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March 1-April 9
National leaders call for 40 days of fasting and prayer for revival, reformation, Muslim nations, and Israel.
Announcing Facedown 40 - facedown40.com. Lou Engle, Mike Bickle, Dutch Sheets, and Francis Frangipane call for 40 Days of Fasting and Prayer from March 1 to April 9 for Revival, Reformation, Muslim Nations, and Israel.
REVOLUTION
The Crisis
The earth stands in a pivotal, but precarious, moment in history. All
around the globe, the earth seems to be convulsing with natural
disasters, lawlessness, wars and rumors of wars.
As you read this, Islam-dominated nations are violently reacting and baring their fangs over a simple cartoon depiction of their prophet, Mohammed. The ugly and violent nature of Islam has begun to rear its head and the Church must respond with fasting and prayer to contend with the menacing threat of Islamic global domination.
The Ongoing Conflict in the
Middle East: Iraq, Iran and Israel
One of the greatest crises that the Church must confront is the
hectoring and bullying of Israel, America and the nations by the
insidious Islamic jihadists. In the recent Palestinian election, the
anti-Israel terrorist group, Hamas, gained a majority in the government
of the Palestinian people. Hamas is a group that not only refuses
peaceful coexistence with Israel, but also a terrorist organization
that literally is calling for the destruction of the nation of Israel
in their original charter documents. The threat to Israel, America, and
the world, does not stop there. With the recent election of President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and his pursuit of nuclear reactors, there
is a growing, frightening sense that the world, especially nations of a
Judeo-Christian background, are hurtling toward a massive confrontation
with the Muslim-dominated nations of the Middle East on the same scale
as World War I and World War II.
Yet there is an answer to this crisis: the praying and fasting Body of Christ. When the principalities that dominated the airwaves of the Middle East exposed itself against the people of God thousands of years ago, God raised up a single man, the prophet Daniel, in the midst of Babylon and Persia, to contend with the weapons of fasting and prayer against the demonic Prince of Persia. The Bride of Christ must understand that if it is to pierce the darkness that broods over the Middle East and break the vice grip of Islam over the world, it will take the same resolve that Daniel had in fasting and prayer to contend with the Prince of Persia. The Church has entered into a season of Daniel 10 again and how we respond in prayer and fasting during this time will determine our future course and destiny. "We must be clear that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). If the Church will throw themselves into prayer and fasting during this critical season, the spoils of victory, including the souls of millions of Muslims, the restraining of the spirit of jihad, the shifting of the Iraq war, and the security and salvation of Israel, will belong to Christ and Christ alone.
REVIVAL
The Hope
Despite the raging of the world that surrounds us, the Church ought to
and must hold onto outrageous hope. Everyday there are new reports
being sent out and new books being published that speak of the dismal
nature of the Western Church. For sure, droves of youth are leaving our
churches and not returning. The statistics are certainly shocking, but we
must not let our eyes dwell on statistics. We must not look with
our natural eyes; instead, we must have eyes to see the
victory of the Lord even in the midst of seeming darkness. Our
report should be nothing less than the cry of Joshua and Caleb, "We
should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely
overcome it" (Numbers 13:30). The Scriptures promise that "though
darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples, the Lord
will rise upon you and his glory will appear upon you. Nations will
come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah
60:2-3).
Global Awakening Among the
Youth
While the natural world seems to be thrown into violent upheaval, there
is a growing sense among prophetic voices in America that 2006 will be
a glorious year for the Body of Christ. In 2003, Kenneth Hagin, an
early father of the Charismatic movement, prophetically declared that 2006
would be a glorious year of "heaven on earth". Early this
year, Dutch Sheets had a profound encounter with the Lord where the
Lord made the statement that "This is the year that the lid comes off
of the youth movement." Another major leader in the body of Christ also
made clear that this year would not simply be a celebration of the
Azusa Street centennial, but that this would be the year where He is
coming!
A casual approach to these prophetic words could be the undoing of a generation. A generation that has grown up only reading and hearing stories of national revival, but never experiencing the in-break of the Holy Spirit for themselves must learn to labor in prayer and fasting for their Great Awakening. The 40 years of wandering in the desert are up and the sound of rain can again be heard in the very-near distance. Even now, we are hearing reports about the rumblings of revival at universities around the nation. Could another Jesus Movement be on the horizon? Could God break out at universities and among the youth of our nation? Our days of rehearsal are finished; God is ready to come back onto the main stage!
REFORMATION
Righteousness and Justice
Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. For 33 years, America has
lived under the dark cloud of legalized abortion. Yet God has begun a
great shakedown in our legal system. In this past year, God has removed
two Supreme Court Justices and raised up two new Supreme Court Justices
who, if the Church will continue to pray for them, may be the
generation that sees the scourge of the death culture and the blight of
national sin of abortion removed from our nation. However, the
shift of our legal system is not finished. We must pray that
God removes a third pro-abortion Justice and replaces the vacancy with
a godly Justice who loves mercy, executes justice and walks humbly with
his God.
THE CALL
Thus, for Revival, for the shifting of the Supreme Court and the ending
of abortion, for the Middle East crisis and the freedom of a billion
souls from the vice grip of Islam, and for the security and salvation
of Israel, Dutch Sheets, Mike Bickle, Francis Frangipane, and I are calling
for one million intercessors to 40 days of fasting beginning on MARCH 1
(Ash Wednesday) to APRIL 9 (Passover Sunday and the 100-year
anniversary of the Azusa Street Outpouring that began at Bonnie Brae
Street). For more information about praying and fasting, specific
prayer targets, and daily articles from Mike, Francis, Dutch and I,
visit www.facedown40.com.
Could we be on the verge of the great worldwide outpouring?
With our faces down,
Lou Engle, Mike Bickle, Dutch Sheets, and Francis Frangipane.
Visit www.facedown40.com to receive more information concerning the 40-day fast and also to sign up for daily devotionals from Mike Bickle, Lou Engle, Francis Frangipane and Dutch Sheets.
Last Modified: June 5, 2006 01:02 AM
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