About The Author
Diane Jurino is a
Spirit-filled Christian who resides in Erie,
Pennsylvania. She is the mother of three grown
children, and four grandchildren. Her professional
background is in Copywriting, Sales, Advertising, and
Marketing. She has developed and conducted custom
training courses in Human Relations, Communications,
Personal and Professional Development.
Disclaimer:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations
in this volume are from the King James Version of the
Bible.
Dedication:
Luke 11:2 “And he
said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”
Praise and glory to
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who taught us how
to pray effectively for the coming of His Kingdom on
the earth!
Preface
Luke 11:1-4 “And it
came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain
place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto
him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his
disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say,
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so
in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And
forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one
that is indebted to us. And lead us not into
temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
We have prayed this
prayer for thousands of years and yet we have not seen
the Kingdom of God come to earth, as we are promised.
It is critically needed NOW. God is not reluctant to
keep His word, and His timing is always perfect. The
problem must lie with our attitude in praying this
prayer. Is it something we have simply memorized and
recite without thought or feeling, or is it alive with
possibility? We must be diligent to see the Lord’s
Prayer answered in our lifetime.
2Chronicles 6:19-20
“Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant,
and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken
unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth
before thee: That thine eyes may be open upon this
house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast
said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken
unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this
place.”
We ought to cry out
for God to hear us and intervene on our behalf. We
must wholeheartedly seek His face and His way of doing
things. So too, we should have unequivocal faith that
the Lord will indeed hear our prayers and respond
favorably. He is a loving and merciful God and knows
that we are desperate for His manifest presence on the
earth.
Mark 11:24
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye
desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them],
and ye shall have [them].”
It’s time to pray
more affirmatively; we need to have faith that our
prayers will be answered. The Bible tells us that we
should call those things, which be not, as though they
already were. It’s time to decree that the Kingdom of
God is imminent and that it is now being ushered in.
We should pray that
the end-time harvest is ripe and that the full number
of souls is gathered in. We should intercede so the
church is fully prepared to meet Christ as her
Bridegroom. We must pray and believe that Body of
Christ is now being mobilized to take over the planet
for the Lord. We must have expectancy that the Kingdom
is being birthed into the earth even as we pray for
it.
2Corinthians 4:13
“We having the same spirit of faith, according as it
is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken;
we also believe, and therefore speak;”
It could be that not
enough of us have prayed the Lord’s Prayer
consistently in faith. Perhaps we have struggled with
doubt or unbelief. Whatever the case, the time has
come for us to cry out to the Lord for the ultimate
fulfillment of His eternal redemption plan for the
earth and His people.
If we will
re-structure our prayers and believe in our hearts
that they are indeed answered, the Lord will hear us
from heaven. If we will make the Lord’s Prayer a
prayer of faith, and pray it without ceasing, it will
become reality. If we decree that it is here, we will
actually see the Kingdom of God come to the earth
realm with a manifestation of all the Lord’s power and
glory!
Psalm 145:11 “They
shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of
thy power;”
Introduction
1Kings 8:49 “Then
hear thou their prayer and their supplication in
heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,”
The Lord has heard
our cry, and He is on time every time. He is now
calling forth the Body of Christ from all around the
world. They are elect and chosen representatives from
many different religious sects and denominations – all
sanctified, dedicated and consecrated for one purpose
– to bring heaven to the earth realm!
Their differences
evaporate as they come together to present a unified
front that destroys all demonic strongholds that are
in their way. They heal the sick, raise the dead and
set captives free. They walk in the miraculous and
shake up world governments, as they establish the
Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the
earth even prior to His second coming.
Ephesians 6:18
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
We must always pray
for others. We are to intercede for the Body of Christ
to hear direct revelation and clear-cut orders from
Jesus Christ as their Head. We are to encourage and
exhort them to fulfill their divine destinies so that
the Kingdom of God can be established in as short a
time, and with as little effort, as possible.
Christ Himself will
strengthen and empower them; He will lead and equip
them to accomplish all that is required. They must be
strong in the power of His might. They need obedience
and endurance to get the job done. However, they can
and will succeed…
Psalm 20:6 “Now know
I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him
from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his
right hand.”
