10 Days of Prayer Northfield, 2008.

Some Testimonies from the 10 Days Northfield 2007

Nancy Godin—

It has been hard trying to get my feet back on earth, after our awesome time with our LORD, but He has called us to live in this flesh for this time, so... on with His Kingdom work here on earth!

I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of the 10 Days of Prayer. I saw the Lord manifested in so many ways while there, and then also at the Royal Plaza Trade Center on Pentecost Sunday. 

One day, while I was praying for the Lord to forgive the people all over the world for their sin of not acknowledging Him, I just couldn't stop the tears running down my face. It was like I was truly feeling His grieving. It was an intense feeling.

I also had a similar experience the day that we were praying for the children. It was like an intense anguish.

I think that the Lord wants me to be able to let go of the stuff of the past, and just get on with His issues at hand.

He had placed a scripture on my heart about 7 or 8 months ago, and I had written it out to pray with, and these 10 days of prayer just made it come to life! Isaiah 43:18-19 "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old, behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall springforth."

Wow, closure and new beginnings in Him! I am grateful, so grateful!

He also healed me physically, with my stomach issues! Praise God!!! My doctor actually called me today, to tell me that my blood work is looking great, and that my gastrine level, is down into the normal range! Praise God!!! (It was this level that has had me going into Mass General because they thought I had a tumor in my pancreas.) Yahoo, to our mighty God and Savior who heals all of our diseases!

Also, my knee is still doing good, and I am dancing as David before the Ark! Hallelujah!

The Lord also gave me a healing in the area of my dreams, because when I was a child I used to have dreams that would come true, and it really "oooked me out," and I used to be afraid to go to sleep at night. One of the dreams I had, showed me that my brother was going to be killed and a few weeks later he was murdered. I somehow felt like it was my fault and I told God that I hated those dreams... well, during these 10 days of prayer, I was made to realize that my thinking was sinful, because those dreams were a gift from Him and I wasn't thankful for them... so I have repented, and I have actually been dreaming again. I know He has accepted my apology and has forgiven me. Now I need to read some good books about the subject so I can use this gift for Him.

Pastor Mark Friz, St. Paul's Evangelical Free Church, Saint Louis, MO.

I arrived at Northfield on Day 7 of the 10 Days of Prayer, and stayed until Day 9. I thought I had come there to pray for the church of Jesus Christ, "Toward a Greater Pentecost," as the prayer guide suggested. I never imagined that I would personally become the object of prayer.

On Friday morning, during our prayer time, I mentioned a vivid dream that I had on Sunday, May 20th. I am the Senior Pastor of a church in St. Louis, Missouri. I dreamt that our entire church had boarded a 747, and that they had asked me to fly them to the Holy Land. I protested vigorously! I was not equipped nor trained to fly this—one of the most complex airliners of our day. They did not listen. Instead, I was given a few quick lessons on flying the airplane and, before I knew it, we had taken off. Along the way, there were all sort of mishaps. However, we somehow did land safely in the Holy Land for our tour. 

The prayer team present in the room at the time asked if they could focus prayers on my ministry for a time. They asked me to sit on a chair in the middle of the room, and they began to pray over me. They quoted scriptures and prophesied concerning the work God had called me to. They said that large vehicles in dreams often had to do with "movements of God." They offered great encouragement and said that God would watch over the church I pastor.

After this prayer time, I felt very much encouraged. I have new confidence to approach sensitive issues in my church that require leadership. I feel empowered to tackle these issues, even though there is a danger that some in my congregation will disapprove of the stance that I have taken.

There were some prophecies that I doubt will be fulfilled. For example, someone suggested that I would write a book someday that will impact many people. I have no aspirations to write a book. Even so, I pray that the sermons I write on a weekly basis will, through the power of the Spirit, have a great impact.

PS--During the 10 Days of Prayer, I enjoyed the various "worship aids" employed during our prayer times. These included shofars, drums, miniature xylophones, hand pipes, globes of the world, prayer shawls, tambourines, a keyboard, guitars, and of course, our voices. I was encouraged to try more creative ideas in worship.

