Meet With Me – Ten Shekel Shirt

I’m here to meet with you
come and meet with me
I’m here to find you
reveal yourself to me

As I wait, you make me strong
As I long, draw me to your arms
As I stand and sing your praise
You come, you come and you fill this place
Won’t you come, Won’t you come and fill this place

I’m here to meet with you
Come and meet with me
I’m here to find you,
reveal yourself to me

As I wait, you make me strong
As I long, draw me to your arms
As I stand and sing your praise
You come, you come and you fill this place
Won’t you come, Won’t you come and fill this place

I’m here to meet with you
Come and meet with me

Savior and Servant

Hey all, I have a thing for whiteboards, so as I was praying and reading scripture this morning, I was able to jot some things down that came up. I read through parts of James and the first chapter of Luke, was able to pray for my brothers, and just “went with the flow” of things the Spirit put on my mind. Gotta say, it’s pretty incredible being part of this movement. Do you feel the pulse of our community? Do you sense the unity as we persevere and seek God in new ways?

Anyhow, here’s some things that came up relating to Intervarsity:

“I pray that bible study leaders would feel right in the CENTER of your will, your plan, your adventure.” Leaders, you’re doing amazing things being faithful to the call.

“I will show you my faith through my good deeds.” Taken from James 2. How do we, as a fellowship live out our faith, our mission to “serve the campus, change the world?”

“I pray that as students in I.V. decide their living/housing situations, you would form rich partnerships and blessed friendships”

Both Mary and Zechariah in Luke 1 mention “Savior” and “Servant” in their expressions of praise and prophecy. I felt the urge to pray for I.V. worship leaders, both current and future. Or maybe they should be called ‘worship servant-leaders.’

Anyways, those are some of the random things that came up… praise God for the unifying, bridge-building, refreshing work he is doing among us, amen? -dale

Good Stuff

So here I am, 1:43 AM, I’m not signed up to pray now, but I had my 2 hour prayer session earlier and I’m still up. I can’t seem to sleep, my mind is filled with so many thoughts and I keep thinking about all the wonderful things that we prayed for and lifted up to God. So I’m sitting here with my ramen cup of noodles, pondering all the wonderful things God has already done throughout this crazy week of 24/7 prayer.

My past prayer times have all been good and humbling experiences, but tonights prayer time especially really hit me hard and def got those wheels turning in my head. For the first hour, I prayed with our small group and it was good stuff. I enjoy praying in a group because people bring up new prayers that I am like oh I should pray for that too! Everyone in the group brings their own praises and needs and its a blessing to hear all of them. I feel as a small group we really grew together after tonight. Somethings that I wanted to highlight that really hit me tonight and I urge others to lift up in their prayers as well:
- Praying for post 24/7 prayer, that we continue to keep the fire burning for God and that this flame won’t be exstinguished by satan and that this would not just be a one week deal.
- Praising and thanking God for the staff of IV, how amazing and wonderful they are. They serve us diligently and wholeheartedly and I think sometimes we forget to thank them or appreciate all the hard work that they do.
- Praying for those who still feel that their prayer times are still dry and forced, pray for their patience and that God will show himself to them in due time. Pray that they will not feel left out or inadequate that they are not feeling that “spiritual high” that others seem to be feeling

For my second hour of prayer, I got to pray with collin, evan, and alli. It was ironic that there was someone from each of the grades in our group. So we got to pray for each grade individually in IV and as well really lift up the Asian American ministry and to really hope for good things to come.

I think overall, I wanted to thank all those in IV that have created such an amazing community for me here at UW. This group of people who I have the best memories with and really am glad to have such people surround me with their love and are able to keep me accountable.  God really has blessed me and I think that i really finally realized how much of a blessing IV has been in my life. Being able to grow in Christ with other sisters and brothers in Christ while having SO MUCH fun at the same time. I think I am just really being aware of who surrounds me and who God has put in my life and really counting my blessings, because they are overflowing. Out of all the stress and frustration that school and life brings, remember to take a step back and count your blessings!

much love, Sarah Lin

Prayer is being felt overseas

Your prayers are being felt overseas.

