“Restoring our Roar!”

Ricci Johnson-Wilson

April 2, 2024 (transcript from March 22, 2024 message)

 

Wednesday morning, I was praying over the vision the Lord had given me on March 3, 2024. (You can find this on our website just type in “weeping and sweeping” or “prophecy and history collide” and it’ll pop up.)

Just briefly for the purpose of this message, I’ll summarize it briefly.

I saw America in front of me, it was filled with corruption so deep the land appeared flat. The corruption was displayed by a dark substance.

The Lord appeared on the west coast. He was weeping—His intercession and sweeping. He stood about 150 feet tall. He began moving eastward from the northern corner toward the south and then back. In a serpentine motion, He headed east weeping and sweeping across the land. In this process, He was also exposing the corruption for all to see. Behind Him, the land was clean, defined, sparkling. By the time He arrived at the Grand Canyon, however, I could see that dark substance beginning to line up along the west coast again.

Once He arrived on the east coast and turned around, I could see that the land was already almost filled back up with the corruption.

He walked back to the west coast, and started the same procedure, weeping and sweeping, cleansing the land. This time however, I could sense the corruption was being uprooted.

By the time He arrived at the Grand Canyon—and I believe the Grand Canyon was singled out as a marker – it’s a new time zone heading east from the western coastline. I believe it references a new time that’s coming to our land.

By the time Jesus arrived there, we turned to look back and saw a line of people across the western coastline following Him. Behind them was another line of people, then another, and another! It looked as though they were emerging from the sea, and they just kept coming! Having seen the corruption He exposed, these individuals were working to retain and maintain the cleansing He was doing.

I believe the weeping our Lord was doing is in partnership with the work of the intercessors from 1999 to 2020. This is the period of our Gathering of the Eagles. The gap from 2020 until now, the nation has filled back up with the soot of the last century, and while it may seem discouraging, because it filled so quickly, He exposed the roots of the corruption, so the people are now ready to reclaim the land! 

He is faithful because we’ve prayed. And friends, our Lord began another trek across our land because He has not turned His back on our nation!

From 2020 until now, our Lord has been working to cleanse the land in partnership with the intercessors, but those coming up out of the sea are those rods of righteousness—the new breed of warriors—I’ve seen them in visions—and we’ve prayed about them for many years. These are the ones who believe in the destiny of this Nation. God called upon them to retain and maintain the work that’s been done in the spirit realm.

They are the New Breed of Believers the Lord told me were coming clear back in 2018.

If you remember, in that March 10th message, I shared the importance of receiving the Word of the Lord and praying into what He gives us.

The Lord continues to build, line upon line, to reveal His plan and awaken the people to follow.

As I shared two weeks ago, it’s critical we continue to pray into God’s plans as He reveals them. Wednesday, I was praying into that vision, and I saw a new wave of the New Breed of Believers awaken to fight alongside us. Then I heard the Roar of the Lion of Judah, and He kept ROARING. He was awakening them! The ROAR kept getting stronger and stronger until I had no other option but to roar along with the Lord! The imagery reminded me of a picture that James Nesbit created of a warrior who was roaring in the natural while the Lion of the Tribe of Judah roared from their spirit. One of our intercessors sent me this as a gift a few years back.  

 

It’s time we Restore our ROAR!

I believe this vision is for the warriors who are either not yet awake, weary, or perhaps even left the fight out of discouragement. They need to get their roar back. I’m going to pray for you before we are done, and together, let’s pray for the warriors who are battle-fatigued or so discouraged by what they see, they’ve abandoned the fight altogether.

Why is it so important for them to regain or Restore their ROAR? That is the subject of tonight’s message.

Turn with me to Nehemiah

A brief background:

Nehemiah was likely born in Babylon as his story picks up after Daniel and Esther, and somewhere in the middle the book of Ezra. The prophets are of course speckled in there too but I’m referring to the historical content. He was living some 800 miles from Jerusalem. Cyrus, as we discussed two weeks ago, issued his decree to allow the captives to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. (2 Chron. 36:22-23, Ezra, Haggai) Which they did.

