Grace

It has been said that grace is 'us receiving what we do not deserve' and I want to add to that ....  good things!  Grace is us receiving the 'good things' that we don't deserve.  Because it could be looked at as if we don't deserve bad things but we get bad things.  

So no!  Grace is us receiving the good things from God that we don't deserve.  We are sinners, we have fallen short of the glory of God.  We do not do those things that we aught to do and we do the things which we know we aught not to do.  But Jesus came to rescue us from the punishment, from the justice that we do deserve for the things that we have done wrong.  He has come to save us so that we can be overshadowed by God's Grace, His goodness that we don't deserve.  But let us not have an attitude that says that we are not worthy, that we're nothing because God sees us as worthy!  God sees us through the blood of Jesus, through the blood of the Lamb, through the lens of sacrifice.  So when he comes to us to lavish His love all over us, upon us, He doesn't turn away in disgust and dismay.  He comes to us and sees us pure and holy, in the likeness of His Son.  He sees us as pure so that His love will stick to us.  His love will come deep into our very souls so that we can show His love and His grace to a hurting world, to a world that doesn't deserve His goodness.  

     

               Here is love vast as the ocean, loving kindness as a flood.

      Where the Prince of life, our random, shed for us His precious blood.

                            Who His love will not remember?

                            Who can cease to sing His praise?

       He shall never be forgotten, throughout heaven's eternal days!

               Dyma gariad fel y moroedd, tosturiaethau fel y lli:

           Twysog Bywyd pur yn marw, marw i brynu'n bywyd ni.

                        Pwy all beidio â chofio amdano?

                        Pwy all beidio â thraethu'I glod?

            Dyma gariad nad â'n angof, tra fo nefoedd wen yn bod.

We are dearly loved because of God's grace.

When is this baby going to be born?

Could it be that it was because of a Holy Saturday silence, misinterpreted as His absence, when God was calling His children to come deeper and to seek Him with the whole of their hearts, that the past revivals have diminished into the history books rather than producing generations who continue to love God with heart, mind and soul.  Or is it that the faith of the fathers had to die with them so that the 'new thing' could spring up through the sons?

Selah!

I keep on hearing it said that often we pray continuously, waiting patiently for a 'suddenly' of God - could this be a time that we are praying and expecting a suddenly?  I know that I am.  I have felt for a long time like a woman who has long passed 'full term' and have been crying out to God, "When is this baby going to be born?"  Unlike an overdue delivery of a child God is never overdue on His promises. He is always faithful and will deliver at the appointed time.  So we need to keep praying, expectantly, building on the prayers of the generations before us who have been waiting for a move of the Spirit unlike anything experienced even in the revivals that we look back longingly on, just hoping that God will do it again!

Our longing, our waiting, our praying has changed from a looking back and asking for God to do it again.  We are in a season of the fulfilling of our desires for the Spirit to move in our day.  There is a fresh outpouring which brings refreshing not only to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ but will also bring life to those who have been looking on from a distance and from close by. Life in all of it's fulness as Jesus promised.

This baby is being born!

A brief and impromtu holiday

Amsterdam is full of surprises with a fresh adventure around every corner and yet another canal in whichever direction your instinct takes you. Dil and I, (Dil is my husband for the uneducated amongst my readers) arrived on Friday and by the end of Saturday evening we'd seen the edges of the red light district, smelt and probably inhaled a good bit of cannabis as we passed by the "coffee" shops. There was a T-shirt in the window of one of these establishments which summed up what the normal practice is. It said, "smoking allowed, tobacco banned"! Needless to say they were selling the wrong stuff for us. In our 36 hrs here we've paid over the odds for many cups of coffee, eaten much delicious food (the best was in a restaurant called CAU which I can recommend wholeheartedly), and munched our way through some rather strange boiled sweets, 'Old Dutch Rainbow Mix'. There are very many churches here, all very large and mainly inaccessible and uninviting. The largest one is supposedly the biggest church in Europe and Rembrandt is reputed to be buried there, though no-one really knows if either of those 'facts' is really true. One attraction I really wanted to visit was Anne Frank's house. We found it along with a queue that went round several corners and we decided not to bother as it was raining heavily and we didn't want to go there enough to warrant a soaking. We discovered later that it would have taken anywhere between 2 and 4 hrs to get in. I couldn't help wondering what Anne would think of the museum and cafe which cleans out the wallets of the tourists, it's all rather distasteful really. Instead we took a canal cruise to see the city's waterways and view from them. Then hand in hand we strolled the streets and passageways that meander alongside the canals and connect them by Amsterdam's myriad of pretty bridges. It was the most delightful couple of days. The only thing that spoiled it slightly for me was seeing, and hopefully not being identified with, the stereotypical 'Brits' who stood out like a sore thumb due to their drunkenness and dress (or lack of it!)

