Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY220045A
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00:04 I want to spend my life
00:10 mending broken people. 00:15 I want to spend my life 00:20 removing pain. 00:26 Lord, let my words 00:31 heal a heart that hurts. 00:36 I want to spend my life 00:42 mending broken people... 00:47 I want to spend my life 00:52 mending broken people. 01:06 Hello! I'm Jill Morikone 01:08 and I just want to welcome you 01:09 to another 3ABN Today program. 01:12 I am very excited 01:14 about our program today 01:16 because it's all about prayer. 01:18 You know, Isaiah tells us 01:19 in Isaiah chapter 65 01:22 "Before they call I will answer 01:25 and while they are yet speaking 01:27 I will hear. " 01:30 Do you feel like God's not hearing you 01:32 right now in your life? 01:34 This program is for you. 01:36 Are you discouraged in your Christian walk 01:38 and you're not sure where to turn? 01:40 This program is for you. 01:43 Do you want to become involved in ministry - 01:45 in intercessory ministry where you, combined with 01:49 the power of the Holy Spirit, can change lives for eternity? 01:55 This program is for you. 01:57 One of the most exciting initiatives I believe 01:59 to come out of the General Conference of SDA's 02:02 is the Revival and Reformation Initiative. 02:06 And this program - United Prayer - is all about 02:10 prayer all over the world. 02:13 And I want to introduce to you 02:15 our special guest who's actually joining us from Scotland. 02:18 This is thank the Lord... praise the Lord for Skype 02:22 and that we can join in with her there in Scotland. 02:28 Her name is Adina Lupu. 02:30 And Adina, we're just so glad to have you joining us! 02:34 I'm looking at you on the monitor here 02:36 there in your home in Scotland. 02:37 And we're so glad to have you. I first met you 02:40 just over a year ago, I think it was at the global Camp Meeting 02:44 and was so blessed by your testimony even at that point. 02:49 So talk to us just a little bit 02:51 about what is United Prayer Ministry. 02:56 Thank you for having me and welcome everyone to 03:00 this program. 24/7 United Prayer Ministry 03:04 is a global movement that seeks to pray daily 03:07 for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and for the salvation 03:10 of souls. And what we do: we meet by Zoom. 03:14 We are 24 teams of prayer warriors from all over the world 03:19 who are dedicated to pray unitedly and seek to 03:24 bring salvation to others through prayer. 03:28 So we meet every day and pray for the Holy Spirit. 03:32 Amen! And you are the Europe Coordinator, is that correct? 03:36 For the 24/7 United Prayer Ministry? 03:39 Yes. So what countries does that encompass who join you via Zoom 03:43 every day? Well, this is the beauty of the ministry. 03:47 Although I am the coordinator for the Europe Call 03:50 we have participants from all over the world. 03:53 Because the ministry is a 24/7 ministry, they join us 03:59 from everywhere. So I may have participants from 04:03 the United Kingdom and from Austria, from Romania, 04:06 but also from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, USA. 04:11 People feel the need to pray and they join us 04:14 whether it is daytime or nighttime 04:17 to pray unitedly. Amen! 04:19 I'm so excited. We're going to hear her testimony... 04:22 Adina's testimony. She did not always grow up 04:25 in a Christian home, and we're going to see the way 04:27 God led in her life 04:29 and the part 3ABN played in that as well 04:32 and how she got involved in prayer ministry. 04:35 And then we're going to hear testimonies 04:38 from people whose lives have been changed 04:41 and how you can become involved in prayer ministry. 04:43 But before we do any of that 04:44 we're going to go to a song. I love the song... 04:46 this is our very own Pastor John Lomacang. 04:49 And the song he will be bringing to us 04:52 is simply called I Will Go. 05:24 Give me ears to hear Your Spirit; 05:29 give me feet to follow through. 05:35 Give me hands to touch the hurting 05:41 and the faith to follow You. 05:51 Give me grace to be Your servant; 05:57 give me mercy for the lost. 06:02 Give me passion for Your glory; 06:08 give me passion for the cross. 06:14 And I will go where there are no easy roads... 06:20 leave the comfort that I know. 06:26 I will go and let this journey be my home... 06:32 I will go... 06:37 I will go. 06:55 I'll let go of my ambition, 07:00 cut the roots that run so deep. 07:06 I will learn to give away 07:12 what I cannot really keep... 07:18 what I cannot 07:21 really keep. 07:25 Help me see 07:29 with eyes of faith, 07:33 give me strength 07:36 to run this race. 07:40 And I will go where there are 07:45 no easy roads... 07:47 leave the comfort that I know. 07:53 I will go and let this journey be my home... 07:59 I will go... 08:02 I will go. 08:05 I will go where Lord Your glory is unknown, 08:12 I will live for You alone. 08:18 I will go because 08:21 my life is not my own. 08:24 I will go... 08:29 I will go... 08:37 I will 08:41 go. 08:50 AMEN! Thank you so much Pastor John Lomacang. 08:55 I love that song: I Will Go. 08:58 No matter what the obstacles are; 08:59 no matter what the journey is; 09:01 no matter where it takes us 09:02 each one of us has that call of Isaiah chapter 6 09:06 where God says: "Who will go for Me? " 09:08 We're to respond: "Here am I... send me. " 09:12 If you're just joining us, 09:13 we're talking about all things prayer. 