During a prayer meeting in December, 2016 following the election, I had a mental vision of four sticks or poles standing upright, with the fourth one beginning to bend. I asked the Lord what it meant, and He told me, “You, the church, have four years in which to shine.” I understood the bend in the fourth stick or pole to mean that in the fourth year things would begin to change, and not for the better. He then added, “You, the church, have lost the art of the tremble.” In other words, while so many of us have been rightly focusing on the Father’s heart, His amazing love and grace, we have forgotten that He is also the sovereign King of the Universe, lawgiver and judge. We have so lost the ability to be so awestruck by Him that we no longer carry a healthy measure of fear along with the comfort of love.

We, the body of Christ, have been granted a four-year window in which to become a lighthouse of love, grace, redemption and the manifestation of the Father’s heart in Jesus—four years in which to recover the “art of the tremble.” Whatever one might think of Donald Trump as president, it seems clear that he is a friend both of the church and of Israel. This creates a window of opportunity to grow and to expand our influence in the world around us.

Where Donald Trump is concerned, I find myself possibly running afoul of the words of others in prophetic ministry who have prophesied that Trump will be, in effect, the savior of the nation, a Cyrus after the biblical model, to pour out favor, restoration and release. Some have said he will be the most praying president in our history. Perhaps. Let that be true. But there’s a serious problem that calls for concerted prayer for the president on the part of all those who hold to biblical values. It has been said that Donald Trump is a new Christian, and I have no reason to doubt that. For every new Christian, however, there remains a season for being discipled in the ways of the Lord, and therein lies my concern.

I therefore have a prophetic word to release in the tradition of the “if-then” we see in the words of the prophets of the Old Testament. For its fulfillment, this word turns on whether or not Donald Trump understands and walks in the wisdom of a set of essential Scriptural admonitions. Proverbs 16:7 teaches, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Perhaps more significant is Proverbs 12:18, “There is one who speaks rashly like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is health,” or 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger,” and the verse that follows, “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness.” Words must be crafted in such a way that people are enabled to hear and receive them. From the New Testament: “But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:19). All of these principles apply most strongly to anyone in a power position where the impact of words spoken will be magnified.

Simply stated, if Donald Trump can understand these principles and walk in them, then he can win the appreciation and cooperation, even of his enemies, and will stand a good chance of advancing his agenda for the nation. In that case, prophecies of greatness spoken over him will come to pass, and the whole world will benefit. On the other hand, if he continues to insult those who oppose him, to retaliate in anger and call them derogatory names, then even those who would be his friends in Congress and in the world will increasingly turn against him. Very little will be accomplished. If that happens, then the latter half of the fourth year of this four-year window—coinciding with the next presidential election cycle—will see a bending. Donald Trump will not be reelected, and the radical left will see a resurgence of strength in a backlash that will do much to destroy what is left of our nation and its heritage of liberty and Christian faith.

Of the four years concerning which the Lord has spoken to me, nearly a year has already passed and we, as a nation, are mired even more deeply in conflict and hatred than we were a year ago. We have a limited time in which to pray over these matters and to clean up our own act as believers where our hearts and our language are concerned. We must recover “the art of the tremble” and refocus on holiness, not of the legalistic kind, but on being transformed into the image of the Son by means of a pure focus on Him and a passion for seeing the kingdom of God manifest on earth in a culture of love, grace and uplift.

Pray for the heart of our president, for the nature of Jesus to take root in his life, and that it will manifest in his words and relationships. The future depends on it. {eoa}

R. Loren Sandford is an author, musician and the founder and senior pastor of New Song Church and Ministries in Denver, Colorado. He has a bachelor’s degree in music and a master of divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. In addition to pastoring, Sandford has an international teaching and worship ministry. Married since 1972, he and his wife, Beth, have two daughters and one son. They live in Denver, Colorado.

So you pray for something for years and then you wake up one day, breathe a big sigh and say to yourself: This is crazy. Nothing is happening. God must not be listening.

