 Listen to this message on YouTube. I, Holly Otten, am the founder of 50 States Nightwatch, an intercessory prayer ministry, and author of the book Diary of an Intercessor. I was present for the following 3 prayer strikes or prayer gatherings where the Body of Christ in New England came together. These occurred within 5 days and were held on each day between May 17th and the 21st. At the 3rd prayer strike, I heard God reveal to me that a New England Revival Baby had been birthed. This was confirmed to me in several ways, including by global intercessors who sensed the same thing. 1. The Body United facilitated by Pastor Josiah Armstrong Crossing Life Church, Wyndham, NH, May 17-19, 2025. 2. New England Roar facilitated by Holly Otten 50 States Nightwatch Prayer Strike, Salem, NH May 20, 2025. 3. Regional Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast facilitated by Ed Pichette Together Advance the Gospel, West Warwick, RI, May 21, 2025. This piece will explain in detail my involvement as an intercessor in each of the 3 prayer strikes and the revelations given to me by God, as well as through others whom I was in partnership with. ******* #1 The Body United: New England Map Prophetic Image and Prayer Tract (See image and prayer at bottom) Josiah Armstrong, pastor at Life Crossing Church, asked me to bring the NE tracts that I created to The Body United gathering which he told me to place on chairs, for the participants of the Prayer for New England segment of the summit held on the 19th. During worship, I went into a travail while sitting on the ground of the tent. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw a NE tract sitting on the ground in front of me. When I saw the tract, I knew that I needed to go to the front and ask Josiah if I could read it. I shared with the group about the prophetic image, what I felt God was doing in NE, and then I led the group in the prayer on the back. Lastly, I read the decree below the prayer: “New England shall arise and shine and the glory of the Lord shall rise upon her” (Isaiah 60:1). When I returned to my seat, I went into a long and lasting travail. I felt that the travail had to do with the NE tract, and that my 3 friends and intercessors seated with me were my midwives. I also feel that a dream that God gave me days earlier was related to this assignment. In my dream I saw 4 ticks come out of a hole. They were being exposed—forced out of hiding, and they were running away in different directions. I first called them spiders, but God revealed later that they were ticks, because ticks embed themselves under skin, and are hidden. The prophetic meaning of the number 4 is related to God's glory as referenced in Ezekiel 44:4. In the days leading up to this assignment, 3 out of 4 in my group who were heading to the conference with me, had tick bites—2 that were deeply imbedded and took extensive time to dig out, and 1 that led to symptoms of sickness. My interpretation is that God was going to expose and drive away wicked spirits over New England. On the NE tract, words and the prophetic picture depict just that message. I explained to the assembly the meaning of the picture, stating, “God’s light is driving out darkness from New England,” and quoted the verse from Psalm 68:1 which states, “Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered.” The ticks in my dream were actually scattering! I believe that one of the “ticks” is the spirit of Religion. Only 1 month earlier, on April 6th, while worshipping God, I heard in my spirit, “Religion is coming down over New England.” Those words reminded me of what I heard Chuck Pierce say when he visited Springfield, MA 3 months earlier. Regarding New England, Chuck said, “The religious spirit will back away.” I shared these things on the weekly New England Alliance prayer call led by Gregg Healey and I prayed a prayer of repentance on behalf of the Church for quenching the Holy Spirit. #2 New England Roar: The Healing of Hearts of Blacks & Whites in the Church in NE On the morning of the 20th, I invited my 3 friends and intercessors to join me in my hotel suite because God had a prayer assignment for us. This small group of female intercessors have been praying for months for The Body United gathering and for unity amongst Blacks and Whites in the Church in NE. We also represented 3 states in NE. Days earlier, God gave me a dream in which I saw 4 women lying prostrate on the floor and travailing. Again, the prophetic meaning of the number 4 was related to God's glory. "Behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord" (Ezekiel 44:4b). We began with worship and immediately the tears began to fall. God’s presence and glory crashed in on us and we found ourselves on our knees or prostrate on the floor. I began with reading the piece that I wrote entitled “One Family in Christ,” based on Ephesians 2:13-21 TPT. My prayer partner and I had been praying these verses during the 5 weeks prior over The Body United gathering and the Church in NE. Within this piece, the words “Jews” and “Gentiles” were replaced with Blacks and Whites. It