My Banquet Escort

“He escorts me to the banquet hall; it is obvious how much He loves me.” Songs 2:4

Dear Heavenly Father, as You know, the Deeper Still Fundraising Banquet is a week away.  Father, we thank You that You escort us to the banquet hall.   This banquet is Yours, to honor You.  We ask for Your loving presence to be conspicuous and for Your anointing to be palpable at the banquet.  We ask for your hand of protection over all attending.   We pray for everyone who should to be present to come so they can hear the message of freedom, and that the financial goals would be met and exceeded to further that message.   We pray that it would be obvious to every guest how much You love them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

There is a banquet that occurred 465 years before Christ.  In this banquet, a very brave young woman named Esther asked for her life and the lives of her people to be spared.  Her entire race was sold and scheduled to be annihilated (Ester 6:4).  She boldly went before her king's throne and found favor that eventually led to the saving of her people.

“And on the second day, at the banquet, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther?  It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done.”  Esther 6:2

Esther, no doubt, had an unseen Escort into that banquet long long ago who revealed His love for her and His people time and time again.

His presence at the banquet gave her strength to valiantly make her petition. 

A worldly king was eager to grant the petition of his bride.  How much more will our Heavenly King grant the petitions of His bride, especially when it comes to the saving of His people and rescuing them from captivity.  Our King is eagerly awaiting our petitions.

 

 Our Heavenly King is asking us today, “What is your petition?”

 

“Oh King, we ask for our people, Your people, to be set free. “

   

Thank you for petitioning on behalf of Deeper Still. 

Higher Rock

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy.  I will abide in your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”  Psalm 61:1-4

Dear Heavenly Father, we cry out to You.  Lord, when the Deeper Still Team is overwhelmed with the great work You have entrusted to them, lead them to the Rock that is higher.  I pray the Deeper Still Team members would keep their focus on the Rock.  Thank you for sheltering Karen, the Deeper Still staff, and team members, thank you for keeping them safe under the shadow of Your wings.  In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

I had full intentions of turning to Psalm 91 this morning.  However, in the fogginess of my morning mind, I flipped to Psalm 61.  While I realized I was on the wrong scripture, I thought I would read it in the slight chance it wasn’t the haziness of my mind that led me there.

 

I don’t know about you, but there are times when my heart is overwhelmed.   There are times I feel like I am in the deep flailing about looking for someone to rescue me.   When we cannot touch the bottom of the watery depths, and the waves begin crashing around us overwhelming our strength, we become desperate for something to hold onto and climb upon out of the tumultuous terrain.

We need a Rock that is higher, a Rock we can climb on out of the crushing current that fights to keep us overpowered by its oppressive force.  The Rock is a refuge, a strong tower that protects us from the enemy.  We are safe on the Rock.  In the shelter of His wings, we can find rest.  He is there to lift us up out of the depths and place on safely on His Firm Foundation. 

May your heart rest upon the Higher Rock today. 

All That! (And a Bag of Chips)

 “Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with His blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing His will.  May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him.  All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. “ Hebrews 13:20-21

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for equipping Deeper Still with all that it needs for doing Your will.  We ask for you to equip the Deeper Still in all ways by Your Almighty Power.   May You produce in Deeper Still, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

The writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to remind those listening Who their God is.  Let’s break each piece down to see what the author wanted them to know. 

“God of peace” – peace is derived from its original Greek translation “ eirene”.  It means He is a God of security, safety, prosperity, and felicity.

“Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus”—All powerful and mighty!

 

“The great Shepherd of the sheep”—Watches over and protects us, leads us and guides us.  

“ratified an eternal covenant with His blood.” –Loves you so much that He died for your salvation and You are His under the new covenant, which is eternal!

    

The author was saying THIS GOD, who is all that (and a bag of chips, I might add!), will equip you with everything you need to do His will.  And it is through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ that He will produce in you every good thing that is pleasing to Him! 

Halleluiah it is through the power of Jesus! 

I know there have been many times when I have wondered how in the world God was going to produce anything good and pleasing to Him out of me.  I fail.  I fall short.  I don’t have it all together, BUT I know the One who does and it is through His All Mighty Power (which was well-described in the verse prior!) that He will accomplish every good work! 

Thank you Jesus for equipping us with everything we need through Your power and Mighty Name!  Amen! 

Hand of Blessing

“You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.  You go before me and follow me.  You place Your hand of blessing on my head.”  Psalm 139:1-5

Oh Heavenly Father, with the Deeper Still Fundraising Banquet coming up and all that will happen this year, we delight in knowing that You already are there, You have already prepared the way and Your Will—will be accomplished.  Father, we thank you that even now You are placing the words that need to be said at the banquet into the hearts and minds of those sharing.  We thank you that in whatever Deeper Still does that Your hand of blessing is on it and that You provide for every need Deeper Still has according to Your glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  We pray for it all to bring glory and honor to You and further Your kingdom.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

When your children were little tots, didn’t you watch their every move as they were learning to sit or crawl?  Didn’t you wait with great anticipation for the day they would stand up and walk?  Lord knows we were there with the video camera eager to catch the first glimpses of new steps on film for eternity.

