Saturday Morning Prayer :)

Hello Friends!

Thank you to all who showed up this morning! I really enjoyed the presence of each of you and appreciate you all very much, thank you for blessing me! This morning we had the privilege to come boldly before the throne of grace and proclaim LIFE over the wombs, houses, minds, politicians, babies, mothers, fathers, and citizens of America. We believe that God used our prayers to change hearts in this nation concerning the issue of Abortion, as well as firmly believe that He is now fascinating his people with His beauty and drawing them away to be satisfied, sustained, and saved by him. We believe the the mantle of death the has been established in our nation, which causes the blood of millions of babies to cry out before the Lord, is being washed away and torn down by the BLOOD OF JESUS. God is a big God and he does as he pleases and it amazes me that He attends and even uses our prayers. So we offer this prayer to the King of all Kings: "Jesus it is our prayer that you have mercy upon our nation and that you would remember the promise of your steadfast and jealous love concerning us. Lord would you pursue hearts and cause revival to come to American. We desire that upon the day of your return we would be united by your spirit crying out "Come Lord JESUS COME!!!!"

Monday Night Prayer

Last night, Monday night prayer meeting went prayer walking in downtown Colorado Springs.

So about 12 of us went downtown and had a great time. Casen Cruz took half of the team to the boulder street church and interceded for them and I went to the Tejon/Acacia Park area. Prayer walking is so effective because you see/feel/sense more when the people and buildings are right in front of you...

When I was praying for the meeting before hand, I felt God show me that he would guide and direct the prayers that come out of our mouth. Its overwhelming to know that we know very little of what is going on in people's lives. They might be going through a death in their friends/family, having trouble financially, have deep hurt, or have addictions but we don't know all those specific things to pray for. Yet God knows all of those things, and if we listen, he will lead us to pray for the right things at the right time! And that's exactly what he did last night. I firmly believe that God gave us specifics, some real life changing opportunities to stand in the gap and intercede for a people that need it.

Monday night will be doing this again soon. Kudos to those who went!
-Josiah Carlson

pinch hitting

Dan was off with the DLA retreat this weekend and he asked me to fill in for me. I was honestly pretty nervous since it's been about 2 years! I spent some time trying to get an idea of what direction to head, and decided to focus on praying for awareness to what God is doing all around us, since this is something that has really been on my heart and mind lately. I also wanted to try out some of the ideas we discussed at the last leaders meeting, so those of you who made it a few weeks ago will recognize some stuff.

I opened with Genesis 28:10-16, which is set right after Jacob has essentially stolen Esau's birthright and Esau has vowed to kill his brother. Jacob escapes, heading north toward his uncle, Laban. Jacob rests for the night and has a dream about a ladder reaching from earth to heaven and angels ascending and descending, and when he wakes he says "God was in this place, and I was not aware of it."

Before transitioning to worship, I stopped and asked them to get comfortable for a second and explained real quick that in the Bible the words for 'spirit' and 'breath' and 'wind' are the same (ruah in Hebrew, pneuma in Greek). We think of these as three completely separate ideas, but for the writers of the Bible they are the same. FYI, you'll sometimes find different versions translate this in different ways like in the creation story (spirit or wind or either). You'll also see this in Genesis 2 when God "breathes" life in Adam, giving Adam His "spirit".

Anyway, I didn't tell them all that! But I offered the idea that breathe is maybe the most basic and yet important need we have. We are completely dependent on our next breathe, and can't last more than a couple minutes without it, but how often do we even think about our breathing? In the same way, we are completely dependent on God, yet how often are we unaware of him in our day to day lives? Is his spirit at work in and around us, but we are too busy that we don't see? So I asked them to sit for a few minutes in complete silence and just breath and listen. Then we spent some time worshiping right where they were at. I thought they were really connecting with it.

To transition to the prayer time, I read Exodus 3:1-5 (Moses and the burning bush) and prayed that God would open our eyes to him in the normal routine of life, that we would live in expectation and awe, looking for God's fingerprints, pointing out God's good work to those all around us. And I prayed that as we learn to see God actively moving that we would draw close to him and partner with him. We want to live in his story, not our little story. I wanted to stretch them a bit, so I asked them to flip their thinking a little and NOT pray "Jesus, come here" but instead pray variations of "Jesus, help me see that you are already here". I didn't want them to think I was saying it's wrong to pray the first prayer, so I made sure to tell them that. But I did want to stretch them and get them to wrestle with it.

There were some great prayers, all over the map in one sense but they were all personal responses to the core idea of awareness of God's presence at work, which was exactly what I was hoping for.