The Lord Himself
will hear us from heaven and intervene on our behalf.
He will pave the way for His people to take back the
earth and restore it to its former beauty and balance.
He will pour out His power and glory for all men to
see. He will send legions of angels to assist us as we
advance under the direction of His Son to restore all
of creation.
All evil will be
destroyed as the righteous are rewarded and escorted
into the Kingdom of God. There will be no death or
disease, no poverty or oppression. We will enjoy peace
and prosperity, joy and unity. A righteous remnant
from Israel will be converted and saved. Together with
them, we will have our needs met for all eternity, as
the Lord Himself takes up residence with His people on
the earth as He has promised.
The Kingdom of God
is our inheritance as His family; we should fervently
pray that it is ushered in to the earth realm now when
it is so desperately needed. We all have our part to
play in crying out to God and spreading the gospel
message. We ought to visualize life in the Kingdom and
decree that it is indeed established. When we do so,
the Lord will honor our faith-based prayers and His
promises will become our reality.
Daniel 2:44 “And in
the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up
a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the
kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand for ever.
Chapter 1 – What Is
Prayer?
Prayer is purposeful
communication with God. It is an expression of
intimate fellowship with Him. Through prayer, we
glorify God, thank Him for His goodness, offer Him
praise and entreat Him for our needs. When we pray, we
share our thoughts and feelings; we actually converse
with the Creator of the universe. But as it is with
human communication, prayer needs to be two-way.
We cannot be so
selfish that all we do is pour out our needs and
complaints before God. We must also think of the Lord,
and offer Him praise and thanksgiving for all that He
is and all that He does for us. We should take the
time to pause and allow Him to respond to our prayers.
And we ought to reflect on His answers and meditate on
His promises. We should believe that we receive all
that we ask, and wait expectantly for it to manifest.
Proverbs 15:8 “The
sacrifice of the wicked [is] an abomination to the
LORD: but the prayer of the upright [is] his delight.”
Prayer is a
sacrificial offering to God, and a distinct privilege
of our relationship as well. Jesus Christ died not
only to give us forgiveness of our sins, but also to
restore us to right relationship with the Father. We
are His very sons and daughters; He is willing and
eager to hear from us. We should approach the Lord
with joy and enthusiasm, knowing that He will always
take time for our prayers and respond affirmatively to
us.
The Lord is a proud
and loving parent. He is extremely pleased that we
come to Him with our thoughts, feelings and needs. We
can discuss our concerns, or go over our plans and
dreams with Him. We can vent our emotions and give
voice to our doubts. The Lord meets us at our level
and actually listens to our every word. He gives us
feedback and offers a solution to every problem that
we have. It is His express will that we pray and
receive all that we ask from Him.
God Hears Our
Prayers
1John 5:15 “And if
we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know
that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
We’ve been made
righteous by the Blood of Jesus. We are seated with
Christ in heavenly places, at the right hand of God
Himself; we know that our prayers are heard. We do not
have to beg, grovel and whine to get our petitions
met. We don’t have to memorize a bunch of gibberish.
All we must do is give voice to our needs and believe
that we receive, in order to see answers to our
prayers.
So too, the Lord
knows what we need even before we ask Him. He
anticipates all our needs and is ever ready to meet
them. However, He always appreciates our coming to Him
in heart-felt prayer. He wants us to approach Him
often; have the faith that our prayers are answered;
and wait expectantly to see the results manifest in
the natural realm.
Proverbs 15:29 “The
LORD [is] far from the wicked: but he heareth the
prayer of the righteous.”
God is not impressed
with sanctimonious ritual or repetitive prayer
petitions, however. I am certain that He likens these
to nagging. We do not have to recite long litanies to
get His attention. He is more concerned with the inner
man of the heart than He is in pretended piety. Any
sincere reaching out to God is an acceptable form of
prayer in His sight. Simple praise and thanksgiving,
together with our general conversation, cause Him
never ending pleasure.