Two missionaries — that I had talked with several weeks ago — were at the airport yesterday… we were surprised to see each other then realized that we were both on the same flight as one other.  We had the opportunity to talk for several hours, and got their contact information for opportunities that line up very similarly with my background.  Moral of the Story: Sometimes God continually brings up the same situations/meetings around and around until we see what he wants us to do…

A family that I visited yesterday — not knowing their religious background — they mentioned they were baptized last month and they invite me to their bible study and church.  A very big surprise for me! Please continue to pray that hearts would be open to the truth of the gospel!

The situations, circumstances, and the timing of events that have popped-up here have been amazing, and outside of my control… in God’s hands.  Thank you guys for your prayers & petitions!

The need is large and people are the key to make a difference; the conditions here are more rewarding that I had originally realized.  For those who are called, it is not always as scary as it might seem, especially once you’re here — it’s even fun!

Cheers!,

Anonymous UW-IVCF alum

god kept me, so i wouldn’t let go

whoowee i’m tired…and a bit stressed, needless to say. it’s been a joy to read and hear about the amazing things that god has been doing with our prayer tent over the past few days. i haven’t stopped by the tent yet, but i will soon. men’s night on friday was a treat with fellowship, fun, games, pancakes, and prayer all rolled into one package. i think some of us are still reeling from the awesomeness and lack of sleep.

as for prayer, it’s been a mixed bag of feelings for me. i have to be perfectly honest, despite rejoicing in the neat things that have happened, i wasn’t and still am not really feeling the “hype” around this prayer movement thing…if you can even call it hype. to echo some of the other things people have said, prayer has been hard. it feels kind of forced and dry for me. then there’s the question of what to pray for. having already been at men’s night, i feel like i’ve exhausted my list of things to pray for, and repeating them just sort of adds to the “forced and dry” aspect. perhaps i lack faith, or perhaps god hasn’t decided to reveal the reality of prayer to me yet. either way, in times like these, i’ve found that i’ve always come back to simply praising god. a lot of times during my prayer/quiet/devotion time, i end up picking up my guitar and singing worship songs. praising god for being who he is and realizing that it’s okay with him if i’m struggling with my prayers usually brings a sense of peace to my heart. i think in general, it really helps to look to god, worship him, and enjoy his grace when my thoughts are incoherent and i’m at a loss as to what to do and to realize that god won’t leave me, and that he’ll make sure that i get to where he wants me to be on my spiritual walk and where i need to be in life, as long as i cling to him.

so speaking of clinging to god. i went to the gospel choir concert tonight with several iv-ers, and besides the whole concert being totally off the hook, one song in particular really touched me. it’s called “i almost let go” by kurt carr, and i think it speaks volumes about god’s amazing grace that keeps us from letting go of him or life in general.

“I Almost Let Go” – Kurt Carr

I almost let go.
I felt like I just couldn’t take life anymore.
My problems had me bound
Depression weighed me down.
But God held me close, so I wouldn’t let go.
God’s mercy kept me, so I wouldn’t let go.

I almost gave up.
I was right at the edge of a breakthrough but couldn’t see it
The devil really had me;
but Jesus came and grabbed me,
And He held me close,
So I wouldn’t let go.
God’s mercy kept me,
so I wouldn’t let go.

So I’m here today because God kept me.
I’m alive today,
only because of His grace.
Oh, He Kept me,
God Kept me,
He kept me,
So I wouldn’t let go.

Lead
I almost Let go.
I felt like I just couldn’t take life any more,
My problems had me bound,
depression weighed me down,
God held me close
So I wouldn’t let go.
God’s mercy kept me,
so I wouldn’t let go.

So I’m here today because God kept me.
I’m alive today, only because of His grace.
Oh, He Kept me, God Kept me, He kept me, So I wouldn’t let go

i’m not letting go.

-justin

building bridges on campus

Hey family,

It has been so encouraging to read the journal in the tent and the blog! God is so good and Robert’s story is so incredible to be a part of! 

