Historically Speaking. Today, Thursday, May 6th, 2010 marked the 59th annual observance of the National Day of Prayer. Signed into law on April 17th, 1952 by President Harry S. Truman, this national call to prayer serves as a reminder to one of the first documented calls to prayer by the government of the United States in 1775. Knowing the critical nature of their deliberations and the legacy it would establish for all future generations of U.S. citizens, the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom on their behalf.

Although not signed into law until 1952, there are numerous calls to national prayer throughout our nation’s history. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer.” In fact, from 1789 to present, there have been over 136 calls to national prayer by the President of the United States.

Personally Speaking. I am glad for the Christian heritage and legacy of our nation as represented each year by the National Day of Prayer. However, if a day comes where our President refuses to “declare it”, or our judges try to remove it, it will not negatively effect our right or our ability as believers to gather for prayer and worship. The fact of the matter is, we don’t gather enough as the entire “Church” throughout our region(s)… and nothing is stopping us the other 364 days of the year - nor, should it stop us on the first Thursday in May of each year.

Biblically Speaking. There is only one Biblical prescription for what to do when a nation is in apathy, in need, in turmoil, in famine, or in drought. We find it in 2 Chronicles, Joel, Nehemiah, and Esther (to only name a few prominent ones). We have to come up out of our normal activities (even if it’s your wedding day, or you’re taking care of an infant - see Joel 2), and we have to gather for fasting, prayer, and repentance. The result? HE will hear our prayers, and then do what’s best for us, to try and bring us back into closer relationship with Himself. (2 Chronicles 7; Joel 2)

Crawford County! I was incredibly blessed by this year’s National Day of Prayer. Thank you local pastors for stepping up and doing much of the planning and leading for this year’s event. Thank you, JanaLou Devers, for the vision, organization, and unseen hard work that you sow into this gathering each and every year.

Why was this year so special? I was anticipating (dreadfully) some speeches about the recent court decision ruling the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, and people expressing outrage or like sentiments. Instead, I saw pastors and the people of our area gathering around local family members, church leaders, government leaders, business leaders, media workers, and education system workers to speak BLESSINGS over them. We have a choice “to bless or to curse,” and I am so glad when I see followers of Jesus choose to BLESS! Anyone who came today expecting to see some upset Christians in controversy, hopefully “knew us by our love.”

And, yes, I am the goatee guy playing the guitar that’s been on the news reels from previous years’ gatherings while talking about this year’s National Day of Prayer - and the one that Jared Broyles of Channel 5 interviewed on the Van Buren courthouse lawn today (along with my beautiful daughter, Israel)!

Several of you have been inquiring about “How’s it going from house to house?”, or just “What’s going on?”

When will the prayer room start back up on Saturday nights? I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been asked that question in the last two weeks or so.  The answer: we’re not sure, and we’re not going to “do it in our own strength”.  Yes, there are times when “the violent must take it by force”, and then there’s times when you have to just “be a son”, and know that our Abba, Daddy God likes to give good gifts to those who just wait on Him and trust Him as Daddy.

We believe it is in the heart of God to establish a facility for night and day prayer in our region, and we know what our “next step” is in this progression that culminates NOT in the establishment of a facility, but WITH the Great Harvest, the Great & Terrible Day of the Lord, and when every eye will see Jesus return “in the same manner” as the disciples saw Him ascend into the clouds - as a resurrected man in a glorified human body.

Our Part. The next step for the Jacksons is into your living room. We want to bring a team of about 6-10 love-struck worshippers, fiery intercessors, and spiritually-gifted teachers to your home (or other relationally conducive environment) and have an evening of Family Worship & Prayer.  Instead of investing our current resources into a building and asking people to come to us, we want to fund & release intercessory missionaries to go into homes, businesses, and venues across the region to ignite the revelations that will answer the Lord’s charge, “my house WILL be called a house of prayer.” WE are the house whose builder and maker is God - constructed of living stones - and just as He named people and geographies in the Bible with a prophetic description of their calling and purpose, He has branded us with His desire for us: “to be a people of gathered prayer.”

Your Part. Well, there’s your living room, but we don’t want there to end up being 6-12 of us (counting our 6-10). You invite your friends, family, church family, and as many broken, hurting people needing a real encounter with a jealous, love-sick jewish man named Jesus who wants nothing more than for us to “love Him as His Father loved Him (John 17:26/Mark 12:29-33) - and TOGETHER we will all worship, pray, express, teach, talk, listen, share and love.

