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Day 1 Update

Thank You!

Leaders' Letter

Dear Friends,

 

We truly are seeing the Lord bringing His people together in unity. It is happening on all levels. Leaders are coming into agreement. Intercessors are hearing and responding to the Lord's directions. Believers are taking their place "on the walls" of our city as was done in Nehemiah's day. It is exciting to be a part of what God is doing!

 

Below is the text of a letter that was recently sent to approximately 1,200 pastors in the region. (The attachment is the original format that went out). The letter may be reproduced and the email forwarded, but it must not be changed in any way. The absence of an individual or ministry name does not mean there is not agreement with the letter, only that we were not able to connect with them before the letter went out.

 

Continue to pray and be on the lookout for information regarding upcoming prayer and worship events, both prior and during the G-20 Summit.

 

Blessings,

 

Ray & Renaid Almgren

 

Pittsburgh G-20 Prayer Initiative

 

"Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.

Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:7 NIV)

 

The Pittsburgh G-20 Prayer Initiative is an ad hoc gathering of Christian leaders who have agreed to unite in solidarity in prayer for peace for the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 24-25, 2009.

 

The G-20's presence in a city is regularly accompanied by violence and extreme efforts to disrupt the conference by fomenting violence within the community. While we recognize and appreciate the right for peaceful protests, we are committed to stand together as the Church in our churches, neighborhoods and communities as we pray for a peaceful and successful gathering of the global leaders.

 

In light of the current international, political, and economic struggles we believe it is essential for the Christian community to stand together in prayer for these very important and critical days in our city. Therefore we are asking all Christian believers to join together in praying for the peace and protection of our city, starting immediately. We are not scripting how to observe it; we simply ask that every daily observance include prayer for peace.  Some are choosing to pray at noon each day and some are fasting, while others are having prayer vigils; we believe there is something everyone can do for peace.

 

It is our hope and prayer as Christian leaders, that all churches in Pennsylvania and across our nation would take seriously the challenge to pray for peace and safety for President Barack Obama, and the other leaders of the G-20 as they gather here in our community.  We want our city to be marked by peace and we respectfully ask that as the G-20 leaders gather they remember to address the needs of the poor, the oppressed and the needy in the world as we are instructed to do in Matthew 25.

 

We are asking churches to ring their bells on September 24 at twelve noon as a Christian witness and a proclamation that Jesus Christ is Lord of our city and that we are united as His Body in prayer!

 

Jason A. Barr, Jr.

Macedonia Church (Pittsburgh)

 

Pastor Kurt Bjorklund

Orchard Hill Church, Wexford

 

Bishop Otis L. Carswell

Presiding Prelate

Potters House Fellowship Alliance

 

Bishop Donald O. Clay, Jr.

Petra International Ministries

 

Rev. Dr. William H.  Curtis

Mt. Ararat Baptist Church

 

Pastor Rockwell Dillaman

Allegheny Center Alliance Church

 

The Most Reverend Robert Duncan

Anglican Bishop of Pittsburgh

Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America

 

Bishop Joseph L. Garlington, Sr.

Covenant Church of Pittsburgh

 

Mr. Chuck Gratner

General Manager, WORD FM

 

Rev. Dr. Donald Green

Executive Director

Christian Associates

 

Pastor Brenda Gregg

Greater Allen AME Church

 

Rev. Victor J. Grigsby, Pastor
Central Baptist Church

 

Dr. Ron Hembree, President

Cornerstone TeleVision Network

 

House of His Presence Pittsburgh

 

Bishop Wade Jones

First Emmanuel Tabernacle Church

 

Rev. Dr. J. Lavon Kincaid

Laketon Heights United Methodist Church

 

Pastor Jeff Leake

Allison Park Church

 

Pastor Gary A. Mitrik

Greater Works Outreach

 

Pastor Jay Passavant

Northway Christian Community

 

Pittsburgh Prayer Network

 

Bishop John Stahl-Wert

Allegheny Mennonite Conference

President of Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation

 

Rev. Dr. Samuel Ware

Bethel AME, Monroeville

Executive Director, Building United of SW Pennsylvania

 

For more information please call (412) 281-1305. 

