December 1986
Marcy S., age 62, North Carolina
December 6, 1986
A long silence! For several weeks now a group (between 9 and 11) of us has been meeting at the church every morning (M-F) between 6 and 7 for prayer. At first I had planned to join them a couple days a week, not wanting to give up my private time with the Lord, but after a few mornings of experiencing the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, I couldn’t stay away. We form a circle, holding hands, and each one prays and intercedes as the Spirit directs. Instead of feeling exhausted after an hour on our feet we feel refreshed and strengthened. Our prayers are being answered, too. What a mighty God we serve!
Most of the members of the group are much more “fervent in spirit” than I am. Lord, I have known for years that my No. 1 enemy is fear — fear of people and of rejection. In order to protect myself from being rejected, I tend to withdraw (although not as much as I used to) from people instead of reaching out in love. Then I feel left out, on the outside looking in, and that’s an even more painful form of rejection (which I bring on myself).
Your Word tells me that perfect love casts out fear and that You have not given me the spirit of fear but of love. Father God, You are perfect love. Your precious Son died on the cross to set me free from every form of bondage. Your Holy Spirit of love is living within me. How can I still be bound by fear?
Last night You gave me the grace (or whatever I needed) to let go and give my body to my husband in a way I haven’t been able to for years (because I didn’t want to and thought I couldn’t). This morning I feel a sense of release — some inner barrier was broken down last night. Your perfect love cast out some of my fear. I want it all to go Lord — I want to live every moment in Your perfect freedom and glorious liberty. Without fear I’ll be able to love freely and give of myself and pour out to others without self-consciousness or embarrassment.
You are setting me free by Your Holy Ghost power — You are setting me free this very hour. Down deep in my soul, You’re making me whole. You’re setting me free, free, free by your Holy Ghost power and I praise and bless and thank You with my whole being!
Marcy S., age 62, North Carolina
December 23, 1986
Yesterday morning during our prayer time at the church, Sister Nellie started praying that the spirit intercession would come upon us as we prayed in the Spirit. As I prayed more and more fervently in the Spirit I began to weep. (Atilk’s name came into my mind so the Spirit may have been praying for her. She’s Wendy’s former roommate in graduate school — a doctor from Indonesia and a Moslem. Wendy and Trudie, too, have witnessed to her, but she has not become a believer yet.) Many tears streamed down my face. I was holding one of Nellie’s hands and presently she let go and stood in front of me, placing her hands on me, too, and Nellie spoke the Word of the Lord over me, that I had prayed and prayed for change but nothing seemed to change. But that as the spirit of intercession rose up in me, I would begin to see change in myself and in others for whom I’d been praying. As I yield myself to the spirit of intercession, faith to believe that God will bring about change will grow and I will receive the answers I’ve been praying for. These were not Nellie’s exact words, but I believe the gist of them. Oh, what a precious, faith-renewing Word! Holy Spirit, please help me to be faithful in intercession, to just abandon myself to that ministry.