When I first began leading a small intercessory prayer group, those of us who were involved were all excited about our new group and excited about the authority God has given us as believers. We knew we had power over all power of the enemy and we weren't afraid to use it!! We would come together one night a week at our church to pray. Most of us were young at intercessory prayer and had a lot of zeal. After a few weeks, the Lord began speaking to my heart and causing me to examine our prayer times. I noticed it was mainly warfare and binding strongholds (which is scriptural to do). I felt like the Lord wanted to rearrange some things though and that He wanted to show us a better way to pray. Jesus then gave me a mental picture of what had been happening.
In this picture, Lord would come to meet with us for our prayer time. We would come into the church and get all geared up in our spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10-13). The devil would show up, too. He'd stick out his tongue like a little kid and say, "nay, nay, nah, boo, boo!" while shaking his hiney (remember doing this as a child when you wanted to be chased? I know, I know what you may be thinking, but this is MY mental picture and God speaks to me in a way that I can understand which may not be as intellectually as He speaks to others. I'm simple and I like simple explanations. Anyway, this picture is what the Lord used to get His point across to me.) Okay, so there's the devil getting our attention and distracting us from the Lord. Then he runs off wanting us to chase him. We all start binding and rebuking anything and everything we can think of as we run after him. In my mental picture, we are no where in sight. Jesus is still standing there, waiting to meet with us. He was there wanting to talk to us, but we were so caught up in our authority of the devil and our right to use that authority and so focused on what he was doing, that we missed our encounter with Jesus. We didn't even get to hear what He had to say.
The Lord showed me through that picture that we weren't allowing Him to direct our prayer meetings. See, Jesus knew what needed to be prayed about; instead of coming to Him and asking Him what to pray, we let the devil get our attention and the things Jesus knew needed to be addressed in prayer were left undone. The devil didn't mind us praying--he was sent as a distraction in order to keep us from hearing Jesus which would cause us to pray effectively, with actual results.
"Okay, Lord, now what do I do?" I prayed. "Just because an enemy presents himself to you," He answered, "doesn't mean you are to fight him. You first need to come to Me and let Me tell you what to do." From that time on, we began learning the importance of beginning our prayer times in worship with each person getting alone to personally meet with Jesus--above anything else, that was our main priority. When we came back together to pray, each night was different, with each person praying about the different areas that person felt like the Lord impressed on them to pray while they previously got alone with Jesus.
Do you know that's what David learned to do in the Bible? David was a man of war; there were many battles he fought in his life-time. Do you know what he did when he found out that enemies were near him wanting to fight? The Bible records several times that David would first "inquire of the Lord" asking if he was supposed to fight or not (I Sam. 23:2, I Sam. 23:4, I Sam. 30:8, II Sam. 2:1, II Sam. 5:9, II Sam. 5:23, I Chr. 14:10, I Chr. 14:14). The Lord would answer--sometimes the answer was yes, sometimes the answer was no. If God did want David to fight, He would then tell him HOW to fight. As long as David did it the way God said, he always won the battle.
David was our new example...from that time on, the devil wasn't leading our prayer meetings, but the Lord was. We first spent our time in praise and worship, ministering to Him as priests to our God. Entering into His presence FIRST positioned us to be able to hear what He had to say and to pray what HE KNEW needed to be prayed about. Then, if He wanted us to address demonic spirits, we would turn, face the enemy, say what God wanted us to say, then turn our attention back to the Lord. Now, instead of being out of balance with our "kingly" authority over the devil, the counsel of peace was between both offices of priest and king (see previous post on KINGS and PRIESTS).
Look at Psalm 149--an excellent example that shows entering into God's presence is first and taking authority over the enemy is second.
"Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth..."
(notice the transition here)
"...and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment--this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!"
I see all this praise and worship going on and then warfare; I see the attention being first on praising God, then on fighting enemies; I see that first God is looked at, then the enemies are looked at.
Praise and worship positions us in the "heavenly places" (Eph. 1:20, Eph. 2:6) to be able to hear from God and then to be protected by God (Ps. 91) as we face spiritual enemies and do warfare.
I cannot tell you how much we learned in prayer as a group from that time forward. We learned to hear from God more than we ever had by coming to Him first. Over the next couple of years, there were 2 specific strongholds the Lord directed us to pull down in prayer and there were plenty of times that we would feel led to pray against certain spirits in certain situations, but there were many more times that were filled with worship and adoration of Jesus Christ. There were times our worship alone was the only agenda of the night and there were times our praise alone did more warfare than we could ever accomplish by "binding" and "loosing." No longer were we distracted to take "bunny trails" that left Jesus standing there forever waiting to talk to us. We were knowledgeable and learned to be skillful about our armor and our authority while learning even more how to get close to Jesus and hear the things that were on His heart, to hear His very heart beating....
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Crisis Intercession: God's Words Destroy Satan's Plans
"Behold, I have put my words in your mouth [...] to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down..." Jere. 1:10
Yesterday, I was listening to a podcast I downloaded in iTunes in which an intercessor, Tommi Femrite, was speaking about the different types of intercessory prayer. (It was a really good teaching and free to download, by the way. I believe I found it by searching for Dutch Sheets in the iTunes store search box.) Anyway, I was listening to a message on intercessory prayer and feel led to share a certain prayer experience I had. This experience would definitely fall under the "Crisis Intercession" category that Tommi Femrite was speaking about and is a great example of the way the Lord puts His words in our mouths to destroy the plans of the enemy.