Please feel free to copy this letter for distribution.  However, we ask that the entire letter be copied.

The Coming Pittsburgh Revival

This is an updated release of a compilation of prophetic words originally sent out in September 2005.

We have found that many people in the Pittsburgh area are not familiar with a number of these words. My hope is that they will be a source of encouragement and prayer focus for believers around the city. There is a growing sense that something big is on the horizon.

I am sometimes asked to define "the city of Pittsburgh." It seems that people don't want to be left out. Personally, I don't believe The Pittsburgh Revival will be confined to the city limits, but is for all that call Pittsburgh home.

I also believe that God is directing me to get these words into the hands of the pastors in the surrounding area. Please pray for receptive hearts, as I believe that God is also saying that it is time to call pastors together.

The Argentina Connection
The earliest known prophecy that we are aware of was related to us by Lila Terhune, who was the prayer coordinator at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida during the revival that began on Father's Day 1995. She related the following story to Renaid and me personally when she was in Pittsburgh around 1997. On her way to Pittsburgh, she had stopped to visit a retired missionary named Ed Miller, who had served the Lord in Argentina prior to the revival the came to that nation. He tells how there came a point that the Bible school students he was with cancelled classes to seek the Lord. During one of these meetings, a young male student was caught up in the spirit and began naming cities where revival would come in the last days. He did this in the local language of each city. Brother Miller said that they didn't have tape recorders and didn't think to write things down. Not knowing Lila's itinerary, he told her that the only two places that he could remember were Toronto and Pittsburgh. This word, from Argentina, came forth in 1951.

The Brownsville Connection
Another word was related by John Kilpatrick, who was the pastor during the revival at Brownsville. We heard this word on tape from a message spoken at Covenant Church of Pittsburgh in either 2001 or 2002. Pastor Kilpatrick was relating the journey into revival and told of an intercessor who called him around 1990, about 5 years before the revival began. The intercessor said that he was moving to Pensacola to "drill in the spirit," because God had spoken to him that revival was coming to that city. Brother Kilpatrick said he didn't believe him. The intercessor said the Lord had shown him and others that revival was coming to 4 places - Canada, Pensacola, Sacramento (CA), and Pittsburgh.

Pennsylvania, the Keystone State
During the 2005 Holy Spirit Seminar at Greater Works Outreach, a word came forth from Lance Wallnau that God had wanted to use the city of Philadelphia, but "the apostolic anointing that was there was taken out in it's youth" so that it could not do what was intended. The enemy then tried to destroy it in Pittsburgh, but the church here has prevailed. It went on to say that what happens here will be taken to Harrisburg, the rest of Pennsylvania, and then to the nation. This agrees with other words given by people such as Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce that PA is the key to the nation. (We are the "keystone" state.)

The Ghana Connection
In August 2005, we met a pastor from Ghana. Some of you heard him at the Signs & Wonders Gathering. Pastor David Afriyie first came to Pittsburgh in 2001, for another purpose. But while he was visiting, the Lord gave him a vision and spoke to him about a "large" revival that is coming to Pittsburgh. Pastor David has been returning each year since 2001 to pray for this revival.

A Call to Pittsburgh
During the 2006 National Day of Prayer gathering in Washington, DC, Dr. Henry Blackaby, the honorary chairman, stated that he and others believe that there are 3 cities in America that are "ripe for Holy Spirit revival." They are Charlotte, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

What Will the Emphasis Be?
Before we had heard any of these words, God put it in our hearts to pray and believe God for revival in our city. We have learned that each revival has a different emphasis. What God did in Toronto was different than what He did in Pensacola. What He did in other places was different still. So, several years ago I began to ask God what the emphasis would be in the revival that is coming to Pittsburgh. His response to me has been confirmed by many, and I will recount a few of these below. What the Lord spoke to me was that the coming revival will emphasize God's healing power.