09:17 I love this topic! Our special guest 09:19 is all the way from the United Kingdom... from Scotland. 09:23 Her name is Adina Lupu 09:25 and she is the Europe coordinator for the 24/7 09:29 United Prayer Ministry. 09:31 And this comes to us as a special initiative 09:34 from the Revival and Reformation 09:36 from the General Conference of SDA's. 09:38 But Adina, before I look at you now... 09:40 and I've talked with you just a little bit... 09:42 but you are an incredible woman of God, a woman of prayer, 09:46 a woman of faith. But I want to find out 09:49 who you were initially and how God transformed your life. 09:54 So talk to us about your upbringing. 09:57 Were you raised in a Christian home? 09:58 Did you go to church or do Bible study as a child? 10:02 No. When I was born in Romania 10:06 at that time we had the Communism regime, 10:09 and under the Communism regime religion was discouraged. 10:13 So my parents haven't educated us 10:18 to know God and to love God, 10:20 to have a relationship with God. 10:22 However, Jesus found a way 10:24 and He used my grandmother. 10:26 She started to attend a Catholic church. 10:29 Next, she would take us with her. Me and my sister 10:34 as we used to spend holidays with them and weekends. 10:37 And this is how I became aware that there is a God 10:42 and aware of Jesus. 10:44 And part of my journey in knowing Jesus 10:48 was a beautiful event that happened when I was about 10:52 eight or nine years old. 10:53 On a Sunday when we went to church 10:58 there was this ceremony. And it was a lot of preparation. 11:02 We'd seen many girls dressed in beautiful white dresses 11:06 and getting ready for their first communion. 11:10 This is something that happens in the Catholic church 11:13 when girls of that age take for their first time 11:17 the bread and the wine as they do in the church. 11:20 And I wanted... I wanted to be part of that ceremony 11:25 not as much from what I remember 11:27 for the bread and the wine but because there was this 11:30 concept that when you did that 11:32 you became the bride of Jesus. 11:34 And this is something that amazed me. 11:37 I wanted to be at that age the bride of Jesus. 11:40 But I didn't qualify 11:43 because I wasn't part of the you know the preparation, 11:48 the lessons, and because of my family. 11:53 My parents weren't Catholics 11:54 so I didn't qualify to be part of that day 11:59 of celebration in the church. 12:01 Did you? Let me ask: did you understand who Jesus was? 12:05 Did you understand that He had died for your sins 12:07 and that you could accept salvation? 12:09 Or did you not have a concept of that at that point? 12:11 When you wanted to be the bride of Jesus? 12:14 Not really like that... not as I understand it today. 12:18 But I did understand that Jesus was God 12:21 and I wanted to give my commitment to God, 12:24 to Jesus at that time, yes. 12:27 So did they let you join the ceremony? 'Cause you said 12:30 that you didn't think you were going to be allowed 12:33 to join 'cause you hadn't done any of the classes or anything? 12:36 No. Well I wasn't even counted as part of the group 12:41 so I started to cry so loudly 12:43 that it became a big commotion in the church. 12:46 So the priest had to come and speak to my grandmother 12:49 and ask what was happening. 12:51 I cried and I said: "I want to be the bride of Jesus. " 12:55 And he had to let me go. He had to accept me. 12:59 So I was given this simple white robe by the church team. 13:05 You know, they prepared me and I very happily joined 13:08 in the celebration and I committed my heart to Jesus 13:12 as I understood then as a child, 13:14 yes, during that beautiful Sunday in the Catholic church. 13:19 So moving forward: did you continue to walk 13:23 and grow in your experience with Jesus 13:25 as you understood at that time? 13:27 Or did you fall away from religion after a while? 13:31 What happened moving forward? 13:33 Moving forward it's been diffi- cult to maintain a connection 13:37 with the church for various reasons. 13:38 One of them was because we moved away 13:41 and my grandmother hadn't joined us. 13:43 I found it difficult to go to church on my own 13:46 because by nature, I'm an introvert 13:49 and I found it very difficult to connect with people. 13:52 I tried. I did go some Sundays. 13:55 I would go last in the church and come out first. 13:57 But even though I haven't attended the church as much 14:00 I kept in my heart the knowledge that God... 14:04 God is love and God asks us to obey Him. 14:08 I was aware of His commandments 14:11 and I really wanted to follow Jesus. 14:14 But obviously going through the teenage years 14:19 my walk took maybe a separation from attending church 14:25 and following the faith. Um-hmm. 14:27 When did you move to the United Kingdom from Romania? 14:30 I moved in 2009 in the United Kingdom. OK. 14:34 So that was years later then... OK... OK. Yes. 14:37 But I may say in my 20's an event happened - 14:41 a very traumatic event happened in my life 14:44 and because I had to make some choices, 14:46 I struggled to make them. 14:47 I knew that some of them were against God's will 14:51 as I knew it in the Ten Commandments back then. 14:54 But I made them... and that led to distress 14:59 and bitterness and depression for about four years. 15:04 I was feeling so angry towards some people 15:08 because I considered that it was through their choices 15:11 that I was pushed to make my choices. Oh... 15:15 Yes. And living with that part has been very difficult, 15:20 very difficult. I tried to reconcile with God 15:24 in various ways... in the traditional way that I knew. 15:27 I thought I should go to church and light up many candles. 