One night, about a decade ago, I was abruptly awakened. It was as if someone were standing near my bed and shook me awake. Immediately, I heard the Lord say, "Get up and pray." I sat up with this overwhelming feeling that something was incredibly wrong. I went into my living room, sat on the edge of my couch, and began covering my entire family in the blood of Jesus to protect them. I remembered reading in a Cindy Jacob's book (I think) that if you feel a burden to pray but aren't sure what to pray about, begin with your family. So, I started with my parents, then began praying for my oldest brother, who was living with his family of 5 as missionaries in a foreign country. Once I began praying for them, I had a knowing this was it--this was the area of danger, the area in which the Lord was alerting me that satan had plans and Jesus wanted to abort those plans.
As I prayed for them, I knew there was death being planned and my heart was gripped. I wept and prayed in tongues and wept some more. As I was doing so, I saw a vision of my niece, my brother's middle child who was in her pre-teen years at the time. In the vision, I saw her in an alley with two or three dark-skinned males who had black bandanas on and one was slapping my niece. There was a dumpster in the alley and I knew that the plans of the devil were that she would end up in that dumpster. When I saw that I knew the Lord was showing me that to do something about it, not to just accept this as her destiny. Boldness came over me, as I stood and declared the Word that God was putting in my mouth to speak: "She will live and not die! and declare the works of God!" Over and over, I said those words, and each time I felt like those words were destroying satan's plans for my niece. At that time, I was single and living with my parents. My mom, entered the room and told me she had been awake, too, praying for my brother and his family. Together, we held hands and continued covering my brother's family in prayer, the spirit of intercession was so thick. About an hour later, the burden lifted and we knew it was time to stop praying--God's will would happen and the devil's plans had been aborted.
I knew better than to call my brother and tell him everything I had seen. And truthfully, to this day my brother and his family have not heard the details I just spoke about. They were missionaries, living in a foreign land; their smallest child was 2 years old when they moved there. I wasn't going to tell them what I had seen because I didn't think it was wisdom and I didn't want to instill fear especially in my sister-in-law and her children. Instead, I immediately emailed my brother, casually telling him that my mom and I were praying for them and telling him I felt he needed to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. That was a Thursday night.
Friday, I checked my email and there was no response. (I found out later, my brother's email was down.) I then felt like God gave me another impression about my brother and his whole family, about the importance of their lives and the people they would touch. Tears fill my eyes right now, remembering all of this. I just started thanking God for what He did the night before. I started calmly thanking God for everything He had planned for my brother's family, for every person God would touch through them. I started declaring over them that God's plans would be done. Then, I really felt strongly that God has so many plans for my niece. I didn't know details of what would happen in her future but I knew the plans He has for her are big and will impact many. And her fluency in Spanish would be important. So, I started asking God to fulfill everything in her life that He has planned for her. I felt so much love for her and knew I was feeling God's love for her and His excitement about her future. So, I prayed that out loud, declaring it would be so, just as God has planned.
Saturday, my brother called. People who know my oldest brother know that he is not a person who overly spiritualizes or overly dramatizes anything. When he called that Saturday, he emphatically told our dad that he almost died that day and said if their oldest child had been with him (like they originally planned) he would certainly have died. Apparently, my brother had a white-water rafting trip planned that day with several ministers from the states. The water was so turbulent that it turned over their boat and they were underwater, being swept downstream over rocks and waterfalls. Everyone made it out of the water safely, but it wasn't without a fight. Being rushed underwater, so disoriented, he wondered if he was going to make it. My brother said he'd never held his breath that long and had never come that close to facing death. He was convinced that if his oldest son had been in the boat, he would not have made it out of the water alive. At the last minute, my brother had decided not to take his son with him that day. I do not for a minute believe that was a coincidence. Without even knowing it, the Lord directed his decision.
I never heard of any "close call" happening with my niece, my other nephew, or my sister-in-law. And I never told them about the vision--again, I didn't feel I should. Hearing about the water rafting trip was enough to prove to me that God not only woke me up to pray, but He also heard those prayers, and used those words to totally destroy the plan of death that satan had for my brother and his entire family.
