Rob Harvey was a true treasure, wonderful husband, father and friend. What can one say about Rob? He was a one of a kind. God broke the mold when He made Rob. He lived life with a Joy so deep and real that I have never seen before. He lived life walking this earth in communion with his Savior. Now, Rob walks in communion with his Savior in Heaven.
I met Rob in January 2017 in Tyler, Texas at a OneStory Executive Team Meeting. As he would often say, “Our hearts were knitted together over enchiladas!” I sat across from him at the dinner table that night; we shared “our stories”. He believed that the Church could work in unity to finish the Great Commission. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rob believed with ministries working together, we could unleash a generosity of shared resources that could be used for Kingdom work that can finish the Great Commission! He had a love for Orality and the UUPGs that do not yet have one verse of God’s Word in their heart language.
I was blessed to run alongside Rob for the past 3+ years, as his Strategic Informed Intercessor. He had a heart for prayer and he believed that, “prayer had to be the steering wheel, it could not be the spare tire.” Rob was quick to go to prayer, even in the middle of a conversation, he would go to the throne and pray into a situation or a topic.
Rob had very unique gifts, one of which was his thought process. He would sit and listen, by the end of the conversation he was able to drill down to the heart of an issue, help identify the vision that was lying just under the surface and then help organize that vision and facilitate a plan forward to realize that vision.
Rob was such an encourager. He never missed an opportunity to make you feel appreciated, and treasured. I can’t count the times that I received a text message or a voicemail where he was encouraging me; it always came on a day when I really needed to hear it. God used Rob as a conduit for His love and Rob shared it freely. I never heard Rob say anything negative about anyone, ever!
Rob worked with so many groups that are connected to ION, including Table 71. He served as the ION Storying Gateway Leader, and served international on the IC leadership team. In recent years he represented the Orality Movement and spoke from the platform and led workshops at the Finishing The Task gatherings. One of the areas he was passionate about was his work alongside OneStory where he was hosting the website so that resources wouldn’t be lost.
All of these things and many more were done out of his love for the unreached people and to spread the Gospel, they were done on a volunteer basis, asking for nothing in return.
He was quick to ask someone that he just met, “How can I serve you?” Oh, if the Body of Christ would learn to have that selfless spirit in all we do, we would all be better off.
May I challenge everyone reading this post, put a little Rob into everything we do. Let’s spread Joy, Peace, Encouragement, Love and Unity into our troubled world. This is my plan, will you join me?
ION leaders are all volunteers and Rob, like many of them, was self-funded. Friends of the Harvey’s have opened a GoFundme Account to help his wife and six children,
As the New Year rolls in as well asthe start of anew decade,ION is in the thick of some shifts behind the scenes and at a clear juncture in time as we see the opening of a new era!
As of December 31st, there has been a “Changing of the guard in prayer leadership”.
In a note from our Executive Director, David Swarr released internally mid-December he writes,
There is so much to celebrate during this joyous Advent and Christmas season! The Lord has shown his faithfulness in so many ways to each one of us and to all of us together this past year. One of the milestones we get to celebrate is the “changingof theguard” with Linda turning over her responsibilities as Senior Prayer Associate to Donna Manor. As you are aware this process was begun earlier this year and Donna has been walking alongside Linda for a good number of months. Linda will be ending her time in this role as of December 31.
We celebrate Linda and her years of invaluable service to the ministry of ION and the orality movement! We celebrate new beginnings with Donna as she picks up this leadership mantle! We celebrate the gift of Jesus for whom and through whom the beautiful service of these two lives, and that of each of you, is made possible! The Lord is GOOD!May the Lord’s richest blessings be upon each of you this Christmas and New Year
David
DavidSwarrPhD | E.D. Int’l Orality Network
President/CEO Institute for Biblical Languages & TranslationA program of 4.2.20 FoundationThe Whole Word for the Whole World
All of us in ION share these thoughts and rejoice alongside ION as we say goodbye to Linda Bemis and all she has been to ION. And as I am received as the new ION Senior Associate in Prayer Leadership.
It is a new season and a bit overwhelming to me as I feel the heaviness of stepping into the shoes of someone asvitalas Linda. I am not Linda and do not know what God has planned, butIdo know that God has placed me in this role. So as we moved into the year 2020 – clear vision – may the Lord guide this new birth and season. I want to extendaninvitation to anyonewho is involved orhasbeeninvolved in ION prayer and would like to become involved again,please reach out to me personally.
International Orality Network Influencing the body of Christ to make disciples of all oral communicators – 80% of the world (5.7 billion) are oral communicators of which 1/2 are children!
In my new role as Senior Associate in Prayer I am hitting the ground running and so excited to see where Jehovah leads us next. Please join this journey with me.
Items for Prayer:
• ION ongoing leadership and Regional development across the globe.
• The IONGlobal Executive Team and the Executive Director (ED) succession planning and future selection.
• The Changing of the Guard in prayer with Linda Bemis as she leaves this area of leadership and moves into fully engaging with the 4-2-20 Foundation.
• ION Prayer and my part, as we move into the new season of what the Lord will reveal and what it will look like into the future for prayer and prayer mobilization in ION.
🙏 Please join to pray for upcoming travel as the new ION Sr. Associate for Prayer:
February 3rd – 5thTravel to Orlando for Table 71 Meetings providing eyes open intercessory prayer coverage and support
February 15th– 23rdTravel to several US citiesEast Coast from Florida into DC: Prayer Strikefor the Harvest
March 10th– 14thTravel to India ION Consultation and ION Global Leadership Face to Face Mtgs.
May 21st– June 2ndPossible Travel to Israel for Table 71
🙏General ION Prayer Regional Item:
Upcoming ION India Consultation 12 -14th March 2020 (Lunch to lunch) Location: Bangalore
We are excited to have one more guest writer with us to share their journey and connection into how Orality and Prayer have connected in their life. This time we welcome Donna Manor, who has been connected in for several years to share:
My Journey To Strategic Informed Intercession Within the Orality Movement by Donna Manor
Strategic Informed Intercession, what is this? This is a question I am constantly asked. For many years, I did not even know! Here is my story. In 2007, I was recovering from a serious illness. Six weeks after the near-death experience, I had a grand mal seizure, which resulted in my being placed on long-term disability. I was unable to drive as the doctors found there was no medication that would work for me. So I sat at home feeling sorry for myself and wondering if the rest of my life would be affected. During this time, I became very close to a neighbor that lived across the street. We would visit daily and talk about God and His Word. It was wonderful to share with someone that was so bold and free in her faith. So I began to see that God was using this time as a ‘set apart’ time in my journey. I was able to spend many hours in the Word and in prayer, what a change to my previous routine!
I began to look forward to every new day, wondering what I would learn that day! As I began this new journey, I got involved in the prayer ministry at my church. Before I knew it I was attending one Prayer Leader conference after another. The opportunities continued, I began to question, “why am I here, I am not a prayer leader?” My mentor tried to help me answer the burning question and would respond, “I know, I don’t know why, but you are supposed to be here”. So off I went month after month, conference after conference. And the journey continued.
