I recently wrote an update for our mailing list and thought I would post it here as well. A word of warning…it’s a bit long!  But here it is:

Well, it has been a full year and a half since Waiting at the Well Ministries was incorporated and we obtained 501c3 status.  In some ways it is hard to believe it has been that long, but in other ways it seems much longer.  Since WATW is just an extension of my calling and what I have been doing in ministry for a long time, it feels like I have been doing this forever!

The actual verbiage associated with our mission statement has been tweaked here and there along the way (and I’m sure it will be again), but the heartbeat remains the same.  Basically we pray and “go” and we “go” and pray – for individuals, for Israel, and for the bride of Christ (the church worldwide).   For this update, I thought it would be fun to give you some quick examples of how our mission plays out in day-to-day ministry…

Saturdays are our main time of ministry for individuals.  We continue to take appointments for focused, and often intense, times of personal prayer.  During these times we’ve seen the Lord show up in powerful ways - at times bringing miraculous healing and deliverance, as well as very specific words of encouragement and wisdom.  However, while these are wonderful benefits, our main objective is still to simply connect the hearts of individuals to the heart of God.  One of the most meaningful testimonies along these lines came from a young woman who came in for prayer because she had been extremely sick.  I wish I could say she was immediately healed, but that wasn’t the case – however Jesus was there in a special way and we all knew He touched her.  A couple of weeks later her mother emailed to ask if she could come in again because she was still deteriorating and the doctors had basically said there was nothing else they could do for her.  Since she had come to The Well, she had continued to seek healing prayer from several different churches and ministries, but told her mom she wanted to come back to The Well because she had never felt God’s peace so much as she had “at that little house in Redlands” (well, actually it is in Mentone – but that’s okay!).  In her words, she wanted to come back to “just curl up on that couch again and feel Jesus.”   Reading that email brought tears to my eyes and affirmed to my heart again that we are where God wants us to be and doing what He wants us to be doing.  Incidentally, she did come back for prayer again (and again after that) and God is answering although she still has a ways to go.  We all would have liked to have seen her healing happen instantly, but we are extremely grateful for His touch upon both her body and heart and believe Him for complete restoration.  We are so blessed to be able to partner with Him in releasing the desires of His heart into individual lives!

As for ministry to Israel, I am extremely excited about my trip next month.  Although I long for the day when the Lord will open the door for me to minister in Israel for extended periods of time, for now I am grateful to simply be able to “go and pray.”  This time around, we leave Sept.22 and come back on Oct.7.  I had initially wanted to bring a prayer team to Israel this year but hadn’t felt released to plan that type of trip because I wanted to first establish connections with several messianic ministries and churches in Israel (by “messianic” I mean Jewish believers in Jesus).  I have good contacts with several prayer ministries in Israel that are staffed by westerners, but have believed it is God’s heart that we also partner with and bless Israeli believers.  The trip next month will be for that exact purpose!  I believe it will be our final “scouting” type trip before we can begin regularly taking prayer/ministry teams.  I’ll be joined by my pastor’s wife, Aldean, and every detail of this trip has been a “God thing” for sure.  We are being hosted by a trio of messianic ministries and we will have the opportunity to visit several messianic congregations in several cities that I have not yet visited.  From the first moment I learned of this opportunity, I heard the Lord saying both Aldean and I would go, but until very recently it looked completely impossible financially.  But, on the very day I needed to make the decision, we received a large portion of the funding!  Leave it to Jesus to come through right on time!

And, of course, we also continue to function as a “house of prayer for all nations.”  Recently God gave me another example of how fun it is to watch Him respond when we join Him in what He’s doing and pray from heaven to earth (rather than the other way around).  Because of its proximity to Thailand and the magnitude of need – particularly in light of the recent cyclone – I often pray for the nation of Burma (Myanmar).  It has often puzzled me how little the world has noticed the extreme degree of suffering in this nation.  Tribal ethnic groups – many of them Christians - have been victims of genocide for years and the junta’s oppressive response to the recent cyclone simply underscored what has been occurring in Burma for years.  I have often prayed for the international community to take appropriate notice (and action), yet even the coverage after the cyclone was minimal given the scope of the tragedy.  One day as I was praying – again – for the world to take notice, the Holy Spirit strongly impressed upon me that it wasn’t the world, but the church that needed to take notice!  I found myself on my face crying out from the depths of my soul for the church to wake up and respond accordingly.  Barely a week later as I was praying along with the webstream from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOP is a leader in the prayer movement and has sustained 24/7 prayer and worship for nearly 9 years) the prayer focus shifted to – you guessed it – Burma!  I listen to the IHOP webstream often and have heard and participated in many prayer watches for many nations, but rarely has the prayer focus been sustained on Burma for any period of time – even right after the cyclone.  Well, to make a long story short, not only did they pray for Burma that day but I have since learned that they have undertaken an extremely intense and focused season of intercession for Burma and have also started a campaign that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars (they hope to raise millions) in relief and rebuilding efforts for the nation!   This is so strategic, because many, many smaller houses of prayer around the world (like The Well) webstream the prayer room from IHOP.  You can be sure that anything on the prayer “radar” at IHOP will gain worldwide exposure amongst intercessors.  Yay God!!!  He is SO faithful!

