2024 Prayer Training Registration

Training Overview

• Weekly Goal > Send an audio or written prayer message to a missionary

• 8 Weeks > September 2 – October 25

• Cost > Donate monthly to Blazing Trees, you choose how much

• Signal Group > Connect with Instructor and classmates in a private Signal app group

• Instructor > James Harvey, Blazing Trees’ CEO/Founder

• Textbook > Seraphim River: a prayer & spiritual warfare handbook

• Study Goal > 24 Lessons on Hearing the Holy Spirit & the Eight Prayer Watches in the world.

Training Perks

• No Meetings > No scheduling conflicts because there’s no meetings

• Affordable > You decide how much to invest in our nonprofit

• Free Apps > All the messaging apps we use for virtual prayer are free & easy to use

• Real-Time Missions > You’ll connect directly to a missionary currently in the field

• Personal Experience > You’ll learn how to listen to the Spirit as a lifetime skill

2024 Spring – Prepare Letter

Prepare Letter

I’ve been hearing the Holy Spirit talk to me about how part of our PURPOSE here in this short life is to PREPARE to be with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in heaven forever.

A loud voice spoke from God’s throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (Revelation 21:3 NIV)

Jesus’ disciples were deeply grieved when he said he would soon return to heaven. So, Jesus encouraged them, saying that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them.

“I tell you the Truth: it’s better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. If I go away, then I’ll send my Spirit to be with you.” (John 16:7 GNT)

Jesus always knew that his ministry on earth was temporary, and that he would return to our Father after his work to save the nations was complete. He also knew about God’s ultimate plan to send the Holy Spirit to dwell inside every born again believer. The Holy Spirit is our Companion, Helper, Guide, Guardian, Teacher, and Comforter.

If we meditate on why God has chosen to save us in this way, we find that what God has always wanted from humans is friendship.

Jesus said, “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” (John 15:15 NLT)

For most of my faith journey, I’ve fundamentally viewed God as a Master & Judge, and my role was to be a faithful, fruitful servant. But that’s not how Jesus describes us. He calls us, “friends.” I hope you can see what I see: that our primary purpose in life is to prepare for eternity in heaven by being God’s good friends now.

How To Be Good Friends

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10 NIV)

I pray that the Father may grant you to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit according to the riches of his glory. (Ephesians 3:16 CSB)

Anyone who has ears to hear must listen to the Holy Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. (Revelation 3:6 NLT)

Looking back, I don’t know if anyone ever modeled for me how to be Jesus’ friend. I learned a lot about the Bible, the Gospel, and all that God has done. As a missionary kid, I learned about God’s plan to reach all the nations through his Church making disciples.

As a church planting missionary, my focus really wasn’t on God. I felt that I had learned what I needed to about God in Bible college, so now it was time to reach the lost. My focus was researching effective evangelism strategies for saving unbelievers. My priority was using simple disciple making tools to help new believers grow in spiritual maturity.

What really surprised me during my years of focusing on how to produce fruit for God was discovering his ultimate desire for us to become friends. It never crossed my mind that what God wanted from me more than anything else was time with him.

Here’s one simple way to become good friends with God:

• Start going for walks with the Holy Spirit. 

• Don’t have an agenda; don’t bring a checklist.

• Bring your headphones, and listen to relaxing music.

• As you walk, talk to the Holy Spirit inside your mind.

• Tell him that you love him. Be honest about your burdens.

• Count your blessings, and tell him how grateful you are.

• Tell the Holy Spirit you’re listening and available to him.

• Stop praying, keep walking, and listen for his voice.

• If you hear something, great! If you don’t, so what? The whole point is that God just wants to hang out with you.

Prepare Prayer

Why do you spend money for what is not bread? Why spend your pay for what you do not enjoy? Listen well to me, and eat what is good. Find joy in the best food. Listen and come to me. Hear me, so you may live. I will make a covenant with you that lasts forever, because of the faithful love I promised to David. (Isaiah 55:2-3 NLV)

Father, we see clearly that our primary purpose in life is to prepare to be with you in heaven. We are only here briefly, and then we’ll be with you forever. We want to know you more: not more information or knowledge, but a special friendship where we understand your heart more clearly and seek to see everything from your perspective.

