Tag Archives: Fasting

November 17, 2016 · 6:41 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (11/17/20160

A few years ago, I heard a Mike Bickle cassette tape where Bob Jones told about one of his visions. In it, Jones was watching a baseball game between the Lord’s team and Satan’s team. It was the bottom of the ninth with two outs.

Love was at bat and Satan threw his best pitch. Love hit the ball into the outfield for a base hit. “Love never fails.” Faith came to bat and promptly hit a base hit. “Faith works with love.” The next batter was named Godly Wisdom. Satan threw him four straight balls and Godly Wisdom was issued a walk. “Godly wisdom does not fall for Satan’s pitches.” The bases were loaded.

A player named Grace walked into the batter’s box. Jones noted the batter was not much to look at and wondered about his ability to handle the tense situation. Jones also noted Satan’s team relaxed when they saw the weak-looking Grace stepping up to the plate.

Grace swung at the first pitch and Jones said he had never seen a ball hit so hard. Satan’s center fielder, the prince of the air, leaped to catch the ball, but the ball went through his glove, hitting him in the head, and knocking him to the ground. The ball continued its flight over the fence for a grand slam home run. The Lord’s team won.

The Lord turned to Jones and said, “Do you know why Love, Faith, and Godly Wisdom could get on base, but they could not win the game for My team?”

Jones shook his head.

“If your love, your faith, or your wisdom could win the game for you alone, you would think you had done it. Your love, faith, and wisdom can only take you so far, but then you need My grace to bring you home.”

(An excerpt from Prophecy 101 by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2013, Amazon eBook)

My prayer today:

Lord, help us American believers to stay small in our own eyes, allowing You to increase in our nation while we decrease. (Based on 1 Samuel 15:17 and John 3:30)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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November 15, 2016 · 10:15 am

Tuesday’s Prayers for Asia (11/15/2016)

During a prayer conference call for Business Men’s Fellowship in late September of this year, I had a quick vision.

In it, I saw a large passenger jet taking off from a major international airport. As the jet lifted off the ground and began to climb upward, an explosion blasted the jet to pieces, destroying it before it ever reached its cruising altitude.

The vision troubled me, but I didn’t say anything at the time to the other men on the prayer line. I sought the Lord on its meaning and prayed every which way for it not to happen.

Last night, on another prayer conference call, I felt the Lord revealed the vision’s meaning:

Now, whatever our feelings may be about President-elect Donald Trump, I have no doubt the Lord caused or allowed his election to happen at this time in our nation’s history. We can all argue our differing viewpoints, but Scripture states that He removes leaders and sets up other leaders.

As I prayed along with the other men last night, I felt the Lord showed me that one of the main reasons He set Trump in place was to help heal our nation’s relations with Israel. These relations have been severely strained under President Obama’s leadership.

I believe the vision reveals how Satan desires to destroy any efforts by our government to change its present policies toward Israel and the Middle East before they have a chance to be set in place. You see, God wants America to stand with Israel!

We need to pray and fast for America’s partnership and alliance with Israel to take place according to the Lord’s plans.

My prayer today:

Lord, help America and its government to submit to Your will and Your plans for Israel, and therefore to resist Satan and his evil plans to destroy Israel. (Based on James 4:7)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 600 million people live in abject poverty in the slums of Asia.

6. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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November 10, 2016 · 3:00 pm

Thursday’s Prayers for America (11/10/2016)

Whether you’re a Christian who voted for Trump, Clinton, or one of the other candidates, we should all be able to agree on this prayer for today:

Lord, I pray that Your divine plans and redemptive purposes are fulfilled through the presidency of Donald Trump and his administration.

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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November 3, 2016 · 1:04 pm

Thursday’s Prayers for America (11/3/2016)

Most people have seen the movie, Titanic, and its fictional love story about a poor boy, Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), and a rich girl, Rose (Kate Winslet), on an ill-fated ocean voyage. The movie won the 1997 Oscar for Best Picture. Its box-office sales of over $1.8 billion ranks it as the second most successful movie of all time, behind Avatar.

Hollywood created its own fictional heroes for the movie script, but on April 14, 1912, there were many real heroes. One of them was named John Harper.

Harper, a thirty-nine year old widower and a Baptist preacher, was traveling to Chicago aboard the R.M.S Titanic on its maiden voyage with his six-year old daughter, Nana. He was scheduled to preach some evangelistic meetings at the Moody Church.

