Crystal is new to recovery. I shared with her how I struggled knowing what to do with my time after I quit drinking until I made some friends in a Christ-centered recovery group. I stated how it was hard for me to connect with church members who never struggled with addiction or to people in recovery who didn’t believe in Jesus.
The Lord knew she needed to experience the best of both worlds when He lined up a gathering at our home with members of our church’s recovery ministry the very weekend she was staying with us! What a blessing it was that we were able to provide a safe place for her to spend time with our friends who are all believers in recovery that have walked in her shoes!
I got the wise idea to clean our rug. I thought I would just be able to lay it down in the tub and soak it. However, as I ran water over it, the water turned brown. I knew I first had to rinse it until the water was clear before soaking would do any good. After about 30 minutes of constant rinsing, I was able to lay it down and soak. The texture of the rug was so rough and it rubbed off the top layer of skin on my fingers. As I looked at my bleeding fingertips, I wondered if this was what they meant by the saying “work your fingers to the bone.”
Then, I asked the Lord what He was trying to show me and this was His response. “There is no amount of work you can do to earn righteousness. It was paid for with My blood on the cross. Though your sins were like scarlet, I have made them white as snow. Rejoice in Me, as I have clothed you with the garments of salvation and covered you with the robe of righteousness. Receive these gifts and acts of love and go testify to all those who have ears to hear.”
reviveMISSISSIPPI got to equip numerous members of Richmond Baptist Church. I found it amusing as I didn’t think I had ever heard of the community, but I have driven past this very church numerous times with my husband and dad as we went to their deer camp. Today instead of hunting deer, we are going to track down new souls for God’s Kingdom, amen?
My team began our journey in a trailer near the church. We prayed for an overall blessing for the family and I felt led to pray for the daughter sitting in the corner keeping to herself. I laid hands on her and prayed for miraculous healing. It turns out she not only has seizures but is blind. Please join me in praying the Lord completely heals her for His glory!
Next, we headed down the road and came a crossed someone waving. We noticed another team in the yard next to her, but made a revive u-turn anyway. She laughed as we approached and said the other team had just prayed for her. I asked if she had recommendations in how we could pray for her community. She mentioned she wanted to see unity, the body of Christ coming together and no more division.
We continued on and approached a yard filled with children jumping on a trampoline and a grandmother and two daughters. It was beautiful as when we prayed they wanted to hold our hands…we had several generations and races represented in that prayer circle. As we joined together, I felt it was the Lord immediately answering the previous person’s request. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart! I was able to go through the Bible and wristband with the children and the adults looked on with joy.
Our last encounter with with Porcha. She said she was a Jehovah’s Witness, but wanted our Chairman’s information to pass along to her husband who is a pastor. When we shared our testimony with the other teams, several people knew this young lady and are going to reach out to her! Oh what fun it is when the body works in unison for the cause of Christ!
Today as I was getting dressed, the Lord instructed me to intentionally put on His Armor as I am putting on my clothes. He was also specific in telling me to wear a red shirt. I have been asking Him what that meant and it was His reminder that I am covered in the blood of Jesus! My challenge for you is to suit up in the full Armor of God every morning as you are getting ready for the day!
His Armor Includes: The Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith, Breastplate of Righteousness, Helmet of Salvation, Belt of Truth, Boots of Peace, and Prayer!
Through this journey, I discovered I had to ask what He was revealing to me. As I shared before; first, I had to identify if the pain was for me, for someone else, or for a stronghold in a specific area. I always asked the Lord to reveal to me what each pain meant. Sometimes He remained silent, sometimes He spoke a specific word, or He gave me a vision. He didn’t put me in anyone else’s path with the same gift because He wanted me totally dependent on Him. So as I am writing this, my prayer is for you to first seek Him when He speaks to you. If you need assistance, look to this as a starting point. Always continue looking to Him and His word for the answers. 1 John 2:27 “As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit-just as it has taught you, remain in Him.”
Here is an example of how He called me to intercede. As Neil (my husband) and I were leaving the campsite to go purchase supplies, I got a stabbing pain in my stomach. The Lord allows me to feel this type of pain so I will begin interceding for protection. It feels as though someone has stabbed me in the stomach, a frontal attack. The closer to town we got, the stronger the pain became. I continued praying, not understanding why or what I was praying about. As we headed back to camp, we saw numerous law enforcement vehicles lined up along the side of the road. Neil quickly checked the news to see what he could find. There was an armed standoff that began at approximately 4:00 a.m. and it was 9:00 p.m. as we drove by. After discovering this, I knew this was what the Lord was having me pray about. Neil is in law enforcement and he prayed for the safety and mindset of the first responders. I prayed for the person who had barricaded them self inside would peacefully surrender. After praying, the pain in my stomach subsided. The following morning, we discovered not more than 10 minutes after we prayed, the crisis ended peacefully! I am believing the Lord was just waiting for someone to intercede and release Kingdom solutions into the atmosphere to overcome the darkness.