That's what can happen when God shows us bad things that will happen in the future. He shows us these things, many times, to pray in order to change the future--to abort destructive plans of the devil. In Jeremiah chapter 1:9-10, the Bible says,
"Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched [Jeremiah's] mouth, and the Lord said to [Jeremiah]: 'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant'"
That Thursday night, I have no doubt that mine and my mom's prayers destroyed the plans of death over my family. Then, the next day, God used my mouth to "build and to plant" by praying His will to happen in their future in place of the destiny that satan had created.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Kings and Priests in Prayer
Early on during intense times of intercessor prayer, I noticed there were times when I would sense a shifting take place in the spirit. One minute my heart might be broken and the next minute I would feel confident and strong in my prayers; one minute I might be calmly talking to the Lord about whatever burden I was feeling, and the next minute I would be standing up, boldly proclaiming scriptures over the previous burden. For years, I didn't have much understanding about why that was happening, instead, I concentrated on simply following the Lord with what I believed He was leading me to do. Then one night during corporate prayer at my church, I felt the Lord lead me to a banner hanging on the sanctuary wall. When I looked at it, I noticed it had a crown on it and right next to the crown there was a priest's head-gear. As I looked at it, the Lord reminded me of two scriptures: one in the New Testament that said we are "kings and priests" and the other was in the Old Testament, but I wasn't sure of the exact wording. I picked up my Bible, looking at both scriptures. The Lord began teaching me so many things about how we, as intercessors, stand in these two roles during prayer. For weeks, it seemed like He would use anything to teach me more on this topic. I hope to share just a little of those lessons here on this blog.
In Revelation 1:5-6, John speaks of these two different roles--kings and priests--stating, "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father..."
I Peter 5:9 tells that we are a "royal priesthood."
Revelation 5:10 says, "we are kings and priests to God."
The Old Testament has much more to say about these two roles. Here's a word from the Lord to Zechariah:
"Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: "Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out. And He shall build the temple of the Lord; yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'" Zechariah 6:11-13 NKJV
Alright, there's a lot going on in this passage. This was basically a prophetic act that symbolized both offices of priest and king that Jesus, the BRANCH, would walk in. In this prophetic act, Zechariah is told by God to make an elaborate crown and place it on the high priest, Joshua. God is giving them a tangible picture of the coming messiah who would be both king and priest. We know that physically, naturally speaking, Jesus didn't hold either of these offices when he was on the earth for those 33 1/2 years, but spiritually He did. And right now He is both king and priest. Not only is He the King of Kings, but He is also at the right hand of our Father God making intercession (as priest) for us right now! Praise God!!
Spiritually, we are kings and priests, too!!! For me, understanding the basics of these roles ignited my prayer life. Revelation of these scriptures just boosted how I prayed to another level. It was easier to allow the Holy Spirit to direct me when I was praying for others because I had a better understanding of what I was feeling and what I was being led to do.
Let's look at these two offices. The Old Testament priests had many duties. One of their main duties was to offer sacrifices to God for the sins of the people. During these sacrifices, the priests didn't wear the normal clothing of the time, but they wore certain clothing that God told them which included the ephod that they wore over their hearts that contained one jewel for each tribe of Israel. This signified that the priests carried the people on their hearts. (Many of you who intercede for others know exactly what that feels like, to wear others on your hearts, to feel a burden for them.) Since the people could not go into the temple and ask for their sins to be forgiven, the priest was responsible to stand before God to ask Him to forgive the people of their sins. The priest was the "go-between" or the "intercessor." Since I'm having a hard time attaching Word files to this blog for some reason, please picture the priest standing between God and the people.
When we pray for others, we are also fulfilling the role of an intercessor, a go-between, a figurative priest. We stand before God, with someone else's need on our heart. We are standing between God and that need, asking God for His help.
Worship and praise was another duty of Old Testament priests. They ministered to God in this way. It's exciting for me to think how we, as spiritual priests, minister to the Lord, too. Because of Jesus, there is no veil between us and the presence of the Lord; we can come boldly before Him and touch His heart with our worship and adoration. There were many other duties of priests, but these two basic areas are enough to eventually make the point I'm trying to make.
Kings also had many responsibilities. The part I want to highlight is how kings were like judges in Bible times. People would come before the king with their disputes and the king would make a judgment about what should be done. Once the decree went out of the king's mouth, there were others who were in charge of making sure that decree was obeyed. As spiritual kings, there are times we can allow God to use our mouths to bring justice to situations and that justice, many times, involves binding demonic spirits that have been working. We don't have to worry about making sure the decree is obeyed--God will take care of that--He has His heavenly court attendants who listen for God's word and they see to it that the decree of God is followed. We just have to do our part and declare what He wants us to declare over the situation. As a king you and I are still an intercessor, a go-between, standing between God and whatever we've been praying about. Only this time, we aren't facing God; this time God is behind us--backing us with His authority because we are speaking His words, declaring His justice over whatever injustice has been occuring.
I hope you can picture what I'm trying to describe. As a priest and as a king, both times we are standing in between God and the need/person/demonic strongholds/ injustice/WHATEVER it is!! As a priest, we face God and talk to Him. As a king we turn around and face the problem with God behind us, backing us. That's so incredible to me!
Like I mentioned earlier, I remember for years as I learned to obey the Lord in intercessory prayer, there were times I would notice a shifting taking place that I didn't quite understand. I would go from weeping over someone and their needs to standing up in power and authority declaring words over the situation. Sometimes I would go from grief to feeling victory, other times from reverence and respect to feeling mad and wanting God's justice to be done. Then, when the Lord began showing me about these two spiritual roles, I believe what was happening was that in the spirit, I was acting as a priest one moment, then as a king the next. Those are two different positions! No wonder I would act, feel, and speak differently in each.