Aaron, are you getting off track - we liked the idea of “a house of prayer” being a central building somewhere? Again, we believe that will come - maybe in 2010 - maybe somewhere else - maybe by someone else - and maybe two or ten of them. HE will build it. Has the vision changed? Not at all.  Here’s some blog posts from August/September of 2007:

http://www.likedaviddid.com/our-purpose/from-house-to-house/
http://www.likedaviddid.com/our-purpose/houses-of-prayer/

The Lord gave us this phrase as a guide in 2007: “More than a ‘prayer community’, I want a ‘community that prays.’”  Let the rally begin.

There’s another excited, paradigm-shifting facet that the Lord has called us to in 2010 that I will write an article about soon: “Living Locally Like Foreign Missionaries”.

We look forward to praying and worshipping alongside you very soon.

The Jacksons

Aaron, Robin, Israel, Gideon, Kalek

p.s. So, you want details like “How big does the room need to be?” “What will we do with the kids?” “Do we need to have food?” “Will you come to our church building?” “Will we take an offering?” “Do you have to know the hosts really well?” — Just ask!

There was a spiritual shift that occurred in the heavenlies this last Wednesday night, November 18th, at the 2nd annual Community Thanksgiving Service. Through many reports and conversations, there is a tangible momentum in the air for real revival in the river valley.  As Heritage Church’s pastor Wes Hilliard began to share his personal experiences, desire, and historical accounts of true, broad-sweeping revival, a hunger was released in the hearts of many to know more about what the Lord has done in recent years to change entire cities and people groups in a matter of days and weeks.

There’s always this first thought that pops into my head as I consider past revivals, “Get out of the past! Live in the now! Don’t look back… look ahead!”  That is all well and good, but there is a valid cry that must arise from the children of God in this hour - that was inspired by the Holy Spirit to arise in many generations as recorded in His Word:

“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2

“This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?…The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. “  Jeremiah 2:5-6

We look back, first, to His Holy Word and stand in awe of His deeds.  We look back to the Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening, and The Welsh Revival, and see entire cities and nations transformed and know that His Word is true, and His promise unchanged.  He wants us to ASK! His “promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:39)” That’s us! What is this promise of which Peter spoke? That everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, and that then God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh - to testify of Jesus through a victorious life and supernatural knowledge of God that results in spiritual authority. (Acts 2, Joel 2)

But He desires… He requires… that we ASK Him for it, and that we gather together in the place of prayer and “actively wait” on it.  That is what we are doing all day tomorrow, from 8am to 10pm at The Burn hosted this month by Heritage Church.

Come and be apart of the increasing momentum. Pay the price in the place of gathered prayer. If you are able, I specifically ask you to come to the 6pm to 8pm set as one of our intercessory worship teams leads the music, and Pastor Wes (Heritage), Pastor Damon (Crossroads), and our faithful intercessory Katie Howell help lead us in prayer for the outpouring of God - revelation of the Son - by His Holy Spirit.

Join believers from all over the region on Saturday, November 21st for “The Burn - River Valley“!

This month’s Burn will be hosted by Heritage Church at 1604 Pointer Trail, Van Buren, Arkansas.  From 8am to 10pm, vertical worship and honest prayers will be sent up from the river valley.  We will be gathering for the entire 14 hours in the new youth ministry room, upstairs in the new student life center at Heritage.  So, don’t get discouraged if the “main doors” are locked - just drive around to the south east parking lot (the new two-story building), and go up the elevator (or stairs) and join in the adoration of the Lord with us.

What should you expect?

The Burn is an atmosphere of “vertical worship.”  This is where those people who happen to be on the platform with instruments are simply pouring out their hearts and adoration directly to the Lord just like the psalmists of old did - just like those priests who were chosen and allowed by God to minister directly to Him, as opposed to the unfaithful priests who were only allowed to minister to people (see Ezekiel 44:10-16).  So, the worshiper’s intention is not to “lead you in worship”, but to create a place where the Lord will inhabit their praises, into which you can come and sit, adore, soak, read your Bible, or whatever you feel led to do that is decent and in order by the wide-range of Biblically acceptable expressions of worship and devotion.

Come and Soak. Burn. Go and Shine.

This weekend, a team from the International House of Prayer - Kansas City ministered to the region… with permission, I intend to post a few short audio clips that encapsulate some of the key messages that the Lord was speaking to the river valley.  The resounding word the Lord was bringing to me the entire weekend, starting during the set-up time through personal conversations with some fellow believers who were there serving from the the host church, was the necessity for what we are doing with the Rend Your Heart ministry and the regional intercessory worship gatherings we have been facilitating the last 19 months.

