http://indiegospel.net/center-mark-outreach-ministry Tue, 07 Apr 2026 23:18:32 -0230 http://indiegospel.net/center-mark-outreach-ministry/blog/3674/prophetic-word-raise-up-your-slack-hands-plus-days-11-18-prayer-guide-to-revamp-and-move-forward http://indiegospel.net/center-mark-outreach-ministry/blog/3674
Prophetic Word: "Raise Up Your Slack Hands!" Plus "Days 11-18 Prayer Guide to Revamp and Move Forward!"



So much has happened since the events of September 11, eight years ago. The tragedy of September 11, 2001, is still vivid in the minds and hearts of the world. The collapse of the World Trade Center Towers rearranged the course of this nation and world as we knew it. This terrorist act was a slam against God's covenant plan in the earth. We must realize the wars of the heavenlies that we are now engaged within. You can read about these in The Future War of the Church and God's Unfolding Battle Plan. The first is now a prophetic history book of the changes in the Church that were predicted and now have manifested. The second gives us insight through 2016. Two chapters in God's Unfolding Battle Plan that will help you during these 40 Days of Revamping and Being Revitalized are "The Mind War" and "The Blood War."



There is still time to sign up for Head of the Year 5770: A Season of AYIN (His eye will guide)! You can join us on-site here in Denton from September 17-20 or via the webcast. We are entering a season of occupying our inheritance, digging new wells, and entering the "Tent" to tabernacle with our God. The Hebraic letter, Ayin, is also the number 70. Prepare to cross over into the "head" of the Hebraic year, receive power to war for breakthrough and find new wells of life.



I sent out a card and email of this image that visually illustrates the season we are entering. This has generated several interesting comments. We are not entering a peaceful season. This season is supernatural! God's people must leave "religion" and their natural way of battle and enter this supernatural season with sharpened weapons. This is a season of breaking new ground.



When you look at the symbol for AYIN, you can see the necessary action for breakthrough. You must extend your hand through the darkness and into the heavenlies. At that point, the Lord will give you strength by touching you with His HAND. He will release the Sword of Revelation that will connect with you to do war. This will be the battle of the EYES. You will battle with MAMMON in the next years. You will battle dark watchers and "dark pools." This will be a season where we battle with occult structures that are attempting to rule the earth realm and keep us from unlocking new resources.



What follows are the next seven days of the 40 Day Prayer Focus to Revamp, Receive a New Vitality, and Move Forward Toward the Promises of the Next Season. In Day 18 there is a prophetic word that will encourage you.



DAY 11



We must learn to overcome through prayer and overtake the opposition that the enemy has raised up against our breaking through. Barbara Yoder, Senior Pastor and Lead Apostle of Shekinah Christian Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a very good friend and ministry associate. When I was with her church in July, they had just found out that a wonderful lady in the church had been diagnosed with leukemia. She and her husband have been connected with Barbara for several years. They are a wonderful couple who have overcome much.



Barbara wrote me recently to say, "They basically said three weeks ago that she was going to die in a matter of days. That really rocked my boat. However, the report kicked me into a violent confrontation with the powers of Hell and the spirits of infirmity ruling her body. We (a small group) gathered three times. Each time we broke through to a new level. In the last level of breakthrough 'I saw her healing'. Each time I went to her right after we prayed, laid my hands on her and declared over her body what we had broken through to. I am so thankful to announce that the doctors just did a bone marrow test and can find no leukemia. They have declared her in remission 100%. They still want to do the stem cell transplant. However they say it's a miracle she didn't die and had this level of turnaround, given that she was in a coma. This wonderful lady is going to be dismissed from the hospital!



Chuck, I believe that we are pushing against structures that will let go of their rule. This will allow us to break through to this miraculous healing level. We are required to be persistent in spirit and penetrate a level of darkness of fierce opposition. I have not experienced this level of travail before in prayer. We are making it through and you can feel the atmosphere changing."—Barbara Yoder



Think of the woman with the flow of blood who pressed through in prayer. First of all, she was a woman. This meant that she had to get past the social structure of the day. Next, she was legally confined to her home because of her issue of blood and declared "unclean" by the law. Third, she had spent all of her money. Fourth, she was weak and the crowd was strong. She had to press through social issues, religious issues, crowd issues, and supply issues. All she had to do was touch HIM who could release a power that could change her body. Jesus recognized her faith and released a virtue from His body to hers. She was instantly healed.

Do not let your emotions or structures keep you from touching the Lord in a new way. He is there! He is ready to change your last season. The woman in Matthew 9 had been in this physical state for 12 years. There was a time of breakthrough and she took her opportunity and pressed through. Jesus responded with a release that was necessary for her to enter her future.



Read Matthew 9, Luke 13. Meditate on Hebrews 12. Memorize Hebrews 12:4.



DAY 12



"What news?" That was the question Nehemiah asked. "Whose report will you believe?" How and what we listen to is just as important as what we see and say. We should be listening carefully for how the Kingdom is advancing as well as the state of the Church in our region. Is the message you are receiving true? Is the messenger faithful? Can you hear faith and reality in what they are sharing with you? Even if they have a message that reveals a situation like "Jerusalem is in ruins," do you find yourself stirred in your spirit to pray? If the prayer of faith comes forth, your emotions are responding to the Spirit of God and not your own desire and mercy.