At 11:40 p.m., the Titanic hit an iceberg on the starboard side of the ship. As soon as Harper realized the ship was going to sink, he took his daughter to a lifeboat and placed her aboard. “Nana, I’ll see you again someday,” he said to her.

Then, while flares lit up the sky, he marched up and down the decks yelling, “Women, children, and unsaved into the lifeboats!”

At 2:20 a.m., a rumble arose from deep within the ship as it broke in half. Hundreds of people, including Harper, jumped into the 28-degree (-2 C) water as the Titanic slipped into its watery grave.

As soon as Harper hit the surface, he frantically swam from one person to the next, leading them to Jesus before the people succumbed to the icy waters and hypothermia. He asked one young man who clutched a piece of wood, “Are you saved?” The young man answered that he was not.

Harper tried to convince the young man, but the man refused to listen. Harper took off his life jacket and threw it at the man. “Here then, you need this more than I do,” said Harper as he swam off to other people.

A few minutes later, Harper returned to the man and successfully led him to Christ. Then, Harper attempted to swim to other people, but the icy waters were too much for him. “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” he shouted before he sank under the waters.

Of the 1528 people that went into the icy waters that night, lifeboats rescued only six. One of them was the young man who later recounted how Harper had led him to Christ.

Harper wasted no time swimming around in the icy waters talking about his Baptist credentials or the five pillars of Calvinism. He asked one question: “Are you saved?” He acted on what was the most important need at that tragic moment on April 14, 1912.

(An excerpt from New Wind Blowing by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2013, Amazon eBook)

My prayer today:

Lord, raise up American believers who are willing to deny themselves, their futures, their legacies, their comforts, their safety, and pick up their crosses daily, and follow You. (Based on Luke 9:23)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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November 3, 2016 · 8:04 am

Lord, Help Me Love Democrats (Part 12)

 

Dad and I rarely talked about politics, but I remember one conversation as a senior in college.

“How do you choose which political candidate to vote for?” I asked.

“I always vote for the best person,” Dad said, puffing on his pipe.

“Really? Have you ever voted for a Democrat or even looked into their positions on issues?

“No, I’ve never once voted for a Democrat or even bothered to check them out. They never measured up well against Republicans.”

“So, you always vote for the best person as long as he’s a Republican, right?”

“Yeah, that pretty well sums up my political philosophy.”

As you can guess from this exchange, my parents voted conservative and raised me to think the same way, which I did until attending college. There I discovered being a conservative just because my parents, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne voted like that were not winning arguments with my classmates, seventy percent of whom came from the Chicago area. I soon followed the lemming herd, becoming a liberal like most of the University of Illinois students.

I remained a dedicated liberal until my salvation in 1985, at which time I changed my voting status to Independent. I did this not for any political reasons, but because I no longer cared or read about politics. It seemed like such a waste of time when compared to seeking the Lord.

A few weeks after the 1992 presidential election, I happened to watch a TBN television program, featuring Pentecostal preacher Carlton Pearson. He read a copy of a letter, which was written by Paul Cain and addressed to Rick Joyner. The letter related the dream Paul Cain had the night before the presidential election about the reasons why the Lord was placing Bill Clinton into the office of President of the United States. As a sign that this dream was from the Lord, Paul Cain received the headlines for five major newspapers on the day following the election on the morning of November 4, 1992. The letter was postmarked and time stamped: 10:30 a.m., November 3, 1992. The five headlines proved to be accurate.

I had read the book, Some Said It Thundered, by David Pytches and knew a little about Paul Cain and his prophetic ministry. But yet, Cain’s accuracy and words still shocked me. To be honest, I figured Satan elected President Clinton into office, but the letter blew my thoughts about the election out of the water. The letter also opened my eyes to the possibilities of God revealing ahead of time who would win a political election.

Cain’s prophecies directed believers to pray for Bill Clinton and his administration in order for God’s divine plans to become realities in America.

(The above is an excerpt from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who, Amazon eBook, © 2014 by Larry Nevenhoven)

(Continued in Part 13…if you are interested, the full series, which was written in 2014, may be seen here.) 

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October 25, 2016 · 4:39 am

Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (10/25/2016)

Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry?

Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patient die?

Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand?

Can we sit at ease in Zion, with the world around us – DAMNED?

