Let’s Get Fired Up

This post is based on a message from Karen Fannin, given at Hope Church on Sunday, February 25, 2024. Click the link at the bottom of the page to watch the entire message.

We are in an age where truth is not being embraced; rather, it is being sneered at and scolded as bigoted, intolerant and divisive. The enemy has a strong foothold in this nation and in this world because of the actions of many throughout the years and because in former times, the Church stepped back instead of stepping up. But be of good cheer, Jesus has overcome the world and He has positioned us to be able to be part of His plans for this world. We are here for such a time as this. 

Lately, the Lord has been speaking quite loudly and quite frequently regarding prayer. Everywhere on social media and on YouTube, there are many different ministries and messages that are talking about and teaching on prayer. Thankfully, Hope Church is a church that presses in to the heart of God in prayer for many needs of the people, of our nation, of the world and the needs of our church.

Hope Church exists to grow in the truth, love, and power of Jesus – together.

​Hope Church is also called to be a house of prayer. What are some ways we as a church cultivate the fire of God on the altar of prayer?

• We have pre-service prayer every Sunday morning.
• We meet for corporate prayer on the first Tuesday of every month.
• Prayer ministry is available at the altar after every service.
• This week a new class started for the ladies’ ministry, a book study called Secrets of the Secret Place, which is about prayer.
• The men’s ministry will be studying another great book on prayer called The Believer’s Authority.
• We met with the Gathering Church last Thursday night to hear a teaching from Pastor Deo about establishing prayer altars in our homes and workplaces. 
• Pastor Todd is teaching a Growing in Truth class on praying for our kids and grandkids. (You can access the handout here: Growing in Truth – Praying for Our Kids and Grandkids)

The Holy Spirit is at work in powerful ways through the prayer ministry at Hope Church. What a powerful fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to us about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Through prayer, we can experience a fresh flow of the Holy Spirit in our life.

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-39)

In order for the church to walk in the power of Jesus, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)

This is the power of the Holy Spirit that we need, especially today more than ever. Everything in the Scriptures that God has called us to be, we see the opposite on display throughout our culture. That is one reason that the Lord’s emphasis right now is for us, His people, to pray.

If we want to pray correctly, we must pray according to His word and His will.

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  (Acts 2:1-4)

Speaking in tongues is a wonderful and beautiful gift that is available to every person that has called on the name of Jesus to be saved. It is a gift that we shouldn’t put on a shelf just to admire and say, “I have that.” It is a gift that is meant to be used daily for our benefit and for the benefit of the ones that the Lord will place into our life.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is vital to our ongoing growth in the Lord. If you have not received the Holy Spirit, we invite you to come to the altar after any Sunday service at Hope. You can also reach out to someone that you know that has received the Holy Spirit, or another local church that believes in this gift. We would be happy to pray for you to receive the powerful gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

God’s heart is to encourage those who have neglected the gift of the Holy Spirit to be renewed in this gift again today. If you are weary and worn, you can be revived and refreshed with a fresh infilling of His Spirit.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”  (John 14:12-14)

The New Testament teaches us about being filled with the Holy Spirit. (For an in-depth look at the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, check out Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 14; John 16:7-15; Titus 3:4-7.) Let’s look at just a few of the benefits we can receive by praying in the Spirit:

• Praying in the Spirit enables us to pray the perfect will of God when we don’t know what to pray. It helps us to correctly pray with intercession and power.
• Praying in the Spirit strengthens us in our spirit (which is called our “inner being” in Ephesians 3:16) and gives us wisdom, faith, power, and boldness to stand against the things that are coming against us.
• When we pray in the Spirit we are connecting with God’s Spirit, and He is speaking to our spirit, giving us wisdom for life and circumstances.
• This is how we build ourself up in our most holy faith (See Jude 1:20).
• Praying in the Spirit opens our spiritual eyes and ears to the things of God, breaking off chains of bondage and giving us the strategies for spiritual warfare. (See Ephesians 6:18.)
• When we have relationship with the Father, praying in the Spirit opens us up to hear our Father when He asks us to pray for the sick, the broken-hearted, the captives. This is how we will see His power work through us to walk out the signs, wonders and miracles that He has in store for the people that we pray for. A lifestyle of fasting and praying in the Spirit is a powerful lifestyle that will empower us to see miracles and signs for the Lord.
• Praying in the Spirit shuts the devil out of your prayer. This is our personal heavenly language that only God knows.  

The movie Windtalkers tells a true story which perfectly illustrates this last principle. During WW2 the Japanese were continually intercepting U.S. radio communications and deciphering the military’s secret codes which revealed plans and strategies, thereby giving them the ability to plan counter-strategies of attack. To stop them from being able to decipher the codes, the Marines brought in Navajo Indians to speak in code on the radios. This strategy stopped the Japanese from gaining information because they didn’t know the Navajo language. Praying in the Spirit is God’s secret weapon for us. It gives us His strategy against satan and the powers of darkness so we can walk in victory over the enemy in our life.

Are you waiting on God to answer some prayers, some questions, give you direction, speak to you more clearly, or show you your purpose? Are you waiting for Him to give you boldness for what you need to accomplish in, to step out in that new adventure that He has placed in your life, or build you up where you have been broken down? Then this is the suggestion that I have for you: Ask God for the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues. Ask for that Pentecost experience and allow the Holy Spirit to bring His fire into your life.

Maybe you have already received the baptism of the Holy Spirit but you don’t pray in your heavenly language. Maybe your ministry has cooled down, or your life seems dull and lifeless, and you need the embers of the fire that once were flames, to be re-ignited. Then I suggest you ask God to stoke the fire in your spirit, to breathe a fresh wind over your embers. Ask Him to fan into flames the strength and vigor you once had.

Let’s get fired up!