Jon & Jolene with Patricia King at Women on the Frontlines DC! June 18-20, 2015, the Gate DC/ Whole Word, Oakton VA. More info at http://thegatedc.com/events.html
I guess the Lord takes the name of the church seriously. Because virtually every time we go to the Gate DC, the Lord meets us profoundly.
And last night I had a vision. I saw a large gold band, and the Holy Spirit spoke, “Step back into God’s circle of covenant!”
I went to the Gate primarily to pray, as Jolene and I are gearing up for the upcoming “Women on the Frontlines” conference next week. Hosted by Patricia King, the gathering features many great leaders and worship by none other than Heather Clark. It is such an honor to be asked to speak, and I’m very grateful for your prayers. Make plans now to join us!
All that said, I felt in my spirit a real need to press in for breakthrough. I was looking both for the shift in the spirit and the strategy to overcome anything blocking the manifestation of breakthrough in our midst. The Lord quickened to me a personal vision my friend Martin Frankena recently had while praying for me. Martin, who has one of the highest level giftings I know of in healing and deliverance, saw a demonic blockade.
Dry Time? Feeling Stuck? Read On!
Now this is going to get a little personal. But I feel that it may be enlightening for many of you as well, so lets just get transparent for a moment. A brief fraction of a moment, just long enough for the shutter to open and a clear picture to be captured. OK?
A few weeks ago I was going through a really dry time with the Lord. Jolene was too. We just felt out of timing. We felt stuck. Further, the flow of finances that keep us moving forward in DC was ebbing a little. And worst of all, with the seeming lack of genuine encounters with the Lord, we were both really fighting boredom!
That’s when Jolene usually goes shopping. She actually can get more breakthrough praying through the aisles of a grocery store than most can get in hours of travail. This time around I was so desperate I even tried prayer-walking the aisles with her.
Didn’t work… I guess one time down the aisle was enough.
Breaking Through the Blockade
Jolene and I were invited to spend Memorial Day weekend with Martin and Cindy Frankena, and we asked for prayer. It had been a while since we last saw them, and I knew some “stuff” in the spirit had accumulated.
I tried to tell Martin what it was, but he prefers to actually hear from the Lord what’s going on. And that’s when he saw this demonic blockade, completely encircling me. The blockade was very unusual, to the extent Martin had never seen it before. Because this time, the demons executing the blockade were all facing outward, not inward.
In other words, they weren’t there to try and pounce on me. They were instead facing out, forming a demonic blockade with the express purpose of holding back what the Lord was desiring to bring to us.
Hate when that happens. But it sure explained a lot. My guess is it might also resonate with you in your own recent experience.
Breakthrough Without Striving
Most of you know we are warriors. We don’t just want to know what’s going on, but why it’s going on and how to defeat it. My mind immediately raced. How are we on tithes and offerings? How’s our prayer life, our worship life, our body life, our relational life? Is there someone trying to impose this on us… and who? What spirit is behind this? It’s her fault, it’s my fault. I feel so bad. She should too. Should we fast, pray, mobilize, stand, fall, avoid that seafood restaurant… WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
You know, the biggest challenge when faced with revelation is often to move in the Spirit and not enter into striving. He’s showing up to give you clarity and revelation, and yet it’s often at this very time we feel we have to do the most to rescue ourselves. We get out of the spirit and into our souls so easily!
The same God who revealed the problem also wants to be your solution! Let God form your pathway through. He is your Breaker!Let me give you a strong suggestion. When you are seeking breakthrough, work with prayer partners who know the Spirit of God. When God shows what’s resisting you, don’t try to engage in the spiritual mapping of cosmic forces and your interior life to try and figure things out. Ask the Spirit of God to break you through. God is not “I WAS” but “I AM.” And He is saying, I AM YOUR BREAKTHROUGH!
Martin prayed, and I felt the deliverance immediately. Jolene did too, though her pathway to breakthrough was a little different. All I can say is DC is always an adventure 🙂 And with the intercession of precious friends, the blockade was broken through. It felt like the weight of the world was lifted off. In an instant, we were realigned with God’s heart and Throne!