Also, Andrew Cantrel led worship for CJ, who was also at the retreat. He did a fantastic job even though I didn't make it easy on him by trying some new ideas! If you ever need a worship leader, he would be great.

And an early reminder for our next leaders meeting March 4th at 6. It's about a week and a half. I really hope you can be there. Our last meeting was really good and I think we had some exciting new vision for the prayer meetings. I'm sure we'll build on that this next time.

grace and peace.

The Magic Carpit Ride

Hey Gang,
I've finally got my prayer leaders blog up......YAY! Now you all will have a weekly dose of my creative writing medicine. With regular treatments we will all be free thinking, grounded, passionate regulars of the Magic Carpet Ride...... that is the official name of saturday nights.

ok......to get down to biz-nass

First, contrary to popular belief i was actually at work last week not out on a hot date. I would have given you notice if i had been going out. i didn't called in to work until thursday so i didn't have much of a chance to give you all warning

Secondly, This semester we are going to take a bit of a different approach to how we go about our prayer topics. i expect you to come prepared to pray for others. we will spend most of our time praying for countries, this generation, our friends, family, and co-workers....our fellow students.....our worthless laxadazicle roommates.......our enemys.......in short....OTHERS. our prayer focus will allways be outward (unless God trumps the evening). not only will our focus be outward but i welcome you to bring in your prayer request and what God has given you a heart for. Saturday night is your prayer meeting and that is what makes it so magical.

Thirdly, your homework is still due this next week. for those of you who missed it, the homework was to ask you co-workers and fellow students if they had any prayer request and to bring them in ON PAPER so that we could pray coperatly for each others friends.

Forthly, i do have a girl friend and we decided to do valentines day on another day so that it would not iterfer with the prayer meeting.

Fithly, from now on my blogs will be more short essays of the night not usless list like this on

Sixthly, im just trying to come up with more points so my blog looks really awesome and long

Seventhly, i do not know if seventhly is really a word but i still used it any way........that is one of the perks of being the prayer leader, i can do what i want

Eithely, i know no one really reads these but if you do i give you permission to come up and give me a hard time after you read this one so i know you read it that these are actually read.

Sunday Night Prayer Meeting

In Joel 2, God says "Rend your heart and not your garments..." and I truly believe that was what last night's prayer meeting was all about. It was a powerful experience that was beyond expectation; an adamant orchestration of God's love at work in those whose hearts have been set ablaze. The second hour was primarily focused on who we perceive God to be and in turn, how we perceive ourselves. As we were praying over this, I was lead into playing the bridge of Yahweh... there is something about declaring who God is that makes that declaration kindle in our hearts and burst into an even more intense flame. The truth coming alive brings freedom. As we were singing this, God gave me a picture of physical chains being broken off of feet; once imprisoning iron shackles being ripped off as if they were merely threads of yarn. This imagery burned so vivid and bright, I began to just declare what I was seeing in the spirit in song. It went like this: "Chains be broken, strongholds fall. Chains be broken, strongholds fall. Freedom's raining down, on this dry ground." There was a sense of fervency and desperation that emerged during this time that was maintained the rest of the prayer meeting. After a while of singing this, Matt prayed on the mic and so began the second hour of prayer. We broke off into groups and prayed over each other. During this time we started playing Here In Your Presence and lead into You Won't Relent. The last 15 minutes of the prayer meeting were especially powerful. At the end of the prayer meeting, I felt as if we were to continue past the usual two hour mark; this resulted in us staying over another 30 minute past formal dismissal. It was a two and a half hours that God totally rocked my world and forever changed my life.

Post by CJ Hock, Worship Leader

Monday Night 6-8pm Feb. 16

Tonight's verse was Joel 2:12-13. ""Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."

We started tonight with some solid worship with Casen and band. Casen has such a heart for worship and its exciting to see him express it during worship. Tonight he encouraged everyone to really worship. Its easy to sit back during a fast worship song, or to feel uncomfortable, but sitting back isn't really what David and the Psalmists practiced. Throughout Psalms, worship and praise is talked about with actions: lifting hands, dancing, singing, loud bangs! Sometimes I wish we were more ecstatic in worshiping such an awesome God instead of just letting the band rock out.

We didn't really have prayer on the mic tonight although I do believe God did some deep surgery in everyone's heart. Jimmy shared with me that he felt like there were many in the room who were just doing the motions. I felt the same, so I asked everyone to really rend their hearts before God. To share with him, and let him in. No token prayers. I'm sure God did something unique in everyone's hearts even if they didn't feel His healing hand.