One of the first people I heard that confirmed this was James Goll, a prophetic voice in the body of Christ. James was visiting Pittsburgh and declared that the prophetic destiny of our city is healing and reconciliation (which is one aspect of healing).

Another confirmation came from John Mulinde of Uganda. The story of God's working in Uganda is told on the second Transformations Video. He is one of the people that God has raised up in that nation. Renaid & I first heard of him in France, and than in Berlin. Christians from all over Europe travel to Prayer Mountain in Uganda to seek the Lord. John and his wife came to Pittsburgh in June 2004. We had the opportunity to meet him and attend most of his meetings. In the first service, John shared the vision that God had given him for America. In subsequent meetings, he elaborated on the things the Lord showed him regarding Pittsburgh. One of those was the healing well that resides in our city. As if to confirm this, his wife received a healing during their visit of a condition she had carried in her body for several years, despite all of the prayer going up from Prayer Mountain.

Pastor David has also proclaimed healing will flow from this revival. Many of those speaking about revival refer to the healing well that was flowing during the ministry of Kathryn Kuhlman. We personally believe that the well of healing is not here because of Ms. Kuhlman, but that she came here because of the well. Even in the natural, Pittsburgh has had many medical breakthroughs and "firsts."

Re-digging the Healing Wells of the Past
Many in our city have been praying and "re-digging" these healing wells. In the spring of 2005, the Lord spoke to me to, "Proclaim the opening of the healing wells in Pittsburgh." We have been doing this in various meetings since then. It's a step of faith to release a word like this. However, as I looked at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus in Luke 4 (quoting Isaiah 61), I saw that He began "proclaiming" things that were getting ready to happen, before any miracles had taken place.

Pittsburgh Get Ready!
I know that many of us have found ourselves in a major spiritual battle. I believe one of the reasons is the magnitude of what we are praying for. I don't think we understand how big this thing is that God wants to do. John Mulinde spoke to us that, "this is bigger than you realize." It seems the Lord reminds me of this often. Habakkuk 1:5 says, "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-You would not believe if you were told." I believe one of the reasons God has not revealed all that He is planning, is to keep us out of unbelief. I believe the Lord showed me that what we are contending for has "international ramifications." It seems from church history that other revivals have had that. Why would Pittsburgh be any different?

A final word that the Lord has been speaking to me about is "unprecedented." Renaid keeps getting the scripture, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard" (1 Cor 2:9). A number of people believe that this will be a sustained revival, not a short lived one. Some may know that William Penn spoke of a "Holy Experiment" and Pennsylvania being "the seed of a nation." He also said that "the nations are looking for a precedent."

I believe the Lord is telling us to get ready, that this is much bigger than what we realize, and that He wants to do this far more than we want Him to. Please keep praying, believing, expecting. In some ways, we believe it's already begun!

Blessings,
Ray

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Dear Overcomers,

 

The banner above was the official welcome that visitors to Pittsburgh saw during the G-20. Because the world was coming, we asked the world to pray. Now, we would like to again take this time to say to everyone who worshipped and prayed - "Thank You!"

 

What God did in and for our city during this time was absolutely amazing. The Body of Christ came together in a way most of us have not seen here before. Without competition, everyone did their part.

 

The major prayer trust during this time was for peace in the city (Jer 29:7). Although this event was not without incidents, the following headlines from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper sum up what God did here (emphasis added).

 

Saturday, Sept 26th

 

"Peace wins out"

 

Sunday, Sept 27th 

 

"City emerges from G-20 with hardly a scratch" 

"The event was surprisingly peaceful, an official says."

 

I believe that there are lessons that the Lord would have us take away from this season of worship and prayer and I hope to send some of them out in the near future. We believe the groundwork has been laid for us (the Body of Christ) to build upon in the days ahead.

 

So again, thank you, brothers and sisters, for investing your time and sowing into our city. Surely, you will reap a mighty harvest wherever you are.

