Image courtesy of thepathtraveler at FreeDigitalPhotos.net We’re a praying SUMite army, aren’t we, dear friends? Ian from freezing cold Sydney here. I trust those of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the warmer temperatures and having fun on summer vacations. Prayer. It’s one of those little words that we’re all familiar with, it’s a practice we all do, some of us I expect more than others and for most, if not all of us, it can be hard work. And it’s powerful. Really powerful. It changes hearts, saves people, heals people, restores people and most significantly it connects our hearts with God. The triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “Through relationship, we carry and release the Kingdom onto the earth. This is what joy-filled prayer looks like.” – Beni Johnson Prayer is Relational It’s completely relational and usually reflects the state of our connection with God. If you’re... Read more →

Thursday, January 10, 2019 There is grace. If you didn’t quite make it, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. So, start again and finish strong. And for the many who have continued steadfast, press in because this is a breakthrough day for everyone! Pray: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. —Ephesians 3:16-19 Today is “revival day” and “divine reversal day.” In the... Read more →

Hey SUM family, Tiffany Here. I pray that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This is absolutely my favorite time of year. I love gathering with family, eating fantastic food and reflecting on all of the favor, mercy, and goodness of Daddy that has happened for the year. As I was thinking last week about what Holy Spirit wanted me to share, I fingerprinted a man with a business logo on his sweatshirt that said "Stillwater." This prompted me to look up "still water" in the Bible. The main passage that came to mind was in Psalm 23: 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of... Read more →

Hey SUMnation! Tiffany here. Some of you have heard me talk about this unique journey that the Lord has me on right now with my job. I shared this on the SUM sisters in Christ group on Facebook but wanted to reach out and share here as some of you (especially the men) may have questions about what I do as a job and how God is gifting me for ministry. I wanted to give you a quick snap shot into where I spend 40 hours a week and when my heart is prepped right and my mind focusing on the Lord I am given insight that can only come from the Holy Spirit. Welcome to my fingerprinting station (picture left). There are two other girls that I work with in my office and we each have our own computer/desk and our own fingerprint station. For the most part my... Read more →

PRE Fast Day TWO Question: Do you know what to do while you fast? What am I supposed to do? Do I pray normally, pray more? Do I just sit in silence? Do I just starve myself and hope something happens? Perhaps some of you are scratching your head just like I did a few years ago. Anyone? I want to share some insights that make your fast powerful and effective. Make time every morning to rise before the house wakes, go into your prayer place with your Bible, journal and any other book that you are reading to grow in your faith. Open up your spirt by inviting the Lord to come in. Give God your heart and ask Him to speak to you. Start your prayer time with worship, or/and prayer language, or/and surrender. Read a chapter or verses in your daily reading. If you don’t have a... Read more →

My precious friends, last week God dropped this into my spirit and I've held it close, waiting for Him to tell me to share it. So read this and receive it from His heart to yours. Love you so much! Dineen This is My time of restoration and establishing My children in My timeline for them. Look for the revelations of My heart, of My love. I have situated you in the midst of these revelations. One simply has to look. There is no need or room for doubt. Remember, My love conquers all and My love lives in you—My Son. That is what makes you more than a conqueror. You are My child. Mine. My love far outweighs the cares of this world and all the burdens you perceive. Apply My love to every one of them—to everything—like a salve. The name of Jesus and My love are one... Read more →

My friends, I loved your comments from my post on Monday. Several of you shared you would really like to know more about the Greek meanings of the words I’m researching, so please know that I’m thinking and praying about how to do that best. Right now I think a video would be easiest to explain and bring these treasures to life, so stay posted. Today, let’s start talking about where we “sit” with God. Let’s take a look at Ephesians. The first chapter of Ephesians is all about our identity, who were are as new creations in Christ Jesus and what we’ve been given as our inheritance in Him. Many of you shared in the survey that you wanted to understand more about our identity in Christ as well. Knowing and understanding these truths is very important to the sturdiness of our “seat,” especially where and how we “sit”... Read more →

I’ve hinted for months and told everyone and anyone who will listen that this year, 2017 is a year of breakthrough and healing (emotional and physical) for the Church. I’m convinced God is healing His people to prepare them for the Great Revival and the salvation of a billion souls. This statement isn’t new to any of you if you been a reader here for a number of months. AND NOW, the LORD is revealing to me more of his plan. You are going to be in shock and awe when I share what I have to say on the development of His plan. It’s happening right now. I will share more on Friday but for today, I want to encourage you to BELIEVE for holy breakthroughs. Our faith is increased when we share testimony. So, I’m sharing a testimony of breakthrough that I believe you can draw upon. My... Read more →