Most of you know of the incredible unity that exists between the various prayer & worship ministries in the region, namely The Burn - Fort Smith, Crossroads Church, New Wineskins Ministries, and Rend Your Heart (yes, I’m still vacilating between that name and “Pray River Valley”).  Because one of my personal, primary motivating revelations is that of Jesus’ intense desire for unity among believers (John 17:20-26), I always process my own motives and vision through that filter: is what I feel impressed to do already being done by another believer or ministry, and should I just serve with them?  Should we all just head over to Crossroads where the Lord has amassed so many phenomenal, devoted, and faithful intercessors?  Should we put all of our proverbial eggs into the same basket?

The resounding answer is… Maybe!  Okay, not really.  The real answer is, what is the Lord asking YOU to do?There is a need for equipping of intercessors and worshippers in the river valley, and Pastor Damon and the believers at Crossroads are doing that, and doing it well.  Thank you, believers at Crossroads, for your faithfulness and vision that goes back even before God’s orchestration of bringing Damon & Lisa to our region.  Thank you, Damon & Lisa, for your obedience and yourselves!

There is also a need for intercessors and worshippers in every single congregation throughout the river valley - believers that have already been planted, some from birth, into varying church-families.  Some will get uprooted for a season to go and soak and get equipped to return to the congregations to which the Lord has destined them.  Some must stay planted where they are at, and let their roots go deep - even when it’s dry - their roots will have to search out the streams.

That is one of the primary things the Lord has asked us (Rend Your Heart) to do in the valley:  we are to be a stream of living water, an oasis in a dry and thirsty land.  We are a place where believers who are faithfully plowing and sowing in other ministries can come to be refreshed through fiery worship and fervent prayer. Who are we?  We are believers from many churches in the region:  Heritage Church VB, Crossroads Church Alma, The Current VB, Butterfield AoG VB, First Baptist VB, Grand Ave Baptist FSM, City Christian Fellowship FSM, Victory Temple FSM, First Methodist FSM, Mt Olive Church VB, and I know I’m forgetting some.  These are just the congregations represented on the stage almost every week.

Could we be this same stream and serve this same purpose from inside a specific congregation’s facility? Theoretically, yes - and, eventually, Yes! There will be many streams and deep wells all over this region in homes, in church-buildings, and in buildings devoted to prayer, worship, and outreach.  This is what the Lord has asked us to do - and we’re running… we’re digging… we’re soaking… we’re burning.

Will you come and join us this Saturday from 6pm to 9pm at the prayer room located on the corner of Alma Blvd and North 20th St in Van Buren?

I’ve been asked several times since April about our new schedule now that we have our own central meeting location - so, here it is - along with some vision for future plans:

EVERY Saturday
6pm to 9pm

That’s it - simple, and a great place to come and begin to cultivate a lifestyle of gathered prayer and worship. In partnership with other prayer & worship gatherings in our area, we will always ask people to please prioritize attendance of other prayer gatherings over ours - but, we will remain consistent, so as to try to keep anyone from ever showing up at an empty building when they’re expecting a prayer meeting.

On the Second Saturday of every month, our meeting format is a little different than on the other Saturdays. On the Second Saturday, our meeting is modeled after one of our mottos: fiery worship; bold teaching; fervent prayer - because, that’s exactly what happens on that night, and in that order.  Unlike all of the other Saturday meetings that are 3 hours of constant intercessory worship, with a “drop-in” schedule (come and stay for as little or as much as you want) - the Second Saturday will start with about an hour of uninterrupted worship, after which a short & concise teaching will be given that is aimed at fueling a life of prayer and worship, which will flow into a time of response and intercessory worship for the remainder of the evening.

The Prayer Room is located on the corner of Alma Blvd and North 20th St in Van Buren, AR.

We will have an internship beginning August 1st, and will aim to have morning and lunch-time prayer & worship sets up-and-going as many days as possible, as soon as possible.  These meetings will probably be from 6am to 8am, and from 11am to 1pm, and, will be of the “drop-in” variety.  Because it will also (most likely) be difficult to put full worship teams together (at first) for these meetings, they will probably be one or two singers & musicians, along with one or two dedicated prayer leaders facilitating corporate prayer & worship.