Step Back into My Circle of Covenant!
While I was in prayer last night at the Gate DC, I became aware of that same “sense” in the spirit I felt a few weeks ago. Like a blockade was somehow in place. It’s so cool how you can discern situations once the Lord has delivered you from them.
While praying for breakthrough and deliverance from this encircling of the enemy, the Holy Spirit showed me the vision of the golden wedding band. And He spoke, “Step back into My circle of covenant!” That’s what was required on our part to enter into breakthrough. I saw how His protection, provision, and forward momentum were all commanded within the boundaries of His covenant. It’s how we must abide in Him.
Jolene—Opening Up the Ancient Gates
No sooner had the vision finished when David Ruleman, pastor of the Gate, came to Jolene and me and invited us to prophesy. I briefly shared my piece and prayed for breakthrough. Then Tracey Ruleman shared an incredible message that was much on the same lines. This stirred something in Jolene, and she prophesied about opening the ancient gates of our spirit, soul and body to the Lord so that the King of glory may come in.
Part of what Jolene led us into was making a covenant with our eyes, our ears, mouth, heart, and even our sexual organs and expressions “that I might not sin against You.”
We welcomed the King of glory into our being and re-aligned with His covenant boundaries in our lives. Without really meaning to, we literally stepped back into His circle of covenant with us. And we entered into breakthrough, even a fresh wind that has set the course of the conference later this week!
Friends, I don’t usually give a play-by-play of any service. But this unexpected orchestration of the Lord is just too important to miss! My guess is that many of you can relate to what is being shared. With full assurance I can say to you that your first step for breakthrough is to step back into the circle of covenant with the Lord.
Covenant With My Eyes
Below is a prayer for you. We pray the Lord move with you and advance you where you are stuck! Before we go there, here’s a confession.
As a watchman, I really make every effort to guard my eyes and heart. But when I prayed about making a covenant with my eyes, the Lord convicted me. Through the years I’ve read a lot of thriller novels. David Baldacci and Daniel Silva have become favorite authors because both are profound and yet relatively clean.
But I’ve been turning to these books too much when I’m bored. And the Lord convicted me that, for me, part of making a covenant with my eyes was to fast from these novels for a season. Focusing instead on abiding in His word alone.
Just being honest here. Ask the Lord to show you what He is requiring of you to step back into the circle of His covenant with you. His directive is not to harm you or deny you, only to bring you back into balance. What is blockading your ancient gates? Your place of abiding?
Prayer—Breaking Through the Blockade
Father God, I choose now to step back into the circle of covenant with You, in Jesus’ Name. I choose to embrace your covenant boundaries. Wherever I have stepped beyond those boundaries, please receive my repentance and restore every hedge of protection!
Lord, as I align with you, please dismantle and disperse all demonic blockades that have encircled me. Let these demonic agents be sent under the feet of Jesus Christ NOW, in Jesus’ Name. Be dispersed. No returning or re-forming!
Lord, restore to me now the full measure of Your protection, provision, favor and vitality in Jesus Christ that has been blocked! Into Your hands I release my spirit. Release now Your breaker anointing on my behalf. According to Exodus 23:20, send Your angel to guard and protect me and bring me out of the captivity of the enemy, in every realm and dimension and into the place in You that has been ordained for me. First, realign me before Your throne! Restore me to abiding more fully in You, and in your covenant.
Lord, I dedicate every gate of my spirit, soul and body to you. And as an act of my will, I open up these ancient gates for the King of glory to come in! According to Job 31:1, “I make a covenant with my eyes, that I might not sin against You.” Lord I establish these gates by covenant with You. And I choose to walk only within the boundaries of Your covenant, the expression of Your heart, from this day forward. You are the Lord—my God! And I will have no other gods before You.
Now send your fresh wind, the wind of Your Spirit! Grant me recovery of breath, of momentum. I receive your breakthrough! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Thanks Jon. Really speaks to me and where I am.