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HOPE Heals is on Facebook.
Miracle in the Terminal
So here's the picture: It is Friday afternoon, July 1, upstate New York, and the weather is not looking good. In fact, it's not looking flyable. Rick and Cindy Mercer, pastoral couple in Morganton, North Carolina, (with their teenage son, Reese) are headed hopefully for the Syracuse airport in their little Chevy rental car. They've just spent a wonderful week watching God at work as they spoke for the New York Conference Camp Meeting at Union Springs Academy.
Now they are eager to get home because tomorrow is to be a memorable day. Rick is scheduled to preach in his home church, 734 miles away, but it will include a celestial event for 11-year old Andrew Coleman. He had accepted Jesus as his Savior, and the next day he will be baptized. Friends and relatives will come from all directions.
But there is trouble on the horizon. Storm clouds threaten the Syracuse Airport. Still hoping, Rick and Cindy check in only to learn that their flight was weather-delayed. So they wait; Air Traffic Control is hoping the storm will blow through. Finally a glimmer of hope and they are allowed to board. But the engines don't start; the plane doesn't move. For two hours they sit, listening to the rain hammer the roof of the Boeing 737. Finally the pilot announces that the flight has been officially cancelled and that they should de-plane and contact customer service for further instructions.
Rick and Cindy asked about a refund for the amount of the return flight, but were told that would be impossible. The agent also said, "The best we can do is to give you seats on the next flight - which leaves at 7:00 tomorrow morning. We can't give you hotel vouchers either because the problem is not ours; it's the weather." She assured them there were no other flights out that night, then shrugged and turned to the next customer in line.
But Rick and Cindy were not giving up. They prayed. Fervently. And God was listening. Cindy went back to the kiosk and spoke to another agent. The best they could do was to work out a "special arrangement" to give them a discounted hotel voucher. The clerk pointed them toward the door to catch the shuttle, and Rick, Cindy and Reese headed down the corridor. But as they were waiting to go to the hotel, Rick suggested, "Cindy, why don't you go and try one last time to negotiate with the ticket agent for a refund, I'm going to stay here and pray hard for wisdom and for help."
So as Cindy walked away, Rick started to cry out to God. He was desperate, and he prayed, pleading with God for help. While he was praying, his cell phone rang. It was his friend Michael Smith, pastor of 1st Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"Rick, I had a dream about you last night," the message said. "I didn't know where you were or what you were doing but it seemed you were pouring out your heart to God over some travel-related problem. I sensed that He wanted me to tell you that He has your situation in His hands. It's going to work out okay." That afternoon - Friday - Michael had been preparing for an anointing service, but the thought kept coming to him that he should stop what he was doing and call Rick right then. So he stopped and called and left the message. As Rick listened he was overwhelmed with gratitude. Not only with the message, but with God's amazing timing! It had been while Rick was pleading with the Lord for a solution that Michael called.
In the midst of his rejoicing, Cindy returned. They boarded the shuttle bus, and as it pulled away from the curb they suddenly looked at each other and said, "We can't do this. We've got a baptism in the morning!" They decided to rent a car and drive the 734 miles. That's a hard 12-hr drive, even driving the speed limit most of the time. Just a few blocks from the airport as they confided their dilemma to the shuttle driver Rick said, "Sir, could you turn around and take us back?" "I'll be glad to," the driver responded, "but if I take you back to the terminal will you pray for me? I really need for God to work in my life, too."
This time as they entered the terminal - they were on a mission. Cindy says, "We rented a car by faith, buoyed up by Michael's dream and his phone message." (BTW, Cindy would fill out the forms for the airline refund and submit them; within three business days, the amount appeared in their account - even larger than the amount they had been charged for the flight earlier that week to New York.)
Now - here's the rest of the story:
The three of them traded off driving and God kept them safe all through the night. They arrived home at 7:00 am - in time to clean up and catch a couple of hours of sleep before dashing off to church. There, as Rick shared the amazing experiences of God's miracles over the past few hours, the congregation offered their praise to a BIG God for whom nothing is impossible. It was a great day in Morganton, North Carolina. Rick and Cindy will tell you that they and their congregation are still rejoicing. They'll also remind you, "Keep trusting God, and expect something BIG!"
Oh, but maybe the most excited believer in the building that morning was a young Christian named Andrew.
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Summer is also a time for Vacation Bible School, and I've asked Michael Roland to write an
article about the impact of prayer on the kids and their families who attended the Northridge, California VBS. Simple adjustments have had powerful consequences.
May you continue to enjoy and see God's miracles all around you,
Ruthie
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Ruthie Jacobsen
NAD Prayer Coordinator
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This Month's Zinger
Satan will do anything he can to limit your praying
because he knows your praying will limit him.
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 Contents
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Prayer Events - all across North America
Pray for our Camp Meetings
During the summer months we see more camp meetings, but there are so many where prayer is emphasized.
Here are a list of the camp meetings where prayer is a priority - it's only a token list. There are many more:
| July 17 - 26 |
Georgia-Cumberland Conference |
July 25 - August 2
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South Central States Conference |
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And 6 Camp Meetings across North America for the deaf!
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Handprints - Highlighting and Sharing Ideas
One of the wonderful things about the stories and testimonies we share each month is that many of them include ideas that you might be able to use in your churches or prayer groups.
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If you see an article or photo with a handprint...
That means there is an idea that you may use or tweak for your own prayer ministry.
