Photo above: Jolene is invited by Matt Lockett, right, to prophesy this word at the 10th anniversary celebration of JHOP/Bound4Life.

The Lord has been speaking a very clear word to me about America lately. We think we’re flying, but we’re actually free-falling. And as we are tumbling towards death, we’ve cast off the very restraints meant to protect us.

The good news is, at a gathering this weekend the Lord began to clarify to me His antidote. Before we go there, let me share with you prophetic warnings God has been giving me.

Warning—Infectious Diseases
A dear friend recently asked about my recent perceptions on the current Ebola crisis. I always want to be careful to not interject my opinion, but share what I feel are Jesus’ thoughts on the matter. Here’s what the Lord has spoken to me.

About a month and a half ago I was really restless and couldn’t sleep. It was about 3 o’clock in the morning and I decided to get up and spend some time with the Lord. I actually love the 3am watch of the Lord. The house is quiet and I just spend amazing time with Jesus. He loves that hour of the night for some reason!

I was just waiting upon him in worship, mostly quiet, asking him what He wanted to talk about. That’s when I clearly heard in my spirit that “infectious disease is coming.” I instantaneously knew He was speaking about America.

This caught me totally by surprise. I thought we were just going to have a sweet time of intimacy and He whispered that to me instead. I was so shocked by the statement I wasn’t sure how to pray. I just tucked it away and pondered the significance of the statement.

But something in my spirit shifted with His words.

From Crisis to Crisis
The Lord has previously given many warnings to me, including one from Ezekiel 7. “Destruction comes; They will seek peace but there shall be none. Disaster will come upon disaster and rumor will be upon rumor” (Ezek. 7:26).

So I have been pondering the significance of these words. I have sensed that we will just finish one crisis and we will be catapulted into the next. Since Jon and I are crisis intercessors I knew it would be an intense season. In our imaginings and in our prayers we sometimes try to formulate theories on how potential disasters will manifest—terrorism, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods etc. These are the usual culprits in our minds.

But until the Lord spoke about infectious diseases, this kind of crisis wasn’t even on my radar screen.

Warning Proves True
I was not surprised when cases of “Enterovirus 68” began to appear—bringing respiratory problems and even paralysis to our children. With the recent flood of illegal immigrants, diseases eradicated from our land 50 years ago have now returned across our borders.

But I also knew in my spirit that it was not the fullness of what the Lord was speaking about. It seemed to be only the crack in the door of what is to come.

Not more than a couple of weeks later the first Ebola patient came to America. The door seemed to be opening wider, and in my spirit the significance of the event was a full-on Red Alert!

Flying or Free-Falling?
The other day when the Supreme Court refused to rule on the same sex marriage cases, the Lord began to speak to me about the depth of our deception as a nation. We refuse to be restrained in our behavior, even when it is for our own good.

In my spirit I heard the chorus to the 80’s song “Free-falling” repeating itself over and over again. The Lord showed me how our defiance is just like a man jumping from an airplane—without a parachute or restraining belt of any kind. 

In our deception we believe we are free and we are flying! But in reality we are merely free-falling, and the ground is not far away. We are actually free-falling to our death.

Casting Off Restraint
This seems to parallel warnings the Lord has focused me on from Jeremiah 6 and Isaiah 5. I am also drawn to read the chapters before, which give detailed descriptions of how the people of the land have stubbornly and arrogantly defied God and his ways. Each believing that they know better than the Lord, and that they will prevail in their ways, while destruction is literally at their gate.

“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces, and cast away their cords from us….” (Psalm 2:1-3).

Or we could ask, “America why do you rage and your rulers and people plot a vain thing? Why do you cast away the cords of restraint that are meant to save you?”

Governmentally and maybe culturally, we refuse to be restrained. No boundaries in sexuality, no borders in the nation. Lawlessness abounds, because after all we are “free.” We are Americans, and Americans always celebrate freedom. But sometimes what we consider bondage is actually true freedom, and sometimes what we consider freedom is true bondage.

God’s Restraining Order—Bound For Life
What can we do? Is there any hope to mitigate impending disaster? To save our nation?

Yes. But it will cost.

We need to put ourselves under a self-imposed restraining order. We always think of a restraining order in a negative sense, such as when a person is legally restrained another due to violence and abuse. But I feel the Lord is asking us for a new restraining… a self-quarantine as it were for a higher purpose. We need to take Jesus’ yoke and literally be “bound for life.”

This weekend, Jon and I attended the 10th anniversary of JHOP-DC and Bound4Life. The room was full of celebration for what the Lord had done!

Bound4Life chapter leaders from all over the nation had come. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this ministry, it is a movement of unrelenting prayer and fasting and commitment to keep the witness of God’s heart over abortion. Bound4Life leaders engage in regular “silent sieges” for the ending of abortion, praying by the Supreme Court steps and abortion clinics across the nation.

Their legacy is amazing, literally shifting the national “free-fall” of abortion in both our culture and our government. And as their name conveys, their hearts are bound to the Lord in a profound way.

Set Me as a Seal on Your Arm, Heart…
Based on a dream by a young intern a decade ago, Bound4Life leaders “siege” silently, wearing LIFE tape across their mouths as a witness to the unperceived cries of the unborn. And they also wear a red “Life Band” around their arms, symbolically conveying their covenant with the Lord that they are bound first to the Lord for life, and secondly bound to their mission for the cause of life for the unborn.

Just like in Song of Solomon 8:6, they have set Jesus as a seal upon their hearts, and then set him as a seal upon their arm. The Life Band has become the seal upon their arm that reflects the circumcision of their hearts, and their love for the Lord and for babies. And as this scripture prophesies, their love is proving to be stronger than death.

How profound. Their commitment to the Lord that knows no bounds, literally bound for life.

Stronger Than Death!
So in the midst of this, the Lord began to speak to me about His antidote to our nation’s free-fall. Something stronger than death is needed. We need to be bound for life!

In the midst of this free-falling culture, the Lord is raising up whole movements covenantally bound by His love, willing to purposely embrace His yoke of restraint. They are aligning their lives sacrificially, laying down personal ambitions and comforts, to bring heaven to earth. They are already attaining breakthrough—a love stronger than death.

Bound4Life embraced a secret 10 years ago that God is offering to all of His change-agents now. Boundaries and self-restraint are a blessing. A blessing that releases His life to others.

And as we all yoke ourselves to the Lord, and jump from the high places in prayer, the future of our nation will actually be entrusted to us.

Lord teach us how to yoke ourselves with You at this time. To bind our hearts with Yours. Not just to save ourselves, but to save the nation!

Note: Jon here. It caught my attention that Jolene’s message, including the title, was exactly 1513 words. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends…”