We found the Dutch people friendly and extremely efficient and at the same time quite 'chilled out'. They were respectful and seemed to appreciate our presence in their fair city! (Would I be cynical to comment that it was our money that makes us welcome – it has been a very affluent society and they do tourism extremely well) My recommendation - "Visit and pray"

Lindy Morgan - Firestarter: The Moravian, 24-7 Prayer and me and 'Miss Daisy'

Lindy Morgan - Firestarter: The Moravian, 24-7 Prayer and me and 'Miss Daisy'

The Moravian, 24-7 Prayer and me and 'Miss Daisy'

Something quite profound happened to me when I visited the Moravian Church at Brockweir during the recent Border Prayer Room project.

It wasn’t simply the church with its history tracking back to the early 18^th Century and Zinzendorf’s estate at Hernhutt in Germany, or even the sweetness of the presence of God there, or the prayer stations in various pews which took the pilgrim on a journey to a deeper faith with their questions and challenges.  It was the meeting of two lives lived separately but somehow and strangely connected through two great movements of prayer. This was the meeting of myself and the Moravian pastor Thom.  He has the Moravian church in his blood and as I met him it felt that through 24-7 Prayer I do also.  He was taken first to the Moravian Church in the USA by his grandmother who later moved to California and to a church plant there when he was 15 yrs old.  It wasn’t just the story of his journey but the joining together of two histories, ancient and modern that overwhelmed me.  I was completely undone and continue to be in that state of not totally understanding what I’ve experienced here. 

It felt like this was the end of my pilgrimage from Chester, down the border to this point.  Though my destination was to be Chepstow here I found the end of my personal journey, and yet the end is the beginning! I’ve had to come to the end to reach the beginning point.

Thom put it well when he described what I felt by quoting T.S. Eliot – ‘What we call the beginning is often the end, and to make an end is to make a beginning.  The end is where we start from.’

But what did this mean?  I didn’t yet understand.

The next day I came to Chepstow and saw the point where the River Wye enters the River Severn.  Then together these two rivers, who both have their origin on Plynlimon in Wales, enter the sea.   I heard the Lord speaking to me about the coming together of two great prayer movements.  And in this tumultuous coming together of the two rivers I had something of an explanation to what I felt when I met Thom.  The Moravians, as he told me, didn’t stop praying at the end of a hundred years.  As a church worldwide they carry on the prayer vigil that began in Hernhutt.  

So this river of prayer continues to flow and into it come many tributaries.  24-7 Prayer is but one, but what a great flow of prayer it is and totally in keeping with the Moravian ‘model’ of prayer leading to mission and justice which leads us to prayer and so on.  And so, onwards the two rivers, the Wye and the Severn, break out into the Bristol Channel and into the sea.  Likewise the prayer continues. 

The Moravian church, is still praying.  The 24-7 Prayer movement is still praying.  Both continuous, and both leading those who chance to open their hearts and lives to pray, into a place of no return. 

There’s no turning back for hearts that burst with a desire to change the world or at least the streets in which we live. This is a tide of mission and justice that breaks the banks of our ‘normal’ tidy lives.   The river can’t turn back, even when the tide turns the river continues to flow downstream and into the sea.  The prayer, even when the tide of opposition rises, even when friends forsake us, even when the body is weak, it continues.

 It continues.  

It continues on into the heart of God and accomplishes that which it set out to do. 

And so I thank the Lord for having met Thom.  For it was at this juncture, this meeting, that my life, my river joined with the great and ancient river that flows now on into the sea of prayer that has its origins in the heart of God.

