PROSPER SPIRIT SOUL AND BODY
INTERCESSION AND PRAYER
Why does God want us to pray? Surely He does not need us to pray? Isn't He able to do what He wants to do with or without my prayers? Many of God's people do not pray because they do not know what prayer really is. PRAYER: It is NOT just what we have to do to stay spiritually healthy - like the Sunday school chorus that tells us "Read your bible, pray every day, And you'll grow, grow, grow..." Its much more than that, it is the only way in which God has decided/chosen to run His Kingdom and the afairs of this world. Prayer is the ultimate purpose of our salvation. God's purpose in saving me is to bring me to the throne that controls the universe. Here I become part of the process whereby the purposes of God are realised on earth. Not only am I saved from the power of sin, BUT also in order that I may be taken to sit in the throne that runs the universe and become part of the process / workings that causes the will of God to come to pass in this world. To really grasp this concept properly, we have to start at the beginning. THE BEGINNING, in this case, was ADAM. He was put on the earth and given dominion/authority as lord and ruler under God OVER THE WHOLE EARTH - not only over the garden. HE WAS TO ENSURE THAT GOD'S WILL AND PURPOSES WERE FULFILLED ON EARTH. He was to care for this planet, and to protect it against any intruders, such as evil spirits. God was saying : Here is my will. Choose to carry it out. Be an obedient steward. How you do it is left up to you as long as you stay within the boundaries of my will, being not independant, but depend on Me What Adam had to do was stay in contact with God to keep on receiving direction, wisdom and knowledge to run the planet according to God's purposes and plans. He was to keep the lines of communication open. N.B. God's choice is that whatever He does on the earth He will do through man - because He gave man DOMINION. Under His authority and direction. man is to bring about the purposes of God on earth. HE WILL ACHIEVE THIS ONLY THROUGH MAN. Now,because Adam failed, it does not caurse God to change His plans. Man is still to be the instrument, the way for the will of God to be fulfilled. HOW GOD IS RESTORING Gen.4:26 Men began to call on God / communicate with God the NATION of ISRAEL. The nation of Isreal was God's scale working model to bring about His will and purpose on earth. Ex.19:6 God told Israel that they would be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. A PRIEST : Is someone who stands before God on behalf of the people, and then goes and stands before the people on behalf of God. Isreal was, as a nation - as individuals - to call on the Lord on behalf of the rest of the world. They were to stand before God and receive His understanding and wisdom and His instructions and then take this and go out and get the rest of the world in line with what He told them. They were to be MISSIONARIES TO ALL THE NATIONS, instructing the world as God had instructed them. Isreal as a nation failed in their purpose as a kingdom of priests. The scale model was there to show us that GOD WAS TO HAVE A HOLY NATION THAT WAS TO FUNCTION AS A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS. The Lord Jesus came to earth. He demonstrated what the nation of Israel should have done. He spent much time in prayer. (He was in the habit of slipping away and coming aside) He was standing before God, receiving wisdom, instruction and direction, and then going to the people and causing God's will to be done in their lives. E.g. He spent a night in prayer, received direction from God, and then chose the 12 disciples. then He could say to sinners : “BE FORGIVEN,” to blind eyes, “BE OPENED,” to deaf ears. "HEAR ” to storms” BE STILL.” Jesus was totally SUBMITTED to His Father's will. a. People would be reconciled to Him, b. People would be healed, c. People would be delivered from all bondage, d. People would be living in joy, peace, eternally in His presence. SO, when He prayed, He brought to His Father the way things were - they were NOT ACCORDING TO THE BLUE PRINT - and because this was not satisfactory, He was asking His father to change things to what they should be. HE WAS AGREEING TO CHANGE THINGS : "Your will be done on earth" (Matt.6:10) His will was lined up to the Father's. HERE IS OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE : GOD/Jesus the man, bringing about the will and purpose of God/Father on earth through the channel of prayer. JESUS, OUR EXAMPLE He shows us the way people are supposed to be living : a. Always to be aware of and in the presence of the Spirit of God ; b. Always seeing, understanding things as God sees them ; c. Always agreeing with the will of God (His Word is His revealed will) ; d. Out of this way of praying being able to go and speak the Word, and things taking place. Make a confession of your faith: “I am a ministering priest” JOHN 12:24 We read : "Except a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone , but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit". Jesus is speaking about His own death. He refers to himself as that one corn of wheat - ONLY ONE CORN. There is only ONE like Him. NO ONE ELSE HAD EVER LIVED AS HE LIVED, HAVING DONE THE PERFECT WILL OF THE FATHER ON EARTH. God would multiply Himself millions of times over, as a NATION of PRIESTS - all with the SAME life and characteristics as His Son. No longer linked to Adam, but joined to Christ, they would be a new species, a new company, made up of a new kind of people bringing about the will of God on earth by exercising creative and changing power by prayer and by speaking creative words of faith. THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENT BELIEVERS The promises listed below, only came with Jesus, and could be made to all peoples. The old testament believers prayed but they did not have these promises that the church has : a) "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you". (Matt.7:7) if you ask anything in My Name, I will do it". (Jn.:13-14) c) "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you".