Words for Christchurch, June 2018

Fortnightly, we gather people from around different churches to pray together for the city. We love this collective time of seeking God's heart together. Here are some of our senses from our gatherings this month:

—Emphasis & reminder that we are all uniquely gifted & God wants us to flow together in His Spirit. Be free to be yourself, not a cookie cutter. We all play a different role. Do not feel pressure to be like anyone else during prayer.

—The word "intervention" came up. God is intervening. He is bringing chaos into order and bringing us as a Church and individually into alignment with his plans and purposes.

—The word "hope" came up. Hope is still rising in our city.

—Image of a bonfire. We each bring something different to the fire. Whether you bring a log or a mustard seed, you're contributing to the blaze and are stoking the fire. It continues to build.

—Image of a wheel and spokes. We each are a spoke in the wheel. As the spokes join together the wheel goes faster and faster. Momentum builds when we work together. The "mud" flings off as we go faster and faster.

—Romans 12- declaring this over our culture / transform the city. It starts with us.

—Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"

—Reminder to go low so Christ can be glorified and He can do His work

—Reminder of old word that what happens here in Chch and NZ will radiate out to the nations

—We looked into the founding history of the city & chatted about it. We have a sense of the value of praying into the original, spiritual plans for Christchurch. Talked about Godley, Wakefield.. and later freemasonry infiltration... Chch revivalists..

—Worshippers lead the way in battle & shift atmospheres that affect the physical (2 Chron 20)

—God is highlighting the distractions that Christchurch people are being affected by. Be aware of distractions & rise above them. Let us ask ourselves how have we individually and corporately listened to these distractions?

—Never give up on prayer. Sometimes it takes a long time to see promises to come to pass. And as intercessors (forerunners who understand what God is doing), it is easy to get frustrated when others don't understand or see what you say. Be patient and keep praying. Keep pressing through until the "suddenly" comes. We are in this for the long haul.

—We don't want to pray from our heads. Always welcome the Holy Spirit to flow in and fill us in prayer. We want to pray from God's heart and come into alignment and agree with Him.

—Catch the Foxes. In your personal thought life, in your actions, in your relationships and interactions, in your organisation, church or workplace. Catch the foxes. Song of Songs 2. Bring healing Lord. Catch them and get rid of them. Get rid of sin and compromises. Be aware of dissension bringing division and disruption.

—Let us NOT be lukewarm. A season of purification is on us. We are the representatives of Christ. We may feel raw in this season of God dealing with our issues. Do not give in. Press into Him at this time and deal with your stuff. With the new season we are in, God is bringing people out of the mire. He wants to bring the harvest into the bride/church that is pure.. He doesn't want to bring them out of the mire and back into it... Life in Chris is pure. While no one is perfect and there is grace, we should have a high standard of living as we look to God and ask Him to help us reflect His nature.

—God is dredging the river. He is removing contaminates. We are in a season where God is exposing sin. Let us grow in character.

—We noted the prophetic symbolism of our Prime Minister's baby's name who was just born. Name meaning light/radiant/love. In this new season, God is pouring out his LIGHT and LOVE.

—In this purifying season, be ready for growing in character. In the fire, some dormant seeds come sprout. As he is burning the dross, there are seeds under the fire where he is starting to activate something new...