The fight to sustain David’s Tent

As those in Christ, we are not merely survivors, but we are victorious! Yet at times it sure seems that the greatest victory is simply surviving. "...and after you have done everything -- to stand" Ephesians 6:13

In the winter of 1777-1778, General George Washington and the Revolutionary Army suffered through winter in Valley Forge, PA. Thousands of troops died there, as they were ill-clothed, ill-housed and under-supplied. In compassion for his men, George Washington wrote a candid circular letter to the leadership of the 13 colonies appealing for more troops and supplies, while at the same time appealing to heaven in prayer. The Battle of the Valley Forge Winter had its casualties, but the army survived and eventually was victorious.

David’s Tent DC has faced many hurdles so far, but the fire on the altar has never gone out. (The teardown and reset due to the Pope's visit did in fact cost us $6,000 and we resorted to worshipping outside in the rain! We paid $6,000 to sing in the rain! Jesus is Worthy!) Yet, David’s Tent DC is coming face-to-face with what will probably be our greatest hurdle of the entire next year... winter! Already, our night-watches have been worshipping in the 35 degree weather, all bundled up, with hand-warmers in their shoes.

Please appeal to heaven in prayer with us on these four prayer points and for those that are called by the Spirit to give of your lives and finances, I appeal to you to help us stay victorious through this “Valley Forge Winter”.

This is our ONE BIG REQUEST: Pray for God to Pour Out His Spirit on David’s Tent! We want God to show up in a huge way!!

1 Finances - I'm still haggling to find the best possible and permissible way to heat the tent on the mall this winter, but the current numbers are coming in at $20k per month. For 5 months, that's quite the utility bill. The funding to heat the tent truly is an alabaster jar offering!

2 Staff - We currently have 30 full time staff and we need to see that grow to 80 to truly sustain well. Our staff in DC are all serving overtime to get this off the ground. It's working for now, but it is not a sustainable pace. We know that the Lord is calling those who will count the cost and come with servant hearts!

3 Worship teams to sign up. While it may be easier to plan for July or further ahead than for the quickly approaching winter, we'd like to see more worship teams sign up for watches during this winter! It will be cold and maybe even difficult, but I know the sacrifice will be worth it. I believe this season is the critical, hinge period of the Tent.

Of course, pray for grace with the weather!

He's worth it all!

Jason Hershey

Thanks for your prayers for last week's national security prayer initiative, "Seeking God's Face for the Deliverance and Destiny of America" as well as the National Day of Prayer Leadership Summit. Both events were wonderful. The Lord was among us and gave us a magnificent time with so many prayer leaders from across the country. We are in the process of digitizing the video of the many excellent presentations and will let you know how to access them.

During the national security initiative, three recently retired generals, one of the former Homeland Security Department officials and a converted Muslim jihadist warned us about the incursion of the Muslim Brotherhood into many spheres within our government and society. Their goal over time, which the current administration does not seem to oppose and some of whom may be cooperating in, is neutralizing or destroying Christianity and subverting the U.S. Constitution to eventually replace it with Sharia (Muslim law). Indeed, Ramadan, "observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief" (Wikipedia), is regularly being celebrated in the White House whereas the National Day of Prayer leadership has been excluded since the current administration took over. 

The implication is pretty obvious. Let's pray for the exposure of the evil one's strategy of deception and manipulation to subvert this nation carried out under the cloak of political correctness and religious pluralism. As it says in the Psalms, let's agree that God would "break the arm of the wicked" hopefully so they might repent, but in any case removing them from the U.S. government and other positions of influence in our society. We need a major house-cleaning and that during this election cycle He would raise up people of integrity who will do what is right in His sight for the country.

There are also internal threats such as the existence of Muslim terror cells within the country who might resort to a dirty bomb with nuclear materials and external threats such as cyber attacks, Electro Magnetic Pulse (destroying the power grid with one nuke set off above the nation) as well as possible direct nuclear attack by Russians, Chinese or North Koreans. In such situations of potential national peril, it is not enough to rely on our military which itself is under attack through political correctness and the demotion or expulsion of those who speak up against the administration's agenda of LGBT rights and religious pluralism. It is therefore imperative that we as intercessors help to build a wall of spiritual protection as the Lord told Ezekiel (Ez. 22:30) when national leaders have become evil and have forsaken the ways of God with their policies. Intercessors are the last line of defense for a nation that is ripe for His judgment and destruction. Please continue to pray for the nation's security and protection and for the military and intelligence services to be strong and vigilant in spite of the policies of the current administration that deeply threaten their readiness.

We were also given new hope as prayer leaders shared their various initiatives and strategies, such as a nationwide effort to prayer walk every community and street and to gather one million to the Washington Mall to cry out for a RESET of America. If the Holy Spirit is raising up such efforts, then we believe He intends to deliver the nation through our united prayers though we may well pass through a storm of difficult circumstances. Canada also needs our continued prayers since the newly elected Liberal government will undoubtedly take our northern neighbor down the same dark road we have traveled in the USA; however even dark roads are encompassed by the loving, almighty hands of our God. Thank you so much for participating in such an effort for North America's deliverance to come and destiny to be recovered.