If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have returned. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:15-16 NLT)

Lord Jesus, the longer we live, the more we see how you made us for more. The more we know you, the more we long to be together with you in your coming Kingdom. All our hope is in you. While we are here in these crazy and confusing times, we want to be a blessing to those around us. As you came not to be served but to serve, we ask you for a supernatural sensitivity to your Holy Spirit, so we can hear your voice and fulfill your will.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22 GNT)

Holy Spirit, you are very welcome to be with us. We love you and care about you. Thank you for creating a new home with us, for living in us and speaking to us. We don’t feel worthy to have you, but we know that Jesus has made us worthy through his generosity and righteousness, and our faith.

Holy Spirit, prepare us for heaven. Help us to always remember our purpose: to seek you with all of our hearts and abide with you. You know how easily we are distracted and deceived. We depend on you to keep returning us to you when we stray. Thank you for being our best friend. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen. Maranatha.

Confirmation Letter – Psalm 139

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and refuse to depend on your own understanding. Faithfully follow Jesus Christ in all your decisions, and he will reveal each next step to take. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Worship the Father and turn away from everything sinful. Abiding in Jesus is healing medicine for your body, mind, and soul. (Proverbs 3:5-8, my paraphrase of NLV)

Every year, the Holy Spirit gives me a “Word for the Year”: a prophetic anchor for me to observe and discern the ways God moves within his Church and among the nations. This year 2023 has been the year of CONTROL SHIFT. I’ve meditated on this word since last summer, and I’ve seen God call his people to fully surrender to him in a thousand ways.

How has Control Shift impacted MY life? God gave me an unexpected revelation back in the Spring. I planned to search for a part-time executive manager for Blazing Trees who would take over our financial management and communications. When I created a tentative list of people to recruit, the Holy Spirit stopped me. He told me that I did not hear him clearly on this matter. He said God wanted me to remain in control of Blazing  Trees’ financial management, because I am the right person to continue leading our ministry in this area of stewardship. 

I immediately surrendered to God’s revelation, and he gave me a real passion for managing our nonprofit myself. Previously, I wanted to SHIFT CONTROL to someone else; instead, God established control in my hands. He knows that I seek to walk with his Holy Spirit in all my passions, whether that be praying for missionaries or nonprofit accounting.

Let’s take Control Shift with us as a helpful resource for the future. We can ask the Holy Spirit any time to reveal ways that we attempt to take control away from him. He will show us where we depend on our own understanding; then, he will teach us how to trust in his will and remain in step with his Holy Spirit every day.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I escape from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10 NIV)

A major focus for me this year was on CONFIRMATION. Confirmation means the verification of revelation that crosses my path. Once confirmed, the information becomes Trustworthy Truth. We must learn to discern what revelation comes directly from the Holy Spirit, and how to CONFIRM something we heard is truly from him and not an imposter.

I will never forget when God established my personal commitment to seeking confirmation before making any ministry decisions. In 2010, a university invited me to move to Erbil, Iraq with my family to launch some English language schools as platforms for sharing the Gospel in the Middle East. I felt strongly that God wanted us to say yes.

I went home and told Jen. She was pregnant with Aiden and became overwhelmed by this prospect. I told her we would not go unless she heard directly from the Holy Spirit. We took a month to pray, wait on the Lord, and discuss this invitation with family and friends. Believe me, we discovered MANY reasons not to go to Iraq. On the last night before I had to give a final answer to the college president, Jen had a dream. The Holy Spirit spoke these Bible verses from Psalm 139 to her heart. When we woke up the next morning, Jen told me about the dream and said, “God told me that he’s waiting for us in Iraq. Let’s go.”

I cherish that experience, because God taught us to WAIT for confirmation from his Spirit BEFORE making decisions. He invites all of us to live this way with every opportunity: pray first, listen to his Spirit, and confirm his will before we move.

The Holy Spirit will continue to teach all who are willing HOW to discern our Father’s will with four simple steps > 

1. Pray

2. Listen

3. Discern

4. Confirm

Let us live out God’s will as we follow Jesus. “Wherever he leads, I’ll go. I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever he leads, I’ll go.”

