Prayer

Was on the ministry team at IHOP last night and at the start of the night, the Lord led me to pray for a lady who looked physically very weathered. She was going through all sorts of dramas and the funny thing is, she prayed God would send her the right person to pray for her and I know I was that right person. She has been suicidal because the trials she is facing are severe and she is weary. I bound the plans of the enemy against her life and took authority over the spirit of hell and death. I broke curses against her and covered her with the blood of Jesus and prayed intensely for her. Then I felt to give her Psalm 91:14-16 and wrote her name in it just like God had done for me ten years ago. I told her to read it to herself.

I think i'll be seeing her again soon, no doubt. I told her if she ever sees me in the prayer room, she can ask me to pray for her. I also prayed for Claire, a young single mum. She finished track 2 last season and was on day 23 of a 40 day fast yesterday! Far out. She is going to be ministering at a youth conference as a teacher. Pretty cool. Definitely worth fasting for.

In rapid fire yesterday I prayed for the young people in Israel. I said "Lord, You said to call those things that be not as though they are, so Lord for the young people in Israel, we call them into the kingdom of God, we call angels into their lives, we call laborers to preach the gospel to them, we call divine appointments into their lives, we call divine friendships into their lives, we pray that You would come and breathe on them Holy Spirit and cause them to walk in their destiny".

God's presence

So later last night I removed Michael off my friend's list on FB. Today, I had a real heaviness on me and was feeling kind of shattered and broken. I guess it hurts when things get cut, even if they are just soul ties. I didn't say g'day to him at all and barely looked at him. What a dramatic change.

On the way back from lunch at my house, I prayed God would give me a word of encouragement. What a beauty He decided to give me from the guy who is teaching us about prophetic ministry. He said in front of everyone that "Michelle plays hard ball". Then he went on to say that I am intense, that I am a person who will not compromise and that I have zeal. He said my love for God is like fire and he saw wind being blown on my fire, which will increase the intensity of the fire.

Then he said that I have the Father's eyes. I have fire in my eyes from gazing at Him. He is giving me His eyes of justice and compassion. He said compassion releases justice and justice releases compassion. He said God has given me a heart for victims as well as those who cause pain.

Finally he said that he saw writing on me and music or some form of art as an expression. He said I see a lot of pictures (visions) and he sees an increase in the release of these pictures. He said sometimes I get so much at one time that it doesn't seem to make sense, but they will land and make sense eventually.

Well I did find that encouraging. It's funny, during this class, but then especially after he gave me this word, I just could not wait to get to the prayer room and meet with God. So at 3pm I rushed off to the prayer room, got on my knees and wept through prayer. Part way through I looked up and saw Mike Bickle watching me and then the lady who led intercession that session. After I saw them both, it almost seemed like the presence of God came over me stronger.

I was thinking how I would really like a hug from someone and then all of a sudden, I felt as though a big man was embracing me. I felt the warmth and this amazing sensation all around me. It was so weird. It was like God was a physical man for me. I remained there for 2.5 hours. When I got back up on my chair, my knees ached like crazy, so I sat and prayed in tongues another half and hour. Then it was like another wave of the Spirit came over me and I was just weeping - like 2.5 hours of weeping wasn't enough!

Brooke came beside me after 6pm and kind of looked concerned but I was just so wrapped up in God's presence I wasn't really able to communicate.

Soul ties cut!

So I was reading Mike Bickle's book called "Growing in the Prophetic" and these sentences caught my eye: "Receiving a prophecy opens one’s heart in a unique way. Let me explain. When a prophetic minister looks into the eyes of someone to proclaim aspects of their divine destiny, it moves the heart of the person listening. This can sometimes create a soul tie".

I suddenly came to the conclusion that I have a soul tie with Michael and that it began when he gave me that craft-piece on my birthday, which featured the scripture from Song of Solomon 4:7 - You are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you. Ever since that day, things in our friendship changed and it was like my mind began to fill with feelings for him. So tonight he drove to my house and we chatted in his car for about 15 minutes. I shared with him that extract from the book and asked him to pray for me that any soul ties I had with him would be broken.