Congratulations! If this has been your prayer experience, you are not alone. You’ve been enrolled in the School of Persevering Prayer, and it’s not a one-semester class. It’s a lifelong journey designed to stretch your faith, develop your character, purify your motives, test your patience and increase your capacity to experience God’s amazing love.

I’ve been in this school for a long time. I think I may have failed a few classes and been required to repeat them. I don’t always make the grade.

This past week, in fact, I was whining about God’s delays. For many months I’ve been bringing the same requests to the Lord, yet the answers seem impossibly distant. My faith wavers from calm assurance to frustrated doubt. In my weakest moments I panic and say stupid things that I regret later, such as: “I’m quitting!”

Yet when I bring my complaint to the Lord, He always reassures me. He recently took me to Isaiah 62:6-7, NASB: “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

There’s just no way around the fact that prayer requires persistence. One friend of mine even coined a phrase to summarize this painful fact: “God is in the waiting.”

Jesus told a parable about an unrighteous judge who granted a poor widow’s petition because she badgered him night and day (see Luke 18:1-8). Jesus asked: “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night?” (v. 7). Whatever request you have brought to the Lord, and regardless of how many times you have reminded Him of it, keep these points in mind as you trust Him for an answer:

1. The work of God takes time. Most people in the Bible who asked God for big things waited a long time to receive their answers. Abraham turned gray waiting for his promised heir—and he is called the father of our faith. Joshua and his remnant company wandered in the wilderness 40 years before they possessed Canaan. Hannah endured taunts from Peninnah and insults from Eli while she prayed many years for a son.

Prayer is not a magic formula. Your job is to ask, not to dictate or control. You must let God be God. You must let patience have its perfect work. You will eventually reap if you don’t grow weary.

2. Authentic prayer involves a holy process. Prayer is often compared to birth. When God gives you a promise, you essentially become pregnant with it. If you plan to carry this promise to term, you must wait—and then you must travail.

Surely this is what the apostle Paul experienced when he told the Galatians he would be “in labor” until Christ was formed in them (Gal. 4:19). We often think of the prayer of faith as triggering instant answers, but this was not the case with Paul. While God can certainly answer immediately, even with fire from heaven, frequently He asks us to carry a promise until we are mature enough to handle the answer.

3. You have a Helper who is praying for you. You are not in this process alone. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, Paul wrote, “with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). He is praying the perfect will of God, and we are invited to agree with Him. This kind of gut-wrenching prayer is messy and full of anguish; it is not formal or sophisticated.

When we truly pray in the Holy Ghost, we surrender our agendas and allow Him to pray through us. And this takes us deeper with God.

Have you ever been around a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy? She is often in a state of agitation—ready to give birth but weary of the strain. I know many Christians today who are in this same uncomfortable stage of spiritual travail. They’ve held onto promises for a long time. Some are in despair because the gestation period has been so long.

Jesus said: “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matt. 7:8). The verbs used are Greek present imperatives, meaning constant asking, seeking and knocking. Prevailing prayer requires persistence, but when we feel too weak to press forward in faith, the Spirit provides the extra push.

You may be asking for the salvation of a wayward child, the funding of a ministry, the reconciliation of a relationship, the recovery of a business, the reviving of a stagnant church or the healing of a sick loved one. Or if you are really adventurous, you may be praying for the evangelization of a city or a nation that is currently in spiritual darkness.

Keep on knocking. Don’t give up. The God who moves mountains has heard your cry. You’re closer than you’ve ever been to a spiritual breakthrough.

Bethel Church’s Chris Gore gave a healing shalom word to the parents of a severely autistic girl. Months later, he found out the incredible results of that simple word. He shares his story in this short teaching clip.

With October 31 rapidly approaching, many churches are preparing for fall festivals and trunk or treats, tried and true Christianized methods for celebrating Halloween.

But this puts a burr in the saddle of New Age expert-turned-believer Steven Bancarz. The end of the month is about much more than a holiday with pagan roots, especially for those who claim Jesus as Lord.

