Witness Him Now
A PRAYER FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR 2021
By Terri Tidwell December 26, 2020 As you all know, I believe we are headed for hard times in the coming years. I wrote about it on December 23rd, “A Word for 2021.” There are things happening around us that none of us can change, so I asked God, “What do you want me to do?” His answer was, “Pray.” It is funny what He wants me to pray for, though. He wants me to pray for me - not for other people. Say what?!?! And my prayers have nothing to do with my circumstances; they have everything to do with my heart. I am asking God to do for me things that I cannot do for myself. If God does not do these things, they will not happen. So I pray. For me. A lot. Then a month ago, God gave me a word out of Romans that said that not all of Abraham’s children were children of promise. That rocked my world. Until that moment I could quote you every promise God has made for my children, “All my children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be the peace of my children.” “The words that are in my mouth will not depart from me nor my descendants, nor my descendant’s descendants from this time and forever more.” When God told me that not all of my natural children may be children of promise, my heart caught. I had depended on the promises my whole life, but God is not going to hold my children or my grandchildren to the promises He makes for them. He is going to let them all choose. They get to choose the world and all the world has to offer, or they get to choose God. They cannot have both. It doesn’t work that way. Our back is always toward one and our face is toward the other, so we choose. Life or death. Blessings or curses. Each day we choose. Each minute we choose. In this time of great darkness, we choose. So once again I asked God, “What do you want me to do?” He said, “Pray.” Then scripture after scripture flooded my heart and my mind. The LORD said that human effort accomplishes nothing, only the Spirit brings life. Then He said, “The words that I speak are Spirit and they are Life and they will set captives free.” Everything I pray is scripture, so I know that my prayers will bring life. Then He said, “Where two people agree as touching anything it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. So I know that if the person who reads this prayer will face Jesus with his heart wide open and truly ask Him to do all these good things for them, He will. So I am praying that everyone of you who read this prayer will not just read it, but embrace it. I am praying that you will embrace the God who is so wonderful that He could and would do these kind things for us. I am praying that there will be such an intense hunger and thirst for God and for righteousness that enters your heart that you will never ever be able to get away from it again - a longing - an intense longing for something real, something good, something right. I am praying that you will be able to see clearly all the world has to offer, and you will see it for what it really is - nothing. I am praying that you will you will finally see what God has to offer so that you can turn your face toward Jesus and live. I am praying that you will want to embrace Jesus with every fiber of your being, that you would seek Him like you would seek pure gold or silver or precious gems. I am praying that this prayer that you pray today will echo inside of you in the morning and the evening and that parts of it will rise up within you all throughout the day. I am praying that these words will be planted in fertile soil that will bring forth a harvest of righteousness, fruit so big that it would take two people to carry it. Love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness and faithfulnesss and self-control. Grace and mercy. Light and truth. Wisdom. Understanding. Unfailing love. So I pray. For you and for me. LORD, I am asking that You would give us all eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand what the Spirit is saying. Send out Your Light and Your Truth. Let them lead us, let them bring us to Your HOLY hill and to Your tabernacle. Expose the lies that we have been believing our whole life. Bring them to the surface so that You can heal them. Let everything that is hidden be made known. Let a lie not have dominion over us any longer. I am asking that You would search our hearts and know us. Try our anxious thoughts and see if there is any wicked way inside of us, and lead us in paths of life everlasting for Your namesake. LORD, I am asking that You would take out this heart of stone, and put in a heart of flesh. Sprinkle us with clean water so that we can be clean. Tear down every idol and every “High Thing” that is inside of us that gets in the way of us knowing You. Pour Your Spirit inside of us. Make us a well watered garden and a fortified city for Your glory. Dry bones, hear the WORD of the LORD. Breathe O’ four winds on these slain that we may live. Graves, open wide. Live. Open up you gates, you everlasting doors and let the King of Glory in - the LORD mighty in battle, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! Come and do battle for us, LORD. Destroy every one of our enemies. Put them under our feet so that we can crush them. LORD, I am asking that You would take every one of our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus. Tear down strongholds. Turn our eyes from unclean things. Guard our ears that we may no longer listen to unclean things. Give us the strength to turn away. Let us no longer tolerate the things we have tolerated in the past. LORD, forgive us for what we have allowed ourselves to see and hear and do. We are sorry. LORD, cast out imaginations and every “High Thing” that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Wipe the slate clean. God, create in us a clean heart and an upright spirit. May every thought that we think and every meditation of our heart be pleasing in Your sight. Teach us Your ways and show us Your paths so that we may walk it them. Give us godly desires - desires that will please you. Let our heart long for something different. LORD, I am asking for wisdom, not the wisdom of this world that is selfish ambitions and bitter envies, but the wisdom that is from above. The wisdom that is pure, peace loving. The wisdom that is gentle at all times, willing to yield to others, full of mercy and good deeds. The wisdom that shows no favoritism and is always sincere. LORD, You said that those of us who are wise are peacemakers who will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Let us speak the truth to others and love them. It is only the truth that will set people free. Give us boldness to stand up for what is right and true and just and fair. Give us courage and strength to do what You are asking us to do - speak the truth. Deliver us from the love of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Forgive us for wanting to fit in. You said that if we want to be friends with the world, we have just made You our enemy. LORD, we are guilty, and we are sorry for wanting to fit into the world, for wanting the world to like us. Forgive