By Ryan Shaw
Ryan is the international lead facilitator of Student Volunteer Movement 2.
Psalm 18 is a chapter that I have been meditating upon of late. The first 19 verses focus on the sovereign power of God that is triggered and released through the vehicle of prayer and intercession.
Verses 7-19 focus upon dramatic imagery that depicts Yahweh, the righteous and sovereign Savior, manifesting Himself in the natural realm in some incredible and destructive ways.
As I continued to study I came to the conclusion that what David is prophetically depicting is a symbolic, but very real picture, of what is taking place in the spiritual realm when one of God’s people interacts with Him in prayer.
What these verses do is give us a glimpse of what is taking place behind the veil through the use of natural symbols that we can relate with. At your cry, He moves with awesome and authoritative power.
So what is God saying and where is He taking the emerging generation? I want to highlight some items that I believe God was accomplishing through this fast. The following thoughts are simply generalizations, but themes I believe we will see increase in the coming days, weeks, and months.
I periodically receive a bulletin from a respected ministry who gathers and disseminates various prophetic statements that come from trusted and seasoned leaders in the body of Christ. One that I received recently is as follows:
“God is extending an invitation to the universities and colleges in northeast America, including the Ivy League schools, such as Yale and Harvard, to enter into another Great Awakening that will shake university campuses across America igniting another youth movement among the college age.
God is also extending this invitation to Bible schools and Christian Universities. I see extended seasons of prayer coming upon schools. Dorm rooms, chapels, prayer rooms, and
classrooms will be revisited by the fire of God. From this, God will raise up leaders after His own heart”
I concur with this statement, yet firmly believe that it will take place not only in the northeast. There is a sweeping wave of God that He is preparing to unleash on the student generation.
We have seen the pre-cursor of this in some campus communities where a passion for prayer is being heightened and people are being rooted in their walks with Christ. This is going to continue and our prayers during this fast have aided this process.
United prayer on some campuses, which has simply been surface-level, will go deeper as students are hungry for the deeper things of Christ.
As students initiate elongated prayer gatherings on campus, day and night prayer rooms, prayer chains, and integrate heartfelt intercession for the lost and for global harvest, God will hear and intervene in extraordinary ways, bringing the wave of personal and corporate renewal.
We are already hearing reports along these lines. Just last week during Monday’s chapel at Asbury College the presence of God blew in so strong that students continued to seek His face and worship Him when chapel was over.
Many took off their shoes as a sign before the Lord of the Holiness and Awe they were clearly experiencing.
The administration immediately recognized something out of the ordinary was taking place and opened up the chapel auditorium consistently for worship, confession of sin, and diligent prayer which continued unbroken all week long, through the night and day.
People from the streets in Wilmore, Kentucky were even drawn into the auditorium without knowing why. Those at Asbury credit the outpouring to the recent increase in on-going prayer on campus (Read more about this current revival on Asbury’s home page – www.Asbury.edu).
I believe that this outpouring is a token and example of what the Lord is desiring to release in many campus communities in these days. God is indeed doing a “new thing” (Isaiah 43), but we must also do our part in the spiritual realm and partner with God for these outpourings.
We must remember that true spiritual awakening always produces a greater passion for the lost and practical involvement with global harvest. There is a divine connection. Spiritual awakening is never an end in itself.
Isaiah 6:1-8 is a picture of what could be taking place in the emerging generation today in terms of generalities. The passage can be divided into three distinct phases. The first phase (verses 1-2) is the revelation of the glory of God to Isaiah.
The second phase (verses 3-7) is the revelation of God’s holiness which brings on true repentance. The third phase (8 verse ) concludes with God conversing with the rest of the Trinity and asking the question, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?”
Isaiah’s heart, having been prepared in the first two phases through the revelation of God’s glory and the subsequent revelation of His holiness, hears the message bearer call and commits to it immediately. His heart, will, and outlook had been prepared by the Lord first, leading to the answering of God’s call to go.
It appears presently that the emerging generation is in the first phase. God is giving many a glimpse of His glory, which is drawing them more deeply in love with Him. The hunger for intimacy with Jesus is growing. God’s desire is to bathe His people with His presence to make them ready.
The second step will be a greater revelation of His holiness which convicts of impurity in light of a perfect God and our hearts are grieved to the core as we see the sickness of our sin. Yet in His glorious mercy, He is there to cleanse and renew from all sin, shame, and guilt in our midst.
Then more and more from the emerging generation will be prepared and fashioned by God to receive the privilege and challenge of responding to His message bearer challenge with the beautifully surrendered and abandoned words, “Here am I, send me!”
A 21 Days Testimony….
By Christina Wollin – a student at Biola University in California
In short… the Lord drew me into deeper intimacy with Himself. He showed me more and more of His glory and majesty.
How often are we so deceived to see the things of this world as holding power and prestige and attraction, but when we deny ourselves some of the worldly pleasures, we are able to experience the sweetness and all-surpassing beauty and glory of our Lord that was hidden from our eyes when we were satisfied with too little.
I abstained from all sweets, meat, coffee… the “excess” for the 21 days. You’d never think that denying yourself something could bring about so much deeper fulfillment, and in ways you had never known before… and how dying to self brings about richer life in Him. It’s so contrary to what the world tells us.
The Lord also deepened my love for people all over the world, seeing more beauty and seeing the precious souls that He has given us to care for and fight for.
Just last night I was at a Bible study and the group began to pray over me (I didn’t ask and sure wasn’t expecting it!!) and blessed the spirit of Deborah that God has placed in my heart, and one woman saw me roaring like a lion in the spiritual realm, reclaiming God’s territory–His beloved people–with authority in Jesus’ Name.
The Lord has, in the past year or two, birthed a deep desire to see especially women and children set free from bondage and walking in His freedom and Presence and peace.
I have such a heart to work especially with child and women prostitutes, something (prostitution, abuse) THAT MUST NOT BE SO, and whatever role I can play in defending the weak, I will do.
I guess there’s a real “mama bear” in me… 🙂 NO ONE TOUCHES MY BABY. Or the helpless, the poor, the widows, the outcasts… they are “my babies” in a spiritual sense. God is giving me more and more of a heart in this area, to deeply care for and love others.
Fast and Pray Every Tuesday
We are sensing that God is calling His people to not let up, but continue to remain steadfast in prayer and fasting. As a result, we will be implementing a weekly day of prayer and fasting every Tuesday and want to invite all who can participate to do so in your communities.
Fast as the Holy Spirit leads (seek to abstain from food in some way). Gather students together every Tuesday and use the time to diligently cry out to God for spiritual awakening among the student generation that leads to global harvest.
Make these groups a Global Prayer Team, get the guide, and go for it every Tuesday and join with hundreds of others doing the same thing on their own campuses.
