At the end of the service, as I ministered around the altar, I saw her. I don’t think I will ever forget the sight. She was broken. Her body shook badly as she wept in hopeless desperation. Her mascara was streaked down her cheeks, her stockings had runs in them, and she smelled.
Yet, in that moment, I was overcome with love. It wasn’t my love. I am not sure I am capable of pure love like that. It was the love of the Father. It was His heart I was feeling. It was His hope for this woman who stood before me that evoked this overwhelming force I was feeling. It was for her Jesus came.
As you may have guessed, she was a prostitute. She told me she was drawn into the service as I preached. She shared with me how she had to leave to turn a trick because her pimp was expecting her to meet her quota. She would receive a beating if she did not. But when she was finished, she rushed back, hoping that the doors would still be open, that someone would be there who cared, that someone would love her.
I prayed with her as she asked Jesus into her heart. I introduced her to the pastor, and he promised to get her help. He promised to help get her off the streets. I may never see her again, but I remember her often.
She is just one in a sea of hurting people. They are everywhere, and we must love them in the midst of their situations. We must not turn them away or be freaked out by their sins; we must reach out to them right where they are. We must learn to love those who are different from us. We must love the woman who just had an abortion, the young man who just came out, those who are of a different religion. For them, Jesus came.
Strategic Key #4
Learn to Operate in the Supernatural
Now more than ever, we must operate at a higher spiritual level. We must receive training and impartation to operate in the supernatural.
Here are some things you need to be focusing on:
- Learning to hear the voice of God for yourself
- Learning to hear the voice of God for others and to use your prophetic gift
- Praying for increased discernment
- Praying for an increase of signs, wonders, miracles and healings
I know that our mind-set is that we are not spiritual enough, not holy enough, not called to be used by God. But Jesus said that we would do greater works than He did.
Everywhere I go, I see God healing and doing miracles! For the past several months, in every service, God has been performing incredible healings. I would say 98 percent of those sick and in pain are healed instantly. Every week, I see people healed of various sicknesses and injuries. But not just in church. In everyday life! Right where people live. So be bold and believe God wants to use you at work, at school, at Wal-Mart.
Strategic Key #5
Get Your Finances in Order
God is giving us an advance notice to get our finances in order. At some point, there will be an economic collapse in our nation. I don’t think it is in the immediate future, but I do believe it is looming. God is giving us advance warning to start preparing now!
In times like these, we tend to get fearful. Fear not! God will provide for all our needs. Now is not the time to decrease our giving. In tough times, we give more. It is a spiritual principle that we cannot out-give God. In fact, the more we sow, the more He brings back for a harvest.
Keys to Godly Finances
- Tithe and give offerings (Increase giving in your season of need.)
- Live within your means (If you can’t pay cash, don’t buy it.)
- Pay off credit-card debt (Pay off higher-interest debts first.)
- Look for bargains when purchases are necessary (I don’t pay full price for anything.)
- Evaluate the necessity of a purchase (Do you need it, or do you want it?)
- Save for the future
- Ask God for creative, multiple-income streams
I pray that you will put the five strategic keys God gave me into action right away. Pray each day about how these words apply to you personally and keep them before you. Declare them for 2009!
We are living at a most exciting time, and there is much work to do in the kingdom. Together we can make a difference!
Editor’s note: The Lord is speaking to many of His leaders about what is on His heart for 2009. Nicki Pfeifer, co-founder with her husband, Mark, of Open Door Ministries in Chillicothe, Ohio (opendoorohio.com), believes He told her there are five key strategies believers must follow in order to bring about the changes in the church and in our individual lives that will allow us to be effective for the kingdom this year. Nicki is an ordained prophet and the co-pastor of Open Door Christian Fellowship, a church she and Mark planted in 1991. She ministers at conferences nationally and internationally and leads the Fire School of Prophetic Training, which has locations throughout the United States, Asia and Africa. Nicki posted this word on January 28, 2009.