also includes this declaration: “The Black and White communities in the Church of New England are one family in Christ.” I knew that this was one of the reasons that Pastor Josiah Armstrong called for the NE gathering. It was a burden that God placed on his heart, and mine too. God placed this same burden on my heart when I attended A Million Women in October of 2024 in DC. While in DC, I met a group of women: 3 black and 1 white. The women told us they were like family. The teen daughter of 1 black woman was calling the white woman “Aunt Pam,” even though they were not biologically related. At 1 point Pam began to prophecy over me. She said, “God is going to use you and your healing ministry to bring healing to the Black and White communities.” These words instantly sent me into a travail. (My husband and I lead Tin Man Ministries, with a tag line that includes the words “Healing Hearts,” and its logo is a heart with a cross inside. Soon after returning home, I heard Josiah announce The Body United gathering. I knew at that moment that I was meant to intercede for it and to attend it. While praying with my 3 friends in the hotel, I concluded the reading of my piece and its declaration, and then instantly fell into a long and lasting travail while prostrate on the floor. When the travail lifted, I declared aloud, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against God’s Church” (Matthew 16:18). God also led me to read aloud a commentary of the Ephesians 2 passage by Albert Barnes. Within this text is the following, "The best way to produce peace between alienated minds is to bring them to the same Savior. That will do more to silence contentions, and to heal alienations, than any or all other means. Bring people around the same cross; fill them with love to the same Redeemer, and give them the same hope of heaven, and you put a period to alienation and strife." God highlighted to me the word “period,” with its meaning referring to “It is the end” or “It is finished.” I realized then that a circumstance from the day before was actually prophetic. When I called the hotel to confirm my reservation, they couldn’t find my name. Eventually the clerk found it and told me the reason she didn’t find it at first was because the computer listed a period before my name. When I told my 3 friends this, one said that her friend and intercessor recently wrote a piece in which she shared that God spoke to her about the prophetic meaning of the period. I feel that what God was saying is: “I brought healing to the hearts of the Blacks and Whites in My Church in NE.” It is done. Period. The day that I returned home from The Body United, I watched the finale of American Idol which was aired Live the day before. I watched the TV screen and saw the 2 finalists—1 black man and 1 white man. The black man, named Jamal Roberts won, and was invited to sing his finale song and first record release which is entitled “Heal.” It is a prayer to God, asking Him to heal our wounds. The last line of the song says, “You’re the only One who can do it.” This song on YouTube received 3 million views in 1 day. Every day for the next 7 days, I played this song and every single time, I sobbed. I knew in my spirit the cause of my tears. God did it. He brought healing to the hearts of those that had been wounded within the Black and White communities in the Church in NE. This needed to happen for God to have the unity that He desired in His Church, and in order for the NE Revival Baby to be birthed. God confirmed to me this revelation over and over in the days following. He reminded me that as I dressed for The Body United, He led me to wear my necklace that has very large diamond-shaped hearts. I didn’t know that day why He wanted me to wear it but came to realize that it was prophetic for what He was doing spiritually in His Church. During my 1st travail while worshipping at the gathering, I had a vision of a volcanic eruption, with lava pouring down over NE, and I knew the lava represented God’s hot liquid love that was melting hearts. Following this vision, I leaned over and told my friend what I saw. Then I lifted my heart necklace to show her what God led me to wear, and when I did, she almost fell to the ground. She had to hold on to me in order to stay erect. The hearts on my necklace represent the healed hearts of the Blacks and Whites in the Church in NE. Further confirmation came during the week following the gathering, in which I saw hearts every day and everywhere. I also heard lines in songs that spoke of God healing hearts. #3 Regional Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast: The Birth of a New England Revival Baby On Monday of The Body United, during the prayer gathering for New England, Greg Johnson founder of Revive New England was invited to share about the New England Revival Covenant that God laid on his heart. Following, leaders came around Greg to show their support of him and his initiative to bring unity in the Church and revival to New England. A term was used by Jonathan Friz (founder of 10 Days of Prayer) when he prophesied and