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| (April 4, 2008)
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Week of Prayer. We are a part of something huge God is doing. Each individual and group prayer slot was dear to the heart of God. We were amazed by the beautiful weather as we set up the prayer tent in the Oval, sung worship, grew in unity with our Christian brothers and sisters from different ministries, and prayed.
We closed the week with a praise party, starting at the Prayer House and then making its way to the center of the Oval. We passed off the 'prayer baton' to the University of Cincinnati. 40 students from all different backgrounds gathered to praise God and declare Ohio State in His Name! We closed with our new version of Carmen Ohio:
Oh come let's sing our Saviors praise
And songs to God our Father raise
While our hearts rebounding thrill
With joy which death and grave won't still
Summer's heat or Winter's cold
The seasons pass the years will roll
Time and change will come we know
Praise Father, Son, Spirit Hallowed!
(Followed by shouts of praise of course) JESUS!!! | | |
| We kicked off our week of prayer last night at ten with a gathering filling the prayer house. The 'prayer baton' was passed to us by students from Mount Vernon Nazarene University praying over speaker phone. The presence of God was thick as we fervently prayed for different topics, quieted ourselves, then went crazy dancing and worshipping! Students of every color filled the house overflowing crying out to the Father and rejoicing as brothers and sisters. It was an amazing blessing to see fellowship taking place with Christian students who had never met before.
"How good and pleasent it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity!" -Psalm 133
Thoughts: "God's love is just so amazing. He really dwells in the praises of His people. Today, it just really really hit me that God goes ahead of us, leading us, His army into a holy victory. Every knee will bow before our Lord. He is so passionately in love with us. He is so beautiful. He is so awesome and He is worthy! Him alone! He will have the victory in this campus. The heart of the heart of the heart! Just, Wow! What an amazing time to be alive. Jesus is coming!" | | |
| Many of you may have heard this story in the Dispatch or across the News of a group of students that helped save a man from suicide with their prayers and encouraging notes. God is making His Name and purposes known! Here is an incredible story from one of our Campus Ohio friends from Ohio University:
Hello Fellow Heirs of God! I hope everyone is well, I know God has shown me nothing but relentless patience, love and FAITHFULNESS these past months and continues to just AWE me of his Glorious Ways.
As some may have heard, this past Friday a faculty member here at Ohio University threatened his life among numerous faculty and students when he literally sat on the ledge of the fifth floor's balcony in our Baker Student Center and told people he was going to jump and end his life. I don't know if any of you have been in Baker or not, but it is a five-leveled open ceiling facility sort of like a mall, except with five floors instead of one.
He found a spot in the corner on a ledge and sat there for hours contemplating his life. Well...let's just say that not even the gates of Hell can prevail against His church. It just so happened (WINK WINK) that some fellow brothers and sisters just finished up some worship at the Galbreath Chapel right down the street and were headed in that direction.
When they realized that the Baker Center had been evacuated, they were informed by a fellow sister in Christ that some man told her that she better leave fast because there were going to be many cops there real soon. (This was the man that was threatening suicide that said this to her-she just so happened to be on the fifth floor when she realized this man was climbing over the railing while saying this to her). She told my friends what was going on and automatically they all began praying to our Jesus.
My friend Stephanie suddenly got word from God to get people to write letters of His love and Truth
so the police could read them to the man to change his mind.
They all began writing Truth and scripture to this man. My one friend said she opened her bible and the first verse that she read was Rev 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away," and knew to tell this man this. She wrote truth of Jesus' blood and how his desire is to know and heal his broken heart and be his Lord for all eternity. Towards the end of her letter she extended an invitation to this man, to come to their home if he wanted to talk and put her phone number.
After they all wrote a word from God, they attempted to tell the police God's idea to read the letters aloud to the man so he would come down. Their first initial response was "No" but then figured it was worth a try. A call for prayer was put in effect, and this man's life was lifted up to the throne room, pleading for grace and mercy from our
Lord!
