Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you...

Seek, and you will find.  Knock, and the door will be opened to you...

Last week we saw "change" come to Illinois, in the appointment of the new governor, Pat Quinn.  We have been praying for over a year that corruption would come to an end in Illinois, and Quinn's reputation as a reformer precedes him.  However, it would be easy to say, "the work is done."

We need to pray:

* that, as a Roman Catholic, his faith be "activated," if it's not already, and that he begin to hear directly from the Holy Spirit on how to govern

* that the strongholds of darkness that stand in his way be torn down.

* that he be surrounded by people who have the Lord's interests in mind.

* general protection, and the armor of God

Also, we need to continue to pray:

* that the networks of corruption continue to be revealed, that the enemy be exposed for what it is

*for Blagojevich and his family

* for justice, and freedom for all the captives of Illinois.

We will be meeting tonight at ING Direct Cafe, and tomorrow morning at Argo Tea.

John

Prayer Changes things

Please pray for our friend, who is a missionary to Congo:

Our Heavenly Father knows how to open closed doors. I'm in the Brussels airport and being told sorry sir but because of all the freight on the aircraft, there is no room for you. Staying as 'cool as a cucumber' I just continue in my state of prayer asking for Father's guidance and 5 minutes later : "Mr. Lindquist here is your boarding pass. You are the luckiest person, you are so lucky." "Maam, it is the hand of God who has opened the door for me to be on this aircraft but yes thank you for what you have done." I sit down in the aircrat and start crying for joy! This just becomes the norm on how I travel when Father has sent me some place specific. I was welcomed at the Kigali airport by Pastor Dickson. Dickson had taken the 24 hour bus trip from Nairobi to Kigali to meet me. How about that for team ministry : A Kenyan and an American meeting in Rwanda to go to Congo. Most of you have received my Christmas card and the joy of the Nairobi church. A few days before Christmas the fledging little church of 5 had 65 people praising God for Christmas! How about that for church growth in 4 months! I'm dreaming of Pastor Dickson coming as part of our team to Goma, Congo and at the same time he is busy making the necessary arrangements so tomorrow we are travelling together to Goma. Continue to pray as we seek the Holy Spirit's leading and guiding in the days ahead. We will be met at the border of Rwanda and Congo by someone who I know from Congo. Our immediate plan is praying and preaching in the Heal Africa hospital and visiting the refugee camps.

The week of 01-12-2009

This week we will be meeting in our normal locations:

* Tonight (Monday) at ING Direct Cafe at 6:00 PM (21 E Chestnut, Chicago IL)

* Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at Argo Tea at Randolph and State at 8:00 AM (second floor)

This week we will be contending in prayer that God follow through on two of His covenant promises on behalf of the Church in Chicago: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water." 

and 

"...they [will] see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Hope to see you there!

John Backes

I think it's important to note that Blagojevich is not a lone ranger. He is not some blot on an otherwise pristine landscape. God forbid that he be the sacrificial lamb for the whole corrupt system. All that has been said in secret will be shouted from the rooftops. May the authorities dig deep, and cast their nets wide.

John 3:19-24 (New American Standard Bible)

 19"This is the judgment, that ^(A)the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for ^(B)their deeds were evil.

 20"^(C)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

 21"But he who ^(D)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

This is especially pertinent in Chicago, a city of secrets.  Let us pray for God's light to expose what is in the hidden places.  

Downtown Chicago Prayer Meetup WILL be meeting this week - please note that the 6PM Monday meeting has MOVED to the Starbucks at Wabash and Chicago.

Peace,

John

We will be meeting this week

Hi everyone, and Merry Christmas!
We will be meeting this week. As we continue to commission each other to be ministers in our workplaces and classrooms, I also want us to focus in on what the Spirit is saying about the investigation of the governor. Meeting just down the street from the Thompson Center (The Governor's home office), we are strategically located in the hottest spot, politically and spiritually, in the nation right now.
Please join us either Monday evening at 6:00 PM at the Starbucks at Chicago and Wabash or Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM at the Argo Tea at Randolph and State.
John Backesjwbackes@gmail.com