The core focus for this month of prayer comes from Isaiah 45:
"I myself will prepare your way, leveling mountains and hills; I will shatter the bronze doors and cut the iron bars in two. I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I, the Lord, the God of Israel call you by your name. I call you by your name, because of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one. I give a name to you, though you do not know Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know Me, so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
Case Study in Persevering Prayer
Here is a story from a church planter, told in his own words.
"There is a village where I sent two of my church planters. After a few days, the village discovered that the men were Christians and sent them out. They don’t want anything to do with Christianity, they said. The men came back and reported to me, “That village is hostile. We went to the chief and the chief said, ‘No, they don’t like that,’ so they don’t want us to be there, and we have come back.” So I said, “Okay, if you have come back, then let’s pray.” So we spent about two days; I told the intercessory team, I said, “Let’s pray for that village.” So we prayed for that village. And I said, “Okay, by next week, I am adding another person to you, so there will be three of you. Go there again. Let’s see what happens.” So they went there, but the amazing thing was that the chief’s son had a problem. He had a physical problem and they had tried a lot of things, a lot of ways to amend that problem, to no avail. You know, as they entered the village, they went to the chief’s compound, and the chief still replied to them, “No way! You people again? We have sent you out, you have gone, and you have come again? No way!” So they said, “Well, Chief, may we pray?” and the chief said, “Who will deny prayer? As long as it is prayer to help us, we will not deny it. Pray for us, but after prayer, please, you can go, because we don’t want you to come and say anything to our children to turn their heart from what they are taught, from Islam to another religion; that is the white man’s religion. We don’t need it here.” They saw the son’s sickness, a kind of polio, and they said, “Can we pray for your son?” And he said, “Yes, you can go ahead and pray, but remember, after prayer, the way is open for you to go, because we’re not going to accept you. But you can pray.” And here’s the exciting news: they prayed for that child and instantly he became healed, completely, no limping, no nothing. The child jumped up and said, “I am healed, father!” and grabbed his father. The father said, “You people, you are magicians!” And they said, “No! This is Jesus!” And the man said, “As from today, this is your home. If you want, you can build a very big cathedral, that is your business, but take the town, you are welcome!” They did not take the chief up on his generous “cathedral in the bush” offer, but they were permitted to make disciples and plant a church in that place."
-Miraculous Movements Jerry Trousdale
