Greetings Canada’s Kneeling Army,

Jesus is calling all of us to cast our nets into the depth and fish in the deep water of our faith. 2008 is a strategic year and Almighty God, El Shaddai, is calling us to deepen our faith through greater obedience to the word.

Friends, let us take a brief look at Luke 8:22-25, letting it illuminate the critical truths of deep water obedience. Verse 22 starts by informing us of the sober reality of serving and living – “Now it happened…”   For so many of us, this is the point where anxiety, fear and doubt come crashing in. We ask, “Why me?” and “How long?” Intercessors, we have all been there before. I have been there before. So it is with great love and compassion that I encourage you to go deep and ask, “Why NOT me?” remembering always that there is no one better than Almighty God to show Himself strong on behalf of those who love Him.

The second thing Jesus says in this verse is, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”  You know what happens next in verse 23. Jesus falls asleep, a storm arises, and the next thing we know is the disciples, seasoned fishermen, are going crazy! You may ask, “Should an ordinary storm cause all this panic?” Well, the answer is “yes” and “no”! If we pay close attention to verse 24, we quickly realize that the two things that are happening to the disciples in deep water also happen to us:        1) They (we) are operating in two confusions.         2) They (we) are believing the wrong voices.

Jesus has already given an order that brings us to this point. He is in the boat; in other words, He will not let anything happen to them. Why? They have an appointment on the other side. Secondly, the deceiver is whispering reports of death; “Master we are perishing.” Friends, what’s really going on here? Well, if we listen to the right voices, we make the right choices. I know it can be fearful when we go into deep uncharted waters, which are the case with new chapters in life, where the waves get high and the current is quick. But know that when we go into deep uncharted waters, Jesus is right there with us to guide us to the place where He has already been. If we are going to build confidence fishing in the deep water of our faith, we must discover the principle and process of confession.

In closing, let me leave you with a quick lesson in Greek. The Greek word for “profession” is the same as the Greek word for “confession” – homologeo.  A profession is what we do for an income and, as believers and more specifically as intercessors, confession is what we do to cause what is in heaven to come onto the earth. Therefore, Kneeling Army, our profession is confession! Jesus Christ is the high priest of our confession. He is the Word of God, and He is the God of the word. In order to learn to trust in His word, we must learn to trust in Him (deep water). To learn to trust Him, we must get to know Him more. We must get to know Him more, that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.  Jesus is calling all of us to cast our nets into the depth and fish in the deep water of our faith.

Intercessors, you will notice that I ended this letter the way I started it. Whether in Greek, English, Latin or French, fishing is what we are called to do in ’08. Therefore, the sooner you and I wade into the depth of this season, understanding our profession and confession, the sooner we will receive increased strength to see in the natural the spiritual transformation of our families, our communities, and our nation, that Almighty God has called us to birth forth. People of God, be encouraged and know that our Saviour loves you and sees you and hears you!

Deep Water Fishing,

Brian Warren

Executive Director, CIP