He asked me about my sister and so I shared some deep stuff. I told him about my dad and what he was like and his involvement with the occult and his talisman curse over Dave along with his profession and the way he messes with kids and Julz surname change, which I chose. I told him how I repent all the time for the sins of my family.

I told him how some tragic event in Julz' childhood had led to her receiving money from a guy to pay for her surgery, which then led to a wild lifestyle with guys and how she seemed trapped in this weird child-like state of mind, spending thousands of dollars on silly things. I told him how she had been pregnant six times before her first child, the one mum had a vision of swinging in a swing with blonde ringlets in her hair.

I told him my dream about holding a big sword and cutting Julz free, but then her running back to be bound and gagged and chained again. I told him about how Julz had emailed me one day saying she was driving and felt God's presence and how God had said to me that in His presence is freedom and liberty. I told him how I felt God had sent me to KC to pray and intercede and that this was my assignment.

He prayed not just for soul ties to be cut, but also for my sister. That was kind of weird. I can't imagine what he must be thinking. Anyway, I felt something changed tonight in our friendship. It was like we became deep all of a sudden, but now something has broken off and I just want to end our association.

A righteous man cares for his animal

A few weeks ago mum emailed me to say that Marshall had a growth on his back. I decided to bring it to the Lord in prayer, seeing He sent me to the other end of the earth and I am not able to lay hands on him or care for him physically.

Well I reminded the Lord that there is no distance in the Spirit realm and that His Word says that when a believer lays hands on the sick, they will recover... so in the absence of Marshall I used myself as a proxy and laid hands on myself. I bound sickness off Marshall and cursed the growth on his body in Jesus name. In accordance with Matthew 15:13, I commanded the growth to be uprooted because it was not planted by God in Marshall's body. I pleaded the blood of Jesus through Marshall's body and prayed God would send His Holy Spirit to hover over Marshall and breathe new life into every cell in his body.

Well mum emailed me yesterday to say the growth has shrunk to less than half the size! PRAISE THE LORD that the effective fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much! God is good. I'll be praying for Marshall some more today. How encouraging.

Testimony

Oh earlier this week I got up in class and shared a quick testimony about how I have this crazy family that were so opposed to me coming to IHOP and tried to talk me out of it and all, and had been sending me negative emails during Track 1. Well I said how I had been praying for God to lift the veil from their eyes, soften their hearts and give them a hunger and thirst for Him and how just last week mum had sent me an email out of the blue with some attachments. The attachments were three Mike Bickle videos off UTube. She had commented that he was a very gifted speaker and had even emailed them to Dave and Marcus.

Now that is totally amazing. I cannot believe she has been watching his teaching online. I followed it up by mailing her three copies of the IHOP magazine. I also mailed a copy to Dee with the Joy CD. I pray that when she plays it, the anointing of the Holy Spirit will fill her home and bring clarity of mind and clear thinking to her, leading her to an encounter with Jesus and repentance :-) My heart aches for Dee. Not only does her first and middle name have bad meanings (something along the lines of misery and suffering) that she has had declared over her miserable and sad life, but she is also deeply immersed in new age garbage. The devil is such a liar.

Personal day # 1 for Track 2

Had a rough night last night. I just couldn't seem to fall asleep for ages and I think one of the cats deposited some mites or something itchy into my bed! At 2.00am, I sensed the Holy Spirit lingering in my room, and God spoke to me and corrected me about some stuff causing me to repent! By the time my sleep-deprived self got up, I was in no shape for classes and decided to spend the day away. Instead I got up and washed my sheets and combed the carpet to remove a lot of excess cat hair. [I am actually surprised I have made it so far into living here - this is my fourth month! For someone who previously hated cats and was allergic to them, it truly is a miracle to survive in a house with eight indoor cats!]