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” —Mark 5:34 (NIV) Let’s conclude this portion of our Emotional Healing study with a prayer for marriage. Several months ago, I was on the prayer team as we walked a woman through emotional healing from infidelity in her marriage. As I listened to our team leader gently lead this woman through an amazing healing prayer, I scribbled down the prayer and knew it was from the Holy Spirit. SUMites, marriage is challenging in different seasons. I consider how damaged I was when I went into my marriage 25 years ago. Two immature, naïve, and broken people throw their lives together, add in children and then try to unwind our differences, our past and move into a future together. It’s hard. And it’s glorious at the same time. How I wish I... Read more →

SUMites, we’ve just come out of our week of prayer & fasting. I must say I am blown away at how powerful this year’s fast seemed to be in our community. Abba is really taking us to new levels and places this year, my friends. Don’t be surprised if things continue to be revealed, shift and unfold over the next several weeks. We’ve set the stage for 2017 in a powerful way and God does not disappoint. Over the week, God revealed some truths in Scripture and connected some dots for me. One I’d like to share with you today, because it’s a new prayer strategy for me. And in light of some of the things God showed me this week and Lynn’s upcoming series on emotional healing, I believe it is timely. We’ve studied this verse before. In fact, Lynn has a video about it over there in the... Read more →

My friends, I have a fascinating story to tell you today. I shared in the past that God is changing things up a bit in how He speaks to me. Let me tell you this is both a bit frustrating and very exciting, but I absolutely love this adventure with Him. And I love His unexpected ways. Well, He did something very unexpected just recently and right in my own kitchen. A few weeks ago I was standing at the counter, spreading refried beans on corn chips to make nachos. Yuuum! Hubby was still in his office working. I sang along with worship music as I worked. Let me just say I am so glad I held a butter knife instead of a sharp blade. The Holy Spirit showed up big time. I was so overcome by His presence that I had to drop the corn chip and knife on... Read more →

As we conclude this study, I have an astonishing story to share with you about how our prayers can remain unanswered or answers are delayed and how what we expect is usually not what the Lord has in mind. Let me take you to a very old passage. Joshua 6:1-5 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the... Read more →

Many things can actually block prayer. Block Our Own Prayers? That’s one way our prayers become blocked. And there are several others. Deliberate, willful and habitual sin creates a disconnect in our prayer life. In the Word, rebellion is as bad as witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23). There is a time in our faith walk we come to a place to ask the Lord, “See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalms 139:24 Our love for our God leads us to ask this question just as David asked. We don’t ask out of guilt or condemnation. We ask because we want to know if there is anything that is keeping us from experiencing “more” of the Kingdom. When I’m walking in faith, the Lord will often point out issues that are stealing parts of my soul away from righteousness. The Holy... Read more →

Good morning prayer family! Christy Edney here! It has been one month since we invited you to embark upon this journey of Prayer Partnerships! I expected to receive a handful of requests but God has far exceeded my wildest expectations. Today, we have over sixty women in prayer relationships! Now, I'm calling on the male members of our community. I know you're out there and this invitation is also open to you. If any of you (male or female) would like to receive a partner then please click here: Sumite Prayer Partners Now, please join me in prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for these hearts that have called out for a deeper fellowship with you and each other. In the name of Jesus Christ, I bless them with authentic friendships that will achieve your purpose in each of their lives. Lord, I focus our attention on the leaders of this... Read more →

Are you new to walking this unequally yoked journey? Did you search the Internet and stumble upon our website? Every week new readers arrive here looking for help. They are seeking suggestions, wisdom and practical instruction on how to deal with tithing, raising kids in faith, standing strong in their marriage when they feel fragmented because of differing faith beliefs. You may be puzzled as to why Dineen and I write and share instruction about growing in our faith. You may wonder why I’ve spent a month talking about prayer when you need to know if you should ask your husband about giving to church. Well, my friends, Dineen and I have walked this unequally yoked road for 25+ years. And out of our year in and year out experience we have learned a foundational truth about thriving in an unequally yoked marriage. Are you ready? This is it: When... Read more →

I am excited about sharing a few thoughts about what to do when prayer remains unanswered but I think we also must focus on a key prayer strategy that is very powerful and leads to breakthrough. Worship and Thanksgiving. My friends, sometimes our prayers can turn into a laundry list. We pray on and on with names and needs that are truly important but we can become restlessly caught up in our pain, need and daily life that it's possible to slip into a place of prayer where we lose our perspective. SUMites, it’s imperative that our primary focus in prayer is to remain fully aware that we are having a love conversation with our Father, with our Bridegroom-Prince, Jesus. The Lord truly knows our needs and yes, I believe we must pray and speak our concerns to His heart. But can you just take a minute here and imagine... Read more →

If you don’t read any other post on prayer in this series, PLEASE READ THIS ONE. My friends, there are many more aspects of prayer that we could cover. We won’t get to them all in this series but I have covered what I sense the Holy Spirit is wanting to impart to the church in this season about powerful prayer. Today, I want to speak to one more area that is very specific to those of us who are unequally yoked. And next week we will cover the “blocks” to prayer and what to do with unanswered prayers. About a year ago I was doing some study about defeating the demonic. Because I’m married to a pre-believer and so are you, the spiritual warfare in which we engage is right in our own homes and it can be relentless. So, I began studying as many things as possible about... Read more →

