October 3, 2024
In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them…Isaiah 63:9
My heart is broken. My tears unending. My mind reeling from the images coming out of Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The destruction is beyond belief!
So many of you have written, texted, emailed and called to express your heartfelt concern and prayers. Thank you!
Invariably I’m being asked, “How is your family?” “How is your father’s house?” Everyone of my family who live in the area have been accounted for. My father’s house, as I understand, is intact, although the road to it is impassable.
The town of Montreat where I grew up, and which I still consider “home,” has no power, food, water, or internet. The roads are washed away. People cannot get in or out. The town where my sister lives, Black Mountain, is underwater. In pictures, I can just see the top of the train station roof above the flood waters…the same train station where we used to meet Daddy when he came home from his trips. The town where I went to high school, Swannanoa, has virtually been erased. Eradicated. It is no more. The village of Biltmore where my mother loved to go for lunch, and where I still take my daughters and granddaughters, has been virtually destroyed by flood waters that went as high as fifteen to 20 feet. Boone, where my brother lives, has been underwater also, with no food, water, power or cell service. And those are only the places I am familiar with. I can’t imagine people in Georgia, Tennessee, and the mountain coves where people are tucked away and may not be located for a long time. Everyone cut off without power, cell service, food, drinkable water, medicines, baby formula, and the list goes on. God have mercy on us! While FEMA and the government have been absent, my brother’s organization, Samaritan’s Purse, has an army of volunteers on the ground, as well as helicopters in the air. I encourage you to volunteer or donate to Samaritan’s Purse and designate it for Western North Carolina.
Psalm 29:10 has been emblazoned on my mind. The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. I know He is in charge. He is in control. He could have contained this flood. If He is Lord over it, why didn’t He? This is one of those times when I simply bow to His sovereignty and trust Him when I have no answers to “why.” But I cling to what His word says: Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it.[1] I know God loves the people of Western North Carolina. I am one of them. So I claim His promise in Psalm 29:11: The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.
It’s time to pray…
Sovereign Lord,
Words fail me. What can I say? How can I pray? Nothing like this has ever happened to the place and the people that I love. My people. Like Isaiah when King Uzziah died, help me to look up. To see You on the throne.[2] I know You are righteous in everything You do.[3] You don’t make mistakes. Your purpose is perfect. Your love unfailing. You are faithful to every generation. Please! Strengthen Your people. Give them peace in the midst of the mud, destruction and death. Bring them help to cut down fallen trees, rebuild bridges, restore power and cell service, connect people with their loved ones. Energize churches and Your people outside the area to gather and distribute critical relief supplies. Give the volunteers multiple opportunities to have Gospel conversations with those they help. Comfort those who are not only coping with the physical destruction, but who are grieving over family members or friends who have been lost or can’t be found.
God of Mercy, cause the people struggling with the aftermath of Helene to look up. To turn to You. Please. Could this be one reason You have allowed such devastation? Use it to get people’s attention, draw them to Yourself, then show up in power to strengthen, encourage, and help them overcome the massive challenges they face. You have promised that when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You will be with us.[4] We claim the gentleness and quietness of Your presence, like the mist in the valleys, to settle on Western North Carolina, bringing life, healing, and hope.
PS Please, dear God, we know You can multi-task. So while you are at work in Western North Carolina, we praise you for giving supernatural, miraculous protection to Israel during the missile barrage from Iran. We know You used the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow air defense systems, but only You could possibly have made the systems 100% effective. Thank You! Now we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Great Lion of Judah, defend and protect the land and the people upon whom You have placed Your name. Use the enemy attacks to turn the hearts of Your people to You. Open their eyes to see Yeshua as Your Son and their Messiah.
We ask this humbly and boldly in His name,
Amen
[1] Song of Solomon 8:7
[2] Isaiah 6:1
[3] Daniel 9:14
[4] Psalm 23:4
May 19, 2024
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses… Acts 1:8
Today, on Pentecost Sunday, I am praising God for the fresh enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Before beginning a very intense week I claimed Romans 8:11…And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal body… God kept His promise in an amazingly supernatural way. In addition to the busyness of travel, meetings, taping and speaking, my AFib was out of control.
April 15, 2024
One week ago today America experienced an amazing total solar eclipse. Two days before, on April 6th, I posted a blog entitled, What does the April 8 Eclipse Mean? (SEE BELOW)
Thank all of you who warmly received it and posted affirmative comments. In reading through some of the responses, I encountered two issues of disagreement that I would like to address. The first issue was with my statement that the United States was founded on faith in God. I quoted from the Pledge of Allegiance, not because it was a founding document, but because it so succinctly states that we are “one nation under God.” Our very first president, George Washington, immediately following his inauguration on his very first day in office, knelt in prayer along with his entire government and dedicated the United States of America to the glory of God.1 It was an incredible act that established us as a nation under God.
December 19, 2023
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38
For more Christmas resources, please visit www.annegrahamlotz.org/this-christmas/
While my previous prayers have served as a basis for prayers today, such as the ones posted by my ministry, I have privately been at a loss for words because of the emotional anguish over what is taking place in Israel. Until yesterday. While I have still drawn from previous prayers, God has given me thoughts and a fresh prayer that I would like to share with you.
October 17, 2023
An oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. “I have loved you,” says the Lord…”My name will be great among the nations…I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed”. Malachi 1:1,2, 11, 3:6
Like many of you, the news coming out of Israel over the last few days has left me appalled, angry, astounded, outraged and almost speechless…even in prayer. I seem to have no words, only tears. I feel like Jeremiah who cried, Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain …. Jeremiah 9:9