Nehemiah was told that the holy city and holy seed were all in ruin. He was told that the wall of Jerusalem and the gates of the city were in ruins. He was informed that his people were in poverty and slavery. He could conclude that they were easy prey for the enemy. This scenario reminds me of many of our homes and cities. Most of our "Jerusalems" have defects and broken down places. There are many breaches that need repairing. Many of us feel like Nehemiah when we see the condition of our land and the nation we dwell in. We feel like weeping, rending our hearts, and mourning.



Weeping is a necessary emotion. What has caused you to weep lately? A person? A loved one? A circumstance? The overwhelming multiple problems all around you? A loss? A missed opportunity? A failure? An unjust situation in your life? A wayward child? An unjust abuse in the landscape of society? Over how dissatisfied you are in life, yourself, or those around you?



Or may I ask—has anything touched your heart and caused you to weep? The kids and I love when the movie "My Dog Skip" comes on. Pam begins to weep at the outset of the music. Her heart is easily touched. Weeping is a valid expression of what we are feeling inside our soul. Jesus wept when Lazarus died. I really think this emotion was linked with the unbelief of the people. He wept when He saw that Jerusalem was not going to turn from the captivity of sin and would miss its visitation. Jesus wept and did not sin. You can weep. It is valid. Your heart needs this expression. Ask the Lord one more question: "Is my heart soft and expressive to the nudges of the Spirit that will produce a new compassion?" Weeping endures for a night, but joy will come again. Let weeping proceed the joy that is on your horizon! Weep, get up, and like Nehemiah, gain vision to rebuild what needs to be rebuilt!



Read Luke 19 and John 11. Meditate on Psalm 30. Memorize Psalm 30:5. Review Nehemiah 1 and 2.



DAY 13



Not all reports are good and produce faith. The moment Nehemiah moved beyond the emotion of the situation of Jerusalem and his people and accepted the new call to advance in the new, all hell seemed to break loose. Nehemiah 4:7-11 says, "But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, 'The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.' Also our enemies said, 'Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.'"



The enemy will wear you down with accusations, seductions, and temptations. He will accuse and send a spirit of fear against you. In your weakness, trouble seems to be magnified. Eventually you say, "Oh Lord, can I endure this situation to the end?" I would encourage you to answer the following questions. Are you falling or submitting to:



*

The seducing power of the enemy on your path?

*

Evil reports that you are having to process?

*

Fear opposing the completion of the project you have been sent to accomplish?

*

The secret "messengers of God" that are attempting to sway you from task and completion?

*

Forces rallying against you to stop progress?



If you answered "YES" to any of the above questions, remember what Nehemiah did in Chapter 4: "Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, 'Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.'



When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me."



The Lord has a plan. He can send reinforcements. He can get you positioned in your proper place in work, prayer, and warfare. You will endure and come through and into the next phase of your life!



Read Nehemiah 3 and 4. Meditate on the passages above.



DAY 14



How do we become renewed so we can begin to move forward? How do we begin the plan of restoration and rebuilding so that we enter the next season stronger than we were in the last season? First, a process of removal must occur. Specifically, there are three things that God must remove from our lives in order to renew our wineskins.



1. He removes legalism. Most Christians would be greatly surprised to learn how many legalistic structures they have embraced. Simply put, legalism is narrowing all of our mind processes down to the point that we can't receive the mind of God. Rather than having a mind-set that is saturated in His grace and love, legalism is a mind-set that is steeped in man's judgment and control. Legalism always leads to pride and unbelief. In Galatians, legalism is even equated with witchcraft. Paul reminds the Galatians that they were doing great. They were having a good time, growing in the Lord, and walking in faith. Then he asks who has bewitched them? In other words, who narrowed their minds down to such a degree that they were no longer able to receive the grace of God? Who brought legalism into their midst? Our restoration cannot be released while God is tightly locked in a box. We must allow the Lord to remove our legalistic, religiously rigid mind-sets.



2. He removes condemnation. Satan is a liar and a thief. He lies to us about our position with God in order to steal the restoration God has for us. One of his favorite tactics is to bombard Believers with reminders of personal failures or failures in their generations to the point where they wear a sticky garment of condemnation and guilt. They say things such as, "God can't restore me because I: am divorced, had an abortion, had an affair, lied about a friend, took what was not mine…" (you fill in the blank). These are lies! You don't have to wear that old garment. The cycle of the past can end. Getting right with God and then forgiving yourself will break the schemes the devil intended to use to keep you draped in a shroud of guilt, no matter what you've done.



3. He removes judgmentalism. Just as we must put away our own condemnation, so must we put away condemning others through judgmentalism. Because of the law of sowing and reaping, we really can't fully do one without the other. If we condemn others, we will be condemned. And what's worse, the Bible says that we too become dangerously susceptible to falling into the same sin we accuse others of. Don't be fooled. We are not to sit in judgment. Judgmentalism has serious spiritual ramifications and has the power to keep us from entering into restoration. Isaiah 58 says that if you will pray and fast, and let God determine the fast for you (don't do it religiously), and if you'll put away the pointing of that finger and looking outward, He will begin to break forth your light and your healing will spring up. Allow that process of God to bring you into the fullness He has for you.



Read Isaiah 58. Meditate on Romans 6-8. Memorize Hebrews 12:14, 27, 28.



