I Heard an Air Raid Siren - then discovered it was in the spirit!

It is April 1st about 12:30am.  I'd just begun my portion of the prayer watch our church stands as part of the 24/7 prayer strategy in our community (click for ORT).  I began to hear a siren.  It was not a regular siren but rather reminded me of an old air raid siren. I strained to hear for I could not tell if it were an actual siren or if I were hearing it in the spirit.  So I got up and stepped outside.  All I could hear was a plane.  No siren.

I stepped back in the house and I heard it again.  The closer I got to my chair where I sat to pray the louder it got.  I sat their listening to it for another four or five minutes and then it began to fade until it became very quiet.  It is a spiritual warning. 

In my 30 plus years of watching and praying I've never heard a sound this clear, this long and that audible for so long.  

I began to ask The Lord what did the siren mean. I knew what it meant in WWII.  It was an air raid siren that warned of an imminent attack by air.  I did a little research and Wikipedia says; " Initially designed to warn of air raids in WW II, they were adapted to warn of nuclear attack and of natural phenomena such as tornadoes ....The "Attack" tone is the iconic, rising-falling sound of an air raid or nuclear attack frequently heard in war movies. It was once reserved for imminent enemy attack, but is today sometimes used to warn of severe weather, tsunamis, or even fire calls, depending on local ordinance."

So I asked The Lord, what does this mean and what are we supposed to do?

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What does this mean?  I heard "imminent danger."   Some would ask, "is this spiritual or natural?"  1 Corinthians 15:46 illustrates this concept of first the natural then the spiritual.  In other words there is a physical manifestation of what's happening in the spiritual.  I believe it is both but I submit, 1 Corinthians 14:29 "let the prophets speak two or three and let the others judge."

The Lord also led me to Isaiah 21:6-10.
For thus has the Lord said to me: “ Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.”  And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said,  “ Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you.

This verse speaks of the watchman reporting what he sees and hears, a war (spiritual and natural), the coming horsemen, the judgment on idols and this is what stood out the most to me; "my threshing and the grain of my floor."  

There is a threshing or a separating of the chaff from the grain.  This speaks of a great harvest and the purification that will accompany this harvest.  It reminds me of Isaiah 4:3-6 where God visits His people with a spirit of judgment and burning so that all who remain in Zion will be called holy.  Those who dwell in Zion (place of 24/7 prayer, praise and worship, which is the atmosphere of heaven) will enjoy shelter and a refuge from the coming storm.  God will hide those in His secret place.

On the natural side The Lord did not show me anything specific except what I found in Wikipedia says that the siren I heard has been adapted to warn of nuclear attack and natural phenomena such as tornadoes, severe weather, tsunamis or even fire.  These reflect the wind of God's spirit, a wave of revival and the fire of His love.

So what do we do?  I submit:

1. Watch and pray
   
2. Invite Holy Spirit to examine your heart and show you any areas where you are entangled by an idol.  (How can you tell if you are dealing with an idol in your life?  I submit, look at what you sacrifice your time, money and relationships for.)  Repent!
3. Prepare yourself and your family spiritually and practically.  Click here for Preparing for Challenging Times
4. Perfect love casts out all fear, pray for more of God's love.  Faith works by love too. Pray for more love.
5. Pray The Lord of the harvest send laborers to the harvest.
6. Pray our Lord receives that which He has desired (restoration of David's tabernacle and a holy bride)

I believe the situation in the Ukraine and the recent mudslide of Oso are some current indicators of what is coming.  Church, if we prepare, and I believe there is a remnant who is preparing, this will be her finest hour.

Can Any Disaster or Terrorist Attack Be Affected by our Prayer?

Absolutely!  Remember Abraham and his intercession and negotiation with our Lord regarding the fate of Sodom and Gormorah?  I've seen The Lord respond to my prayer and others in dramatic ways in my experience in mobilizing the body of Christ through ORT.  I've seen heaven and earth respond in dramatic ways to God's presence and the prayer of His saints.  Our communities can be well served through our prayers.  

We must learn to see and respond from God's eternal perspective.  Let us lend our voice and lips to Him that we might release His word on earth as it is in heaven.  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.  Mercy and truth have kissed.  Therefore recognize that much of what is coming is because sin has been committed or spiritual laws violated such that the earth is merely responding as scripture warns (ie. Lev 18:28).  There is a way to position ourselves to pray for truth to be manifested, the veils lifted, and righteousness to be restored.  This is addressed more thouroughly in our ORT training.

Right now I am praying asking God to extend mercy to my community.  I am praying that terrorist cells and strategies in the greater Seattle area be exposed and thwarted.  I am asking the Lord for mercy to be extended and for lives to be saved through the coming economic, social, political, and natural shakings that will manifest soon.  I am praying that through this all the Lord set my feet and yours on Jesus our solid rock and I pray we would be like Him.  I am praying that His Church would be a righteous, glorious and holy Church reflecting His character and power.  I pray we would be the calm in the midst of the storm and speak His word in grace and power manifesting supernatural signs and wonders that would exalt the name of our Lord Jesus. I am praying that He would receive the harvest of souls He is worthy of and that we would acquit ourselves well with a view towards our eternal destiny in Christ and His desire for us to disciple nations.

Remember, no fear, more love and more power.  Remember; no fear!  Only love!  Love speaks the truth, love restores, love does righteousness, love does justice, love is merciful and kind, love confronts, love corrects, love protects, love sanctifies, love gives, love serves and love glorifies Jesus.  

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April 2, 2014 Follow Up - Sirens were Activated with the Earthquake

Yesterday at 5:15pm Tony, one of our elders passed on a report from the US Geological Society.  They reported an 8.0 (8.2) earthquake starting at 15:46 (3:46pm Pacific Standard Time - that's our time zone) with sirens activated immediately.  A tsunami associated with this earthquake was also recorded.  That event occurred about 15 hours after I heard the warning and about 12+ hours after I'd posted this article.  

During our corporate Gotomeeting prayer time at 7pm we learned that Brenda had heard the same air raid siren I heard. I mean it sounded audible to her such that when she tried to get up and check it she did not hear it.  But when she laid back down she heard it again for about the same amount of time I heard it. In our 27+years of marriage and praying together we've never shared an experience like that.  It reminded her of warning drills her school ran in California in the last 60's early 70s.  Pam, another one of our members also had a similar experience with the same sound a few weeks before.

Tony also experienced an open vision (described below) several weeks before that is associated.  Here are two things that I encourage us to take away from this follow up piece.

1. We as the Church need to prepare.  This should be our finest hour.
2. I highly recommend paying attention and learning how people's gifts work. 1 Corinthians 13 says we know in part and
   prophesy in part. By paying (praying) attention we can begin to learn how our unique gifts work together and we can encourage each other to hone those gifts.  Personally I have been inspired to press into the Lord for more specifics.  How about you?