15:31 Or I should pay a priest to pray for me. 15:33 Or all these things that I knew from the Catholic background. 15:37 But it didn't feel that this was the way. 15:40 So I carried the burden of guilt for four years 15:45 until 2004 when God showed me the truth. 15:49 Oh wow! OK... so you were carrying this burden of guilt. 15:53 You're carrying unforgiveness really toward others 15:55 and that whole burden of that. That's painful! 15:58 So how did God then reveal truth to you at that point 16:02 and bring you out of that? 16:04 Oh, God is wonderful! 16:06 He's so wonderful in His ways... so beautiful! 16:10 I met a person on a train journey 16:13 and that person saw that I was desperate. 16:15 He spoke differently, and some- how he spoke to me about God. 16:19 I don't remember what he said 16:21 but one thing I do know he did: 16:23 he encouraged me to attend an SDA church 16:27 which was the church he belonged to. 16:29 And I did! I did! The same week, He said: 16:33 "You should go if you want to learn more about Jesus. " 16:35 I did. I took the bus, which was a 3-hour journey 16:40 from where I was. And I walked on a Sabbath day 16:43 into an SDA church. I remember even now it was 16:46 October or November 2004. Wow! 16:50 So had you ever heard of the SDA church before then? 16:52 Before the stranger had introduced you and said: 16:54 "Oh you should join or go to church? " 16:56 No, I didn't know that there is any other religion 17:00 except Greek Orthodox or Catholic 17:02 because that's all I was taught in Romania back then. 17:06 I didn't know about Protestantism 17:08 or especially about the Seventh-day Adventist church. 17:11 Not at all. So what was your experience 17:13 walking in? 'Cause that would be a little stressful. 17:16 A little frightening. Like this is a church I never 17:18 heard of before. I'm not even familiar with Protestants. 17:20 And then you walk in the church. What was your experience like 17:23 walking in? OK, may I just say at this time 17:26 I praise God for the people in that church 17:30 that they didn't look at my outward appearance, 17:34 They looked at me as a potential... as a child of God. 17:37 I must say I didn't know how you should go to a church 17:40 dressed or prepared. So I had jewelry; 17:43 I had make-up; I had jeans and a beautiful top. 17:47 It wasn't as we would go to church now 17:52 in a simple, modest way. 17:53 But I put on what I thought God would like me to wear. 17:57 And they just loved me. They invited me in. 18:00 They led me to a Sabbath School group 18:03 and I was mentored by this beautiful sister 18:07 and adopted by them. Oh, it was such a loving 18:11 experience back then. 18:14 Um-hmm. Now there's a Bible that was pivotal in this as well. 18:17 You were given a Bible. I don't think we referenced 18:19 this, but I remember this from reading the story before. 18:22 You were given a Bible when you were eight, right? 18:25 And then somehow this Bible comes back into your testimony. 18:28 Yes. When I committed my life to Jesus in the Catholic church 18:32 we were given this Bible and I kept it as a token. 18:36 I never read it. We were never encouraged to read 18:38 the Bible in the Catholic church. 18:40 But even though I moved three homes I kept this Bible 18:44 with me. So the Bible became important 18:47 because after I went to the SDA church for the first time 18:53 through the first sermon I heard that Jesus 18:57 died for our sins and through His sacrifice 19:01 we are reconciled with God. 19:03 And immediately I experienced that peace 19:06 of knowing that through the sacrifice of Jesus 19:10 I can be forgiven. All that burden that I carried 19:13 for four years, the bitterness, the anxiety, the unforgiveness 19:18 they were all gone. Gone! Absolutely. 19:22 And this is where the Bible comes into play. 19:24 Because the pastor read from the Bible 19:28 I thought: "I never read my Bible. " 19:31 "I have a Bible at home. I should go and see 19:33 what else is in that Bible 19:35 that I could find out and could change my life. " 19:39 Amen! I just want to say that's so beautiful! 19:44 I just want to encourage you: if people are walking 19:46 into your church, reach out to them with love. 19:50 Share Jesus and share the Word of God. 19:53 That is so beautiful, Adina. 19:55 Just how you discovered Jesus died for me. 19:58 Because of Jesus, I can be reconciled back to the Father. 20:01 So you went back and started reading your Bible. 20:05 And then what happened? 20:07 Yes, I read the Bible... the whole Bible. 20:09 It took me a week... I kept reading. 20:11 I didn't start because I didn't know 20:13 but I spent hours and hours reading and reading. 20:15 And I got to the Bible where I think it's in Matthew 28:1 20:20 and there it says that: "After the Sabbath day 20:24 as it dawned on the first day of the week 20:26 Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to find Jesus. " 20:31 And I realized that Sunday is the first day of the week. 20:35 So I connected that with 20:37 because I read the commandments in the Bible 20:39 where God says: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. " 20:42 And I realized that Sabbath is actually Saturday, 20:45 the 7th day of the week. 20:47 And that's when I found the 2nd beautiful truth from the Bible 20:52 which was taught by the Seventh-day Adventist church. 