Let me try to further explain this truth with more of a contemporary parallel. I am a wife, a mother, a friend, a church member, a daughter, and to some I am an acquaintance. These are a few of the roles I fill or the "hats" I wear. And just like you, I alternate between hats many times a day--depending on who I am talking to and what situation I'm in. I can be cooking dinner for my family, while solving a dispute between my children, during which time my husband may come home from work to give me a hug and talk to me about his day. The phone may then ring, during which time I encourage my friend who is on the other line. After I hang up the phone, a really annoying phone solicitor (ha!) may call. In this one scenario, I have worn several hats: mommy, wife, friend, and stranger. What I say, feel, and even my tone of voice all depends on who I'm talking to. While I have authority and responsibility to raise my children, I speak to them with a certain tone of voice--especially when solving a dispute between children. I certainly wouldn't speak to that solicitor with the same wording and tone that I would my friend or my husband. And if we were to examine my feelings during each situation, they would also greatly vary. What I'm trying to point out is that we ACT, SPEAK, and FEEL differently in each role or hat we are wearing. Do you agree?
With that being said, I say the same is true spiritually. Prayer is one thing--it's talking to God. Intercessory prayer is a different thing: sometimes we are talking to God, sometimes we are speaking to things--like mountains of opposition, sometimes we are speaking to principalities and powers, sometimes we are speaking to our own flesh.
So many times I have felt a shifting in the spirit as I am worshipping God, ministering to Him as a priest and then this feeling of authority would come upon me and I would feel led to speak over situations, as a king, pronouncing God's justice. (Some of you have felt that many times, too, I know.) I don't have the same feelings and tone of voice when I speak TO God as I do when I speak TO the devil. We honor and respect and love the Lord, but we feel indignation and a desire to want justice when we see people who are bound by the devil and need to be set free. The explains some of the different emotions, tone of voice, and actions that we feel during prayer.
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Look back at the passage in Zechariah. The end of verse 13 says, "And the counsel of peace would be between them both." Both what? Both offices of king and priest. This was saying that Jesus wouldn't have any role-conflict. During that time, it was forbidden for a high priest to also be a king--he could not hold both offices. But God, through Zechariah was foretelling of the coming Messiah who would be both priest and king and that there wouldn't be any inner conflict in Jesus about those two different roles. Jesus would know when He was supposed to act like a priest and He would know when to as as a king.
Think about it this way. Let's say I am at work and my daughter calls me from school because she is sick. I might have role-conflict, not sure of what to do since there are deadlines at work and my boss really needs me there and my daughter is very sick and really needs me to come get her and take care of her. Which do I choose? (Of course my daughter....) My conflict is between these two different roles of being an employee and being a mother.
Since Jesus was perfectly led by God, He always knew the timing of the Spirit. He didn't have role-conflict. There was peace between both offices of king and priest that He walked in while on this earth. What happened when Lazarus was raised from the dead is a perfect example.
In John 11, Lazarus is dead and in the tomb when Jesus comes to see about him. In verse 33, Jesus"groaned IN THE SPIRIT and was troubled." In verse 35, "Jesus wept." And in verse 38, Jesus groaned "within Himself." People around Him are thinking He is grieving because He loves Lazarus so much. Yes, He does love Lazarus, but that's not what is happening. He was in trevail. The Holy Spirit was praying through Jesus with "groanings which cannot be uttered" ( Rom. 8:26). Jesus was dressed as a priest, interceding for Lazarus. Spiritually, Jesus was positioned BETWEEN God and Lazarus. As a priest, He prayed TO God with Lazarus BEHIND Him. Afterward, a shifting takes place...Jesus is still spiritually positioned BETWEEN God and Lazarus, only this time He is FACING Lazarus with God BEHIND Him, backing Jesus with His authority. I believe if we could see that in the spirit realm, we would see Jesus with a crown on and a scepter in His hand as He declares, "Lazarus, come forth!" God Almightly backs that decree with resurrection power that enters Lazarus' stinky, smelly, dead body and he comes to life. WOW!
Jesus went from crying and groaning, to declaring the Word of God with authority. There was no role-conflict here--He knew the timing of the Holy Spirit and look at the results.
There are times we are to wear our priestly garments and minister to the Lord and there are times we turn around and He leads us to address demonic spirits and situations with our God-given, kingly authority. I believe that it's God's will that we as intercessors walk in both of these offices, knowing and learning the timing of the Spirit when we intercede. We won't have role-conflict either when we are allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our prayer lives.
In Revelation 1:5-6, John speaks of these two different roles--kings and priests--stating, "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father..."
I Peter 5:9 tells that we are a "royal priesthood."
Revelation 5:10 says, "we are kings and priests to God."
The Old Testament has much more to say about these two roles. Here's a word from the Lord to Zechariah:
"Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: "Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out. And He shall build the temple of the Lord; yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'" Zechariah 6:11-13 NKJV
Alright, there's a lot going on in this passage. This was basically a prophetic act that symbolized both offices of priest and king that Jesus, the BRANCH, would walk in. In this prophetic act, Zechariah is told by God to make an elaborate crown and place it on the high priest, Joshua. God is giving them a tangible picture of the coming messiah who would be both king and priest. We know that physically, naturally speaking, Jesus didn't hold either of these offices when he was on the earth for those 33 1/2 years, but spiritually He did. And right now He is both king and priest. Not only is He the King of Kings, but He is also at the right hand of our Father God making intercession (as priest) for us right now! Praise God!!