 

Blessings & love from Pittsburgh,

 

Ray & Renaid Almgren

House of His Presence Pittsburgh

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#1

Dear Praying Friends,

My wife and I live near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the location of the upcoming G-20 Summit that will take place on September 24 & 25. We are a part of the leadership team at House of His Presence Pittsburgh, a house of prayer and training center for the Body of Christ in the region.

 

We have been asked by Bishop Joseph Garlington (Covenant Church of Pittsburgh) to be part of mobilizing the Body of Christ to pray for this event. As we corporately began to pray about this at House of His Presence, someone mentioned that perhaps fasting was needed to get the mind of the Lord regarding His strategy for this. Two days later I began and on the 2nd day, I sensed the Lord beginning to speak to me and as I started writing, more and more came.

 

Inviting God to come through Worship

This is what I believe the Lord is saying. He wants us to invite the Presence of God to come to our city as never before. Pittsburgh has been blessed by moves of God in the past, but we believe He wants to do far more than what has happened previously. But He wants us to invite Him to come.

 

We know that worship attracts the Presence of God, changes the spiritual atmosphere, confuses the enemy, and provides an opportunity for unity as no other one thing. Therefore, we are issuing a call for worship to begin sounding and resounding around the city and region. This is not about a particular style of worship, but includes all kinds of ‘sounds', including native and other indigenous expressions. Out of worship will come specific action strategies for individuals, prayer groups, ministries, and churches.

 

Forming a wall of prayer by agreement

We are to build a ‘Nehemiah' wall of prayer around our city. Each of us has a part in fulfilling what God wants to do here. We know that the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for pulling down strongholds (2 Cor 10:4). Therefore, let us recognize that musical instruments become weapons of war in God's way of doing things (Psalm 144:1). Let us join with others as God directs when there are corporate gathering opportunities (Neh 4:20). Our next 24 hour watch, August 7-8, will focus on praying for G-20. More information will be forthcoming.

Recently, when some of the spiritual fathers of the city met together rgarding G-20, their sense was that our corporate prayer focus should be to pray for peace for our city. Jeremiah 29:7 says, "And seek the shalom of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its shalom you will have shalom."

I have deliberately used the Hebrew word shalom in the above verse, because various English translations use different words, but as you can see from the definition below, all are correct.

 

Shalom - Completeness, wholeness, peace, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony; the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from a root verb meaning "to be complete, perfect, and full." Thus shalom is much more than the absence of war and conflict; it is the wholeness that the entire human race seeks.

 

Peace was also prophesied and promised in the New Testament; its fulfillment found it a person - Christ Jesus. Below is the NT definition of peace.

 

Eirene - A state of rest, quietness, and calmness; an absence of strife; tranquility. It generally denotes a perfect well-being. Eirene includes harmonious relationships between God and men, men and men, nations, and families. Jesus as Prince of Peace gives peace to those who call upon Him for personal salvation.

 

As you can see, praying for peace is far encompassing. This is what we want God to do in our city for those who live and come here.

 

Pittsburgh asks for your help

Since the world is watching Pittsburgh, I also felt God saying that we are to invite believers from around the world to join with us in praying for God's purposes in the earth and Pittsburgh, in particular, at this time. Therefore, we ask you to forward this and future emails to family, friends, churches, houses of prayer, and others around the globe. We have already heard from one of the houses of prayer in Jerusalem that they will be participating. We would like to hear from other worshippers and intercessors around the nation and globe that sense God speaking to them to link up in prayer at this time.

           

We believe House of His Presence Pittsburgh is to be a resource center for the collection and dissemination of pertinent information, revelation, and specific prayer needs. We can not do this alone. Please forward to us what you and others are doing so we can help spread the word. We know we are not the only ones God is speaking to; we simply want to be obedient to what He is showing us. We will be sending out regular updates in the weeks ahead. If you are aware of groups or prayer initiatives that you believe should be linked together, please send us their information.