Hello SUMers, can you believe its September? Say What? It’s back to school. Back to church. Does your church start a whole ton of stuff this month? There are tremendous opportunities in the fall in which to participate. Just remember to find balance and not over commit yourself and leave your husband/wife feeling left out. Choose wisely! In the last few weeks I’ve shared six prayer strategies. I absolutely believe that our prayers are magnified and moved upon by the Lord. And as I was considering wrapping up this series, the Lord reminded me about a tactic of prayer that I’ve yet to discuss: Fasting There are times when we have prayed and prayed. Employed our will, the Word, etc., etc. And…. Nothing. This brings me to the wild story in the book of Daniel. Chapter 10, let’s listen in to this conversation: Daniel speaking: Then I heard the man... Read more →

Do you believe God wants courageous kids? I convinced He does. Just take a look in the Word. The Lord commands us to be courageous and to “Fear Not.” Yep, easy to say. But what does a life of courage look like in 2016? What does it mean to pray without fear? I’m convinced that the attributes we have studied over the past several weeks, praying the Word, belief, confidence, engaging your will, all lead up to courageous praying. Prayers that ROCK the heavens and defeat the demonic realms. All of these attributes lead us into the supernatural realm of powerful prayers, fueled by unwavering faith. There comes a day when you have settled your doubt and truly believe. There is a moment in time when the Word of God comes alive and is truly a sharp, two-edged sword that you wield. There is a season after walking in step... Read more →

Well, I wonder how many of you had an “opportunity” to exercise your confidence and take a step of faith in love and out of fear this past few days? I will tell you one thing, when you pray in confidence, the devils are afraid and you bear witness to some pretty astonishing things in the Kingdom of God! Hallelujah and AMEN! So here is the next component of powerful prayer. WILL Our will. Our free will. Christians like to debate, free will. And we, who are married to pre-believers, live daily praying that our spouse will engage their free will and turn to Jesus. But what many believers don’t realize is that our will, when engaged in prayer is powerful. I’m struggling with how to explain this. Because it is similar to engaging confidence and belief. But there is something more. What I believe is that as God’s kids,... Read more →

Okay, how is this prayer series feeling for you? Are you walking in belief today? I know so many of you are on this amazing journey to become prayer warriors that scare the crap out of the demonic. Wahooooo! So, let’s work on another component of effective prayer. Confidence. Yep, this is a public and private thing. Confidence is crucial for effective prayer. Confidence follows right on the heels of belief. But it’s a BIG jump off the cliff to believe and then follow through in confidence. But our Father greatly desires that we develop into people of Godly confidence. Let me give you an example of what I think this looks like in real life. My local church offers a once a month “Overflow Worship” night. We come together on a Sunday night and the service is all worship. I LOVE these. My most intimate moments with the Lord... Read more →

Of late, the Holy Spirit is shouting to my soul, two words: Prayer Strategies. Truly, just ask Dineen. Every time I’m on the phone with her, this comes up. And wow wee, am I ever receiving some powerful prayer strategies for this season. My friends, so many of us aren’t experiencing the answers to our prayers and I’m grieved by this fact. Well, NO LONGER… We the SUMites are going to learn how to pray and pray with fierceness that sets captives free and releases the prisoners. What say you? Ready to learn more? Belief! Simple really. But utterly so complicated. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. —Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) A key component to effective prayer is belief. Really, this is at the core of most issues... Read more →

Hello SUMite Nation, The Holy Spirit is speaking the Word – PRAYER! (Don’t tune out. This is good.) “Oh man, did she just write – PRAYER.” Did you just whisper this under your breath? Let me explain what I feel the Lord is impressing upon me as well as upon most of His church right now. Prayer. Some of you may remember that I served on staff in Women’s Ministry at my local church for years. I led Bible study groups, choose studies for our women and directed a lot of the Bible study efforts. I left that position four or five years ago as our online and book ministry began to grow. What I always found fascinating and utterly disappointing in the years of choosing Bible studies was the fact that if we chose a Bible study about prayer, no one signed up. Yep. Bummer! But true. However, what... Read more →

Good morning Sumite family! We have some very exciting news for you today! First, let me begin with a little background information. Recently, I have noticed more and more people requesting prayer in all areas of my life, even from pre-believers. I've noticed an increase, especially here, within the virtual walls of our church. It's as if people are crying out to God in a more desperate way. After noticing this increase, I asked God to show me how to best meet this need within our community in spite of our geographic limitations. He answered me with John 17, specifically verse 20-23. Let's read Jesus' prayer: "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who would ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one - as you are in me, Father, and... Read more →