Clarity

Monday if you would have asked me how I was doing, I would have been speechless. I resorted to answering this standard question with a metaphor.

My life is a classic novel.
I know the key events of the plot, and I know in the end that the righteous Prince wins...
However, the details which used to be meaningless are now become the essential unknowns.
I'm reading to find out the what is happening in the intricately woven story to only find that the pages are tattered, ripped, and faded.
I'm trying to read the words, and I know they are there, yet my mind can't take them in.
I try to skip around in sheer frustration to only find myself more confused.

Tuesday I threw the book out the window and sunk into the unknown - to find faith. 

The Lord washed me with the truth of His Word as a dear sister prayed Revelation 22:10-21 over me. Verses 12 & 13 drenched me like the morning mist. "Behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end"

Beloved of Christ, as we seek Him, we find Him. As we find Him, we love Him.
This makes the wilderness worth it to know He will be found, and we will only have a greater reason to love Him.

God has been incredibly faithful in this journey of prayer. Here are a few testimonies from the last few weeks
-Last month I was 650 dollars short for my payment. In frustration I was praying confused as to why the God was still calling me to intercessory missions without providing. Just in that moment I got an email from my dad explaining how he was filing taxes and felt that he should give me the money that he gets from claiming me as dependent. He then explained it was a total of 650 dollars, and he just sent it in the mail. GOD PROVIDES!!!
-One day when I was in the prayer chapel a girl came in for the first time. I felt the Father's heart for her and decided to pray about a few specific issues that He revealed to me. As I prayed she began to weep. In that moment God released her from the bondage of sin and shame that she had been harboring. The weeping was replaced with joy as God confirmed His hand in he life.
-Students have encounter the love of God through prayer for the first time. There is something so sweet about knowing that the Spirit is moving in this campus making Jesus as their first love.
-I have over heard conversations about students waking up in the middle of the night/not being able to sleep and having the random urge to pray. (hehehehe I've been praying for people to be called to the nightwatch- being pray warriors of the night time)
-Today in Chapel we had a speaker just proclaim the truth of intimacy with Christ and the love of the Father. After there were students lingering in the auditorium, a few friends and myself then began to walk around the chapel and pray for people. It was an answer to prayer to hear a message like this, and to be able to act out on this love.
-I found out I did not get a position I applied for at a church to be the Senior High Intern, but in a matter of 24 hour God provided a new summer opportunity. I will be going with Exodus Cry (an anti-trafficking ministry) to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (where my mother and her entire side of the family resides) to be apart of their Liberdade Initiative. I will be helping in the house of prayer, and potentially in ministry to the exploited.


Personally, I have been learning how sweet the fellowship with the Triune God is. When I crumble before His presence I feel most myself. I am completely broken, yet His grace makes me walk in the light of His truth. As I walk in the Spirit there I find the hope, peace, and joy my heart has always longed for. His perfect love casts out every fear.

Much love, joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit to you

January/February Update

Over the past month, I have spent more time in prayer, bible reading, fasting, repentance, and worship then I have ever before.

I have been asked, “Why are you praying?” in skepticism, hopefulness, and confusion. Honestly this question still shocks me. Prayer is the heartbeat of abiding in Christ. How are we to abide in whom that we don’t comune with? “Prayer puts on in the position to hear and understand. For the Christian, prayer is an indispensable ingredient to the proper understanding of Scripture.” (Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 85). Prayer doesn’t always result in fire falling from heaven, tear streaked faces, or powerful instantaneous breakthrough, but prayer does connect us to the heart of God. That connection, my dear friends, is the sweetest fellowship. In prayer we are bringing our circumstances and measuring them to the grandeur of the One who is seated on the throne. Prayer changes nations (2 Samuel 24:25).

A few weeks ago I was listening to a sermon by Mike Bickle. He explained how everytime he prays, he pictures himself coming before the throne of God. This throne is consumed in holiness. Thunder. Lightening. The brilliance of Christ. The living creatures crying out Holy, Holy, Holy. The elders casting down their crowns. Seven lamps of fire burning. The sea of glass. The sound of rushing waters (Revelation 4). In prayer, the veil has been torn and we boldly approach this throne, not as peasants, but as heirs and royalty (Hebrews 10:19-22, Romans 8:16-17). Beloved, if the Spirit of God abides in you, you have washed your robes in the blood of the Lamb and can confidently draw near to this throne (Revelation 22:14). In His presence we receive grace and mercy (Hebrew 4:16).

The past few weeks I have been figuring out how to divide up my 25 hours. I spend around 15 hours in the prayer room, and 10 hours with different prayer ministries. During my times of prayer I focus on praying for Chicago, Moody, and various ministries on the other campuses. I have seen the Lord change and alter hearts in this times of prayer. I often with pray along with music. Student come and go in the prayer room. As a student enters I ask for God to reveal His heart to them, and ask for Him to guide my time that I may be a blessing to them. I’m honored to be a forerunner in the ministry that God is doing at Moody. I have seen students released from the grasp of sin, rekindle their love for Jesus, and come to a deeper understanding of the Savior we worship.

Prayers for Moody would include:

-That God would be worshiped through homework

-That Jesus would be the first love on every heart.

-That Chapel wouldn't be seen as a requirement, but an opportunity to encounter God

-That the community of Moody would be marked for prayer

-That the Spirit would abound in love, joy, and peace on this campus.

-That God would be glorified in our genuine fellowship.

The Lord keeps pressing on me my need to trust Him fully for my finances. I am leaning on the body of Christ to support for my education, knowing God is faithful to provide according to His perfect riches (Philippians 4:19). I have been learning that while I abide in Him there is complete joy and peace. He is faithful to provide in accordance to His will.

Please pray for me:

-That God alone would be exalted in this calling

-That I would be able to discern whether or not to get a job along with prayer

-That the lies of the enemy would be silenced in Jesus name

-That I would be known only due to the presence of the Spirit in my life

If you are interested in supporting, becoming a prayer partner, or getting a notification when a new blog post has come up, let me know! Peace, love, and joy in the Holy Spirit be with you all

Marina