Hours went by, and eventually Katie received a call from one of the faculty members who got her number from the letter Katie wrote. The lady informed her that right after they read the man the letters of God's love, he surrendered and got down. AHH Sovereign Lord! Reporter after reporter called, asking for the details on how they got the idea to write this man. Of Course, our Lord God was glorifed AGAIN. All Katie and Steph told them was Jesus Christ!! It was JESUS CHRIST! and once again, Our Lord Almighty Precious Lord Jesus Christ shows off.
Lord Jesus, we absolutely worship you Father. You're brilliant Lord, and we give you all the glory, honor and praise Father God. Lord, we're believing you Father God to draw this man to your heart Lord. We're believing you to draw the fellow students on our campuses to your heart Father God through this. Be Glorified! In your precious Holy Name Jesus, Amen.
I love you all.
In Jesus our Glorious Savior,
Holly
Check out the Columbus Dispatch for more on this story: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/10/samaritans_ou.html?print=yes
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| Leonard Ravenhill said that we Christians can cut away half
the work we burden ourselves with, if we would only pray twice as much. The
power of prayer is not a joke or a fluffy idea. The power of prayer is
tangible. Not so high that we can’t grasp it, not so far away that we can’t
find it. Scriptures says that Elijah was a man just like us. (James 5:17) When
Elijah prayed, rain stopped. If the Bible is true, then we should be able to do
that too! But it’s so difficult to believe that we have this kind of power
invested in us. It’s so hard to have faith! God, increase our faith! Can
I move a mountain, walk on water, cause a famine, overrule a demon, and drink
poison without harm? If the Bible is true, then the answer is yes. The
answer is yes because (and ONLY because) God loves us.
Satan is doing everything in his ability to stop us from
realizing who we are, because if we ever discover who we really are… we would
wield a power too great for him to contend. We are the children of God. The
Almighty God of the universe loves us. If we truly understand that, then
darkness is defeated. If we cry, Daddy comes running. If we need protection,
Daddy comes pounding all our enemies. The power of prayer is a mighty weapon.
Satan does not want us to understand its value. He uses all his cunning tactics
to make prayer look weak. He makes prayer look powerless, mundane, and tedious.
Instead of seeing the weapon as radiant gold, we see it as dull gray. He drugs
us with worthless things in order to occupy the time we could use for prayer.
In our hallucinated state we’d rather watch tv, go shopping, sleep.. than
answer the nudging in our spirit that tells us to pick up the weapon of prayer
and fight! If we are crippled in our prayer life, then we are crippled in all
the aspects of life
I am excited at what God is doing at OSU because He is
waking up His children to pray. More than ever before, I am seeing students
hunger for deeper, intimate companionship with Christ. The veil of apathy is
being lifted, and Christians all over campus are starting to say “Enough of
this spiritual apathy! Enough of our traditions and Christian events! Give me
Jesus! Stop wasting my time with repetitious programs and powerless activities!
I am tired of this ‘Christian’ living so bent upon program and procedure!
I am tired of us compromising to sin for the sake of pleasing men! I am weary!
I am suffocating! Give me Jesus! Give me Jesus!” Students are shifting…
restless… angry at the hours wasted over Christian agenda void of the Spirit of
God. Many have fallen away from the church. They say “If this is all church has
to offer, then the world gives me greater satisfaction.” How will the body
of Christ respond? Will we stiffen our upper lip and wash our hands to the
thousands who are leaving church? Will we join them in giving up? Or will admit our guilt, fall on our
knees, pick up the weapon of prayer and call upon the God who loves to
save His people?  | | |
| A message from Campus Ohio:
This past Saturday thousands of people gathered from around Ohio for 12 hours of fasting and praying for our nation and our state. The Call has been moving around the nation calling people to a solemn assembly. Some of us were blessed with the opportunity to share the story of Campus Ohio from the stage and then lead prayer for revival on college campuses! Your stories are testimony to what God has done across our state through our continued prayers and unity. Soon we will begin to plan for the 40 days of prayer for this semester. We are hoping to kick off the 40 days on March 1st!! Please pray for our leadership team as we discuss details for this year and let us know if you have any suggestions or ideas about the 40days or the kickoff event! 
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