A View From My Chair

Give Me Oil for My Lamp!
By James W. Goll

Prayer Storm

Resetting Your Lampstand
Hosted By Jon and Jolene Hamill

From the Desk of James W. Goll

Happy New Year from all of us at Encounters Network, PrayerStorm and Compassion Acts. It is great to start the year off right with a fresh slate in Christ Jesus! This last weekend I ministered at Sandy Powell’s Powerhouse Ministries Prophetic Conference in Nashville, TN and then, on Sunday at Chris and Laura Smith’s Eastgate Creative Christian Fellowship in Hermitage, TN. It is great to be able to be with my family over the holidays and then to minister in my own back yard!

Last week in our Global Prayer Storm, we prayed for the onething 2010 conference in Kansas City, MO where more than 25,000 youth assembled from around the globe. We united our prayers with them for “The Greatest Youth Awakening the World Has Ever Seen!” It is awesome to see young people passionately worshipping the Lord!

On the personal family side, my oldest son, Justin, is wedding Danielle Pierce in Los Angels, CA on January 15th. She is a delightful believer and they make a great couple. So my family is growing! I am a grateful man!

We are continuing our relief work in Haiti. We need to raise more money to send another water purifier system that is available to us for only $2,500. You can contribute to these efforts through our Compassion Acts Emergency Relief Fund. We will give you an update on this and other outreach projects later this month.

Remember, it is REFORMER’S month at EN Resources. For the month of January, when you purchase the newly released Reformer’s Pledge, you will receive FREE Che Ahn’s book Encounters of a Divine Kind. We also now have my book Dream Language in a professional audio narration in CD format.

This week in Prayer Storm and A View From My Chair, we are picking up the “Oil for Our Lampstand” theme as found in Matthew 25.  If you have not signed up for “the hour that changes the world” – then you can! Simply visit www.prayerstorm.com to do so!

Remember, in Jesus, we make a great team!

Let’s Have Oil in our Lamps!

James W. Goll

If the ministry of James W. Goll and the combined ministries of Encounters Network • Prayer Storm • Compassion Acts have blessed you, please consider giving a financial contribution so that we may continue to serve you and others. Checks can be made out to Encounters Network and sent to our office address, P.O. Box 1653, Franklin, TN 37065, or contributions may be made online by clicking here or call 1-877-200-1604. Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law and a receipt for your donation will be mailed to you.

Thanks, for your consideration.

A View From My Chair

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matt. 11:28–30, NAS)

In the midst of birthing and maintaining your Prayer Storm, don’t neglect your personal devotional intimacy with Jesus. If you do, you will run out of grace for your assignments. You will not be able to keep your “machine” going.

You know how it is with machinery. You have to keep it oiled or it just cranks dry and stops. It’s the same with your spiritual life; you have to keep the oil of intimacy flowing and covering all the parts of your life. First Thessalonians 5:17 reminds us to “pray without ceasing.” That means our prayer machinery needs to be in good working order all the time.

Intercession is hard work without the grace of God. In fact, without the pervasive, soaking oil of the presence of Jesus’ Spirit, prayer and intercession just plain shut down. We can’t afford to let that happen! We’re living in the end times, and we need to be like the wise virgins in Jesus’ parable:

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight a cry was heard: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.” And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” But he answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matt. 25:1–13, NKJV)

This parable is supposed to be a wake-up call to the Church. All ten of the virgins represent born-again believers. Each one had a knowledge of the bridegroom and each one carried a lamp, which is the same as having a ministry. (See Matthew 5:15; Revelation 1:20; 2:5; 11:3–6; Zechariah 4:2; Isaiah 62:1, and John 5:35.) Paul points out how God views the Church as a virgin: “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him”(2 Cor. 11:2, niv). Taken separately or together, we’re each/all viewed as virgins.

So you need to understand that the foolish virgins are not being labeled wicked or sinful or lazy or fearful, or even cursed. They simply did not think ahead or make the effort to get the oil they needed. They didn’t lose their “fire insurance,” their salvation. It’s the same with us. The Church is full of the redeemed. All of us have been bought with Jesus’ blood. But, not everybody in the Church ends up fulfilling his or her personal destiny. Not everybody ends up in the center circle at the end of the age.

