Because prayer is a work done mostly in secret, it is rare for an intercessor to immediately know whether his prayers are effective. It is rarer still for someone to realize they are being prayed for, since humility constrains us from boasting about our praying! 

Yet from time to time, we do hear of amazing answers to prayer and have the joy of knowing that there is indeed power released when we pray. In the midst of a very difficult week, God allowed both me and my pastor to see the power of prayer. 

Every year, I take time to go away on several prayer retreats with the Lord. I especially like to spend a few days alone, prior to the new year, listening to God’s heart for the following year. 
 
This year, God pulled me away in September, at the Jewish New Year, to speak to me about the year 5780 and our civil year 2020. 

The Lord led me to visit Northfield, Massachusetts, the place where Dwight Moody was born in 1837. 
 
Moody built a Bible school that overlooks the Connecticut River, and in recent years, there have been many revival meetings held on his Northfield campus by different Christian ministries. Moody’s birthplace and grave are in Northfield, along with his wife’s, and I prayed about revival as I walked the grounds.

I had a powerful dream a few nights ago. I will share portions of the dream with you here, but the most notable aspect of it was that when I woke up I heard the Spirit clearly say these words: “The church as you know it is disappearing!” 

Immediately I was reminded of the Scriptures. In Matthew 24, Jesus’s disciples are admiring the beautiful Jewish temple: its courts, structures, and architecture. Jesus turns to them and says: “Take a good look at all these things, for I’m telling you, there will not be one stone left upon another. It will all be leveled!” (Matthew 24:2, TPT)

As I sat down to write and pray this morning, the Spirit of God impressed upon my heart to turn the pages of Paul’s letter to the Colossians into a prayer. With several translations of Colossians in front of me, I began meditating on the powerful words about Christ’s preeminence, transforming them, paragraph by paragraph, into personal prayers. I realized then just how rich God’s Word is when we pray it as promises over ourselves!
 
Never are we closer to praying the will of God than when we are praying the Word of God! The Spirit and the Word work together as we pray, making our divine inheritance manifest as we speak God’s Word back into His heart.
 
To pray the Word of God is to agree with what God has already said He will do, setting in motion spiritual blessings that have been seen throughout history and can be activated once again by faith.
 
Space limits me to sharing just the first section of my prayers from Colossians with you today. If you would like to order the complete booklet of "Pray Colossians!" please click below to purchase in our store. 

May this heartfelt “prayer paraphrase” of Paul's first-century letter to the Colossians reveal more to you about your inheritance in Christ and build your confidence to begin praying the will of God over your life!  

​Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 
1 Corinthians 5:7-8, NIV

How fitting that this year, Passover begins at sundown on Good Friday. The biblical feast that celebrates our deliverance from bondage in Egypt is forever entwined with the death and resurrection of Christ, our sacrificial lamb! Hallelujah! 

I am so glad that God brought us together as one family, bound by the love of our Savior and elder brother, Jesus Christ. There is no greater family and no better blessing! 

Whether you are celebrating a Seder or an Easter dinner this week, I pray that you will focus on the wonderful truth of who Jesus is. Because Christ became the Passover Lamb, He has brought us deliverance from every curse and every affliction known to man. We may not see the full manifestation of our deliverance yet, but we are being changed daily into His image each time we encounter the Risen Christ!

I am praying for every reader of our His Inscriptions community, that you will be full of joy and aware of Christ's abiding presence in your heart this week. You are loved by Jesus and by me! 

Happy Easter!
Deborah

P.S. - Want to meditate more deeply on the significance of Christ's sacrifice? Read Charles Spurgeon's powerful sermon, "Christ our Passover," here.  
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© Deborah Perkins / www.HisInscriptions.com

​There are some Bible stories that are so powerful, they have the ability to change your entire perception of who God is and how He feels about you. For me, one such story is found in Luke 24.

In the midst of great grief, turmoil, and confusion, two disciples encountered the Wonderful Counselor and were forever changed. In places of pain and confusion myself, I reread this story and see such beauty in it. Take a walk with me along the Emmaus Road to see how brokenness is turned to beauty. 

