God moves in different ways at distinct times on His eternal timeline. Although God never changes, He has been known to vary His strategies for kingdom advancement, for healing and for revival in a nation.
As I have been praying about what some would label as “the next great move of God,” I have felt a lovely stirring in my spirit and I have clearly heard the whisper of the Father. I believe that the plan of God to usher in a fresh breath of salvation, and a mighty roar of power is going to come through the generals of the faith. Those who have lived lives of honor and virtue for the unshakable kingdom of God, I believe, will instigate this move of God.
There have been moments in history when the Lord has used the enthusiasm and vibrancy of youth, such as the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, to propel a generation toward revival. And what a revival that was! Its impact has been felt for over half of a century!
There have been other instances when the Father has used healing crusades and miracles to capture the attention and the hearts of a generation. This was true in the 1950s and 1960s with evangelists such as Oral Robert and Kathryn Kuhlman. TV programs were birthed during this movement, universities were built on the healing power of God and the publishing industry exploded with the testimonies of ordinary men and women who were physically and miraculously healed.
God is able to use donkeys, great fish, prodigals and even floods to speak to the people whom He loves so dearly and is passionately pursuing. The Bible is filled with the strategies and the creativity of God as He chased the men and women who thought they knew better than God did.
I believe that I have heard the sweet encouragement of God that this time, at the first part of the 21st century, He will use men and women of wisdom and even of advanced age to spur on a mighty move of the Holy Spirit.
We live at a moment in earth’s history when youth is celebrated, applauded and even worshipped. Young men and young women are not interested in the voices of their elders but only in the camaraderie of their peers.
Now, it is undeniably true that a young person can experience the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit even when their years on earth can only be measured in three decades or less. However, wisdom is something that is earned through a lifetime of experiences, faithfulness and maturity.
Therefore, allow me to call forth the voices of old men and seasoned women to begin to speak to a generation. If you are in your 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s or even 90s, God is not done with you yet! It is time for you to pray with power and to minister to those under your watch. If you have lived a half of a century or longer, ask God to give you dreams and visions so that you, too, will be part of the next great move of God!
“The gray-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness” (Prov. 16:31).
Your wisdom is irreplaceable, practiced and competent sons and daughters of God! Your faithfulness will set the table for a banquet so massive and so breathtaking that generations to come will find nourishment from the lives that you have lived and from the insight that you have provided for them to feast upon.
At this moment, and at this hour, mothers and fathers in the house of God must not be cast aside but they must be honored, listened to and even sought after. This may be the most profound move of God that has ever taken place among humanity and it will be instigated by hearts of wisdom, voices of experience and lives of faithfulness.
“Now also when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I have proclaimed Your strength to this generation, and Your power to everyone who is to come” (Ps. 71:18). {eoa}
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books: No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, will be released on Aug. 1. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.
To read more about the mothers and fathers of the house of God, click here for a special $.99 offer on the Charisma e-book, Heroes of the Faith.
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