Prayer Watch 2010

Sorry I’ve been infrequent with my blog updates. A lot of the same thing happens up here in the sense that God is continually moving and delivering and healing. That compounded with my lack of internet doesn’t promote very frequent updates. That being said, I was able to take part in a historic event this weekend. 85 evangelical prayer ministries called up IHOP (regarded as charismatic which is basically the opposite of evangelical.) and wanted to host a 66-hour prayer meeting using our prayer room. We agreed to provide the prayer room, students who are eager to pray, and the worship bands and we would let them guide us in 66 hours of intercession (praying for others). Needless to say, it was mind-blowing. To be sitting within feet of Glenn Shepherd, Dick Eastman, Vonette Bright, as well as other was phenomenal. The fact that Glenn Shepherd (YWAM) has had over 1,000,000 missionaries sent out through his organization, Dick Eastman’s ministry (Every Home for Christ) is quoted as having accidentally planting 25,000 churches as well as being on their third cycle of door-to-door preaching in India (that’s twice they’ve gone to EVERY house in India with the gospel and they’re working on number 3.), and Vonette Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ) and her late husband Bill Bright, who are responsible for so many prayer furnaces on college campuses, have a combined total of souls attributed to their ministries that is mind-numbingly large was enough. Within three hours of them being here with us, they said they wanted to pass on their mantle, so to speak, to us. They asked for all the young people to come and stand in the aisles and then proceeded to lay hands on us and pray for our future ministries and bless us. To say it was a blessing from God would be a severe understatement. It was easily the most life-changing thing I have ever partaken in. Through it, I had a few brief conversations with Glenn Shepherd who refused my thanking him for coming and blessing us by saying that it was us who were blessing him. I am currently exploring the possibility of going with him to Nepal on a short-term missions trip. It was such a blessing. For the first time in my life I felt like a part of the body of christ on a bigger scale than my home church back in Wichita.

It was phenomenal that all of these 85 organizations, as well as IHOP, could put aside their minor doctrinal issues and theological qualms with each other and band together and see the bigger picture. That it’s not about Pre-Millennial or Post. It’s not about baptism. It’s not about speaking in tongues. It’s about a world of hurt and a mandate from the living God to spread to the gospel to all corners of the Earth. That was not a suggestion, that was a mandate. It’s about the fact that one day, Jesus WILL return to this Earth (for the record, most of these 85 Evangelical ministries as well as IHOP believe that it will be within my generation or the generation after mine’s lifetime) and that we want to be the bride that He deserves and the only was that we can do that is through corporate prayer, fasting, and intercession. Christ did not ask for a body of believers that disagrees with each other, bashes each other’s view on minor doctrinal issues, but a body of Christ that can look past all of these differences and pray in unity for the burden that is on God’s heart, rather than passively praying selfish prayers. Now, that’s not to say we shouldn’t pray for ourselves, because we need all the help we can get, but we should NEVER neglect an opportunity to join together with a body of believers and seek God’s will for our church, for our city, for our state, for our nation, and for our world. God has an opinion on all of these things and He’s dying to share it with you. Are you brave enough to ask Him? This is a perfect time to proclaim this message. We are on the brink of two MAJOR event that draw the body of believers together through prayer for our communities and further. I’m not sure what order these occur in but one is See You At the Pole. There should not be one professing Christian that attends a school, or teaches at one, that does not show up for this event. What a better chance to see the professing Christians at your school so you can hold them accountable as well as to join together in your prayers as you all, regardless of denomination, pray for the same thing. For teachers, it’s an amazing way to stand before your students as a believer and open up the door to become a spiritual father to them and encourage them in their prayer life and their walk with Christ. The second event is the National Day of Prayer (there is also a World Day of Prayer but I’m not sure if that is in the fall, or when it is. Do some research). There should not be a confessing Christian who does not participate in this to some degree. Whether it’s tuning in to IHOP’s webstream as we participate and praying with us, or whether it’s looking for your city’s event. I know in Wichita they usually host a prayer meeting at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Get involved. Do not treat these events passively. If there’s anything I learned at the prayer watch this weekend it was the fact that when you pray with fervor and come together with events such as these, your prayers feel ten-times more effective, and I’m almost certain they are. It’s easy to get with your youth group and pray for your church. While these are great prayers, and God hears every one of them, there is a bigger plan on His mind. Tapping in to cross-denominational prayer meetings connects you deeply into the heart of God and His desire on a bigger scheme than you’ve likely been made accustomed to, or cared to pursue. This is a great time to change that. So that’s my call. Get out there and pray. Organize prayer meetings in your school, in your work place, in your city, in your state. Dream big and God will fulfill them in His timing. I hope God is moving deeply in all of your lives as you continue to press in wherever you may be. God will meet you there if you continue to run the race and don’t give up no matter what. God bless.