In a Facebook post, he writes:

The only reason we aren’t all Roman Catholic, the only reason we are allowed to actually read Bibles and keep them in our homes without putting our lives at risk, the reason we are able to worship Jesus in a way that is separated from government, the only reasons we have freedom to voice our disagreements with church authorities, the only reason we have pastors and not priests, the only reason we aren’t being burned at the stake or exiled for sharing the true Biblical Gospel is because of the Protestant Reformation that happened 500 years ago on October 31.

During this very important legislative session, AFA Action (), the governmental affairs affiliate of the American Family Association, has been educating Americans about the 60-vote filibuster rule, which is preventing the passage of conservative policies and President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“The Republican-controlled Senate is continuing to allow Democratic obstruction to block the governance of the Trump administration,” said AFA Action President Tim Wildmon. “President Trump was put into office to carry out the agenda of Americans who elected him. Major components of this agenda include the appointment of constitutional conservative judges, passing pro-life legislation and defunding Planned Parenthood.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and 29 other Republicans, however, are allowing Democrats to kill this conservative agenda. While these Republicans have the legitimate power to end this Democratic obstruction, they sit idly by and watch democrats use and abuse Senate procedures to both kill legislation and sabotage the Senate nomination process, Wildmon added.

AFA Action sent an Action Alert today to AFA’s one million-plus friends and supporters, telling them to urge their senators to “get to work” or call on McConnell to step down.

According to AFA Action, these Republicans are participating in the obstruction by taking extended vacations and blocking President Trump’s ability to make judicial appointment during Senate recess.

In response, AFA Action is suggesting two demands conservatives can make on the Senate Republican majority.

Change the 30-Hour Debate Rule

Democrats are abusing Senate procedures to maintain a sustained attack against the confirmation of President Trump’s appointments by routinely triggering a procedure requiring 30-hours of debate on Trump nominees.

According to Fox News, “President Trump has sent 455 nominees to the Senate for confirmation. But McConnell’s Senate has confirmed only 182, leaving a staggering 273 nominees twisting in the wind, and 273 empty chairs waiting to be filled. By this time in Barack Obama’s administration, 358 of his nominees—nearly twice as many as Trump’s—had been approved and were at their desks.”

McConnell called this obstruction “breathtaking,” but is doing nothing to stop it when it is within Republicans’ power to do so.

AFA Action says McConnell must consider Sen. Ron Johnson’s, R-Wisconsin, solution—the precedent established by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, in 2013 to end the 30-hour debate rule by a simple majority vote. The Republican Senate majority would then have within its reach the legitimate use of power to put an end to Democratic obstruction. Yet these Republicans have refused to lift a finger to end this madness.

End the Democratic Filibuster

The U.S. Senate has a 52 Republican majority that could pass a conservative agenda if they ended the Democratic filibuster, but 30 of these Republican senators have declared their support of the filibuster. Democrats are killing conservative legislation through the filibuster, which takes 60 votes to end.

Because 30 of the 52 Republican senators refuse to end the filibuster, getting the 60 required votes to end the filibuster is impossible. As U.S. Representative Trent Franks, R-Arizona told the AFA blog “The Stand,” “It is time for America to abolish the 60-vote Senate rule” to end the filibuster and vote by simple majority.

Democrats and Republicans alike have changed Senate precedent to advance legislation to a vote by a majority vote. Reid did this to approve President Obama’s federal appointments, and Republicans changed Senate precedent to approve Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Democrats oppose the conservative agenda America elected President Trump to advance,” said AFA Action Vice President Rob Chambers. “This agenda includes repealing Obamacare, funding the border wall, defunding sanctuary cities, passing Kate’s Law, defunding Planned Parenthood and applying the Hyde Amendment to ensure federal tax dollars do not fund abortion. What the GOP leadership refuses to admit is that they have the votes to set aside the 60-vote rule in favor of a simple majority vote. The Senate Republican majority has the potential to live up to the GOP pro-life platform, but 30 Senate Republicans insist on choosing rules and sacrificing the opportunity to save unborn lives. This Republican hypocrisy and Democratic obstruction must end now.”