  

What do we do as they walk?  We go before them to clear the path and we stand behind to try to protect them from falling.   However, when they do fall, we don’t scold them for falling, we lift them back up, hold them in our arms and dry their tears.  And someday, when our children are grown and leave home, we will check on them when they travel and want to know when they safely return home.

 

We are God’s children and how much better of a parent is He then we ever could be?!  He knows when we are sitting or standing, when we travel and when we rest.  He sees everything.  He knows when we are walking well along the path and when we fall.  He sees every tear, knows every sorrow, and holds our heart in His ever- loving hands when it hurts.

   

What a blessing to know that even as I am sitting here writing this, my Lord sees me and when I will stand up, He will see that too.  It is such a comfort to know that My Heavenly Father loves me so much that he watches me even as I sit down!

 

And not only does He see us, He goes before us.  There isn’t a moment in our life that the Lord doesn’t know about beforehand.  That is such a comfort to me.  Knowing the God of the Universe has taken the time to go before me and then to follow behind me brings me an unspeakable peace as I go.  As if hemming us in from before and behind were not enough, He also places His Hand of blessing on our head!

 

Can you just picture Him leading us and guiding us along the path we should go and directing us with His Hand on our head?!  You may even picture Him with a video camera in Hand as He lovingly waits to catch glimpses of us walking with Him for all eternity.

 

Praying you are blessed today as you picture the Lord’s Hand of blessing on your head, knowing He goes before you and follows behind in all you do.  Thank you for praying for abortion wounded hearts and the ministry of Deeper Still.  

Merry Christmas!!!

Thank you for praying for the Deeper Still Ministry!  Merry Christmas from the Deeper Still Ministry Team!  We are so thankful for you!

Father, we thank you for these prayer warriors that you have enlisted to hold up the Deeper Still Ministry in prayer.  We ask for You to bless them, surround them with Your love, and fill them with Your supernatural peace and joy this Christmas!  We thank You for the precious gift of Jesus.  May our eyes be  focused on the miracle of Jesus and Who You are all year long.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.   

Across the Map

 "Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." 
Gen 28: 14,15

 Dear Lord,
Thank you that the “offspring” of Deeper Still (the Deeper Still Chapters) will be like the dust of the earth and they will be spread abroad to the west, the east, the north and the south. And that many families wounded by abortion will be blessed and healed through Deeper Still. Thank you that you will be with Deeper Still wherever they go and that you will not leave them until you have done what you have promised to Deeper Still. In Jesus’s Name, Amen. 

On the floor was a map of the world. The Deeper Still team encircled the map and began to pray. I stared down at the map; my feet nestled next to Antarctica. While praying, I asked the Holy Spirit if He wanted me to pray. My eyes focused on the folder resting on the opposite side of the map, at the North Pole. In this folder was a list. Only this wasn’t the list one usually thinks of being at the North Pole. This list didn’t consist of the names of girls and boys with their Christmas wishes. Instead, this list represented the abortion wounded hearts of women and men whose only wish was freedom.

The Holy Spirit nudged me to lay my hands on the folder and pray. I answered, “But Lord, I am at the South Pole and it is all the way at the North Pole. I don’t think I can reach it.” Then, He directed my gaze towards one name next to the folder on the other side of the world!

“Also, pray over that name.”

The only way for me to reach the other side of the world was for me to stretch my body across the map. So, I did. As I stretched across the map, the Lord spoke. “I will stretch across the world, to the North, South, East, and West. I will do anything to reach those who are in need of healing, I will go even to reach just one.“

God does not want His children to be in despair. His heart’s desire is healing for the hurting and freedom for the oppressed. Thank you for praying for the Deeper Still Ministry. Your prayers are bringing freedom to women and men across the map!

Healing the Land

“Ask of me and I will give the nations to you, the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.”   Psalm 2: 8

Father, the blood of the nations cry out from the ground.  The ground longs for healing.  Lord, we ask for you to give us the nations.  You ask, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”  We reply, “Lord, here we are, send us.”  We ask for you to heal the abortion wounded hearts of the nations.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground.”  Genesis 4:10

Not one drop of blood goes unnoticed by our God. The voice of the unborn cries out from the ground.  However, there is One whose Blood covers and heals the ground tainted by sin and death. 

A friend of mine and fellow Deeper Still Team Member recently went to the site where death’s stench had grasped her long ago.  She is now free and went to the land where innocent blood was shed to pray healing over the land.  I saw a mental picture of the spiritual impact that was occurring as she prayed to heal the land. 

She knelt on the ground where death had once won the victory.  As she began to pray and weep, the tears that fell from her face penetrated the ground.  Once the tears pierced through the ground, the tears mixed with prayers became the Blood of Jesus.  The Blood of Jesus then began to cleanse the land and His Blood covered the blood shed of the innocent.  The Blood of the One pierced for our transgressions, pierced the darkness and light began to shine forth in the land.  Then, it spread.  The healing Blood of Jesus began to expand and move from city to city, state to state, and nation to nation.  It moved across seas until it covered the entire globe, healing all it touched.

This is the vision of Deeper Still.  This is the vision that encompasses “Until all are healed.”  The healing Blood of Jesus nullifies and cancels the debts of death we could never pay.  It cleanses and restores us completely, conquers sin, and reclaims the victory in Jesus Christ.