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Greetings all who wrestle for the Kingdom, Fire! The word fire is used as a reflection of a move of the Spirit, the fire of God consuming everything in its path and leaving a swath of holy ground behind it but that is not how we are using it today. No, the word fire this month is a reflection of one of the realities of ministry in America today. We are under fire. Cheryl Sacks in her book The Prayer Saturated Church begins the chapter on praying for your Pastor and people in leadership with a quote from Marine Lt. Col. Tom Hemingway that reads; “In physical warfare the enemy is told, ‘if you see a man giving instructions, take aim, shoot him.’”. The chapter gives a number of stories of how God has used intercessor teams to expand the effectiveness of ministry and to bring protection to Pastors and leaders. It hit me in a different way. We have had teams praying for the teacher of the day and the worship team and then through the service for over seven years. We have a prayer chain and an email blast to alert people to pray. We have seen God do wonders and miracles on a weekly basis at the “W” and I know people pray before, during and after our ministry times on Wednesday. What struck me is that we are all lay leaders and providing the prayer support for the church functions but we have not been systematic in calling for prayer support for each other in our prayer efforts. Duh. It hit home particularly hard this week because there seems to be fire coming in from a number of directions and I feel like the guy who is giving instructions and has been tagged by the enemy. If you would like to be a part of a more intense team supporting our efforts at the “W” and in our other ministry situations please drop me a note indicating that interest and we will be in touch. For those of you in the Wider Wrestling Team, or those who just like getting the Updates, please take some time to pursue prayer for your Pastor and ministry leaders. They are giving instructions and enemy agents are trying to take them out. They need your prayer support now more than ever. But also please take some time to pray for those faithful intercessors that are standing in the gap and praying. They need a covering as well. The prayers of righteous people are effective and do accomplish much so thank you in advance for your prayers. Thank God with us for these reports of ongoing effective prayer … REPORTS • A man came to the “W” and put a request in the “box” regarding his baby who went in for testing recently for cerebral palsy: They are praising God that the tests came back negative, and that the baby measured within the normal range for his age. They thank you for the prayers. And thank You Father for the answer. • A man prayed for his work place and experienced six weeks of strife free atmosphere in his work through praying with focus for peace and a removal of strife. God, You grant Your children peace when they ask. • A woman prayed for via the “box” and the prayer chain is praising God that her eye surgery went better than expected, and her sight was not affected at all. The surgery took only 35 minutes, the blood vessel had already shrunk by the time she went in, and her retina needed no work! We bless You Lord. • A man who has suffered with severe seasonal Allergies for over 20 years was talking to his Mother who asked how his Allergies were doing. He had not thought about it but told her he had not had any so it must have been a light season. Her response was that it had been one of the worst seasons for his type of Allergy in her memory. He responded “Well, God must have healed me even though I had not prayed for them to be removed” and he gave testimony to his Mother about all the healing that God had been doing in his heart and in his life. Father, we thank You for the positive result of walking in Your truth. • A woman with a frozen shoulder was prayed for and the pain left immediately and she was able to freely move her shoulder. God, You amaze us. • A woman was having issues with her family and had not spoken with her Mother in over three years. She put a request for God to begin to heal the relationship in the “box” on a Wed. night and two days later got a postcard from her Mother opening the door to reconciliation. We bless you Healing Lord. • A story came in about a son in Afghanistan who has not had any gunfire hits to his Chopper (which had been a promise to his mother in prayer that he would not be seen by the enemy). A report came in that his ship was hit but everyone was fine. As the Mother asked God about the situation she was told ‘it was a stray bullet’. When she was able to talk to her son he confirmed that it was indeed a stray bullet because they had seen the shot by an enemy combatant who fired off a round as he went down and that stray shot hit the Chopper. Father, Your hand is able to protect and we thank You. • An intercessor that is a part of the WWT met someone with the flu and prayed and the flu symptoms left as they prayed. H1N1 is not greater than You, Father. • A young woman was prayed for at the “W” in the box that she would come to Christ and within a week she had prayed to receive salvation. Now that is cool! • Another person put in a request in the “box”. We received back a note that an addiction of 13 years was broken that night and is gone. Thank You God for breaking yokes of bondage. • A woman who came to the Conference in Ionia wrote us a note; Mr. Kallman, I am the one who told you that my husband didn't fight with me about going to church for your conference ... he liked your music and is letting me play it! I was so happy... Thank You Father for a small move in this family expand Your presence in that home we pray. • A man came late to the “W” and prayed for his wife who was ill. When he got home she was better. God, You are a delight to Your children. • A man asked for prayer in a small group at the “W” regarding a friendship that had ended poorly. One of the people praying said “I think God said He is going to restore this relationship.” Two days later the man got an email where the person who apologized for his attitude and asked for forgiveness. God had shown him through a number of different people how he was wrong in his attitude and in his thinking. We serve a restoring God. • A man with back pain came to the “W” with a friend and as he was prayed for the pain left and has not returned in four weeks. Father, You are good. • A woman who is suffering from severe issues with her eyes was prayed for @ the “W” and saw a little improvement. Then she was told “take the paper to church” in prayer which did not make sense to her since she cannot read without the aid of special lighting. She took the paper and after church the thought came “look at the paper” so she did and for a few minutes she could read without special lighting. Thank You Father for this movement, now we ask for the completion. • A woman asked for prayer for a friend who had cancer. We prayed at the “W” and the report came back that she is now inexplicably cancer free. We bless you Healing Lord. • An intercessor that is part of the WWT was prompted to pray for his boss’s son (who is not a Christian and was having a migraine headache). The young man agreed but was smirking during the prayer. The intercessor said he was not sure what might happen since the young man was smirking but the response was “my headache is gone”. Father, Your sheep hear Your voice and follow You and You still heal today. • A man who has lost almost 100 pounds in the past six months and has gone from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane in that time frame was praying and God told him to join the choir at his church. He did not want to because it would meet on Wed. and thus he would not be able to continue coming to the “W”. He relented and went to choir and the choir director was blown away as she saw him walk in and walk out without even a cane. He was able to give a testimony about what God was doing in his body and in his life to the entire choir and saw why God wanted him to go. May Your name be lifted up most worthy God. • A couple needed a certain amount of money to enter into a Modification Agreement on their Mortgage by Saturday a few weeks ago. The request was prayed for at the “W” and before the night was over someone offered to donate the money needed. God, You are our provider. • Another note via Facebook; Hi Guys - last night I grabbed an OMWB CD. I really enjoy the CD. My request in the box last night was that God would heal my Achilles tendon which has been bothering me lately. It wasn't healed immediately. Later, I got to my car after W, prayed in authority for it to be healed. I arrived home 15 minutes later and it was healed! No more pain & discomfort! God is very good! I'll share this story next week at the W. God You are very good indeed. • A note came in after the Ionia Conference; Hello Ted,
<My wife> and I would like to thank you, Claudia, and the Old Man Worship Band for taking time to offer this conference. The conference was just what we needed. Our listening prayer is the best it has ever been and we expect it to get better as we work though all the noise issues that we did not understand before.
