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Dear People of the Northstate Vision:
I send this prayer alert in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and more destructive fires
in our own region. It comes in the weeks of anticipation of the annual Pray California
School of Prayer an opportunity for praying people from all over the state to sit under
the teaching of world class leaders Alistair Petrie and Bill Johnson and more importantly
be in sustained prayer and worship with them for the fulfilling of God’s destiny for
California. It accompanies the release of multiple prophetic words about California at
this time that seem to compete against each other in terms of dire predictions of judgment,
urgent calls to avert that judgment through the prayers of the righteous, and heart-igniting
visions of God’s plan to bless our state and use us to lead the nation into transformation.
(How many know that it is the practice of prayer that makes us righteous.) I believe that
all of this seemingly contradictory material has its origin in the Lord.
As we pray this very day for the victims of Katrina - and for Ophelia who is just now
coming ashore in the Carolinas - we should be praying much more for a thoroughgoing national
repentance. This is not because we are so bad as a nation, but because we are so much more
needy of God’s grace than we know or are willing to admit. This morning’s headlines
shout that New Orleans is going to be rebuilt exactly as it was and perhaps moreso - by the
very state and local leaders who failed miserably to protect their people, held back available
aid, and accused others of failing in their duty while outrageously inflating casualty figures -
but at national expense. These leaders brag now that Katrina did no more damage to the French
Quarter than a particularly rowdy Mardi Gras.
Some of the prophetic words I cited above speak of destruction meted out to San Francisco
and Los Angeles - no more and no less sinful cities than New Orleans with its history of
corruption and the excesses and perversions of Mardi Gras. Reality is that God desires not
the death of anyone - but I don’t know whether His will is better served by a disaster
that serves as a wake-up call (so far the disasters we have seen have proven insufficient) or
by the sudden onset of His mercy. He used both approaches in the Old Testament when dealing
with Israel. I do know that we are called to pray for His mercy and His justice - one does not
exist independently of the other – and for His destiny to be fulfilled in California.
Once again, let us use Matthew 11:2-6 as our model.
I know also that Pray California will call for a period of prayer and fasting at the school
of prayer in Chico. (It is not too late to register by going to the web site at
www.praycal.org.) Those of us in leadership are still
working out details but it will be as generic a call as we can make - not because of confusion
but because we believe that God is calling us to stand in the gap as open vessels for the
infilling of His Holy Spirit. I ask the people in our network to pray Matthew 11:2-6 and
His will be done - and keep praying it until we see unmistakably what He means to do with us
who become His righteous through our praying.
Another thing I ask of you today. We begin our annual round of school prayer walks this c
oming Sunday. I will keep you updated as I schedule more schools on our web site - which is
finally up and running again after several months of being down and needing extensive repair.
Praise the Lord and thanks to Charles Davidson our webmaster. For now we have scheduled Anderson
Middle School (Ferry Street, Anderson) for Sunday, 9/18, at 3:00; Prairie Elementary School
(Dersch Road, Anderson) for Sunday, 9/25, at 3:00 PM; Anderson Heights Elementary (Spruce
Street, Anderson) for Monday, 9/26, at 3:15; Enterprise High School (Churn Creek Road, Redding)
for Saturday, 10/8, at 9:30; and Anderson High School (Ferry Street, Anderson) the same day at
2:00.
If you live outside of Shasta County or have never attended an intercessors’ summit we
ask that you simply pray for us as we walk these schools. If you have attended a summit or have
been invited by us to come along we urge you to turn out for as many of these prayer walks as
you can. We are chronically short-handed for the schools and we have seen schools go from places
of darkness to distinguished schools and community centers in a short period – but only
when we show up so that God can show off. Please call or e-mail me to let me know when and where
you can attend.
Please pray also for the intercessors’ summit that will be held at Redding First Nazarene
Church this weekend that we will be a blessing to our city.
As you pray over these issues be sure to begin and end with praise and thanks for all that
God is doing and giving. We can’t out-do Him and we can’t out-give Him.
In Christ,
Jim
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