Chambers also recently wrote an op-ed for the Daily Caller, detailing how voters are fed up—fed up that they chose a presidential candidate who constituted an utter repudiation of the Washington political establishment, but realizing that too many candidates chant the conservative mantra during campaigns, only to embrace the agenda of the swamp once they get to Washington. Read the entire Daily Caller editorial here. {eoa}

For more information on AFA Action, visit  or follow AFA Action on Facebook or Twitter @AFAAction.

Ah, Halloween—the holiday sure to ignite a debate no matter where you fall in the body of Christ.

Some believers think it’s totally fine to trick or treat and let their kids have a go at the candy. Others abstain completely, acknowledging the pagan roots of the celebration.

So what’s the right answer? Watch the debate and let us know.

Ah, Halloween—the holiday sure to ignite a debate no matter where you fall in the body of Christ. Some believers think it’s totally fine to trick or treat and let their kids have a go at the candy. Others abstain completely, acknowledging the pagan roots of the celebration. So what’s the right answer? Watch the debate and let us know.

To fully explain my new online channel WP TV, I need to tell you a story. It was more than 10 years ago, and I was in Redding, California, filming a relatively new school of ministry that focused on the supernatural. At the time it seemed wildly successful, with nearly 400 students enrolled. (Oh, how times have changed!) I went out there by myself with my borrowed camera in tow, filmed some testimonies and an interesting night on the town doing something called “treasure hunts” with the students, and at the end of that night, we were back in the Bethel parking lot calling it a night. As I was putting my gear back in my rental car, one of the students came up and asked if he could pray for me. Sure, why not? I guess In-N-Out Burger can wait a minute. He then prayed something that, at the time, I thought was completely laughable.

He said he saw a picture of me having my own network, where my movies and TV shows would play around the world, 24/7. It was absurd. I was in the middle of making my FIRST (and most likely my last) movie, and I definitely had no plans to make any TV shows. I was a full-time college professor, and would head back to my day job when I finished this little passion project, Finger of God.

I thanked him for his prayer, then got back in my car, not quite sure if I thought these ministry students were crazy or just misguided. Bill Johnson seemed pretty cool, anyway.

Over the following years, as more movies were made, I kept running into random strangers who would pray for me, and they’d see this crazy vision about a “network that will play your movies all around the world, 24/7.” If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it was probably around seven or eight different prophetic words over the years, all saying the same thing. Every time it seemed utterly ridiculous. I mean, what kind of a network would just play four or five movies over and over again?

And then YouTube happened.

And then I started making TV shows.

And then, while seeking the Lord on what to do next, He gave me the idea of going into everything we’d filmed together over the years, chopping it all up and pulling out stuff no one had probably seen, and making it all super simple to access. He also showed me what it could become, how I can finally have a place for all those little stories I encounter in life, miracle moments that don’t fit neatly into one of my films. A place that could be fresh, evolving, and would only focus on His heart and His kingdom. And the fact that people can now stream it through their Apple TV or Roku was the icing on the cake.

And then, after I had decided to do it, He reminded me of all those words over the years—words I had discounted and thought silly. And once again I was left in awe of how far ahead of the curve God is and how little I know even when I think I’m in control.

My guess is that many people who read this will have received similar words or promises from God, and they either think they’re far fetched or they are holding so tightly onto them—waiting for some magic bullet to come along and make it all real—that they aren’t doing the small things God is asking of them today to baby-step toward the destiny He has dreamed over them. Ultimately, God’s dreams for us are far bigger than anything we can come up with on our own, but those dreams and promises often come with a caveat of obedience. Without obeying Him in the small moments, our character will never reach the maturation it needs to be able to handle more when it comes.

I have no idea if people will want to go for this new ride with me on WP TV. I sure hope they do, as I’ve got big plans for it in the future as long as people are into it. Right now it consists of everything I’ve ever done (movies, shows, specials, extras) cut down into easily digestible chunks; a fun, new little series called Conversations; The Vault, where I’m putting stuff that’s been buried in my archives for years; and I’m starting to post about my new film as I begin to head down that road again. But moving forward, if we get enough traction, I want to start creating more exclusive content just for this channel, as well as keep putting all the new movies and shows I create on there. Maybe ONLY on there. Really, the sky’s the limit when you have your own channel.

