Meet Jeri Penley
Administrator for Strategic Prayer Strike Center located at the US Center for World Missions in Pasadena, Ca.
(What a blessed interview I was able to have with Jeri.
Read on as she shares. God Bless you, jan hicks) “In 1975 while in Hawaii, I met a group of 7th day Adventists. They believed dearly in salvation and the harvest. They were actively working on the islands. I was going through a depression about losing a boyfriend; the Lord was working on me. I was very depressed, thought this boyfriend I was seeing was ‘the one’. I was losing ground with the relationship and it wasn’t working out. I didn’t know anything about Jesus and really didn’t know anything about God. I had become involved in the occult, with researching and practicing psychic ability. I knew there was evil in the world and there was good. That night I had a supernatural experience with God. I started saying over and over the Lord’s Prayer, I knew it was a powerful prayer. I also prayed for strength and patience. I started to drift off to sleep but was very much aware as I felt this pressure come over me, this ‘light’ touched me, the moment it did, I was consumed in love. I knew then that God existed. The next morning I knew there was a change, I withdrew myself from living with my boyfriend and two weeks later I was ‘born again.’ I went around telling everyone there is a God, He does exist, He loves us and our relationship with Him is the most important thing. Nothing else matters. That was the foundation of my walk, the first commandment.”
Jeri said she left the islands to return to the mainland to be with her family but failed to get locked into a good fellowship. She says, “Before long I had gone back into my old life style. About four years later, I met John Penley, we married and now have two children, Jared 15 and Jessica 11. We have been living in the San Fernando Valley for 20 years. A lot of studio people live |
here; it is very connected to Hollywood. There is also a lot of pornography studios here. About 15 years ago, I came to a place where I told the Lord this is not working out, I’m not happy with my life I want to stop smoking marijuana, and I want a child, but my husband didn’t want a child. I was pregnant at the time, but didn’t know it. The Lord wooed me back and I discovered He never left me, He was always there. I gave my life back to Jesus. Although my husband still isn’t saved, he is a caring, loving gentle person, a great father and wonderful provider. The Lord has moved his position about children and me in church. The Lord gave me the strength to attend church again, my husband allowed it.”
“I have a heart for Israel, I attended a messianic congregation and become very close to them as well as my evangelical church. Through the messianic church I learned about healing and deliverance, gifts of the spirit. I became a prayer leader there.”
“Seven years ago I became involved with the March for Jesus in the Valley. We did concerts of prayer every 3 months at different locations. That was the beginning of the Lord putting me into the ministry. The Lord called me into ministry for Hollywood, raising up a 24 hour prayer ministry in 1997, helping with the March of Jesus and Concerts of Prayer in the Valley. The Lord transitioned me to the Harvest Rock Church as a second church and under the teachings of Lou Engle’s. Lou is a powerful prophet evangelist called by God to sound the alarm around the world to call the body of Christ to fasting and prayer.”
“One night while soaking before the Lord I heard Him tell me where I was to be, the teaching I was to be under and then I distinctly heard Him say, ‘and I will marry you to Hollywood’. I was involved through prayer groups with Hollywood at the time, doing behind the scene prayer thrusts and initiatives, undercover stuff. I didn’t know what was to be next until the Lord told me clearly I was to help and support RTV Ministries, ‘Reclaiming the Valley Ministries’, working with founder David Andrade. I suggested an Intercessory Prayer Summit to be formed. David agreed and we now have done four prayer summits. Each time, I am personally taken to a whole new level with God. It is a major impacting, life changing experience. United Prayer for Hollywood is under RTV Ministries |
also. RTV's focus since 1989 has been to empower citywide prayer for evangelism by building inner city relationships between pastors and prayer ministries."
“The Lord then implanted into me that we would start a World Prayer Center in L.A., Hollywood. The Lord made it clear to me that it was going to be birthed. Through the leading of the Lord we joined visions and started the Strategic Prayer Strike Force. We are networking with many other prayer centers. One day this will become the World Prayer Center in L.A. We are training ‘House of Prayer’, we are being mobile, going out, teaching on the internet. Every 3 months we do all day sessions where people can come and get exposed to different styles of prayer and worship. We had 11 different house of prayer groups come together last week to minister to the Lord. The Strategic Prayer Strike Center offers 24-hour prayer covering for the entire Southern California region through centralized networking, communications, partnerships, and training with existing churches and ministries. We are now planting an international House of Prayer for Hollywood which will build into a 24/7 House of Prayer like what is happening in Kansas City. We are a team working together for this Hollywood transformation.”
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When asked why prayer is important, she says, “Prayer is the teether, like when a baby is young and cutting his teeth, we give him a teether to chew on. Prayer is the way the Lord raises us up. If we are not in prayer, how can we hear from Him, how can we receive direction, revelation. I know I get revelation from reading the Word, but reading the Word is a form of prayer. I have to listen to Him, gaze upon Him, wait upon Him. That is prayer.” Jesus is calling everybody, He is a jealous God, and He wants 100% of us. He’s real serious about this stuff, I’m praying for Him to dwell in me for Hollywood. We’re the Tabernacle of David being stored.”
To learn more about Jeri, the team and their vision for Hollywood, check out their websites:
www.unitedprayerforhollywood.org,
www.hollywoodtransformation.com or
www.strategicprayerstrikecenter.org
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