Argentina 1942

As a missionary who was frustrated with the many programmed and unsuccessful efforts to reach the lost of Mendoza, Argentina, American Edward Miller began to seek the Lord intensely, spending eight hours a day in prayer and in the Word. A decision which received ridicule from fellow missionaries who felt Miller's time would be better spent in the field knocking on doors and passing out tracks. But Miller wasn't simply being stubborn; he was hungry and thirsty for something more from the Lord. Two months passed with not one noticeable incident and Miller again began to question his own ability to follow the lead of the Lord. Then one day a knock came to the door of this praying missionary. A fellow missionary had brought his rebellious son over in the hopes that the son could be persuaded to turn from sin and give his heart to the Lord. Miller noticed an immediate difference in the boy's countenance upon the entrance into his home and recognized the convicting power and love of the Holy Spirit on this boy. Within a few moments time and to the surprise of the father the boy was earnestly seeking the Lord and giving his heart to Christ right there in the living room. The answer to the heart cry and prayers of a desperate missionary were soon being realized within his own home as these two missionaries watched the power and love of the Holy Spirit transform the life of one young man right before their eyes. Encouraged, Miller formed a small intercessory group to seek the Lord three nights a week, mostly in silence. As the weeks passed the truth concerning the selfless love of the Lord and the condition of men's souls permeated the heart's of those who were praying, and thus the spiritual air over their lives began to be altered, as the cry of desperation went up to heaven. Then the break began as people began to manifest a hunger for the Lord. People who were completely lost and non-religious began to report of dreams they had that pointed them to the Lord Jesus. Salvation experiences began to take place in people's own homes, church services grew, and new churches were begun. Reports of what the Lord was doing in the hearts of people began to fill the town and worship services became a regular occurrence. Now thousands were being saved throughout the city of Mendoza. From the town revivals sprung up a bible college where students, years later, began to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit and they too encountered the Lord. They cried out in earnest for God to save and entire country. And it was about this time, an unknown evangelist by the name of Tommy Hicks received direction from the Holy Spirit to visit Argentina. Via a miraculous set of circumstances Hicks was granted an audience with the most powerful man in Argentina, President Peron. Who himself had been out of the public eye for over two years because of an incurable skin disease. A skin disease which was no match for the touch of the Holy Spirit and the prayer of faith. Following this encounter, Tommy Hicks was granted full press coverage and free rental of a 25,000 seat stadium. And then it happened, an explosion of God's presence descended over the people of Argentina. People ran to the altar as the truth of Jesus Christ permeated the air. Soon services had to be moved to the 180,000 seat bull fighting stadium, which had never been filled to capacity since its construction. Services were held for weeks, each morning and evening with 200,000 people packing out each service. Over six million people attended the crusades, and over three million were born again. Today revival fires are burning brightly all across Argentina as the church is proclaiming Christ as Lord. Much of it is indirectly connected to the faithfulness of one missionary who was being drawn by one truth, a truth that would not let him rest until he sought the Lord and saw the heavens break loose with the power of God. And that truth was and still is, the Lord loves, people.

...know them that labour among you... 1 Thessalonians 5:12 * ...pray for one another... James 5:6 * ...the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of thee... 1 Corinthians 12:21 * ...there is one Body and one Spirit... Ephesians 4:4 * ...the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth... Ephesians 4:16 * ...I pray that they may be one with us so that the world will believe...John 17:21 * ...how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity...Psalm 133:1 "The purpose of life is companionship." *** "Worship is that form of companionship where we love on Him in response to His great love for us." *** "The most powerful drive in the human heart is the desire for companionship." *** "We inherited this drive from the One we were patterned after." *** "The difference between manipulation and leadership is motive." *** "Motive is purified and guided in the presence of God: Prayer." *** "Pride is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency, an attitude of self-entitlement and a motive for self-glorification." *** "Pride starts subtly and then turns into the aggressive enemy of real companionship" *** "The Cross and the presence of God brings fellowship (heart to heart), but the world offers only socializing (facade to facade)." *** "Every relationship has a foundation. The pride of public ministry has been a foundation for too many. At some point it consumes" *** "There is a difference between worshipping the idea that we worship God and actually worshipping God." *** "Why do we want to see prayer back in the schools, when it is no longer in our homes or churches?" *** "Corporate prayer around the Throne must return the center of church life if there is to be any hope for the masses." *** "Corporate prayer produces effective preaching, not preaching produces corporate prayer." *** "If we are so in the know, why do we no longer gather together to seek God, navigate through our haughty hearts to get a glimpse of God's heart and then pray in the lost?" *** "Christianity is not an enterprise, venture for self-discovery or political or civic organization. It is a Blood-bought fellowship of prayer focused on One." *** "Prayer-based friendships are the only ones that last." *** "Prayer-bathed friendships are not incidental to ministry, they are foundational." *** "Prayer is not a ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is the ministry" *** "It's one thing to tell somebody what we believe about Jesus, it's quite another to be able to introduce someone to our Best Friend." *** "We are more like Martha than Mary; More like Christian activists, than people of prayer." *** "We need unity in humility found at the foot of the Cross, not prideful uniformity that says: 'Look at us doing God's work'" "There has got to be a practical, excecutable strategy in place for us to dethrone the ministry of Hollywood in our homes and bring families and communities together via corporate prayer inspired by the Spirit. Technology is not the enemy; Our disobedient laziness is the enemy." ***