This week on UCB 1 and UCB 2, it has been our national appeal. We have been talking on air about 1 Kings 18 and the ‘sound of a mighty rainstorm’. All around us are small clouds and green shoots of the beginnings of revival, and we are expectant and excited to see what God is going to do.

What you won’t have heard on air is the move of God which has been happening in our own buildings here at UCB.

Last week, we invited Fergus Mcintyre, an itinerant pastor who has a prophetic ministry, to spend time with our staff, praying with each of them and speaking into their lives.

There is nothing like experiencing that refreshing ‘rain’ when the spirit of God touches and refreshes our lives!

As a result of these meetings, I have heard from so many of our team, who have been blessed by what God said to them. I truly believe this is where revival begins.

There is a famous saying: ‘Lord, send revival and let it start with me.’

When we each develop and grow our intimacy with God, He begins to pour His spirit out. In Joel, it says ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’

I believe these ‘last days’ are now, and can I encourage you to seek God for your own personal revival? When we have received it, we are then able to pass it on to others.

Here are a few stories from our team of what has happened to them in the past week.

Amy’s story (UCB Digital Designer)

In my life, I have struggled and felt a lot of pain, but I can always sense when others need help. When Fergus prayed for me, he told me I am a good listener and God trusts me. I can walk past someone and squeeze their hand and say, ‘I’m with you’ and they will feel God’s presence. This became really apparent during the appeal when I was able to listen and engage with our supporters on the phone. I was able to help a listener with a severe stammer through the donation process, and I was able to listen and let him know I was there to help. This confirmed many of the things Fergus said to me about listening and being trusted to help others through difficult situations.

Carl’s story (Prayerline Liaison Officer)

Over the past few years, I have been able to pray for many of the staff at UCB and have felt I could often feel other people’s pain. At first, I thought I was just imagining it, but when Fergus spoke to me, he said God wanted me to step up and tell people what I felt and then pray for them. Fergus told me that I was a ‘Barnabas’ and encouraged me to step out in faith, but at the same time, use discernment and speak wisely. A man I did not know at all was used to speak encouragement and blessing into my life.

Anonymous

Fergus spoke to me about how I’m very particular about all the jobs I do. I dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s as he put it. Whilst this is true, the thing is that however hard I try and whatever I do, I always feel like I’m not good enough – so I decided that I’d stay behind and ask Fergus if he’d pray with me about it.

We chatted, and very quickly Fergus uncovered the root of the problem. I grew up with a violent and overbearing, perfectionist father; everything had to be ‘just right’ all the time. Me and my siblings grew up constantly walking on eggshells, afraid to upset him, and whatever I achieved, it was never enough. The effect that growing up in this kind of environment has on you as a person is huge. And whilst I do feel that I have forgiven my dad for all this already, somehow I’ve just never been able to break free of the hold that it has over me. So, Fergus then prayed with me and asked me to speak out all the things, all the un-truths, that have ever been spoken over me and that I’ve believed.  Then the presence of God came over me in the most powerful way. The chains that have kept me bound since my childhood were broken, and I felt the most amazing sense of peace like I have never felt before. What I have to do now is to walk in the freedom and peace that God has graciously given me.

Paula’s story 

The last few months have been really difficult for me, and I’ve been fighting lots of battles. I knew that I needed to spend more time with God and rest, but I’ll admit, instead, I just made myself really busy. I was exhausted. I didn’t know what Fergus was going to say, but he started laughing and said I was the ’90-mile-an-hour lady,’ always on the go… and that God wanted me to slow down. He also said I’d been dealing with the weight of other people’s expectations, and God wanted to set me free from that. I honestly felt like a huge weight was lifted almost instantly as soon as he prayed, and this week has been truly incredible. There’s a tangible sense of God’s presence in the building, spontaneous prayer groups are breaking out, and I’ve been diving out of bed in the morning, excited to read my Bible and see what God has to say today. It’s amazing to see what God is doing. It’s not what God has done but what He is doing… this is just the beginning.

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Can I encourage you to spend time seeking God in your own life? When His spirit touches our lives, everything changes. We are able to see with clarity, and we are able to pass this incredible presence of God on to others too.  This is where revival starts. As I said at the beginning ‘Lord, send revival and let it start with me’.