DAY 15



I want to remind you how much the Lord loved you. He loved you so much that He gave His only Son who withstood all of your temptations so that you could be redeemed. He died so you could be free. He rose so you could overcome. His Spirit remains, lives and moves in the earth, seeking who will open their hearts and spirit to be fully occupied by Him. You have a temple. He can come and reside within you, fill you with hope, awaken and make you alive in Him by the Spirit of God filling you to the uttermost. Your spirit man has three functions: communion, intuition, and testimony. The next three days, we want to ask the Lord to revitalize and renew our spirit. We want His Spirit to fill us to overflowing. Therefore, these three functions of our spirit that make us a supernatural creature in the earth will be fully active within us.



As sons and daughters of Adam, we have been in desperate need of restoration since the Garden of Eden. So much of what God intended for us, our original inheritance at the time of creation, was lost through sin and replaced with evil fruit. Where human beings once enjoyed intimate fellowship with God, they were now faced with a wall of separation that was humanly impossible to penetrate. Innocence gave way to self-consciousness and sin. Eternal life in communion with God was replaced by death in judgment. So much was lost! But God truly is a God of restoration, and He has a plan for the restoration of the human race. Through His Son, we are now able to return to intimate fellowship with God, renewed innocence and the promise of eternal life. Restoration is the very nature of God.



What is the order of the restoration process in our lives? Restoration means to revive and return to life, or to bring back to a former or original condition. This definition, however, falls short of all that restoration in God means. God intends to do more than bring us back to a former or original condition. He intends to multiply and increase us beyond that point. He longs for our latter days to be greater than our former days. God's plan for you is restoration! The first thing He restores in us is the first thing we originally lost and is the first thing we always lose—our COMMUNION! He must first bring us back into intimate contact with Himself and others.



Relationship is difficult for many Christians simply because our society breeds fear of intimacy. We protect ourselves. We don't want to get hurt. We don't want to allow our emotions to be seen. And to complicate matters, those who have experienced broken relationships in the past don't want to chance future intimacy. But the simple fact is that we need one another. We need God. Without one or the other, we will never enter into the fullness of restoration. We must begin to allow God to make us intimate communicators with Himself and then each other.



First and foremost, we need to embrace an intimate relationship with God. The classic analogy is Mary and Martha (see Luke 10:38-42). We get so caught up in what we are to do that we forget what we are about. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus until she knew her destiny. Once she knew the purpose of her life, then she could go do the dishes with Martha, or anything else that needed to be done. She did not neglect the task. Through intimacy, Mary simply gained what she needed for her life and then tended to the business of the house.



God is calling us into a new intimate place. From this intimate place, we gain our new strategies for moving ahead. If you are not hearing, you can hear again. If you are not dialoging with the Lord, stop for a moment and tell Him that you have missed Him. If you have never heard Him speak back to you, wait for His voice. Your communion can be restored. He can deliver you from the other voices you have been visiting with. He wants you to spend the best of each day with Him.



Read Luke 10, Genesis 3. Meditate on Psalm 27, Psalm 46. Memorize Psalm 27:1.



DAY 16



Intimacy is not just for ourselves. Because the Lord's ultimate goal is to restore the Bride of Christ so she is without spot or wrinkle, He starts with us personally so that He can complete us corporately. He never has planned for you to be isolated. His goal is for us to be joined together in communion with each other and with Him. That is why Jesus instructed His followers to partake of the Lord's Supper each time they came together. This causes us to remember Him. He begins by getting each of our hearts realigned with Him and then makes sure we are right with each other. We must allow Him to bring us into intimate relationships with one another that will thrust us forward into our destiny. Many times what stops us from communing with Him, the One who knits us together in our mother's womb, is a broken or underdeveloped relationship with Father. Let Him restore your Father/child relationship.



We must each experience adoption. When we do not know God as Abba Father and have not yet come into the spirit of adoption that God has for us, we really do not have the relationship needed to grasp our restoration and the inheritance that comes with it. Many times God starts by dealing with our earthly father and authority issues in order to restore the Father/child relationship that we have with Him. In cases where our fathers have abused their authority, or did not take their proper role in the family, God must restructure our thinking. However, we must let Him do this. He is neither an abusive Father nor an absent Father.



He is a loving Father who cares deeply for us—so much so that He has a plan of restoration for our lives. We need to allow Him to bring us to that understanding. Once those issues are in order, the word of the Lord over our lives can begin to spring forth. Stop and allow the Lord to touch you in areas that your earthly father never touched you. Forgive your earthly authorities for their lack of care on your behalf. Release hurt within you for times they neglected you or were too busy for you. Think of a time when a word was spoken to you that cut your heart instead of covered you. Ask Him to be your Father and teach you the love of a father. Do not hold your earthly father captive by your hurts. Let go! Your Heavenly Father will be there for you. Some of you have never known Father's love for you. Stop and ask Him to reveal His love to you.



Read Matthew 7. Meditate on and Memorize Matthew 7:7-11.



DAY 17



So many of us have forgotten that we cannot please God without faith. God can restore our childlike faith! God sees all our war and wilderness places. He knows how long we have been held in our captivity! He never meant for those times to destroy us. His purpose was for our wilderness to increase our measure of faith. As this childlike faith begins to arise, the glory of God rests upon us.