prayed for Greg, which was regarding Greg birthing a baby. When the prayer gathering ended, we all took seats at tables where we would have lunch. When I pulled out my chair, there was a pink and white baby bootie. I knew it was prophetic, so I placed it inside my purse with the thought to seek God about it at later date. Later Monday evening, while at the final message of The Body United, Greg’s assistant and intercessory prayer leader travailed in depth and heard in her spirit, “No more still-births!” I remember praying similar words only months earlier on the New England Alliance prayer call when I heard in my spirit, “There will be no abortions.” While driving home from The Body United on Tuesday the 20th, I noticed a baby horse in a field. Hours later, one of the 4 intercessors with me in NH, sent a video of a baby female horse that had just been born on her sister’s ranch. I knew that God was speaking. I also learned that night of the Regional Leaders’ Breakfast (hosted by Ed Pichette, founder of Together Advance the Gospel) planned for the following day. I asked God if He wanted me to attend the breakfast, and on the following morning, I felt God telling me to go. I thought it was very interesting to see Josiah Armstrong at a gathering in RI, as well as several other regional leaders. I rarely see leaders come from other states to my little state of RI. As the breakfast commenced, I was surprised to see, once again, Greg Johnson being introduced and asked to share about the New England Revival Covenant. And once again, during the introductions, I heard terms related to Greg giving birth to a baby. At the end of the breakfast, Ed Pichette led in a final prayer. It was at this time that I prayed a prayer in my heart. “Lord, don’t let this revival baby die.” “Wow!” I thought to myself, “Where did that come from?!” I had never thought it prior to this moment. It was from God. God then brought to my memory a dream that my friend and intercessor told me years ago regarding the death of a New England Revival Baby. She was an intercessor for the late John-Paul Jackson, of Maine. They had joined in prayer strikes in Boston led by Lou Engle in the early 2000’s, which led to the birth of a revival. However, this revival lasted only a short time. In her dream, she was in heaven and saw many babies. They were revival babies that died and each one had a name at its head. She saw a New England Revival Baby and heard God say, “The Church didn’t take care of it, so it died.” As the breakfast closed, I went to Greg and shared with him what God had revealed to me, that a revival baby had been birthed. It was only then that I realized who the baby bootie was for, so I gave it to Greg. After sharing the dream with him, I prayed, “Lord, I pray that the Church will nurture and care for this revival baby and help it to grow. I pray that the Church not let it die.” Greg responded by telling me that he and his wife were in the process of adopting a baby girl, and then he prayed to God that just as he did not birth this natural baby, but was committed to care for it as if he had, that the churches would care for this spiritual baby as if it were “their” own. Also important to mention is that God revealed to me the reason why He chose the image of a baby horse. It is because a baby horse rises up on its legs, begins to walk and run within minutes of being born. This revival baby will grow with speed. IF the Church in unity, chooses to nurture it, care for it, and take responsibility for it. After Note: This morning, the day that I sat to write this piece, a friend and intercessor from North Carolina sent me a picture of her grandbaby girl who was born just this morning. God is speaking. Do we have ears to hear? I decree this New England Revival Baby will live and not die. It will be loved, cherished and nurtured by the united Church in New England. Sign the Covenant to link arms with Brothers and Sisters in Christ across New England as we agree in prayer to seek the Lord for revival and reformation in our region.    In November of 2016 I completed the image that you see above. It is based on a vision that God gave me. This image is a photograph of the original 3" x 4" board. God said to me "America shall be saved. America shall be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ." He told me to decree over America "I will give to you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove from you a heart of stone and give to you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26 EXPLANATION OF THE IMAGE The heart of America is not dead. It is partly hardened and frozen. There are two halves of the heart which depict that there is a war for our hearts. Satan wants our hearts to be full of hatred toward God and one another. God wants our hearts to be filled with love for Him and for one another. The fire represents the Father’s love, which is going to sweep across America, and melt the heart of America, causing it to beat with love for Him and for one another. PRAYER Pour out Your Spirit Lord. Turn our faces back to You and heal our land. Forgive us of our rebellion. May we hear Your voice and harden not our hearts. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. Open our blind eyes and deaf ears. Cause our hearts to be open and soft, so we will turn back to You and You will heal our land. Prayer based on the following verses: Acts 2:17; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Hebrews 3:7; Psalm 51:10; Acts 28:27 DECREE I decree over America, God is going to give to you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. He will remove from you a heart of stone and give to you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 NIV Following the creation of the U.S. map image, I came across a prophetic word given by Veronica West and published on Elijahlist on July 5, 2016. I feel this word confirmed to me that I was hearing God correctly. "On a recent afternoon while walking on the beach as I do most days, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a deep sense of urgency to pray again for the American people. As I began to cry out to the Father for this great nation, suddenly the Holy Spirit showed me a very powerful and poignant picture. I saw the nation of America in the shape of a large heart. I looked again and I saw that the stony heart was deeply cracked and badly broken in many places, and the heart of stone was brittle and looked very fragile. Now as I looked again at the brokenness of the heart, suddenly I heard the sound of deep laughter that came out of the heavens and I saw the Father’s tears rolling down His beautiful face. I watched as His tears fell upon the hard stony heart. Then I saw the heart of stone begin to move, shift and change in appearance, and with every tear of joy that fell from the Father’s face the heart of stone began to be healed and fully restored. I watched closely as the heart became fully immersed and saturated with the Father’s tears. Each tear of joy was life-giving. Each tear was a death blow to the destructive plans of the enemy. I then saw every deep crack and badly broken place within the heart suddenly and completely renewed, revived, restored and made whole. The Father laughed! My own heart leapt for joy as I heard the Father’s laughter and I saw His tears of joy falling upon the great nation of America. I was filled with great confidence and great assurance that Christ has ultimately triumphed over evil in this great nation and any defiance of Him and His will, plan, purpose and Kingdom destiny for this nation is futile! I saw the Father sitting high in the heavens. He was calm, unthreatened and unmoved by what the enemy is doing and how the enemy is moving! Who can oppose the awesome power of our God? The Almighty One does not even rise from His throne, but He sits and laughs in derision at those that would seek to stand against the power of His glory and grace in the nation of America in this hour. I decree: In this season the broken heart of America will be healed, revived, restored and renewed to the glory of God!" Scripture verses: * Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give to you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you a heart of stone and give to you a heart of flesh.” * Job 5:22 “At destruction and want you shall laugh.” * Psalm 2:4 “The One enthroned in heaven laughs in derision at His enemies.” Veronika West @ www.hiskingdomprophecy.com Israel Shall Be Saved In January of 2022, while in prayer, I felt God put it on my heart to create a new image based on the U.S. map vision, but of the nation of Israel. In addition, God burdened my heart to pray for Israel and He did this through various means. For instance, God spoke to me through a dream in which I was pregnant with 2 babies; one that was much bigger than the other. Also, one day during my morning prayer I felt God speak to me after reading the verse from Psalm 2:8, "Ask it of Me, and I will certainly give the nations as Your inheritance." Suddenly, a prayer came from my lips to God, "Give me America and Israel." These are just a few examples of ways that God has burdened my heart to intercede for Israel. DECREE I decree over Israel, God is going to give to you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. He will remove from you a heart of stone and give to you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 NIV PRAYER Father, You are the God of Israel and they are Your people. You named them though they did not know You. Lord, cleanse them from their iniquities and pardon all of their sins. Save them with an everlasting salvation. Raise them up in righteousness and direct all of their ways. Redeem Israel out of all of their troubles. Be a shelter for Your people and the strength of the children of Israel. Bring health and healing to them and to their land, revealing to them Your abundance of peace and truth. Let the eyes of their understanding be enlightened. Give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let Israel be to You a name of praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth. Proclaiming all the good You do for them and causing fear and trembling among the nations because of all the goodness and prosperity You provide for it. Restore everything that has been removed from them. Send them grain and new wine and oil to satisfy them. Make their enemies to be at peace with them and no longer let them be a reproach among the nations. Seek out Your sheep and deliver them from the peoples and countries where they were scattered and bring them to their own land. