National Prayer Strategy from Reformation Prayer Network:
For 2010, the United States Reformation Prayer Network implemented a national prayer strategy called “Root 52”. This prayer initiative was a 52-week prayer strategy to bring the nation back to its covenant roots.
During the first two weeks of 2010, all 50 states stood together to fast and pray for our national leadership and national governmental structure. We then moved forward with each state network continuing to fast and pray with a focus on government leadership and the seven mountains. The torch of prayer and fasting went “en route” from state to state in the sequence that they came to form the United States of America, until we completed 52 weeks, equaling 1 year
During the week of May 22-29 Mississippi picked up the responsibility to stand in the gap for the nation.
Conference calls:
We hosted three different calls this week across our state. We were amazed at the participation. One point of notice was that there were quite a few African-Americans participating, and many of them we did not know. New contacts. We felt an excitement growing on these calls and will continue to host the calls after our Root 52 week.
1.First Call, Friday evening at 6 PM: Sounded shofars across the state. BJ commissioned the state for this prayer assignment. Many prophetic words came forth for the state, particularly springing off the word from Cindy about Freedom Riders, Circuit Riders and fire.
2.Second Call, Tuesday morning at 6 AM: Sounded shofars across the state. This call focused mainly on praying and standing for Israel. We read the Governor’s proclamation to Israel (the one that we took to Israel and presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and declared that our state stands with Israel.
3.Third Call, Thursday evening at 6 PM: Sounded Shofars across the state. BJ shared about the torch of Truth, and at 6:30 we lit torches across the state and declared that Mississippi is burning with the fire of holiness of God!
Shofars:
Sounded shofars throughout the state at 6 AM & 6 PM daily. We felt that we were awakening the new sound in our state.
Sounds:
We were so blessed by Illinois when they sent out the song for Mississippi! Very powerful! We will be learning this song when James gets it recorded, and we will begin to use this as a weapon of war in our state.
We asked for all of our intercessors to release sound in worship in any way that the Lord had given them to release. One intercessor wrote that the Lord gave her this song. “You were always on my mind.” The lyrics are about repentance of not being focused on the Lord, but the Lord was answering back, “Mississippi, you were always on my mind!”
Governor’s meeting on Coast
An event on Thursday night in Biloxi: “MISSISSIPPI-THE BIRTHPLACE OF AMERICA’S MUSIC CELEBRATES ITS GRAMMY LEGACY” hosted by Gov. and Mrs. Barbour and Mr. and Mrs. Hartley Peavey of Peavey Electronics. The lineup featured artists from L.A. to Norway, with an emphasis on the blues and a tribute to Jim Henson and the Muppets. As the artists performed, the audience was clapping politely and enjoying the music. Then The Williams Brothers sang, “My Sweet Lord,” and other gospel songs. People began standing and clapping in agreement with the words of the music. They were followed by the Mississippi Mass Choir, who sang more gospel and “American the Beautiful.” The SOUND was released on the MS Coast!! This was followed by a blues jam session with Eddie Cotton and 4 others. Robert Santelli, Executive Director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, commented that gospel and patriotism were alive and well in Mississippi. The LORD was lifted up here on Thursday evening.
Mississippi has Shifted
We have heard from across the state “Mississippi has shifted!” We have seen a momentum growing. Participating in Root 52 has helped us as a state to shift. As we were preparing for this assignment the Lord spoke to us that we were not to travel, but were to have conference calls. At first I questioned this because it seemed like the thing to do was to travel around the state and hold meetings. What we have seen in these calls is that we have connected in the state in a new way. Somehow these open calls have given voice to our state intercessors and has created the excitement and momentum for which we have been praying. We’ve had quite a few requests to “continue the calls!” which we plan to do. A new thing for us in Mississippi!
MISSISSIPPI BURNING
Cindy’s word: “I am going to put MS on the map, people will see it. MS will be burning and it will be the fire of my holiness that will burn MS says the Lord……. The reproach is lifting off the state in a way that is beyond imagination.”
We have heard the words “Mississippi Burning” so often but for our Black brothers and sisters it has been a source of pain. We have watched the Lord do a redemptive work with these words. This week our intercessors have seen visions of maps burning with the fire of God and holiness. Some even took their torches and burned their maps as a prophetic act. We changed the name of our conference with Chuck Pierce coming in August to “Mississippi Burning with the Father’s Heart.” We really see that the reproach is rolling off and the true identity of Mississippi is coming forth. Before we changed the name of the conference, we consulted several Black pastors about the name, “Mississippi Burning.” This conference will be held in a predominately Black church. All of them had the same response: “It is time to move on, to move forward. It is time to redeem that name!” This spoke volumes to us. We all have the attitude of moving forward together, not looking back.