I have always considered myself to be a man of faith. I lead meetings all around the world filled with great faith and expectation of what God will do. Nonetheless, I learned a new lesson about childlike faith several years ago. One of my assignments was to mobilize prayer throughout the world. This entailed being a watchman for the nations and raising the necessary funds to support this project. One morning I asked the Lord to increase my measure of faith concerning the project I was working on—a communications system for a world prayer thrust. That same day I was on my way down to South Texas to lead a revival meeting. While I was preparing to leave, my 15-year-old son Daniel (who is now 27) came to me and said, "Daddy, when you're in South Texas, I believe God wants you to bring me back a parrot." Chuckling at him, I replied, "Daniel, parrots cost $1,500. Why don't you go ask the Lord if He really wants you to have a parrot? If He does, He'll get one for you."



Accepting my statement, Daniel darted out of the room. About 10 minutes later, he returned and flatly declared, "Daddy, I asked the Lord about my parrot, and He said He wants me to have one." I could not believe it. What could I say? I left, shaking my head and wondering if I had somehow taught him to manipulate what he was hearing from God. When I arrived in South Texas, I told the couple I was staying with about my conversation with Daniel. The man and I just laughed it off. But the wife looked at me and said, "Parrots fly over the border from Mexico through here all the time." I looked at her and wondered what that had to do with anything. We could never catch a wild parrot.



I got up at 5:00 AM the next morning for my quiet time. In the middle of my devotions, I heard something outside. As I looked out my window, I saw that the woman had set up a cage in a nearby tree and was down on her knees praying. I wondered if I had somehow led this woman into total delusion. Did she expect a wild parrot to just walk into the cage? Snickering, I returned to my quiet time. Later that morning I led a big prayer meeting, all filled with faith.



The following morning I got up for my quiet time again. This time I was in deep prayer for the very project for which I needed faith. Again, I heard something outside. I opened my window and looked to see this woman shutting the door of the cage. Inexplicably, a large, beautiful parrot had flown into the yard and walked into the waiting cage all on its own! I looked up at the Lord and said, "Lord, I am in bad trouble for my lack of faith." And it just felt like He agreed with me!



That day the Lord began to speak into my heart and say, "Your borders are too narrow. But I can cross your borders! I can bring the supply that's needed. If you will have faith as a child, I will release that which you need in this hour." Today, 12 years later, that parrot sits in Daniel's house squawking. I can't look at it without being reminded of God's supply in the face of childlike faith.



I encourage you that no matter where you are in life, God has a plan to increase your measure of faith! Ask Him to restore your faith.



Read Luke 9 and Luke 18. Memorize Luke 18:17.



DAY 18: Lift Your Hands for a Fresh Touch!



God says, "Do not let your hands grow slack at this time. Slack hands will not be able to grab the weapon that is needed to defeat the enemy. I am bringing new strength into your hands. Your hands will be free as you ready yourself for the battle ahead. There's a new watchman call that I'm placing upon My people, and they will stand, observe, and see in ways they've not seen before. They will know the order when things are not in order. You must be able to watch and see the slightest 'out of order' issue that would keep Me from moving you and yours forward.



"Don't major on minors, but see with My eyes, for I am setting many 'bodies' in order! One of these is yours! I am setting groups in order. I am setting towns in order, and I am setting cities in new order. This is not a time for slack hands! This is not a time for manipulation and rearrangement or justification! You must see the way I see things; otherwise, you will find yourself saying, 'What happened to the glory in my boundaries?' Raise up your slack hands now, and I will energize them and you will be ready for the battle ahead."



Read Isaiah 35, Hebrews 12. Meditate on Genesis 26. Memorize Isaiah 41:13,14.



To view Days 1-3 of Chuck Pierce's devotion click here.

To view Days 4-10 of Chuck Pierce's devotion click here.



Blessings,



Chuck D. Pierce

Glory of Zion International Ministries]]> Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:54:28 -0230 http://indiegospel.net/center-mark-outreach-ministry/blog/3673/my-motivation-to-write-the-wind-carries-his-whisper http://indiegospel.net/center-mark-outreach-ministry/blog/3673
Many people have come into my life throughout these past 4 years. Many have asked me several times exactly what motivated me to write this book. There have been so many questions and even some speculations about my motives.




I wanted to take this time to finally discuss my passion not just for the blessing to be called an 'author', but also to be called a 'Scribe' of the Lord's.




I have always possessed the passion to write. However, is wasn't until the early summer of 2005 that I was actually able to visualize that passion as not only from my own inner being but also a heart's desire of mine and also of the Lord.




Many times along this road of brokenness I have come across a book or maybe an article or just maybe a selection of words on a page; and those words were either going to be death or life for my inner being. I know that many of us as we travel along our journey called 'life' have needed some encouragement.




I always find it easy to minister to those of mature age. However, my whole outlook towards encouragement took a major turn in another direction when the 'inspiration' for this book was brought into my life by nothing less than the miracle of 'birth'.




In May of 2005, in the heat of the southern summer, little Melody Grace was born and my life and the lives of all those that she was to meet have been changed, altered, rearranged and we have never been the same!




In the early part of her second year with us we discovered some social issues. It seemed as though she was withdrawing into herself. She no longer would verbalize her needs and she was pulling away from all outside contact. I knew some about what I began to perceive we were facing, but I could not get the 'back-home' country doctors to do any type of testing on this precious child!




