Can a nation turn back to God? The answer is a resounding yes, says Emma van der Walt, pastor and prophetess at Living Word church in Brummeria, Pretoria, who believes the change will come from within our cities.
“As I was preparing for a sermon, God spoke to me about a message called ‘City Changers’ after which I asked Him: ‘God, how do we change our cities?’
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“He then answered me with three key concepts, or strategies from which we could start to initiate change.”
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Since then Van der Walt has preached her City Changers message at some of the bigger Living Word churches across the country.
“I am excited to see where it will take us!” she said.
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A time for prayer
The first crucial step to winning this battle starts with prayer. Van der Walt said that in one of her previous visions, she saw an angel standing with widespread legs over the African continent — holding the South African flag and suddenly beginning to wave the flag, showing that South Africa would soon start to move in God’s will.
“God told me, the time for South Africa is approaching soon.” After this the It’s Time national prayer event in Bloemfontein took place, reaffirming the plans God has for South Africa. Van der Walt also prophesied over South Africa at the beginning of the year, confirming that it is a season for earnest prayer, in preparing the soil, for the seeds of revival to be sown.
“After the It’s Time event, I could really feel a change in the spiritual realm, and the evangelists from the front feel it too,” she said. “Something in the spiritual realm stirred; we need to take the battle further with fervent prayer, grounded in our commitment to win this battle!”
She urges us to stand firm on several spiritual grounds, one of which is to fight against the temptations of the flesh. The next is to stand our ground in the spiritual realm because this will manifest in the physical world.
“We should also pray against the spirit of the world. It is concepts, that society created that are detrimental to spiritual growth but have infiltrated our thoughts and became the norm.” These concepts like the pursuit of self-enlightenment or seeking worldly happiness and success, will ultimately lead to the moral decay of our society. “We need to stand against these lies as the Bible teaches us to daily pick up our cross and follow Jesus,” she said.
Reaching out
It is not enough to pray, we need to start living out the Word of God and reaching out to the world, a world that is in dire need of hope. In a vision Van der Walt saw Jesus, holding fertile soil in his hands.
“I saw that the soil was full of earthworms, ready for seed to be sown in it. The Lord revealed to me this is the spiritual soil of the hearts of our people. He said: ‘The ground is ready but the sowers are holding back the seeds.’”
Van der Walt saw another vision of a soldier sitting at a desk, receiving an official letter to go to battle, that he must sign. Before signing it the soldier ponders the thought of going to war, weighing the cost. She says there are many ready to go to battle but they are weighing the cost. She believes these brave soldiers will soon enter the battlefield.
“That is why we need to pray for the Lord to reveal His purpose to us. We need to see His plans for our nation and act in obedience to His voice. That is the only way we will push back the darkness, by bringing the light of Word into the darkest of places. We are the light bearers.”
Strong leadership
Van der Walt believes after sowing the seeds, the Word of God needs to be watered by strong leaders, who will plant churches all over the country, especially in rural areas. “We need to mobilise the church to become part of our society by taking action in our communities.”
She believes it is important to come together in organising various prayer movements to strengthen the Bride of Christ. “From out of the church, the message will spread to the media, businesses and infiltrate the government.”
She said we should not forget to pray for the government. “God is able to change the hearts of those in power.”
Van der Walt urges us to pray for the police force, as they have a difficult task to protect us and these officers are faced daily with various challenges to uphold the law.
Luke 14:27 states: Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple.
The cost of the cross may sometimes seem like a heavy burden, but God’s will is sovereign. This is a time in which He asks us to pay the cost for being His disciples, asking us to walk by faith and not by sight, but we serve a mighty King for which nothing is impossible. We just have to take the first steps of obedience.
This lady, Emma van der Walt, is saying exactly that which is in my own heart!