Mimi Caban

There were many things that happened like seeing my 9 year old jump out of bed at sunrise to get dressed and start the day!!!! That never happens at home but he was so blessed by his time with other kids and the other adults there. . . 

On Sunday, the last day of the 10 days, after we facilitated worship, Pam M and a few others were praying for a man in the back of the room. They motioned for me to come over and pray too. I was tired and chasing my kids but I went over to pray with them. I had never met the man before.

So I put my hands on him, over his heart and began speaking words over him about him having a heart of compassion, a "father's heart" for the fatherless, the orphans, the abandoned. I kept repeating the phrase over and over again about him having a "father's heart" to the point where I thought it was kind of silly (but I've learned just to flow with it even if what I'm being led to do seems foolish....) When we finished, I think I said something to him about the repetition of the father's heart phrase. 

It turns out he IS a Father! A Catholic priest!!! We all laughed and I told him I had no idea he was a priest. He was there on his first day of a week long personal retreat. So he got to experience a "word of knowledge" one of the gifts of the Spirit, from a complete stranger and we all laughed at how beautiful and personal our God is :)

Steven Sutton

Here are three ways the Lord worked in me during the ten days in Northfield: 

1. Unity - there was a degree of unity in Christ that I did not realize was possible before heaven. We all came from such widely different places and backgrounds, had differing styles and tastes in worship and prayer, and quite likely had different expectations of what the 10 days would be like, and how God would work in that time - that was all very obvious to me on May 17th. But what we had in common was the same Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; the same Word of God, the inerrant Bible; and the same hope of revival both in our churches and across the globe. It was amazing to see how God brought us into such genuine unity and harmony  in such a short time!

2. Prayer - I've realized much more than ever before the importance of frequent, earnest prayer and intercession, having done and seen as much of it in 10 days as I would normally have done in months!

3. Revival - I've come away from this with a vision of revival that I didn't have before. Before, I could see faint flickers of revival here and there; now I see that they are not just disconnected flickers of light - God is working already to rekindle brilliant flames of revival in His people, which, as He pours out His Spirit in the last days (which I believe we are in), will spread to draw millions more to salvation in Jesus. 

I can honestly say that the Lord has worked in my heart during this time to cause me to go deeper in my relationship with Him, to devote my life more fully to His service, and to be a bolder, clearer witness of His Good News (that is where I need the most improvement, but I believe it will be a natural result of the first two things, though perhaps gradual). Mention was made of keys, also, and I believe that God showed me a key to His continued work in our individual lives and our churches, and ultimately to worldwide revival. John 12:32, "And I [Jesus], if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself."

As Jesus is lifted higher and higher, it will be easier for people to see Him, the Way to salvation, without our getting in the way.

And it's a promise: If Jesus is lifted up, he WILL draw all peoples to himself - not "he might" or "he will try." So I believe that is a powerful key.

Nancy Smith

GOD has done a special and individual work in each of us. There has been a shift in my inner man in growth, strength, and a deepening of praise. I find myself awaking on and off in the middle of the night singing songs to the LORD and reciting scripture, which I hope never stops. 

There is definitely a growth when we all come together as we draw from others gifts and strengths, especially all coming from such different backgrounds. I think we all had wonderful opportunities to go to new levels in the LORD as we waited together to know HIS heart on both an individual and cooperate level.

The level of freedom and unity among us that gathered for the full ten days was incredible. We came to love, trust and respect the giftings and talents of one another.

This has truly been a wonderful and rewarding experience. I am so grateful for Jonathon calling us together. I do believe we shall continue to see and understand more of the blessings of coming together for such prayer as the days ahead unfold.

Cindy Jean

I loved it at Northfield although it was a lot busier than I expected. The greatest revelation I received was when the Lord told me "I have you in a different place now. You will be waiting with me." I have known for quite some time that my prayer partner and I should be waiting on the Lord in silence but it is a hard thing to do. But waiting with Him puts it in a whole other perspective. What a privilege and honor. I am now listening to the tapes that Rebecca gave me entitled "Waiting on God" and receiving instruction that was greatly needed and very encouraging. 