I began to notice her likes and dislikes. I also began to notice that she adored music. Not just any kind, but worship music. Even though she would not verbalize her delight; whenever that music was on she would just light up and crawl over to the stereo and dance. She was 14 months old and was not walking nor talking, however, that never stopped her from reaching the source of that music.




Over a period of 31 days the Lord began to give me divine insight into how to reach this tiny girl with His love and His heart. That desire has always been on the top of my heart and I began to just sit and listen to the Holy Spirit. Each day brought a new devotion and a new way of learning for Grace and for me.




I had been a student of the Lord's for a long while before Grace entered my life. What I learned through these expressions was I had somewhat ceased to be amazed at the awe of what the Lord was doing. Not only in my own life, but also in the lives of those that He sent across my path to minister to.




My heart had not grown cold towards Him but I had become somewhat religious in my perception of His Majesty and majestic ways. God has never been just a 'so so' thing in my life. He was my life and the reason I was alive.




What I discovered was that my passion for the things of the Lord had become lack. I felt that I had seen and experienced everything that could utterly amaze me so I was in that place of complacency and my 'child-like' faith and love for His miracles had grown cold.




My first lesson came even before I was to begin writing the book. I was to define a miracle in my own terms. What I perceived as a miracle was transformed completely under His glorious majesty and revelation.




The World's Greatest Miracle happened 2000 years ago on Calvary when God so unselfishly gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins! Jesus is a miracle, and so was the birth of this little baby.




What Grace brought back into my life was the 'child-like' wonder of the ways of God and His wonderful love and compassion for all that need Him. At that very moment it seemed as though a light when off in my head. Come to me as a little child, not like a child but 'as' a child. See Me with the 'child-like' wonder that amazes each and every little-one.




I was lacking that child-like faith, wonder and amazement in my life that causes 'us' His children to just stand in awe of even His simplest of miracles. Not 'childish' but child-like. I finally received the revelation and during those times in the front yard with Grace under that beautiful southern sky God revealed Himself to me is such a beautiful, easy way that I was more than able to teach Grace all about Him, and learn ever more myself.




What I’ve learned from writing these inspirations is that most time when we wish to hear God we are listening for a ‘loud’ voice when all we really have to do is be receptive of His faintest whisper.




God speaks through all that He has created. Not only through the thundering harshness of a turbulent storm , but also through the gentle flutter of the hummingbird's wings. We have to be open to hear whatever He speaks in the manner He chooses for us in the way that gets His point across.




God is simple, we make Him complex. Nothing that He has created is beyond His miracles. I found those miracles so amazing. Everything took on new meaning. The sky, the birds, the grass and trees. The wind, the sun, the birds flying in the breeze. Even the wind took on new meaning!




To see His face, to feel His touch, to stand in awe of His glory through all He has created was the beginning of my own restoration of that part of me that was lost sometime before the 'birth' of this tiny little girl. A new beginning, a new outlook and also a new 'in' look reflected in the eyes and the life of that little girl. His glory from heaven here on earth to change the world's view of how simple and wonderful our Father truly is.




Meet My Motive ... My Inspiration ... My Grace! Grace Through The Years!














































Find Your Wings










]]> Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:54:45 -0230 http://indiegospel.net/center-mark-outreach-ministry/blog/3672/my-miracle-testimony http://indiegospel.net/center-mark-outreach-ministry/blog/3672

From Tragedy to Triumph … My Testimony



Being able to write this testimony and this book is a miracle only by the grace of our Lord. On Saturday morning December 6, 2003 my youngest daughter and I were leaving to go and pick up my son who had spent the night before with his Dad. We live about 60 miles from where my son was. Our church family was having an outing for the boys in the youth group and my son was invited.



We left our house on what seemed to be a glorious day. It was the typical, sun shining, birds singing and cool breeze blowing kind of day. It was clear and absolutely gorgeous outside. We lived in a rural part of the state of Louisiana in a very small town called Iota. As we proceeded down the familiar road we had traveled many times in the past five years nothing seemed different. We had a new car. My oldest daughter who was in the military at this time gifted me with the car on my 40th birthday in July of the same year. I was so excited and very blessed because I had never had a new car. The car was small but very roomy. And it was just a blessing. As we approached the familiar intersection that we’ve passed a million times in the last five years something this day would occur that would be life changing and life rearranging. I now have a greater respect for the saying, ‘life as we knew it was over and a new life has begun.’



One moment in time we were driving and the next moment we woke up in a rice field. We had been involved in an automobile accident. Not just a fender bender, but a traumatic accident that changed our lives forever. I was told later by my daughter (Megan) that a vehicle crossing the intersection ran the stop sign and broadsided our vehicle at 65 miles per hour. We were driving a very small Ford Focus and the other vehicle was an SUV and was as strong as a tank. After impact our car spun around three times, took a leap into the air and went air born, then took a nose dive full force into the embankment of a twelve foot ditch and finally it came to rest in a rice field located on the opposite side from where we had been traveling.



I was trapped inside from the force of the impact. There right side of the vehicle now rested against the steering wheel. I could not move my right arm or anything from my shoulder down to my right knee. The door of the car was crushed against my body. What transpired in the next hours would be nothing but miraculous! My daughter Megan was driving and was thrown from the vehicle. She was belted in and still she was thrown. She flew three hundred feet. This journey took her across the rice field; the she proceeded to roll across the road way and finally ended when she landed face down in the ditch on the opposite side of the roadway we were traveling on. I am recalling for you the recollection of events as they transpired as they were spoken to me.