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may they prosper who love you. Lord, cause their enemies to cease from the land. Make them and the places all around Jerusalem a blessing and cause showers of blessings to come down in their seasons. Let Your people dwell safely in their land, delivered from trouble from all the kingdoms of the earth. * Every line of prayer is from scripture. * Author unknown. Click video below for the audio version of the above prayer. Created by and read by Holly Otten.  “As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it.” Ezekiel 22:22 Recently God led me to watch one of my favorite classic movies, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Narnia was under a curse, released by an evil queen. It was always winter; everything was cold or frozen, and there was very little life on the land. But as soon as Aslan the lion, who represents God, stepped onto the land of Narnia, the curse of winter was broken. The snow and ice began to melt, flowers began to bloom, and fresh green grass began to grow. There was new life in Narnia. Similarly, there is a lion, the Lion of Judah, who is walking the earth, and breaking curses off the land and people. He is melting the hearts of nations and their peoples, in the hope that hearts will turn to Him and be saved, and lukewarm hearts will burn with love for Him. God desires that our hearts not be hardened and rebellious. He desires that our hearts be like water in His hand, yielded to His will and purposes for our lives. In Proverbs, we read, “Like a stream is the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord. Wherever it pleases Him, He directs it” (Proverbs 21:1). God doesn’t only desire this of kings, but of all people. Throughout the Bible we learn that God is not pleased when we harden our hearts. One such verse states, "Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion" (Hebrews 3:14). It is Satan’s desire that our hearts be cold and hard-filled with hatred for God and for one another-and that Christ-followers be resistant to God's will or complacent. What melts things that are frozen? Heat. Fire. The hearts of nations have been frozen; hardened toward God. How does God melt frozen hearts? By releasing His fire. Nations are being melted by fire. In America, there are antisemitic protests and murders of Jews. We are seeing actual fire in America’s streets, where there are riots filled with people who are rebelling against the laws of the government and of God, including violent acts committed against civil authorities. There have been violent acts committed against lawmakers and their families, including murder. Even in these circumstances, there was actual fire, in the context of a handgun being fired. There are active wars in Europe and Asia, with actual fire seen in the streets of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Iran. Israel was violently attacked by Hamas and is currently at war to destroy nuclear capabilities in Iran. Christians are being martyred regularly in many nations, including Mozambique, Nigeria and Kenya. I am not suggesting that God sent these circumstances, as God gives His people freewill, but I believe He has allowed them, and I understand it to be His “merciful judgement.” The author Dr. James Marocco of “Hawaii’s Great Awakening” tells of how a tidal wave hit Hawaii in 1837 which led 99% of the people to receive salvation; and prior to the tidal wave, the missionaries there were having little to no effect. Dr. Marocco states, “People realized their need for God when coming so suddenly close to death. The revival increased in intensity because God’s third part of the Great Awakening, His merciful judgement, had taken place.”¹ Likewise, related to the Asuza Street Revival in California, an earthquake occurred just after the Holy Spirit fell, causing a desperate people to turn towards God, and this led to a mighty harvest of souls for Jesus. Most recently, I have observed in the past 5 years a great harvest of souls in America, since the Covid outbreak. I've witnessed God's merciful judgement in my own life when my 81-year-old mother turned to Jesus while battling cancer, a lukewarm family member became on fire for God when diagnosed with a disease, and a young trafficked woman got free from her abusive trafficker when her mother turned her into the police for committing theft. This led the young woman to call out to Jesus and she received salvation. The Lord told the prophet Malachi, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5). The great and terrible day is now. Great, because God’s fire melts hearts and causes them to turn to Him to receive salvation, and it also causes lukewarm Christians to