All the virgins together came out to meet the bridegroom. They left their ordinary occupations and joined together in a group that was going to meet him. The oil they neglected to obtain is, of course, the same as our relationship with the Holy Spirit. They failed to nurture that relationship. Somehow they got caught up in so much stuff that they just didn’t properly manage their devotional life. The rat race kept them too distracted. But at the midnight hour of history, they got left in the dust. The “forerunners,” the wise virgins, raised the cry, “The Bridegroom is coming!” and they lit their lamps and rushed off to greet Him. Before the ones whose lamps burned out could do anything to stop it, the door was shut.

Jesus’ upcoming arrival has serious consequences. We must not only expect Him and even go out to meet Him, but we must make the necessary effort to be prepared to meet Him. We will all go through “slumber,” because our life is lived in the context of natural processes. We can’t keep our eyes open every minute. But when that final wake-up call comes, how many of us will have oil already in our lamps? Will we open our eyes and see the flame in the lamp guttering down as the last of our diminished fuel is consumed? Will our opportunity and ability to minister be almost finished?

It will be too late then to obtain some oil from somebody else. You won’t have time to go to another conference or read another book or listen to another CD. Spiritual preparedness is not transferable. Intimacy with Jesus cannot be gained by impartation. Each of us must engage in the God-ordained process of acquiring oil for ourselves. Why? God is jealous for each of us.

You have to maintain a devotional life with God. You have to commune with Him by yourself, and for yourself. Rick Joyner has said many times, “You’re as close to God as you want to be.” To change the metaphor from oil for a minute, each of us needs to heed the words of Revelation:

I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. (Rev. 3:18, NAS).

The saddest thing is that many of us, like the foolish virgins, will miss out on future opportunities to be used in our fullest capacity. The Bridegroom will not recognize some of us as those who are “fully engaged” with Him. It is absolutely vital that we obtain and maintain the oil in our lamps, the oil of intimacy with our Bridegroom. We need to get it now, and keep refilling our lamps whenever we can.

Well, that is how I see it. That is the View from My Chair!

Seeking His Face for Fresh Oil!
James W. Goll

From time to time, I expose you to prayer agenda’s of “related ministries to Encounters Network.” The following is a part of a 21-Day Prayer Initiative called From Dawn’s Early Light by Jon and Jolene Hamill. These Prayer Directives are from Day Three. I thought it was very fitting for us to adapt this into our Global Prayer Storm efforts for the first of the New Year. So read the following and adjust it to fit your own life, city and nation as usual.   

Blessings!

James W. Goll

Resetting Your Lampstand

With Jon & Jolene Hamill
www.lamplighterministries.net

Back in 2007, the Holy Spirit spoke to me that “from region to region, I am resetting the lampstand and relighting the flame.” With that in mind, let's look at how God wants to personally minister to you—to reset your personal lampstand, and relight the flame in your own life!

We begin our project with an ardent call to return to our First Love. In many places throughout the Bible, God likens His love to fire. I personally believe the lampstands before His throne represent our love to Him, personally and corporately, as expressed through affection-laden worship and prayer.

Tending Lamps—Our Responsibility

For example, remember the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25. They responded to the voice of awakening by arising to tend their lamps, and going out to meet the Bridegroom. Symbolically, passion for Jesus had been re-awakened, and they began their journey of reconnecting with their First Love.

As God awakens us, it’s our responsibility to arise and tend our lamps. This is the first step in our great return to Jesus as well. To tend our lamps of passion for Jesus—to see our lampstands reset—here are two keys.

Focus on Jesus

First is to focus… or refocus. Jesus said that if our eye be single, our body will be full of light. In other words, if we are focused in our pursuit, His light will be kindled afresh in our hearts.

Need help? Take a proactive approach and establish boundaries. Build yourself a sanctuary—a place to connect with Jesus—and plan your day around time in your sanctuary. Talk with your family about your quest. Ask them to support you by protecting the time you have planned to be with the Lord instead of violating it. We strongly encourage you to bring your family in as part of the process, so that they will not feel violated or rejected when you tuck away to be with the Lord.