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Holy Spirit within you and teach you how to follow my will and be careful to do whatever I tell you. (Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLV)

The Holy Spirit told me this summer that 2024 is the Year of RIGHTEOUS VISION.

I enjoy listening to interviews with leaders and global influencers. All year, I’ve noticed a common pattern of speech in conversations that really stands out. Whenever leaders are about to say something important or personal to them, they say, “Look,” or, “Listen.” The point is to call your attention to what they’re saying. In any two hour interview, you answer a lot of questions and cover a lot of topics. So, they say LOOK or LISTEN to ensure that we don’t miss what’s on their heart. That’s where I got the word VISION.

After they explain something essential or extraordinary, they end with saying, “Right?” They ask a question. I guarantee that if you begin listening for the word RIGHT, you will hear it all the time. It’s everywhere now, and I don’t know how long it’s been happening. They ask, “Right?” at the end of what they’ve explained, because they’re searching for agreement; they desire CONFIRMATION. That’s where I got the word RIGHTEOUS. 

I believe the Holy Spirit has revealed that Jesus’ Church STILL operates in so many of the values and ways of the world without even realizing it. Once followers of Jesus begin to identify areas of our CONTROL that need to SHIFT into Jesus’ control, we will become increasingly purified and refined. Then, we will be capable of seeing ourselves, relationships, resources, and plans with RIGHTEOUS VISION rather than a self-centered perspective.

Imagine with me what a RIGHTEOUS VISION CHURCH looks like. We will become a global family fully devoted to our Father, faithful to abide in Jesus, committed to hearing the Holy Spirit every day, and bearing continual Kingdom fruit through our unique mixes of spiritual gifts. Pray with me for the Body of Christ to SEE with Righteous Vision next year. Abba Father, please prune us of all fake views and false values.

You should think about the kind of life you are living. It should be holy and God-like. You should look for the Day of God to come. You should do what you can to make it come soon. At that time, the heavens will be destroyed by fire. The sun and moon and stars will melt away with much heat. We are looking for what God has promised, which are new heavens and a new earth. Only what is right and good will be there. (2 Peter 3:11-13 NLV)

Heavenly Father, we worship and praise your holy name. You are good, and your love endures forever. We join with all angels and saints, elders and holy creatures, in bringing you glory among all nations. Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Greater are you Holy Spirit living within us than our hellfire adversary in this world.

Lord, prepare us for the Age to come, and help us to be watchful and ready for your return. In line with what will be, don’t let us operate in this Age as if we can keep anything we build or produce here. Help us to live free, light, flexible, and generous. Help us to see ourselves, relationships, resources, and plans with RIGHTEOUS VISION. Guide us to keep everything we cherish and choose with open hands, always available to make adjustments, refining how we spend our time as your Holy Spirit shepherds our steps.

Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left Peter’s house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed. Peter and his companions went out to search for Jesus. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” Jesus answered, “We must go on to the other villages around here. I have to preach in them also, because I came here for this reason.” (Mark 1:35-38 GNT)

Abba Father, we want to be like Jesus our Savior King. To discern your will, Jesus >

1. Got away

2. Rested in your Spirit

3. Listened

4. Received your revelation

With your Holy Spirit’s love, help, and power, we too can get away, rest in your presence, listen carefully, and hear your voice. Please fully align all of us to your perfect will. We want to see clearly. We pray, trust, and believe in Jesus’ wonderful name, Amen, Shalom, Maranatha, Hallelujah!

+> Prophecy by James Harvey, Blazing Trees CEO/Founder.

James Harvey is passionate about freedom in the Holy Spirit and creates resources focused on helping every day disciples cultivate their passions and flourish in their spiritual gifts.

Perks & Possibilities

+> Book James for a free leadership consultation > info@blazingtrees.org

+> Subscribe to our Blazing Trees newsfeed @ blazingtrees.org/news

+> Invest in our team by purchasing our prayer & spiritual warfare handbook > amazon.com

+> Free 12-Week Holy Spirit Freedom Training Course, “Wild Frontier” @ youtube.com

+> Visit James’ personal ministry page > blazingtrees.org/maranatha

#Jesus #hope #freedom #friendship #pray #advocacy #maranatha