(Why Revival Tarries? by Leonard Ravenhill

My prayer today:

Lord, help us American believers to hear the cries of the lost people in Asia who have no hope without Jesus. Give us no rest until we do something on their behalf.

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for  prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 600 million people live in abject poverty in the slums of Asia.

6. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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October 24, 2016 · 6:48 am

Lord, Help Me Love Democrats (Part 2)

In the late 1940’s, Ja-shil Choi had her spiritual eyes opened by the Lord to the ungodly direction South Korea was heading. Her heart was broken by the nation’s sin and she knew something had to be done.

At the time, 3% of South Koreans were Christians. These believers were poor and powerless, mainly because of Japan’s occupation of South Korea from 1910 until the end of WWII. Japan banned Christianity during the occupation. Those believers who ignored the ban and were caught by the Japanese were thrown into prison or executed.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (James 1:2-3) 

The “prayer mountain movement” began during Japan’s occupation. Believers climbed up mountains during the late night hours and prayed until sunrise. They then climbed down to put in a full day’s work before returning again that night.

Ja-shil Choi followed the examples of these early believers and began fasting and praying for her nation, even though she was finishing up Bible school and had three children. She often prayed through the night for ten hours or so. She continued this routine for almost ten years before she met David Yonggi Cho.

The two then began a church in Ja-Shil Choi’s house. The two fasted and prayed 5 to 6 hours per day in what they referred to as a prayer tent.

Their first church eventually grew to one thousand members. David Yonggi Cho then started a second church, which grew to ten thousand members. Along the way, David Yonggi Cho married Ja-shil Choi’s daughter.

A third church, Yoido Full Gospel Church, was built in 1973.

Today, Yoido has over 800,000 members with weekly prayer meetings numbering in the hundreds of thousands. A Christian retreat, Prayer Mountain, has facilities for 10,000 believers to spend time in secluded prayer and fasting.

South Korea is now home to six of the world’s largest churches, ranging in size from 47,000 to 800,000. Christianity has grown to 30% and South Korea’s economy is one of the strongest in the world.

How much of this came about because of Ja-Shil Choi’s faithfulness?

We won’t know for sure until we arrive in heaven, but my guess would be: a large percentage of it.

(Continued in Part 3…if you are interested, the full series, which was written in 2014, may be seen here.)

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October 23, 2016 · 3:44 pm

Lord, Help Me Love Democrats (Part 1)

What national leader do you trust? President Obama? Vice President Biden? Senate Majority Leader McConnell? Senate Minority Leader Reid? Speaker of the House Ryan? House Majority Leader McCarthy? House Minority Leader Pelosi? Any senator? Any congressional representative? Or even the Republican Party or Democratic Party? Can you believe much of anything these leaders ever say?

If you have the common sense of an amoeba, your answer has to be “NO.”

But maybe you think your favorite politicians and favorite political parties are better than the opposition because your favorites lie less than the other political side. Okay, maybe you are correct with your assumptions, but a liar who prevaricates fewer times than another politician is still what? That’s right! That politician is still a liar.

Good golly Miss Molly!

How did America end up with shameless liars for leaders who have not an ounce of remorse in them, even when they are caught in their lies?

“We have met the enemy and he is us.” (Pogo Comic Strip poster, Walt Kelly, Earth Day, 1970)

Most of us Christians are quick to point our fingers at politicians, judges, attorneys, the media, talk show hosts, or whomever and blame them for America’s downfall. But that is foolish because we believers are the ones who should be wearing sackcloth and ashes, bowing down before everyone in our shame for allowing America to undergo such a horrendous transformation on our watch. We are the blame! Repeat: we are the blame!

It won’t be long before both political parties will be labeling the 2016 Presidential Elections as “the most important election” in the history of America. So to be ahead of the curve, let’s look at what I consider are some bad choices we believers have made over the last sixty years, which need to be handled now.

(Continued in Part 2…if you are interested, the full series, which was written in 2014, may be seen on Scribd here.)

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October 20, 2016 · 8:23 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (10/20/2016)

On the one hand, there are Christian leaders and followers who think if we believers do not vote for Donald Trump that we will  have almost committed an unforgivable sin. Because after all, Trump may be the chosen one, much like Samson or King Cyrus, who has been chosen to lead America back to a godly path.

And should we choose not to vote, we will have broken some type of scriptural covenant with the Lord.