cling to God at a greater level. Terrible, because God’s judgement is being released. God’s judgement is symbolized by fire and I believe it is being released over the whole earth. “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and evildoers will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch’” (Malachi 4:1). God is a consuming fire and His fire cleanses and purifies. “For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap…He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings of righteousness” (Malachi 3:2-3). God desires to burn up all wickedness, right down to its root. Then holiness and purity can grow in the hearts of nations and their peoples. I decree God’s fire is melting the hearts of America, Israel, the whole earth. The hearts of nations and their peoples will turn toward Him and be saved.  1. Hawaii's Great Awakening by Dr. James Maracco, Bartimaeus Publishing, Kahulu, Hawaii.   A teaching based on Mark 5:1-20. Most Christians know of the account of the Geresene demoniac as told in 3 of the epistles. Jesus traveled across the lake, met a demon-possessed man (2 men as told in the book of Matthew), drove out the demons and the man returned to his right mind. As I studied this account found in Mark, Matthew and Luke, I came to see that not only was 1 man set free from a legion of demons, but so was an entire region. Prior to Jesus arriving on the scene, the demoniac was impacting the entire region, or Decapolis, which consists of 10 cities. The book of Mark uses the word “region” 3 times and the term “Decapolis” 1 time within the account. We read in the book of Matthew, “They (demons) were extremely violent that no one could pass by that way” (Matthew 8:28). With this in mind, we can imagine that this affected citizens who traveled from the surrounding cities. In the book of Luke, we learn that the man had to be kept under guard (Luke 8:29). They tried to keep him chained up, but he broke the chains off (Luke 8:29). He was a menace to society. Because Jesus drove the demons away from the demoniac, the region also became set free and then evangelization could take place and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. We see this happen as told by Mark, “And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him” (Mark 5:20). When God delivers a city, state, region or nation, expect to see a mighty harvest of souls! Principalities hinder people from receiving salvation, so when the united prayers of the righteous reach the ears of God, He sends His angel armies to drive them out, which opens the way for the reaping of souls. Evangelists, like the reformed Geresene demoniac, share the Gospel with others and the message is received because the hindrances have been removed. I believe the Lord revealed this teaching to me and used it to show me when He had delivered a region, city or state that I was interceding for. The first time is when I traveled to DC for the national prayer gathering led by Awaken the Dawn in 2017. I feel that God showed me that through those 3 days of non-stop prayer and worship, He drove away principalities or wicked spirits from DC. He also showed me in a vision prior to the gathering, people getting hit by the Holy Spirit and thus coming to Jesus. More recently, God used this account in Mark 5 to show me that He delivered my region of New England from principalities after there was a 3-day gathering in New Hampshire where believers throughout the region joined together to pray and worship God. God’s Word tells us, “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much (when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power)” (James 5:16 AMP). We also learn from God’s Word of the value of the body of Christ being united. In Psalms 133 we read, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for the brethren to live together in unity… It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For the LORD commanded the blessing there—life forever” (Psalms 133”1,3). God’s power is released when the body of Christ unites in prayer.  Original prophetic painting on canvas by Holly Otten I painted this image in 2016 from a vision that God gave me regarding America. Shortly after God led me to create the large US map poster. During this time when God was burdening my heart to pray for America's salvation, He gave me a dream. You will see the correlation of my dream with the 2 heart pictures that I created. I have entitled the dream "Don't let go!" Don't Let Go! The setting felt like I was in the Arctic. I was dressed for the weather conditions which happened to be blizzard-like. There was a very high steep mountain that had stairs leading up to the top. The scene shifts and I find myself at the top of the mountain and I am holding onto a rope that is attached to a man who is dangling far below the mountain top. I am exerting much energy and strength to not let go of the man because I did not want to see him fall to his death. Next to where I am standing there are 2 very large double doors made of steel. They are closed and look impenetrable without a key. Throughout