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WASHINGTON STRATEGIC PRAYER ALERT PLUS HISTORY ARTICLE LONG

PRAYER FOCUS AND BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF WASHINGTON, DC
by Sandy Grady
Apostolic Coordinator for Washington DC and the USSPN National Apostolic Council

via PAM CLARK'S NEWSLETTER:

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PROPHETIC WORD

Five years ago, Rick Ridings gave a prophetic word over Washington DC concerning the “nutcracker.” On March 28, he came from Jerusalem to give another prophetic word over the city. Here are some excerpts from that prophecy:

“And the Lord would say to His intercessors in Washington and to His intercessors that the next three months are very key…it will set direction for the city and for this nation for years to come…the enemy is trying to bring the hard shell back over Washington in the next three months, and it’s important to guard the gates. He says to the intercessors, know the gate that you are assigned to and help guard that gate. For the enemy is going to try to come back into this city with a spirit of death…stand even as Esther and Mordecai…During times of fasting, you will begin to get direction to help close the doors to the enemy and help push back this overwhelming flood of evil that is trying to come into the gates of DC.

It is a season for travailing prayer because it is a pivotal time for the future of this city and nation…In the hidden and dark places, plans are being laid to shift this city into its hard shell and darkness, but it is not inevitable. It depends upon my intercessors crying out to Me…the enemy knows that it’s harvest time in Washington…And the Lord is saying to battle for the harvest and don’t let the enemy cut the harvest short. But it’s time not only to pray about the physical abortions, but also about the spiritual abortions that have been happening in the city. (Pray) for the Spirit of the sons of Issachar to know the times and to know the seasons, and to know when it’s time to rally the troops for a particular intensive battle. Let this (Capitol) Hill become a Holy Hill.”

DECLARE with us according to Isaiah 28:5-6 and Joshua 1:5-9 that:

We are strong and courageous in turning the battle at the gates.
Washington DC is in the midst of a turn to God and in a victorious battle.

The Lord breaks through the enemies arrayed against the church and the city in DC.

The Lord of the Breakthrough is our source of strength and our victory.

The plan of the enemy is broken in Washington DC.

And DECLARE with us from Nehemiah 4:7-9, 4:14-18, and 6:15 that:

A wall of protection is being build around our nation’s capital.
God’s plan of order is established in the city and prevents attacks.

The people of God are alert, watching, and preparing while they labor.

The covenant of death formed against this city is broken and cancelled.

The hard shell the enemy is preparing turns to an open heaven over the city.

OTHER FACTS AND PRAYER ISSUES:
* The DC school system is the scene of frequent crimes, including murder. The overall scholastic achievement levels remain low. There is infighting among the DC leaders as to who should even head up the school system as the schools remain in a chaotic state. Pray that our DC leaders will become united and be open to receive the Lord’s Wisdom and Counsel for a Godly solution (Proverbs l: 3-7).

* The DC water has been deemed unsafe to drink with test results throughout the city showing high lead content. Pray for a cleansing of the physical and spiritual water and land in the city and area (Song of Solomon 4:15).

* Statistics for the number of AIDS cases in DC is extremely high, as well as for human trafficking. Pray for the root causes to be uncovered, dismantled, and eliminated and for the victims to receive spiritual and physical healing (Psalm 103:3-4).

* The poverty level in DC is 20% with a 13% unemployment rate. The rich-poor ratio is widening. Pray for hope to arise, for appropriate job training, and for resources to become available (Psalm 33:18-22).

* There are 26,000+ households without fathers in DC. Pray for an invasion of the Father’s heart in these homes and for healing in the families (Malachi 4:6).

* Thousands of workers in DC spend one to three hours in daily transportation. The average worker travels thirty miles one way. Pray for a safe and orderly workable system for our highways, rail and trucking systems, bus systems, and airports as the terrorist alerts remain high (Psalm 91).

* Pray against the increasing spirits of division and slander occurring in our political system in DC during this election year. May we listen to the Spirit of Truth to guide us in knowledge and counsel in supporting and voting for just and righteous candidates (II Samuel 23:2-4).