I got involved in a prayer group whose focus was praying for the Nation, Church (The Body of Christ/Ekklesia) and the Lost of the World. A new dimension of prayer, a Kingdom Focused Prayer life began to emerge. Where we were no longer bound to a list of prayer points to check off but moved into a God-centered, Kingdom-oriented prayer life. Folks these were life-changing, eye-opening shifts in my spirit. I learned how to listen, to be patient to really hear God’s still small voice. God’s voice being, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as I believe all three speak as well today as they did in Paul’s life. Think of Acts 16:6-10, God’s Divine Strategy. These were wonderful times with great people, entering into the presence of the Lord! This is where I discovered Prophetic Prayer and the power of God’s presence.
In September 2010, my life was changed as I was asked to help staff the prayer room for an International Orality Network (ION) Conference that was being held at the Winshape Retreat Conference Center. Little did I know that this would shape my life going forward. I was asked to help the ION prayer team assemble the Interactive Prayer Garden, where we hung pictures of the unreached and unengaged people groups that we had printed from the Joshua Project. They were attached to strings from ceiling to floor. It was very impactful to all who took the time to go through it. It was at this time that I really became aware of people outside and beyond my own sphere of influence.
From the connections I made at the 2010 ION Conference, God opened the door for me to go to work for TWR (formerly TransWorld Radio) with Tom Watkins in the Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships Department as their intercessor. God laid on my heart that I was not just interceding for Tom, but that I was to be a Strategic Informed Intercessor. I had previously never heard this term or phrase used. Tom was ahead of the times by inviting prayer into meetings, usually hidden to intercessors. I was not only in the ROOM when they had their meetings, but prayer had a place at the table! I began to finally understand what Strategic Informed Intercession looked like. Look at the value God put in their hearts for prayer! It became clear that those in the room were interested to hear what God was saying and what His plan would be. We often make business plans, and then ask God to bless OUR plans, but what if we asked God for His plan and followed that! A very good friend of mine often says, one Divine Inspiration is better than years of human perspiration. We would be able to accomplish so much more.
Tom, invited me to join him to serve the OneStory Executive Team. OneStory does Oral Bible Storying and is an offshoot of Table 71 (who also birthed ION). Through Tom, I met Rob Harvey. Rob and I serve with Mission Advisors, I am responsible for Strategic Informed Intercession with that ministry.
So after all these years, I now have the definition of Strategic Informed Intercession.
Strategic Informed Intercession happens when a person has been allowed into the inner circle of an organization through spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear what God is doing and to have a voice when God wants to impart a word of knowledge to these brave men and women that are making the hard decisions. Using Strategic Informed Intercession is a life style.
Look at how God works! As my journey has finally brought answers to my question of many years ago, “Why am I here, I am not a prayer leader?” God does have a sense of humor!
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. -Jeremiah 29:11
-Join us in saying, “Thank you, Donna Manor, for sharing your story with us!”
We invite you to partner in prayer again this year in the ION Prayer Initiative Oct. 1st – Dec. 31st Bible in 90 Days
We are continuing with our guest writers and welcome back Pastor Jason Boetcher!
The Lord’s Prayer Part 2
What is shaping and forming you as a child of God? As a disciple?
Immediately after calling His disciples Jesus begins to pour into them solid teaching to help form and shape them to be His disciples. They are given teaching that will shape and reform their hearts from the inside out. Tools and deep instruction on what it will mean to follow their new master in making other disciples.
The disciple’s prayer is the central part of this teaching.
Care for the heart of the disciple
Tools for how to approach others and how to care for their hearts.
After this teaching, Jesus takes the 12 on mission with Him. Jesus lives out this teaching in front of the disciples so that they might learn what it looks like to respond to what the Father is doing around them and follow His lead.
What are people asking of Jesus as they meet Him? What is He asking of them? Does Jesus give to those who ask, or does He withhold those gifts?
What other words of the sermon on the mount do you see lived out in Matthew chapters 8 and 9?
Demonstration modeled here is a prelude to the sending out of the disciples in chapter 10. More instruction…You have heard my words; you have seen my action…. now go and do likewise.
Over the course of the last year I been learning about different spiritual disciplines. One that is new to me is called breath prayers. These are simple prayers that are spoken to the Lord in the simple rhythm of our breathing. Over the summer I am going to be experimenting with some simple breath prayers that follow the pattern of the Lord’s prayer. The goal is to become rooted deeply in the prayer that is to shape and form disciples in any generation.
As a starting point here is a sample of incorporating the spiritual practice of using breath prayers in the combination of praying Scripture. Literally using words taken from the Scripture text to guide you in prayer and breathing:
Abba, We belong to You
Make us holy by Your name
Breath in: THINK and say in your mind, “Abba, We belong to You“
Exhale out: THINK and say in your mind, “You are present with us“
Taking another look at The Lord’s Prayer and incorporating the spiritual practice of using breath prayers driven by Scripture:
Matthew 6:9-13New International Version (NIV)
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Praying the Scriptures as breath prayers:
BREATH IN: Abba, We belong to You
BREATH OUT: Make us holy by Your name
BREATH IN: Let Your kingdom come among us
BREATH OUT: Let Your will be done among us
BREATH IN: Provide for all our needs
BREATH OUT: Have mercy on us and forgive us
BREATH IN: We release and forgive others
BREATH OUT: Lead us in all our ways
BREATH IN: Deliver us from Evil
BREATH OUT: May the Lord bless your hearts as you are led to follow Jesus
In His Grip,
Pastor Jason
The practice of breath prayer may be new to you.
We invite you to join with others in investigating the ancient spiritual practices used over centuries by those who pray daily and seek after unceasing prayer in their daily walk of life in Christ.
Breath Prayer: Practice
Breath prayer is a short petition, repeated in the space of one inhalation-exhalation cycle, that acknowledges the natures of both the Lord and the petitioner.
1. Sit comfortably with your back straight and close your eyes.
2. Pay attention to your breathing. Focusing in on breathing, in the beginning, will probably exaggerate the intake and output a little. Learn to listen to your body and wait until a comfortable rhythm can be found as you practice this new discipline or method of prayer.
3. Ask Jesus to be present, to lead, to guide, and to protect. Invite him to draw you into the community of the Trinity –Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
4. Wait silently until you feel ready to begin praying.
5. When you are ready, pray in your breathing rhythm.
Inhale: Lord, Jesus Christ,
Pause: Son of God,
Exhale: have mercy on me, a sinner.
6. As the prayer repetitions begin to move from your head to your heart, you may feel a desire to still even the echo of the words and to sit quietly with the Lord in peace.
7. This practice has proven to be helpful not only for simple prayer but also can be used to still yourself in trying situations or to calm anxiety. As a daily practice of learning the discipline of quieting yourself so that you might hear more clearly from God.
