A few days ago I wrote how God put it on my heart last year to pray for revival and to call others to pray as well.

I've been rereading some of the prayers posted here at tent of meeting, both the guest prayers posted here as well as many of the other prayers (comments) offered up here for revival. And with all those I know there have been countless other prayers offered up that have not been posted here.

I have to stand amazed at what God has been doing here. I thank God for each of you and for the prayers you have offered up for revival in the Church. Let us consider that when we pray we are speaking with the living God, the God of all flesh, the God who sits enthroned above the earth!

Though we may not be many, let us not despise the day of small things. Our God is mighty and He continues to work immeasurably above all we can ask or imagine to the praise of His glory for all eternity.

I have been so blessed by those whom God has brought together to this "tent of meeting" and by the many prayers you have offered up for revival. I know some of you, but there are some of you I don't really know well, and there are others I don't really know at all.  But I do know that God knows you all. He sees us and welcomes us all as we seek His face in prayer and for Jesus' sake, He hears our prayers as we pray according to His will.

As I thought about this I couldn't help but wonder: If I have been blessed so much by what is happening here, how much more is our Lord blessed when we all come to Him in prayer? The Lord Jesus Christ died for us so we might seek our Father's face in prayer, to enter into His glorious presence with boldness and confidence, so we might not to be anxious about anything, but that we might instead cast our cares on Him, including our cares about His Church. Many of us have great cares about the Church because God has opened our eyes to see the ruins in the Church, including those in our own lives. As children of God when we avail ourselves of the high privilege of prayer purchased for us at Calvary, is not our God blessed and glorified beyond what we can imagine? Christ died in order that dead, lifeless sinners like us might be made alive and holy and sanctified and able to enter into loving fellowship with God the Father without fear. How He must rejoice that we are coming to commune with Him in the most holy place and intercede for His Church! (Please see my post about treasuring the blood-bought privilege of prayer.)

In the past few days it's struck me how truly wonderful the work is God is doing among us. I've come to see in a greater way the privilege (and responsibility) we have in coming together in prayer. We have had brothers and sisters in Christ coming to this website from all around the world, from all across the Body of Christ, seeking God's face in prayer. The grace of God, the love of God and the Spirit of God have been compelling us, working in us do will and do to His good pleasure, so we might come together into the presence of God with one mind and one heart and seek Him. We come with one plea, the blood of Jesus. We all admit we are poor and needy, yet we come with with a holy boldness to ask Him to revive us again for we know His desire for His people is that we be alive and bright and shining forth His glory and praise throughout the earth. We are in desperate need of revival through His sovereign Spirit.

As I've been reading in Nehemiah, I think I may have felt like Nehemiah as he looked out and saw the wall being rebuilt and the gates being repaired, as he saw everyone working and doing repairs on his specific area on the wall. It is an amazing thing to stand back and see any group of people being like-minded about anything. And how much more glorious it is when the people of God come together, in this case to seek God's face in unified prayer, with one mind. By the grace of God at work in us, we are attempting to put aside our own interests to seek that the glory of God be restored to the Church once again as we pray for the restoration, renewal and revival of His Church, starting with ourselves. How wonderful it is that the one God and Father of us all has been calling some members of His Body to be watchmen, to seek His face in prayer on behalf of His Church for the sake of His holy Name.

Like Paul, I have great joy and rejoicing (yes, my eyes are tear-filled now) to think of all of you coming together in His Name to seek His face on behalf of His Bride. Certainly it gives our Father joy to see His children unified for the sake of His Name, for the sake of His Gospel, for the purpose of unified prayer for His Church. My continuing prayer for us is that our Lord would keep us of the same mind, having the same love and remaining in full accord and of one mind. May our good Shepherd protect, guard and guide us as we continue to seek His face in prayer for revival.

Prior to these verses about our having the same mind and the same love, Paul wrote:

Let's make no mistake about it: Prayer is striving. Though we are not striving physically side by side like the Israelites who repaired the wall in Jerusalem, we are striving spiritually side by side. Paul wrote that we ought to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. As we come together to the throne of grace as one Body we are maintaining that God-imparted unity. Truly we are showing that

Though we are not physically repairing, prayer is work. Isn't it sometimes harder to lift a prayer than to lift a brick or hammer a nail? We are laboring against powers and principalities in the heavenly realms. The other day I wrote here about some of the opposition Nehemiah and Israel met in rebuilding the wall and how we should not be surprised when we meet with similar opposition.

We must remember that anytime we seek the welfare and well-being of the children of God (see Neh. 1:10), we know there will eventually be opposition and we will be tempted to be frightened. I am praying God would keep the vision clear and the passion fiery in the hearts of those of us He has called to this ministry of intercession. I am also praying God's Holy Spirit would continue to implant that calling even more deeply in our hearts, so it might bear abounding fruit of persevering and zealous prayer for revival. From time to time we all have our vision dim and our passion flicker, yet our God is gracious and merciful to us and never fails to call us back to Him so we might walk in all the works He has ordained for us.