A PRAYER FOR WASHINGTON, DC

John Adams gave the first Presidential speech in our present Capitol on November 22, 1800 to a joint-session of Congress. In it, he offered a prayer for this city. According to the Records of Congress, John Adams prayed:

May this territory of Washington DC be the residence of virtue and happiness! In this city, may that piety and virtue, that wisdom and magnanimity, that constancy and self-government which adorned the great character whose name it bears, be forever held in veneration! Here and throughout our country, may simple manners, pure morals, and true religion flourish forever!

A SHORT HISTORY OF WASHINGTON, DC

The Nacotchtanke tribe, part of the Piscataway nation, lived in the Washington DC area for centuries before the Europeans arrived. They occupied the peninsula area between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay including Anacostia, a name derived from an Indian word meaning village trading center. Now a part of DC, it was known as a center for trading, fishing and agriculture for tribes in all the Eastern US.

In time, the Nacotchtankers were driven off their land by the English to points north and west and either died of sickness or integrated with other tribes. In the late 1600s, the land was settled by white farmers and plantation owners. There was an abundance of slave labor for their primary crop of tobacco. But soon, the one-crop farming depleted the once fertile soil. They were forced to diversify to corn, wheat, fishing, and commercial construction.

George Washington chose the present site of our Capital city which was formerly part of Maryland and Virginia. By an act of Congress in 1791, it became federal land known as the ten-mile square District of Columbia. French artist-architect Major Charles L’Enfant was hired to plan the physical layout of the city. Building of the White House began in 1792 and the Capitol in 1793. Slaves formed the bulk of the early work force for the construction of the federal buildings.

In 1800, the federal government moved from Philadelphia to Washington. John Adams was the first White House occupant, but Jefferson was the first President inaugurated at the Capitol. At that time, the population of DC was 10,000 whites, 800 free blacks, and 3,200 slaves. There were 126 federal employees. It remained a small city with only 52,000 in 1850.

During the War of 1812, (in 1814), English troops burned the Capitol, White House, Treasury and War buildings and other federal buildings. Then occurred the worst windstorm in the memory of those living in DC. The storm, accompanied by heavy rains, helped to put out the fires. The British left town, reconstruction began on the city and was finished by 1819.

Much of Washington’s growth has taken place during times of calamity. During the Civil War (1861-1865), the District’s population doubled from 60,000 to over 120,000. Thousands of Union troops came to DC to protect government buildings from destruction by the Confederate Army.

There were over fifty hospitals used to care for the wounded. Many came to fulfill government positions and to help the war efforts. Others came to establish new businesses. After the war, thousands of newly freed blacks came to join the thousands of freed slaves already living here, tripling the black population. This was a town where many slaves had labored and saved enough money to purchase their freedom.

Great population growth during the Reconstruction Period brought housing and water shortages. “Alley houses” were common types of homes for the less fortunate, creating a slum environment. Separate public schools were established for whites and blacks in 1862 with only one school for blacks in the whole city. Through the ingenious plans of the Freedmen’s Bureau in DC, made up of blacks, money was raised for the construction of black housing and funding for education. One such funding plan was for the building of Howard University.

The local DC government was run by a territorial government in the 1870s and then by three officials appointed by the President. As the federal government continued to grow, so did the population of Washington. It reached a peak of 800,000 in 1950 and then declined to the present population of 572,000 as the suburban population began to increase.

In 1963, Washingtonians were given the right to vote for the President of the US. In 1970, they were given the right to elect a representative to Congress. In 1973, Congress gave Washingtonians the right to elect local officials for the first time in one hundred years. The present mayor is Anthony Williams and the Representative to Congress is Eleanor Holmes Norton. DC license plates read “Taxation without Representation.” Because DC is a federal district, the Representative cannot vote on the House floor.

The first church in DC was literally the US Capitol, established by an act of Congress in 1801. The Treasury and War Department also served as churches during this time, as designated by President Thomas Jefferson. The military bands supplied the church music. The Capitol was the largest attended church in the area (over 2,000) well up into the late 1800s. Several Georgetown churches experienced revival just prior to the Civil War, and in the early 1900s there was an outpouring of the Spirit in several DC churches following the Azusa Street revival.