However, of the 2-3 million who were in captivity at this time, only an estimated 50,000 returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. That’s only 2%! After the victory under Esther, which the feast of Purim is all about, most remained secure in the life they’d built over the course of the last 70-90 years, and they did not feel a need to return. They were comfortable in their semi-captive state. Even those living in Jerusalem paid tribute to the King, so why uproot their lives and return?

The Cyrus Decree grants the exiles to return as a church to rebuild the Temple. The core of their existence at this point—after 70 years of captivity and oppression—is to return to God and worship Him as was laid out by Moses some 1000 years earlier. Ezra details their journey.

Nehemiah came along several years later. Like Daniel, Nehemiah was elevated into a high position in the courts and despite all that his position afforded him, never allowed Babylon, and now Persia, to live within him. His heart ached for his people as we will read in Nehemiah 1.

When the exiles return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, they encounter the descendants of those left behind when the Assyrians, followed by the Babylonians took them captives. They left behind the very poor to work the land and then pay tribute to the very oppressive regimes.

By the time we catch up with Nehemiah, we are well into the time of the Persian empire. He is the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes.

I’m going to cover a lot of Nehemiah because what we see take place in his life is the rise of a true leader. An intercessor whom God chooses to use to birth a revolution in the heart of his people.  A new breed of warrior who receives his roar right before our very eyes!

First the intercessor then the warrior.

Nehemiah 1:1-3 (AMPC)

“THE WORDS or story of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: Now in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year [of the Persian king], as I was in the castle of Shushan, Hanani, one of my kinsmen, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped exile, and about Jerusalem. And they said to me, The remnant there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its [fortified] gates are destroyed by fire.”

Why is this so critical? Why does it grip his heart so?

The Temple was rebuilt, a huge praise, a huge celebration, but when they set out to rebuild the walls surrounding Jerusalem to protect the Temple, we read in Ezra 4, that the northern tribes sent letters to the King accusing the returning exiles of fortifying the city for the purposes of an insurrection. Where have we heard this recently? Never tell me the Bible isn’t relevant to today!

Since the captivity, Israel and Judah, and the surrounding nations were tributaries under the rule of the Persian Empire, they had governors and paid a hefty tribute. Much like the 13 Colonies here in America in the 1700s.

In Ezra we read that the King believed the accusations against the returning exiles and forced them to halt their activity. Now, the Temple, along with those living in Jerusalem, was left exposed.

Why is this important? Walls were instrumental in the ancient world to prevent attacks. In Jerusalem, the lack of external covering, prevented them from including any of the beauty that once typified Solomon’s Temple as the risk of pillaging and/or destruction for those valuables would be too great. Walls protect.

Nehemiah’s response to this news is where we see his ROAR come forth!

Listen to his prayer here:

Nehemiah 1:4-11 “When I heard this, I sat down and wept and mourned for days and fasted and prayed [constantly] before the God of heaven, And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, Who keeps covenant, loving-kindness, and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments, Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to listen to the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You day and night for the Israelites, Your servants, confessing the sins of the Israelites which we have sinned against You. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. [Deut. 6:1-9.]

Remember [earnestly] what You commanded Your servant Moses: If you transgress and are unfaithful, I will scatter you abroad among the nations; [Lev. 26:33.]

But if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the farthest part of the heavens [the expanse of outer space], yet will I gather them from there and will bring them to the place in which I have chosen to set My Name. [Deut. 30:1-5.]

Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere and fear Your name (Your nature and attributes); and prosper, I pray You, Your servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was cupbearer to the king.”

Pause for a moment

God is doing a work in Nehemiah to prepare him for the work ahead. Here we see Nehemiah’s ROAR journey:

This is something he meditated on for 4-5 months—night and day—this was his primary focus. (We read this in Nehemiah 1 & 2)

How does he approach God? Let’s look at his process, the journey of Nehemiah’s ROAR. Remember, he lived in Persia, but his heart was in Jerusalem.

