Dear Friends, A few nights ago I was awakened by the Holy Spirit, who began walking me through the texts of Joshua 3 & 4, bringing them to life line by line, without my Bible! He wanted to reveal what it feels like to be “in the middle of a miracle.” This portion of the book of Joshua tells the story of Israel crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land. It parallels the miracle of the Red Sea crossing with Moses. I believe these words will be encouraging to those of you who are called to be leaders and prayer warriors for the Lord. 
Dear Friends, Today the Lord reminded me of an encounter I had with Him during a prayer retreat on April 11, 2021, asking me to share it with you. The encounter illustrates what happens behind the scenes through an ongoing cycle of prayer and communication in the Spirit. I believe Father wants to encourage the Body of Christ with a visual understanding of what is happening in the Spirit as we pray. 
The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. 1 Corinthians 12:23 
Dear Friends, Joshua thought it would be easy. Fresh off an angelic commissioning, the successful crossing of the Jordan, and a decisive victory at Jericho, he was ready to take on the next city: Ai. This commander had all his ducks in a row. Joshua had patiently served God under Moses for years. He knew the Presence of God intimately himself, and woke up early each morning to seek God. He was courageous and even received manifest angelic assistance. Joshua was a good leader and a tenderhearted warrior who received detailed military strategies from the Lord. Everyone in Israel wanted to fight with him! Yet despite an abundance of prophetic words straight from the Lord promising him success, Joshua and his army failed. What went wrong? 
If you are someone who loves to pray or desires deeper intimacy with the Lord, you have undoubtedly made room for Him somewhere in your heart or home, a place where you can be alone and quiet with Him, undisturbed. I know many His Inscriptions readers who have created special places in your homes, offices, or prayer cottages where you warmly welcome the Holy Spirit to come and abide with you. I have been blessed to visit or pray in some of these places over the years, and there is nothing on earth like them; they represent holy ground! Some of us, though, especially during the pandemic, have found that the private spaces we once had became crowded with other people! 
Dear Friends, A huge THANK YOU to His Inscriptions friends who prayed for last week’s ministry trip to Springfield, Tennessee! It was an amazing week of training roughly 60 leaders at City of Faith International Church which culminated in a mighty outpouring of God’s POWER on Sunday morning. Photos and testimonies follow. 
I see the Lord raising up women and bringing them to the forefront! I hear the Lord saying, “I am now raising up My “Abigails;” women who are uniquely positioned in both character and circumstances to broker peace, to bring forth solutions, to avert disasters, and to restore hope." The name Abigail means: “My Father’s Joy!” 
Therefore be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord... be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. (James 5:1-11) 
Dear Friends, Merry Christmas! I am reflecting back on 2020 today, realizing that despite all that has happened, God has been very much on the move! He has expanded the ministry of His Inscriptions this year in three essential ways: through partnership, publishing, and prayer. 
There is a place at the top of the mountains in Switzerland where one can stand and see nothing but pure, untouched beauty. Heaven’s sun kisses earth’s snowy peaks with brilliant light until they radiate whiteness. The air is crisp and clean. Every cell in your body comes alive with invigorating breaths. It is a steep climb to reach the top, which in winter is only accessible by lift or helicopter, but from this place where three nations intersect, one can ski down a southern slope into Italy or a western one into France. The villages seem like storybook pictures below, so tiny and peaceful from a heightened vantage point! 
Dear Friends, Thanksgiving is not just a holiday; it is a way of life for prayer warriors, prophets, pastors, and all who are members of God's family. This week, I am especially grateful that God Himself reminds us to be thankful to Him! The Bible says a grateful heart is an open door to seeing the manifest Presence of God. 
Dear Friends, Exactly eight months to the day since the glory of God entered my home (see this post for the beginning of the story), I was preparing to take communion with the Lord in the early morning hours before dawn. To my surprise, I heard the Lord say: “I want to lead our time of communion today.” As we shared the elements together He spoke these words: “My body, broken for you, is a symbol of My love. It is the international symbol of love for mankind. It is the standard for love upon which all other models of love are (or should be) based. To fall short of the standard of the cross - of a sacrificial life - is to fall short of true love. “Most people do not define love as “brokenness.” Yet a broken heart is one I can both fix and fill to capacity, for in its brokenness, all of self is poured out and there is room for My anointing of love to come in. “Many people will never know true love because they will not allow themselves to be broken and poured out for another. Yet I tell you, every time you yield to My anointing for brokenness, your capacity to love will expand.” 
As I prayed this morning, I heard the voice of the Lord speaking about seeds and harvest. It is so important to be sowing God's Words right now so that He can multiply our harvest! The Lord also reminded me of a word He had released in January, 2017 concerning the "Garden of the Lord," which I have not published until now. The two words dovetailed so beautifully that I wanted to share them with you today. My prayer is that these words will encourage you to intentionally plant the "seeds" the Lord is giving you in this season so that you can see a great harvest. 
“Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” I hear the Lord saying: "I want to open the eyes of the seers! I want to show the "eyes" of My Body the GLORIOUS things that are happening around the world as a result of the working of My Spirit, who is ever-present with you!" I was awakened this morning by the Holy Spirit, who immediately began speaking to me about SEERS in the Body of Christ. I felt the Lord has a strong desire to AWAKEN the seers, many of whom have been slumbering or asleep. And I felt Him urging the seers to awaken themselves; to open their eyes so that they do not miss what He is about to do! 
"WILL HE EVEN MOLEST THE QUEEN WHILE SHE IS WITH ME IN THE HOUSE?" ~Esther 7:8 Dear Friends, Those who desire to live a life of prayer in the Presence of the Lord will eventually find that there is someone who seeks to interrupt intimacy and destroy identity. I believe that what I share today will set many people free from a demonic strategy of Satan used to steal peace and stop believers from abiding in their secret places with the Lord. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~Romans 5:7-8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! ~Philippians 2:6-8 Dear Friends, Throughout history, God has looked for people who were either curious enough or sensitive enough to turn aside from their daily routines and spend time with Him. Just as the Lord longs for us to turn to Him, so He also draws near to us when we do so, revealing Himself in greater measure. Abraham showed hospitality to strangers and entertained angels. Moses turned aside to see a burning bush and encountered God. Joshua, Samuel, Daniel, Anna, Zaccheus, Mary, and so many others made quality decisions to seek God, and were rewarded for pressing in. Their reward? To hear God's voice and to know Him personally. "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." ~Hebrews 7:25 Last night as I meditated on Jesus our Intercessor, I entered into a deep place of prayer. I interceded for various people as Holy Spirit led me. As I did so, I suddenly became aware of the Lord’s unmistakable Presence in the room. 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. 
Dear Friends of His Inscriptions, The Lord is so good! Thank you to those of you who encourage me weekly with your calls, comments, and emails and who, I know, are praying for me this during this upcoming weekend's conference! It is already a busy spring - and spring has not yet sprung here in New England! We have just about a full class for the E3 Prophetic Training Course which begins this March. But I want to share another new development with you and ask you to join me in praying for what I believe is a highly significant time for New England. Several days ago, as I was preparing for this weekend's “222” conference in Rhode Island, the Holy Spirit led me to pray through Daniel 9, which contains a 6-fold confession of repentance. (Click this link to receive your free download: "Repentance Brings Revival: Prayer of Confession from Daniel 9.") As someone who grew up partially deaf, I find it hard to imagine what life would be like hearing everything! Up until a certain point, there were sounds I had simply never heard: birdsong, for instance, the purring of a cat, the hum of a refrigerator, or the whisper of a friend. Not so with God! Praise God, we never have to wonder whether God hears the cries of our hearts, as this beautiful word illustrates. Perhaps these quiet-time whispers He shared with me will not be as revelatory to those who grew up hearing everything and wishing for silence. But for someone who heard mostly silence and wished to hear everything, these words are good news! I pray they will minister to your hearts as they did to mine. On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth. ~Isaiah 62:7, ESV I believe that today the Lord wants to both encourage and honor His "watchmen:" those who regularly wait and watch for Him in prayer! Most of you reading this have an interest in either prayer or the prophetic gifts, and many are called to be “watchmen:” intercessors and prophets for the Body of Christ. Watchmen (and watchwomen!) are appointed by God to serve as protectors of the Kingdom’s flock. (See Ezekiel 33:7.) They devote hours of their time, usually unseen and often at night, listening to the Lord and praying His heart for His people. Because they make themselves available to Him, they become the first line of defense when the enemy tries to ravage the flock. I saw this truth demonstrated dramatically during my prayer time one morning. A wise friend listened to me recently as I poured out my heart about a situation that seemed - despite all the promises of God - to remain stubbornly and decisively unchanged. You know the kind of situation I’m talking about: no amount of praying, prophesying, persisting or proclaiming makes even a dent; in fact, it sometimes makes things worse! I was fed up, confused, worn out and honestly annoyed at what seemed to be a brick wall I would never surmount. Sure, God had given me some terrific and specific promises, but it had been years - decades, even - and nothing had changed! What was I to do? 
Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!
This timeless truth can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what’s in our hearts. Most people long to be heard, to be understood, and to make an impact. To do this, we need to pray not just for right thoughts and right words, but also for right timing as we speak. Our words must "fit" the moment, like apples of gold in settings of silver. |
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Deborah Perkins 
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May 2021
AuthorA severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice. A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
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