Next week Monday night will be headed downtown to prayer walk!
-Josiah and team

Saturday morning Prayer

During prayer we focused our eyes on gazing upon the patience of the Lord.  We began by picking out stories in the bible where God interacted with a person and showed his patience towards them in their weakness.  It was awesome to hear the stories of God's interaction of patience with Jonah, Hosea, Samuel, Peter, and the thief on the cross.  The word of God came alive and caused us to see how personal and alive He is now;  he is the God who was, is, and is coming!!!  Therefore, in light of His return we sought to partner with Him in His will for the return of the nations and focused on praying that as He has been patient with us that He too would be patient and merciful with the nation of Afghanistan.  God is rich in His kindness towards the wicked and oppressed and thus we sought to cry out that the goodness of His other than and set apart character would be revealed through the changing of the hearts of His enemies and that their transformation would reveal How beautiful and awesome He is.  For who are we that He would be mindful of us that He would set His affection towards us?  We are thankful that life in Godliness is each day a product of who He is and that our weakness causes us to commune with Him and totally lean and rely on Him.  His design is awesome and we are thankful to report that peoples destinies where changed in Afghanistan orphans where adopted by their heavenly father, the blind have now received their sight, the deceived now treasure the truth that Jesus Christ is their Lord, and woman have been given back their value and worth.  For Jesus is all together lovely and good in every way we praise Him for the generosity of His tender and kind heart towards the people that He loves.  

Impossible Prayers

It is so easy to pray ethereal prayers that can be unanswered and we will never know. Sunday night I felt like it was important that we start praying the kind of prayers that are sometimes scary to pray; the kind that ask for real answers. We wanted to pray for things that are impossible for us; impossible for anyone but God. We followed a model of prayer in James 5.

James 5:13-18 states, “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

I love where it says that Elijah was a man like us. We are able to ask God to do great things. Things that are impossible by human standards, but with God all things are possible. I look forward to hearing how God answers these prayers.

Monday February 9, 2009 6-8pm

Before the prayer meeting tonight, I was able to come a bit early and start praying for the prayer meeting. Psalm 42:1 came to mind frequently and it became the scripture/idea that we sought after.

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"

CJ talked to me during the end of the first hour and talked about this same verse. It was refreshing to hear the ideas that he was bringing up about how the furnace needs to bring it as a whole, in unity. He told me about how he, has relied on the prayer leaders in order to bring the direction and purpose instead of joining together with everyone in unity in reliance on God to lead. I must agree that I have forgotten the importance of the body coming together in unity to pray.

So in this prayer meeting, I decided that we would use Psalm 42:1-3 to corporately stir up desire. I had everyone in the furnace and dla come to the front, kneel and pray psalm 42. We prayed that our desire for him and our love for him would outweigh the sins and distractions of the world. Casen did a great job of leading worship during this time with "we are hungry". After a good amount of time, we prayed the idea behind psalm 42 (desire for Him) and also love for others... We didn't go to deep into the second part but it was still solid! It took us a while to end, but my prayer is that we would walk continually changed and trasformed in order to give more worship to God.

Monday night will be prayer walking in two weeks, February 23, 2009!!! keep it in your calenders and tell your friends!!!

Much love,

Josiah Carlson

Saturday morning prayer

This morning we focused on how much we have been forgiven and then how God asks us to forgive others the same way he has forgiven us. These are ideas that resulted from our time together: "God has given me peace about my past and has removed all bitterness from past hurts." Psalm 17:8 "'Keep me as the apple of your eye'." "We are the apple of his eye." "Let the power of the Gospel always be new and real in our hearts. Let us trust fully in the simplicity of your plan." "I do not expect you to be perfect I expect you to be mine. For I am the author and finisher or your perfection in me."

Saturday Night - Furnace Encounter

Furnace Encounter was this past weekend. Saturday night we had an all out prayer meeting that rocked the house. This was a typical retreat session minus the preaching. There were basically two elements, worship and prayer. Both flowed throughout the evening. Saturday night came down to Revelation 21:5 & 6, “He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.”

This led into a prayer time of asking to be those that longed for His return, that view Him as King, and that pray thirsty prayers. We spent the rest of the night praying these “thirsty” prayers. There was prayer for the healing of those that had been wounded by a father or leader, prayer against a religious spirit or performance mentality, prayer for those that had been hurt by people trying to force the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we eagerly desired and prayed for gifts, we asked for the planting and growth of the fruit of the Spirit. This is just a few things that were prayed for. The truth is that so much happened that night that it cannot really be summed up in a paragraph. People were healed, hearts were mended, worship was real, prayer was fervent. It was one of the most powerful evenings that I have been a part of in a long time.

Dan Perkins