The Prayer Room is not directly financially supported by any specific congregations, nor do we intentionally seek-out this time of “budget item” support.  Our rent and utilities are paid by individual believers (and their families) who have a heart-for and understand-of the need for saints to gather themselves together and pray for our region.  Right now, a small handful of us are covering these costs with great sacrifice.  We eagerly invite you to join us in helping to provide this cross-denominational, multi-congregational place of prayer and worship.

Your gifts can be sent via traditional mail to:

Like David Did
1000 Flat Rock Dr
Van Buren, AR 72956

Or, one-time, or recurring monthly giving can be securely established on-line via PayPal at our directors’ website: http://www.likedaviddid.com/partnering.  All gifts are tax deductible.  A PayPal account is NOT needed, and gifts may be given using most bank cards.

We hope to pray and worship alongside you very soon.

Aaron & Robin Jackson

I wanted to share a little about how we encorporate children into our prayer meetings.  We welcome and encourage families with children to come to all of the prayer meetings.  The Prayer Room is a great place to train children to spend time with God while being bathed in His presence with worship and prayer.

We Encourage kids to bring their bible, journal, sketch pads, pencils and crayons and spend some time with God.  Around our house we put these items in backpacks or satchels and call them our prayer bags.  Prayer bags are extremely useful to train children to actively wait and listen to God.

We usually discourage them from bringing electronic games or mp3 players.   The reason behind that is the musicians and prayer leaders are trying to cultivate a place of prayer for everyone who comes even the smaller saints.   If we can keep their eyes and ears unobstructed by lesser things of entertainment it will provide the opportunity for God to get their attention.  Sometimes things are “caught” by children not necessarily “taught.”  I’ve seen it happen even with my youngest son at the age of three.  Once we visited a prayer room for no more than thirty minutes and the whole time he was completely into his coloring book.  When we left I asked my kids if God had said anything to them while in the prayer room.  The least expected, half potty-trained three year old spoke up right away and said, “God said, ‘Put a Fire on our Hearts.’ ”  Even if they had been singing those exact words it was now in him.  It was his, a gift from God to this tiny guy.   

Please, get rid of the notion that a prayer room or prayer meeting is no place for children.  The Psalm 84 says better is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere.  It’s the perfect place for training children.   It just means our time with them there is not about us it’s about training them to sit and wait on the Lord. It’s a discipline in which all of us could increase.  While we are there with them they become a visual reminder to pray for our high calling as parents as well.

So, we encourage you to come have some family time in the prayer room.

Robin

The river valley now has its very own prayer room.  We are located on the corner of Alma Blvd and North 20th St in Van Buren.

We are currently meeting every Saturday from 6pm to 9pm.  Everyone is welcome to attend and participate. Come for the entire meeting, or just for a few minutes.  Spend time in Bible reading, prayer, personal devotional, or engaging with the ministry team in praying & singing Scripture over our region.

We look forward to praying and worshiping with you soon!

On Friday, January 3rd and Saturday, January 4th a combined ministry team from the Fort Smith, Arkansas river valley and the International House of Prayer in Kansas City will be ministering in Bowling Green, Missouri.  Morning Star Fellowship will be our host.  We would like to thank Pastor Gary Green for his obvious heart to believers in the entire Bowling Green region continually equipped for more effective ministry.  The gatherings are open for anyone who would like to attend.

Friday night we will start with fiery worship as we, like King David, long to encounter the affections of the Lord, and ask Him to come and establish a dwelling place for His presence in the midst of His people.  As the Lord allows, our team will minister through the bold teaching of Holy Scripture, and using whatever giftings the Lord graces us to use that will strengthen and equip the believers present.  

After a time of ministry, we will then engage in fervent prayer using an intercessory worship structure that the Lord has given us.  During this time of prayer and worship, key intercessors will help lead the entire room in Biblically-based prayers, and invite anyone else who wants to participate to come and join in (either on the microphone, or just from their seats).  We encourage the use of “the Apostolic Prayers”, since they are Holy Spirit inspired prayers for all believers, found directly in scripture.  Who better to be in agreement with as we pray?

As each person prays through their verses, the psalmist singers will sing, echo, and develop the Scriptures being prayed.  This helps engage hearts, minds, and souls, like you may have never experienced before.

That service begins at 6pm.

On Saturday morning at 9am, we will open with a simplified worship time, and then minister in whatever way the Lord has asked us, or the local leadership has requested from us.  When believers come together, it should always be about one (or both) of two things:  equipping people, or ministering to the Lord.  We plan on doing both.

So join us as we start off the New Year.  There’s no better way to get 2009 going… I assure you.

Manifest Blessings!

Aaron & Robin Jackson
http://www.likedaviddid.com