The Thirty

The Thirty
In early 2009, a diverse group of believers answered a call to fast and pray together in a continuous chain to seek God’s face for His plan to unlock the destiny of the city of Edmonton.  Each of us committed to fast one day per month and share whatever the Lord revealed to us on an internet forum (like a bulletin board on a website) so that together we could discern the direction of the Lord.. Although most of us had never met each other, we soon came to know one another “by the spirit”, as we heard God’s heart for the city being uniquely expressed through each individual on the fast. 

During the fast the Lord made it clear to us that what He was calling us to isn’t a project or a one- time “event” - it is a journey with Him.  God has divine purposes for our communities and province.  And He is looking for people to whom He can entrust the secrets of His heart and His strategies for fulfilling His desires.   But first He needs to know that He can trust us – that we won’t take His vision and run off and try to accomplish it our way, through our own human wisdom.  Or that we won’t try to harness the power of God to build empires for ourselves. 

And one of the ways He tests our hearts is by asking us to do something and seeing if we will remain obedient, even if things don’t proceed as we expected.  When we began our fast, we didn’t have an “end date” – we were committed to fast until we were released by the Lord.  And we didn’t have a full 30 people – we had 23 -  but we  felt the Lord said to begin and He would add others as we went along.  

As we began fasting in March 2009 we expected our obedience to trigger an avalanche of revelation, visions and strategies for  the city. But instead God began speaking to us about our hearts, exposing inner motives and showing us areas in our lives that were not in full submission to His Lordship.  As the months rolled by and still no clear “vision” or “strategy”  for the city emerged,  discouragement set in and the questions started.  “Why are we doing this?  What is the point? Nothing is happening”.    Soon people began forgetting to fast or to post on the forum.  And some took these circumstances as a “sign” the Lord was leading them to quit.  So instead of adding people, growing towards our complement of 30, we were shrinking.

Then one day in early October, the Lord asked us to do a simple thing.   “Each one of you go back,” He said, “and remember the story of how I called you into this fast (all of us had been called by very different but very clear divine leading into the fast). “ And” He continued “ask Me if you are released to stop”.  

As each of us remembered the clear leading of the Lord at the beginning of the fast, the fog of discouragement began lifting.  And each one of us committed to continue to fast no matter how long it took and even if we never received a clear strategy .  We would continue in simple obedience until we had a clear corporate witness the Lord was releasing us – for no other reason – with no other agenda – except to please the Lord’s heart.  . 

And then an amazing thing happened.  In early November, the Lord spoke clearly to us that our obedience had touched His heart and now He would move on our behalf to fulfill His purposes.  “This fast will finish at the end of December.  But before that,” He said, “I will add the rest of the 30 – and they will be called in the same sovereign way as those who joined at the beginning.  And you will finish December in a blaze of glory”.   And that is exactly what happened – God began highlighting people to us that we should share with about the fast.  As we did, His presence would come so strongly that people started weeping uncontrollably even in public places.  

December was a month of divine encounters as God began stirring us about a clear trumpet call that was about to be released.   And He also gave us the green light to finally meet – face- to-face for the first time at the end of January.