Informed Intercession: Transforming Your Community Through Spiritual Mapping and Strategic Prayer

Spiritual mapping is a form of cultural geography or cultural anthropology aiming for a fuller understanding of the nature and origin of any obstacle to revival and to receive God's prescribed strategies for their removal. Spiritual mapping may focus on people's spiritual worldview and allegiance, moral choices, the resulting patterns of behavior, and social reputation. Spiritual mapping superimposes a Christian's understanding of forces and events in the spiritual domain onto seemingly natural circumstances and places. The veiled realities include angels and other divine resources , , , territorial or psychic demonic strongholds, quid pro quo spiritual pacts to handle individual or corporate trauma, repressed hurts associated with unresolved social injustice. Dark supernatural powers really exist, not simply appear to be. Western Christianity has lost the ability to recognize the spiritual dimension, having embraced an anti-supernatural worldview. Spiritual mapping equips the church to discern and to navigate the spiritual dimensions in its ministries. Spiritual mapping does not substitute prayer or evangelism, but can render both more effective. (A) Spiritual Mapping's Scope & Contents: The scope of a spiritual mapping project may be a neighborhood, a city, a region, a people group, or a virtual online community. Civic and legal boundaries are often arbitrary and do not reflect socio-cultural realities and spiritual domains. For example, Navajo tribal members, spread over Arizona and New Mexico and Utah, are more concerned with traditional boundaries rooted in tribal myths than with state boundaries; colonial and thus modern borders of African countries often bisect ancient tribal homelands; immigrant groups may maintain strong ties with their home culture and religion. Spiritual mapping asks what are wrong with one's community. To that end, one may characterize the community's status of Christianity, worldviews and allegiances, spiritual opposition, and prevailing social bondages. There needs to be a balance between sensitivity and candor; both judgmental and rose-colored attitudes need to be avoided. With respect to Christianity's status --- Are old revival fires still burning, or has the fervor of previous years given way to liberal lukewarm religion? What is the status of current evangelistic initiatives? What is the community's perception of the church? As a relevant force or an outmoded institution? In relation to worldviews and allegiances, identify important underlying religious and secular philosophies, ideologies, or mind-sets. With respect of prevailing social bondages --- Outward evidence of spiritual darkness needs to be gathered. There needs a cataloging of the conditions of externally inflicted pain like disease, poverty, injustice and violence. There needs to be an assessment of the nature and prevalence of self-destructive vices, such as gambling, sexual immorality, pornography, and prostitution. There also needs to be a

This book contains a cluster of excitements. It talks about transformation of cities, blessings upon cities, wonderful conversions, compelling evidences and then leading to more meaty materials on strategic research. By and large, the weight of Otis message touches on a very much controversial issue, which is spiritual mapping. Some have called this exercise mystical. Others have challenged and call it unbiblical. Otis need not justify. He is in the business of finding out and reinforcing the truth. Many of us read line upon line but Otis reads a deeper meaning in between the lines, and that creates a drive in him to demystify the riddle behind our earthly dimension. This is why the author is willing to paddle sacred mountains, interview a host of spiritual practitioners, identify topology of cities and various locations just to find out a truth to one pivotal question, "Why does spiritual darkness linger where it does? ". This book articulates his dedication. But the fruits of Otis research per se is not an end to itself as he has to assembly them into ready-to-use tools. Knowing that spiritual rookies can be raw in this subject, Otis has also prepared simple materials in the form of questionnaires and wise guidelines that can help them to explore new ground using spiritual mapping. The final product of spiritual mapping contains revolutionary methods that can give us understanding to our natural dimension from a spiritual perspective. Therefore with this kind of first class data, we are more acutely aware of the dark corners of our living dimension. The insightful information found in this book have also brought me to another mileage of realization. That is happenstance is a foolish answer to the ignorant. The happenings in our dimension are the visible products engineered by "invisible hands" of the spiritual realm.Regardless of what critics have to offer, the end results of spiritual mapping speaks for itself. I am sure intercessors all over have already a deep appreciation towards the painstaking journey of Otis research and quest for truth. Many of them already found it extremely useful. Spiritual giants can now be subdued with intelligent utterances towards heaven. No wonder Otis stands out as a favorite consultant among prayer partners. To put it succinctly, this book is both educational and enjoyable. The wisdom and integrity revealed here is certainly a product of its own class, that can now be applied by many who wants to see their own cities transform. Intercessors, make sure this book is included in your prayer class ! To Otis and Sentinel group thanks a million !