Only by the grace of God was my daughter able to crawl up out of the ditch, cross the road and then completely across the field, heading backwards in time, so it seemed towards what was left of me and the car. She showed no panic and immediately began praying and bound the spirit of death and commanded in the Name of Jesus the spirit of life to return into my body and then she smacked me in the right cheek with all her might. I was dazed and confused. My tongue was resting on my chest, blood was pouring from a head injury from where I had hit the windshield and cracked my forehead. I had no idea what had happened. I felt no pain; I remember asking God if I were dead. I remembered that Jesus is sensitive to grief and pain. I knew that if God is God anywhere He has to be God in this accident even in the face of death. I knew Jesus was my only hope and then John 11:25 came flooding into my Spirit, “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me though he may die he shall live. And whomever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” I felt the Holy Spirit was telling me, if I believe I would see the Glory of God. In an instant I felt everything. I had never experienced pain in all my forty years of living like that. My mind raced and I imagined how Jesus felt on that cross. I recalled the words He spoke and remembered He said He had taken all our pain upon Himself that day and I thanked God for taking that pain. Instantly, all pain subsided and I could feel this peace come over my whole body and spirit.



As I laid there trapped inside the car the paramedics and the first response team began to arrive on the scene. The first team assessed my daughter and immediately called for Life Flight to transport her to the nearest hospital which was twelve miles away. She was lying on the ground in tremendous pain and I recall hearing them say she had broken her back in two places and her physical reactions were like people who have injured their spinal cord. I immediately went into a deep intercessory prayer. I prayed like I had never prayed before. I took authority over those words spoken over my child and commanded in the name of Jesus for them to fall to the ground and never take root and for satan to release her because he had no right to her because she was a child of God.



I commanded every part of her body to come in line with the Word of God and be made whole. I had no idea what my condition was my focus and greatest concern was on my daughter. As I lay there in the car waiting for them to cut me out with the Jaws of Life, scripture upon scripture came flooding into my spirit. I knew when the enemy comes in like a flood God will raise up a standard against him and I claimed that. I called upon Psalm 18:1-3, “I love you, O lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” I knew God was with me. I knew I was coming out of this victoriously. Not somehow but triumphantly I was going to make it through.



As the first response team cut through the mangled car I had no idea what the extent of my injuries were. I did know that I could feel my right leg all the way from my upper thigh to my foot. However, I knew something was wrong with my left leg because I had no feeling from my upper thigh all the way down to my foot. I somehow knew it was attached because I could feel the existence of a shoe but the physical feeling just wasn’t there. I pounded my right foot to get leverage on the car floor board but when I attempted to do that on the left side I got nothing. This began to scare me however; God had placed at my side someone whom I knew for a very long time. He was a police officer in our little town and he just so happened to be off duty on this day. Mike stayed by my side the whole time the rescue team worked to get me out of the car. I questioned him as to why I could not feel anything in my left foot. He got up from where he was kneeling down by my daughter’s side of the car and looked down at the floor board on my side. What he told me really did not surprise me so I wasn’t shaken by his words. He said for me not to pound my left foot down on the floor board any more because it was broken.



I listened and agreed and then took authority over broken bones in the foot. What I was to learn about my foot later really came as a shock and blew my mind. They finally got me out of the car after three hours of being trapped and transferred me into the ambulance and once again God placed someone at the scene that I knew well. Pastor Enoch Delaphouse was there and I remember him asking me what I wanted him to do. All I could tell him was pray! “Pray Mr. Enoch just please pray.” While in the ambulance I did not recall much except that everything was gray. It appeared that a great big gray cloud hovered just directly above me. In fact I could almost break a piece of that cloud off and hold it. If I wanted to see clearly what was going on in the present I had to look down beneath the cloud. It really was amazing, but I had this sense of peace. A peace I was accustomed to. But today that peace seemed magnified.

The paramedics were scurrying around frantically trying to stabilize my condition and I wasn’t even aware of what my condition was. I had great peace, I felt wonderful, and I was riding in the back of the bumpy ambulance. I wondered why the paramedics were so worried. I had no idea. I just had this sweet and comfortable peace.



When I arrived at the first hospital everyone was racing everywhere. They were calling for what seemed to be a million x-rays and blood and fluids and only God knows what else. My greatest concern was my child. She had arrived there about three hours before me. That was really surprising. It felt like five minutes, but I was told three hours. It took two hours to get me out of the car and on the way to treatment. Later I was told by the state trooper that it was an hour before he arrived at the scene because the person that called this accident in reported it as a fatality. I was amazed.



As the hospital technicians administered their test I was told things that I really could not believe. It was here that the extent of my injuries would be revealed and how blessed I was feeling in spite of their words. I had two broken ribs the first two right below the sternum, a concussion caused from my forehead smashing the windshield which had caused a bleed into my brain, burns and lacerations to my face and neck from the seat belt during our flight in mid air, multiple massive bruises all over my body, my kidneys were crushed, my liver was lacerated almost in half and my spleen had exploded. And if this wasn’t enough my left femur was fractured and my left foot was severed from my body and was hanging on by two inches of skin. There were eight pieces of my foot missing and I had no visible sign of my left ankle. The only evidence of an ankle being there was bone dust. I had bled many pints of blood into my abdomen and also out of my body and my prognosis was bleak.