~CJ Heintz

Week 1 and then some

Well it's been almost 2 weeks wince I started my internship here at IHOP. God is showing up in mighty ways. Already he has healed me of my anxiety, insomnia, stomach issues, and depression. He has healed my heart from emotional trauma and has lavished me with the love He has for me. As I dive into His heart, He is showing me the burdens He has for the world and breaking my heart for the things that break His heart. He is showing me true hatred for sin and a true love for righteousness. As I draw into Him, He is drawing into me tenfold. I praise God for the time He has allowed me to spend here already. In the last 10 days He has done more in me than I had hoped He would do in a lifetime and He has told me this is just the beginning. He is a God who is consumed with love for me and for all of His children. He doesn't just desire to forgive us, but He desires to sit us on His lap and give us the world. As Mark says in chapter 16, "'These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;

they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."'

This is not a God who we have to beg to forgive us, it is a God who desires to lavish us with His love and to pour out His power through the use of His spirit within our lives daily. As I look at the season of life that lays in front of me, I am reminded time and time again, both by God and by the leadership here at IHOP, of the story of Mary of Bethany. She did the one thing that was necessary. She sat at the feet of God. It wasn't service or ministry that allowed her to follow God wholeheartedly, but the fact that she actively sought to cultivate a wholehearted passion for the word of Jesus. She was the only one in the company of Jesus who knew He was going to die even though he directly told His disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to die three times in scripture. I thank God that he has allowed me the finances and the desire to have a Mary heart for the next six months and I pray that He continues to allow me the time and freedom to sit at His feet for the rest of my days. So many pastors "burn out" because of their ministry. They give up time at Jesus' feet because they decide it is a waste. With the 2 hours a day they spend in prayer, they could build houses, feed the poor, serve at orphanages. While all these are great things, they are not the one thing which God has deemed necessary for wholehearted devotion. If more leaders would cultivate a Mary heart in this Martha world the life of the church would propel itself into an era that would be far beyond even what the church described in Acts experienced. This is the calling on my heart, to usher in a life of wholehearted devotion for God. To be even more tender and vibrant at the age of 50 than I am now. The "burn out" described by church leaders of today is merely a bitterness at God for not fulfilling them in the way they desired because they neglected the biggest non-negotiable thing God called them to in the New Testament. It is my hope and prayer that all of those who follow my blog would begin to cultivate this Mary heart and "waste" time in the presence of God that he might open up the doors to heaven in the church today and bring a manifestation of His glory that is unprecedented on this Earth.

God Bless,

CJ Heintz

Preparing to Leave

Well I leave Monday morning for Iowa and I still haven't even started to pack... It's been an amazing month and it's ending bittersweetly. I'm excited to begin this next phase of my life, to move on from Wichita and experience life outside of my house and on my own, but it's also a somber moment, a moment where I wish I hadn't had all those times where I took my family and friends for granted and had just taken time out to enjoy their company more. The more I think about moving up there, the more I am reminded how much we've all grown up with Courtney and Wesley getting married soon, life is changing. I praise God for this, but it's also somewhat scary and also a little sad, but I know it's a necessary part of life and we'll all stay in touch as we head out to advance God's kingdom in our own unique and powerful ways.