Also, about five years ago I heard the Holy Spirit say, "I am sending you to the nations" and I thought how could that be as I've never really traveled much outside of New England. I was reminded of that when I was at Northfield after praying with the Koreans. The nations are at Northfield. It is very interesting how God orchestrates all of this. 

Chung T Ha

We have just completed 10 Days of Prayer at the Northfield Campus, as part of Global Day of Prayer. Thank you for Jonathan Friz as organizer and Dave McCahon, and everyone who made this prayer concert great. A total 122 intercessory prayer warriors from Seattle, WA, Jacksonville, MS, and many New England towns attended from May 17th through 26th. Our prayers were answered as we planned and asked Him to send 120 prayer intercessors. First prayer gathering began at 5:00AM like the Korean-style, early-morning prayer at the Round Top. This was the ground zero of the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM) and D.L. Moody’s most favorite place to preach to those young college Student Volunteers. There were four shifts of three hour prayer meetings. Every one joined at least two shifts of prayer, and evening worship and prayer began from 7:30PM until all were exhausted. We saw healings, prophecies, visions, and experienced many different tongues. 

Gohree Kim

one thing i noticed within the first ten minutes of arriving to northfield was the peace. i was actually really nervous when i was about to go into the worship room because i didn't know what to expect (what everybody was doing, or who everybody was/how old people were cause i knew gohree and i were the only college kids) but i went in sat down with gohree on the floor in the corner of the room. i tried to quiet all the thoughts in my head and calm down but as the sunset light shone on my face, my muscles suddenly started relaxing like crazy and a wave of peace flooded into me. it was crazy! gohree said later that God's radiance (of peace?) was really really shining down onto us. it was really cool. 

Doug MacDougal

I loved the evidence of the Spirit's work and presence- Unity, confidence-boldness-belief, Justice and Love.

The Love and Unity were sublimely beautiful. We were blind to skin color and denomination. No one knew asked or cared about denomination. We were one in the Spirit. I hugged a saint calling her sister and another said, "Yes. I see the family resemblance." I said " Yes, we both have our father's eyes."

To whom much is given much will be required. We saw so gloriously of the kingdom that we knew all things were possible and we had to pray boldly, with no unbelief, for a great extending of the kingdom, especially for justice with love for enemies praying for the salvation of all. . .

Brothers and sisters were only thinking of each other selflessly in service and ministry. My first evening there I received several prayers for my deepest problems and desires from perfect strangers by word of knowledge. Three people were led to anoint me for ministry with the same words. You know God means it when he does that.

John Fay

When I returned home from Northfield a lot of people at my church asked me what it was like. The standard answer that I give people is that next to the day I was saved it was the best experience in my life. I have never been continuously bathed in the manifest presence of Christ, day after day, for that long in my 23 years with the Lord.

While I was at Northfield, the Lord spoke to me in several ways. First of all, I now know that I am a priest unto God. I do not mean I simply know it as a matter of doctrine, but I have a deeper assurance from the Spirit that this is my identity in Christ. Priesthood, as someone once said, is not just something we do it is who we are.

I also came to understand that the Lord desires me to think more in terms of being His bride. He desires a bride and He desires to inflame a bridal heart, a bridal way of thinking, worshiping, and relating to Him in His church today. My daily prayer since I have returned hone from Northfield is that He would inflame that bridal heart in me!

Xian Mei Meng

During the 10-day prayer, I usually attended the 6-9am and 12-3pm sections. It usually started with worshiping by praise songs, interweaved with intercessor prayers and scripture reading, then quiet “waiting” time. It involved into the singing, prayer, listening to the scripture, and quiet time. Sometime it was confession, sometime it was singing, or scripture that went into my heart, or dancing, or prayer, there was always one that helped me enter into His glorious presence and enjoy the quiet time with the Lord. It refreshed me and made me feel “eating and drinking” from the Lord (with a sense of satisfaction and gladness, I could continue other things happily.) I noticed a change since the 6th or the 7th day and a big increasing of quiet time during the last two days. The quiet time went on for around an hour after the worship songs. It was during one of those times, I began feel the flow of the Spirit/river flew over my heart, my mind, and my physical body. It immediately gave refreshment (peace, joy, energy--I don’t know how to describe it). It was gentle. It was different compare to the experience I had before while I was practicing “waiting upon God” (quiet time with the Lord) including the first several days worshiping at Northfield. I cherished it so much and wanted to have it even when I went back home. So I asked the Lord from my heart: will it be only at Northfield? “You will still have it when you go back home.”—It was not from physical hearing, nor from my feeling. It was there in my heart. I knew it was from the Lord. 

