There is an impending sense of urgency in this nation now, for Americans to rise up. Wars and rumors of wars; a distressed economy; the unholy indoctrination of our children in the government schools — these and so many other troubles signal our responsibility to take a stand. But before the citizens can do that, the Church must become a House of Prayer — indeed, we must become many houses of prayer.

Join others crying out to the Lord day and night.

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IFA prayer leader Nancy Rife has been a faithful intercessor for 50 years. She recently shared a word that God has given her, a word she believes is for the Church right now.

On Oct. 11, 2020, Nancy was awakened at 4:30 a.m. She sat up in bed and heard the Lord say: “Others may do what they will, but it is imperative that you raise up a house of prayer.” Immediately, she began praying: “Tell us what to do, and we’ll do it,” she told the Lord. The following month, she and her husband, Curt, both came down with COVID. A month after that, in December 2020, Curt passed away and entered into glory.

Nancy confesses to how hard it became to pray after that. She profoundly misses her husband and best friend, and she misses the spirit of agreement they shared whenever they came together in prayer. But she has not been able to shake the words the Lord spoke to her about houses of prayer. The Rife’s church home groups had not been meeting, because of COVID. Nancy began holding Zoom calls with four or five friends who were widows as she now was. They prayed together faithfully each week for their families and for other needs. Nancy had no way of knowing that this was only the beginning of the fulfillment of that word God had given her.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand … (Zechariah 4:10a NLT).

On Jan. 16, 2022, the Lord gave Nancy a vision during worship. In this vision, she was standing in the auditorium of a school building next to a church. It was dark outside. She could see dimly in the light coming from the street: The red velvet curtains on the stage begin to open, though it was pitch black behind them. Nancy wondered what all this could mean. The Lord reminded her of what He had spoken before: “Others may do what they will, but it is imperative that you raise up a house of prayer.”

In fact Nancy did recognize the building she’d seen in the vision — an abandoned school next door to Father’s Heart Ministries church, In Ishpeming, Michigan, though she lived in Marquette. A prayer group she was part of had been praying weekly for 14 years, and many of those prayers were for a house of prayer to arise in that old school building. The building was now in the midst of renovation, and Nancy knew this was the time, and that she needed to be a catalyst in the process. Even more, it was time for her to move — and not just figuratively, but also literally, from Marquette to Ishpeming.

Nancy disclosed to her pastor at Waters Edge Church, in Marquette, that God was calling her to relocate, join Father’s Heart, and help raise it up as a house of prayer. And thus, with the blessing of the pastor and the congregants, and with their pledge to help with whatever she needed, Nancy left her home church of 35 years. Waters Edge is in blessed agreement with Nancy and her heart’s mission, because its people recognize the call of God for a house of prayer in the Michigan Upper Peninsula.

Nancy’s conviction is that God is raising up houses of prayer throughout this nation. And fulfillment of this divine mission nationally may require some to relocate. In any case, this is no time to sit still; passivity will not do in this season.

Pray with Nancy Rife on Headline Prayer Live, Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 12:15 p.m. EST.

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Revival and Awakening: A Pearl of Great Price

All of this reminds me of a dream I had on Jan. 16, 2021 — one year before Nancy had her vision. In this dream, my son and I were walking to our pastor’s home. Before we could enter, we had to set aside everything we were carrying. The names of the intersecting streets were Prayer and Awakening. You can read more about this dream here.

From the Day of Pentecost as described in the book of Acts until today, Church history teaches us that if we want revival, it will be costly. Only true repentance, unity, fellowship, preaching, and prayer can revive this nation. If we want an awakening, we must understand that it will not come without a complete surrender on our part, individually and corporately. Moreover, we must become people of His presence, and people of prayer.

Nancy says the dream shows that we must let go of the past if we are to enter into what God is doing in the present. Things do seem to be accelerating spiritually; we all agree that America needs an awakening, that churches need revival, and that our nation’s leaders need personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the only hope for this nation. Now is the time to be prayed up, and if you’ve gotten knocked down in any way, don’t stay there: Get back up.

Nancy began holding those Zoom prayer meetings, and the participants saw prayers answered. IFA has launched prayer groups in all 50 states and offers many other ways to pray corporately. So how about it? Will you commit (or recommit) yourself to prayer? What can you do? Well, it all begins with your yes.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them (Matthew 18:20).

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12).

Let’s pray together here and now:

Lord, forgive us for forsaking fellowship. Restore us to right relationship with one another. Realign the Church, correctly, as You’ve always intended. We pray for a second wind for every intercessor who is battle weary and on the verge of giving up. The conflict has surely been long, and the warfare great, but You are the same yesterday, today, and forever! You are good, and Your mercy endures forever. You are faithful! You have overcome! You are victorious! — and we are victorious too, as long as we are positioned in You. You are the only hope for this nation. We choose to proclaim Your praise and Your promises in the face of all these problems besieging us. We choose to worship You and to invite Your presence into every situation, rather than worrying. We choose to be people of prayer who trust fully in You, and not to be people of panic.

We thank You that in the midst of chaos and evil, Your name will be exalted above all. Thank You for the houses of prayer being raised up now. Breathe Your life into every church prayer meeting, into every home prayer group, and into every place where people gather to call upon Your name. We pray that Holy Spirit would show up and shake all these prayer meetings as He did in the book of Acts. 

Holy Spirit, grant Your servants boldness to move obediently in what You call us to do right now. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

How are you praying for our nation? Share those prayers to encourage all of us.

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: Intercessors for America.