20:56 And I rushed back to the church the next Sabbath 20:59 and I said: "You are teaching people the truth! 21:02 I want to be a member of this church. " 21:06 Praise the Lord. That's wonderful! 21:08 So in one week's time from hearing the sermon 21:11 and then from reading your Bible 21:13 you discovered that Jesus died for your sins 21:16 and through His blood, you can be reconciled to the Father. 21:19 And you discovered that the seventh day is the Sabbath. 21:22 And those two things. And then you said: 21:25 "I want to be a member of this church. " 21:27 Yes, yes. I supposed this is the first thing that I discovered: 21:31 that there is a church that teaches the truth 21:34 and that follows the Bible truth. 21:36 Yes, I did. So I did say to the Sabbath School group 21:41 that I wanted to be a member of the church. 21:43 And they said: "You have to be baptized. " 21:45 And I said: "Yes, how do I get baptized? " 21:48 They said: "You have to learn more about what we believe in. " 21:51 "OK! " So then I studied. 21:54 Because of the distance they couldn't give me Bible studies. 21:57 Back in 2004, we didn't have phones that we have now 22:01 or Internet. So I was given this book 22:06 and I studied. I went home... I read. 22:08 I came back and I said: "Yes I am ready to commit my life 22:12 to Jesus and to be baptized in the SDA church. " 22:16 And they did baptize me only a few weeks later. 22:20 Amen. So as we fast forward here 'cause we want to make sure 22:24 we get to the United Prayer and the incredible miracles 22:27 and stories with that, did you remain energized 22:30 and excited in the church from that moment in 2004 22:34 when you were baptized? Or did other things 22:36 start to slip in the way and you have a little backsliding 22:40 experience? What happened? 22:42 I remained connected with Jesus up until 2008 22:47 just make it 2009 when I moved to the UK. 22:50 I was privileged to study at the Adventist university. 22:54 So I was blessed that way but I didn't understand 22:58 what Jesus wants to do in our lives and how to live 23:01 the life of faith. Back then I didn't understand. 23:04 I only understood justification. 23:06 I didn't understand sanctifi- cation and that Jesus wants to 23:08 give us the power to live in obedience to His commandments. 23:11 So I did slip away. I slipped away until 2020. 23:16 Oh wow! So this is COVID pandemic time. 23:19 During that time. OK. Uh-huh. 23:22 Yes, but the pandemic for me 23:25 it just brought me back into a connection with Jesus 23:29 because I had peace. Everyone around me was so anxious 23:32 and I have this peace. And I had to ask myself 23:35 "Why do I have so much peace? " And I realized that 23:38 it's because I read the end of the book. 23:41 I read the end of the Bible. 23:42 I know all these things need to happen and they are difficult 23:45 and even more difficult times are to come 23:48 after the COVID pandemic, but Jesus is going to come 23:54 back to take us home and the whole earth will be made new. 23:58 And of course, with that came the question: was I ready? 24:03 Was I ready to meet with Jesus? 24:05 And I realized I wasn't. 24:07 So I wanted to reconnect with Him. 24:09 And I think it's the angels. They just led me to the Revival 24:13 and Reformation page because I've never accessed 24:16 that before. And I got to see an invitation for the 100 Days 24:21 of Prayer. And I accepted and joined the 100 Days of Prayer. 24:24 I remember that. That's usually in January time 24:27 right at the start of the year? The 100 Days of Prayer. 24:29 Is that when that one was? 24:30 I'm trying to remember when it was. 24:32 It is at the start of the year but this time it was in March 24:36 because it started with the pandemic. 24:38 They had it at that time... yes. 24:41 And I connected with them. 24:44 I grew through the 100 Days of Prayer. 24:47 Amen. So you connected with the Revival & Reformation website 24:50 there put out by the General Conference 24:52 and started the 100 Days of Prayer. 24:55 And that was maybe the catalyst or the impetus 24:57 to start you back in your journey with Jesus 25:00 and experiencing this walk by faith. Yes. 25:03 And then talk to us... how did 3ABN become involved 25:06 in this journey? Oh, this is a beautiful story. 25:10 It was towards Autumn time, maybe October, I started to feel 25:15 a need to serve Jesus, and I didn't know how to serve Him. 25:19 And I was so troubled in my heart because 25:21 I was on my own in the home. 25:23 No connection with the church yet. 25:25 I thought to serve Jesus you could maybe 25:29 share books or maybe preach. And I wasn't gifted for this. 25:32 And I felt so so low that I just couldn't identify 25:37 a ministry that I could serve Jesus through. 25:41 And I came across a program for 3ABN which is called 25:46 Prayer Evangelism and this was amazing. 25:48 I thought: "Prayer? " I thought: "Prayer is only 25:51 before you leave home and before your meals 25:53 and a few minutes in the morning and maybe a rush at nighttime. " 25:57 I didn't realize prayer is so powerful 26:00 and is a ministry until I watched 3ABN 26:03 Prayer Evangelism program. 26:06 And not only that but there was a prayer that was prayed 26:09 during that program. And I think we would have a video of that 26:12 prayer which through that prayer God 26:16 spoke exactly what I had in my heart. 26:20 And I prayed alongside Bro. J.D. Quinn who prayed 26:23 that prayer. And it is a beautiful beautiful prayer. 26:27 If we can have it for the viewers? Absolutely. 