[Note: This word is not specifically about the Northwest, but it is a theme that resonates strongly among many of us in the Northwest as a key theme for this season. -Ed.]
Just this afternoon as I was before the Lord, I had a vision and this is what I saw. Before me as far as I could see were stones of all shapes and sizes and different colors. They seemed to be stretched out along a shore. Then, I heard the stones singing and calling out and praying. They were in unison, first one section responding, then another and sometimes all together.
"THESE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN IN PRAYER FOR OVER 40 YEARS"
The Lord told me these are those who have been in prayer for over 40 years. These he says are hidden warriors of prayer who have no faces or titles in the world. The Lord says when He asked who would go, who would labor, who would walk the path of many tears for His Kingdom - they all responded, "Send me, I will go"
At the conferences held all over the world, they are there. They are still calling out and they are sometimes passed over. Most are well over 50 years old. They are content to shout for joy while the youth are lifted up and anointed for ministry.
"THEY ARE RELENTLESS AND FIERCE IN PRAYER"
Their prayers support and call in the manifestations and visitations for their voices and hearts have been disciplined through trials and fire. They are relentless and fierce in prayer, watchers of the times, in harmony with what the Spirit is doing. They are faithful from the back rows in their churches and they stretch out their hands whenever asked. When prayed for, they are quick to fall down on their knees, to repent for the church's actions and their own.
THEY ARE ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF.
These stones that I saw have become an altar and the Lord is well pleased with the sacrifices that have been placed there. Each heart on this altar is a stone of remembrance like the altars of the Old Testament. They represent a Covenant between the Lord and these saints.
"THEY HAVE PRAYED THROUGH A GENERATION OF UNBELIEF . . ."
They have prayed through a generation of unbelief and have shaken loose the gates of hell. They have held high the banner and raised the standard of the Holy Spirit in the face of the enemy. They have pursued and taken by force the Kingdom of God and through prayer covered the birthing of revival.
So, the Lord told me to honor this hidden army of warriors as they march in from the battlefield. They may never be seen on front stage or talk to multitudes or be seen on TV, but their reward is great in Heaven for they have chosen the secret things of God as treasures. The Lord reminded me of the scripture whereby He says that the last shall be first.
They are singing now as I end this and their song is from the book of Habakkuk:
"Yet will I rejoice in the Lord,
Exult in the God who delivers me.
My Lord God is my strength;
He makes my feet like the deer's
And lets me stride upon the heights.
Vickie Manfredi, Guilford, CT, via the Elijah List