TORCH OF TRUTH burning across the state
Thursday Night during our conference call we lit “torches of truth” throughout the state of Mississippi. This carried great significance both historically and for the future of our state. Last summer Roger and Charlotte Merschbrock, USRPN from Louisiana, attended the first Huguenot International Conference in Paris. This conference was for the purpose of calling Huguenot descendants from around the world to come back to France, and to pray for Reformation again in that nation. At this conference they received the Torch of Truth to bring back to the US.
On May 22, we (BJ, Ruthie, Mildred and others) stood on the Miss Gulf Coast, historically where the first French explorers entered our nation, along with apostolic leaders Paul-Henre & Josiane Chevalley of France & Switzerland, and the Merschbrocks. They took their torch and lit our torches from Mississippi. We then released that flame of reformation through our Thursday evening conference call to our state. We declared that Mississippi will burn with the Fires of Holiness that were spoken of by Cindy on our commissioning call.
The Oil Spill
Gov Barbour called for a day of prayer for April 27, the same day that our war council met in Jackson. Although this did not happen during our Root 52 week, we felt that we could stand in agreement with our governor that the Lord is the only one who had the answer. This week we have continued to stand and petition the Father on behalf of our state concerning this spill. We have prayed according to Job 38:8-11:
1.For the Lord to shut the doors of the sea and stop the leak.
2.We also have recognized that the Lord sets the limits of the waves and we have petitioned Him to deny permission for these waves to bring this oil onto our shores.
Although the oil came on shore on our barrier islands this week, we continue to look to Him for His answers.
Children
This took place in Tupelo, birth place of Elvis. I’m praying that this will be the birth place of a mighty move of God in our state among the children and teen agers. Elvis’ music influenced this age group, and so will this move of the Holy Spirit.
Report from Pastor in Tupelo on Wed night Root 52 Prayer meeting: “I spoke with the head of the Children’s Dept., who called at 10:30 pm Wednesday after listening to your message on CD at home and hearing you speak about children’s revivals in previous moves of God. She was not in the adult meeting because she was ministering to the children. She and her husband have been preparing for just such a visitation. She said that, at about 8:15, [about when you were praying for the youth in the sanctuary], the heavy Presence of the Lord came into their room in the Annex, and children began experiencing God’s Presence in a powerful way! They were walking around with eyes closed, worshipping Him, weeping, etc. The worship leader’s son, who is about 9 years old, had tears running down his face. When asked what he was experiencing, he said that Jesus had come to him, put His arms around him, hugged him and said that He loved him! This young fellow is not given to spiritual experiences such as this to my knowledge. Also, children who are bused in on Wednesday evenings, come from a difficult home situations and often act out, were subdued and sensing the Presence of the Lord. The children’s minister approached some of them and explained what was happening to them, understanding that their situation at home would be very different from the love they were experiencing.
When told that there will not be a regular pick-up of children next week due to the Children’s Ramp in Hamilton Monday through Wednesday, the 6 year old daughter of the Childrens minister’s assistant said that she was disappointed because “…God was moving on the inside of me and He definitely had something that He wanted to say!”
More from another Tupelo intercessor: “From Just to let you know….there’s a secret prayer truck loaded with torches, flashlights, shofars etc. hitting the streets of Tupelo tonight to drive among the Elvis Presley Festival Celebration releasing the true sound & fire of OUR KING over Tupelo & North MS. from the Elvis Presley Birthplace, to the streets of our city, & out to the by-passes & highways around our area….yes, indeed MS. is burning for Jesus! It will be done quietly & in order, but with power & authority to bring honor to Our Lord!”
Fathers in our state:
Cindy: “Need the spirit of adoption to come in after the families were torn apart by slavery.”
FATHERS ARE ARISING! I believe that the Lord has shown us that as the fathers arise, the need for abortion will dramatically drop! Since the prayer assignment with James Nesbit of Miss Calling, we have continued to call Fathers to arise. THIS WEEK I received this report from one of our crisis pregnancy centers: “By the way, in the last Preparing for Baby class, every baby in the womb… had his/her father in attendance. PTL!!! This is major!”
Conference Call Thursday evening, 6 PM:
Cindy: Look forward and not back to the reproach of what happened in former times. It is time to look forward now.
Jeremiah 31:11-12 (KJV)
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob (Mississippi),
And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion,
Streaming to the goodness of the Lord
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden,
And they shall sorrow no more at all.
Ransomed means release, redemption, pardoned, paid in full, delivered.
Mississippi! You are ransomed, redeemed, pardoned, delivered and the debt was paid in full! We are in a new day, a new shift, a new momentum, a new excitement!
WE ARE MISSISSIPPI BURNING!