Northern Ireland
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“Not By Might Nor By Power But By My Spirit “ says the Lord of Hosts. Zech 4:6
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“ All power has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth” Matt.28:18
Dear Lydias,
Warmest greetings for 2025 and praying you have all survived the winter storms! It is so good to see evidences of spring all around us these days. Without doubt my lasting memory of the past winter has been the storms, especially the last one, Storm Eowyn. As I lay listening to it and the power of it, I was reminded very clearly of the POWER Of GOD. Nothing and no one could do anything to stop that wind or stay it’s power, apart from the Master of the Wind, God Himself. What a reminder of the power of the God we worship! El Shaddai – God Almighty.
If the wind has that power what must HIS inherent power be like? Unimaginable! Immeasurable! Awesome! We run out of words to describe the immense power of God. That then takes us to verses like the one at the top of this letter. The words authority and power are often used interchangeably. . The one who has power has also authority to wield that power. The Amplified Bible puts it; All authority ( all power of absolute rule) has been given to Christ. He rules NOW in the midst of His enemies (Psalm 110). He is seated NOW at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
But not only that! He has given US authority! Jesus said in Luke 10:19 “ I have given you authority …over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall in any way hurt you” And it gets even more amazing: He is not only seated at God’s right hand in the place of authority and power but He has raised us up with Him: And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus Ephes.2:6
The Church of Jesus Christ is to rule and reign with Him in this life! Romans 5:17. I wonder do we realise this? How many realise that, though church is for fellowship and meeting together, it is about so much more? For that to happen we maybe need to pray Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 for ourselves and our churches a lot more often: That the Lord would grant to us a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms. Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every name that is named not only in this present age but in the world to come. Vs. 17,19,20,21
In these days of intense turmoil and unrest, as we see “power struggles” all around us; as world leaders are flexing their power on the world stage; may we as the Church never forget that the One who has all power is Jesus Christ and He is the One who has put them where they are for His purposes and glory.
The Power of The Holy Spirit
When we speak of power we are reminded of the words of Jesus to the disciples in Luke 24:46 Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
Then in Acts 1:8 he said And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. … Can you imagine what would have happened if they hadn’t waited to be “ endued with power from on high? But they did wait, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles has often been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The amazing power of God at work through men who previously had run away from the fight. Yes, the source of power is the Holy Spirit in us, as we surrender and yield ourselves to Him. May we be filled more and more with the Holy Spirit, ruled and controlled by Him. It is His power that is at work within us. God will not strengthen or empower the flesh or the self-life. That’s why Paul said we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. (2 Cor.4:7).
Prayer Links Us To The Power. When we think of the link between power and prayer we often go to James 5:16 “ Tremendous power is made available through a good man’s earnest prayer.” (JB Phillips translation)
We talk – often glibly – about the power of prayer, but do we believe it? When we pray do we really believe the power of God is being released into situations and people. – not our power, GOD’S POWER. – like the power we experienced during storm Eowyn. May the Holy Spirit give us a revelation of that truth more and more in these days as we pray for lives to be changed, churches to come alive and even our nation to be changed!
The Power Of The Gospel
The power we are talking about is not power as the world sees it! The power by which the disciples “turned the world upside down” was the power of the Gospel message. As Paul said I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the POWER of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Roms1:16
So, remembering that through our prayers, God’s power is released into peoples lives, let us pray for the spread of the Gospel into nations that have still not heard, as well as into the lives of those nearest and dearest to us,
Power Over The Enemy This was what Jesus promised the disciples. The power Jesus gives us is not power over people, to control them. God has given each person a free will and freedom to choose who they will follow and how they will live. But He has given us weapons and armour with which to overcome the enemy. – weapons that are MIGHTY through God to the pulling down of strongholds. 2 Cor.10:3-5; armour in which we can be strong in the Lord and in the POWER OF HIS MIGHT.
Let us never forget, therefore, that the powerful weapons we have are NOT carnal but are MIGHTY. As we remind ourselves of the power of the wind that night, that was just the edges of His ways; a whisper of His power.
At the time of going to print the big battle we are facing is the Assisted Suicide bill. Please pray believingly that this Bill will be defeated!! Also another private members bill has been tabled to implement Conversion Therapy Ban, even though Scotland abandoned it recently due to too many legal complications,
On the world stage, there is the ongoing war in Ukraine and also the Middle East . But as we reminded ourselves in the email sent out earlier, “ God rules, God reigns, God is greater than any earthly king”.
And the Lord is working all things out for His greater purposes.
So as we face another year of many challenges in our lives and in our world, may we do so more aware than ever of the mighty power of prayer. As Lydia “watchmen on the walls” let us give Him No Rest until…! Let’s never forget that when we pray, power is being released into that situation or person’s life. The key then is another P word – Persistent Prayer – Until! We could sum it up – The Power of Persistent, Prevailing Prayer.
In closing, where do you long to see the power of God moving in these days?
A verse of a hymn comes to mind, which perhaps sums up what we are all longing for:
O Breath of life come sweeping through us, Revive Your church with life and power. O Breath of life, come cleanse, renew us, And fit Your Church to meet this hour, Bessie Porter Head.
Please join us if you can on May 17th for our Day Conference as we pray together that we may receive a fresh revelation of the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the mighty working of His power.