8. When the silence is gathered and before you move on to the day’s tasks, write down anything that particularly stood out to you during your meditation. It may be that the prayer returns to you throughout the day with this nuance. The next time you practice the breath prayer, perhaps this will function as a starting point in your move to stillness.
You are invited to join a small intimate group for prayer for the Orality Network each Thursday at 2 PM EDT
Dial: +1 (712) 770-3907
Access Code: 818908#
August:
Praying alongside the Orality Network & ION Partners
ION Europe Consultation – September 26 – September 28
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, St Philip & St James Church, Woodstock Road Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 6HR United Kingdom
October 3 – October 5 at North York Chinese Baptist Church
I WORD 4 ALL – Embodying Jesus in a Post-Textual Society www.oralitycanada.com This conference is open to all people interested in sharing the Gospel and making disciples of Jesus Christ. Together we reaffirm the centrality and truth of God’s Word…
Information & Registration: https://www.oralitycanada.com
“See you in Toronto!” video invitation: https://youtu.be/CXU0ztiEgok
FELLOWSHIP OF PRAYER STRATEGISTS -JOIN THE CALL: FPS Prayer CallJuly 11, 2019 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm7am CST/12pm GMTPlease email prayerethne@gmail.com for information on how to connect to this monthly prayer call.
We believe prayer is the indispensable key to the unfinished task among the ‘Forgotten Fourth World’-the one-fourth of the world with little access to the gospel. Unquestionably God has impressed that upon us as a Body and He has been growing a global prayer movement for decades now. The Lord has been calling people of prayer to model and assist others in cultivating conversational relationships with God and to ignite movements to Christ based on extraordinary prayer and intimacy with Him. This urgent necessity quickly became obvious, not only to survive but to see fruit flourishing in these mostly hostile environments. In the course of pursuing loving obedience to His call, major prayer innovations have been and are being birthed. One of these seems to be the emerging role of the ‘prayer strategist’ that links passion for and practice of prayer and connection to prayer movements and networks with strategic field efforts to catalyze cascading movements to Christ.
Beginning May 2019, we will feature the largest “31 Frontier People Groups,” before launching out on a full year of prayer for the entire 401 Frontier People Groups (FPGs). The background material in the April 2019 issue highlighted here explains in more detail.
During the 13 months, we will pray for 88 percent of the people who are members of unreached people groups. If you have the “31” booklet already, you will notice that we put them in order by geography and re-wrote them with the GPD style.
We continue this month with inviting guest writers to share how being involved in Orality and Prayer has changed the way they do ministry!
This month we focus on another Pastor who took his congregation to another level using Orality to bring the Word becoming flesh in to God’s movement with the people!
In April (see https://ionprayer.com/2019/04/03/april-2019-orality-net-praise-and-prayer-update/) we posted a piece from Pastor Jason Boetcher. . . He has been an integral part of the Orality network as an early adopter and innovator, using Orality in the two churches he has had the opportunity to lead moving them toward a more biblical approach to discipleship.
We hope to bring a Part 2 piece. . . Stay tuned for it to be added.
We welcome your responses to how you think Orality fits or what it L👀Ks like for your group. And we welcome your comments or questions -email IONPrayer.com
This group is open to you to join. Once you are a member you can communicate freely with other members and post Orality based topics, events or information.
Join to PRAY each Thursday:
YEAR OF THE FRONTIER May 2019 through May 2020is a previously unprecedented time of united, informed prayer for the largest gaps in work among the unreached around the world! For thirteen months starting May 2019, join prayer networks around the world coordinating with:
as well as many others to pray for every one of the 400 Frontier People Groups (FPGs) with an in-country population over 500,000 as field efforts collaborate to see movements to Christ in every people and place.
What are Frontier People Groups?These FPGs contain nearly all of the one-quarter of all humanity currently the most isolated from the good news that Jesus came for all peoples. Less than 1 in 1,000 are followers of Jesus in these groups. Only 1 out of every 100 cross-cultural laborers work among these groups! Until Jesus followers unite in obeying His commission, these masses have no hope of hearing about and being introduced to Jesus before they die! This unprecedented collaboration will focus on the fulfilment of God’s promise to bless all peoples through Jesus movements healing and restoring broken families and communities.
Why is prayer important?Extraordinary prayer is foundational to every movement to Christ. Prayer is the first domino to fall leading to change in spiritual receptivity to the gospel and fruitfulness.Leviticus 26:8“Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand…”—there is multiplied power in agreement. As intercessors faithfully lift up these specific people groups and believers reach out, God does what only God can do to release harvest.
Your prayers are vital to extending God’s blessing in Jesus toallthe remaining Frontier People Groups. Draw close to God by embracing His passion to bless these Frontier People Groups. Invite others to join you in:
* Praying daily for every one of these 400 Frontier People Groups over this year:
* Preparing for the Global Outreach Day 2020 (http://globaloutreachday.com/2020), which will coincide with the culmination of theYear of the Frontier.During the entire month ofMay 2020, our goal is tomobilize 100 million Christiansto pray for their neighbors and nations as well as to share the Gospel with them.
We believe that together with many denominations and ministries it will be possible to reach 1 BILLION people with the Gospel and for prayer-care-share to become an ongoing lifestyle for every follower of Christ.
This month we will step away from having a guest article to share a little bit about what God is doing in the bigger picture of the Orality Network and share some Events and Praise & Prayer items related to the calendar and upcoming events!
Praise God for the completion of three short films that incorporate Bible texts with themes and images from Lenthomi* culture. Pray that these videos will be shared widely and will generate interest in the Scriptures.
Praise God the recording of the Lenthomi* Bible is now underway – a complex process that will take up to two years. Pray for wisdom and guidance for those coordinating the project.
Pray alongside a team of four Papua New Guinean audio technicians demonstrated their commitment when they traveled to Tatau Island to record the Gospel of John in the Mandara language. They used a portable generator to power their computer. They encouraged the actors to read with good expression and made the recorded parts sync with the pictures shown on the screen. Their mentor said, “Although I was there to coach them over any rough spots, there was little I needed to say as the technicians far exceeded my expectation.” Pray that this recording impacts the speakers of Mandara and for these technicians as they go on to record Scripture for other languages.
Pray for the voice actor who plays the role of Jesus in the New Testament recording of a major language of Asia is a traditional-sounding villager with warmth in his voice. One night after starting to record the words of Jesus he had a dream. He saw a man in long white robes holding a big walking stick in his hand, but his face was too shiny to make out the features. The actor sensed that he was seeing Jesus. This assured him that he was doing the right thing to take part in recording the Bible. Pray that this actor draws closer to God because of playing this part.
Praise God that the recording of the multi-voice portions of a New Testament in a major language of Asia was completed. The project coordinator reported: “It was not an easy time for us and we faced many challenges, but thank God for the wonderful team He has given us. We’ve had wonderful communication with our voice actors. They all said that they loved the atmosphere and the way we treated them. We had so many opportunities to share Truth with them and they are very interested in the Bible.” Please pray that the actors will read more of the Scriptures and draw closer to God.