  1. Neh 1:5 Reminds God of His Covenant. God made a covenant with the people of Israel. He would be their God and they would be His people. He prays several Scriptures just in this one chapter as He seeks the face of God for wisdom, knowledge, revelation, and understanding on what he, Nehemiah, is to do given his position in the court. God stirred him up to save Jerusalem.
  2. Neh 1:4, 6 Obeisance to the King of kings. Nehemiah engages in identificational repentance here, lowering himself before God on behalf of his people. He confesses the sins of his people, the very sins that got them into this captivity to begin with. He repents for corruption, rebellion, violation of His statutes and ordinances, day after day Nehemiah does obeisance before God to plead the case of His people.

 

Why is this significant? Nehemiah was a cupbearer. That may not sound like a lofty position in the eyes of many today, but he would be before the king every day. He would be consulted on private and public matters. The king literally put his life in the hands of his cupbearer as it was, he—the cupbearer—who tested everything the king ate and drank to ensure it was not poisonous. To infiltrate the cupbearer was to take out the king. He was trusted with the life of the king. Yet in his chambers, Nehemiah bowed before the One True King to plead the case of his people 800 miles away.

 

  1. Neh 1:7-8 Applies Scripture Nehemiah knew the Word and He knew how to pray God’s Word back to Him. Not at Him, but back to Him. “Incline Your ear” he cried, we have acted corruptly and against You and have not kept the commandments and statutes. And, as You warned us through Moses, You have rightly scattered us abroad among the nations. Nehemiah is praying Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Lev 26:33 in just these two verses of prayer. He is not just reading Torah; Torah is part of his being, and he is praying Torah. Nehemiah was a man of prayer, there are 14 recorded prayers in this short book, he knew how to get ahold of God!

 

  1. Neh 1:9-11 Reclaims what God already promised. Nehemiah once again quotes Scripture Duet 30:1-5, which lists God’s promises if they return to Him, even if they are outcasts to the farthest part of the heavens, God would gather them from there and bring them to the place where He has chosen to set His Name.

There are only two nations in the world that God established Covenant with. Israel the apple of His eye, and America, His heart. Israel is where He chose to set His Name, and America, in addition to being established by God to protect Israel, is where the Gospel will pour out from until the end of time.

Nehemiah 2 –Testing Nehemiah’s ROAR

Five months of seeking the face of God in this manner, and Nehemiah’s RROAR is solidified and now put to the test. He’s before the King and the King sees his grief. To show sadness in the presence of an earthly king warranted death. However, God was moving and opened this door for Nehemiah. He answered his cry on behalf of his people and the heart of this earthly king is indeed in the hands of the Lord and He’s about to turn it to favor the Israelites. (Prov 21:1) This is why prayer is key to changing nations. (I Tim. 2:2)

Chapter 2 begins – as I said – 4-5 months later. In the month of Nisan, the month of Passover. How significant is this timing?

Chapter 2:1-4 “In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence. So the king said to me, Why do you look sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid and said to the king, Let the king live forever! Why should I not be sad faced when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchers, lies waste, and its [fortified] gates are consumed by fire?

The king said to me, For what do you ask? So I prayed to the God of heaven.”

Stop here for a moment– Nehemiah, in a split second has to apply his ROAR skills. He goes to prayer, how often when we are in a make-or-break moment, do we forget to pray? Fortunately for Jerusalem, Nehemiah doesn’t and 4b tells us “so, I prayed to the God of heaven.”  Nehemiah immediately goes to prayer knowing God opened this door to reclaim Jerusalem as a place of safety for his people.

When you live a life of prayer, a life with your ROAR intact, you demonstrate this in several different ways.

  1. You first accomplish the event through prayer. Prayer opened the door for not just this audience with the king, but a conversation that will lead to his departure from the king. This could have been seen as treason, but because Nehemiah spent months in preparatory prayer, God turned the heart of the king to receive what Nehemiah was about to request with grace and mercy.
  2. Prayer becomes reflexive. Have you ever said just a short prayer as a reflex? “Lord, help me!” and felt the Spirit of the Lord instantly enter the environment and strengthen you or grant you divine wisdom? A life of prayer opens you up to downloads from Holy Spirit, and these downloads can save a life.
  3. You become utterly dependent on God for the steps you have to take. (Years ago I had a vision that there would be a day when Christians in nations where persecution is rampant, would be shown by God paths of safety in real time. He would tell them to turn right, left, backward or forward to evade Islam extremists and escape to safety.
  4. You are given unexpected boldness to occupy. Luke 19:13. Nehemiah 5-8

What does that mean? What does this look like practically for Nehemiah?

