Beginning this year, women will be empowered in a way not yet seen by the Church to fulfill their mission on earth.  Some will misinterpret this as an attempt to undermine the authority and place of men in the Kingdom, but in reality, it places men in an even higher position than held previously.   With greater discernment, strength and insight, Eve could have better fulfilled her role as Adam's help-meet even when temptation came upon them. 

The rise of women into their Kingdom positions should not cause men to fear but to rejoice that the strength of the united Church – male and female – will be better prepared to press forward and fend off the opposition of the evil one.  With females moving into their calls and anointings, there will be less strife and rebellion toward the male figures in their lives as frustration is replaced with godly wisdom.

As the women the Lord is raising into position take their Kingdom positions, they will not pervert the role of men in the family, the Church or the marketplace, but by being properly positioned themselves, they will be able to help the men to move into and hold their own Kingdom positions.   New insight into the Proverbs 31 woman will keep both men and women on course in this new arena.

The Year of the Holy Spirit

I placed this topic under the previous one, because I want to expound on this and tie it into other insights.  I placed it below the insights about woman only to allow it to lead us into related topics and not because it is of less importance.

As we entered 2006, I knew the Lord was placing a renewed emphasis on the Holy Spirit.  At the time, the centennial celebration of the Azusa Street Revival this year never even entered my mind.  What I understood was that the Lord wanted a renewal of the intimacy His people once had with Holy Spirit.  Many of us have come to know Him in a different, yet valid, way – through the “work” of the Spirit and in the pace of life’s various settings.  He does want us to know Him as we “pass through,” but He also wants us to know Him in stillness.

This year, the Lord is calling His people to Himself.  He is drawing us to come away with Him.  Taking time to pursue the Presence of the Lord and the sweet communion of Holy Spirit apart from everything else in life will bring us a refreshing that we have longed for. 

In this place of communion, our souls, our spirits and our senses will awaken to new heights as the Holy Spirit Himself writes upon our hearts, sealing us with His communion.

For those of you not familiar with the term “communion,” in this sense it speaks of fellowship, sharing, and friendship.  Sharing our lives with the Lord through the Holy Spirit as He shares His with us.  It’s a deep, refreshing, loving relationship of continued interaction.

Relationships Renewed

As the Lord is drawing us into a deeper, and lighter (freer), relationship with Him, He is also drawing us into a rekindling of other relationships in our lives.  As our relationship with Him has become bogged down, mundane, burdensome and even predictable, other significant relationships in our life have done the same.  The Lord wants to renew those relationships so that they can be life-giving and a source of joy in o ur lives.  Marriages, friendships, families, and even work relationships will be changed if we allow the Lord to reshape our lives to make room for the things that He wants to bring to life.  If we open our hearts to the change, He will renew and refresh even relationships that we thought were dead.

Call to Prayer

This may be one of the most significant things that God is doing this year, and it will require more attention than I can give it in this overview, but we will address it again.

God is calling His people not just to pray – conversation with God – but to strategic intercession. 

Since we cannot, on our own, know how to pray as we ought, the Holy Spirit will enlighten us on how to pray.  This is another reason for renewing our relationship with Him.  To be vessels of His love and to pray effectively, we must be in a relationship where He can direct our paths.   I can’t stop the lady on the street that I don’t know and ask her to pray for Mark who needs a specific touch from the Lord at this very moment, but I CAN call my good friend – day or night – and ask her to pray in a specific way.  Relationship makes all the difference in our prayers.

I encourage you to devote time in your day to allow the Lord to intercede through you.  Offer yourselves as vessels for Him to use to release strategic intercession into situations.

Also, be aware that much of what you are sensing and feeling may not be about you but a call to prayer.  You may wake up sad and depressed one day and think that old enemy depression is trying to sneak back in.  He may be.  However, more likely, it is an alert that the old enemy of depression is trying to sneak in on others as well, and the Lord needs you to take a stand against it for yourself and for those He brings to your mind.  It may even be a corporate attack, and depending on the sphere of godly authority you currently operate in, you may be called to stand against that corporate attack at those levels – i.e. family, church, school, class, city, state, region, country, continents, nations, etc.

Pray in the Spirit

With the renewed call to prayer and the renewed emphasis on our relationship with Holy Spirit, there is also a renewed emphasis on praying in the spirit.  Some of us can pray in the spirit in our native language as we listen to the Lord and allow Him to pray through us.  However, what I am speaking of here is specifically calling us to pray in tongues.  The word tells us that praying in tongues edifies our spirit, and we definitely need that.  </ span>More than that, however, praying in tongues allows the Lord to pray through us apart from our understanding.  It’s not even dependent on our ability to hear Him or discern what and how He wants us to pray.  It allows the Lord to turn on the faucet and His spirit of intercession to flow as we give utterance in other tongues.  This utterance may come for short or long periods of time.  Don’t let time be your concern.  God can do a lot with a little, or He might require more for some assignments.  Just offer yourself to Him; His burden is not heavy, but it is light and easy.  We have to trust Him, otherwise we limit Him.

The world is changing, and praying in tongues also protects us.  The Lord may release something to our understanding to pray, but if it is significant and even frightening, it may become a stumbling block to us.  Praying in tongues protects us from fear, doubt or even limiting what God wants to release in prayer at that moment.  Also, since a tongue is a heavenly language, it is more efficient.  God can say more with less than we can.  You may find the prayer burden lifting much more quickly, because God can go straight to the point and then you can go on about what you were doing.

Additionally, the enemy cannot understand what is being said.  It is like heavenly "code" languages that the enemy cannot decipher.

Also, the Lord desires to teach us how to pray.  Everything we have learned up to this point is helpful, but the Lord desires to take us higher and make us more effective.  Who wouldn't want Him to do that?  That’s certainly what I want.

Because we pray according to our limited understanding, many Christians are praying amiss (James 4:3).  This is not a critical statement but a refining statement.  Let’s allow the Lord to target our prayers effectively by praying in tongues as often as we can – and edifying our own spirits in the process.  It’s a great deal!

This is not meant to be an exhaustive discussion on the subject of prayer or intercession but rather a brief introduction to something the Lord will build upon.

Shift Gears – From natural to SUPERnatural

This year, we can expect a shift from the natural to the supernatural.  Even those who aren’t looking for or interested in the supernatural will find themselves subjected to the supernatural, although it may not be in a positive form.  Whether or not we like it or want it, these are supernatural days.  Supernatural weather patterns, supernatural crime, wars and violence, supernatural politics, etc. are all examples of how the earth will see the supernatural.

Those who serve Jesus and are willing to go about doing good and healing all who are oppressed of the devil as He did (Acts 10:38), will find ourselves in the midst of a supernatural release of good.

Signs & wonders, miracles, healing, and more -- all within our reach.  For those who are too tired to believe again for the supernatural, you may miss it or get on board later.  For those who are willing to believe again, they WILL see the glory of the Lord.

Believe for it.  Reach for it.

This is the reason for everything we’ve talked about up until now.  The emergence of women into their Kingdom positions, deeper communion with Holy Spirit, committed life of prayer, Holy Spirit-led intercession – all point toward the display of the miraculous w e have long awaited. 

You can’t reason it.  You can’t understand it.  You mustn’t underestimate it nor should you attempt to contain or control it.  You must simply believe.

I earnestly beseech the Lord to plant His truths in your heart and mine and to make a way in our lives where there seems to be no way. 

I look forward to seeing each of you walking in your destiny – the Lord’s will for you is to prosper you and not to harm you – to give you a hope and a future.   (Jeremiah 29:11)

Many blessings!