The Border Prayer Room Project Final Report

It was a vision dreamed up in the heart of God and given to His Bride through the obedient work and prayerful dedication of Yvonne and Paul Mason.   All the way through to the end Yvonne referred to herself simply as God’s secretary or PA.  She heard what the Spirit was saying and followed His instructions.  When He said “wait”, she waited, when He directed her to contact a certain person in a certain place, she did so, without question but with abundant confirmation from a few trusted advisers.  From the time of the projects conception to its completion was exactly two years and that is the time scale that God gave Yvonne at the outset.   She’d had a picture of the Wales/England border with points down the length of it joined together by stitches or sutures.  The places were strategic, why the specific locations is only known by the Holy Trinity, and chosen by Him.  Each place would be twinned with another across the border being the site of a prayer room operating for 24 hours with blessing prayers being prayed across the border to its twin in the relay.  The effect of these blessings freely received and freely given upon both the spiritual atmosphere and consequently in the physical realm was profound.  We saw and experienced the coming together of two nations divided throughout history by wars and oppression which had led to deep seated animosity and resentment.  To see these border people coming together with one heart and mind totally committed to what the Lord was speaking to them about being one in Him was truly humbling.  Where Yvonne had started out intent on obeying God’s voice others had taken up and were likewise obedient to the move of His Spirit and prayer rooms were conceived and born in places where 24-7 Prayer had hitherto been unheard of.  Of course there were places where prayer was already active and there were places ‘on route’ where the Holy Spirit was clearly stirring and releasing treasures which had been hidden in darkness for generations.    There were several locations where 24-7 prayer rooms had functioned in the past and were very comfortable with setting up a creative and interactive space for people to freely engage with God in prayer.  In either case our prayers joined with theirs as heaven touched earth revealing the glory of God all down the border-lands.

 Concurrent to this there was a team who walking Offa’s Dyke which is the ancient border between the two countries.  These intrepid saints covered approximately 176 miles through rain, wind and sunshine over 14 days, starting at Prestatyn in the North and ending at Chepstow in the South.  They visited as many of the prayer rooms as was possible on route, were given food and accommodation wherever they stopped for the night and made friends along the way ... some of whom even walked with them a while.  Every step that they took was a prophetic declaration of blessing to bring unity between the nations where there had been age old disharmony.  ‘How blessed are the feet that bring the good news’ – indeed!

Also following the route were Andy Hughes (Urban Saints Wales), Greg Levers (Children’s Evangelist) who led children and youth prayer sessions in each location splitting the work between them with the help of Jon Price (Church Army) and Chris Deer (Hymn translator/Worshipper).  It was thrilling to hear the young people engaging with prayers of blessing across what once was described as a divide. 

Lindy praying and praising all the way in Miss Daisy - Llandrindod Wells – Leominster

I arrived late for the hand-over of the baton and book at Llandrindod Wells.  As I drove into the town a loud roaring shout rose up from deep inside, which I recognised, as the night before leaving Aberystwyth I’d had the same experience as we prayed for the project.  It was a battle cry in the spirit which broke the advance of oppression over the area.  I arrived expecting to hear what the battle was about.  Everyone, however had left the church except for two gentlemen who were praying in the beautiful prepared room which had been temporarily borrowed from the youth.  We spent a good half hour proclaiming blessing and speaking life over the Baptist Church and the people and town of Leominster.  As I tried to leave the town I was turned back by the Lord’s prompting and returned to the church in time for the children’s hour and spent much of the afternoon in fellowship with the lovely folk there learning what the spiritual needs are in the town and discovering what this barrage of oppression that I’d come against was.  I finally left knowing that the prayers being prayed in Leominster would be powerful and effective to break down strongholds. 

Of course this is Sunday and so there was going to be an evening service, which would be led by Greg Levers.  I was deeply impacted as he shared from the story of the feeding of the 5K, that we should be ready to give away all that we receive from Father God – and of course this is the very essence of the border prayers – ‘freely we’ve received so freely we give.’

The prayer room here was full of people right through the night.  It was vast, busy and full of really effective promptings and creative means of prayer.  And again God was, or should I say, IS tangibly present. 

“What I’ve found refreshing is that some of the older people who have come in to pray out of a sense of duty have been visibly softened as they’ve read the prayers and needs for prayer.”  This was a comment made by Katie Smith as their 24 hours come to an end.  There has been a paradigm shift in people concept of prayer and I don’t think they will ever be the same again.  As I sit in the prayer room writing this I’ve just heard an elderly gentleman mention that it has been a place of easy access to the Lord and that the Lord has been kept busy.

