Prayerwalk Update
October 28, 2011“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Walking by faith
Forget the sidelines…God answers “put me in Coach” prayers! He will finish what He has started. (See Philippians 1:6 and 1 Thessalonians 5:24)
The 70-day training regimen He called me to a few months ago (video) doubled, both in duration and daily mileage, some days approaching 20 miles…nowhere near my personal best of 42 miles in one day–along a scorching-hot stretch of Route 66 on our first cross-country prayerwalk–but still decent for a 52 year-old dude, especially one with “issues.” I’m feeling strong. . . . Bring it!
A Practice Prayerwalk
Tomorrow, Deanna and I hit the ground walking…headed to Ohio for a week-long prayerwalk with pastors and leaders. This will be the first time we will have ever led a higher-mileage prayerwalk for leaders only. I’m calling it a “Practice Prayerwalk” for two reasons:
- Spiritually… As leaders, God commands us to practice what we preach. Unworthy as we are, He empowers us to “walk out” our witness, just as the Apostle Paul writes: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice….”(Philippians 4:9, emphasis added)
- Pragmatically… We’ve never engaged in a leaders-only venture at this level of physicality, so it’s prudent to have a practice run. As a result, we’ll be able to tweak our roll-out plans for the balance of 70 regions accordingly…with the road-tested counsel of like-minded leaders!
Please pray. Our agreement moves heaven and earth. (Matthew 18:19-20)
This prayerwalk is pivotal for finalizing our blueprints. Because of God and Him alone, breakthrough is continuing on the California Central Coast. We believe God would fan those flames across the country, even in the unworthy wake of our footsteps. We are bombarding heaven for miraculous healing, unbridled favor, unsearchable wisdom and supernatural abundance for the steps ahead.
Pray especially for the pastors in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Thanks for the support. You are greatly loved.
For His harvest, Tom & Deanna
Prayer for 9/11
September 7, 2011Beloved in Christ,
What follows is a prayer I penned on 9/11 with a passion I can only attribute to God’s Spirit. As I read-and-ministered this prayer that same evening in Mooresville, NC, just one state away from the finish-line of our first cross-country prayerwalk, little did I know God would miraculously send us to New York just five weeks later, where He would have me lead an impromptu prayer meeting with the construction workers at Ground Zero, way past all the barricades, standing in a big circle on the still-smoldering center of the crater.
None of us will ever forget where we were on 9/11. Yet, as we come together to bow before our sovereign King in remembrance of this fateful day, it’s not where we were that remains important, but where are we going…
(The following prayer has not been edited or revised from its original writing on 9/11.)
Our Prayer on September 11, 2001…
Merciful Heavenly Father,
In the stunned aftermath of today’s events, we declare that You are good. Your mercy endures forever. Your ways are higher than our ways. We declare that Your Word is true; what our enemy meant for harm, You will use for good. You have not been caught off-guard by the headlines today—indeed, You make all things work together for good to those who love You, and are called according to Your purpose.
May the impact of today’s events terrify the complacent into true repentance. May we, as your obedient children, respond to this illumination of the transcendence of mortal life by wholeheartedly embracing holiness at any cost…at any cost.
We ask for comfort to all those who mourn today. Every mother, every father, wife, husband, brother, sister, daughter, son, every friend—we ask for deliverance from the guilt of unresolved wounds, spoken and unspoken words, presumptions. May we, as Your Body, surround and serve those whose grief is inconceivable. May Your Presence fill the unfathomable void of a lost loved one. Employ us as a spiritual rescue crew—that eternal lives would be saved.
Speak clearly to our leaders, even our President. Bring those who govern us to a new depth of submission to Your Word and a greater inclination to Your voice, O Good Shepherd. By Your mercy, pour out wisdom and discernment to those whose decisions will shape the destiny of our nation.
Most of all, we ask that, in a sense, we would never recover. We don’t want to return to “life as usual.” How much blood need be spilled until we weep for the lost? How many orphans? How many widows? When will we take up our cross, and follow You? We beg You, don’t let our heart return to the illusion of health that lulled us to sleep only yesterday. Change our heart O God. Allow it to break for Your Kingdom’s sake.