Praise God that in mid-March the recording of the multi-voice segments from the New Testament in a major language of Asia was completed. The technical director will return to the language area at the end of this year to work with the actors on the multi-voice segments of the Old Testament. In the meantime, recording the many single-voice segments will continue. Pray for God’s protection over the ongoing work of this audio Bible project. Pray for the health and the cooperation of the narrators, technicians and reviewers.
Praise God that the YouTube channel of a language of the Mediterranean region is very popular. One way to measure the use of a video is the number of minutes it is watched in a month. Recently the Bible story videos were watched more than 2 million minutes in one month. No money was spent on promotion, but still many people found the channel. Pray that the watch time will continue to grow. Pray that those who view the videos will to want to know more about God.
We invite you to join the Intercessors each Thursday:
We are pleased to announce our upcoming ION Africa Youth Conference, which will be held in Lusaka, Zambia Thursday 6th June – Saturday 8th June 2019. Objective Of The Conference The Youth Conference will aim to attract up to 100 young people between the ages… Find out more »
This week we find ourselves right at the 40-day mark to Pentecost.
To follow the story we have to go to the book of Acts…
Let’s take the time to really L👀K?! And really Listen👂
We can go thru the Scripture in several different ways:
UsingYouVersion Bible Appthere is a wonderful study that you can use to go thru the Book of Acts in 28 days reading (letters to paper version) or listening (audio version), and bring yourself directly into the Story of God in theREAD to HEAR – The Book of Acts in 28 Days:
28 days
Our Orality network friends at The Bible Project offers a couple different ways to approach the book:
The Bible Project: Book of Acts in TWO parts video series version:
No matter how you go about it, can we encourage you to take this next 40 days leading up to Pentecost and dig deeply into the backstory of Scripture according to the Bible for this season of the biblical calendar?!
At the end of the month we will touch back to you and offer a Ten Day plan for the TEN days of Ascension:
LINKING IN PRAYER AROUND THE GLOBE:
You are invited to pray with us over the next year for Year of the Frontier. This is a joint prayer initiative of global prayer groups through the Joshua Project.
Joshua Project is beginning a fresh cycle of people group profiles for Unreached of the Day. For the next 13 months, through the end of May 2020, we will feature nearly 400 people groups with populations larger than 500,000. These groups have fewer than 1 in 1,000 who are followers of Jesus. The term being used for these neediest of the needy is “Frontier People Groups.”
We are coordinating with several other organizations and initiatives, such asGlobal Prayer Digest,GO31,24:14 Inherit the Nationsand the Ethne movement, to promote these groups together. We hope to see tens of thousands praying each day for one of these groups needing a gospel breakthrough.
We’ll be praying together with sisters and brothers in Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese and will soon be joined by German and perhaps French speaking intercessors.
We’d like to invite you to pass this word along to others, encouraging them to receive the e-mails ordownload the appthat will allow us all to be interceding for the same people group each day.
Love Muslims a prayer initiative to change the world. Praying globally together!
Love Muslims will launch on May 5, 2019, LoveMuslims.orgwhich will guide believers around the world on a 30-day prayer journey through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A new, free video will launch each day. Watch sample videos andsign up nowto join the global prayer movement!
Prayercast (prayercast.com), a ministry of OneWay (owm.org), uses the arts and compelling media to activate world-changing prayer for the sake of the lost.
“Behold, I am doing a newthing; nowit springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19
This is one of my favorite passages from Isaiah! I love new things!
Whodoesn’t?Over the last year, the Lord has been revealingmanynew things to me in our journey of discipleship.
It all startedfor me,as the Lord led me tofocus on one small story,that Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 13:44.The story of hidden treasure.It is a very shortstorybut filled with so much treasure!
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
As I looked at this simple story,I began to see so much ofhow Jesus and the kingdom of God work.
There are many layers to this story:
First,Jesus as the man who discovers the treasure in a field and for the joy of it sells all Hehas topurchase it. Hebrews12:2says, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” The treasure was us!Out of Joy, He endured the cross to purchase us and the whole field!
The second layer of this storyis about discipleship: it is the discovery of the treasure of the gospel. His goodness to us in Christ Jesus! Jesus call to His disciples was and is:“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”Luke 9:23.
Oh,how we want to treasure or following Jesus and holding onto His gifts…but is this possible without letting go (a negative spiritual discipline–abstaining– denying self) in order to take hold of the treasure that is oursin Christ Jesus.
The thirdlayerof thisstorythat Idiscoveredwasthat there are hidden treasuresin scripture and in life that are all around us. If onlywe have eyes to see.
This led me to a prayer experiment that haschanged my prayer life forever!
It only takes10 minutesto start with…adjust as the Spirit gives guidance. (This was just a starting place for me)
Prayer Experiment:
Start by declaring:The kingdom oftheheavens is here now. God is presentin this moment (Matt. 4:17;10:7)
5 minutes of silence (a negative spiritual disciplineof denying self)
5 minutes of praying through the Lord’s Prayer(taking hold of the treasure)
This simple practice has revolutionized my prayer life in ways that are hard to express. Imagine if you knew that everything you asked for was always going to be a yes. Would you pray that way?
When Jesus introduces His disciples to thisprayer,he tells them they don’t need to hunt to find out what God wants to give thembut states this amazing promise, “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:” Matthew 6:8-13
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The gifts are immense!
Reconnectingwith our Spiritual family through our loving and present Heavenly Father and then the gifts:
Holiness by and through His name
His kingdomreign and rule
His will (intent-desire)for us
That all of these would be manifest into our liveshere and now.
Then the other gifts:
Provision, Renewal in His love, leadership, and deliverance!
An artistic rendition of the Lord’s prayer from my journal.
I have sold the farm! The treasures that He gives are immense. May the Lord guide you to discover the treasures that He has placed in your life and grant you the courage and faith to let go of what you need to so that you might hold onto Him!
In His grip,
PastorJason Boetcher
“The Storying pastor”
Storying Discipleship Ministries
Pastor of Trinity Family of Faith Lutheran Church
Basehor,Kansas
PLEASE NOTE:
We have a NEW Dial-In Number for the Weekly ION Prayer Call!
We have a NEW Number for the Weekly ION Prayer Call:
Dial-In: +1 (712) 770-3907
Code: 818908#
Join us to pray thru the Orality.net website events and new source content is being posted monthly: https://Orality.net
We are in need of some volunteer help: Experienced Social Media person
To find out more about how you might help us share with the world about Orality, send an email to info@orality.net
Praying with others in global prayer.
We invite you to share and be involved in the following year-long prayer initiative!
“Year of the Frontier” is a time to pray in agreement for the largest gaps in work among the unreached! Frontier Peoples are those unreached groups which have fewer than 1 in 1,000 believers and little work among them. These groups represent huge gaps for the gospel. In particular, Year of the Frontier will focus on the approx. 400 Frontier people groups over 500,000 in size each for daily specific prayer May 2019-June 2020.
This steps up from The Thirty-One booklet (which covered the 31 largest Frontier Peoples).