And all glory and honour and praise be to our God.

Amen

A very long couple of days with Miss Daisy - Craven Arms – Knighton – Ludlow – Preseigne

Craven Arms – Knighton – Ludlow – Preseigne

I came into Craven Arms earlier than expected.  When I went back to Miss Daisy to settle down for the night I couldn’t settle.  Then I heard the Lord telling me to pack down the van and to move on.  He said, “I want you to leave here NOW!”  So I drove to Craven Arms and in not finding a place near the church to park and with the lateness of the hour I was unable to ring anyone for help so I parked in a lay-by.  I spent the night buffeted by the wind created by the big lorries as they thundered past during the night and especially in the early hours of the morning.  I felt really uneasy about this to start with and wouldn’t get into my pjs or sleeping bag until the Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus had promised His angels to protect me.  So I settled down and slept solidly until the morning when I was exceedingly blessed to be able to prayer walk out on a country walk near the town which I accessed just opposite where I had parked.  Later I was told about about an incident which had happened just before I’d arrived at Church Stretton the day before where a man had stabbed his wife and then cut his own throat.  Neither had died but it explained the heaviness and dis-ease that I felt in that place.  When I came into Craven Arms Evangelical Church I was overwhelmed by the tangible presence of God.  I spent an hour and a half on my face, involuntarily,  and then stayed in the church until about 6.30pm drinking deep of the Spirit so freely poured out there and partaking of the food which was delicious and very much needed for my body.

Just to put you in the picture a little about what it’s like living, sleeping and travelling in Miss Daisy – when I arrived at Knighton, after staying and praying for a while I went to Pauline’s house and had a good long soak in a ‘Badedas’ bath.  Oh the bliss!  I felt almost human again.

Much of the night time slot was taken up by a priest from the Catholic church.  I stayed only a short time with him before bed beckoned me but he was an interesting character and clearly set on praying fervently for his English neighbours. Yes!!

I was busy at a conference in Newtown for nearly all of Saturday so only had time for a brief visit to Ludlow.  The church was all given over to praying for Presteigne.  They were totally selfless in seeking Jesus’ face to bless Wales.  Wonderful. 

I arrived in Presteigne in time to help Greg and Jon with the youth session.  There were just two young men there.  Brothers who both clearly know the Lord and were touched as we prayed for them.  The Lord graciously speaking to them through prophetic words and visions.  May they be blessed and grow on into the fullness of all that Christ Jesus has poured out for them.

We are enjoying greatly the fruit of the prayers prayed as the first week has been completed.  The flow of blessings and joy follows, overtakes us and comes back at us as we travel on.

Just some of what we've heard Father God saying ....

Today I want to tell you some of the prophetic words and pictures that the Lord has been blessing several people with.  This is just a sample.

o   I already told you a vision the Lord gave me of the battlements of Shrewsbury being passed through by a small child as the walls were like curtains.   I’ve been advised by two different people that this is a picture of the fulfilment of a prophecy given by Sharon Stone about Shrewsbury in which the Lord said that a small child (representation of Jesus) would go through the gate in the walls of Shrewsbury, and slay the dragon.  There was more that I’m sorry I don’t remember – if you do please put the whole prophecy,  up on the comments at the end of this blog. 

o   About Llangollen – The opportunity for Llangollen isn’t what the church can do for the National Eisteddfod but what the people of faith from other nations will bring to Llangollen that needs to be embraced.

o   This one is in the blessings book.  There were massive numbers of dandelion seed heads and the seeds were seen blowing across the nation(s).  This was the blessings, the Holy Spirit, new life, revival – and the dandelions were multiplying in number.

o   There is an increased urgency about the work.  The vision is in God’s timing.  Big days are coming when we will ALL turn to face the Lord.

o   In sewing together the two nations of England and Wales, down the border, we are sewing together the new wine skins!  Thank you Lord.

o   Cherry from Brockton saw the Offa’s Dyke walkers as a golden arrowhead.  There were angels going before as they forged their way through.  The track behind them was burning, like through paper as they zigzagged down the ancient border.

o   As Jenny prayed for Daphne Godwin at the launch on Friday night she saw two zips.  One was black and it was being undone, and the other was red, underneath the black one, and it was being done up.  The black zip represented the evil border being undone.  The red zip represented the two nations being brought together in the healing blood of Jesus.