The fields have never been riper for harvest. We pray for laborers—even ourselves. Give us a boldness to declare Your truth in the marketplace to a misled and dying world. Confirm Your Word with signs and wonders in our day-to-day lives. Breathe into Your Church a fresh wind of enthusiasm for the harvest and growth of disciples. Break down every dividing wall in Your Body. There is no time for such foolishness—there is too much at stake.
Revive us O Lord. Your Presence is our only hope.
Agreeing with you for revival at any cost,
—Tom & the Pentecost Walk Team
One quick update: Our last email/video message (dealing with the need to raise support before full-implementation of our next phase into 70 regions) enjoyed the highest readership (open rate) of any general-delivery message since Deanna’s prayer-requests when I was hospitalized in 2008. Your attention is very encouraging; thank you! We are continuing full-speed-ahead as I continue my intensive training (feeling even stronger). Much to update you on in the days ahead…
Thank you for your continued prayer and support.
Winded
July 30, 2011And please forgive me if I sound like I just downed 12 espressos, but that’s what a month of prayerwalking will do to you.
Favor is better than talent
God’s favor on this mission is His business and the breakthrough we’ve been experiencing is for His glory. We dare not draw a straight line between obedience and its resulting fruitfulness, for one plants, another waters, but only God brings the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
Seventy-times-seven
My heart has heard God whispering that phrase over this mission for some years now. Indeed, it has fundamentally affected everything we’ve been doing. But just recently, I’ve discovered it’s even weightier than I first thought. (I’ll tell you all about it in the days ahead.)
Rallying pastors and leaders
To date, most of our travels have been built around (paid) invitations, but for this next phase of our assignment, we will be the ones doing most of the inviting (and paying). Thus, our “love offering” support-model will no longer apply. We need your help.
God is calling us to prayerwalk 70 regions across the country to come alongside pastors and leaders…to be a friend to them, inviting them to (literally) walk with us in signed-on agreement with both our National Prayer of Repentance petition and, even more notably, the “stricter judgment” standard of our open-letter, the Apology from the Pulpit.
Lord willing, this will make way for a “Pastors’ Prayerwalk” (our third cross-country walk, this time from Mexico-to-Canada), specifically for pastors and leaders. Those of us called to preach repentance to others would do well to re-embrace it ourselves. Imagine an army of leaders prayerwalking in genuine humility. Bring it, Lord!
Would you please water this work?
As always, we deeply appreciate your prayer, and with it, especially now, we’re asking for your financial support. And I’m hoping to hear back from you right away, so we can plan our next steps accordingly.
We are believing God for an immediate harvest of tens of thousands of dollars in the weeks ahead through friends like you. Compared to many national missions, our needs are small, but nonetheless necessary to get us to the starting line.
A prayer-filled request
I’ve prayed for months about how to appeal to you today. Kingdom life is “at hand,” and yours are the hands God has sovereignly joined with ours. Money matters can be a breaking point, but in His hands, we believe this will be a “breakthrough” point.
Hopefully, some helpful direction
Last spring, some close friends of ours, upon hearing our 70-region vision, promptly wrote us a check for a dollar-amount equal to a multiple of 70 (regions), i.e., so much per region. In that moment, I sensed God directing me how to specifically ask for your help.
Would you prayerfully consider:
1. A one-time gift in a dollar-amount multiple of 70?
2. Becoming a monthly supporter for $70 per month?
I believe these suggested gift-calculations will resonate with many of you. Nevertheless, please know we deeply appreciate every gift of any amount. Thank you.
To give a one-time or monthly gift of any amount, please go to our secure donation page. Thank you!
We love and appreciate you,
Tom & Deanna
Postscripts…
We will be posting step-by-step mission bullets on our webpage, and you will be able to track our travels. We’re also developing a separate blog-page for those interested, so these monthly missives can remain brief.
Next time I shoot a video of myself, I’ll try to hold my phone a little more level!
I’d love to hear from you… tomdemaree@pentecostwalk.org