Spiritually, we are kings and priests, too!!! For me, understanding the basics of these roles ignited my prayer life. Revelation of these scriptures just boosted how I prayed to another level. It was easier to allow the Holy Spirit to direct me when I was praying for others because I had a better understanding of what I was feeling and what I was being led to do.
Let's look at these two offices. The Old Testament priests had many duties. One of their main duties was to offer sacrifices to God for the sins of the people. During these sacrifices, the priests didn't wear the normal clothing of the time, but they wore certain clothing that God told them which included the ephod that they wore over their hearts that contained one jewel for each tribe of Israel. This signified that the priests carried the people on their hearts. (Many of you who intercede for others know exactly what that feels like, to wear others on your hearts, to feel a burden for them.) Since the people could not go into the temple and ask for their sins to be forgiven, the priest was responsible to stand before God to ask Him to forgive the people of their sins. The priest was the "go-between" or the "intercessor." Since I'm having a hard time attaching Word files to this blog for some reason, please picture the priest standing between God and the people.
When we pray for others, we are also fulfilling the role of an intercessor, a go-between, a figurative priest. We stand before God, with someone else's need on our heart. We are standing between God and that need, asking God for His help.
Worship and praise was another duty of Old Testament priests. They ministered to God in this way. It's exciting for me to think how we, as spiritual priests, minister to the Lord, too. Because of Jesus, there is no veil between us and the presence of the Lord; we can come boldly before Him and touch His heart with our worship and adoration. There were many other duties of priests, but these two basic areas are enough to eventually make the point I'm trying to make.
Kings also had many responsibilities. The part I want to highlight is how kings were like judges in Bible times. People would come before the king with their disputes and the king would make a judgment about what should be done. Once the decree went out of the king's mouth, there were others who were in charge of making sure that decree was obeyed. As spiritual kings, there are times we can allow God to use our mouths to bring justice to situations and that justice, many times, involves binding demonic spirits that have been working. We don't have to worry about making sure the decree is obeyed--God will take care of that--He has His heavenly court attendants who listen for God's word and they see to it that the decree of God is followed. We just have to do our part and declare what He wants us to declare over the situation. As a king you and I are still an intercessor, a go-between, standing between God and whatever we've been praying about. Only this time, we aren't facing God; this time God is behind us--backing us with His authority because we are speaking His words, declaring His justice over whatever injustice has been occuring.
I hope you can picture what I'm trying to describe. As a priest and as a king, both times we are standing in between God and the need/person/demonic strongholds/ injustice/WHATEVER it is!! As a priest, we face God and talk to Him. As a king we turn around and face the problem with God behind us, backing us. That's so incredible to me!
Like I mentioned earlier, I remember for years as I learned to obey the Lord in intercessory prayer, there were times I would notice a shifting taking place that I didn't quite understand. I would go from weeping over someone and their needs to standing up in power and authority declaring words over the situation. Sometimes I would go from grief to feeling victory, other times from reverence and respect to feeling mad and wanting God's justice to be done. Then, when the Lord began showing me about these two spiritual roles, I believe what was happening was that in the spirit, I was acting as a priest one moment, then as a king the next. Those are two different positions! No wonder I would act, feel, and speak differently in each.
Let me try to further explain this truth with more of a contemporary parallel. I am a wife, a mother, a friend, a church member, a daughter, and to some I am an acquaintance. These are a few of the roles I fill or the "hats" I wear. And just like you, I alternate between hats many times a day--depending on who I am talking to and what situation I'm in. I can be cooking dinner for my family, while solving a dispute between my children, during which time my husband may come home from work to give me a hug and talk to me about his day. The phone may then ring, during which time I encourage my friend who is on the other line. After I hang up the phone, a really annoying phone solicitor (ha!) may call. In this one scenario, I have worn several hats: mommy, wife, friend, and stranger. What I say, feel, and even my tone of voice all depends on who I'm talking to. While I have authority and responsibility to raise my children, I speak to them with a certain tone of voice--especially when solving a dispute between children. I certainly wouldn't speak to that solicitor with the same wording and tone that I would my friend or my husband. And if we were to examine my feelings during each situation, they would also greatly vary. What I'm trying to point out is that we ACT, SPEAK, and FEEL differently in each role or hat we are wearing. Do you agree?
With that being said, I say the same is true spiritually. Prayer is one thing--it's talking to God. Intercessory prayer is a different thing: sometimes we are talking to God, sometimes we are speaking to things--like mountains of opposition, sometimes we are speaking to principalities and powers, sometimes we are speaking to our own flesh.
So many times I have felt a shifting in the spirit as I am worshipping God, ministering to Him as a priest and then this feeling of authority would come upon me and I would feel led to speak over situations, as a king, pronouncing God's justice. (Some of you have felt that many times, too, I know.) I don't have the same feelings and tone of voice when I speak TO God as I do when I speak TO the devil. We honor and respect and love the Lord, but we feel indignation and a desire to want justice when we see people who are bound by the devil and need to be set free. The explains some of the different emotions, tone of voice, and actions that we feel during prayer.