As I lay there on the stretcher finally, I heard my daughter’s voice. I was so excited. She was fine! She was telling me what my foot looked like and I was rebuking her words! I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her voice every day for nineteen years but on that particular day it was not only a blessing but also soothing to my inner man. I remember hearing the doctor calling for them to prepare the operating room. I questioned him “why” and his answer was met with one of the strongest rebukes I had ever issued.



He stated the operating room was being prepared for amputation. I turned and looked at him and said in the name of Jesus I don’t think so. I rebuke that and I am not receiving that curse. He told me, Ma’am, your foot is in pieces, in fact eight pieces are missing and it is no longer attached to your body. I told him, “Can you fix it?” He said, “no.” Amputation was what he recommended. Well I said you can put the pieces into a bag and send me where they can repair this foot. I watch ‘Lifeline’ and I know there has to be a doctor that can reconstruct even this. He went on to say, “There are many pieces of your foot missing and you have no left ankle”; amputation is the only way to repair.” I said sternly, “God will grow the bones”, and that was all I had to say to him. The words of Mark 11:24 came flooding into my spirit, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”



I believed that God would grow new pieces for my foot or even give me a new one and that was what I was standing on. I told that doctor that we serve and awesome and mighty living God and I knew what He is capable of. What was not accomplishable with man God would and could do! So they bagged me up and sent me and my daughter packing into another ambulance and headed for a larger town with greater trauma and medical facilities.



I was amazed that my daughter who had flown in Air Med to the hospital with a broken back had just climbed into this ambulance and was at my side. She was bruised and very sore but completely whole! I had no doubt our Lord had heard my prayers for her and according to the words of life spoken in Psalm 72:12-14, “He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in His sight.” He healed her.



The Longest Second Ride



As we traveled twenty six more miles headed towards Lafayette Louisiana which was a much larger city with greater trauma facilities I could still feel this peace around me. A peace that seemed like I was not here on earth, but elevated above what was taking place. The paramedic that road in the back with me happen to remember me from high school. I had no idea at that time who he was but he assured me that he knew me. He never once indicated how dire and extremely serious my condition was. My daughter continued to be a source of joy and laughter. Her jokes about the condition of my clothing and the look of my hair took the edge off the criticalness of what I had gone through. It seemed like this twenty six mile ride was taking forever. I knew where the source of my comfort was. Psalm 119:50 says, “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”



I knew God was in control. God has ordained that His Word, made powerful by the Spirit, will bring comfort, hope and strength to His faithful as we experience trouble and sorrow. Because God’s Word is living and active, it has the power to revive and restore us who abide in it and in God. When in trouble, turn to the Lord and His Word and wait for His Spirit to impart His life and peace to you. I felt as though I was transported on a cloud. In Psalm 34:7&17, it says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them.” I knew God had appointed His angels to protect and rescue us from spiritual and physical harm. This promise of divine intervention is reserved for everyone who trust in God.



The paramedics continued to concern themselves with my pain and blood pressure. I actually felt no pain. And even though my blood pressure was extremely low I felt wonderful. Upon arriving in Lafayette, the trauma center had been alerted. When they wheeled me into triage the nurses and doctors were amazed that someone in my present condition had even lasted this long.



While we were at the accident sight a very dear woman from our home church was alerted in the Spiritual realm to pray and intercede for me. I was not able to speak to this woman, but her brother was on the First Response team that cut me out of the car. He immediately called his sister Charmaine, who is a number one intercessor, close personal prayer partner and friend of mine. Even before I arrived at the first hospital she had been in deep intercessory prayer. My daughter had called my Pastor, Joe Gall of the Haven Church and he and Wanda a great intercessory prayer leader met us at the hospital. I was really blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of Holy Spirit filled intercessors. The church, though few in number, was able to make great waves in the Spiritual realm with their deep and unending intercessory prayer. His wife, Pastor Sue Gall was on prayer alert at their home.



By the time I arrived at the second hospital it seemed like the whole world knew what was going on except me. My daughter placed a call to my Spiritual Mother, Pastor Mary Ann Cole of New Testament Outreach Ministries. Pastor Cole, whose mighty ministry lies in Spiritual Warfare, then alerted all the prayer warriors from her ministry as well as some prayer warriors from the other surrounding ministries. If you ever need prayer these people are the ones that need to be standing in the gap for you. I knew the prayer covering was intense because I had such a great peace about the whole situation. I was and am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I was always taught that prayer was not preparation for the battle, it was the battle. I really don’t think these people were aware of just exactly how critical the situation was, but I know God was on the scene.



The doctors decided that the first order of business would be to get my blood pressure stabilized and to prepare the operating room so they could piece back together the pieces of my left foot and my calf bone. I would later learn that this fracture was caused from the tremendous force from the impact on the front of the car when it took the nose dive into the side of the ditch. It was a multiple compound fracture that exited out of the skin. I was told by the doctor that she did not know if she could save my foot. I was also alerted that she did not even think I would survive the operation. I had no idea what she meant I just knew that I was not going to die.