(Jn.15:7) d) "Whatsoever you desire (demand what is legally yours) when you pray, believe that you receive them., and you shall have them". (Mark 11:24) WHY DO WE HAVE THIS AUTHORITY ? WHY DO WE HAVE THIS RIGHT TO THESE PROMISES. Because : a) "We are seated together with Christ in heavenly places". (Eph.2:6) b) "We reign in this life by Jesus Christ" (Rom.5:17) c) "We are heirs of God, co-heirs with Jesus". (the ruler of the Universe !) THIS IS CALLED PRAYER : With Jesus as Lord, making the decisions. With us in union with Him, agreeing with His will. With us carrying out His will on earth. John 20:21 "AS THE FATHER SENT ME, SO SEND I YOU". As Jesus changed the world around Him by prayer, so are we to do the same. AMEN - SO BE IT 2 Cor.1:20 (Amplified) "For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their YES in Him, FOR THIS REASON, we also utter the AMEN (so be it -it is so - agreed) to God through Him to the glory of God". All the many promises are guaranteed by the BLOOD of JESUS - they are all YES. Now, FOR THIS REASON we also utter the AMEN to God In other words, we AGREE that the promises are true, real, guaranteed and ours in Jesus by saying AMEN (it is so - it shall be so). SAY THE AMEN TO WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY SAID THE YES TO. HOW DOES IT WORK ? E.g. In certain companies / businesses, the managing director signs all the cheques. But, as is the usual business practice, the cheques need another signature (to avoid fraud). This will usually be the accountant's or company secretary's. or only the accountant's the bank will not give you the cash. But with the director's signature (the one running the company) AND the accountant's signature (the one entrusted with the company funds) both on the cheque, the cash is mine! WE HAVE CHEQUES (HIS WILL AND PROMISES) ISSUED BY GOD AND SIGNED BY HIM. These cheques are guaranteed by the BLOOD of Jesus, but the signature of the accountant (Yours) is still needed. PRAYER is the unspeakable privilege of BRINGING TO PASS THE WILL OF GOD ON EARTH. WHAT ARE THE PROMISES THAT ARE YES AND GUARANTEED ? There are numerous : a) Carrying a load too heavy to bear?. "Come unto Me all ye who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest". Matt 11:28 b) Sick and suffering in your mind and body ? "I am the Lord who heals you". *Ex. 15:26 c) Having needs that no one can supply? "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory". *Phil.4:19. SAY THE AMEN TO YOUR PROMISE NOW AND ACT. Matt.7:7-8 Here we have promises of God that relate directly to PRAYER : PRAYER can be summed up in these three words : ASKING, SEEKING, KNOCKING. A S K and you will receive, S E E K and you shall find, K N O C K and it shall be opened to you. WHAT THIS MEANS A S K: a) God hears when we ask. We have an invitation to speak to God directly. HE CARES. b) because God promises to act, He is not limited or bound by circumstances. God is wanting His people to A S K so that circumstances and people can be change IT IS NOT A MATTER OF JUST ACCEPTING CIRCUMSTANCES AND LIFE AS IT HAPPENS (The "what will be will be" attitude), BUT ASKING ALMIGHTY GOD TO CHANGE THINGS. AND GOD STATES THAT THEY WILL CHANGE (YOU WILL RECEIVE). E.g. Luke 4:18 Jesus is in the synagogue in Nazareth. He was announcing a list of changes that He was helping bring about in the world. “The Good News preached to the poor, broken hearts bound up,.....” Why ? He saw something that was that should not be. It was not according to His Father's will. Death grieved Him. He would not accept it. So He CHANGED THINGS, saying with a loud voice : "Lazarus come forth !.” HIS PEOPLE, THE NEW CREATION KINGDOM OF PRIESTS ARE TO HAVE THE SAME ATTITUDE. Go into all the world and change it to Father's will, so that people may be saved, healed, delivered, and full of joy and peace, serving God, and no longer ignorant, sick and tormented. This is done by the power of the SPIRIT. So, A S K our loving Almighty God and He promises to A C T on our behalf. INSIST that His best, perfect will be done in the messed-up lives around you. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..." Nothing less will satisfy. My desire is to be united to His - THE PURPOSE IS FOR HIM TO BE GLORIFIED. This means praising God for who He is : Loving, Caring, Merciful, Forgiving, Almighty ( He has not got these atributes He IS them, notice capitals) and for what He has done, is doing and will do. It is PRAISING Him IN the middle of problems, pressures, need, and disappointments. N.B. I cannot ASK or PRAY right if I am : ANGRY inside at the circumstances, have unforgiveness or filled with SELF-PITY, DESPAIR or WORRY. I must repent of these attitudes. E.G. Israel at the Red Sea. Pharaoh was coming after them. They were in a spot. They were : ANGRY at Moses. ANGRY with themselves for listening to Moses, full of SELF-PITY, WORRY and DESPAIR. Then the scripture says : "THEY CRIED TO THE LORD". THIS WAS NOT PRAYER, IT WAS A LAST DITCH ATTEMPT TO GET HELP, WHEN THEY HAD FOUND NO OTHER WAY. Sometimes we do the same and God is gracious enough to answer. I have been in such dire situations where all I have been able to cry is HELP ME LORD! and he answered. God does not want us to operated through crisis to crisis, He want to be our giude. PRAYER (ASKING) COMES FROM A HEART OF PRAISE. I can speak to my God who loves, cares and understands, and who is Almighty, all Powerful and Able, who promises to answer when I ASK. THE MAIN REASON FOR ANSWERING IS THAT HIS NAME CAN BE GLORIFIED, SO THAT THE WHOLE WORLD MAY KNOW THAT HE IS LORD. Please visit discussion forum and post comment. God's Richest blessings, Sven W Grahn For more information please fill out this form: If you are interested in receiving free life changing practical studies on a fortnightly basis.
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