prayer book

On the morning of 12th October 2019, I was awakened at 2:21am and asked the Lord if the time was significant. He referred me to Isaiah 2:21. After looking it up, I knew it was time to share a vision He had given me the previous week.

Isa 2:20  In that day men shall cast away to the moles and to the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, Isa 2:21  To go into the caverns of the rocks and into the clefts of the ragged rocks from before the terror and dread of the Lord and from before the glory of His majesty, when He rises to shake mightily and terribly the earth.

 

In the vision, I saw a big sieve before me. It had a wide red band round the top edge and there was a big church building in it, one with a steeple, but it was not an ancient building but looked rather more modern and Western in style. The sieve was being shaken violently and bits started falling off the building and through the sieve. The first piece that fell was the spire and then the gutters for catching rainwater. On and on the shaking continued and the structure of the building started to be dismantled. The strange thing was that the size of the sieve holes was not constant and changed haphazardly so no pattern could be determined and both big and small pieces of the structure were falling through. This meant that the situation was totally unpredictable. There was no way of knowing what size the sieve holes would be next. The shaking continued for a long time.

I saw that during the pauses in shaking, there were attempts to gather what was left of the building and put it back together in a ramshackle sort of way, but before this had been secured, more shaking commenced and eventually, there was nothing left in the sieve, except a leather-bound book of prayer. I heard a voice say, "For this, I will have regard." At first, I thought it was a prescribed book of common prayers like the denominations use, but then I saw a hand open it and inside were handwritten prayers and many of the pages were blotched with tearstains. The Holy Spirit brought to mind those described in Malachi 3, who feared the Lord and thought on His Name. Then I realized this was a Book of Remembrance of the heart prayers holy, set-apart saints had poured out before the throne, and that it had great worth to God. It was the only thing that had survived the shaking because what was recorded in there was unshakeable.

Heb 12:25  See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape, those who refused him that spoke on earth, much more we shall not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from Heaven, Heb 12:26  whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will not only shake the earth, but also the heavens." Heb 12:27  And this word, "Yet once more," signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, so that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

 

In the same way that God remembered Noah, His righteous servant, after the flood judgment, God is going to remember His righteous remnant. I asked the Spirit to show me more about that book of prayers and I saw that as a saint was weeping and writing his prayers in the book, an angel was next to him and he was also writing, but he was not recording the words of the saint. He was listening with close attention to the voice that was coming from the throne and then he was recording the answers to the prayers on a scroll. God was decreeing what He intended to do for His precious saint in answer to the heart cry and the angel was recording it all in meticulous detail.

I saw bullet points and numbered sub-points all being recorded and then as he finished, the angel waited for what seemed like quite a pause and then he heard something which I could not make out but I watched him write it down. It was a date of commencement of the execution of God's decrees over this saint. Then a seal was applied and the scroll carried away to be stored safely.

The saint also closed the book where his heart cry had been recorded and went about his day's responsibilities. I watched the book as it lay there. It seemed to be vibrating as if it was a living thing and I could see fragrance trails rise into the atmosphere and move heavenward. The book had a warm glow, like a nightlight next to a small child's bed. I watched as at various times, an angel would be sent to fetch the book and carry it to the Throneroom and then the One on the throne would pick up the book, breathe its fragrance and then hold it close to His heart. It seemed to give Him great comfort. Then the book would be returned and through watching this, I realized why the Lord said in Malachi that these ones who feared the Lord would be His jewels in the day when He openly declared them - because the beauty of their holy, surrendered hearts ministered to His heart's need.

The phrase 'to whom I will look and have regard' is found in Isaiah 66. It vividly contrasts a building made with hands and God's true dwelling place:

Isa 66:1  THUS SAYS the Lord: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house would you build for Me? And what kind can be My resting-place? Isa 66:2  For all these things My hand has made, and so all these things have come into being [by and for Me], says the Lord. But this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a broken or wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word and reveres My commands.

There is much to be gleaned from this vision. Most importantly, there is such a severe shaking coming to the Body of Christ that the outward structure of what is commonly known as the church will be destroyed. Much change is on the horizon and attempts to reverse the change and return to old forms and ways and familiar outward structures will be fruitless. The character of the shakings will ensure that the church as it now stands will not be able to continue functioning. Moreover, it is the Lord that governs the movements of the sieve and the duration of the shaking. Whether by cosmic events, storms, earthquakes, famines, persecution or the wars of evil men, one shaking will come close on the heels of another and only those who are rooted and grounded in the Rock of Ages have any hope of standing. Those who fear the Lord will not be destroyed by the shaking, although they will probably feel it and witness the outward changes that occur in their lives as a result. They will be witnesses to all outward structure and building of man being dismantled around them and God will be their only shelter.

Paul's explanation in Hebrews of the reason for the shaking is grounded in an Old Testament scripture:

Hag 2:6  For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake and make tremble the [starry] heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land; Hag 2:7  And I will shake all nations and the desire and the precious things of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts.

 The shaking is precipitated in order to bring what is truly precious, the souls of men and women, into the true House of the Lord, the Body of Christ, which is fitly joined together under the Head. This is not dependant on outward structure or the buildings of man. Recently I watched a youtube video called 'Sheep Among Wolves Volume 2'. It documents the phenomenal spread of the gospel in Iran in these days. It is very moving and I would recommend everyone watch it, as it demonstrates very clearly that without any visible outward structure or building, the Holy Spirit is able to make the Good News of Jesus Christ spread like wildfire, even under intense persecution. Perhaps the church in the West can learn some of these lessons as the shaking begins. The Head of the Body is well able to make it grow with a growth that comes from God alone, without all the machinations of man.

Heb 12:28  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, Heb 12:29  for also, "Our God is a consuming fire."

WE must prepare our hearts, Beloved remnant, to be extremely flexible in the days ahead. We cannot cling to familiar ways of doing things, to familiar locations or even familiar relationships. All we must cling to with all our heart and soul and strength is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a safe shelter in all that is coming and HE will never forsake us or leave us without support.

This is one of my favorite verses:

Heb 13:5 Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Heb 13:6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?