On that note, God has been moving mightily in my life over the past several weeks as I prepare to leave for IHOP. He blessed me with the financial means to be able to go on Desperation with the youth group at Asbury. It was a difficult trip, but I was so bless to be able to invest in those kids and watch them grow exponentially. Seeing a youth group unified by hearts crying out to proclaim the glory of God is a beautiful thing and something I'm glad I was a part of. God's really been showering me with His love lately, sometimes a little too much I think, haha. He's really been focusing on breaking me down and removing the garbage from my life as I prepare to head off for a consecrated period with Him. It's been a cleansing process but also extremely exhausting and painful. I've spent the last few weeks in close communion with the pastors and mentors God has put in my life and gained ample amount of spiritual and just general life guidance. It has been a season of immense change and growth even without the help of IHOP and I'm more than excited to see what God can do while I'm at IHOP. I will try to update again after my first week there! Hope you all have a safe 4th of July and may God continue to increase in every one of your lives!

The Beginning

For the first post I will attempt to explain what God has been doing in my heart over the last month and half and hopefully I will be able to elaborate on that as I blog about my preparation for One Thing in the next 53 days. I'd also like to talk about my hopes and prayers for what will occur while I am there to give any readers some ideas to be praying for.

It started at the beginning of April. After having a brief discussion about life with Courtney Klaver she asked about my feelings towards IHOP. I expressed how dreadful several hours of prayer a day sounded to me. She conveyed that by spending all that time in direct contact with God really lets you see how God sees you and provides healing for the areas of your life that need it. God really hit me then. The thought of seeing myself as God sees me at first terrified me. I was afraid God would see me as a kid who screwed up every chance he had and was of no use to His kingdom, but I knew that couldn't be the case, and at that moment I felt an unexplainable desire to do everything it took to find the heart of God.

The Bible refers to David as "A man after God's own heart." I don't know what David did to get that description, but it's exactly how I have felt for the past month or so. I went home the next morning and told my parents my plan. I thought they would be apprehensive, but they were overjoyed. I knew I was making the right choice for the first time in years. I had my application for Fire in the Night in by Monday. I really started to see God move in my life almost immediately. He really started to pour His wisdom and love into me and showed me that all of those years I thought he had forsaken me, he was just giving me exactly what I thought I wanted: a life without Him. As terrible as that sounds, I wouldn't have the attitude I have now about Him had I not attempted life in his absence. I now know that He is the only thing that won't let me down, and that I felt so abandoned by Him because I abandoned Him.

As I started to pray I really felt that this was where God was calling me. Then one day I got a letter saying that my acceptance to the Fire in the Night internship had been postponed. I called to explore my options, and it turns out that due to my insomnia I just needed to apply for One Thing instead, due to the day-time scheduling as opposed to the night. This is when I really started to see that God just wants me to let go and let Him be in control. I was petrified when I read that letter, but everything turned out okay, and I'm slowly learning to relinquish the controls of my life to Him and for His glory.

As I prepare for IHOP a big thing I'm hoping God can deal with is my past. I've made a lot of mistakes in past concerning decisions with just about everything you could make bad decisions with. One of the biggest things is deep emotional scars from various relationships that went bad when I was in high school. They've made me put up extremely thick walls to prevent the same hurt from occurring again, but I know that to achieve the full benefit from my time at IHOP, I need to become transparent and remove those walls. I already see God starting to remove them, but the process isn't going to be complete without a lot of prayer. As the departing date approaches, I develop more and more of a spirit of doubt. I start to doubt that God can overcome my past; that he can heal my wounds; that he can allow me to open up to people. I know this is false, but it keeps just pecking at me. I just need some prayers that I could remain faithful to His calling and remember that He is the God of the universe and that if He wills it, it will be accomplished.

I suppose this is a pretty decent first post, so I will leave it at that. I'll try to update every week or 2 before I leave just to let you all know about upcoming events that I'm planning for fundraising, as well as keep you posted on my milestones and struggles so you have things to praise God for, and thing to offer up prayers for. Thank you all SO much for you extended support. I wouldn't be half the man I am today without each and every one of you, and I know that I'm not even half the man that God needs me to be right now, but with your continued support I know I can get there. Thank you all so much. You meant the world to me. I will keep you posted!