26:31 Let's go to that clip right now. 26:32 This is I believe a Thursday night Live program. 26:34 a couple years ago. J.D. and Shelley Quinn were hosting. 26:37 I think Jerry and Janet Page were on as well. 26:41 And Jonathan Walter too, I think. It was about 26:43 prayer ministry. But let's go to that clip 26:45 and this prayer that J.D. prayed that impacted Adina's life 26:49 in such a powerful way. 26:52 Father, I just want to lift up each one of these people 26:56 that are thinking about You. Father, there's people around 26:58 the world that are calling upon Your name. 27:00 Father, we know that You hear, You see, You care, You do. 27:05 And so Father, just give us that holy boldness 27:08 to step out in faith and trust in You 27:10 and allow You to work in the behalf of not only 27:14 each one of us, Lord, but the people that we lift up 27:17 in prayer. Father, there's people around this world 27:19 that are looking for something to do. 27:22 And Father, they can become prayer warriors. They can just 27:25 lift up their friends, their neighbors. 27:27 Maybe perhaps they have a family member, Lord, that is 27:31 fighting some particular issue. 27:33 But don't let them be afraid, Lord. 27:36 Let them step out in faith and give You a chance to work. 27:40 Father, you say: "Just trust You. " 27:43 And Father, I just ask, Lord, that You will put that in our 27:46 heart so that we will boldly step forward 27:50 and be who You created us to be. 27:52 Father, each one of us You created to be a disciple 27:58 for You. And Father, sometimes we don't think that we're worthy 28:01 of that. But Father, we can start by just asking 28:06 that first request: "Jesus, help me! " 28:09 And Father, then that will create another request. 28:14 And Father, then we will see that yes, You do exist. 28:19 So Father, thank you that we can just take this opportunity 28:23 to lift up Your name, praise Your name. 28:27 Amen! That's our very own J.D. Quinn praying. 28:30 And Adina, what did it do in your heart and life 28:34 to hear that prayer? And how did that involve you 28:37 in prayer ministry? That prayer spoke... 28:42 it was just what I felt in my heart. 28:45 I was feeling worthless. I was looking for something to do. 28:49 I wanted to serve Jesus 28:52 and I prayed "Well Jesus, start with me. " 28:55 I was just crying and praying alongside J.D. 28:58 And what happened after that? 29:00 Not only three weeks after I received this e-mail from 29:05 Revival and Reformation. 29:07 And they were inviting us to join this beautiful 29:13 prayer ministry which is called 24/7 United Prayer. 29:17 This was a prayer ministry by Zoom. And at that time 29:20 it had 12 prayer calls. 29:23 And I joined the same day. I recognized the voice of God 29:27 because I knew I gave my heart to Jesus to serve Him 29:30 in prayer ministry. So I joined. I joined the first night 29:34 the South Pacific prayer call. 29:37 And I met such a beautiful family of praying believers. 29:42 I never... Can I just say I never heard in my life 29:45 people praying so earnestly, so fervently, 29:49 so lovingly for the salvation of others. 29:53 And I felt overwhelmed to the point that 29:56 halfway through the prayer time I wrote a prayer on the chat 29:59 saying: "I want this in Europe! " 30:01 Because South Pacific which is like so far away 30:05 and I wanted something like this to happen in Europe 30:09 without knowing that the teaching of the ministry is 30:13 that more people will come together and then the prayer 30:16 groups will separate and will create new groups. 30:19 I didn't know that back then 30:21 but I believe that the prayer I heard was inspired 30:25 by the Holy Spirit. 30:27 Amen! So you started that same day you prayed 30:30 and joined the So. Pacific Division prayer. 30:31 But you put on the chat 30:33 "I want to see this happen in Europe! " 30:35 And then what happened after that? 30:38 Well after that the So. Pacific prayer leader 30:42 invited me to join their team. And she mentored me 30:45 to become a prayer warrior to be part of their team. 30:51 And I learned a lot... I learned a lot. 30:53 And then she suggested that maybe I could come together 30:56 with a group from her team to launch a prayer call... 31:00 called, you know, 24/7 United Prayer in Europe 31:03 which we did... we did. It was about 3 months after 31:07 I joined the So. Pacific call. Things happened very quickly 31:10 and we did launch the Europe call in February last year. 31:14 Amen! So that would have been in February of 2021 31:17 when you launched the prayer called United Prayer Call Europe 31:19 there. That's amazing! I think, I know we have several videos 31:23 to show. So maybe set up... We're going to see a video. 31:26 I think the next one is 24/7 United Prayer history. 31:30 And this gives, Adina, a bit of the history 31:33 behind the United Prayer. Is that correct? 31:35 Yes, that's right. That video will speak about 31:39 how this ministry has been created 31:43 and will teach us, will show us where we were 31:46 at the time of the video. At that time we grew to 31:49 21 prayer calls. 31:51 But, yes, the video will explain to the viewers. 31:54 That sounds perfect. Let's go to that right now. 31:58 The pen of inspiration says: 32:00 "A chain of earnest, praying believers should encircle 32:03 the world. " For more than seven years now 32:08 a praying individual has started a journey 32:11 in kneeling down and pleading for the rain of the Holy Spirit. 