Dear Friends, 

As I spontaneously worshiped the Lord this morning I noticed that every song that came to mind seemed to center on the Name of Jesus. I simply couldn't stop singing about His Name! It was as if the Holy Spirit were gently reminding me: It's the Name that frees you. It's the Name that delivers you. It's the Name that heals you. It's the Name that sustains you. Every time you call on My Name, I answer!

​“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ~Mark 1:35

In a world where there are so many different kinds of prayer and meditation, what is the right way to pray? Should we pray the Lord’s Prayer? Do we pray alone, or with a priest? Do we need rosary beads, or a tallit? Can we pray effectively at home, or does prayer work better in church?

What does the Bible really say about prayer? And how can we be sure that our prayers will be answered? Read Deborah's newest post, published by LivingBetter50 magazine, right here. 

"Sharing or exchanging intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a mental or spiritual level."

The above dictionary definition could easily describe the life of prayer. After all, prayer is the place where we develop "Life-Giving Communication with God" (our His Inscriptions mission), sharing our thoughts and listening to God's heart.

Actually, the definition above is not for prayer, but for communion! Far from just a sacred sacrament, communion is one of the most powerful ways to connect with God in prayer. 

I often take communion as part of my personal prayer time. It is a way of remembering the Lord's sacrificial death and renewing my commitment to the New Covenant. As I meditated on His death once again this week, the Holy Spirit highlighted these words: "The Lord Jesus, on the same night He was betrayed, took bread..." 

At the beginning of September, Jewish New Year 5779, I heard the Lord give a warning. The enemy, it seems, is bent more than ever on undermining believers in this hour. (One glance at the Kavanaugh hearings is enough to convince me of that!) This is the year, the Lord emphasized, to go deep in Him. To hold on to the Word of Truth as never before, to guard against deception, to seek Him for greater revelation. We will need it!

I am eager to share a very powerful vision with you today, one that isn’t mine, but comes from a father in the faith during the "Latter Rain" movement who has now gone home to Jesus. Before I do, let me retell a story.

Some of you might remember the 1998 movie entitled “The Horse Whisperer.” In it, a very young Scarlett Johansson (think: Avengers star and now the world’s highest-paid actress) plays the role of Grace, a horse-loving 12-year-old. A traumatic winter accident injures Grace and her horse, and kills her childhood girlfriend. After this, Grace and “Pilgrim” (her horse) seem broken beyond repair.
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Enter the Horse Whisperer. (Played by Robert Redford). 
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God has issued a Divine Invitation!

It’s not just an invitation to salvation, although believers begin there.

It’s not just an invitation to experience healing or deliverance, although those are benefits of belonging to the Kingdom.

It’s an invitation to come up higher spiritually, to experience the supernatural dimensions of the Kingdom of God.

Why would we need this? Francis Frangipane says it best: “A Christian is not just a person going to heaven. Shouldn’t a Christian also be a person coming from heaven, with the goods, power and virtues of heaven?”
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Christianity isn’t meant to be a just a security blanket, providing comfort when we contemplate death. It’s meant to be a dynamic relationship involving supernatural power here and now. The beloved disciple, John, understood this and gives us a glimpse into God’s multi-faceted invitation.

If you spent any time in Sunday School as a child, you know that God is love. You know the Christmas story and the Easter story, and you know that Jesus died for you. But when the harsh realities of life kick in, sometimes these stories can seem like fairy tales.  

When you feel disconnected from the Lord, or you feel like God doesn’t love you, what will help restore your trust in His goodness? What do you really need to know about Jesus that will keep you “on track” spiritually? 

Here are "5 Essential Things" you to know about Jesus, things that will get you through the tougher times in life. They are not EVERYTHING there is to know about Jesus, they're just some essential things I believe will help you hang on when the going gets tough. 

If you’ve been a Christian for even a short time, you’ve already realized that despite God’s promises of both eternal and internal peace, you’re constantly confronted with the enemy’s plans for chaos and suffering!

As soon as you begin to get serious about prayer, the enemy gets equally serious about keeping you out of your “secret place” in a bid to rob you of your peace. He knows, as you do, that prayer is the difference between a defeated warrior and a powerful victor. This is one compelling reason why we pray: because we have a supernatural enemy.

On 2-9-18, I had a prophetic vision of a stairway connecting earth to heaven. In the vision, I encountered the Lord, who gave me wisdom concerning what this staircase represents for every believer. Keep reading to discover a unique way of understanding your quiet times, and what happens within them! 