Since being working with TTR, I have been under the teachings of Ray Sturdivant who is the founder of a healing and deliver ministry called Mining the Truth. While sitting second chair during a prayer session, my right ear felt as though it was closing up and I lost hearing in it. At first, I knew it was related to what the Lord was wanting to do. However, it was scary as I hoped it wouldn’t become permanent. When there was an opportunity, I spoke up and asked the person we were praying with if she had trouble hearing out of her right ear. She said she was deaf in her left ear. Ray and I laid hands on her and prayed for her to receive her hearing back. She received healing and disclosed she could hear better. My personal I belief is the Lord was conveying to me that His intention was for her to begin hearing His voice. This individual had been angry at God for past trauma in her life and had turned from Him. So with my experience, anything dealing with my right ear means to lean into His voice. The reference is related to the numerous scriptures saying how Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father. My prayer is for her to continue pressing into Him and for her to continue letting down her guard to receive His love in full.
In a session right after that, I told the person we were praying for that I felt as though someone was grabbing my right arm. She showed us her arm and how three bruises showed up on her arm a few days prior. Ray identified it as a spirit of limitation. However, she was delivered and has every confidence that with God, all things are possible!
During this same outreach, during our evening service I found myself alone in my car paralyzed in fear that all of my prayers were laced with curses. I felt as though I was going to cause harm to someone if I laid hands on them. I panicked and began weeping. After calling a dear friend to pray through that with me, I realized I was feeling witchcraft in the atmosphere. We began worshipping and proclaiming the Lord’s goodness and it subsided. Now, when I experience this, I immediately know to counter the darkness with the opposite spirit. For example, if I am feeling witchcraft, I pray for the Lord’s supernatural power to come in and invade and for His Truth to be released. If I am feeling perversion, I release purity. Depression, joy…you get the drift!
The last incident I will leave you with is while I was visiting a friend at another church, someone came up to our group for prayer. She explained she had someone pray over her the week before and teeth marks manifested on her neck that very night. Immediately, I began feeling my throat close and received an image of a python with it’s head cut off. She explained last night she had a dream of this individual in her home carrying a decapitated chicken. After receiving knowledge of what was going on in the spiritual realm, we knew how to pray. I am pleased to report about a week later, she was healed!
As you can see, the Lord uses this gift as a way to gain intel on what is going on in the spiritual realm. He continues allowing me to experience new things and I continue pressing in so I can accomplish the assignment He has laid out in front of me. My prayer is as you navigate, you too will begin to see break through and operate in the fullness of who He has called you to be!
I am a team member of a ministry that helps equip the saints for the return of Christ. One of the things we focus on is getting the church comfortable sharing the Gospel. We break out in teams of four and minister in the communities where we are invited. Because of this, it’s given me the boldness to incorporate what I’ve been learning. Through the ministry, we have also been trained in inner healing and deliverance. So, we can easily pray a quick prayer to break people free from certain strongholds without the individual even realizing they are being “delivered”, but just experience the Lord restoring them back to wholeness. As I am writing this, please know the individual we are praying with is wanting freedom, and we aren’t just imposing our desires and beliefs upon them.
When encountering someone in the street, it’s easy to ask them if they need healing in the specific area I am feeling pain. If their answer’s yes, then I would ask if they would allow me to lay hands on them to pray for that area. I have learned to have them state where their pain level is at on a scale of one to ten before praying and then again after. Also, I try to encourage them to try something that they couldn’t do before to test it. This gives them the opportunity to put their faith into action. If they have been totally healed, then praise the Lord! If not, ask if you could pray another quick prayer and test it again. I have seen the Lord instantly heal people, and then have had others call me a few days, even weeks later saying they were totally healed.
On one of the teams that I went out on, I was with someone who didn’t believe signs and wonders were for today. As we were talking, my knee began hurting. Not to far from where we were standing, we saw someone on a cane. I knew the Lord was wanting to heal her. I asked her if her knee was hurting and she said it was her neck and back. We prayed for her and her pain level went from an 8 to zero, amen? The other half of of our team ran into her after we did and she said she had no pain, but continued using the cane to help her with her balance! They were able to pray for her about her balance for complete healing, amen? I asked the Lord why I was feeling knee pain instead of back and neck pain. He reminded me I usually feel knee pain in connection with pride. This makes sense because of my team member’s theology. After witnessing the healing, there was no denying the Lord’s power is still for today.
While I am on the topic of signs and wonders, I want to include another experience I had. A few years ago, I had several friends who consistently went to Dalton, GA to visit the “Flowing Oil” ministry. For those of you not familiar with this ministry, their team reported oil supernaturally flowing from a Bible. People came from all over to see the Bible, receive prayer and receive a vial of this oil to take with them. Before my friends and I left, the Lord impressed in my spirit I was not to go, as it was not in my jurisdiction. However, I went anyway. I justified it to Him saying I wanted to see one of His miracles. As I was watching my friends experience prayer and receive words of knowledge, I was in the corner doubled over in pain. I knew He didn’t shield me from the atmosphere because He had already instructed me not to go. About halfway home I heard Him clearly state that I am not to follow signs and wonders, but they are to follow me. I wept and repented. I include this illustration not to diminish that ministry, but as a warning. If He instructs you not to do something, He’s not punishing you, it’s for your protection.