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Look back at the passage in Zechariah. The end of verse 13 says, "And the counsel of peace would be between them both." Both what? Both offices of king and priest. This was saying that Jesus wouldn't have any role-conflict. During that time, it was forbidden for a high priest to also be a king--he could not hold both offices. But God, through Zechariah was foretelling of the coming Messiah who would be both priest and king and that there wouldn't be any inner conflict in Jesus about those two different roles. Jesus would know when He was supposed to act like a priest and He would know when to as as a king.
Think about it this way. Let's say I am at work and my daughter calls me from school because she is sick. I might have role-conflict, not sure of what to do since there are deadlines at work and my boss really needs me there and my daughter is very sick and really needs me to come get her and take care of her. Which do I choose? (Of course my daughter....) My conflict is between these two different roles of being an employee and being a mother.
Since Jesus was perfectly led by God, He always knew the timing of the Spirit. He didn't have role-conflict. There was peace between both offices of king and priest that He walked in while on this earth. What happened when Lazarus was raised from the dead is a perfect example.
In John 11, Lazarus is dead and in the tomb when Jesus comes to see about him. In verse 33, Jesus"groaned IN THE SPIRIT and was troubled." In verse 35, "Jesus wept." And in verse 38, Jesus groaned "within Himself." People around Him are thinking He is grieving because He loves Lazarus so much. Yes, He does love Lazarus, but that's not what is happening. He was in trevail. The Holy Spirit was praying through Jesus with "groanings which cannot be uttered" ( Rom. 8:26). Jesus was dressed as a priest, interceding for Lazarus. Spiritually, Jesus was positioned BETWEEN God and Lazarus. As a priest, He prayed TO God with Lazarus BEHIND Him. Afterward, a shifting takes place...Jesus is still spiritually positioned BETWEEN God and Lazarus, only this time He is FACING Lazarus with God BEHIND Him, backing Jesus with His authority. I believe if we could see that in the spirit realm, we would see Jesus with a crown on and a scepter in His hand as He declares, "Lazarus, come forth!" God Almightly backs that decree with resurrection power that enters Lazarus' stinky, smelly, dead body and he comes to life. WOW!
Jesus went from crying and groaning, to declaring the Word of God with authority. There was no role-conflict here--He knew the timing of the Holy Spirit and look at the results.
There are times we are to wear our priestly garments and minister to the Lord and there are times we turn around and He leads us to address demonic spirits and situations with our God-given, kingly authority. I believe that it's God's will that we as intercessors walk in both of these offices, knowing and learning the timing of the Spirit when we intercede. We won't have role-conflict either when we are allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our prayer lives.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Cursing People -- Bringing Hell to Earth?
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." ~Mt. 6:10
This scripture, coupled with Matthew 16:19, contains "rules" for prayer concerning the authority God has given us.
Today, before I explain further on how we can open our mouths to work with the Lord to bring His will to pass in the earth, I feel I must address some misuses of this authority that I have seen over the years. Sometimes, in understanding how to do something, it helps to be told how not to do it. So, here goes....
This is a practical example of not following the simple rules that Jesus gave. When I was only a few months old in the Lord, I prayed a prayer I will never forget. I was in a difficult circumstance in which I felt I was being wronged. (Ever been there? We all have.) I was hurt. I cried out to the Lord in my frustration praying, "God, don't let them be happy until they do me right." I immediately felt conviction from the Lord but I didn't know why. I just knew that He was unhappy with what I just prayed. I also knew that those words were powerful. So, I took those words back and asked Him to forgive me and I asked Him to bless those people.
It wasn't for a long time later that I began to understand why it was wrong to pray that way. Let's examine, according to Matthew 16:19, why this was the wrong way to pray and what was happening in the realm of the spirit when I prayed.
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven."
First of all, by saying, "Don't let them be happy," I "bound" happiness from them--which went against the rules. Happiness isn't bound in heaven meaning that there's lots of happiness in heaven, right? By this prayer, I was loosing unhappiness in those people's lives. Unhappiness is "loosed" in hell meaning that there's lots of unhappy souls there right now. So, what was in essence doing? I wasn't praying, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Instead, without realizing it, I was praying that the kingdom of hell be done on earth. How scary. I can read I John 5:14 & 15 and know that God answers prayers that are prayed according to His will. This prayer was not according to His will and He definitely wasn't going to grant it. But, there is an enemy out there who only comes to steal, kill, and to destroy. He was ready and willing to answer that prayer. I was, with the words of my mouth, loosing demonic spirits to go torment those precious people. I understand now why it was so important that I was immediately convicted and so important for me to cancel that prayer I prayed in ignorance. That's why it was so important to "bless my enemies" instead.
How important are the words we pray! Death and life really ARE in the power of the tongue. With our prayers we, knowingly or unknowingly, can release God's kingdom or satan's kingdom.