It was confirmed by the singing from “Youth Storm” on the last day (Saturday): Listen, walk this way. He is the door. The door is open. Feast in His glorious presence. The veil has been torn. Come on in, delight in His presence. Taste and see the Lord is good. He will get His inheritance.

And also the scripture: Joel 3:18 “The mountains shall drip with new wine, the hills shall flow with milk…a fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord.” (Which is the scripture wrote on the front cover of “our daily bread” for the month of May).

I do believe it is for all God's people who seek His face. I do experience after coming home. When my neighbor and I were worshiping God (usually on Wednesday morning) on the 30th of May, she saw a vision of a fountain with a thin stream flow out. 

Kathie—Prayer leader at West Congregational Church where they held a concurrent 10 days of prayer

The 10 days of prayer were awesome at West. We came together each evening and prayed. I believe that during those times, God began birthing new ideas for West Church. It was incredible. We had a group of 32 people actually make the trip to Fitchburg. We were so happy to be together united in Christ with other brothers and sisters with denominations not being a factor but our love for Christ drawing us before Him.

Then things began to happen at West. The prayer team began to pray for revival and to pray for God to show us where He wanted us to be working in West. Thus was born the "prayer walking" and the Wednesday evening prayer and worship times. Each week it has grown in numbers, although we do not despise small beginnings. I have been happy to be able to give a message each week with the blessing of our pastor and God has given us a topic that we feel is pertinent to what He is telling us has to happen before revival can take place. Of course we know repentance is the key but I have also been led to speak on "reverence" in our worship. He has shown me how the American churches together have actually become guilty of idol worship by re-designing God into a "god" that we can handle, not much bigger than we. We talked about the loss of reverence in worship and yet when we read in scripture about worship it is always accompanied by awe and wonder for an "awesome" God. We also talked about "faith" with regard to prayer. It has been awesome. People are coming together and confessing sin in their lives on a regular basis. It is so wonderful.

Now I would just like to share something with you that I believe was a prophetic message from the Lord.

Our Monday morning prayer team was in the sanctuary praying on June 18th. We were praying for guidance from the Lord to show us what needs to happen here for revival to begin and praising Him. All of sudden the doors to the sanctuary open and down the aisle comes a young man who has won the hearts of many of us here. His name is Zachary. Zachary is 22 years old. He is challenged in many ways. He, I believe, has Downs Syndrome and his speech is almost impossible to understand. But when it comes to the Holy Spirit I believe that Zac lives in His presence. Well anyway, Zac came marching down the aisle and walked up to us and in his own way let us know that he wanted to know what we were doing. We told him that we were praying for revival (I do not believe he even understood that word) and that we were asking God to show us what we should be doing. Zac began shaking his head up and down and I put my hand on his shoulder and asked him if he had something to say. He turned and walked up the steps to the altar and walked up to the pulpit. He stretched out his hand pointing out into where the congregation would be sitting on Sunday and spoke these words as clear as a bell. "Hear my word." From there he backed away from the pulpit and went to one side of the altar, dropped to his knees put his hands folded together over his head, looking upward and again in an absolutely clear voice said, "Forgive us God." We all just stood there in complete shock at what we were witnessing. I believe God spoke through Zac—telling us that we better get on our knees and repent and ask for forgiveness. 

Then Zac stood up after a couple of minutes and just walked off the altar and back out the doors of the sanctuary.

You know sometimes we pray and we pray without faith, we never see God's hand or answer.

This was an example of how God answers prayers and it was a powerful witness of how God can use anyone or anything to make His will known.

I believe that God spoke through Zac because of his pureness. Zac worships on Sundays like no one else is in the sanctuary but him and the Lord. We have a lot to learn.

Praise the Lord.