After washing my sheets and clothes and eating a simple breaky of cornflakes and coffee, I walked down to the global prayer room and spent 1.5 hours on my knees in intercession for my family again. That felt good. I wish I could hear or see the effects of my prayer on them. I haven't heard from any of them in days. I guess it's all about faith and trusting God.

I was thinking yesterday how weird it will be when I leave KC. I've made some great friends here and they are special because they are like-minded. I have finally got a bit of a friendship happening with this gorgeous guy after so long and we've shared some personal details, which is nice. I just don't know what my future holds, whether I will see these people again, or travel elsewhere in the world. I could so easily just get married (to this guy! hahaha, so it might take a lot of convincing on his behalf), buy a house (because they are so cheap here - you can buy a 4 bedroom two or three-level house here for under $50,000!!!) and settle, but I want to be in God's perfect will and I do actually want to see my family again!

I am sad this gold mine (aka IHOP) is literally on the other end of the earth to my home. It is almost exactly as far to the other end of the world that I can go. The furthest place from Perth, WA is actually more western North America, but i'm in the same continent. Gosh, it really is amazing thinking I am here and this is where God sent me.

I do want to travel more after America, but it will be so sad leaving here. This place and the people I have met here have deeply touched my heart. I have come into a quality of fellowship here unlike anywhere else. Oh Lord, thank you for every treasure you have deposited into my heart in this place. Thank you for every friend and every future divine friendship coming into my life :-) Love you Jesus!

Later today I did some more prayer, read some scriptures and then worked on an assignment we have on a book called "Growing in the Prophetic". For ages now, I have not been able to read and comprehend the content. It's like some oppression has been over me that has prevented me from digesting it. Maybe also because the prayer room has been busy when I have tried to read it on my laptop and I don't function too well when I am jammed in like a sardine.

My prayer yesterday in Rapid Fire prayer

Lord we lift up leaders and those in authority in this nation in Federal, State and Local government. We pray You will give them skilful and Godly wisdom in their hearts. We pray You will make their ears attentive to Godly counsel. We pray You will send Your Holy Spirit to hover over them and breathe new life into their bodies.

Saturday

So today I went to the Exodus Cry Awareness Centre, which was interesting though Sherita and I felt that it wasn't really that deep. It was more suited to people that knew nothing about human trafficking. We had already done our own research.

Then I went to the prayer room early and prayed in the Spirit for 40 minutes, then on my knees in both the understanding and in tongues for about an hour. Then I went home, ate lunch, came back and we did a team briefing at 2pm. Afterwards, we went back into the prayer room. I was struggling a bit to not be distracted... but then I took communion and then the intercession set kicked in, which picked me up. I love Intercession. Today's topic was calling forth messengers, but the Rapid Fire call was to pray for any city. Of course I leapt at the opportunity and prayed for Perth, Western Australia. I couldn't help laughing behind Sherita's mum. She is intense. What a mighty woman of God. I'm sure demons flee big time whenever she opens her mouth to pray.

Been feeling a bit frustrated lately. So I was mucking around with this guy on FB and then he took my comments so seriously he went and changed me out of the team I had been put into. It turns out the team was full of older people and co-led by him and this amazing older couple. Oh I would have so loved to have been part of the original team. So this week I tried as hard as I could to sway back. People keep commenting about the issue and I just wish they would mind their own business. I wish this guy had kept my private message to him private instead of turning it into a public discussion. I feel so embarrassed and humiliated. Silly guy. Somehow I have to move on.

Famous

Yesterday the New York Times published an article on the International House of Prayer and I was in one of their piccies.... you can barely tell it's me though :-) I am on the far left!

Rapid fire prayer

Lord we pray You would send revival to Kansas City. We pray You would release the spirit of the fear of the Lord into our hearts that we would not depart from You. We pray that You would give us attitudes of gratitude that we would enter Your gates with thanksgiving and Your courts with praise.