o   Then today, as I prayed in the Newtown prayer room I saw a large pool, similar to a swimming pool.  There were many people sitting around the edge of the pool.  I knew that these people represented all of the people in all of the churches in Newtown.  Everyone was relaxed and happy and very much at ease with each other.  It felt like a holiday scene as everyone was dressed in their ‘bathers’.  Then the Lord showed me that this was like the pool of Bethesda (Bethsaida) and when the angel stirred the water everyone go in together.  No-one went first and no-one was left behind. Everyone entered the water simultaneously.  There was a healing of all the hurts and divisions in the body in the town and a unity in heart, mind and spirit.

o   Tonight I’m in Church Stretton.  Lord, please pour out your spirit of intercession on the younger generations.  They are blessed here to have some stalwart intercessors who would love to pass on the baton to those who are younger.

So the journey continues on into the heart of the nation with blessings going before us and blessings coming behind.  There’s no need to brush off the dust from our feet because we are being blessed everywhere that we go.  Praise the Lord.

Another day and night and day and night with 'Miss Daisy'

Llangollen to Oswestry to Llanfyllin to Shrewsbury

The prayer room in Llangollen was a peaceful haven or should that read ‘a piece of heaven’?. As I walked in I felt that I was home. Liezel had wonderfully facilitated a place of dwelling for the Lord and the Holy Spirit was gloriously present. I could describe the prayer stations but I’ll leave that to the film crew to give you a visual presentation (check this out at www.borderprayers.co.uk for those who are reading this on fb). I was there whilst the children’s prayer time was happening and ‘escaped’ into one of the quiet tents to be alone with God. We had business to do. For the first few days I’d really been feeling the battle and needed time alone to seek His face for the road ahead. My prayers were answered as the Offa’s Duke walkers came and we all prayed together for the blessings that are going back and forth across the borders but also for each other. I was so blessed by the Lord that by the time I got to Oswestry I was again full of hope and expectation and of course the Holy Spirit. It’s ok, those who know me know that I’m quite used to driving under the influence of the Spirit!! He always keeps me safe. It would be lovely if you could bless Liezel and Nathan in your prayers as having recently suffered a bereavement they have taken on the leadership of the church and that’s along with caring for a very young family.

And oh Oswestry. I love to worship and pray with like minded/hearted people and here I was welcomed as a long established friend. We prayed together into the evening and then I returned to pray in the morning having had a refreshing 2nd shower since leaving home! If anyone wants to bless me along route you can offer me a place to park my van, maybe electricity hook-up (I’ve got the necessary cable with ordinary plug) and a SHOWER ... lovely!

But it’s not about me. I’m glad to be a part of what God is doing.
I started yesterday by visiting Llanfyllin where the Lord has brought together some wonderful people who had set up a very intimate prayer room from the heart of a fellowship which was already releasing blessings into their community and are united as brothers and sisters of both nations to do so. The mix of Welsh and English Hymn singing was a great start and, as Yvonne commented, would not have been possible not that many years ago. ‘How good it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity’ Psalm 133:1 I saw here in this place what it will look like when these border lands are totally reconciled and have risen up in their destiny and give all of the glory and thanks to God.

Shrewsbury was my last visit for the day.
A place where we stopped and rested. We prayed with the regular Tuesday prayer meeting and actually hijacked it, quite intentionally, for we do come with an agenda, and fully prompted by the Holy Spirit we worshipped and prayed with these good people of Hereford. Then I had the joy of returning with ‘the walkers’ to pray again and we were greatly blessed to be joined by Richard Spenser, the vicar of Holy Trinity Belle View who has written a book called ‘Living Together in the Presence of God’ which tells the story of what God has done in their midst. We prayed a blessing over him and he us before we left and headed home to our hosts for a good night sleep.

This I saw as I prayed for Shrewsbury –
I saw the battlements around the town, not knowing if there are high walls but this is what I saw. Then a small child approached the wall sweeping it aside as a curtain and walked through it. I understood the Lord showing us that the battlements, the huge walls of hostility that have been defending the town of Shrewsbury from the Welsh is no longer solid but flimsy enough to be pushed aside even by a child.
I praise God for this. Hallelujah!