There are so many intercessors who don't understand this principle. I have heard of people going into warfare and literally cursing other people. I've heard prayers asking God to curse a person's job, a lady repentingly told me she used to pray the Psalms over her pastors after they made her mad--Psalms about vengeance. One lady told me she prayed against a family member until he died and she honestly thought God was the one influencing her prayers. As I listened to each person, they honestly thought that it was God who has directed them to do so. And when each prayer was answered, it was a sign to them that God answered the prayer. It makes me feel sad, but also makes me have the desire to write about it, determined to shine the light on these scriptures--even if I'm misquoted or misunderstood.
We are never given the approval of God to curse people and are never given the right to attempt to manipulate others with our prayers. Even if we think we are being led by God to pray such a way, even if we've had 3 dreams, 2 visions, and 4 other seeming confirmations, I say completely without sarcasm that we just do not have authority over other people in this way. Concerning prayer, our authority is limited to the spirit realm. Here's what the Bible has to say about it. Ephesians 6:12 says that we are to put on the armor of God,
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
It expressly says that our wrestlings in prayer are not with people ("flesh and blood") but with demonic spirits. Our right to "curse" if you will, is only over spirits. Think about it in light of Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 6:10 mentioned earlier. Demons can't do what they want in heaven; therefore, I can tell them they can't do what they want in a certain situation here on earth. People have freedom in heaven; therefore, I can't pray curses over them here on earth! They aren't cursed in heaven! Every saint who has gone to be with the Lord is so blessed!!
So, what do we do when a person is doing wrong things and we want to pray about it? We pray FOR the person and AGAINST the demonic spirit(s) that may be influencing the person. God loves the person. That person was made in God's image no matter how much it may not seem like it. God's will for that person is to redeem him or her. So, who are we to pray negative things over him/her? We cannot let our emotions, our hurts, and our limited, human way of thinking cause us to think that God is giving us the right to curse them. We can't curse someone's job, pray that their finances would crumble, pray that their marriage would fall apart, pray that a person will get sick in order to learn a lesson...I could go on and on. Have you ever heard or prayed these kind of prayers? These are curses. When Christians curse another person in these ways--no matter how much they believe they are being led by God--what kingdom are they giving permission to act? Heaven? Or hell? You guess it = hell. It's that simple.
Let me interject that I know this can be a very sensitive issue. I know that many are offended to even entertain the thought that we could unknowingly be used by satan in this way. I also know that if I hadn't have felt the love of the Lord that day when I felt convicted about my prayer and if someone would have unlovingly told me what I was really doing, it probably would have crushed me. Thank God, He knows how to teach us if we remain teachable, flexible, and open.
Even if we do get offended, the Lord knows how to turn us around. I'm sure that Peter was offended when Jesus said in response to Peter, "Get thee behind me, satan" (Mt. 16:23). Peter wasn't the devil!!! He was one of Jesus' followers, one of His beloved!!! Jesus had just said right before that, that Peter was the ROCK and that God, Himself, had revealed to Peter who Jesus was!! Now, "Get thee behind me, satan"??? I'm sure Peter was taken back by that statement. I would imagine he had to reflect on that one for quite a while. So, this may be something we need to chew on as well. Don't feel rejected by God or even less of a Christian if you have done some of these things. We are human, just like Peter, and we are still in the process of being changed to look like Jesus. It takes time.
If you are like so many who has unknowingly cursed people, then please let this truth sink in and allow the Lord to change your way of praying.
Think about Peter again. If satan used Peter in an attempt to persuade Jesus not to go to the cross--Peter, one of Jesus' closest disciples--then who are we to think we can never be influenced by satan? If I have learned anything over the last couple of years it's the fact that I am a weak, unintelligent, and sinful person without the help of Jesus!! WE ALL ARE!! I know that "nothing good dwells in me" and that's a wonderful thing to know. That's a great state to be in. Why? Because it moves my confidence from myself to God. When we are not so over-confident in ourselves and in our own spirituality, but confidence in the God who lives in us, we can with confidence agree with II Corinthians 4:7: "We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." When Peter was self-confident in the fact that he was one of the "chosen three" who were Jesus' closest buddies, he told Jesus he would NEVER DENY HIM. After denying Jesus and cussing about it, Peter saw his own human frailty. It brought him to the place that his confidence had to move from himself to being confident in God. Understanding that reality positioned him to be an earthen vessel that God used on the day of Pentecost to save thousands of people in one day.
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If Peter could be used by God one moment, and influenced by the devil another, who are we to think that everything we think is always right? Who are we to believe that everything that runs across our minds when we are praying is always of God? It isn't. That's why we are to "try the spirits to see if they are from God." That's why when we are praying, when we are interceding, Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 6:10 ought to be our "filter" through which we decide what is proper to pray. We should ask ourselves, "What am I bringing to earth, heaven or hell?" When you cut out all the details and everything that muddies a situation and put it that basic, then it's so much easier to know how to pray and who is influencing that prayer.