Yielding to the Lord

Had the strangest morning. I got up early after hardly sleeping at all. I felt led to go to the prayer room. Didn't eat breaky, got there at 8.00am. I went to the front. There were others in the front row so I decided not to kneel. Then the Lord said to kneel. Ok Lord, whatever, so I knelt down. His presence overwhelmed me. Tears followed.

Then after praying and interceding for my family yet again, after about 50 minutes, the Lord gave me a word for Corey Stark. I just know w/o a doubt I am meant to give it to him. He showed me a vision of a runner leaping over hurdle after hurdle after hurdle. Then He said Corey is entering into a season of restoration of all things. He gave me Joel 2:25-27 and Psalm 37:6 to give to him. Then he said to give him all the money I had on me - a pretty measly $22.51 comprising of five quarters and six pennies and then the dimes and nickels. I feel so silly giving it to him.... but I will obey my Lord.

Obeying the Lord is loving Him. Love is obedience even when we don't want to do it for feel like doing it. Only just a few weeks ago I deleted his emails asking for money and James and Nikki commented on their disapproval of missionaries asking for money for their homes, etc... We all agreed that we would support people who do adoptions though and who have ministries we see souls being won through or great humanitarian support being offered through.

Spirit of adoption

This is an amazing family at IHOP. The twin girls top and bottom right and the little one on the left in the centre were adopted. The others are the couple's own kids.

Swimming season has begun

I worked in kiddies church today with the two-year olds and then Youson, who is this super hyper and very fun Korean girl I work with, invited me to her house for lunch and a swim. Yes please! Well she made me an absolutely amazing gourmet lunch of noodles and meat and vegetables and salad and then we went for a swim in the pool in her apartment complex. The photos we took today make me laugh.

Classes at IHOP

Friday with Cindy and Sherita

Had a total blast going downtown with Sherita and Cindy-Lou. It is so nice hanging with people who have their own finances and don't make me feel awkward about spending money on things I need, like clothes and food. I would like to hang with these two fine ladies more often. We went and ate in the markets, before heading out to buy some clothes and look in little nick-nack gift shops. I bought myself some toggs, which i'm very excited about swimming in.

New number

Today I organised to get my cell phone number changed, because this annoying guy keeps text messaging me. His text messages have been really suggestive and it's also pretty obvious he wants me to support him financially. Not a chance! There is no way I would do anything to contribute to him coming to IHOP on a longer-term basis. Apparently he is in KC for three weeks. Oh Lord, I pray I do not bump into him. I can't think of anyone I would prefer to see less than him. I'm guessing he is coming for the start of the new track to see if there are any women he can prey on. He is 39 and obviously wanting to get hitched.

This is the mobile phone I bought here. It is called LG 420G, which was the cheapest and most simple phone I could find. It only cost $10 and then I had to buy credit for it.

End of one track

Well yesterday we officially finished the twelve week long first track of Intro to IHOP-KC. I finished on a bit of a downer because I realised I have had a really bad attitude all along and have complained a lot and grumbled and been frustrated so much that it took my joy away. I'm sure that if I had a car, it would have been different. It is really hard not having a car, not being able to go where I want to go, shop when I want to shop, have the freedom to chill on my own, go to places on my own, or tuck away spare clothes in my car. Instead, I have had to lug whatever I can in my backpack as much as possible. Aggggh, so awkward. I have needed a lot of grace.

Then on top of that I have had to deal with this crazy dysfunctional family God decided to place me into. Their emails are extremely discouraging and disheartening and have kept me busy in prayer every day. Then I have loads of people back home emailing me their prayer points on a regular basis.

Farewell to my Texan parents

Today marks the end of a season of intense divine fellowship with James and Nikki, this amazing couple from Texas who became my adopted parents for my first three months in KC.

During this time they have lavished me with love, fed me, sown nuggets of gold into my heart, shared testimonies with me, prayed with me, celebrated my birthday with me, driven me to classes, sat with me in meetings, hugged me, cried with me, and just beed the most marvellous friends to me.