The 400 Frontier People Groups (over 500,000 in population):
1 in 5 of all people lives in the 400 largest FPGs.
1 in 3 of all who don’t identify with Jesus live in the 400 largest FPGs.
9 of every 10 who live in Frontier People Groups live in the 400 largest FPGs.
Until Jesus-followers unite in obeying His commission, these masses have no hope of hearing about and being introduced to Jesus before they die.
The Great Injustice:
1 in 9,000 living in the 400 largest FPGs identifies with Jesus in any way.
1 in 15,000 living in the 400 largest FPGs is estimated to follow Jesus.
1 in 100 cross-cultural laborers is estimated to work among these 400 FPGs.
Try out these Resource Options in support of this initiative: More information at https://www.go31.org/
This month we have another guest writer that has been involved with ION Prayer over the years. Grab a cup of tea or coffee and sit and enjoy another take on what others have been learning from their experience with the foundational work of prayer connected to the Orality Network!
Following the article is some prayer requests and information specific to this month. As always, you are invited to join in with a group who meet each and every Thursday to pray together and who would welcome you to come and share your story of what God is doing with you in Orality.
Stewarding the Place of Prayer in the Prayer Room
by Lucy Knight
Early on in my time with ION, a prayer was written by one of God’s servants on the prayer team and it was given to all who were attending the ION Conference that year. This was an anointed prayer that had such a profound impact on me and its message still resonates today. It is a prayer for all of us who are called by God to join Him in doing His great work. I pray as I share it here, it would again impact and God would use it to transform your spirit so that the work set before us would take on new meaning and importance in our today. . . for His glory and His namesake.
The prayer room at ION, hmmm what can I say? For me, it is first and foremost a sacred space. We do business with God there and that space then becomes sacred. When we enter in, we must have it as frontals on our foreheads. This is a place where prayers will be said, confessions made, heart preparations done, and transactions in the spirit happen for many who will come. We have prayed that our hearts are turned to and tuned into the Lord. The Lord said, “Be ye holy, for I am holy”. Yes, we are to be sanctified and set apart as is the location that will serve as the Prayer Room. A shift must occur. Care for the atmosphere must be a priority. Unholy banter, acts or things that make the holy room common, or casual, as well as not allowing for meetings to be held there that do not pertain to the prayer room, or even some of the decorations may need to be removed or covered so that the focus is not preempted by the objects or activity found associated with the room. Nothing is to profane the holy.
Let me give you an example: At the last North America ION Regional Conference, in the room that was to hold the Prayer Room, our Team noticed a large painting on a center wall with a focus object of something that resembled a demonic creature. The painting could not be removed, so it had to be covered with a sheet. The focus needed to be only on the beauty of the Lord.
Each prayer room is prepared specifically for those people who will come. As it is anointed with oil, we are already believing for what only God can do even as we prepare it for the people who will come. We in the prayer room do not take the Lord’s presence lightly. Over the years we have come to expect the miraculous because we have seen the miraculous, in “only God” moments. In the room, we have a heightened awareness of Him, His workings, and seeking His will and face. It should all point to Him and His work to redeem a lost world. Each year we see evidence of God working in our midst, and we ask, what will be God’s theme for prayer this next year? We take notice and look for God’s activity and then carry that focus in our hearts for continued prayer into the next year.
For example, for years we have prayed for the Hispanic communities of North America. This past year, 2018, we had for the first time Hispanic intercessors join us from the local community of Orlando, Florida. It was a glory Hallelujah moment as that was part of God’s activity. Over the years we always connected with those who were local to the area where the conference was to be held. This time we had gotten to know some of this group ahead of the time there in Florida and had invited them to come and be a part of the prayer team with us. We were so blessed. We will continue to pray for them. The reality of how God puts love in the hearts of His people for a people group is no different no matter where they are located. People closely connected to those you are trying to reach are always the ones who will have the influence to reach them. These intercessors from Florida will reach many. We will continue to pray for them and for the favor of the Lord to take back to those they have influence with to learn more about Orality and to work with the oral communicators in Orlando, as well as to the rest of Florida and then to the ends of the earth. We praise God for He heard our cries and answered. The Hispanic prayer warriors were now fully engaged in Orality!
With the Hispanic influence at this last ION conference, we are seeing first hand how ION is before our eyes morphing into more of a regional thrust with North America being one of the seven regionals. We saw growth in the people who were attending. With growth and more people, means more leaders are needed for positions in ION North America. We are praying for every Gateway and Pathway facilitator position to be filled in each of the Regions.
Two years ago I was given the task of being Prayer Associate for the North American Region. The title, let alone the task, was overwhelmingly daunting to me. I couldn’t imagine it. As we say, I am just a little old grandma! Only biblical verses like “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” when they come to mind help me in my times of need. God likes to stretch all of us, and I have found He has, even more, to stretch in some of us! To God be the glory!
Having never been in such a position, I learned a few things along the way. Sometimes I succeeded at doing them and sometimes not. I thank God the intercessors were forgiving. I took to heart to care for the weakest members as I have served. It was a blessing to serve this last year as the Prayer Room Facilitator for the North America Regional Conference. I knew I was one like them and had learned from this position. Fortunately, our senior prayer leader was taught and equipped to lead from the rear, thus moving us all forward. I learned, but I wish I had believed more and done more. But alas, I also learned from the Master, the Master StoryTeller.
From the stories, I learned to be more like Jesus. Oh, I recommend you do learn the stories! They are transforming! Oh, to lead like Him. Be like Him. Speak like Him, and sometimes learn from Him as when He, “He spoke not a word.” Pray like Him, and yes, in the prayer room and at all times, for His presence goes with us and abides in us. Hallelujah!
Lastly, I learned a prayer request from an ION leader, one who knows and lives out the stories of Jesus. He asked us to pray for his wisdom, integrity, and holiness. That is a wow prayer! We continue to pray this for our leaders and imagine with me their impact. These aren’t mere words. They are holiness before a holy God, humility before God and man, true wisdom, and unchanging integrity. These are true virtues. Thank You, God, for hearing our prayers and making these men of God, men of God!
After taking on the role of North America Prayer Associate, the stories of the Bible became even more real and empowering. The model of Orality is more than telling a story aloud. It is becoming part of the story and entering into the story. The story is to become mine. I found the stories most helpful when having to publically speak. The words of God in Exodus 4:12 say, “I will be your mouth and teach you what you are to say.” or in Acts 4, I rested in my spirit when I realized who Peter and John were. I had read those verses many times, but learning to Story them made a big impact on my life and how I worked with ION. Acts 4, verse 13 says, “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus”. That is the key. They recognized that these untrained men had been with Jesus. Yes, it is all about being with Jesus and His Story connects us with Him. There is power in the Word, especially the spoken Word. “Take My yoke you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 12:29. We need the stories to tell the Story. Thank you, God! Thank you for Orality!