One of the devil's favorite tactics is to bring about dissension and division within the Church of God. May we never divide over nonessentials to our faith, yet may we never compromise on the essentials. And may our God give us love in all things. (For more on that, please see my post here.)

I am praying our heavenly Father would continue to call and raise up more watchmen to join us on the walls. His eyes run to and fro across the earth. There are people from all around the world who have come to visit this website. I am praying God might use our prayers to spur those He is calling on to concerted prayer, either here or elsewhere. May He put a desire to pray in their hearts as He has ours, and may all of us continue to seek His face together in prayer side by side striving on the walls...being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

May Almighty God strengthen us and sustain us so we might labor in our particular places on the wall and pray without ceasing. The Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest, intercedes for us without ceasing at the right hand of the Father. Our God neither sleeps nor slumbers. May Christ's eternal Spirit help us and work in us so we take no rest and give Him no rest. May He strengthen us mightily to persevere in prayer. Though we will work and labor hard, may we gain our needed strength from remaining in Christ's easy yoke and then work out what He is working in us. Our God will never fail to provide all we need. May we all be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Lord God, complete in each of us the work You have begun. We long to see ourselves and Your Church revived. Please establish Your Church once again and make us a praise in the earth to Your glory alone.

Today's prayer includes a bit of a reflection on some of what led to the start of tent of meeting. If you have never done so, you may wish to read more of that story here (please see section II.- Prayer). (I would also encourage you to read more about tent of meeting here and here.)

I am praying our Lord would continue to keep all of us He has called to prayer steadfast, immovable, always abounding in His work knowing that our labor in Him is not in vain.

Seeking His face with great joy and assurance,
Karen

Nehemiah 2:9  Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10  But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah, the Ammonite servant, heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

11  So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12  Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. 13  I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14  Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15  Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16  And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

Holy Father,

A year ago today, You put it in my heart
Though You were already putting it on my heart
That day a year ago I heard Your voice through Your Word

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you...I Samuel 12:23

You put a desire to pray in my heart
You put a desire to pray for Your people in my heart
A year ago today, You put it in my heart
I am trusting You to keep it in my heart
You who began this good work in my heart will complete it
To Your glory alone

Just when I forget or lose heart
Your grace flows down from on high
Your fire descends
To light the cooling coals
Your Spirit thunders
To shake lukewarm complacency
Your Word speaks
To awaken dormant passion

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray...

A year ago today, You put it in my heart
You alone can keep it in my heart
Lord God, keep in my heart what You have put in my heart
I can't even keep my own heart apart from Your grace

You put a desire to pray in my heart
You put a desire to pray for Your people in my heart
A year ago today, You put it in my heart
I am trusting You to keep it in my heart
You who began this good work in my heart will complete it
To Your glory alone

Holy Father,

You have put a desire to pray in others' hearts
You have put a desire to pray for Your people in their hearts
You have put it in their hearts like You put it in my heart
I am trusting You to keep it in our hearts
You who have begun this good work in our hearts will complete it
To Your glory alone

Just when we forget or lose heart
Grace, flow down from on high
Holy Fire, descend
Light our cooling coals
Holy Spirit, thunder
Shake our lukewarm complacency
Holy Word, speak
Awaken our dormant passion

Moreover, as for us, far be it from us that we should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray...

You put it in our hearts
You alone can keep it in our hearts
Lord God, keep in our hearts what You have put in our hearts
We can't even keep our own hearts apart from Your grace
You who began this good work in our hearts will complete it
To Your glory alone

You put a desire to pray in our hearts.
You put a desire to pray for Your people in our hearts.
You put it in all our hearts.
I am trusting You to keep it in our heart.
You who began this good work in our hearts will complete it
To Your glory alone

Moreover, as for us, far be it from us that we should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray...

Holy Father,

You put a desire to pray in our hearts
You put a desire to pray for Your people in our hearts
You put it in all our hearts
Now I am trusting You to put that desire in more hearts
Send forth more intercessors to join us to pray for the harvest
Complete the work You have begun here on earth
That Your Gospel would be proclaimed to all nations
To Your glory alone

Moreover, as for us, far be it from us that we should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for laborers...

 
I will be traveling for about a week and will not be blogging during that time. (You can read more here about that.) While I am away I would like to read and reread Revelation 1-3. As God leads you to do so, would you please also prayerfully read through those chapters in Revelation? As we read let us ask God to give us ears to hear what His Spirit has to say to each of us today and to His Church today. Here at tent of meeting we have been praying through the Lord's prayer, and in the past week have begun praying, “Forgive us our sins.” I believe as we open God's Word to read of the seven churches of Revelation, the Holy Spirit will open our ears to His voice and open our eyes to our sins so we might confess and repent of them. Unless and until we do so, we will continue to quench and grieve the Spirit and despise and limit the Holy One of Israel. Unless and until we do so, we will remain apart from our first Love and cannot love Him as we ought. May the Spirit's fire fall fresh on His Church to convict, cleanse and revive us!