I wish I had known this 45 years ago – and practiced it. The mustard seed principal: Praying, “Father, just give me one more mustard seed.” You know, those seeds – the smallest of garden seeds – that grow to become big trees where many birds can nest—those ones. Matthew 13:31-32 – “He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in...
The following are guidelines to help you to get the most value from using short prayers. Take a dedicated time of 3 minutes or more to silence your heart. Engage in meditative prayer, repeating the prayer slowly and deliberately. Pause between each repetition, allowing for moments of silence. Direct your entire being towards God. Keep a notebook nearby to jot down any insights the Spirit may...
I dreamed I drove on a Florida road, still and straight and empty. On either side were groves of orange trees, so that as I turned to look at them from time to time, line after line of orange trees stretched back endlessly from the road their boughs heavy with round orange fruit. My wonder grew as the miles slipped by. How could the harvest be gathered? Suddenly I realized that for all the hours...
Large parts of Africa experienced revival during 1953-1955. There was a significant revival among the Ovambo people in 1953. The influence of that revival was still visible amongst the Ovambo of Namibia in the 1980s. Some other countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon also experienced periods of revival during this time. In 1953 revival broke out in the Belgian Congo (today the DRC). It...
Revival amongst the Head-hunters (From Head-hunters to Church Planters, by Paul Hattaway, Piquant Editions, 2006) 1 Nagaland is a province of India, hidden in the Himalayan Mountains. You can see Bangladesh and China when you stand on the high peaks. The Nagas were headhunters. They worshipped the rocks, moon and stars as their ‘fathers’. In 1872, an American missionary, rev. E.W...
Story: Years ago, a very evil, vile, ruthless man owned many taverns. In those taverns, he took at much money from people as possible. Women would come to him, begging him to send their husbands home because they were drinking away their salaries, and there was then nothing left to feed the children. He simply laughed, scolded and kicked them out of his drinking houses. He didn’t hesitate to kill...
Week 1 – Day 1/7 Theme of the week: Assurance of salvation Important: Never do this course on your own. Many people try to do it on their own. But you will find less than 5% of the value of the course by doing it alone versus doing it in a small group. Do not think you will be an exception to the rule. An optimal group has four people. In such a group, deep discipling takes place. We...