They have taught me how to set boundaries and love people who are broken. They have deeply encouraged me and been stable mentors for me. They have been so loyal, faithful, reliable and trustworthy and taught me to be a better friend to others. Gosh, I just love them so much.They will be leaving Missouri today to drive back to Texas - a 12-hour drive stopping halfway at some place to rest.

James is an orthopaedic surgeon on the Mercy ship. He coordinates a medical team on there. Nikki is a trauma nurse. They live on a huge ranch that they call the Mercy Ranch. Praise the Lord for these two amazing people. They have made such a huge impact on me :-)

One of those days

Feeling kind of weird today. I decided not to go to class because I didn't want to have to stand up and give my testimony about what track 1 has done for me. I feel a bit selfish for that being my main reason for not making the effort to go, especially because Brooke told me she had such a great time and that it was optional, not mandatory. Urrrgh! Anyway, but also, I was just feeling a bit low.

Yesterday Brooke was having a really bad day and it really showed. She was in a really shitty mood and all emotional because we heard a lady called Laurie Ditto tell about how she went to hell. She was literally translated there and she described extremely vividly how she felt, what she saw and what she heard. As a result of her experience, she was physically extremely ill - passing out white diarhoea, she had acid-like scabs inside her mouth and nose and was severely dehydrated and everything. Oh it was just awful. Nothing worse. I managed to zone out after about 15 minutes because I had my computer with me so I hooked up to FB and read my emails and did some net surfing. Brooke wasn't able to do that and clung onto every word and it deeply affected her. Poor kid.

Anyway, it was probably a mistake dragging her out to Ariane's house miles away, to the shops and to the Olive Tree for dinner cos she was just so emotional. Ariane had also had a really bad day at work and I accidentally bashed her car door into a pole and it got dented. I think the collective negativity poured into this new day. I was feeling ok last night, but it's like it just cast a dark presence over my new day :-(

So today, I have just been moping around the house doing very little other than eating, playing on the computer, trying on clothes, putting on make-up and playing with Teva - the indoor cat that adores me. A few of the YWAM girls wrote on my FB wall today, which was really sweet. Gosh I wish I was their age again. Not with where I was at in my life, but now with my mindset and their youth. I feel like I'm getting really old. I guess I should be grateful that God has given me a nice healthy figure and good skin so that people even think I am their age.

Last Saturday I had the strangest dream in which I was sitting with a guy who I think might be the one God has chosen for me. He was absolutely gorgeous but not at all what I expected my future husband to look like - I guess because I have always put so much emphasis on him looking a certain way. The thing that stood out to me is that he had really lovely skin. He looked extremely fit and healthy and was just so radiant. I just loved him. His face was full of compassion and kindness. He was looking at me with such a depth of love. No one has ever looked at me like that. He really loved me. I could not tell his eye colour because of the sparkle in his eyes. He was full of the Spirit of God because he loved God. His head was shaved, so i could not tell his hair colour, but he was Caucasian, i'm pretty sure and fair. He was wearing a pure white radiant almost fluorescent white t-shirt.

He handed me a piece of paper and it had the grades he had received from some units he had studied. My initial thought was "wow, this guy has similar skills and is employable". Also on the paper was his contact details and he had written his age as "between 22 and 33".

In another scene we were in mum's front garden at her outdoor table, which was its original colour and had been restored. I looked around the garden and everything was strangely in order. She was right with God and at peace and her home was beautiful. The Lord had restored to her what the devil had stolen from her life and I felt this deep peace and happiness inside me.

How bizarre. As soon as I woke up I remembered the words of a little old lady in the prophetic prayer room at IHOP who told me the Lord was going to give me some dreams and I was to write down the exact details of what I saw.

This guy remains at the back of my mind as I meet all these single guys at IHOP. None as amazing as the guy in my dream.

Ariane (and her dog Carmen) and Brooke