The stories, as you can tell have had a great impact on us in the prayer room. We use them in everything we do. Many of those who serve in prayer have taken training in Orality and in Story Telling. One of my favorites stories is, “Moses is dead.” In Joshua 1:5-7 it says, “. . . Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail or forsake you. Only be strong and courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.” These verses help us in praying the hard things. It is obedience, no matter what. God is with us and “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
As I think back on the ION prayer room, there are so many things to be thankful for. I remember an artist, Denise Przybyla who served with us so many times, would draw in the prayer room. And so often over the years Maureen Bravo would take our notes, by scrolling what was being said onto large white paper, capturing what was happening in the room. Then the panels would be displayed up on the wall so that whoever walked into the room could see what God was doing in the Prayer Room.
The picture below is one of those panels. It is of God’s beating heart and the intercessors sitting there with Jesus. It was appropriately titled, “Enter the Chamber of God’s Heart”. This visual was done in one of the beginning prayer rooms for ION, but is most relevant for us today and always. We are to tabernacle with God and bask in the Presence of the Lord. Then we can know the heart of God and hear His voice. Then we can know the heart of God and hear His voice. He then will tell us “great and mighty things which we do not know”. How glorious! We will be there one with Him.
As John 17:20-21 says, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe You sent Me.” Imagine! This is the High Priestly Prayer and Jesus prays this for us, and we pray this for those who have yet to hear!
Come with us into the prayer room. We will sit and bask in the Presence of our Lord, and listen, and worship, and commune with Him. This is heaven on earth which is prepared for all. May our longing hearts then hear the cry of Christ, the Redeemer. He said He came to “seek and save those who are lost” and we cry out with Him for those who still need to hear.
Yes, Lord Jesus!
Join us to pray for some Orality Prayer Requests & praises:
Praise the Lord for the recording of five books of the Old Testament into theGadsuplanguage inPapua New Guineain January. These books include Ruth, Obadiah, Jonah, Haggai and Malachi. Those who took part in the recording process were deeply enriched by the Word of God. Pray that Gadsup speakers will hunger for God’s Word and grow in their walk with God as a result of listening and engaging with this mini audio Bible.
One of the tangible results of the partnerships developed over the ten years of the Pacific Wa’a Partnerships* (PWP) is the operation of threeYouth With A Mission(YWAM) ships inPapua New Guinea(PNG). These ships are being used to bring health services to some of the remote parts of Papua New Guinea as well as training and upskilling of Papua New Guinean health workers. Pray for the Scripture use** activities that the ship personnel participates in to encourage churches in the villages they visit. One such activity is the showing of theJESUS Film. Many people have responded to the gospel after watching the film.
The translation team for the Enga language is creating audio recordings of each book of the New Testament as it is completed. When people start listening to the Bible, those with basic literacy skills often want to read along with a printed copy as they listen to the recording. In the process of doing so they teach themselves how to read their own language. Because of this, the team is also releasing audio recordings of the Enga Bible as an Android phone app that highlights the text sentence-by-sentence as the audio recording plays. Pray that the Scripture impacts lives as people read and listen to it.
Thank the Lord that the team translated the audio script for “Healing the Wounds of Trauma” for local radio. This will reach Kabba speakers in CAR and across the border into
You are invited to join the Weekly ION Prayer Call at 2pm EST GMT-5 each Thursday:
and prayer thru the Events and Articles. There is a lot going on in Orality around the globe.
For those of you who have not yet gotten your copy of the new prayer book, you can download the digital eBook version from the ION Orality.net website: https://orality.net or purchase a printed copy on Amazon.
Connecting with others in Global Prayer:
We invite you to be a part of this Ethne collaborative Prayer Initiative
“In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God’s work,
especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer.”
~Dick Eastman
24:14 is a global coalition praying and working together to start kingdom movement engagements in every unreached people and place by 2025.
We’re looking for individuals, groups, churches, and movements who will join us in asking God to do 2 things:
Raise up an extraordinary prayer movement for every unreached people and place before
Send equipped church planting multiplication (CPM) teams to every unreached people and place by 2025
How might you integrate praying these 2 things into your context?
What are you already praying for and when are you praying?
How could praying these 2 things to integrate into that?
How might you partner with others in praying these 2 things?
Email us at prayer@2414now.net to let us know how and when you’re praying for these 2 things.
4:14 Canopy of Prayer
We would like to see every hour of each month covered in prayer for the 24:14 Coalition and all its work.
This article was published in Dec. 2016, but very much still relevant today. It goes in depth on the drive behind having prayer as the foundation of everything you are doing and how that might happen. It looks like actually praying and having prayer integrated into your work and ministry!
FEBRUARY 2019 – Orality.Net Praise & Prayer Update
We are in a new season! This month we begin to open the door to allow Guest Writers and Editors to bring their stories to share with the larger audience what God is doing within the context of the Orality Network. You will hear from those who pray and are involved in the prayer movement. Sharing the idea of how one person’s story can impact many other peoples story. God used the pattern of allowing for the story of one, to launch us corporately into a much bigger story. We believe we need to allow the stories from the Prayer Room and those who serve the larger group to be heard. As we hear others share, the big picture of the ION Prayer Story is being written.
Throughout this year you will be hearing from Guest Editors and Writers as they bring their stories and experiences to the table in prayer.
One of our hopes is to release a desire or thirst to move in a new way in more informed intercession because of the Spirit’s work in us and God’s desire to bring the new thing.
Keeping in mind these things this year in having Guest Editors & Guest Writers:
1. We are shifting into the fullness of the “new thing”. As well we must share the stories of what God has been doing to bring into FOCUS the “looking forward” of the Network and what God has been doing since St. Louis when everything shifted.
2. Our purpose is to help share and bring experiences, learned and unlearned ideas, and Spiritual MOVEMENT forward in us that God has been teaching along our journey’s while being connected to the Orality Network.
3. Simply to steward well the prophetic gift or gifts that have been deposited, NOT to cause anyone to be uncomfortable or to drive anything. Just to simply be stewards and release the deposit to the larger group.
Again, we are shifting into the fullness of “the new thing”. The further movement into the “more” of God in Ephesians 3:20-21.
This year we are seeing the fullness of “The New Thing” that God has been doing with the Orality Network for several years coming into full view!
We want everyone to catch what God has been doing and try to put some of this into a story of what the ION Prayer Teams have been experiencing. Beginning this month we are going to push the pause button. Calling for a hard stop so to speak, so that we can look back in order to move forward!
We ask you to pause and pray with us for this year to be an astonishing year for everyone within the Orality Network!
It seems to many of us that serve or have served on the ION Prayer Teams that God has been taking the Orality Network and our partners on an accelerated journey. But for some who might not have caught the shift, you might not have as much clarity or vision for the forward movement that has been happening.
In order to move forward, it is always wise to stop and evaluate where you are and where you have been!
We are praying for everyone to come into the new place as one as we continue to celebrate where we are going.
Looking back to what we would say was a spiritual marker for ION and a definite shift happened in 2013 in St. Louis that stopped us from moving in old patterns of business as usual!
