Not too long ago we had a man that we had been witnessing to for ten years pass away. He was one of the most difficult individuals I personally have ever had to share Jesus with. I wish I could tell you exactly where he made his eternal home, but I cannot. Some have said that he told them he had accepted Jesus. Whether this is true or not, I cannot say, since he would tell me the same thing, but then turn around and just be plain old evil the next day. I had watched God's dealings with this man over the years. Honestly, I never questioned God, but I did wonder what on earth He was up to sometimes. It was after the man's death that the Lord said to me, "If you were dying, would you still love me?" It stopped me in my tracks and I had to really think. After all, most of us love life and truly love living. To be told, as this man had been, that death was going to be immediate and imminent, how would I really feel? Suppose I did not have that great a relationship with the Lord to begin with, as I felt was the case with this person, wouldn't I be mad? Never mind if I had smoked and drank myself to an early grave, I'd still be a little ticked at what I felt was injustice. Now, maybe you're more rational, but I have met people that really feel this way and talking to them about Jesus can be a little unnerving. You know when the Lord said that to me I had totally forgotten that I had been wondering about His dealings with this man and the former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon. And I got to wondering, God does everything in His power for us as people to go around our own anger and musings against Him to get us more pliable into accepting His gracious salvation. The man we had been talking to had been told on more than one occasion that he was dying. Each time the doctors would come back and tell him they were wrong and he would live. This last and most recent time I even thought it was over until I heard the news that he wasn't dying after all, and that they weren't exactly sure what was wrong with him. I got to thinking that the way in which the Lord dealt with this man was perfect for his own personality. He happened to be stubborn, difficult, not given to truth telling and frankly, if he could get away with something, he would. It didn't make it any easier that he was an old man who was hard of hearing---or at least he used that problem effectively, as he once told me himself that he did. Bless his heart, what a character this guy was. He had caused us much trouble and difficulty over the years, and yet I would watch God intervene to woo and draw him to Christ. Many would come and share the Gospel with him. It mattered little what I thought of him, God loved even him. I got to thinking how, in some small way it is similar with Sharon of Israel. Many love him, yet there are many that consider him their enemy. Yet God does not care one way or the other. We have no idea how much he can hear in whatever coma he is in and how Jesus can draw him to Himself. He is being given a short time here on earth in the invalid state that he is in for a purpose. We may not always see that purpose, but God is doing a work before his death. For those of you that are witnessing to difficult people in your lives, keep up the good work. You may never see the purpose, but God knows the answer. We're praying for you this month and the folks you are ministering to. You can always email us your prayer requests. Be encouraged in Christ that the word of the Lord you are sowing will not return to God void, but accomplish the task it was set out to do.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His mercy endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34) We can be thankful this month that some madman somewhere has not attempted to blow the world up by nuclear weapons. We can be thankful that the Lord is in control and that His mercy does endure forever. For Americans that are going to the voting box this month, I would ask those that pray with us on this site that we could pray that folks would vote for those people that would follow the mandates of the Lord expressed in the Old and New Testaments. This is a serious prayer request this month because many of you from other countries do not know the turmoil that is unfolding in the U.S. Without going into detail all I would do is ask that you pray that only those who will obey the Old and New Testaments would be elected to public office (They may not necessarily believe, but that they would be willing to obey its principles). This is a personal request and not one from the ministry. In any event, pray as the Holy Spirit leads you. Please don't forget to give thanks to the Lord for the many blessings He has bestowed upon you who believe. The Bible tells us to pray for our officials and public servants that have been put in place over us in our individual countries. So we would like to come in agreement with those of you from other countries and come in prayer for your public officials as well as our own that they would follow the desires of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We also invite the Holy Spirit into each country's governmental decisions, as they are represented by those of us that pray together on this site. This month I also wanted to pass a Scripture along to you from Ezekiel 28:21-26. The geography that we are looking at here is modern day Lebanon. You can read this Scripture and pray as the Lord reveals His will to you. Lastly, several months back we talked about monopolies forming when big corporations join and try to stop the flow of information or services to us. Well, as many of you know in America we are facing such a barrage from cable and communications companies that want to control our Internet. For those of you familiar with this situation, please pray as the Lord leads you. You can email your personal or ministry requests to us. We will continue to pray for those of you that have emailed us in the past. Blessings in Christ Jesus as you pray.

