“At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:62).
As we approach the holiday of Thanksgiving in this highly unusual year of 2020, in spite of being shut in, some of us having been sick, some of us having lost loved ones, some of us having lost jobs, none of us loving to wear a mask, we still have a lot for which to be thankful! And our thankfulness makes a difference! Our pastor used to say, “I have never known an unhappy thankful person!”
We know from the book of Genesis chapter one, that the evening and the morning were the first day, so our day begins with night. We all entered 2020 expecting from the prophecies we heard to have a great move of God, but the powers of darkness also heard those prophecies and have stood up against them. We were cast into a night of a diabolical disease with “flu-like symptoms,” surrounded with a flurry of the fear of death. When it seemed that the disease was beginning to settle down, a horrific injustice created an uproar of riots in the streets of our cities.
Now we are in it too much of a hotly contested election, and the weather is bringing a new wave of the disease. The nation is in an uproar. It’s midnight! It’s time to praise!
Daniel: While Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-one days, repenting for the sins of his nation and believing God for the promised deliverance from captivity, the answer was on the way, but the prince of Persia put up a fight. Daniel’s new day of revelation began with a “night” of fighting— contending in prayer and fasting for his nation. God had given the clear word through His prophet Jeremiah, and Daniel saw it. The spiritual battle made the way for a great release from captivity.
Paul and Silas: In Acts chapter 16, as Paul was seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the direction of their journey, he had a night vision of a man of Macedonia calling for his help. They headed for Philippi, the main city of that part of Macedonia. Their first convert was a woman, Lydia. Where was the man in the vision? Then they were pursued daily by a young lady with a python spirit who accurately declared who they were. It was the right word, but from the wrong spirit. When Paul couldn’t stand it any longer, he commanded the spirit to come out of her. But the spirit of greed didn’t leave her masters! Their pocket was affected and so they brought Paul and Silas before the
magistrates with a religious complaint. Imagine that! Their economic situation was touched, but the charge they brought against them was religious, and because they were Romans, their religion was a part of their politics!
Paul and Silas endured the embarrassment of their clothes being ripped off them and being beaten publicly. Then they were put in the stocks in the inner part of the prison. On their way into the jail, they met the jailer. Was this the man Paul had seen in the vision? Their day of the fulfillment of the vision began with a night of aching agony, but they knew the secret of the Psalms: “At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.” The voice of their praises in the midst of their pain was a sound that caused the angels to respond! The earth began to shake, and everything that could be shaken was shaken! The doors were shaken open, and the chains were shaken off their hands and feet! Then Paul heard the reaction of the trailer, as he drew his sword to commit suicide, assuming that the prisoners had escaped. Suicide would be better than the punishment he would endure for not fulfilling his post.
Paul shouted to him not to do himself any harm for they were all there. And the man of Macedonia was saved and his household! Lydia’s household and the jailer’s household were the founding families of the church of Philippi. The letter that he wrote to them later makes it clear that this was his favorite church. He had prayed through in his pain in the midnight hours and the vision was fulfilled!
It’s Our Midnight Hour! Not less than seventeen trusted prophetic voices (that I know of) have declared the word of the Lord that Donald Trump would serve a second term. It’s a promise from God. It’s a prophecy with which we can war a good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18). But a diabolical antichrist system is resisting. It doesn’t make the prophets wrong, it accentuates the fact that it’s the word of the Lord, and that God’s people must arise as Daniel did, and war a good warfare in repentance and seeking the face of the Lord, holding His word before Him in the Courts of Heaven. Our praises to the Lord for his righteous judgments will shake down the demonic structures that have been allowed in this nation because of compromise with sin and allowing elections to be stolen throughout our history. Every time the weak-willed have looked the other way to compromise with evil, it has set another stack of straw in place in the demonic structure. Every time the church has welcomed freemasonry into its ranks and onto its boards, or into its pulpit, the darkness took a stronger hold, and the anointing was pushed out. Idolatry, witchcraft, sexual immorality, and the shedding of innocent blood have been tolerated by God’s people. But it’s a house of straw and cannot stand the shaking of the justice of the Lord and His fiery passion for his Bride and dream for America to be a righteous City Set on a Hill that will send the Gospel to the nations.
It is time for us to arise in the midnight hour with prayer, fasting, and praising of our God for his righteous judgments! The angels are ready to go to work when they hear the voice of the word of the Lord (Psalm 103:20)!
We shall see the fulfillment of the word of the Lord if we do our part in flowing with His Holy Spirit according to His word.
It’s Time for Thanksgiving! “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Regardless of our circumstances, we have many things to be thankful for! November 11/21 is the 400th anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower compact. What an amazing time for us to turn our hearts to the Lord and say, “Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21).
Look for things to be thankful for in this midnight hour and sing praises to our Father for His righteous judgments, and we will see Him stretch out His right arm and do wonders!
Many may not have a turkey dinner this year, but we can still be thankful and rejoice! “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
Please pray for ETH Zeny Pacleb in the Philippines, ETH Geneva Chervenic, and ETS Sunil Singh in India who have all been hospitalized with the virus. Sunil’s oxygen level is not what it should be yet.
We are truly thankful for all who have continued to stand with us this year in prayers and financial support! Please pray with us about how we are reaching people. We sent our last prayer letter to nearly 1100 people, but only 366 opened the email and only 150 actually clicked on it to read it. I wonder how many actually pray over the requests. Yet will I rejoice in the Lord!
Prayer Conference Call Nightly at 6:00 P.M. Central and Nightwatch: We are having a glorious time praying together with about 40 people each evening at 6:00 P.M. If you would like to join us, dial (425) 436-6348 and use the access code 7411925#. We are praying on that same number every night over Washington DC and our government from midnight to 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time through December 1-2. Join us as the Holy Spirit leads you.
Your handmaiden and servant,
Sharon and Philip