 

If you are receiving this email from a friend and would like to be added to the distribution list, please contact us at info@houseofhispresence.com. We will not add you without your permission. If anyone desires to be removed at any time, please let us know as well.

 

Thank you in advance for your prayers,

 

Ray & Renaid Almgren

 

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 #2

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

First, we want to thank those of you who have heard the call to pray with us here in Pittsburgh. The response has been overwhelming and we know this is just the beginning; we are so grateful. Some of places joining with us in prayer include:

 

• Israel
• Long Island, New York
• Youngstown, Ohio
• Morgantown, West Virginia
• York, Pennsylvania
• Minnesota
• Arizona
• Burundi, Africa
• France
• Singapore

A Kairos Time for Pittsburgh

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:18, 'With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit...' (NASB). Another translation says 'praying always'', but the Greek word used is kairos, which is a specific window of opportunity (which could be missed). Certainly it is good and right to pray at any time, but there are seasons, like the stirring of the pool in Bethesda (John 5), where there can be great reward if appropriate action is taken. We believe that God has presented such an opportunity for Pittsburgh at this time. We don't believe it was in accident that Pittsburgh was chosen for the G-20 Summit.

 

As we go forward, we will be elaborating on worship and prayer strategies, making you aware of local activities that you prayerfully become part of, and providing links to other ministries joining together in this endeavor.

 

Worship as Warfare

In the initial email, I mentioned several things that the Lord has given us to focus on. Foremost was a call to worship. God wants to come not only to Pittsburgh, but wherever you are as well, but He waits to be invited and welcomed. Scripture, and our personal history with God, tells us that if we will worship, and mix in repentance as required, God will come and be enthroned in our midst. As Jesus is exalted, it's like building a runway for a plane to land - the bigger the plane, the longer the runway that is necessary. We are asking for His Kingdom to come to our city as never before.

 

There are different thoughts as to how spiritual warfare is done, but we'd like to share a recent testimony from an intercessor in Israel that we believe illustrates what the Bible teaches and we believe regarding this matter.  Several years ago when Iran's president first expressed his desire to wipe Israel off the map, this Arab woman received a burden from the Lord to pray for both nations (Israel & Iran). During a time of intercession, she had a vision of the Prince of Persia that appeared as a large monster. She said that she began to war in the spirit but the Lord interrupted her, saying, "Do not war, for the battle is Mine!" Then, as she began to worship and glorify the Lord, she saw the ‘monster' begin to gradually shrink. The Lord spoke some additional things to her, but the important thing we want to communicate is the power of our worship. We see this in scripture in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20, in the story of King Jehoshaphat. In a crises moment, a word comes forth to send the singers out before the army into battle. When they begin to sing and praise, God set ambushes against the invaders and the victory was won.

 

Praying for the Demonstrators

One of the groups that we need to be praying for is the estimated 10,000 - 20,000 demonstrators who are expected to descend on our city. There has been violence in other G-20 cities in the past as attempts were made to disrupt the meetings. We want our prayers to be in the opposite spirit. We are not advocating praying ‘against', but praying ‘for' those with their own agendas. We want to speak peace (shalom) over our city and those who come. We believe that as we lift up worship and praise that God can bring such confusion to the plans of the enemy that some of the protesters won't even make it here. For those that do come, may they find the Prince of Peace as God reveals Himself to those who are not even looking for Him (Romans 10:20).

 

God Will Direct Us

As we mentioned previously, we believe that as worship goes forth, God will speak specific action points for individuals, churches, and ministries. One thing that has come up several times is prayer walking in the city. Even now as I write this, a second person has emailed regarding a Pittsburgh anarchist group (www.organizepittsburgh.org). They are having their 5^th annual picnic in Schenley Park on August 1. It was just suggested that some may want to prayer walk the park prior to their event. We encourage you to obey the Lord in whatever He tells you (see John 2:5). Let all that we do be done in love.

