Encouragement from Papa

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The worship had just finished and it was prophesy time. Veto, one of the prophetic guys got behind the microphone and said that he felt God had something to say to a few people. I kept my eyes fixed downwards, staring in solitary meditation at the floor. I wasn’t expecting God to speak to me and unlike other times I didn’t really feel I needed to. What I once needed reassurance of has become truth in my heart. Was it God’s plan for me to come to France? Yes, undoubtedly. Does He have an amazing plan for me full of great things? Yes, of course He does because I’m His daughter and He loves me. Is what I’m doing in France right now significant for the things I’ll do later in life? Absolutely and what’s great is that God’s got it all in control so now the girl who used to spend most her time worrying and doubting can relax and be happy, saying ‘Papa, I trust it’s all going to work out for the best because my life is in your hands and I wouldn’t want it to be anywhere else.’

So when Veto, the prophetic guy said my name I was a bit caught off guard and could feel my face reddening at suddenly becoming the focus of everyone’s attention. And the word was this: God is going to give me a new pair of shoes made of stardust. He has given me a gift for intercession and giving birth to things. He has given me the feet of a deer and I’m just going to keep going higher with Him.

When the guy told me all this in French I didn’t quite understand so it wasn’t until I went to him after the service and asked for a translation that I understood. And it was only sometime later that I realized just how blessed I was to have a prophesy like this. A few people came up to me in church and said how lucky I was and what a great gift it was. On further reflection during the week which followed I realized myself what a great gift it was indeed, even more so because I hadn’t been expecting it and hadn’t been desperate to receive a prophesy either. God just gave it to me because He loves me and loves to shower me with His heavenly gifts. I experienced such joy when I realized this.

As to the part about intercession and giving birth to things, I know now why I sometimes find myself with a desire to pray for a particular subject such as France or a person that I’ve just met. To be honest I don’t know that much about intercession but I know that it means praying for someone on their behalf and usually over a long period of time, just as Jesus prays on our behalf to his Father. It is something I will have to read up on now that I have been called to be an intercessor. I feel that God definitely wants me to keep praying for France and this community He’s brought me to. I think that maybe a lot of what I went through when I first got to France, such as the moments of brokenness and hopelessness were also God’s way of trying to show me how broken and hopeless France is as a nation.

I can see now that God confirmed my calling to intercession for France when I ended up talking to Rusty, one of the American missionaries, after church. Him and his wife have a heart not just for France but for the whole of Europe too and their calling is to worship and intercession. He shared with me their desire to set up teams from church and take them to different parts in Europe, one place being a prayer house at the top of the Swiss mountains and at the top of Europe. What a great place this would be to pray for France and Europe! I told him about the prophesy I’d just received and that I’d love to be a part of one of the teams. I also told him briefly why I felt has brought me here which is to help bring restoration and revival; something I’ve tried to ignore for so long but after receiving the prophesy, something in my heart made me realize I can’t deny it any longer. It was in fact after skimming through one of the other American’s Facebook page to try and find her email address and reading on her profile that God called her to France and she has a heart for revival, that I realized I was exactly the same as her and I remember thinking that it wasn’t a crazy idea after all.

Unfortunately Rusty and Janet have to go back to America now for three months before they can come back to France. I look forward to when they come back and hope I will get the opportunity to work with them in the future. Something else that I remember Rusty saying was about Eglise Josue. He told me that there’s no other church like it in France and that I can well believe. He feels that this church is going to be hugely significant, not just for France but for the whole of Europe. That only confirmed to me what I already knew, that God specifically chose this church and this community of people for me to come to. And it also made me think of something that I’d felt God say to me before, that when revival starts in France, it will start in this church.

When we got home after church and I was discussing my prophesy with Cedric and Laetitia, Laetitia reminded me of a conversation we’d had earlier in the week, sparked off by my remark that I’d never like to be pregnant because of all the nasty and painful side-effects. But Laetitia told me that during pregnancy you learn a lot of things about life and at the end of it something amazing is born and it’s a bit like that with intercession. Whilst having this conversation Laetitia had felt God was trying to speak to me through it but I’d had no idea. Luckily God made sure I heard what He was trying to tell me by using the prophesy. But I do pray a lot that God would make me open to His voice so that I don’t miss what He’s trying to tell me the first time round.

For lunch that day we’d invited a young girl called Jennifer over. I’d seen her once at youth group and I’d learnt from Cedric and Laetitia that she’d grown up in the orphanage next to school. She shared with us some of the difficult things she’s been through and is going through at the moment. She hadn’t eaten for nearly two weeks because she didn’t have enough money despite working at an old people’s home, a job which she hates doing. She told us she’d rather work in a shop somewhere but she doesn’t have a car so it’s hard for her to get places. And her phone line had been cut off after her last boyfriend had failed to pay the bills. As she was talking to us and she started to cry I felt God tell me to give her a hug. I remembered my calling of intercessor and figured I’d have to get used to things like this but for some reason I chickened out. I told myself I hardly knew her and that she might think it a bit weird. And I was kind of hoping that Laetitia might get the same instruction from God so she could do it instead but I’ve figured that Laetitia, as maternal and loving as she is towards her own children, isn’t one for giving hugs to tearful young girls. (Luckily I have Aida for that).

After totally disobeying God on the hug issue I swore to pray for Jennifer. About a week later God answered. Jennifer phoned Laetitia to say that the man in charge of sorting out her finances had offered to pay for her to have a phone line set back up, she’d found a job at a shop and had even been provided with transport to get there. And after going to Macdonalds one day, where she used to work, they’d given her all the money that they owed her, which turned out to be a much bigger sum than she was expecting. Wow! Talk about God’s blessings!

I always remember a sermon by Bill Johnson that I once listened to. When we encourage and pour favour and blessing onto a person’s life, God decides to encourage them too and pour His divine favour and blessing onto their life. I am beginning to see that happen more and more in the lives of people around me. And I’m beginning to realize just how powerful and incredible prayer is.

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