32:15 As it was written: 32:19 The Lord has paved the way for this personal ministry 32:23 to expand as individuals with the same heart 32:26 and burdens joined in rallying together 32:29 for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 32:32 2020 marks the official birth of the ministry called: 32:39 With its goal to encircle the world with prayer 32:43 the Lord has manifested His great work 32:46 as He has truly expanded the ministry 32:48 reaching up to 21 different lines around the world. 32:52 This began with Adina's unforgettable journey 32:56 in 2002. 32:57 In the dream there was a telephone conference call 33:02 with thousands of people praying together 33:05 and testifying of God's greatness. 33:08 It wasn't until 2014 33:11 before the dream began to take on meaning. 33:16 God placed a desire to have prayer calls 33:20 24 hours a day seven days a week 33:23 that would be accessible to people all over the world 33:27 and in many different languages. 33:30 With this vision several daily prayer calls began 33:34 leading to the creation of 24/7 United Prayer Call 33:38 during the 2018 worldwide 10 Days of Prayer. 33:43 By God's grace the calls continued, 33:47 and there were up to 21 daily prayer calls 33:51 across this continent 33:53 using an app that not too many knew back then called Zoom. 33:58 However, every hour was still not covered 34:02 so the prayers continued that God would propel this vision. 34:08 It wasn't clear how He would answer until COVID-19 started. 34:13 Then a providential call took place across the Atlantic Ocean. 34:17 As the vision for this global prayer initiative 34:21 was discussed it was very evident 34:24 that the Holy Spirit was lead- ing. Unbeknownst to each other 34:29 both individuals had been pray- ing for a chain of earnest, 34:32 praying believers that would encircle the world. 34:36 On the heels of the conversation 34:39 many things fell into place in a very short time. 34:44 It was apparent that God had prepared the people 34:47 since the events took place so suddenly 34:50 II Chronicles 29:36. 34:54 It was decided that the ministry would be renamed 34:58 and prayer call leaders from around the world were invited 35:02 to agonize and organize for this vision to be realized. 35:07 And so it was. 35:09 24 United Prayer was launched in the summer of 2020. 35:15 Thanks to the pandemic, everyone now knows what Zoom is. 35:20 Satan meant COVID-19 for evil 35:23 but God meant it for good 35:25 in order to bring it about as it is today 35:29 to save many people's lives. Genesis 15:20 35:33 24/7 United Prayer is definitely one of the best things 35:38 to come out of COVID-19 pandemic. 35:53 Amen! I love that! 35:56 24/7 United Prayer. 35:59 So this means, Adina, 36:01 that every hour there's a different Zoom call 36:05 gathered together to pray. Is that correct? 36:07 That's correct. Every hour of the day 36:11 the Lord has blessed. And now we have 24 teams 36:14 and we meet every day. We have one Zoom link 36:18 and we have teamed together in what we call the BOILER ROOM. 36:22 I think we have an image to show the schedule 36:26 of the current prayer calls in the BOILER ROOM. 36:29 And during this... You will see on the schedule 36:33 that we have prayer calls not only in English 36:35 but we have in Japanese and Spanish, Portuguese, 36:39 French, Romanian, some of the Indian dialects. 36:43 And we do come together for prayer 24/7. 36:47 Wow! So to find that you go to 36:49 247UnitedPrayer.org 36:52 Is that correct? That can be found at that website? Yes. 36:56 247 and it's the lower third. 36:58 Thank you, team. So it's: 37:04 is the website where you can 37:05 access this and you can learn 37:07 how you can become 37:08 involved in joining one of these 37:11 prayer calls. So how has? 37:12 Adina, how has it changed you? 37:14 Becoming involved, BEING involved 37:16 in united prayer in this prayer call every day? 37:19 How has that changed your life? 37:22 It's been an amazing transformation. 37:25 It drew me so close to Jesus. 37:27 Every day there's a new experience. 37:30 I believe God as we pray unitedly, powerfully 37:34 He blesses us with the Holy Spirit 37:37 so I get to know Jesus in ways I have never known Him before. 37:41 I get to see so many prayers answered, 37:44 so many lives changed. 37:46 I think what impacts me the most is to see 37:49 the other participants growing from being a participant 37:53 to becoming a prayer leader. 37:56 And I have a testimony. I know we have a video 37:59 but I have some personal testimony that I've asked from 38:02 the team members that I work with. 38:04 Can I just say we have children in the prayer call 38:08 so the testimonies are from a young girl who is 8 yrs. old 38:12 and her brother who is 12 years old to share that? 38:17 Oh please... we'd love to hear that! 38:19 Oh, wonderful. So Abby joined our ministry 38:22 in 2021. Abby is 8 years old and she says: 38:25 "Before I used to sit and listen without participating. 38:30 It was through listening to my brother 38:33 being a prayer facilitator every Sunday 38:37 this inspired her also to join as a prayer facilitator. " 38:41 So she says: "This experience has made my prayer grow 38:45 stronger. I am no longer shy to pray. 38:48 Every time the church asks for a volunteer to pray 38:51 after the children's story 38:53 I am always one of the 1st stu- dents to put their hands up. " 38:57 So that's Abby, and she works together with her brother 39:00 Cepo to support the Europe call every Sunday. 