Because God told us to have a place where people can come and pray until they really have prayed.
How often do we find that we quickly tag on a request for God to bless us, our family and the thing that we are doing, hoping it is the thing God's wants us to do. There is a deep difference in praying this kind of brief prayer (which sometimes is what is needed), and true intercession which comes out of waiting on God until a connection is made in the spirit with the heart of God and praying what is actually on His heart.
This takes tarrying and waiting, "wasting" time of Jesus lavishly, as did Mary, who sat at His feet. It looks foolish to Martha's, but this type of prayer, is what really has to happen before true works of God happen. Many times we are busy doing Christian – looking good works, but are they truly birthed out of God’s heart, or are they a copy of what someone else is doing, some other church is doing, etc? Did we wait until we really heard what He wants for us, our church, our city, our nation?
When Marja was 21 years old, she was in a desperate time in my life and she felt like she was really losing her mind. She began to pray and call out to God in a more serious way, because He said to her:
"How do you expect Me to be a part of your life when you only spend 5 minutes a day with me?"
Marja felt He asked her to give Him one hour a day and began to do that. It was not easy at first, but she was desperate enough to persevere. About 2 months into this waiting time, she suddenly felt like a well broke open ...
"I began to flow in intercessory prayer."
From that time on, Marja began to experience amazing answers to prayer.
"People who I prayed for on a regular basis, though they did not know about it, began to be drawn to me. They began to ask me for counsel (which I did not think I had to give...but told them how to pray...some caught on and are now doing the work of the ministry themselves as they discovered this power of prayer and waiting on God)."
God has led her to minister in 9 different countries...the countries that she has mostly prayed for. She has experienced answered prayers in so many ways...along with books and books of journaling...calling out to God, hearing His voice and writing out what she senses He is saying, and the answers that have come through.
Our God is an amazing God who hears us, who speaks to us and leads us, if we are willing to take the time to quiet ourselves...it takes that discipline, and at first it is a discipline...later it becomes a delight, a source of power and strength. It becomes such a precious place, that one would rather miss a party to withdraw into that quiet place to meet with Jesus.
"In this process I discovered how much He loves me...not because I am perfect, which I am so far from, but because He has chosen to love me and be delighted in me. Hearing His voice, answers to prayer, the closeness of His presence are how He manifests His love to us. As a young christian, I always felt like I disappointed God. I was always aware of my failures and shortcomings. As I began to draw close to Him, I discovered He was not a God like that at all. He is a God who is pretty excited with me...like a parent with a child who is learning to walk. The child stumbles and falls many times in the process of learning. The parents are so delighted in the process and just cheer the child on. That is how God sees us!! That really set me free. We are 'dark, but lovely' to Him, as the Song of Solomon speaks.
"As I began to spend more time with God, it was like leaning on His heart and then hearing what was on His heart. He began to show me our city, our nation, and the nations. He began to give me a great burden for the nation of Israel. Since then, I have been to Israel 3 times, on prayer journeys.
"I have twice joined the All Nations Prayer Convocation there led by Tom Hess of the Jerusalem House of Prayer, one time being the Canadian representative to present our prayer needs before all the other nations. That was a very powerful time for me. To join with hundreds of people from most of the nations, and over a 10 day time period, worship, pray and declare the word of the Lord over each of these nations. I have included a picture of this in this article. I thought, 'this is what I was created for ... to worship the Lord together with the nations and to pray for them!!' It is an amazing experience to worship like that ... a foretaste of heaven when every tribe and nation comes to worship before the throne of God. Together, we are a bride globally. We are one, we love and worship our Saviour."
Israel
"I have twice joined the All Nations Prayer Convocation there led by Tom Hess of the Jerusalem House of Prayer, one time being the Canadian representative to present our prayer needs before all the other nations. That was a very powerful time for me. To join with hundreds of people from most of the nations, and over a 10 day time period, worship, pray and declare the word of the Lord over each of these nations. I have included a picture of this in this article. I thought, 'this is what I was created for ... to worship the Lord together with the nations and to pray for them!!' It is an amazing experience to worship like that ... a foretaste of heaven when every tribe and nation comes to worship before the throne of God. Together, we are a bride globally. We are one, we love and worship our Saviour."
Marja also attended the "Feast of Tabernacles" in Jerusalem twice. This Feast, is an international praise and worship time! Again she was awestruck with being able to just worship with the nations - almost 6,000 people from the nations worshipping together and counts it a privilege to have had these experiences. Now, Canada is coming to this also. At the Consumed Gathering in Edmonton, August 24 - 26, 2006, about 300 internationals joined the Gathering of 3,500 people.
"We worshipped together without an agenda. It was one of the most powerful gatherings I have experienced. Then we prayed for some of the nations. Canada blessing the nations!! That is what we were called to do! That is our destiny!"
Africa
Another time, as Marja watched a documentary about one the countries of Africa and she began to weep and pray. "I was so gripped by that for months, I had to just call out to God and pray and pray with many tears. Within less than a year, God made a way for me and a friend, Shannon Willis, to travel to three countries in Africa to teach about prayer in 3 different Bible Schools there. So many times God showed me that when we really pray, really pray, He then sends us out to 'go' as well."
Tuomo and Marja have prayed over all of their 5 children from the womb:
"...we have watched amazing answers to prayer. Through different prophetic words that came over them, we got the direction and prayed the word over them again and again.
"One of the words was that our children would be shot like arrows into the countries that we have prayed over, and that is what has happened. Our kids have all travelled to the nations, by divine leading of the Lord, on long term and short term missions - ministry and marketplace missions. And then one year...when one was in Africa, and another in the USA, the Lord gave a word that He was going to bring my children back from the east. Within a short time both of these sons and their families moved back to Canada and we have had the privilege to have our grandchildren near us. We cherish and value that so much and sense the Lord has given this time for us to invest in their lives. At the same time, we don't hold tightly because we know God can send them out again. But He cares for us so intimately that He makes these wonderful changes to bless us. He doesn't send our kids far away and that is it! He can bring them home so we can enjoy our grandkids! Isn't that so amazing!! He is a God of delights! He gives us the desires of our hearts when we delight ourselves in Him.
"This is a privilege, this walk of prayer and the results from it, for every christian". It is not just for a few people. However, not everyone moves into this walk and takes a hold of this privilege. It is for every child, every adult and it is very simple. There is no secret here. But there is a price: "
“Seek Me and you will find Me, when you seek for Me with all your heart"
Jeremiah 29:13
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