We would like to also thank you and Isaiah for Stark Raving Obedience. This is a powerful reminder as to how important it is to be obedient even when God’s request seems minor or just plain crazy. We wish we understood this importance long ago, but we are thankful that we are starting to get a grip on this now. Yet, just as we get a small grasp, it is as Isaiah wrote in your book “We should rejoice in the unknown, not because we’ll never know it, but because we’ll always have the joy of seeking and finding.”
It was very nice to see you and Claudia again. We wish you the best. Thank You Lord for encouraging notes. • A young woman was having trouble hearing God and came to the Ionia Conference. She now is seeing God move on a regular basis and is hearing Him as well. Thank You Lord. • Another Ionia testimony; "Another testimony...my friend (the firefighter) who came with on Friday night in Ionia, shared with us on Saturday that one of her requests in the box was for provision because she currently has no job. On Saturday the YMCA called her and told her they would like to help her out this season and provide Christmas for her children. Recently divorced, no job, and a fairly new believer.....You should have been there to see the glow in her face!!! Praise God again!! I Love to see what God can and will do for people, the best is the joy that they receive and the Glory that they know belongs to God!!!" Father, let it be so! • Another email "Hi Ted - thanks for the way you are following where the Spirit leads. I'm definitely missing the W even though I am newer. Taking an art class for a few more weeks. Wanted to share that since prayer conference at Res Life and coming to “W” I have been hearing more regularly from the Holy Spirit and I wanted to give praise and share that report. Prayers are with you all • A woman who has been attending for around three years gave this report @ the “W”; “I have a praise report, I am smoke free for one yr today, I had made multiple attempts on my own...then some friends of mine prayed deliverance for me ...and you know the rest of the story....Yeah! God for delivering me, for the freedom from smoking!! Yeah indeed. • Another person who was prayed for @ the “W”; "Update on Dan... his test results are baffling the doctors. There is nothing conclusive. It looked like liver cancer from Hepatitis C. His numbers are now the same as a person who is healthy; it’s supposed to be incurable. I love our great healer! He's awesome! Dan asked that we don't stop praying!!! We will not stop! Here are some additional things to be aware of as WT members;
OPPORTUNITIES:
* Please continue to pray for the staff and workers at your church. * Please pray for a city wide prayer event being planned for next April/May in GR called The Gathering * NO “W” on Dec. 30th – Mars Hill will be closed that day.
* Please continue to pray for Ted and Claudia and the OMWB as they speak and minister; * 12/27 Ted speaking @ the Sunday AM service @ Harvest Community Church in Lake Odessa, MI * Tentative Ted speaking for Intervarsity Fellowship Ferris State Univ. in Jan. * Tentative date for Spring Arbor University Chapel Feb 15th – OMWB & Ted speaking * Tentative date for a Chicago area conference @ Christ Church of Oakbrook is Mar. 19-21 The December team leaders for the Sunday Wrestling Team activities will continue to be Steve and Ruth Zwierzinski and Joe Martino. They will be “on the ground” before and during the services to assist with any questions or prayer needs that might come up.
You are appreciated and prayed for often.
Ted and Claudia Kallman Wrestling Coaches “But can we consider unusual answers to prayer to be miracles? Apparently so, if they are remarkable enough to arouse people’s awe and wonder and ... when an answer to prayer is so remarkable that people involved with it are amazed and acknowledge God’s power at work in an unusual way, then it seems appropriate to call it a miracle.” Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology We agree Wayne and see miracles every week. "Utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a power the twentieth century cannot reckon with. We are all sideliners, coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. We are spiritual pacifists, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in the heavenly places. The world cannot hate us; we are too much like its own. Oh, that God would make us dangerous!" ~Jim Elliot, martyred missionary to Ecuador “If we’re not hungry for God, it’s because we’ve filled ourselves up with something else.” Cheryl Sacks in The Prayer Saturated Church
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