Nehemiah 2:5-8 “And I said to [him], If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you will send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ sepulchers, that I may rebuild it. 6 The king, beside whom the queen was sitting, asked me, How long will your journey take, and when will you return? So it pleased [him] to send me; and I set him a time.

Also I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given me for the governors beyond the [Euphrates] River, that they may let me pass through to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest or park, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple and for the city wall and for the house that I shall occupy. And the king granted what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

Then I came to the governors beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.”

Can you see the ROAR in these requests?!? He’s asking for time, letters for safe passage, lumber for the gates of the city along with the house he’s gonna occupy! The Bible tells us the king granted what he asked – Nehemiah tells us why in verse 8 “for the good hand of my God was upon me!”

Not only is Nehemiah effectively taking an extended leave of absence from his post as cupbearer (the journey alone takes 4 months) but he’s heading into a promotion! He will eventually be appointed as Governor of Jerusalem!

Number 5 in our list of things demonstrated by a life of prayer, especially when our ROAR is intact:

5)  You can receive Divine wisdom! Through this God opens the eyes of our understanding to vulnerabilities (Eph 1:18). Neh. 2:12-18 tells us that Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and no sooner unpacked his bags, and he went on an unannounced reconnaissance mission in the middle of the night! The intel he gleaned on this covert mission demonstrated the severity of the situation in Jerusalem. Can you hear the theme of Mission Impossible while you read this? Nehemiah was a man of prayer, fearless in the face of his enemies, and a special ops guy! The Word of God is so exciting! And throughout this process, God downloads His wisdom and knowledge so Nehemiah could approach the people with God’s plan of action.

6) The favor of God rests upon us. Neh. 2:10, 17-18

10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard this, it distressed them exceedingly that a man had come to inquire for and require the good and prosperity of the Israelites.

Skip down to verse 17-19:

“Then I said to them, You see the bad situation we are in–how Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a disgrace. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build! So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

“But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us and said, What is this thing you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”

Nehemiah really needed the favor of God upon his life in this moment. The deep state and fake news talking heads, aka Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were publicly mocking Nehemiah AND even accusing him of an insurrection! Nehemiah spoke truth to their lies! Because Nehemiah was a man of prayer, a ROARing Warrior, a man who really was walking in the Reclamation phase of his ROAR, the people believed him and arose to build the wall and secure Jerusalem! (this all sounds too familiar, doesn’t it?) Not only that, the Church, in this case Eliashib the High Priest along with his brethren, build up the sheep gate and finished the work of the Temple. (Neh 3:1) Chapter 3 details the work of each people group and their families as they build up their portion of the wall. Friends, it’s critical we all do our part to fortify our cities, our states, and our nations!

7) A life of prayer helps us deal with opposition. Why? Listen to what Sanballat and Tobias aka the Deep State did:

Neh 4:1-3 “BUT WHEN Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and in a great rage, and he ridiculed the Jews. And he said before his brethren and the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things [at will and by themselves]? Will they [try to bribe their God] with sacrifices? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, What they build–if a fox climbs upon it, he will break down their stone wall.”

Petty and ridiculous, isn’t it? There has been a “deep state’ or an opposition to the plans and purposes of God since the Garden of Eden. The enemy sends in liars and deceivers to thwart God’s plans constantly.

Neh 4:11 adds, “And our enemies said, They will not know or see till we come into their midst and kill them and stop the work.”

This is not only mocking the people of God, but the plan is to persecute and assassinate whoever, and whenever possible. Mocking and persecution, just like here in the book of Nehemiah is par for the course. A life of prayer strengthened Nehemiah, so he didn’t hide or run from the opposition, he stood his ground. He went once to God once again and asked Him to fully expose them for what they’d done to the people and the city of Jerusalem.

8) When our ROAR is intact, we can effectively unite and strengthen those who walk with us so they can stay the course.