We are aware some of you do not go back with us that far. That is not the point, but we want to do some spiritual housekeeping so to speak in sharing what the Prayer Teams believes was a monumental shift that set in the Network to move forward into the place of much of what we are seeing come before us now in 2019.
As a prophetic prayer team, we look at what we “see” in a multi-dimensional sense. We are always looking for prophetic deposits…
Things like:
What does it look like for us individually and corporately in the “looking forward” & seeing the “new thing”?
How have we been challenged and what is God trying to say?
We take note of patterns, shift, and changes in mindsets.
We try to keep all of this within the context of and in the area of prayer.
There was a significant shift that happened in St. Louis in Sept. 2013 … everything changed in the format, purpose, and timing for ION that year that moved us into where we find ourselves today.
Remembering
The Gateways were introduced.
The reality of the Annual Meeting not continuing
An intentional move from being an international group who met annually, to operate as a truly global network.
Looking back at that pivotal point in ION’s history is a reminder to pay attention to the shift, which can be seen as the birthing of the beginning of the many Gateways and Regions that we see active today!
Something else happened. . . for some individuals that were in attendance that year, God was encountering them to open themselves up to the “more” He has in store for us at believers who trust fully in Him.
God Encounters Cause Change.
For the ION Prayer Team much has changed. We hope that as we share stories of those changes, lessons learned and new patterns, we might begin to see how it all fits into the big picture the Orality Network.
Looking back so that we can move forward. . .
Think back to the last session as Tara Rye who served as the MC led us in the closing session and in that precious prayer time. At the end of the conference, she was sharing on TITRATION and what happens when the last drop falls into the vessel that causes the OVERFLOW to happen… That was to us a no going back moment on God’s clock.
What follows here is a testimonial from one of our Prayer Team members, Barb Morrow as well as what God downloaded to her in the form of a visual message received during those closing moments in prayer.
Back then what God gave in St. Louis seemed to be just for the prayer team. We prayed into it and asked the Holy Spirit to release the meaning. It was not the right timing then to release what was shared with the Prayer Team from that spiritual moment in time. But in looking back so that we can move forward, we believe it is the correct timing now!
Be sure to follow this to the end and ask the Holy Spirit to let you see if maybe what Barb saw was a beautiful first view of what we call today “REGIONS”.
Personal Testimony from The International Orality Annual Conference St. Louis, Missouri September 19, 2013
A Memorable Quote that quickened the heart of this Intercessor:
“Let us become that one drop that unlocks transformation!” – Tara Rye
This conference was my first introduction to the concept of Orality. I found it to be an excitingly unique style of learning and of conceptualizing information and building memories. Those in my age group, sixty-five and older, may remember an attitude prevalent within some churches at the time of our development “You can walk alone, you don’t need anyone else but God!” Evangelism centered around inviting others to church, church activities, and contributing money to missions. Although witnessing of our faith was highly stressed, I struggled with this problem of: “How are we to influence others to believe in Jesus if we are not to build interdependent relationships with these others?” There was also the problem: “How are we to learn to relate to God effectively, whom we cannot see if we cannot depend on the relationships with those we can see?”
Having internalized this mindset, it has taken me a lifetime to trust that God is willing to provide the kind of Love that will satisfy our most intimate desires! The learning style of my past had been excessively literate. I was lacking conversational proficiency, due to a very mobile childhood in an age where children were to be seen but not heard. There was a great deal of insecurity as I attempted to convert private thoughts and subjective experiences into the speed of conversational interactions.
Being a stay-at-home mom, in the decades when such an occupation had fallen out of favor, did not help me cultivate opportunities for conversational practice either. My Christian witness retained a very silent nature, depending primarily upon obedient behavior. Yet this left my heart isolated to deal with daily frustrations all by myself. Without meaningful social connections, the struggle to bring my soul into alignment with my spirit consumed so much energy, that the call to reproduce my faith was often a burden of obligation, rather than a joy. At the Conference in 2013, I gained a new perspective of a more relational way of seeking Truth.
Listening to the basic differences between oral learning and abstract learning, turned out to be an extraordinary awakening for me. I saw that there is no abstract standard operational procedure that we are called to attain; His will is indeed personal! My concept of God was transformed! Previously, I held an image that resembled a god that was examining my every self-expression, testing to see if it was worthy of Himself. Since then, it has become evident to me how very much involved Our Lord is in the process of creating reproductive relationships. These person to person connections carry His own self-image within each intentional, unselfish expression of Love.
It makes sense that such a creative Abba would gain much pleasure in witnessing His children’s expressions of their love for Him, in each of their own unique ways. Could it be that Our God desires to be known and welcomes our expressions of love, recognizing their sacrificial quality? Then He responds with the wisdom and skill of a perfect parent. Is this not the way we enjoy our children? What better way to motivates our will into agreement with His own? The security offered in such a relationship has inspired me to share such experiences openly. I believe the character of this kind of joy would be found more difficult if relating to expressions of truth and love were only stored upon the printed page. Would not the contextual cues of intimacy become much more dependent upon one’s past experiences and leave more unsupervised room for self-centered interpretation?
Immediate correction for misunderstandings is not as accessible when depending upon a book for revelation, as it is in face to face communications. How does one expect to have their questions for clarification answered by pages of paper?
The interaction of dialogue generates a different quality of energy and helps me organize my thoughts into conversational packages, which can more readily become reproductive within multiple relationships.
I’ve observed, concepts developed through attentiveness to written monologues require some deconstruction to get them to fit into the flow of conversation. They are largely dependent upon the skill of recall and organization from only one member of the discussion at a time. Understanding, within the literate realm, is more private and individualistic favoring those who have read the subject material. Does this literate conceptualizing not tend to have a passive character, which is more suitable for private reflection, than it is for active conversation? I found the learning I gleaned from printed text needs a big picture perspective to provide structure for a meaningful attachment of the details. This need becomes frustrating when attempting to learn technical information. The learning I cultivate from interpersonal dialogue possesses the whole relationship as the structure for the attachment of details, which allows me more processing space.
Might this be due to the built-in feedback system from an external source of opinion, combined with my own, providing two witnesses? Later in life, when I was introduced to the spiritual culture of the Prophetic Rhema Word conversational discipleship, I felt liberated to express my Christianity with the confidence that I was being led by the Holy Spirit and not a self-centered one. It was during this time that I received my calling as an Intercessor. The guilt I had felt for not sharing my faith was relieved when I learned to confess my trust in the revelation God provides, rather than my own reasoning.
Out of submission to the Holy Spirit, I am learning to sow His Word into the personal relationships within our culture. This is a way I thoroughly enjoy serving God for the advancement of His Kingdom in the earth. The new experience of mutuality within relationships and this outlet for the expression of my love stimulated passionate gratitude to Our Father. How could I ever thank Him for the covenantal relationship He redeemed for us? It required the lifeblood and perfect sacrifice of His treasured son, who willingly submitted to death, on the awful crucifix. He agreed to do this to fulfill the requirements of God’s Eternal Law in my place! My intercession was transformed by the new understanding of God’s contextual conversations through human relationships.