I'm writing this in August for September, but this burden has been with me for several months. In fact, in our church I started preaching about crossing the Jordan and going onto Jericho sometime ago (see the feature article). I know historically that that is a jump, but for us I meant it spiritually. So this month I felt the need to share two burdens with you. This is always a month of great celebration for God's people. I can remember a few years ago on this site that I shared about the feast of tabernacles and other holy days that take place during this time period of the month of Tishri (See the 2003 October articles). As you read the feature article this month, you will see that I believe the Lord is getting ready to deposit revelation into many that will deliver and set captives free. So we're praying to be open to the time of our visitation from the Lord. The second burden is not as easy, but falls in line with the feast days. In 2001 the Lord shared with me that 'David' would cause a breach that would ultimately result in the loss of 70,000 lives. B U T, if 'David' would repent we would see a major revival in the very area in which that breach took place. As I meditated on this, shared, preached and wrote about it, some of the folks in our ministry got revelation on it that the 'David' the Lord was talking about was the church. I was in several meetings listening to national church leaders that were in Washington during the decision making leading up to the invasion of Iraq. I was stunned to hear these people actually pray that we go into Iraq. I had to agree with the folks in our ministry that one aspect of that word had to do with a breach by some in the church concerning the war in Iraq. Every once in a while I will have the opportunity to still hear some of the people involved during that period of time who prayed that we go into Iraq as a country. I've still felt the need to call out on this website and even in our own church and tell people that may have been swayed to pray that we go into Iraq to repent of the pride involved. For those that prayed in such a manner, I believe their 'breach' was the same as David's was in 1 Chronicles 21; namely, they were counting on soldiers instead of counting on the praying priesthood. The reason why I felt the need to share this again in this prayer column this month is because this is not only a holiday for the habitation of the King with the blowing of trumpets and all the other wonderful things that take place, but it is also the Day of Atonement where we pray and repent of what we have done. I'm making a request for those of you that prayed for America to go into Iraq that you ask for the Lord's forgiveness. I believe that when we repent of this one item, we will, in time, probably not immediately, but in time we will see a great revival in the Middle Eastern areas. In 2002 and later I had several words concerning a revival in Iran. Are the two connected? Very possibly, especially if certain forces in Iraq win, as they seem that they are, Iran will control Iraq. Know one wants to see that happen, but if it does, it may very well open a door that God will use to revive a nation, even a whole region. Don't get me wrong, I don't see some rosy picture for some of these outcomes. But I do believe the Lord when He tells me that if we repent, we will see revival in many places. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to see it everywhere. Let's pray as we shout, blow the trumpets and repent that we will see deliverance for all. As always, you can email your requests to us and we will pray. God Bless you as you pray in the Holy Ghost...