Dear Lydias,
Warmest greetings for 2025 and praying you have all survived the winter storms! It is so good to see evidences of spring all around us these days. Without doubt my lasting memory of the past winter has been the storms, especially the last one, Storm Eowyn. As I lay listening to it and the power of it, I was reminded very clearly of the POWER Of GOD. Nothing and no one could do anything to stop that wind or stay it’s power, apart from the Master of the Wind, God Himself. What a reminder of the power of the God we worship! El Shaddai – God Almighty.
If the wind has that power what must HIS inherent power be like? Unimaginable! Immeasurable! Awesome! We run out of words to describe the immense power of God. That then takes us to verses like the one at the top of this letter. The words authority and power are often used interchangeably. . The one who has power has also authority to wield that power. The Amplified Bible puts it; All authority ( all power of absolute rule) has been given to Christ. He rules NOW in the midst of His enemies (Psalm 110). He is seated NOW at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
But not only that! He has given US authority! Jesus said in Luke 10:19 “ I have given you authority …over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall in any way hurt you” And it gets even more amazing: He is not only seated at God’s right hand in the place of authority and power but He has raised us up with Him: And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus Ephes.2:6
The Church of Jesus Christ is to rule and reign with Him in this life! Romans 5:17. I wonder do we realise this? How many realise that, though church is for fellowship and meeting together, it is about so much more? For that to happen we maybe need to pray Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 for ourselves and our churches a lot more often: That the Lord would grant to us a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms. Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every name that is named not only in this present age but in the world to come. Vs. 17,19,20,21
In these days of intense turmoil and unrest, as we see “power struggles” all around us; as world leaders are flexing their power on the world stage; may we as the Church never forget that the One who has all power is Jesus Christ and He is the One who has put them where they are for His purposes and glory.
The Power of The Holy Spirit
When we speak of power we are reminded of the words of Jesus to the disciples in Luke 24:46 Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
Then in Acts 1:8 he said And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. … Can you imagine what would have happened if they hadn’t waited to be “ endued with power from on high? But they did wait, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles has often been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The amazing power of God at work through men who previously had run away from the fight. Yes, the source of power is the Holy Spirit in us, as we surrender and yield ourselves to Him. May we be filled more and more with the Holy Spirit, ruled and controlled by Him. It is His power that is at work within us. God will not strengthen or empower the flesh or the self-life. That’s why Paul said we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. (2 Cor.4:7).
Prayer Links Us To The Power. When we think of the link between power and prayer we often go to James 5:16 “ Tremendous power is made available through a good man’s earnest prayer.” (JB Phillips translation)
We talk – often glibly – about the power of prayer, but do we believe it? When we pray do we really believe the power of God is being released into situations and people. – not our power, GOD’S POWER. – like the power we experienced during storm Eowyn. May the Holy Spirit give us a revelation of that truth more and more in these days as we pray for lives to be changed, churches to come alive and even our nation to be changed!
The Power Of The Gospel
The power we are talking about is not power as the world sees it! The power by which the disciples “turned the world upside down” was the power of the Gospel message. As Paul said I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the POWER of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Roms1:16
So, remembering that through our prayers, God’s power is released into peoples lives, let us pray for the spread of the Gospel into nations that have still not heard, as well as into the lives of those nearest and dearest to us,
Power Over The Enemy This was what Jesus promised the disciples. The power Jesus gives us is not power over people, to control them. God has given each person a free will and freedom to choose who they will follow and how they will live. But He has given us weapons and armour with which to overcome the enemy. – weapons that are MIGHTY through God to the pulling down of strongholds. 2 Cor.10:3-5; armour in which we can be strong in the Lord and in the POWER OF HIS MIGHT.
Let us never forget, therefore, that the powerful weapons we have are NOT carnal but are MIGHTY. As we remind ourselves of the power of the wind that night, that was just the edges of His ways; a whisper of His power.
At the time of going to print the big battle we are facing is the Assisted Suicide bill. Please pray believingly that this Bill will be defeated!! Also another private members bill has been tabled to implement Conversion Therapy Ban, even though Scotland abandoned it recently due to too many legal complications,
On the world stage, there is the ongoing war in Ukraine and also the Middle East . But as we reminded ourselves in the email sent out earlier, “ God rules, God reigns, God is greater than any earthly king”.
And the Lord is working all things out for His greater purposes.
So as we face another year of many challenges in our lives and in our world, may we do so more aware than ever of the mighty power of prayer. As Lydia “watchmen on the walls” let us give Him No Rest until…! Let’s never forget that when we pray, power is being released into that situation or person’s life. The key then is another P word – Persistent Prayer – Until! We could sum it up – The Power of Persistent, Prevailing Prayer.
In closing, where do you long to see the power of God moving in these days?
- In your own life?
- In your family?
- In your community?
- In Israel?
- In our nation?
- In the nations?
- In your church?
- In THE church?
A verse of a hymn comes to mind, which perhaps sums up what we are all longing for:
O Breath of life come sweeping through us, Revive Your church with life and power. O Breath of life, come cleanse, renew us, And fit Your Church to meet this hour, Bessie Porter Head.
Please join us if you can on May 17th for our Day Conference as we pray together that we may receive a fresh revelation of the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the mighty working of His power.