These are just a few small examples that have served to encourage our hearts that God is indeed using our “little house of prayer” to help bring the rule of His kingdom to the earth.  This is especially encouraging to me personally as I have sought the Lord for our next steps.  Since leaving my job at the beginning of the year, I have looked for a variety of ways to supplement my income, but none of them have been particularly fruitful in a sustained way.  Looking back I can see that Jesus has been steadily wooing me and challenging me to put my primary focus and energy into the ministry and simply trust Him to provide for me.  While I will always remain open to any creative and flexible means the Lord might use to provide income apart from the ministry—including consulting or part time/temp employment—more often than not, He has shown me that my own “efforts” in these areas have been based in fear and have, at times, served to distract me from my main purpose and call.  At WATW’s annual board meeting a few months ago, I was encouraged to allow the board to set a salary for me for my service with the ministry and prayer room—since it is, essentially, my full-time “job.”  I thought this was premature and declined.  Well, let’s just say the Lord has convinced me to reconsider!  Obviously, the resources have to be there for me to actually receive the salary, but as of this month I am “officially” WATW’s first “employee.”  I know this is literally what I was created to do, and I can’t even imagine doing anything else with the rest of my life, but I still struggle with unbelief that God will actually provide for me to do what I love to do.  Will you please pray with me, and for me, in this area? 

As I have wrestled through this issue of giving myself to full-time ministry, I have not moved forward with many of the things the Lord has put on my heart while I “waited” to see how things would play out.  Well, that is pretty much the opposite of faith, so I am now committed to moving forward with my all of my heart—and most of my time—invested before I know how it will all turn out.  This means I will be adding times in the prayer room and also moving forward on some activities that I have been praying over for some time.   These include taking a ministry team to an upcoming (predominantly secular) festival in the high desert, planning a prayer retreat in the near future, and also making preliminary preparations for another trip to Thailand in late Jan. or early Feb. 

It probably goes without saying that we are very much in need of regular financial partners and would be most grateful if the Lord stirs your heart to partner with us in this way—either with a monthly commitment or with a one time gift.  In addition to regular monthly expenses, there are still some outstanding travel expenses for Israel that need to be covered (approximately $1000).  Beyond all this, in agreement with Romans 15:27, I plan to take a financial gift to the messianic congregations we will be visiting.  (If you would like to give specifically for this purpose, please be sure to write “for Jewish believers” in the memo of your check, as 100% of donations so designated will be given to Tents of Mercy, or affiliated ministries, for distribution among those in need.)

As always, above all, I covet your prayers.  I know God hears!  Please also feel free to email or call and let me know how we can be praying for you.  One of my commitments is to set apart a specific time each week to pray over the prayer requests sent to the ministry.  For those in the immediate area, please consider scheduling a time to come in for personal ministry on a Saturday if you are able.  It is truly our PRIVILEGE to join God in proclaiming the good things on His heart for you.

Until He comes …
See you at the Well!

Cindy Powell
Waiting at the Well Ministries

Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

I have pondered and written on this verse often in the past and, as I continue to contemplate its enormous significance, I will likely continue to do so in the future.  Without this “one thing,” there is no other thing.  Nothing of lasting significance, at any rate.  Nothing that will remain.  It is only when we continually gaze upon the beauty of Jesus and dwell in His presence simply for the sake of being with Him that the rest of our life is truly kept in its proper perspective.  When we lose this “one thing”– we lose everything.  But when we gain it –well, not only do we gain the “one thing” but pretty much every other good thing as well!

Jesus, be my “one thing” now and forever — may I ever long for the fullness of joy found only in Your presence!

Jonah 4:2 He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish.  I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”

Jonah was angry with God for being kind and compassionate.  Jonah knew God’s character so he didn’t want to warn the Ninevite’s because he was afraid they would repent and God would show mercy - which, of course, is exactly what happened.  I think many in the church today need to take note.  There are so many doomsday “prophesies” floating around these days and while they often do include an exhortation to pray - there is also often a subtle (or not so subtle!) assumption that judgment is a foregone conclusion.   Truly we do need to be sober minded and aware of the times - but God’s desire is that we fall on our faces and BELIEVE Him for mercy.   At the cross, mercy triumphed over judgment.  I have never, ever been surprised to learn that God is more ”harsh” or “angry” than I thought Him to be, but  many, many times I have been surprised to learn He is so much more kind, compassionate, patient, and merciful than I could have ever imagined.

Lord, You ARE good - and Your mercy endures forever.  Reveal the truth of Your nature to us and help us to release that same love and mercy to the world around us. Amen

Psalm 27: 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?

Usually when we hear the word “stronghold” we think of it in a negative sense.  In 2 Corinthians 10 the strongholds that Paul talks about are those things in our minds that set themselves up against the knowledge of God.  In the same passage we’re told that we have been given spiritual weapons to demolish these strongholds.  And we should use them!  But as I read through Psalm 27 again recently, the first verse struck me in a new way … Jesus is THE stronghold of my life!  Other “strongholds” - fear, pride, worry, bad habits, distractions, whatever - may try to lodge themselves in my mind and my life, but I’ve been given spiritual weapons to cast those things down and take them captive to the obedience of Christ.  However, there is one “stronghold” that will endure forever - Jesus Himself.  If He is the stronghold of the my life - whom shall I fear?

Lord, thank You for being THE stronghold of my life - the One who will never let go.  The One who is always with me and always for me.   You ARE my light and my salvation and I will not fear!  Amen.