This week's blog also contains a link to an in-depth interview I did on Pray.Network, with Phil Miglioratti. Click here to listen in as Phil and I talk about Life-Giving Prayer in greater detail.

Dear Friends, 

One of the secrets about communion is that you don't need to be in church to partake of it! As I've taken communion more frequently in my own personal devotional times, I have discovered that it is a powerful way of knowing Jesus better. Today's post is a YouTube recording of a sermon I preached in a local church on "Knowing Jesus through Holy Communion." I pray it will bless you and open your spiritual eyes so that you, too, know Him better. 

~Deborah                    
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​“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” Galatians 5:22, NJKV

Jesus came to earth looking for a Bride. He is as interested today in a pure, spotless Bride as He was when He walked the earth. As any marriage counselor will tell you, the preparation of a bride’s heart is far more important to the marriage relationship than her preparations for an elaborate wedding ceremony.

Spiritually, our wedding with Christ has yet to take place. (See Revelation 21.) The central question for us during this time of “engagement” is: Are we busier with our religious activities than with preparing our hearts for Him? Are we focusing on religious ceremonies, but neglecting the Kingdom of God within us? Are we living a life of peace and joy, rooted in intimacy with the Bridegroom?

God speaks in the most unusual and unexpected ways! Sometimes we dream, and a person in our dream imparts wisdom to us. We don’t realize until we wake that it was Jesus, and we wish we had known it was Him at the time!

Sometimes, He shows up in human form, in a conversation that leaves a mark on our minds and causes us to realize something deeper or receive something we need.

And sometimes, He speaks from the mouths of babes… 

Studies show that only 1 in 5 Americans reads their Bible on a regular basis, even though 88% own a Bible.* If you're like most people, you want to connect with God - and even have what you need to do so - but life gets in the way. Distractions, necessities, and even emergencies pull you away from your scheduled time with God, and by the end of the day you feel frazzled, empty, and guilty. There's got to be a better way!

That's why His Inscriptions exists.

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​The crucifixion of Christ is a reminder that all of us have to deal with times of death in our lives. We may have to face the death of a loved one, or the death of a dream, or the death of a hope we hold dear. At some point, we all come to our tombs, as Mary did in the resurrection story, and we have to confront the harsh realities of our mortality. 

I have been a missionary both at home and abroad. I have traveled to dangerous inner-city ghettos and dusty, dirty African compounds. I have sung songs with poor children in the streets of Mexico and built houses for the homeless in the streets of New Haven. In all my travels, I found that there was only one thing I needed.

I was talking with a friend the other day about prayer, and she shared a great idea, one that got me thinking about harnessing technology for Christ. Faced with a negative diagnosis from a doctor, she decided to take time each day to pray for healing. Because she is on the go most of the time, she decided set an alert on her phone that would remind her to pray daily and confess some healing scriptures over her physical body. Once she prays, she turns off the alert until the next day. She plans to do this until she is healed. 

What a great use of her phone, I thought. She is making technology work for her, not against her. In a time where we are never out of reach of our phones and tech, I wondered, how else can we harness the power of technology to work for us, not against us?

One of the main goals of technology is to increase productivity. A worthy goal, to be sure. A secondary goal - one that is often marketed to consumers - is to make our lives easier. 

The great irony of technology, however, is that what promises to simplify life or bring us peace can actually end up making us feel overwhelmed. Many of the apps I download to my phone require more maintenance than I care to give! Constant global connectivity, while beneficial in many ways, also takes a toll on us as finite human beings, one that we are not as quick to notice because we are so caught up in it. For the believer, "constant connection"  to anything other than Christ is not a good goal. 

For example, my husband had trouble connecting to the internet this week on his phone. It had worked before, but he just couldn't connect now. A quick trip to the Sprint store revealed that his profile and several other settings had not updated properly. Ten minutes with a manager fixed the problem. Suddenly, his once-quiet phone began dinging, ringing, and making a ridiculous amount of noise - which after several hours I asked him to please turn off!

Biblical productivity is tied to one thing alone, and that is abiding in Christ. Jesus says: "He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5, emphasis mine). I may carry the latest and greatest technology in my pocket, but if I am not connecting to Jesus, I am not going to produce at maximum output. Anything that keeps me from abiding in Him is bound to be counter-productive. 