I would guess these views are held by 60 – 75% of white American Evangelical Christians.

Okay, let’s say all of these Christian leaders and believers are correct. Then, what will happen if Hillary is elected President?

Will the Trump-backing believers point their fingers at us lesser ones and blame us for America’s demise?

This is not a pretty scenario for the Body of Christ!

My prayer today:

Lord, open the spiritual eyes of American believers to see the traps laid by the accuser of the brethren to bring strife to the Body of Christ, which will render the Church powerless in the days ahead because You hate strife. (Based on Revelation 12:10 and Proverbs 6:19)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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October 18, 2016 · 8:03 am

Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (10/18/2016)

The door burst open and Quon stood in the doorway, his face red with anger.

“Next time, you better have a baby boy or I’ll send you back to North Korea. You’ll end up in prison, and this time, you’ll die there,” he screamed with his fists clenched, ready to strike.

Twenty-year old Soo Jin flinched, lifting her arms to protect her face from the expected blows by her elderly Chinese husband. She said nothing, knowing her excuses would only provoke him to greater wrath.

“And don’t even spend time thinking about your baby,” Quon said, “she’s dead.”

“How? Can I see her?” said Soo Jin, looking up at his gray whiskered face, but revealing little response in her vacant eyes.

Quon shook his head.

“I told you if you had a girl baby I’d throw her in the river and I did,” he exclaimed as he turned and partially closed the door. He added, “Tomorrow, you’ll clean the barn. It smells like you. You’re such a loser.”

He slammed the door and locked it.

Soo Jin leaned back against the wall with her knees pulled up near her chest. Her breasts ached from engorgement, but the vaginal discharge from the delivery had ceased. She hoped to wash up in the morning after finishing her chores and then change into clean clothes. Yet, changing clothes presented a problem as Quon would watch on and might be aroused by her nakedness, something she could not bear to think about.

Although exhausted and filled with grief for her dead daughter, Soo Jin braced herself and refused to curl up on the mat. She needed to make decisions, ones she had postponed until after her baby was born. It now was time.

“Oh Jesus, if only You could help me today and not just when I’m dead and in heaven,” she whispered, not waiting for an answer or expecting one.

 

Fourteen months earlier, a frail woman at the prison camp near Hoeryong, North Korea, just across the Tumen River from China, told Soo Jin about Jesus. The woman quoted John 3:16 and stated that if Soo Jin believed in Jesus she would go to heaven when she died.

It was an easy decision to make because heaven sounded better than any future Soo Jin could ever have dreamt for herself. She asked Jesus into her heart. Peaceful warmth comforted her, but agony and hunger soon dimmed its effects. It was now a distant memory hidden in the recesses of her heart.

A friend convinced Soo Jin to escape the prison camp with her. This was another easy decision. Eating rice husks, having electric cattle prods stuck in every body cavity by guards, and watching mothers boil young children for food had driven her close to the edge of insanity and suicide. Escape seemed to be her only answer.

The two girls’ plan was simple: avoid the guards, cross the Tumen River at night, and live happily ever after in China. Their plan succeeded on two out of three counts.

As soon as they crossed the river, two traffickers captured them. Soo Jin’s thirty-year old friend was sold for 3,000 yuan ($761) to a Chinese prostitution ring. Soo Jin was purchased by the elderly Chinese bachelor, Quon, for 7,000 yuan ($1,066).

Thus began her yearlong ordeal at Quon’s farm. Farm chores. House chores. Constant sexual assaults. Beatings. Verbal abuse because she was a North Korean, a loser in Quon’s eyes. It all blended itself into a living Hell for Soo Jin.

Soo Jin made up her mind. She would no longer be a slave and a sperm depository for Quon. She would escape and take her chances. Maybe, this time, she would make it to South Korea.

“Oh, Jesus, why did You create me to be such a loser?” Soo Jin whispered.

(Excerpt from Deceived Dead and Delivered by Larry Nevenhoven, ©2013, Amazon eBook)

Although the above is a fictional story, it is totally based on facts. And sadly, this nightmare continues for thousands and thousands of women in Asia.

My prayer today:

Lord, help us American believers to realize we will reap in the future what we sew today so that our hearts will be broken and opened up to praying and fasting for female prisoners in Asia. (Based on Galatians 6:7)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for  prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 600 million people live in abject poverty in the slums of Asia.

6. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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