Pray that we would again see an outpouring of the Spirit of the living God in every avenue, in every governmental department, in every visitor to and citizen of our nation’s Capital, in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER UPDATE FROM ISRAEL

1. THANKSGIVING FOR PROTECTION DURING PASSOVER.

Thank you for your prayers for Israel's protection during these weeks leading up to and during the recent Passover holidays. During this time, Israeli security officials say that at least five major attacks were prevented, including three suicide attacks. In one case, a Muslim woman was forced to attempt a suicide attack after having allegedly been discovered cheating on her husband. She was planning to blow herself up in Tel Aviv in order to "clear her name." Another planned "triple attack" on a city was to have involved Palestinians disguised as soldiers. And still another bombing was to have had the explosives tainted with HIV-infected blood so as to infect those injured but not killed by the blast. We praise the Lord that these and other evil schemes were thwarted--and Israel has come through one of her most vulnerable holiday periods being spared much which was set against her. We are grateful for having been covered by His hand.

In the mean time, the plots continue. Intelligence reports indicate that there are presently plans afoot to perpetrate a major attack on or surrounding Israel's up-coming Independence Day on April 27th. Our times are in His hands. "Redeem Israel, O God, from all his troubles" (Psalm 25:22).

PLEASE PRAY:

* Thanksgiving for the protection which has been afforded Israel during this Passover season.
* For continued unveiling of hidden plots--for success and efficiency in Israel's intelligence and security forces.

* Confusion in the camp of the enemy.

* Wisdom amongst Israeli officials in determining when to "open" the Palestinian cities. When Israel closes off these areas, hardships amongst the Arab citizens within are rife. Yet, as soon as she eases restrictions, attackers stream out on their deadly missions.

* For the advancement of men and women in Israel's intelligence, security and military forces who look to Israel's God for assistance in carrying out their tasks to defend and protect the citizens of this nation.

2. "I WILL SING TO THE LORD FOR HE IS HIGHLY EXALTED!" (Exodus 15:1--Beginning of the SONG of Moses)
As we write, Prime Minister Sharon has arrived in the United States and is to confer with President Bush later today about his plan to pull Israeli settlements out of Gaza. He will also be requesting certain concessions and assurances from the U.S. in return. Much may be riding on this meeting, both for Sharon, his government, and for Israel. At the same time, our President Moshe Katsav is in Budapest, where yesterday Czech police succeeded in arresting a plot by a Palestinian doctor and other Muslims to blow up a new Holocaust museum. President Katsav is to be one of the key guests at the inauguration of that museum on Thursday. Whether he was to have been a target of assassination in this attack is still being debated.

This seven-week period between Passover and the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot-Pentecost, 26 May) we feel to be a critical time for Israel. A passage which has come to us to meditate upon and to proclaim during this season is the first "Song of Moses." This incredible prophetic poem is found in Exodus 15:1-18. Israel had just come out of Israel and crossed over the parted Sea.

We would propose that as an aid to your intercession for Israel during the coming weeks, you re-examine this passage. It addresses aspects of God which are so vital to Israel's needs right now--His strength, His victory, His worship, His promises regarding His Land, His covenant nation, and the place of His dwelling on the Holy Mountain in Jerusalem (see also Psalm 2).

As the constant war over and for Israel intensifies, she must again come to know Him as "Ish Milchama"-- Man of War (vs 3)--for only HE will win her battles, only He will again become her Salvation (Yeshuah), her Strength and her SONG (vs 2). So much is here: glorious holiness, awe-inspired praise, signs and wonders, mercy, redemption, guidance...and beneath it all the Zeal of the Most High for His people and His holy City, the place which He has made for His dwelling.

PLEASE PRAY:

* Exodus 15:1-21 over the nation of Israel and the Children of Israel throughout the World.
* That the truths of this ancient song would awaken and resound again in the hearts of our leaders (including Prime Minister Sharon and President Katsav), the Government, the military, the populace of Israel, both religious and secular.

* That this prophetic song would encourage and revive the Messianic Body in Israel. That it's revelation about the attributes of GOD would be released in Jews and non-Jews throughout the Land.

* The LOVINGKINDNESS of the Lord will lead this nation, Prime Minister Sharon, the government, the Body.

* That worship, "awesome in praise" will arise in Israel.

* That the right hand of the Lord will be exalted on behalf of Israel and against those who hate her.