the dream I am trying so very hard to not let go but it is very difficult because I feel very tired and weak from holding on for such a long time. Sometimes I feel that the rope will slip from my weary hands. The dream shifts again. I find myself on the other side of the double doors that are now open. There is no blizzard, no man, no more struggle. It is warm and not cold. Standing in front of the double doors are 3 men, positioned side by side. I knew that they were responsible for opening the doors. My interpretation: As an intercessor I have been given the assignment from God to pray that America (her citizens) not die--spiritually. It is my calling to contend for the salvation of America. The freezing cold represents the frozen heart of America that has hardened itself toward God, rebelling against and rejecting Him. I get weary from the long and arduous fight to save America (her citizens) from eternal damnation. My prayers and the prayers of the Church will cause the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit to open the doors that lead to America's salvation. Our prayers will cause the love of God to melt the frozen heart of America, turning her heart towards Him. “For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’" Matthew 13:14-15  “Lord, I want to be in sync with the Holy Spirit,” I frequently pray to God. I’m using a modern analogy, such as when we sync 2 electronic devices, causing them to function as 1 single unit. Jesus prayed a similar prayer to the Father, “that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You” (John 17:21). I want to be living out each day, united with Him in mind, heart and spirit; not going ahead of Him or lagging behind; nor turning left when He is turning right. I want my will to yield to His will. Because if I am doing what He wants me to do, and going where He wants me to go, and connecting with the people He wants me to connect with, then it will be blessed by God and His p0wer is able to flow through me so to produce fruit for the Kingdom of God and my life will glorify Him. I’d like to share personal stories that depict what it looks like to be in sync with the Holy Spirit. While in prayer one morning, I heard God tell me to leave Victory Church* that my family and I attended and to attend Living Waters Church.” I talked with my husband and 3 children about leaving Victory Church but none of them wanted to leave. I asked God for a confirmation that I heard Him correctly and He gave me one. However, I didn’t take action to obey Him. I had only recently gotten permission from my children’s father to take my children to church on Sundays and now I would have to leave them. I asked God for another confirmation and He gave me one, in the form of a dream. However, I still didn’t obey. At the time, I didn’t view my lack of action as disobedience. I guess I viewed it as a form of procrastination. Then one day, 3 weeks later from the first time I heard God to leave Victory Church, I heard God speak to me, “Obey!” It was the loudest I had ever heard God speak to me. I was determined to go to Living Waters Church the following Sunday, even when the devil attempted to stop me when that morning arrived. I let in my cat Moonbear from the outdoors and he appeared to have been attacked viciously, to the point of near death. I knew that if I took Moonbear to the vet I would miss church so I simply prayed over him for God to heal him. I obeyed God that day by attending Living Waters Church and when I returned home, Moonbear was doing significantly better. My husband and I tended to his wounds in the days following and he had a full recovery without going to the vet. Why would God call me to leave my family? It wasn’t important then nor is it now, the why behind what God called me to do. God admonished Job for asking the question “why.” I love this verse “For mighty is the one who carries out His word” (Joel 2:11). It is God’s desire that I obey and trust Him that He has His reasons, and His ways and thoughts are higher than mine. Many people from Victory Church judged me in a negative way for leaving my family and for not following my husband. Some people thought I had walked away from Jesus when they didn’t see me sitting in church with my family. Even though it hurt my feelings to learn of these things, I chose to value what God thought about me. I chose to please Him over them, over my husband and children, and over my own will. I attended Living Waters Church for many weeks, sitting by myself, as if I were a single woman. When people found out that I had a family who were attending another church, I’m sure they wondered why on earth I wasn’t with them. But within a short time my youngest son chose to attend there with me so that brought my heart comfort. God is sooo good! God never had to tell me why He called me to make that church move, just as the general of an army battalion doesn’t tell his soldiers why he commands them to do 50 sit-ups. Years later I came to realize that it was an assignment as an intercessor to join the intercession of the senior pastors in praying for a