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August 16, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE INTERCESSORS TAKE A STAND – AND SING
In Philippians 4:7 we read that the Lord Jesus Christ is the source from whom God’s peace flows into
our souls. Pray for God’s peace to flow in these situations that are coming upon us in these hours.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 44:7 NIV)
The rioting that broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend caught national attention. The
“Unite the Right” rally organized by white supremacists on Saturday, August 12, and the ensuing counter
protests, has been reported with scenes of street brawls, chaos, and bloodshed, suggesting the violence
was widespread and out of control. And yet, according to one first-hand testimony on the street, things
could have been a lot worse had local intercessors not responded to heaven’s call to take a stand
through worship and prayer.
Jon Quesenberry is the Director of the Charlottesville House of Prayer. He and a small band of twelve
intercessors took to the streets on the day of the rally, positioning themselves between the gathering
demonstrators, and began to sing and worship. Being alerted three weeks earlier about the rally, they
had already been covering their city in prayer. Quesenberry had also been prompted by the Holy Spirit
through a dream which revealed the schemes of the enemy to bring violence to the city and how to
stand in the gap for their community.
The rally was to start at 1:00 p.m. (the protesters were going to start early at noon). The group of
intercessors took their position from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. as demonstrators began to take their positions
on either side of the barricades. As they started to sing and worship, Quesenberry describes what
happened. “Worship silenced both groups for about an hour! We saw what public worship and prayer
(declarations in partnership with heaven) can do. The most amazing thing is that we had an assignment
from the Lord that was ‘counter protest.’ We brought a different atmosphere. Both groups backed away
from us and neither group knew what to do with us. It really did stop the momentum of the hate
(shouting) for almost an hour.”
Quesenberry describes his strategy as a “worship and prayer circle”. He says “…without the worship we
would have been unable to maintain a prayer presence here because the noises around us were so
distracting…the protesters began to yell at us, ‘Hypocrites! Hypocrites!’ and they began to chant against
us, but they couldn’t overcome the worship.” He said that even the police began to back away from the
group because they knew the area was safe. They later found out that their worship could be heard
from a block away.
It was only ten minutes after his group felt they should leave, that the rally was declared “unlawful” by
the police and the demonstrators were given five minutes to disperse. Not only was the gathering
dispersed, but none of the white nationalist speakers ever got to speak. He said the few skirmishes that
happened are the ones repeatedly being replayed on newscasts giving the impression it was much more
extensive. He also noted that though there were several fights reported elsewhere, there were none
where his group of intercessors stood. There was one tragic death in the street (as the crowd was
dispersing) and another two officers that were killed in a related helicopter incident. Twenty-three
people were reported to have gone to the hospital for treatment of injuries. Yet, Quesenberry said the
local hospitals had been prepared for hundreds to be injured and many possibly killed. He believes that
the completed prayer assignment from the Lord and other small prayer groups of intercessors and
pastors throughout the city, is what averted much greater violence in Charlottesville on Saturday.
Quesenberry, a local resident, believes that over ninety-five percent of the participants were from out of
town. Not only that, but almost half of the participants were from out of state. He believes his city
simply became a staging place for these agitators who were looking for a place to promote their agenda.
From what he saw on the streets that day, he says the issues we face are much deeper than political
ideologies and racial differences.
We are involved in a continually escalating clash of cultures in our nation right now. That clash is not one
side “haters” and the other side “lovers.” It’s not that at all. What I saw at the rally is two types of haters
because there were terrible things being said by the protesters, but…it was the same coming from the
counter-protesters. They were shouting things that should never be said to anybody…there were
fighters on both sides.
There is no message that is going to overcome the divide between the clash in our nation. Education and
empathy are not going to increase capacity for people to love one another. What’s purely needed now is
spiritual awakening and it starts with mass repentance.
Quesenberry believes we have to repent “…not because we’ve done stuff wrong, but because we are a
nation of sinners.” He references Isaiah 6:5 where the prophet says, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I
live among a people of unclean lips.” It’s this kind of repentance that identifies with the collective sin of
a nation that has power in the courts of heaven to change things.
Based on his observations, it would seem to confirm that these clashes are not simply the result of race
wars or party differences. They are the result of sin and the absence of God’s presence. Without the
tangible presence of God covering and overshadowing His people, we will always be prone to war with
one another. As believers in Christ, our greatest demonstration to the world is our love, not just for one
another, but for the One who reconciles all things to Himself (Col 1:20; Eph 2:16).
It’s time for believers to come out of their prayer closets and into the streets as carriers of God’s
presence. It is possible to change the atmosphere with our praises (1 Sam 16:23; Acts 16:25). It is
possible to silence the voice of the enemy with the sound of worship. As we face continual threats, not
only as a nation, but as local communities, let us not forget the power of God’s presence to disarm the
enemy’s threats and shift the atmosphere towards kingdom purposes.
Wanda Alger, IFA Field Correspondent
View a short Facebook clip from Channel 29 showing the worshiping intercessors HERE
UPCOMING GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE
Pray that the sign in the heavens placed there by the almighty hand of God will produce a humbling
spirit in the hearts of men and women everywhere.
"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that
the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for
those who fear him lack nothing." (Ps 34:7-9)
On August 21, 2017, America will experience a total solar eclipse whose trajectory is exclusive to the
United States. This has not occurred since 1776. Scientists, astronomers, news reporters, and the
average person are awaiting this unique image in the skies. Camp sites in the western states have been
reserved for months to ensure the first glimpses of this phenomena. The Red Cross is even being
mobilized in some states.
