Roadrunners, Caterpillars, and Prayer.

Metamorphosis is a symbol of new life, when Butterflies first crawl out of the chrysalis, they are a little nasty and wet and they have to let their wings dry out and harden for a couple of hours in the sun before they can fly.

Despise not the day of small beginnings. 

When we speak of release in the coming season, we are speaking of this process of crawling out of, the chrysalis of the last season. The past season of our lives is like the chrysalis, with wings still wet, too wet to fly right off. However, we have to come out of the chrysalis of yesterday in order to fly with the wings provided today.

How long does it take for the butterfly to emerge? about 7 days to 10 days, or it can winter over and come out next summer.

Well I was going to compare the seven years of Shemitah to the timing of the butterfly's emergence , but that is just ridiculous! or is it? What does a butterfly have to do with Shemitah?

The butterfly emerges from the chrysalis in seven days. Release after seven days, like a release every seven years?

I believe this prayer group was hidden away in our chrysalis for seven 'days' and we are now being brought through a process to become released to fly.
But only after soaking in the SON for a period of time in order to harden our wings and make them strong enough to fly over great distances.

In a way we were like the caterpillar, low to the ground, insignificant and considered somewhat of an oddity, perhaps colorful enough to catch the eye of child wanting to capture the mystery and keep it in a jar for observation.

However if after seven short days, the jar is not opened, the butterfly will not become the beautiful thing of freedom we all anticipate, but rather remain a captive lady who will eventually starve to death and die in the jar. Able to flap its wings a bit, but never allowed to fly away.

Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding California, tells the story of a Road Runner who showed up but only to prayer meetings, this happened over a long period of time, he came whenever they met for prayer. He would stand outside the glass with a lizard in his mouth, and dance while they prayed. One day the road runner accidentally got inside the building and he couldn't find his way out again. Listen all the way to the end of the story, it will be worth it.

"What I am bringing into the house, had better have a way of being released, from the house or it will die in the house."  (God speaking to Bill Johnson)

That word I will never forget...God speaks uniquely, sometimes he uses our native language. That particular story reinforced a value we already had, but there was something so sharpened, there was an edge sharpened for everything that we did. because we realized... 

"Everything that happens here, has to taken out or it will die here." - Bill Johnson

Don Millican has mentioned a couple of times if we do not reach, teach and release the next generation, then the Church will die with us. Obviously, God is sovereign and is faithful to perform his good pleasure. However, we can join Him in what He is doing.

Freely you have received freely give. 

Can I say that unless we reach, teach and release intercession to the next generation of intercessors, intercession will die here.

We were called to more than this, more than crawling along the branches of the fig tree and nibbling on the leaves, we were called to change, radical change, to rebirth, and transformation,

There is no going back, we have past the point of no return.

Now we must decide to we stay hidden in the chrysalis alone, separated and asleep or do we rise up and fight until we are set free to fly. Once we are released we will rejoin our brothers and let the grand migration can begin.