3. "WHO IS THIS... THAT HE SHOULD DEFY THE ARMIES OF THE LIVING GOD?" (1 Sam. 17:26)

We are increasingly led back to I Samuel 17--the battle between David and Goliath. This historical account, which too often is read only to children, is filled with words of fire which the Holy Spirit of ELOHIM HAIM (the God of Life, vs 36) would use in equipping and strategizing his warriors today. We will most certainly be facing giants which would frighten or discourage us into paralyzed impotence in the frays ahead.

For the past year, and especially since the assassination of the spiritual head of Hamas some weeks ago, there has been a marked increase in the volume and frequency of the messages released from the PA systems of minarets throughout Jerusalem.

Certainly, such public disturbance by any other religion would not be countenanced--but Islam considers itself endowed with special rights in this department, and dares any governing authority to dispute those rights.

Especially, during Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, while Jews were remembering deliverance from bondage in Egypt, the cries from the minarets were cranked up into a howl which echoed back and forth throughout the Kidron Valley, and the hills surrounding the City. We are sorry if the word "howl" is offensive to some sensibilities. We assure you, it is more offensive to those who have to endure these tones, sometimes mournful, sometimes brazen and defiant, thrown out day and night by the Muslim "Immans", filling the air over the most holy place on earth with the taunts of hell, intent, in their arrogance, to wear down the ranks of the Living God.

David faced a human giant (although one obviously filled with an unholy spiritual power). We believe that one of the giants here is the "giant" of 1300 years of tradition. To the modern mind, what can one person or group of persons do against something which has been going on like this for so long. We would answer, "No person alive who comes against it in the same spirit." But there are worshippers of a different spirit now in Jerusalem and across the world, who are praising and interceding day and night...and whose trust is in the "LORD of Armies, God of the Arrayed Ranks of Israel" (vs 45).

PLEASE PRAY:

* That the Spirit of David will arise in this land and men and women will, with awakened courage and resolve, pray against this taunting of the enemy.

* That the Lord will put 'stones' in the hands of the Body in Jerusalem, that they will know how to strategically and effectively pray against this sound.

* The Song of Moses (see above) over the hills surrounding the City of Jerusalem.

* That on the "inhabitants of Canaan" who are projecting the voice of this evil spirit, "Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of Your arm THEY WILL BE AS STILL AS A STONE" until God's people pass over into the Salvation and Restoration which await them (Exodus 15:16).

* That GOD will silence this voice of a false salvation which is seeking to coerce itself into the consciousnesses of all people, Jew and Arab, in the Land. That supernaturally the minarets will lose their broadcast ability.

* That voices of the El Elyon, the Most High God, will rise up to do battle with the voices of Hell--and they will be heard!

* That many Jews and Arabs living in Jerusalem and its environs, will "pass over" into the Kingdom, purchased in the Blood of God's Redeeming Messiah.

NOTE FROM PAM: We know that Satan is the great Deceiver of man and enemy of God, His People, and His Peoples' Land, wherever that may be. Some people have been lied to about Who God is and so they are ignorantly His enemies because their minds have been veiled, as the Apostle Paul's was for a season. Some sadly choose the wrong path by their will.

The true salvation of the Arabs will provoke Israel to jealousy. Pray for God's true strongholds among these people and for Spiritual encounters and that voices of true Christian ministry will rise up to meet them in their place of need. When the Gospel has gone to the gentiles (or non-Jewish nations) then the Spirit will visit and restore Israel. (Romans 11) In many ways, that has already begun.

If you didn't see the TBN program recently with R.T. Kendall, he shared how just before "The Passion of the Christ" movie came out, he was able to get a copy and show it to Yassar Arafat in a private meeting and witness to him again. The Arabs are interested because many Jews have called it anti-semitic. Many of them are deeply touched as they see the Truth presented in a way that they have never seen before.

Satan as a spiritual force is a very real enemy, and some choose his way, but Jesus [Yah-shua, or God is Salvation in Hebrew] died for the whole world to be saved. We cannot force another's salvation, but our prayers for His Will to be done in their lives can carry great weight. He knows their hearts and minds and situations. This is why learning to hear His Voice and obey it is the answer for us.