There is much prophetic buzz right now about this eclipse that starts at 12:05 Eastern time in Salem,
Oregon. People are wondering and praying about events that could occur while the eclipse stretches
across the country for four hours and 29 minutes, until finally being visible in Charleston, South
Carolina. Below you will find links to various resources to aid you in inquiring of the Lord for yourself
about these issues. We have also compiled some prayer points for you to use.
One thing is certain: our adversary takes every opportunity to deceive. This sign in the sky is perfect
fodder for those who worship creation to give “praise” to their false god. Occultists who look to the sky
for direction will enter into deep levels of deception with attempts to release negative supernatural
powers on this day. Those of us with a biblical worldview understand that the one who wishes to
destroy us only has influence when people willfully give him and his demonic army permission. Let’s
pray for God and His army to combat and defeat any destructive supernatural forces that may work on
August 21. (By David Kubal, President/CEO Intercessors for America. Click here for general information
about the eclipse; here for information about the call for a Teshuvah Sacred Assembly; and here for a
message from Anne Graham Lotz about the eclipse.)
Prayer Points for the Great American Eclipse:
1. Pray that this event would draw everyone's attention to the one and only True God who made the
heavens and the earth (Ps 19:1-4; Rom 1:20).
2. Pray that the wonder and awe of God would displace any fear of the unknown (Is 24:19).
3. Praise God for his arc of protection across this nation (Ps 60:4; 91:1-2).
4. Declare His glory across the nation and the fear of the Lord on this land (Ps 34:7-9).
COUNTERING BOMBAST FROM NORTH KOREA
Pray for reason and resolve for the problems of national disagreements.
“who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.” (Ps.
65:7)
The escalating exchange of nuclear threats between North Korea and the United States has pushed us
closer to the brink of war.
Recent classified reports by U.S. intelligence, based on spy satellite surveillance, now reveals that the
Communist nation has successfully developed a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can be fitted on top
of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching our country.
North Korea, punished by a severe new round of U.S.-led economic sanctions, approved this week by
the U.N. Security Council, described the action as an attempt to bring down its country.
Especially the ban on exports that provide up to a third of North Korea’s yearly $3 billion in earnings.
Such sanctions, the government said, were an attempt “to strangle a nation,” warning the U.S. that
“physical action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its national strength.”
President Trump, on a 17-day working vacation at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., shot back a fiery
reply [last] Tuesday, warning North Korea that it would face a devastating response if it continued to
threaten the U.S.
“They will be met with fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen
before,” he said.
Before this exchange took place, Mr. Trump’s secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, attempted to defuse the
deepening conflict by sending a remarkable peace offering to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
“We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an
accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the
38th Parallel,” he said last week.
“We are trying to convey to the North Koreans: We are not your enemy, we are not your threat,” he
added.
Mr. Tillerson’s calm-the-waters statement was widely credited for clearing the way for both China and
Russia to embrace the sanctions, though it had no effect on Kim.
But maybe Mr. Tillerson’s remarks were really aimed at an end-run around Mr. Trump in a vain attempt
to send a more diplomatic message to the North Korean leader....
“So what the president is doing is sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong-un
would understand, because he doesn’t seem to understand diplomatic language,” he said.
Soon after Mr. Tillerson’s remarks, Mr. Trump reinforced his warning to Pyongyang in a Twitter post
with another not-so-veiled warning about the new and much improved U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal.
“My first order as president was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger
and more powerful than ever before,” he said.
In another statement, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also sent a blunt message to North Korea
Wednesday, urging its government to “stop any action that would lead to the end of its regime.”
He added, “The regime’s actions will continue to be overmatched by ours and would lose any arms race
or conflict it initiates.”
Meantime, it is interesting that throughout this war of words with North Korea, there has been no
mention of our anti-ballistic missile arsenal that can destroy any incoming ICBMs before they can strike
their target.
Kim Jong-un better think long and hard about that before he makes another boastful claim about his
military superiority. (Excerpts from Donald Lambro's article in the Washington Times - Donald Lambro is
a syndicated columnist and contributor to The Washington Times.)
SECRETARY OF STATE DELIVERS ADDRESS ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Pray that we as Christians have freedom over sin and darkness when we follow Christ in all walks of
our lives.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Cor. 3:17)
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivered remarks on the release of the 2016 Annual Report on
International Religious Freedom (IRF) Tuesday, August 15, in the Treaty Room at the U.S. Department of
State.
Religious freedom is both a core American value and a fundamental human right. Mandated by the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the IRF Report describes the status of religious freedom in
foreign countries and U.S. actions and policies in support of religious freedom worldwide.
During his remarks, Secretary Tillerson calls for the swift confirmation of recently nominated
Ambassador for International #ReligiousFreedom, Governor Sam Brownback.
In his remarks, Secretary Tillerson underscored that the U.S. State Department will continue to advocate
on behalf of those seeking to live their lives according to their faith. #ReligiousFreedom
Read the full 2016 International Religious Freedom Report:go.usa.gov/xRdZz
Download: 2016 International Religious Freedom Report – Secretary’s Preface
Download: Appendix A: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Download: 2016 Report on International Religious Freedom