us, LORD. We do not want to be Your enemy. LORD, we need Your strength in this hour. Strengthen us in our inner man by Your Holy Spirit. Root us and ground us in faith and in love. Help us all to know the height and depth and breadth and width of the love you have for us. That love is past understanding, but when we come close to knowing it, we will be filled with all the fullness of God. LORD, You said that the joy of the LORD is our strength. Then You said that when troubles of any kind come our way to consider it an opportunity for great joy, because our faith is being tested, and our endurance has a chance to grow. Then You said that when our endurance is fully developed, we will be perfect complete, needing nothing. So God, we are asking that You would place in our hearts a Spirit of thanksgiving and praise and joy. No matter what happens. Please LORD, I am asking that thanksgiving and praise be our response. Let joy come to strengthen us and give us endurance.and keep us safe. Let us in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us. LORD, teach us to be content. You said that if we have food to eat and cloths to wear, to be content. Forgive us for complaining. Forgive us for wanting more. Forgive us for not being satisfied. You also told us to not worry about anything, instead pray about everything, to tell You what we need and to thank You for what You have done. Forgive us for worrying. We are guilty. Now we refuse to worry anymore. Instead, I am going to tell You what I need and thank You. Then You said that the peace of God which passes understanding will guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus. So LORD, send peace. Let this peace guard us as we choose to follow you. Thank You for teaching us to trust You. Thank You for showing us Your ways. Thank You for letting us get to know You. LORD, forgive us for trying to control our destiny. Forgive us for relying on our own strength. Forgive us for eating from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is not what we do that matters. Human effort accomplishes nothing. It is only the Spirit that brings life. It is ONLY what You do that matters. Forgive us for worshiping the work of our own hands. Forgive us for trying to save ourselves and others. Teach us how to lay down our pride and our power and to let You have control. Teach us to trust you with all of our heart, to lean not on our own understanding, and in all our ways to acknowledge You so that You can direct our paths. Finally, LORD, teach us to fear Your Holy Name. You said that the fear of the LORD is the BEGINNING of wisdom. Help us to see and hear and understand that You alone are God, and You do whatever You please. Everything that is happening in this world right now is because You allowed it. Our sin opened the door for so much to happen, and now the world is groaning under the weight of that sin. Judgment is upon us. Help us to understand that although Your very nature is love, that that love is just. You cannot let us get by with what we have been doing, so you discipline us because You love us. LORD, please let our heart yield to that discipline. Let us not continue to resist you. Forgive us LORD for not turning back to You the first time. We are sorry. Now LORD, help us all to understand that even though this is the year of the LORD’s favor, it is also the Day of the vengeance of our God. Let us see and hear and understand that if we continue in our own willful, self-centered, selfish ways, we will die. You cannot relent in Your punishment until we turn. You love us that much. You want us to live. LORD, we love You and we thank You for Your grace and Your mercy. Thank you for not giving us what we deserve, but instead, You give us Your unmerited favor. Grace. Mercy. Peace. Joy. Unfailing love. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Continue to work on us until we look like Your Son. Holy. Completely separated unto You. Continue to work on us, LORD, until love is our only motive. This is the highest calling of all - to love You and to love others. Only You can turn this heart into a heart that is full of love. I am asking You to do this great work in me. I am asking this in the mighty name of Jesus. AMEN
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A WORD FOR 2021
Terri Tidwell December 23, 2020 This year in January of 2020, the LORD gave me two very strong messages for the coming year. The first message can be found in Isaiah 40. It was a sweet word from the LORD. He said, “Comfort, comfort My people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem (that’s us). Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.” But listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken! … A voice said, “Shout! … O Zion, messenger of good news shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder , and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah (that’s us), “Your God is coming!” Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, He brings His reward with Him as He comes. He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. Oh my goodness! Such good news. Our God came this year with power! All of 2020 was an opportunity for God to do all of the good things He promised to do inside of us. James 1:2-4 says, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GREAT JOY. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. All of us have had many opportunities for our faith to grow during the past year, and it has. God has been straightening curves, leveling mountains, filling in valleys, and smoothing out rough places. So this last year was a year of growth. You know what I am talking about. Then the second word God spoke to me in January of 2020 was, “Whatever you do this year will echo throughout eternity.” When He spoke this word to me, I thought it was because this was an election year, but OH MY GOODNESS! It was so much more! This has to do with the Kingdom of God advancing! It has happened in our hearts. So now God is speaking a new word to me. Since November of this year, the LORD has been saying, “Come out from among her and be separate.” So the last couple of months, the LORD has separated me from the world and the things of the world, from politics and all the kings and kingdoms of this world, from fitting in with family or church family. If you are interested in what God was saying, go to my LIVE FREE Facebook videos that my brother and I post every Monday. It is fascinating what the LORD is saying. Then the LORD started telling me what He is about to do. The Day of the LORD’s judgment is upon us. He has been telling me this for over ten years, but now the DAY is here. This has nothing to do with the Deep State or the Bidens or the Clintons or the Obamas or Soros. This also has nothing to do with President Trump or Q or the Anons or the White Hats. This is God’s hour. We can all see it. We all know that something is about to happen, and it is not good. This is what God says: Scream in terror, for the Day of the LORD has arrived - the time for the Almighty to destroy. (Who is doing it?). Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts, and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor. They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear. For see, the Day of the LORD is coming - the terrible day of His fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it. The heavens will be black above then; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will provide no light. “I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty. I will make people scarcer than gold - more rare than the fine gold of Ophir. For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the LORD of Heaven’s Armies displays His wrath in the day of His fierce anger.” (Isaiah 13:6-13) But even then the LORD’s anger will not be satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike. (Isaiah 9:12,17,21. Isaiah 10:4). He says it multiple times. The LORD is not playing. He is about to use the powers that be to accomplish His purposes on the earth. But listen to what He says to those nations He uses to accomplish His purposes. What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of My anger. I use it as a club to express My anger. I am sending Assyria against a godless nation (that’s America and the rest of the world), against a people with whom I am angry. Assyria will plunder them, trampling them like dirt beneath its feet. But the king of Assyria will not understand that he is My tool; his mind does not work that way. His plan is simply to destroy, to cut down nation after nation…. After the LORD has used the king of Assyria to accomplish His purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (that’s us - God needs to refine some things inside of us), He will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him - for he is proud and arrogant, He boasts, “By my own powerful arm I have done this. With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it. I have broken down the defenses of nations and carried off their treasures. I have knocked down their kings like a bull. I have robbed they nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs. No one can e en flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.” But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself? Therefore, the LORD, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops, and a flaming fire will consume its glory. The LORD, the Light of Israel, will be a fire; the Holy One will be a flame. He will devour the thorns and briers with fire, burning up the enemy in a single night. The LORD will consume Assyria’s glory like a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land; it will waste away like sick people in a plague. Of all that glorious forest, only a few trees will survive - so few that a child could count them! (Isaiah 10:5-19) God is using this enemy army to do His purposes on the earth, and then He will destroy this cruel, proud nation. He is using this time and this cruel nation to refine us like silver and purify us like gold. God’s eyes are always upon His people to do good things for us. His plan is a good plan, a plan to prosper and not to harm, a plan to give hope and a future. But the LORD has to get rid of all of the things inside of us that get in the way of this good plan. His Kingdom is advancing, and it is advancing with power inside of us. Isaiah 10:20-20-27 goes on to say: In that Day the remnant left in Israel, the survivors in the house of Jacob, will no longer depend on allies who seek to destroy them. But they will faithfully trust the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return; yes, the remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. But though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand on the seashore only a remnant of them will return. The LORD has rightly decided to destroy His people. (Did you hear that?) Yes, the LORD, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, has already decided to destroy the entire land. So this is what the LORD, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, says: “O My people in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you with rod and club as the Egyptians did long ago. In a little while My anger against you will end, and then My anger will rise up to destroy them…In that day the LORD will end the bondage of His people. He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders. So what the LORD wants me to say to His people is this: “Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned! But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.” (Isaiah 3:10-11). Just before Jesus went to the cross, He spoke this over Jerusalem. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let Me.” (Matthew 23:37-38) For those of us who are letting Jesus gather us under His wings so He can protect us, this is what He says, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. For He will rescue me from every trap and protect me from deadly disease. He will cover me with His feathers. He will shelter me with His wings. His faithful promises are my armor and protection. I will not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. I will not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at my side, though ten thousand are dying around me, these evils will not touch me. I just open my eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. Because I have made the LORD my refugee, and I have made the Most High my shelter, no evil will conquer me; no plague will come near my home. For He will order His angels to protect me wherever I go. They will hold me up with their hands so I won’t even hurt my foot on a stone. I will trample upon lions and cobra; I will crush fierce lions and serpents under my feet! The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My hame. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation. (Psalm 91) A mighty storm is coming. This storm will destroy the whole earth and make it a wasteland, but the people of God will ride out the storm in the shadow of God’s wings. He will protect us - our heart will remain loyal, and our strength will not fail. Isaiah 24 says this: Look! The LORD is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors -NONE WILL BE SPARED. The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The LORD has spoken! But in the middle of this passage of complete destruction, there is a people who shout and sing for joy. Those in the west praise the LORD’s majesty. In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD. In the lands beyond the sea, they praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth, songs the give glory to the Righteous One. (Isaiah 24:14-16) For those of you who belong to the LORD, I would say, “No matter what happens, fix your eyes on Jesus, guard your heart, and give thanks. God is always up to something good.” And to those who don’t know Jesus, but you know that what I have just written is the truth, face Jesus right now and open your heart wide. Tell Him, “Jesus, I am a sinner, and I need a Savior! Please come and rescue me.” Then give Him your heart. Follow Him. Make Him your everything. Rejoice. Give thanks. He is able to do what you cannot do if you will only let Him. |
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