We are His very own
sons and daughters, and our prayers are a “sweet
aroma” to Him. They signify that we are in right
relationship with Him. The Lord takes delight in the
fact that we interact with Him in prayer, and He never
sends us away empty handed. He is diligent to respond
to every word that we speak and quick to meet our
needs.
1John 3:22 “And
whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep
his commandments, and do those things that are
pleasing in his sight.”
When we approach Him
with clear consciences, free of all known sin, we know
that the Lord hears us and is pleased with our
prayers. He created us for intimate fellowship with
Him, and prayer is an important component of our
relationship. He is never too busy to take time to
hear our prayers, and He is ever ready to respond and
meet our needs. We can have total confidence that He
not only hears our petitions, but that He will give us
all that we require of Him.
Righteousness keeps
us in this favorable position with God. We should
strive always to keep His commandments and walk in His
ways. They are not burdensome or prohibitive; they are
intended for our own good and will benefit us
spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. So
too, we should focus on our love walk at all times.
God is consummate love, and love is our basis for
communication with Him and with others.
Prayer Promises
Job 22:26-27 “For
then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and
shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy
prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou
shalt pay thy vows.”
The Lord wants us to
be sincere in our communications with Him. We need
never put on a front when we approach Him in prayer.
He knows our thoughts and our intentions, and He loves
us despite the fact that we are less than perfect, and
may often miss the mark. He is ever ready to steer us
back to the right path and renew our right standing
with Him. All we must do is seek His face in humble,
contrite prayer and repent of our wrongdoing.
What the Lord
desires more than anything is that we delight in Him
and value our relationship as His children. He makes
us promises, and we, in turn, should make Him
promises. Since He never lies or refuses us anything,
we must be quick and ready to pay our vows to Him, as
well. We owe Him our very lives, so no form of service
to the Lord should be denied Him. We ought to be
pleased and honored that He asks for our help, and
quick to respond to His request.
When We Miss The
Mark
Psalm 66:19-20
“[But] verily God hath heard [me]; he hath attended to
the voice of my prayer. Blessed [be] God, which hath
not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.”
When we sin and fall
short of the glory of God, we know that we can turn to
the Lord for full restoration. When we repent and seek
His face, He will be merciful and forgiving. He is
ever gracious in our time of need. No matter how many
times we miss the mark, the Lord will always hear our
penitential prayers, forgive us our sins and restore
our right standing with Him.
While we should
strive for holiness in our lives at all times, we
often fail to reach perfection in our spiritual walk.
None of us has yet reached the point where we have
“arrived.” The Lord realizes the frailty of the human
condition and is ever compassionate and understanding.
We are no surprise to Him; after all, He created us
and He knows that we struggle with temptation and sin.
Once we repent and turn from iniquity, He actually
blots our sin from His memory, and acts as if nothing
interrupted our fellowship.
God desires
relationship rather than perfection, and He wants to
be in close fellowship with us more than anything
else. It is His heart’s intent to actually take up
residence with us for all eternity, and provide for
all our needs in the Kingdom of God when it comes to
the earth. He is a just and holy God, and to dwell in
His presence, we must also strive for spiritual
perfection.
Prayer For Divine
Intervention
Psalm 115:16 “The
heaven, [even] the heavens, [are] the LORD'S: but the
earth hath he given to the children of men.”
The Lord is very
patient and polite; He never forces Himself on us. He
will not move over the face of the earth and effect
change unless we invite Him into our lives. He is
sovereign and all-powerful, yet He will not interfere
in the affairs of men unless He is asked to do so. He
waits for us to come to the end of our own strength,
and ask for His help. Then He intervenes and permits
us to appropriate His very own power to meet all of
our needs.
All dominion and
authority has been given to men in the earth realm;
the Lord is waiting for us to do our part in
establishing peace and order on this planet. However,
things have gotten out of hand; gross darkness covers
the earth and its people. Death and destruction reign
over us and cause us never-ending pain and sorrow. We
have come to the end of our own strength; we
desperately need divine intervention to set things
right.
Our redemption has
been progressive. Christ died to save us from our sins
and to restore us to right relationship with the
Father over two thousand years ago. But what we need
now, more than ever, is God’s manifest presence
in our lives. We should eagerly await the return of
His Son, Jesus Christ to complete our redemption for
all time.