Revelation-based relations which are submitted unto the expressions of His Will, supply more joy, than the will of my human desires to serve Him from the basis of “factual” truths. Relationships are Eternal, but they are fed by time invested in the culture of the present.
Let the conversational wisdom of our Gospel message translate across cultural boundaries and learning styles and become gloriously fruitful in the Power of the Spirit of Holiness! Amen
Gratefully submitted by
Barbara Morrow
INTERNATIONAL ORALITY NETWORK ANNUAL CONFERENCE St.Louis,Missouri-Wednesday-September 19, 2013 DoubleTree Conference Center - Ballroom Submitted by Barb Morrow
The prayer from my heart to ourBig-Big God was:“Let ION be entrusted to become the vessel ofYeshua’sLove Language which is being poured out into the Love Languages of each “one” of God’s creation!”
THE VISION FROM GOD
I saw with the eyes of my spirit a huge wedding goblet in the Hand of God. It was tipped, and out of it pouredLiving Water which was being transformed into Wine. This Winewas filling another wedding goblet beneath it. Thesecond goblet had three letters engraved on the side of it. The engraved letters were I.O.N.
Around the ION goblet were a multitude of other goblets waiting to receive the wine of Divine Love.
These waiting goblets were animated in theireagerness to receivethe outpouring ofYeshua’sLife! When theWine was filling each cup it was being transformed into the love language belonging to each goblet. Yet at the same time, it was revitalizing the receiving language with new Life.
This part of the vision reminded me of the Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit; it was an invitation to all who willbelieve and come to the table to commune in the Love that God provides.
Next,I saw a great movement,and at first was unable to discern what I was seeing. Itis difficult to describethesegreatswirls and powerful movement. So,I asked The Lord what this was.
He told me it was the winds of His Spirit moving through the Harvest Fields. I could sense a real weightiness to this part of the vision. Then I began to see distinct waves of grain, as I imagine it might look like if awindstorm came through the wheat fields of Kansas. Only these stalks of grain were much taller than I was. I was taken back by the Beauty of the moving waves of grain, when I heard, My fields are now white and ready for the Harvest!
Then I felt a sinking feeling in my soul, as I saw how few workers were available to help harvest the fields, as theywere so beautiful in their ripeness. I heard the Word“Pray to ME for more laborers for I AM able to supplythe workers needed—have no doubt!“
Next, I saw this giant sickle begin to move across the field, swiftly cutting through the stalks of grain.
I could only wonder at how sharp it must be to move so quickly.Suddenly I was surprisedby a big red sickle appearing in the vision. The red one was not as large,or as sharp as the first one. I said, “Lord, this one looks like the symbol the Arabs use.”
Again,there was a terrific weightiness to the atmosphere as I heard, I have prepared and raised up this Orality Movement to be my instrument to overcome the spirit of Islam at loose in the world. My Kingdom is advancing on the earth and it WILL overtake the kingdom of darkness. I was awestruck .
The tone of the vision began to changeas the image of the two harvest fields and the two sickles faded. It became like twilight turning into night, and a sense of seriousness pervaded, as I had a sense a warning.
It’s important for ION to follow hard after me as Abraham did, trusting ME in each step of the wayso the same blessing given to Abraham may become a reality in the ION movement. (Genesis 22:18 “In your seed, ALL the nations of the earth shall be BLESSED, becauseYou have obeyed MY voice.”) And if you open the way into the Promised Land of Eternal Life—by submitting to the shepherding wisdom of the Holy Spirit as Yeshuadid,––then the Power of Divine Love will be the essence of the movement.
This ended the vision! But to help me remember the vision I asked God to give me symbols or a picture for the three different parts.
Cups
God’s Cup being poured out into – ION then ION’s Cup being poured out into the smaller jiggling cups… with many cups waiting
The Harvest Fields
The illustrations are included below:
We invite you to link in each week to the Thursday Prayer Call
We invite you to link to the Orality.net website to find out more about how you can get involved in shareing the Gospel in a way that can really be received!
Prayer Requests you can join in to pray for this month from our Orality Partners
Please join to pray through all of the events posted on the Orality.net website:
Pray for the translation facilitator working on a proposal and budget for dubbing the Jesus Film in four languages. She wants to process the direction with the denomination and to make a trip to the village before a church meeting on February 10. Pray for quick approval of the proposal which she partly translated to be more understandable by the local community. Ask that she can contact the four regional church offices affected by the Jesus Film before they hold their region-wide meeting, so that plans for the Film and its use can be included in their plans. Pray for God’s direction in each detail and for the choosing of voice actors for each language community.
Three Scripture videos in a major language of Asia are now available on YouTube. The videos are The Bride’s Ten Friends, Job’s Spring, and Daniel’sTomb. These short films incorporate scenes shot in Central Asia and present Scripture stories in a culturally relevant way. Pray that the distribution team will have stamina, wisdom and skill to promote the videos successfully through social media. Pray that those who view the videos will become curious and will explore more of the Bible. Anyone interested in sharing these video links please first contact prayer_eurasia@sil.org.
A translation team praises God for the completion of the audio recordings of the book of Genesis in their language. Pray for the three team members who will use images and resources to produce three separate sets of videos from the audio recording. Pray that God prepares the hearts and minds of people who will watch and listen to these videos through social media.
Audio recording of the Bible in a major language of Central Asia began in January. Praise God that the Bible Society received permission from the government for this project. Praise God that the required number of voice actors have been found. Pray that the actors will remain committed. Pray for mutual trust and good rapport among those involved and that studio equipment and logistics will run smoothly.
The Eurasia Media and Distribution Consultation (EMDC) will be held in the Netherlands April 8-11, with training sessions before and after the event. A total of 30 different training tracks will be offered. Pray for the team who is organizing all this. Registration is going well. Some 200 organizations will be represented in the 600+ attendees to create great networking opportunities. Obtaining a visa can be difficult for people from some of the 60+ countries represented. Training mother tongue workers is a high priority for EMDC. Pray for God’s help in obtaining visas.
Praise God that the recording of the voice actors for the JESUS film was almost completed in December. Only the part of the narrator needs to be recorded. Pray for this final important role and that the production of the film will be successfully completed by partners in Asia.
Connections staff in Bangladesh are helping to train people to install Bible apps and other resources into mobile phones. Connections personnel are looking forward to developing language-specific apps. Pray for the Lord to bring people to do this work and to provide the needed resources for this project. Praise God for the partnership with a mobile app development training group. As a result, the Connections team has also partnered with YouVersion to develop a Bible app for kids. They are praying for more people to help out.
Rob Harvey was a true treasure, wonderful husband, father and friend. What can one say about Rob? He was a one of a kind. God broke the mold when He made Rob. He lived life with a Joy so deep and real that I have never seen before. He lived life walking this earth in communion with his Savior. Now, Rob walks in communion with his Savior in Heaven.
PLEASE NOTE:
Prayer for Oral & Bibleless People Groups 