39:04 And Cepo is 12 as I said. 39:07 He doesn't just lead us in prayer, but Cepo also 39:10 preaches to us a short sermon 39:12 and he also reads a devotional 39:14 because we have time for a devotional reading 39:16 together with Abby. Abby does that as well. 39:18 And Cepo shares about the fact that his faith has increased. 39:23 And he said: "I prayed for many things and God has 39:27 answered my prayers. " And one particular prayer was 39:29 my desire to enroll into an Adventist school. 39:33 And many brothers and sisters from all over the world prayed 39:36 and of course the Lord has provided the funds 39:40 to the parents so he can go to an Adventist school. 39:43 And you know, we have children on the call 39:47 but we have young at heart. Our most senior prayer leader 39:52 is a sister who will be 80 yrs. old in a couple of months. 39:56 And she is an inspiration to all of us when she joins. 40:00 When we invited her to be our prayer facilitator 40:05 she felt overwhelmed. 40:07 She was crying saying: "Jesus, 40:10 do You find me useful at the age of almost 80 40:15 when my voice is shaky and my memory is slow? 40:19 Can I still serve You? " 40:21 And oh, she is such a faithful prayer warrior 40:25 and supports our call and our ministry every day. 40:28 So we are grateful to witness what God does in His people's 40:33 lives. Amen! That's powerful! 40:35 Children becoming involved in prayer ministry! 40:39 Children becoming involved in sharing the Word 40:43 and those who are young at heart. I love that story! 40:46 What was her first name? The lady who was so excited 40:49 to be still used of God in her later years of life? 40:52 What was her name? That was Sr. Julie. 40:55 She will be so excited to hear herself mentioned 40:59 in this program. Well, Sr. Julie 41:03 and the young at heart that's just precious. 41:06 To me we can all be used by God. 41:09 We can all join in intercessory prayer 41:12 no matter if you're 8 years old or you're 88 41:16 or anywhere in between we can all become involved. 41:19 I love that. Let's... Do you want to go to the video now? 41:23 Or do you have more testimonies to share? 41:25 No, that was all that I had. 41:27 Yes, we could go to the video. I would like that. 41:31 Now this is a video from people who have been changed. 41:34 And they share just little snippets of their testimony 41:38 of how their lives have been changed 41:40 because of 24/7 United Prayer. 41:45 Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, 41:47 we praise God for what He has accomplished 41:49 through the ministry of 24/7 United Prayer this past year. 41:54 This ministry has been a boon to my spiritual life 41:57 and has also helped me and gave me opportunities 42:01 to pray unitedly with earnest praying believers 42:04 all over the world. 42:06 I've made such improvements in my personal devotional time. 42:10 Lord, thank you. We got cured. 42:23 God called us from you all and the Holy Spirit 42:27 impressing us into more prayer. 42:29 And we have adopted it at the GC, and God is 42:32 just working and He is changing lives around the world. 42:35 And it's Him! It's all glory to Him. It's not us. 42:38 I just praise God for what's happened; it's really exciting. 43:02 Since my baptism this is the highlight. 43:04 I am just so moved by the fact that God has praying people 43:11 around the globe, and I really feel that 43:14 24/7 United Prayer is what God is going to use 43:17 to bring revival in our church. 43:20 It's such a blessing to pray with a family, a global family. 43:24 And I can't wait for heaven. 43:27 Father in heaven, we are so grateful, Lord, 43:31 for this opportunity to come together 43:34 to seek You unitedly with all of our hearts. 43:41 Thank you so much. It's good to see all your faces. 43:44 Oh, God is good! God is wonderful. 43:46 Wonderful! We get to see each other! 43:49 That's just beautiful, yes. 43:53 That's it, everyone. Thank you. 43:55 Bye. Nice to meet everyone! 44:02 Thank you. Praise the Lord! 44:05 We have heaven on earth. 44:08 Amen. Amen. Thank you. 44:14 Thank you that You have provided stories of faith 44:17 that we will develop faith. 44:19 And thank you that You have the Word that You have provided 44:22 for us that we have become stewards of Your Word. 44:25 By Your Spirit, by Your grace 44:27 we pray that we can... 44:31 but we endure to the end. 44:33 Thank you for hearing us and every petition. 44:35 In Jesus' name, Amen. 44:49 Amen! I love to see their faces. 44:52 I love to see the joy and the energy and the enthusiasm 44:55 and the way that this ministry 24/7 United Prayer 45:01 has changed their lives. 45:03 You know, Adina, one of the things I really like 45:05 was the gentleman - I don't know his name - but 45:07 he said that "I used to ask for things 45:10 and now my prayers are praise and thanksgiving 45:13 or thanking God for what He's done. " 45:16 And I love that because so many times 45:19 our prayers become self-centered or self-focused 45:22 instead of looking outward and turned to praise. 45:25 That's beautiful. Do you see that a lot on the prayer calls? 45:29 Yes, I do see. And actually, I would like to 45:32 mention that this is a transformation that 45:34 praying daily for the Holy Spirit brings in our life. 45:39 We lose focus. We lose focus 45:41 from praying for ourselves 45:43 or looking at our needs 45:45 to just looking at God. 45:47 To be in His praise presence. 45:49 This is why I go to United Prayer every day: 45:52 just to be in God's presence and to praise Him 45:55 and thank Him and get to know Him 45:58 and be drawn closer to Him. 46:00 Amen. Now you've had some recent initiatives. 