Elsewhere, let's please keep the Middle East region as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan in our prayers. ISIS along with other radical Islamic groups like the Taliban plus the seemingly endless wars in Syria and Iraq have brought great destruction and terror to millions upon millions of people and continue to cause an enormous exodus of terrified and hopeless refugees. Pray for these dear people to get relief and rehabilitation they so desperately need. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ to be protected (see the alert below) and to shine as courageous lights in the darkness and fear that pervades these lands. Pray also for confusion, disunity and overthrow of these misguided and wicked devotees of Islam. May many more of them hear the Gospel, receive supernatural encounters with the Lord, and give up their crazed, fanatical jihad to serve the Living God.

John Robb

IPC Chairman

Another perspective on “Seeking God’s Face for the Deliverance and Destiny of America with some key national security prayer concerns

Pierre Bynum who was one of the speakers and facilitators of this gathering of prayer leaders from across the USA, October 18-20, in Colorado Springs gives us his perspective on how it went:

“National Security Prayer Wall, Ramparts - Leaders in the national prayer movement agree that repentance and revival in our churches and a biblical awakening are the only hope for America, and they are believing for both. But the 150 prayer leaders who met in Colorado Springs also recognize that biblical "watchmen," those who understand the responsibility and power of prayer, must be concerned with warning and protecting the American people in the face of glaring, escalating threats to our national security. The three retired generals who addressed the group agreed that America faces several "existential," threats, i.e., threats to our very existence as a nation. Scripture teaches, "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness' (1Tim 2:1-2 NIV).

America's president and military Commander-in-Chief, President Obama, has spent seven years making a radical sexual agenda and downsizing our military a priority over strengthening our military's ability to fight and win wars. This is one reason our nation is in such jeopardy. He has been and is still diminishing our military forces (e.g., reducing troop strength, readiness, equipment, weapons, ships, aircraft -- and many other factors by which military strength can be measured). He has allowed our border to remain substantially unsecured even as U.S. foreign policy is in shambles.

By prematurely pulling our troops from Iraq, many analysts believe President Obama created the vacuum that enabled the meteoric rise of ISIS and its wholesale rape and slaughter of Christians and other religious minorities (even moderate Muslims) and gave Russia opportunity to establish a stronghold in the Middle East. President Obama has minimized the threat imposed by such groups as the Muslim Brotherhood and now placed both Israeli and American security at risk through his recent nuclear deal with Iran. Moreover, by doing so, he has endangered our closest ally, Israel, something no other American president ever has done. Beside all this, the administration has implemented policies that have restricted our service personnel's religious liberty and in some cases sought to silence our Chaplains from preaching the whole gospel, truth our troops need above all things.

Those in Colorado heard from leaders like FRC's Executive Vice-President, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (U.S. Army, Ret.), Lt. Gen. Pat Caruana (USAF, Ret.) and Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn (USAF, Ret.). They heard from Kamal Saleem, a former Muslim Brotherhood terrorist, sent to the U.S. to recruit terrorists and set up sleeper cells (now a Christian, he risks his life daily to awaken the sleeping church). And they heard from pastor/prayer leader Dutch Sheets, whom God has stirred to revive the "Appeal to Heaven" motto embraced by the American military during the War for Independence, and with it the prayer that accompanied it.

John Robb shared a vision of the diverse groups that compose the national prayer movement coming together in unity to erect a round-the-clock prayer wall -- "ramparts," as with Nehemiah - around North America made up of praying Christians from every denomination, race and ethnicity -- believers in Canada, Mexico and elsewhere.

Many students of history know about the impact Rees Howells and his Christian school children in Great Britain had in day-and-night intercession for the Allies, as they tracked Hitler's whereabouts and the Nazi troop movements, praying for miracles and hearing them answered again and again until the final Allied victory (see The Role of Prayer in WWII).

I will keep you informed. But we should begin to be part of this invisible Prayer Wall immediately. The "Prayer and Action Points" below were written by Gen. Caruana:

1 As a nation and God's people the church we would seriously heed the warnings God has graciously provided so we would not be laid low in today's wilderness. We need to repent of rejecting God's wisdom and ask Him to renew the desire in our national and church leaders to see His wisdom as His provision for our security (Dt 4:9; Ps 119:25-26; Eze 3:17; 1 Cor 10:1-11; Jas 3:17 ).

2 We need to ask the Lord to open the eyes of both His church and our senior national leadership to the perils of entering the Iran nuclear deal, and to beseech the Lord to lead our nation's leadership to receive God's wisdom and reject the binding of the US in a partnership with lawlessness (Numbers 22:31; Is 30:1-3; 2 Cor 6:14-15).

3 For leaders that will not compromise any elements of our national security and respond with clear resolve to threats either internal or external to our nation's interest. Leaders who recognize and understand who our enemies are and how to wisely deal with them. Leadership with a worldview consistent with the principles upon which our nations has depended since God allowed the United States of America to become a nation (Pr 8:1-20; 2 Cor 6:14-18).

4 Pray for unity first within the Body of Christ so that our nation can witness what true Christ-like unity is. That we as one nation under God would reject the forces that divide our nation and make us far more vulnerable to a weakened security (Lk 11:17; Jn 17: all).

5 Pray for leaders who will arise with the courage to make the right decisions concerning the social changes being made to ensure that our military remains equipped and combat-ready to protect our country (Ex 18:21; Pr 1:24-31; Tit 1:4-6).

6 Pray for God's wisdom to penetrate into the hearts of our congressional leadership to recognize their responsibility as our elected representatives and legislate well-defined budgets that empower our military forces to keep our nation strong and safe (Luke 14:28-32; 1 Tim 2:1-8).”

Rev. Pierre Bynum

Chaplain & National Prayer Director

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Family Research Council

Web: www.frc.org