 

A great resource for additional information is Pittsburgh Prayer Network - www.prayforpittsburgh.org.

 

Pittsburgh has created a website for information - www.pittsburghg20.org; the official website for G-20 is www.g20.org.

 

If you come across information that can be used as a part of a prayer database, please let us know.

 

Thank You For Helping

Again, we are asking you to forward this to your distribution lists, prayer groups, and other networks. On multiple occasions, the Lord has asked us to 'sow' prayers into another city or ministry. If you find the Lord speaking to you to join with us, we'd love to hear from you. For those who have received this from a friend and would like to be added to our list, please contact us at info@houseofhispresence.com. Including your name with your request is helpful. Anyone who does not wish to continue receiving updates, please email us and put 'remove' in the subject line.

 

Thank you and God bless you abundantly,

 

Ray & Renaid Almgren

House of His Presence Team

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Dear Brothers & Sisters,
 
We truly believe your prayers are making a difference! We especially want to thank those for have joined in prayer from around the U.S. and the world. Please continue to worship and speak peace (shalom) to our city. Pray as you feel led; fast as you are able; prayer walk as God might direct.
 
We have 2 page prayer sheet (pdf format) available that is a summary of much of what has been sent out previously. We encourage you to use it however you like. Please forward it to others who will pray. Click here to request the prayer sheet or here to open as a web page.
 
Again, we want to remind you that if you are not receiving this directly from us but want to be included for future emails, just let us know.
 
Be on the lookout for upcoming prayer gatherings and additional information.
 
Peace to you & yours,
 
HOHPP team

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Dear Praying Friends,

 

The time has come! Pittsburgh has truly become a city set on a hill (Matthew 5:14) and the world is watching. The G-20 has not come to our city by accident. Much prayer has gone up regarding this event. We have been joined by fellow believers from around the world, probably far more than we even know. We are seeing the church in Pittsburgh come together in unity as never before. Let's continue to believe God for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, on earth (& Pittsburgh) as it is in heaven.

 

As we move through this week, let's not just be spectators, but participators, in God's plan for our city at this time. Please continue to lift your voice to the Lord. There are a couple of things that we invite you to do.

 

First, continue in personal and corporate worship. Whether your preference is psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs, just worship the Lord. It's not about a particular style, form, or musical ability, but the attitude of our hearts. Sometimes we have to begin by offering a 'sacrifice of praise' (Heb 13:15). This is when we have to ignore how we feel or what we see and extol Him for who He is and because He's worthy. A good example of this would be the story of Paul and Silas found in Acts 16. I'm sure they didn't feel like praising at midnight after having been beaten earlier in the day. But when they did, God brought freedom and deliverance, not just for them, but for all who heard them. Praise and worship invites the Lord into our situation and in this case, our city. Worship also brings confusion to the plans of the enemy (see 2 Chronicles 20).

 

Second, pray and speak peace (shalom) to our city. Shalom is more than the absence of strife. It means completeness, wholeness, peace, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony; the absence of agitation or discord. It comes from a root verb meaning "to be complete, perfect, and full." Pray for those coming to Pittsburgh to have an encounter with the Prince of Peace.

 

Third, pray for God's glory to be revealed. This is a prayer that the Lord dropped into my heart. I believe it's a prayer that He wants to answer. Isaiah 6 tells us the whole earth is filled with God's glory, but Habakkuk 2:14 tells of a day when the knowledge of that glory will fill the earth. The glory is here, let's pray that it will be revealed.

 

There will be many opportunities around the city this week for prayer. Beginning at 7 pm on Wednesday, House of His Presence & Shepherd's Heart Fellowship will be hosting 48 hours of worship and prayer. On Thursday, some of the area bishops will be joining us around the noon hour. At 12 noon on Thursday, churches are being asked to ring their bells if they have them. We are also asking, at that time, that God's people would collectively pray a simple prayer - "Lord, come" ("Maranatha"). 

 

Declaring that Jesus is Lord,

 

HOHPP team

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