Let's agree with Jesus and pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Trumpet--The Mouthpiece Part II
Just like God had a plan and purpose for Jeremiah before he was in his mother's womb, God also had a plan and purpose for John the Baptist before he was even conceived. Remember how the Angel Gabriel visited Zacharias in the temple and told him he would have a son? The angel spoke to Zacharias about John saying, "He will also go before [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." John the Baptist was called to prepare the people for when Jesus, the Messiah, would come. When John began preaching, his message was a message of repentance. Repentance prepares the way for a visitation of the Lord. In Luke 3:4-6, John quoted the book of Isaiah saying that he was, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
This is what prayer and repentance does; it makes a clear path for the Lord to come and visit His people. It makes a clear path for the Lord to come and say what He wants to say, do what He wants to do, and be who He wants to be.
Not only is this crucial in our individual lives, this understanding is so important for intercessors to understand how we can pray to prepare the way for God to visit our churches, our cities, our nation. There are so many ways that God leads intercessors to pray. He knows what He wants to do, He just needs someone who will be obedient and pray first, "preparing the way" for Him to come.
Let's look at repentance closer, in an example of Daniel's prayer life. When Daniel interceded for God's people in Daniel chapter 9, over and over he repented for the sins of the people and asked for God's forgiveness and mercy. Get your Bible out and read chapter 9. Notice that he wasn't just praying, "God, forgive THEM" or "God forgive ME." He was praying, "God, forgive US." He included himself with sins that the people committed and confessed them as his own. He identified with them and asked for God to forgive. This is so powerful! As God leads you, when you are burdened about certain sins committed in specific geographical regions, repent for those sins as if they were your own and see what God does with it. (I'd love to hear your testimony!)
Look what happens next in this same chapter: While Daniel was "praying and confessing [his] sin and the sin of [the] people israel, and presenting [his] supplication before the Lord" Gabriel came and gave Daniel a word from the Lord (Dan. 9:20). In this example, Repentance prepared the way for God to come and speak!! WOW! Think about that for a minute. Pretty amazing....
Ezra is another example. He prayed prayers of confessing sins of the people from his current time and also from years before. People who committed sins and had already died. Why did he do this? It wasn't to help those who were no longer alive--that's impossible. Here's the thing...when people sin, it opens a door for the for the enemy to set up strongholds--strongholds in a person's life, yes, but also strongholds in certain geographical regions. These strongholds can affect many people living in the same area. These strongholds affect how the people think, which affects how people live. Well, repentance tears down those strongholds. Ezra's repentance began opening the door for God to bring revival in his day.
When God's people are burdened about certain sins that dominate certain regions, we can pray that God would forgive this sin and I believe that repentance is where change begins. I believe before boldly going out and attacking the stronghold, that repentance comes first. We can confess and repent like Daniel and Ezra for the sins committed that opened the way for demonic spirits to come in the first place. I believe that when we start repenting in this way, that it prepares the way for God to come and visit. And how can demonic spirits stand strong in the presence of the Lord? God's visitation gives God's people the strength to "resist the devil." Then he has to flee.
'Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
This is what prayer and repentance does; it makes a clear path for the Lord to come and visit His people. It makes a clear path for the Lord to come and say what He wants to say, do what He wants to do, and be who He wants to be.
Not only is this crucial in our individual lives, this understanding is so important for intercessors to understand how we can pray to prepare the way for God to visit our churches, our cities, our nation. There are so many ways that God leads intercessors to pray. He knows what He wants to do, He just needs someone who will be obedient and pray first, "preparing the way" for Him to come.
Let's look at repentance closer, in an example of Daniel's prayer life. When Daniel interceded for God's people in Daniel chapter 9, over and over he repented for the sins of the people and asked for God's forgiveness and mercy. Get your Bible out and read chapter 9. Notice that he wasn't just praying, "God, forgive THEM" or "God forgive ME." He was praying, "God, forgive US." He included himself with sins that the people committed and confessed them as his own. He identified with them and asked for God to forgive. This is so powerful! As God leads you, when you are burdened about certain sins committed in specific geographical regions, repent for those sins as if they were your own and see what God does with it. (I'd love to hear your testimony!)
Look what happens next in this same chapter: While Daniel was "praying and confessing [his] sin and the sin of [the] people israel, and presenting [his] supplication before the Lord" Gabriel came and gave Daniel a word from the Lord (Dan. 9:20). In this example, Repentance prepared the way for God to come and speak!! WOW! Think about that for a minute. Pretty amazing....
Ezra is another example. He prayed prayers of confessing sins of the people from his current time and also from years before. People who committed sins and had already died. Why did he do this? It wasn't to help those who were no longer alive--that's impossible. Here's the thing...when people sin, it opens a door for the for the enemy to set up strongholds--strongholds in a person's life, yes, but also strongholds in certain geographical regions. These strongholds can affect many people living in the same area. These strongholds affect how the people think, which affects how people live. Well, repentance tears down those strongholds. Ezra's repentance began opening the door for God to bring revival in his day.
When God's people are burdened about certain sins that dominate certain regions, we can pray that God would forgive this sin and I believe that repentance is where change begins. I believe before boldly going out and attacking the stronghold, that repentance comes first. We can confess and repent like Daniel and Ezra for the sins committed that opened the way for demonic spirits to come in the first place. I believe that when we start repenting in this way, that it prepares the way for God to come and visit. And how can demonic spirits stand strong in the presence of the Lord? God's visitation gives God's people the strength to "resist the devil." Then he has to flee.
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