46:04 Talk to us about I Heart for Families 46:06 and 40 Days of Prayer. 46:09 Yes, yes. Of course, we part- nered with General Conference 46:13 Revival and Reformation Dept. 46:15 and we run the 40 Days of Prayer. 46:18 I think we have an image for all that. 46:20 So One Heart for Families... let's talk about that. 46:23 One Heart for Families actually took place on 10th of July 46:27 where there had been a global day of prayer and fasting. 46:30 And during this prayer we had a musical concert 46:33 for 24 hours and united prayer and we prayed for families. 46:37 We prayed for reconciliation. 46:39 We prayed for salvation of lost family members. 46:44 We came together to pray and also to listen to music 46:49 which was brought to us by another wonderful ministry 46:52 who lift up Jesus through music which is MusicMart. 46:55 So this is what we did in July. 46:57 And yes, the 40 Days of Prayer 47:00 which we had between May and June 47:04 leading up to the General Conference Session. 47:07 That's right. In the last weeks during the GC session 47:11 we had a special program. 47:13 We had Pr. Don McLafferty who met with us 47:16 twice a day and took us through the book of Acts. 47:19 And he spoke to us messages from God about revival. 47:24 And we also had Sr. Melody Mason and Bro. Gem Castor 47:28 joining us daily with updates from the General Conference. 47:32 And we could see the prayer room live 47:34 and various things that happened there about prayer. 47:37 And we were so blessed to have them joining us. 47:40 Amen! So we have just a few moments 47:43 and we're going to put up the contact information 47:45 for 24/7 United Prayer Ministry. 47:48 But talk to us, Adina. Someone's at home and saying: 47:51 "I want to be involved in prayer ministry. " 47:53 How can they become involved? 47:56 And why should they be involved? 48:00 So they can become involved by emailing us 48:03 or by going to the website. 48:05 And on the website we have a contact form. 48:08 They could write to us if they want to get involved. 48:11 But the main thing they can do 48:12 is just to join the BOILER ROOM and pray unitedly with us. 48:16 And as you start praying you will then desire 48:20 to become a prayer leader with a burning in your heart. 48:24 And why should you join? 48:25 Well I must say to you that prayer is the breath of the soul 48:29 and is the secret of spiritual strength. 48:32 And God desires for us to speak to Him as you would 48:36 speak to a friend. And this is an opportunity, 48:38 an invitation that God extends to you 48:41 to become more familiar with Him 48:45 with His will and to have your life and heart changed 48:48 through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 48:51 Amen! I love that. 48:53 Before we go to that address 48:54 as you were talking now I just thought: we have many viewers 48:58 Adina... many viewers and listeners... 49:00 who are going through things even right now 49:03 as this program is going forward 49:04 so would you have a prayer for our viewers 49:07 for our listeners maybe to encourage them 49:11 like J.D. encouraged you 49:13 several years ago when you listened to that prayer 49:15 to encourage them to become involved 49:17 in prayer ministry and intercessory prayer? 49:20 Would you pray for us? Yes, yes, let us pray together. 49:25 Precious heavenly Father, we come to You 49:28 in the name of Jesus 49:30 to thank you and to praise You because 49:33 You said that the greatest blessing that You can give 49:36 to man is the spirit of fervent prayer. 49:39 And You said that before the man of prayer heaven is open. 49:44 Lord, I know that You want to work through the prayers 49:47 of Your people so today we want to lift up 49:50 Lord to You all our viewers who may be struggling, 49:54 who may be trying to seek You, to hear Your voice, 49:58 who would like to be in a closer relationship with You. 50:02 Maybe they want to open their hearts to You 50:05 and they don't know how. 50:07 Father, I pray that You will pour out Your Holy Spirit 50:11 upon them. That You will speak to their hearts even now. 50:15 That You will bring healing Lord: physical, mental, 50:18 spiritual and that You will draw them to prayer. 50:22 That You will help them to open up their hearts to You 50:25 and as they do so 50:26 Father, lead them to 24/7 United Prayer 50:29 for even there if they would be quiet they will hear the prayers 50:34 of others and they will learn how to pray. 50:36 They will grow in prayer. 50:38 So we put these people in Your hands 50:40 in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen! Amen! 50:44 Thank you, Adina. 50:45 What we want to do now is we want to go to the 50:47 contact information for 24/7 United Prayer. 50:52 I just want to encourage you at home 50:53 no matter where you are 50:55 no matter your age 50:57 no matter your status in life 50:59 no matter your busyness or slower schedule 51:03 there's always need for prayer. 51:06 We NEED the Holy Spirit 51:09 to bless and anoint us each day. 51:12 So I just want to encourage you to become involved in prayer. 51:16 There is power in united prayer. 51:19 So if you want to join this amazing Revival and Reformation 51:23 initiative 24/7 United Prayer, 51:26 if you want to financially support the work that they are 51:29 doing and help it go and grow and spread, 51:33 if you want your own life to be changed for eternity 51:37 or the lives of those that you love and care about, 51:40 here is how you can contact United Prayer for yourself: |
Revised 2023-02-27