As many of you know, we have been praying for Israel these last few months, with the exception of last month. This is usually how the Lord speaks to us. He has us pray for many months and then right before the problem or issue manifests itself, He has us pray about something else. But this month is somewhat different. I have never felt a release from praying for Israel or the return of our troops from Iraq before 2007. As many of you remember the word of the Lord to us in 2003 that we would see casualties of 70,000 or more if we did not pray. Unfortunately this loss of life seems to be manifesting. The Iraqis are nearing 40,000 dead since 2003. If we include our troops, then the numbers get even closer. If you will remember this year when everyone was worrying about praying for Ariel Sharon, the Lord made it clear to me that we should be praying for ourselves, God would take care of Mr. Sharon's outcome. Looking back, I think we can all agree that that is certainly true. I've had some odd burdens the last few weeks concerning the economy in our own country, the peace of Jerusalem and of course the return of our troops from overseas. Please continue to pray for these needs, as I fear it will get much worse before anything seems to get better. For those of you that preach the Gospel in many different nations, please know that you are the soldiers that will make the difference between a world at peace or a world dedicated to constant war. We pray for your continued success and we pray for our own as we go forth sowing precious seed. I have a burden this month for a feature article, but I also felt the need to leave up the topic of leadership for another month. So please continue to pray and log on next month to this link for the prayer requests and the feature article. Believe it or not the Lord really does have solutions to our present world troubles. Obviously not everyone will come on board with His will. But for those of us that look for His solutions, we can read about them and help others to accomplish them as well as do what we are called to do. Remember that you can email your prayer requests to us. For those of you that are in Israel and have emailed us, we are praying for your safety. We are also praying for the safety of many Lebanese Christians, as they are having a horrendous time right now. While you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for those Christians serving our Lord in Muslim countries. They serve Jesus at great risk and peril. They are on the frontlines. Pray also for those that happen to be in more moderate Middle Eastern countries that can play a role in moderating between the madmen trying to conquer the world and those desiring peace. As always, pray that our troops come home before 2007 gets underway.

This month I feel the need to pray for several situations around the world. The first is nuclear proliferation among countries with madmen at the switches. The testing of long-range missiles capable of reaching 3000 miles or more is not as dangerous for the United States as it is for Israel. We are already seeing a shift in power to Asian countries. What concerns me more is the lack of the preaching of the Gospel in these places that would or could limit the power of madmen in these countries. There was no other single reason why Europe survived the 1940s except that countries with the compassion and mission of Jesus helped to rebuild them, while the people of Europe had a sense of the true destiny that Christ gives. When we invite Jesus into these places things change. His handiwork may not always be obvious to us, but He will answer prayer. Praying for the youth in these countries as well as our own invites Jesus to move through the next generation. It is time that the next generation starts to think of innovative ways to change the world---not just for capitalism and their market share, but to erase specific diseases, develop the many different fuel sources other than petroleum that are available to us and to move us from the horse and buggy period. Christians around the world should be raising their children up to become inventors and leaders in government, the sciences and industry. For those of you living in the United States, pray for this country and the health of the next generation spiritually. From January to June we talked about the prophetic word of the Lord developing the creative mind of man. This is what America needs now. Remember Joshua, the Jordan campaign and the taking of Jericho. Without that creative power of the word of God, all would have been lost for them. But Joshua also forgot about developing the next generation of leaders and Israel remained stagnate throughout the time period of the Judges. As you pray, possibly ask the Lord what you can do to help the children or people around you think outside the box, to become innovative thinkers. While it is true that the Lord can use a dunce as easily as a genius, it doesn't hurt to ask Him to help our thinking processes to solve problems that we don't even know exist yet, but that He sees and understands we need solutions for. Remember that you can always email your prayer requests to us. Be blessed as you pray.

Quite often in the past on this page link the Lord has given us needs to pray for that had not yet occurred and had not been made known in the media, at least we had not personally seen any media coverage. On other occasions we were exhorted to pray for events that we did know about. This month I sense the need to repeat our prayers for the nation of Israel. Is there any doubt in any of our minds that madmen still wish to acquire weapons in an effort to wipe a nation off the face of the earth? While the request this month is simple and not lengthy, praying for the peace of Jerusalem is the only city in the whole of Scripture that we are commanded to pray for by name that is still inhabited and very much relevant, even thousands of years after the psalmist asked the readers to pray. May the Lord bless you as you pray, and remember that you can always email your requests to us for prayer. We continue to lift you all up before the Lord.