I want to follow that with an example of Him showing up and showing out! During a reviveTX outreach, my team ended up on a gravel road. We saw a couple looking for their lost dog. It was amazing how the Lord used nature to speak to the lady. She disclosed she lost custody of her children while she was in active addiction. I noticed a grasshopper jump out in front of us. I encouraged her with Joel 2:25, as I believe the Lord wanted her to know He is going to restore the years the locusts have eaten. Not long after that, a gust of wind blew as we prayed for peace. I encouraged her to breath in His peace and exhale all fear, worry, and anxiety. As I was physically feeling the weight that she was carrying, I explained how the Lord wants to carry her burdens and as I released that, a donkey began braying! It gave me the opportunity to explain donkeys are burden bearers and Matthew 11:28-30 says His yoke is easy and His burden is light! I still grin as I think about how real and tangible He made Himself to her! She and her boyfriend ended up attending two of our meetings!
I was given an opportunity to go to Israel with my mother the same week we had an outreach at my birthplace but the Lord told me “no.” I needed to first be faithful in the small things before I could experience the much. I knew I had to minister to my family before He would allow me to experience the Holy Land. Plus, after the pain I endured from being disobedient in Dalton, I didn’t want to push it again. This go around, I passed the test. Even though to this day I still long to go to Israel, the Lord blessed me by having my team in Ohio to minister to my entire family! It was the first time everyone had gotten together since the celebration of my uncle’s life a year and a half earlier. Thank you Lord for your healing and restoration.
After I returned home from Ohio, I felt He had released me to be able to go on a mission trip outside the US. Up until then, I had no desire because I felt there was too much work to do right here. However, now He has been speaking to me about Brazil and given me a love for the Latino culture. I am anxiously awaiting His prompting and the opportunity to go and see Him move in different ways than I have ever experienced before!
During my dental appointment this week I was asked if I had gotten to baptize anyone since reviveTX back in 2017. I told her I had not. However, during our outreach at Ballard Park Saturday, I was given the opportunity!
After training and prayer, Gary, Pam and myself stayed back with the baptismal while the other teams dispersed. At the park, I was able to pray over the ladies who were gathered in the pavilion for an AA meeting. It was fun to share a brief testimony of how Jesus freed me from the desire to drink.
When we were wrapping up our day, a car pulled up in front of the baptismal. Melissa and I approached the driver. We prayed for her requests and the led her through the Bible and wristband. She commented she had been baptized before, but didn’t remember it being through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We reviewed what baptism symbolized and she asked if we would baptize her again. What an honor it was to get to be a part of her recommitment to the Lord! Please pray I will get to follow up and continue speaking life into this precious soul!
I shared with the prayer team the Lord has been dealing with me about playing candy crush and a few other mind numbing games. I deleted them at the beginning of the year and then reintroduced a few recently. It didn’t take long for them to begin consuming all of my free time. I heard the Lord say “no more playing games.” I knew He meant business. It’s not that the games were bad, but they overrode time I could be spending in prayer and worshipping Him.
When I told everyone I got rid of the games, another team member said he too was convicted a week ago and deleted a video football game and another member said he was cancelling the TV channel that aired criminal minds. I believe this is a wake up call! A warning! We need to be alert as time is of the essence! He is coming back church and we need to be at the top of our game instead of playing them, amen?
Mark 13:33 “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”
Oh what a joy it was to get to reconnect with the prayer team in person this week! Hebrews 10:25 was a common theme during our time of fellowship: “and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Our hope is we can continue meeting together and continue going deeper with Him!
We also met up with Caleb, Florida’s chairman, and hit the street. He gave us a tour of Sarasota’s House of Prayer and then we ended up in a low income apartment complex. Laban asked the question “how can we reach this community” and I stated “I believe it’s through the children.” As we continued walking, several kids on bicycles approached us and we were able to share and present the Good News to them! I love how the Lord has been immediately responding to the desires of our hearts!
As I was getting on the plane headed to meet the prayer team, I realized I was wearing a TN had, an AL shirt, and a MS sweatshirt. I found it interesting that Neil and I had just left the TriState Commerce Park and it includes these same three states.
While praying into this, I realized that LaCross, the new city in WI has had a team coming from FL, GA, and MN and when we went on a scouting trip to TN we had a team from FL, MS, and IN. Feeling three’s are significant!
When I looked up that does the number 3 signify in the Bible I found numerous articles about it. However, as a whole and general rule it represents: divine wholeness, completeness and perfection.
My Journey of Revival 