In your quiet time, begin with thanksgiving. By thanking God for tangible ways He has enriched your life, your heart and mind become enlarged with gratitude. If you don’t become personally engaged, your heart can check out even as your mouth repeats the latest worship song. Not that this is the voice of experience….

Pray for Your Prayer Life

A second key I have found very effective in restoring devotion and prayer is to actually pray for your prayer life. Is this biblical? Yup. In fact, one of the most well-known roadmaps to 24/7 prayer is actually a prayer for a prayer meeting. In Isaiah 62, the prophet begins by declaring, “For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace… until her righteousness shines like brightness, and her salvation like a lamp that burns.”

What was Isaiah doing? He was praying for a prayer meeting. He was praying for God’s lamp of righteous praise and prayer to shine again from His holy hill… For God to reset Israel’s lampstand and relight the flame!

John 11:11 For Your Prayer Life

Just as Jesus went to awaken Lazarus from slumber, so He wants to awaken your prayer life from dormancy! This may sound odd, but to break through dry seasons I have often prayed for my prayer life as if I were praying for a person.

As Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, I have often spoken directly to my prayer life and called it back to life, and out of void places in the spirit.

I remind Jesus of His word that as I pray in the Holy Spirit, He has promised to build up my most holy faith. Then, I ask for Holy Spirit to intercede through me for breakthrough in my prayer life.

Also, it’s important to ask Jesus to reveal and remove any blockages from the enemy. Of course, the greatest blockage to a vibrant prayer life is… that key word called unforgiveness. Stand and forgive!

Angelic Help

Something I learned over the years, it’s really good to declare according to Psalm 91 that God’s angels are activated to keep you in all your ways. Angels hearken to the voice of God’s Word, and as we declare His Word they are released to bring His Word to fulfillment. Ask God to bring you into synergy with Him, with His Throne Room activities, and with the angelic hosts sent to minister on your behalf as heirs of salvation.

Prayer for Your Prayer Life

Father God, I come before You in Jesus’ Name. Thank you for Your goodness in sustaining me and providing for me. I confess my prayer life has been dry, my affections dormant. Please forgive me for allowing the cares of the world to choke out my First Love devotion. Help me to focus. As I reset my focus on Jesus Christ, please reset my lampstand and relight the flame in my heart!

Father, please remove all that has made me desensitized and unresponsive to Your Spirit. Please give to me the sacred fellowship with Your Holy Spirit that You created me to enjoy.

Now in the Name of Jesus, I declare the resetting of Your boundaries around my devotional time with You. Let all blockages and ungodly burdens in the spirit realm be removed, in Jesus’ Name. And in Jesus’ Name, I call my prayer life out of every dry and void place in the spirit realm. I ask that You now brood by Your Spirit over my prayer life and my prayer time, and bring it to life!

Lord, release Your angels to have charge over me, and keep me in all my ways. Open the windows of heaven. Bring me into supernatural synergy with You, Your Throne Room activities, and Your angelic hosts assigned to minister to me as an heir of salvation.  Help me to hear Your voice and receive Your word. Thank you Lord for hearing my cry and answering speedily!

IN JESUS’ NAME AMEN!

Jon and Jolene Hamill

---

JOIN US FOR LAMPSTAND 2011 Conference: DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT!
 
With James Goll & Randy Demain | January 20-22 | Sonrise Chapel, Everett WA
More info at www.lamplighterministries.net

Our team for the Dawn’s Early Light prayer project includes Jon and Jolene Hamill, cofounders of Lamplighter Ministries; Jason Hubbard, director of the Light of the World Prayer Center in Bellingham WA; Randy Demain, founder of Kingdom Revelation Ministries; and James W. Goll, founder of Encounters Network.

Click to Play A Life Wasted on God - by James W. Goll

This message will give you great biblically centered teaching to encourage you to be Wasted on God like Mary of Bethany! For more on this subject get the book The Lost Art of Practicing His Presence and the corresponding 4 CD album from our Resource Center!

Right click to download: A Life Wasted on God