Our update for prayer this month is both troubling and exciting. Some of you might remember our update for January 2004 (it is archived here). The Lord showed us that we needed to pray about a prophecy that some in the Muslim world believe concerning ushering in their Messiah. Well, during 2005 we learned that the Iranian president believes that building and exploding a nuclear bomb will help to accompany their Messiah into the world. The Lord keeps reminding me of the prayer request for January 2004 and the need to continue to pray about what we shared at that time. I also sense that He wants us to pray for Israel and the temple mount and all those who minister as temple servants now and in the future. I speak mainly of Christians serving in Israel ministering the Gospel to the Jews and also those of Jewish descent who would also minister before the Lord. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads you. We continue to pray for your requests as you email them. God bless you during our celebration of Resurrection Sunday.

The Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions of the United States are getting ready for the upcoming hurricane season. We've been praying about this for sometime, but I was not prepared for the answer the Lord gave me recently. While God cannot be blamed for creating last year's horrific season it did draw many closer to the Lord. Yet this year He clearly told me, for the first time, that the pollution that we are creating is to blame for the heating of our atmosphere. He showed me China as a representative of this. While the US is the largest polluter, new emerging societies are now beginning to add their own volumes of pollution. It's a bit like the straw that broke the camel's back. While the earth might have been able to handle the one large polluter, by adding others, it is simply too much. Not only should America cut back on fossil fuels but we need to make great strides in finding alternative fuel sources. Let's pray that we do. Let's ask the Lord to give new ideas to people for up-cycling, not just recycling waste as well as ideas on mass producing new fuel sources for our planet. As always, we pray for your requests. God bless you as you pray.

Psalm 87 says, "He has set his foundation on the holy mountain; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: Selah. I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me---Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush---and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.' Indeed, of Zion it will be said, 'This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her.' The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: 'This one was born in Zion.' Selah. As they make music they will sing, 'All my fountains are in you.'" Sometimes I think we forget that God really does love all the people of the world. Whether or not they will come in agreement with the Old and New Testaments and believe in Jesus Christ, thus living in peace may not be a reality immediately. This update is unusual in that I have quoted a Psalm as opposed to just sharing a prayer request. If I were to go into the dynamics of this Psalm, I believe it would become a teaching, and that is not the purpose of this update. Pray as the Lord gives you revelation in the Holy Spirit concerning this portion of Scripture. Concerning Israel's leadership, probably too many people have opinions. I believe it was in 2003 the Lord allowed me to write to a pastor concerning the future of both Arafat and Sharon while both men were doing just fine. God loves people, and will always give them time to come to a saving knowledge of Messiah. Let's just suppose that Christians are right and Jesus is the Messiah. What might happen if one got to heaven's gate without acknowledging Jesus? This is why I believe God gives people time to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Our God is a healing and saving God and I pray that for all the people of the world, especially those that God makes leaders. In another request that I would like to share this month it has to do with something that we may not see take place for many years. The Lord allowed me to know, and frankly, I'm not sure that I understand it totally, that there will come a merger with a major communications company and a telephone company. You might say that that is not ground breaking news. It probably won't be. I'm not sure that it will even be in the western half of the globe. But it has the potential to start a process that might not be healthy for the planet as it will be a practice, as it becomes bigger and bigger of controlling more and more of what mankind hears and sees, blocking out more and more of the word of God, through the Old and New Testaments. While I'm not trying to be derogatory of a company, it will become similar to Wal-Mart's practices in consumerism only within the communication's realm. Again, I'm not sure how you should pray. Pray as the Holy Spirit gives you understanding. I almost didn't release this here on this site, but I believe the Lord wants me to. I'm not sure you will ever hear about this merger, until, of course, everybody already knows about it. And again, I'm not sure who, what or where it is, only that we are to pray. And I am not into the dooms-day scenarios that so easily attach themselves to this kind of a word. I'm not thinking dooms-day, I'm thinking of something being dedicated to Jesus and the people of this company coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Think and pray positively. As always, you can email us your prayer requests and we will pray for you. God bless you as you pray.