Back Together …. So I Thought



When I awoke from the surgery I really don’t remember what I said or did. I was not aware of anything, nor did I recognize anyone who was with me. The ventilator tube prevented me from talking and I remember an excessive thirst. I made it through the first night and then in the morning December 7, 2003 I was reminded of God’s promise in, 1 Peter 3:17-18, “It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body and made alive by the Spirit.” Even though my physical body felt like I was dead, I knew that my Spirit was alive and kicking (so to speak).



Suddenly, my blood pressure began to drop drastically once again. By this time my whole family was there. My church family, close relatives and life long friends. The doctors alerted the operating room that I was coming down again. All symptoms pointed to a major internal bleed from somewhere. They alerted my Dad that I was not going to make it. I was literally dying. They told him to contact everyone that was not there and let them know. My son was with his Dad in a near by city. They told him over the phone that his Mother was in a very serious car accident and my injuries were so severe that I was not expected to make it through the surgery. I praise God that they spoke to my ex-husband who was now a powerful man of God and he took those words and shot them back in the devil’s face and basically told him where to go with them.



My Dad contacted the Red Cross in order to get an urgent message to my daughter Olivia who was in the military and stationed 2500 miles from us. I praise God to this day that this particular call never made it through. It seemed like everyone I’ve ever known was at the hospital. I remember some, but most of the people I thought were there weren’t physically there but spiritually there. The whole situation was amazing to me. The doctor told me he held no hope of my coming through the operation. I remember asking him why he thought like that. He replied, “Because your blood pressure is 70/30, and you have surgery ahead of you”, and for some reason I was bleeding out every pint of blood they put in me and they had no idea where it was going. I looked at him and asked him if he knew his business. He replied, “He was the best in the business.” So I told him just as boldly as I could, “Then get to your business I am not going to die...I died yesterday.” I said I loved you to all my family and friends and miraculously four and one half hours later I was back in ICU. Back on the ventilator and back on the critical list. During the surgery the doctor discovered that my spleen had burst, and my liver was lacerated quite extensively almost in half to be exact. I was given many more pints of blood and they removed what was left of my spleen and repaired my liver.



I hated that ventilator. I can remember trying my best once I was more alert to pull that thing out of my throat. Four days after the second surgery I pleaded silently with God to help me get this thing out of my body. I can remember petitioning and pleading with Him for what seemed like days. Once, when my son and daughter were visiting with me I tried to pull the line out. The nurses scolded me but I was determined to be released from that bondage. I lay there silently for four days unable to speak or write and I had had enough. I motioned for them to get the doctor and get this thing out! When you breathe normally you take quicker breaths than the ventilator was allowing so during the lapse in breaths it feels like you are suffocating.



The doctor came in and decided since I was breathing on my own that they could take the line out. I was never so grateful. When they removed the line that held my throat bound I felt as though I had gone through deliverance. The first thing I remember saying was, “It’s about time!” They were amazed at how well I could speak. I told them it was because I had been having a long argument with God about this thing. Although I was still dazed, confused and drugged on pain medicine I really felt wonderful. I had a two foot long scar and 175 staples on my abdomen and my foot was bandaged extensively. I had cuts on my forehead and neck and I was bruised everywhere. What really upset me was that the hospital staff did not even clean me. I laid there with dried blood and dried mud everywhere. I was later told they were not going to bother cleaning me and let the funeral home do that job. I told them, the devil is a liar. Now you can clean me.



With all my vital signs stable and my pain under control they decided after fours days in ICU to move me to the critical care floor. The transition went fine. My bed was comfortable and I had no problems rolling from side to side. The staff of this hospital were amazed that I had made it through what seemed like a death sentence. I know there were people out there that were upset that I had pulled through. However, the one being that was really mad was satan. He really thought he had me this time. Psalm 70:2-3 says, “May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, Aha! Aha! Turn back because of their shame.”



Before wheeling me into surgery the doctor spoke to my Pastor, my friend Wanda and my daughter Megan and basically told them the same thing she told me. I was so very thankful that those words were commanded to fall to the ground and never take root. They took authority over the situation in the name of Jesus and commanded Satan to loose his hold on me.



The surgery to repair my foot took six and one half hours; I was given eight pints of blood and put on the critical list. What was left of my left foot and shin bone was now a mess of metal plates, rods, hinges and screws. My shin bone was sawed down to fit my new ankle and the torn muscle, ligaments, tendons and tissue were reattached. Due to the construction of the hardware, adjustments were needed. I was transported to ICU and put on life support systems. My condition was listed as extremely critical. I was given less than a 50/50 ‘chance’ of survival. I praise God that ‘chance’ is not in His vocabulary!



After 2 months in the hospital and another 10 months of not being able to walk I am here today, complete through Christ, with 12 pounds of titanium in my left foot and leg, and scars that tell the testimony of 'Who's' I am I am able to give God the glory everyday of my life! Only by His grace was I redeemed from the curse of an early death because Jesus holds the keys of death, hell and the grave! I can still hear Him saying to satan, "Not now devil, this one is mine." Watch for this miracle testimony to be available in print with my next book, "From Tragedy to Triumph" 'The Accident'.........These days I spend my time encouraging those in these situations as well as other situations to reach for His hand and look up not down because we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Christ our Lord and the Lifter of our heads!





Blessings,

Cecile Jo]]> Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:55:03 -0230