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This year was the fourth year in a row that Northridge included a prayer rotation in their VBS program. We got the idea while visiting the Loma Linda University Church. One of the things I remember that Anita Roberts (LLUC Prayer Coordinator) and Karen Martell (SECC Prayer Coordinator) provided for the kids in their prayer rotation was "promise pockets". That inexpensive, yet beautiful, prayer-craft is explained and may be downloaded
here.
At Northridge this year we selected the AdventSource "Destination Paradise" theme but we also wanted to, somehow, highlight the NAD Hope Heals initiative. So our VBS planning committee (which consisted mostly of youth and young adults) prayed and we threw around ideas. I have observed that the youth enjoy this process. They become excited because they expect God to show us what to do when we ask Him to. We watched to see what "bubbled to the surface". And ultimately we based our decisions on Matthew 19:13-19, 18:3, Luke 18:15-17 and Revelation 5:8.
We all love the bible stories of Jesus with children. They spark memories and spiritual markers from our own childhoods. They kindle our childlike faith. I remember (after having wondered away from the Lord, when I was invited to church) it wasn't the invitation that got me into the Lord's sanctuary. It was the Lesson for that day, "Christ's Healing Touch". Jesus prayed for the children; and Jesus laid His hand on the children. Jesus healed the sick; and Jesus laid His hand on the leper. When we accept Jesus, He touches us. And He touches the lives of those around us.
We taught the children that Jesus is our intercessor in Heaven and that when we pray; He lays His hands on us. And to remind them of that, in crafts the children placed their paint-covered hands on "bowls".
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| Children pray blessings over their prayer bowls. HOPE Heals |
In the prayer rotation the children were taught about the golden bowls in heaven that accumulate the prayers of God's children. In the prayer rotation during the first four days the children learned the
ACTS
of prayer. On day one they wrote prayers of
Adoration of God. On day two they wrote their prayers of
Confessions. Then they wrote prayers of
T
hanksgiving and prayers of
S
upplication. On day five they took all their accumulated prayers and placed them in their prayer bowls. Each tied a ribbon around their own bowl and prayed that God would hear their prayers and bless their households as they brought their prayers and bowls into them. They prayed that God would help make their home a house of prayer (
H
ouses
o
f
P
rayer
E
verywhere -
HOPE Heals
).
Every year since we have added the prayer rotation, we have had children tell us that the prayer rotation is their favorite rotation. We had parents come to us and tell us how their children told them the same thing this year. One told me that their child enjoyed learning about the different types of prayer and enjoyed praying with the other children. Another said their child liked the prayer rotation because when they entered the room, it was quiet and peaceful. Their child enjoyed everything provided at VBS but the prayer rotation was the one place where it wasn't all noise and activity. It was "peaceful and prayerful". When I heard this, I realized that we need to give our children the opportunity to "be still and know..." I learned that if we do, they will learn to pray and they will enjoy it, they will learn from it, and their faith and love for God will grow."
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| Ronnie Philip praying a prayer of blessing over the children and their families. |
Near the end of our Sabbath VBS program we invited all the children's parents and families to come up and surround their children. Then we invited the elders of the church. Following Christ's example, we had the parents lay their hands on their children and church leaders laid their hands on the parents. Our Prayer Coordinator, Ronnie Philip prayed a prayer of blessing over the children and over their families and households. I saw our youth embracing foster children and Catholic parents tearing up over their children. And when the VBS program was over, the most sought after "craft" by the parents was their child's prayer bowl. Every parent wanted to make sure they had the prayer bowl to place in their homes.
Of the prayers that have been ascending ... not one has been lost. Each prayer has been accumulating, ready to overflow and pour forth a healing flood of heavenly influence and accumulated light all over the world. (Ellen White)
God richly blessed the children and their families. The parents expressed a strong appreciation for how their children were taught so much about prayer.
I want to, also, tell you, briefly, how our youth and young adults were impacted, also, by participating in a VBS program that was bathed in prayer. We taught the children that music can be a type of prayer and we planned our closing prayer on Sabbath to be the song "Let There Be Peace on Earth." The children were going to perform it on bells while the congregation sang along.
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A soldier leads the congregation in Let There Be Peace
(Army Specialist, Danielle de Asis) |
Something always happens when your activities for the Lord are bathed in prayer; God shows up. And many of the volunteers, no matter how long the day has been, don't want to leave. They want to enjoy the afterglow of the experience. And so each evening I found myself being "charmed" by the youth (in order to persuade me to stay around a little longer and not lock up). They loved the children's bell choir and they wanted to play the bells themselves. So each night, after everyone else had gone home, I would pass out the bells and we would "rehearse". You can see our Thursday night rehearsal here. Finally, I was asked, "May we join the bell choir too?" I responded by saying that "I need you to sing; I want the children to play the bells." To which they responded, "But Jesus said, 'unless we become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.'" (How could I argue with that?) You can watch the children and the "like little children" perform Sabbath's closing prayer here.
When God's work is focused on Jesus and is bathed in prayer not only will He bless the children but He will perform the miracle of making us (sometimes "stiffed neck people") "become like little children". Then, we are blessed by His presence and enjoy the afterglow of His touch.
Michael Roland, A Prayer Ministries Leader, Southern California Conference and VBS Director at Northridge.
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Children's Prayer Resources for the
Houses of Prayer Everywhere prayer initiative can be downloaded
here.
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All Night Call to Prayer
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Phone: 404-891-6338
ID 772 937#
Our next all-night call will be
August 4.
10:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m. (EDT)
Mark that date on your calendar.
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Prayer Conference Videos
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Pray For Our Conferences and Their Leaders By Name
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Calendar
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All Night Call to Prayer - August 4
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