motivating book of them all. Start a fast today.
One more Pray Now testimony;
On Sunday 10th January I pulled into a gas station near the airport to say farewell to Lovejoy who flew back to Zimbabwe. While waiting I filled up with gas and went into the kiosk and met Ms Baba who was from Palestine. After buying vitamin water and exchanging greetings I asked her if I could pray for her. I prayed for her health and God’s blessings in her life and you would have thought she had just won the lottery. She beamed at me and said, “No one has ever prayed for me.” Then when Lovejoy and Charity arrived it was below freezing so we went inside to Ms Baba and asked if we could pray inside and asked her if she knew Jesus as her Savior “Of course I am from the Holy Land.” When I had finished praying over Lovejoy and Charity in which we had included Ms Baba she declared with radiant joy in her face, “You have made this the best day I have ever had in this store!” Will you go and PRAY likewise?
GIVING
BEGETS
BLESSING
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