The truth is, no matter how much I do for the Lord, and no matter how often I see Him prove Himself or do something extraordinary, He always has something else up His sleeve to delight and surprise me. And my guess is that He’s done the same for you.

And let’s be honest, He’s been doing this since time began. It’s just one of the many joys of following Him and pursuing friendship with the kindest, most loving and most creative Person in the universe.

So come join me if you will on this new journey of WP TV. It’s not Netflix, so don’t get the wrong impression. It’s a chance for you to come alongside us and support what we do at WP Films, and in the process get something pretty cool in return. I can’t promise much, but I will promise to show you as much of God’s wonderful truths as I can!

You can support us and sign up for WP TV at .

An attack on a Coptic church in northeastern Egypt, which was also targeted during the wave of anti-Christian violence in August 2013, has been repelled by state security forces stationed outside the building.

The heavy security presence outside the Mar Girgis (St. George) church in El-Arish, which had the use of an armored vehicle, helped blow up the attackers’ car. The church building was not damaged.

The group of about 15 terrorists had clashed with police during a series of attacks throughout the morning of Oct. 16, a security source told Coptic news site Watani, culminating with an assault on the National Bank of Egypt.

The attackers, who had been driving around in a green pick-up truck shouting “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the greatest) planted five bombs around the bank. Three policemen and three civilians were killed, and 17 injured during the clashes, though there is no report of the bombs being detonated.

Mar Girgis was one of many churches attacked during a wave of anti-Christian violence on Aug. 14, 2013 after the military used force to break up camps of protesters—including many supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood—who demanded the reinstatement of former president Mohamed Morsi.

Egypt’s armed forces promised to restore and rebuild churches damaged in the aftermath of the violence, but Mar Girgis—which was burned and looted—is taking longer than anticipated to rebuild, partly due to other security incidents.

In June 2016 the church’s priest, Rev. Rafael Moussa, was shot dead from a passing taxi after leading Mass at Mar Girgis. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility. He was the second priest to be assassinated in El-Arish, capital of the North Sinai governorate, since former President Morsi was removed from power in 2013.

Boulos Halim, a church spokesman, said at the time of Rev. Moussa’s killing that “the whole situation in El-Arish and North Sinai is under threat. Many people [Christians] have left”.

A string of killings in El-Arish—including one incident when a woman witnessed her husband and son being killed by a gunman who then ticked them off an IS hit-list—led to scores of Coptic Christian families leaving the city for Ismailia and Suez, about 200 km away. In March 2017 it was estimated that 70 per cent of the 160 Coptic Christian families living in the city had left.

A source told World Watch Monitor yesterday that some of the remaining Christian families are living close to St. Mary and St. Michael Coptic Orthodox church, which the military are renovating. Other families are waiting for security in Sinai’s largest city to improve before they return, the source said. {eoa}

This article originally appeared on World Watch Monitor.

Clerical robes may now come with wands. For the Colson Center, I’m John Stonestreet with The Point.

A group of secular students at Harvard Divinity school, feeling spiritually hungry and deprived of moral instruction, are turning to the “Harry Potter” series as a kind of Bible.

Their new podcast called “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text,” is described by The Washington Post as “a weekly church-like service for the secular” which seeks to draw morality and meaning from the story of the boy wizard with the lighting-bolt scar.

It’s now one of the most downloaded podcasts on iTunes, and its hosts are touring the country, drawing droves of eager young converts.

One student told the Post after listening, “I feel like I’m born again.” Secularism, according to the hosts, doesn’t “speak to [their peers’] hearts and souls.” Apparently, imaginary magic does.

Writing at The Federalist, Amelia Hamilton points out that these quasi-religious gatherings further prove that human beings are fundamentally religious creatures, and will try to fill the God-shaped void in their hearts with anything, even a children’s fantasy series. {eoa}

Copyright 2017 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Originally published at . Reprinted with permission.