"The world's energy," says a pastor friend of mine, "is directed at moving us out of our place of stillness and rest in God." I believe we can take this a step farther and say that the noise of the world regularly stirs our souls to a near state of emergency which we are not designed to maintain. I want to be stirred up in faith, not in fear or crisis. (See 2 Timothy 1:6).

The nightly news tends to stir up anxiety and stress about things over which I have no control. It is not wrong to be informed, but when that information is stealing your joy and peace, it's time to limit what you are watching. 

One of Jesus' commands to us in John 14 is "Let not your heart be troubled or afraid." (John 14:2). As technology advances, how can we preserve the peace Christ has promised us? As the noise of our lives increases, how can we stay in the place of stillness?
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Years ago, the Lord impressed on me the importance of observing a weekly Sabbath - a rest from life's busyness. The day is not important - it can be a Saturday or a Thursday - but what is important is that I pull away from the things that tend to distract me or add to my stress, and draw closer to a place of rest and peace in Him.

I have noticed, over time, that three things in particular that steal my peace: my work, which piles up quickly; people's demands for my time and energy; and technology, especially my phone and computer. I am learning to disconnect from these three things more intentionally in order to connect with and abide in Christ. 

Christ came to give us peace. There is a wonderful scripture in the gospel of Luke that prophesies Christ as the One who will "guide our feet into the way of peace." (See Luke 1:19). In fact, in the Kingdom of God, there is to be "no end" to the increase of Christ's government and His peace. I want to be acquainted enough with the way of peace that I can also lead others to find it.

Like my friend with her prayer alerts, I need to find practical ways to keep peace in my daily life. Here are some things that have worked for me: 

- Turn off non-essential notifications on your phone. It's amazing how much peace I have gained by taking this one practical step! Choose one or two set times each day to check and respond to your emails, and turn off all the noisy notifications. This is a classic time management skill, but it also minimizes the amount of stress that accumulates throughout your day. The only notifications I "urgently" need are texts from my family. Everything else can wait. 

-Set positive, intentional phone alerts (like my friend) to remind yourself to pray, worship, or get into the Presence of God. Make a quality decision to start your day abiding in Christ. He is the source of our greatest productivity! 

-Turn off the TV. Instead of listening to another negative newscast, enjoy dinner with your family and talk about your day. Our family has one day a week we call "family day." If we don't have plans to go out, we typically rent a movie we all would enjoy - commercial free - and share a meal and dessert together. By being deliberate about what we are watching, we avoid the "information overload" that is typical when families spend too much time in front of the tube. Most nights, you'll find us reading, talking, or -*gasp!*- even praying; activities that allow time to process what we are learning. 

-Set aside a day of rest for yourself. Ideally, make it a tech-free day. Use the time to study, read, worship, nap, or pursue a hobby that you otherwise would not have time for. If, like me, you have a hard time sitting in the house when there's work to be done, get outside into nature and slow down to a more sustainable pace, or find a quiet place to do a mini-retreat. 

-In social settings, put away your phone or tablet. If we want to win souls for Christ, we need to take the time to actually connect with them, without interruptions. Constantly checking your device during a conversation increases your stress and makes the other person feel devalued. I sincerely doubt that any Secretary of State would whip out his cell phone in the midst of a Middle-East peace negotiation! We, likewise, are ambassadors for Christ, negotiating peace daily with the people around us. If we can't even make sustained eye contact, we don't stand a chance as evangelists. 

-What ideas do YOU have for taking back technology for Christ? I'd love to hear what works for you. If you're reading this and have a good idea, send it to me here. I may publish these ideas in a later post so we can all benefit from what you've learned. 

​John Wesley, the famed co-founder of the Methodist church, belonged to a group called the "Holy Club." He and the others asked themselves 22 questions as part of their daily devotions. One of them was: "Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?" When technology is enslaving us, it is time to take back control. Let Christ be the source of your productivity, the center of your peace. He is the only unbroken connection you'll ever really need. ​

Deborah Perkins is passionate about connecting others with God. She writes about knowing God and hearing His voice at His Inscriptions. To subscribe to her blog, click here.