Neh 4:13-15 “So I set [armed men] behind the wall in places where it was least protected; I even thus used the people as families with their swords, spears, and bows. I looked [them over] and rose up and said to the nobles and officials and the other people, Do not be afraid of the enemy; [earnestly] remember the Lord and imprint Him [on your minds], great and terrible, and [take from Him courage to] fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. And when our enemies heard that their plot was known to us and that God had frustrated their purpose, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work.”

This Chapter goes on to tell us exactly how encouraged the people were to stay the course:

Nehemiah 4:16-17 “And from that time forth, half of my servants worked at the task, and the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah. Those who built the wall and those who bore burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other hand. They slept with their outer clothing on, weapons ready, and they continued for 52 days until the wall that would protect our precious Jerusalem was complete.”

Nehemiah went on to be appointed governor, he worked with Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah to bring stability to the people and ensure that Jerusalem and her inhabitants were secure. He understood what it meant to ROAR for the Kingdom of Heaven.

The book of Nehemiah is considered an historical book in the Bible. Yet, as I said earlier, it records 14 prayers, in 13 chapters. Prayer is an integral part of history and ensures that God’s heavenly will is accomplished here in the earth. It ensures destinies are fulfilled, nations stay the course, and the path for the next generation is properly forged.

The only way to restore and maintain our ROAR is to be people of prayer.

How do these principles apply to us today? Why is this important for us today?

I took my grandsons to school this morning. They typically line up outside and then head inside for announcements. Today, a rarity, these announcements were outside. I remained with them because I had cupcakes to hand to my youngest boy’s teacher so he can celebrate his birthday with his class.

The Vice Principal announced birthdays, math and reading accomplishments and then reminded the children that today was the last day until April 2nd, he encouraged them to work hard to be their very best, to be kind, and use wisdom in their deeds and actions. (I loved this call to exercise wisdom!) But the following is why I’m sharing this moment with you:

He called up the student body president to lead their class in the pledge of allegiance.  He firmly instructed the children to stand, remove hats, and face the flag. The teachers reinforced this quickly to ensure honor and respect for our flag was observed.

The 6th Grade student body president led the class in the pledge of allegiance, and I began to weep right there on the spot. Standing there with my hands full of cupcakes, I was thrust into a silent prayer.

I saw the Samuel Generation standing before my eyes. I had a vision of them growing up, I saw them as the New Breed of Believers, the Warriors, the new breed of educators, journalists, politicians, and so on, the Loyalists who will be Loyal to the heart of what this Nation was founded upon! They will walk along the path of the Lord to maintain and retain our nation in the days ahead. I knew that these children are the ones we are fighting to secure our nation and build a wall for, we have our sword in one hand and our hammer in the other, because we are fighting to make up the hedge for this Samuel Generation!

As I walked to my truck tears flowing, I then felt my spirit preparing for war. The ROAR was upon me! I sat in my truck and decreed and declared the future of the Samuel Generation to come forth! I placed a hedge around them, I called forth their destinies as written on their scroll before they were formed in their mother’s womb… as I did, warring angels appeared before my eyes and lined the boundaries of this property. This elementary school shares its’ property with the middle school, and these warring angels lined up shoulder-to-shoulder all around the property! They were fiercely guarding these young minds and were prepared to stand guard and watch over each destiny. This district is one of the few in California that does not push communism or leftist ideologies, it actually teaches our true history. I know this to be true because I’ve read through the material, I know what they are learning.

I used this campus and its school district as a point of contact and broke communism off the schools of California and saw the wall of communism fall before my eyes!

The breakthrough is coming!  It’s coming! IT’S COMING! God is going to break through the chains because the intercessors have restored their ROAR and will weep and war on behalf of the children!

Like Nehemiah, this work we are doing is not only to rebuild the house of God, but this work is for the purposes of rebuilding the spiritual walls that protect our nation, our youth, and our destiny! There are times we must sleep ready to rise up and fight. Others we will need to war with one hand and build with the other, but this can only be done if we have our ROAR restored!

If you have lost your ROAR or if your ROAR is weary, let God RESTORE YOUR ROAR!!

I prayed for everyone on our call when this message was given. You can listen to it on our website and receive the prayer over you or raise your hands up to the Lord and ask Him to restore your ROAR right here and now!

Blessings & love

Ricci Johnson-Wilson