“I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isa. 62:6-7, NIV).
Could we be living in a historic defining moment right now? There is what can be called ‘Defining Moments’ in a person’s life, and even a Defining Moment in a generation. I believe we are in the midst of one of those defining moments right now!
Let me tell you a narrative that takes place 40 years ago, in May of 1983, when Mike Bickle, Founder of the International House of Prayer – Kansas City, was a 30-year-old man and when I first met Bob Jones, the seer-prophet. Yes, it was in the midst of a Joel’s Army 21-Day Fast! But before that occurred, let me give you some additional personal back story of how Mike’s and my life intertwined.
Cotton Bowl Expo of 1972
In 1972, I was toggling between my great loves in music and biology research. That June, I went to Dallas, Texas to the Cotton Bowl to attend Expo ‘72, to be a part of a Jesus Revolution. And you know who else attended Explosive 72 at the Cotton Bowl? None other than Mike Bickle. He was maybe 17 and I was 19. We even rode on the same bus from Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, MO and sang Jesus songs all the way down and all of the way back!
During the final large gathering at the Expo, Evangelist Billy Graham powerfully declared a message on commitment. Mike Bickle and I both stood to our feet to dedicate our lives to Christ Jesus to full time Christian service. Holding a candle and singing, “Pass it On,” we both declared our lives were not our own, but that we surrendered all!
If you saw the newly released Jesus Revolution movie, there is a clip at the end where on the fifth night at the Expo ‘72, Billy Graham preaches. That is the very clip, when we stood to our feet in consecration. This was a defining moment in both of our lives.
21-Day Joel’s Army Fast
Fast forward to 1983, when Mike Bickle called forth for a 21-Day Joel’s Army Fast for the purposes of God. Mike Bickle was always passionate and had a gathering anointing. So I leaned into God, and I heard a trumpet sound of God. Well of course, it was the prophetic purposes of God!
So, Michal Ann and I gave ourselves to 21 nights of worship and prayer called Harvest Fellowship in Warrensburg, Missouri. Mike and his newly founded team, were hosting gatherings three times a day of worship and prayer. On the 19th night, while hosting the evening meeting in Warrensburg, I was touched by an angel. I felt it. At that point, I started moving in, and seeing words, of knowledge and supernatural activities started happening. Spontaneous healing started to occur.
Right then I knew that I was called to be a part of what was being birthed in Kansas City. And I was willing to do whatever was needed to be in the middle of it. I knew it was going to make some sad, some mad and a few glad, that I would lay everything down in order to go partner with a group of people that I hardly knew. So Michal Ann and I did just that.
During that 21-day fast, Mike Bickle hosted a leaders’ meeting in Kansas City. Michal Ann was miraculously expecting our first-born child. It was medically documented that it was impossible for us to have children. While attending this leaders’ 
meeting in May of 1983, who do we meet? None other than Bob Jones. My first meeting of Bob Jones and Augustine Alcala, Bob Jones laid hands upon Michal Ann’s stomach and prayed a blessing upon the fruit of her womb. That meeting entirely changed the trajectory of our entire life.
In May of 1983, I began traveling with Bob Jones and Augustine Alcala. We ended up moving, and turned the church we had been pastoring over to my Associate Pastor. I then became associated with Mike Bickle, Bob Jones, John Paul Jackson, Paul Cain, Michael Sullivant and other spiritual leaders. But it was this Joel’s Army Fast of ‘83 that ushered in one of the most impacting periods of time in both Mike Bickle’s and my entire lives.
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Dr. James W. Goll is the founder of God Encounters Ministries. He is an international bestselling author, a certified Life Language Coach, an adviser to leaders and ministries and a recording artist. James has traveled around the world ministering in more than fifty nations sharing the love of Jesus, imparting the power of intercession, prophetic ministry and life in the Spirit. He has recorded numerous classes with corresponding curriculum kits and is the author of more than 50 books, including “The Seer,” “The Prophet,” “The Discerner,” “The Lost Art of Intercession” and “Praying with God’s Heart.” James is also the founder of GOLL Ideation LLC, where creativity, consulting and leadership training come together.