Daniel 7:18 “But the
saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and
possess the Kingdom forever, even for ever and ever.”
We should be praying
the Lord’s Prayer more fervently than ever before. We
know that it is His deepest desire to usher in His
Kingdom. God wants to partner with us in this effort.
We must be willing and obedient, sanctified and
consecrated to His plan and purpose. Then He will
provide us with very own divine power and authority to
bring heaven to the earth realm.
The Lord wants
heaven and earth to be one, so that He can lavish His
love on us for all eternity. We will restore beauty
and balance to the earth as it was before the fall of
Adam. We will subdue all of nature and it will live in
harmony with man. The Lord’s long-range plan for
mankind will be consummated, and all things made new
again.
There will be no
more death and destruction, war and oppression,
suffering and evil. We will experience love and unity,
peace and prosperity, safety and security in the
Kingdom of God. The Lord Himself will take up
residence with His people in intimate fellowship, and
provide for all our needs for all eternity.
Persistent Prayer
1Thessalonians 5:17
“Pray without ceasing.”
We should storm the
ramparts of heaven in an effort to birth the Kingdom
of God. We must learn to pray diligently until we see
the desired results. This may require that we pray
night and day continuously without ceasing, to have
our petitions answered. And while it may seem
burdensome to us at first, it may very well be that
continuous, persistent prayer is required for
spiritual breakthrough in the heavenly realms.
We should remember
the example of Daniel who prayed for several months
until the angel Gabriel came to his aid with the
answer to his prayers. While Daniel definitely walked
in right relationship with the Lord and his prayers
were heard immediately, the answer to them was opposed
by demonic entities in the second heaven. Satan
temporarily interfered with his hearing from God,
until avenging angels defeated him. (See Daniel 10)
Colossians 4:2
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with
thanksgiving;”
We need not fear
that our prayers will get lost in space, however,
because we enjoy a closer relationship with God than
even Daniel had. We have sonship rights; we can cry
out to our Father at any time and be certain that our
prayers are heard. We are seated with Christ in
heavenly places, joint-heirs to all God’s promises.
Our mediator in prayer is Jesus Christ Himself; He is
ever ready to make intercession for us.
We need only pray
continuously, be watchful in prayer, and patiently
wait for the results of our petitions to manifest. We
should praise God and give Him thanks even before the
answers to our prayers show up. He is ever loving and
generous to meet our needs. He deserves all our praise
and thanksgiving. The Lord is willing and able to
provide for us on a timely basis – in His perfect
timing, not necessarily ours.
Luke 18:1 “And he
spake a parable unto them [to this end], that men
ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
Jesus told His
followers the parable of the widow and the judge. She
had been wronged and wanted the government official to
avenge her and provide restitution. She was relentless
in her quest for justice; she wanted restoration above
all things. She plagued him continuously with her
petition and would not give up. The judge ultimately
granted her wish because of her very persistence in
coming to him.
We should do
likewise in all prayer that requires significant
breakthrough in the heavenly realms for our needs to
be met. The Bible says that we are to come boldly to
the throne of grace. We are not to be intimidated or
reluctant. We must patiently, yet persistently, pray
until we see the desired results. We must be diligent
to pray without ceasing, and believe that we receive
what we ask even before it manifests.
It will take this
sort of persistent prayer to birth the Kingdom of God,
and we ought to be more than willing to make the
sacrifice that is required to bring heaven to earth.
This is a huge request that will impact the entire
universe for all eternity. Prayer is the very least
that all of us can do to help usher in the Kingdom.
Fervent, consistent faith-based prayer is our primary
role in the church in the days ahead.
Prayer And Fasting
Daniel 9:3 “And I
set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and
supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and
ashes:”
Many people find
that their prayers are answered more quickly when they
pray and fast in tandem. While I am certain that there
is nothing wrong with this prayer method, I believe
that it may be unnecessary at times. We need not do
anything special to be counted worthy of answer to our
prayer requests. We are covered by the Blood of Jesus
Christ Himself.