revival in our state of Rhode Island. After 4 years of praying, weeping, and 24-hour prayer gatherings, our church birthed a statewide revival that lasted for about a year. Daily street outreaches occurred around the state for 3 weeks that led to approximately 3,000 people hearing the Gospel message, being prayed with and asking Jesus into their hearts. Was my sacrifice and my family’s sacrifice worth these results? You betcha! Glory to God! Radical obedience releases the radical power of God. At another time, God told me to join another intercessor in her monthly prayer assignment. I never would’ve chosen to spend time with Cynthia,* a member of my church, because she and I were very different and she never acted interested in me. Nonetheless, I obeyed God and traveled the long distance in her car to a particular destination where God had told her to go and prayer walk. Those monthly times with Cynthia were very difficult because she would say things to me that were very hurtful, which at times, led me to cry on God’s shoulder. Sometimes she would put me down in front of others who joined the prayer assignment. After one year, I heard God tell me that my assignment to accompany Cynthia was done. Alleluia! Why did God call me to do it? He never chose to tell me why, but some time later, I received much favor for my ministry right at the destination where I prayer walked with Cynthia. Living my life in sync with Holy Spirit sometimes leads to people being offended because they feel that I should do something with or for them, especially if they had done something for me previously. They behave as if I owe them a favor. For example, a woman once opened her home to me when I visited her church to lead in an all-night prayer gathering. She and I both prayed at the time for God’s will and we walked in it. It was glorious what God did! Several months later, she asked me to be an intercessor for a ministry that she was part of. I prayed and sought God’s will in this but I didn’t feel that He wanted me to do it. After I declined, I never heard from her again and previously we had kept in touch. This is a very common occurrence in my life which has led to the loss of friendships. I choose to follow God and His perfect will for my life and desire to please Him over pleasing people. I’ve come to learn that His way is the best way. He knows what’s best for me because He knows me better than anyone else and He has a destiny for my life. I want to fulfill all that God has destined for me to accomplish in this life, for the sake of His Kingdom and for His glory. Food for thought: When we pray for God’s will to be done in our lives, do we mean it? Do we really value God’s opinions and desires above others? Do we really trust Him when He tells us to do something, or go somewhere or say something? Do we trust that His ways are higher and far better than our own, or others? Do we really love Him? With our actions? Or only with our words? What does it look like to love God with all of our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength? (Mark 12:30). *Names have been changed.  Dear Jesus, let us remember Your words, "The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life," and that if we do this we will remain in You and You in us. This is our desire because we know that we cannot bear fruit for the Kingdom without being connected to You, the vine. You are the vine and we are the branches. When we share in holy communion, we are drinking of the fruit of the vine. You said, "I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God." Dear Jesus, before You were handed over to die, You left Your followers a gift, the gift of holy communion. You said, "as often as You do this, do it in memory of me." It was an act that was meant to be shared amongst the family of God through the generations and to unite the family of God with You and with each other. The apostle Paul said, "Since there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf." Jesus, open the eyes and hearts of Your followers to the importance of sharing holy communion together and may we do it often. Dear Jesus, remind us to come to the communion table to receive You with the right heart attitude; a heart that is contrite and reconciled to You and others. And then would You manifest Yourself in the breaking of the bread as You did with the 2 men You met on the road to Emmaus? Help us to experience You in a meaningful and powerful way. Dear Jesus, You said that the blood of the covenant was to be poured out for the forgiveness of sins. As we drink of the cup in holy communion, would You wash us clean from all our sins? We thank You for taking the burden of our sins from us so that we can walk through this journey filled with Your peace and joy and we look forward to the day when we will drink of the fruit of the vine with You in the Kingdom of heaven. Amen. Prayer based on the following verses: John 6:54, 56; John 15:1, 4; Mark 14:24-25; 1 Corinthians 11:26, 28; 1 Corinthians 10:17; Luke 24:35; 1 John 1:7 Written by Holly Otten |
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