Today while I was in the tent a student came in and said “this is so cool! is anyone allowed to come in?” I told her yes and invited her to look around. She then asked if muslim students were welcome to pray there. I told her “of course!”  She was so excited and she sat down and said- “Teach me something! I love learning more about God and people’s faith.” So I asked her about how she became a muslim and we had a 30 minute conversation about the similarities of what we believed about God and about faith and our time on earth.  At the end of our time she wanted to invite her other muslim friends to use our tent for prayer during their prayer times and we exchanged information.  I was so struck by her love for God. She had grown up Muslim,  rejected God for awhile and came back in desperation and it is obvious she wants to live her life for God. I was blessed by her.

Jerel also told me at the end of his time in the tent that another christian group on campus, One Voice i think they were called, wanted to use our tent to pray in for their prayer meeting.

Praise God for how he is using our small tent to build bridges with Muslim students and other groups on campus! Pray for more ”divine meetings” in the tent with those on campus who are spiritually hungry!

Ellen 

Some awesome verses to chew on…

“The Son is the RADIANCE of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” – Hebrews 1:3a

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” – Romans 8:26

“Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea, hear me and answer me…my thoughts trouble me and I am distraught…my heart is in anguish within me…But I call to God and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress and he hears my voice…Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” – Isaiah 60:1-2

As We Perservere through the week

God seems to speak differently to all people and at various times. I am in the process of finding peace within the timing and when God is ready to use me for His purpose.  Though many good things have been happening on Campus I still feel uneasy for a variety of reasons. I spent most of the time listening and experienced glimpses of His heart. As tears started to well up I know God is much bigger and there is still a world suffering. When I look at my own life and all I have been handling since the beginning of the year I still limit God in a box. Our Lord never gives us more than what we can handle but when do we find rest as we are constantly just handling issues. Instead if anyone else feels as I do I want to encourage you to fight the good fight and work our spritual legs. I hope the because through the suffering and pain is a testimony to what God knows YOU can do. Let it be empowering as it did Esther for God is calling us to do big things.

 I hope God conitnues to work in big ways. I specific verse came to my mind out of Proverbs 3:27

 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
       when it is in your power to act.

For whatever may be holding us back let us remeber that God is the true power and we are nothing without Him. But with His power we can do all the big things he is calling us to do. 

Eye to the Shore

O Lord hear my cries

The Storm has been raging violently for what seems like forever

The winds blind me

Lightning has struck the inner depths of my soul

Though you set my heart on fire

There is still pain

Deliver me

Let your will turn this to empowerment and passion

Lord for you are everywhere

In the rain and at the lighthouse

Shine through

Grant me faith

Let me see your outstretched arms

Guide me toward your perfect plan

As we reach the shore may we remember your goodness

Build a strong foundation as our house develops on the hill

May it be impervious and a testimony of your presence

Thank You Lord for love and perfection

Glory to the Lord for all eternity

Amen

i think i like this… :)

So, its 2:30 AM, and im dead tired. but God is so so good. its at these wee hours of the morning that i realize, “wow, God really doesnt sleep…” how great that is!  good thing half of the world is asleep half of the time… or else that would be a lot of world-managing (ha….wow, im tired).

This 24hr prayer time has been simply great. Its so comforting to know that there is someone who is praying for this campus every waking and sleeping moment of the day. I love that people are giving up sleep to be with God and pray for our fellowship and campus. Its just such an awesome feeling of protection and assurance.  I sometimes wish I had this feeling all the time when we aren’t havin 24/7 prayer.

I am so thankful for the witness that the tent is. And I hope that people walking past and who see that there are people praying can feel the same protection as I am feeling, and maybe even you ! ; ) I just need to have faith that students, staff and faculty will be touched by the sight of our tent.  And it’s truly amazing to hear about stories of people being brought to Christ because they saw the tent.

Keep on going team!  Even if its 4:30 AM and your eyes are red… you are awesome.

love,
marsha.