The Bible says that
we are joint-heirs with Christ to all the promises of
God. We are seated with Him in heavenly places. All
that we have to do is to go boldly before the throne
of grace, believing that we will receive what we ask.
If we are righteous and make our requests in the Name
of Jesus, the Lord will hear all our prayers.
While He places no
special conditions on answering prayer, God will
definitely let us know if something is hindering our
requests. Perhaps we have unconfessed sin, or
spiritual curses that were spoken on us or by us. It
may be that we are harboring unforgiveness. The Lord
will reveal anything and everything that is an
impediment to our prayers being answered.
Jesus simply asked
the Father for what He needed, and His requests were
granted. He made no special sacrifice in conjunction
with His prayers. His righteousness determined His
privilege in prayer. He prayed often and persistently
for the Lord’s guidance and direction. We too have
immediate access to the Lord for all that we require.
The only time that
the Bible tells us that Christ fasted and prayed was
in the desert, when the devil tempted Him for forty
days and forty nights. While it may be true that He
simply had no food available to Him, His fast also
ensured Him of the spiritual strength to ward off all
the attacks of the enemy.
Matthew 17:21
“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and
fasting.”
Jesus did recommend
that His disciples pray and fast when doing spiritual
warfare, and casting out pernicious demons that are
reluctant to depart. While we also experience
temptation and times of trial and testing, fervent
prayer should be all that is required to get our
breakthrough. Fasting could perhaps be reserved for
the most critical cases that require us to put our
flesh totally under and walk only in the spirit realm
for a period in time.
Proactive Fasting
Isaiah 58:6-7 “Is
this not the fast that I have chosen? To loose the
bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to
let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every
yoke? [Is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and
that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy
house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him;
and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?”
The Lord has a
different take on fasting than we do. He is not
impressed that we starve ourselves. Instead of giving
up something for a season of prayer, He expects us to
lay down our personal agendas and crucify our fleshly
selfishness. It is His desire that we walk in love and
generosity for those suffering and in need of
spiritual or temporal blessings.
When you approach
fasting from this point of view, it’s obvious that the
Lord wants us to be proactive in the fast and reach
out to others and help satisfy their needs. If they
need to be set free from demonic oppression, He wants
us to pray and do spiritual warfare on their behalf.
If they have temporal needs, He expects us to feed and
clothe them and give them shelter.
It may very well be
that God requires this type of fast in each of us as a
demonstration of our willingness to abide by His
commandment of love. Then each and every time we
approach Him in prayer, He will be quick to pay
attention to our needs. There is nothing to impede our
prayers from being heard and answered, since we have
chosen to walk in total love and righteousness.
Prayer Styles and
Postures
There is no one
correct prayer method, no handbook of protocol or
procedures to follow. We are all different and we have
our own unique styles. All prayer approaches are
desirable and acceptable to the Lord. So too, there is
no one set posture required for our prayers to be
heard and acknowledged by God. We can sit, stand,
kneel, prostrate ourselves or even walk and run in
prayer. We can sing and shout our praises or whisper
our heart-felt concerns and petitions.
We can lift up our
hands or fold them together, or do nothing with them
at all. We can lift up our faces towards heaven when
we pray, or bow our heads in reverence and humility.
We can pray out loud or silently, in our known tongue
or in our spiritual prayer language. The only thing
that the Lord asks is that we do indeed approach Him,
and make an attempt to pray. Our style and posture are
irrelevant, as He sees our heart’s intent.
If we examine the
Scriptures, we can readily see that all methods and
styles of prayer are acceptable to the Lord. Once
again, it is vital that we pray, not how we do
so. The Lord is more intent on our sincere willingness
to communicate with Him, rather than our style and
method.
Psalm 5:3 “My voice
shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning
will I direct [my prayer] unto thee, and will look
up.”
Some people prefer
to pray in the morning, and start their day in
relationship with God. Perhaps they lift their heads
up to heaven and seek the Lord’s face. They may
visualize Him actually bent over to hear their
requests. While this is tangential to having our
prayers heard, it still shows reverence and respect
for God, and is appropriate in His sight.
Psalm 141:2 “Let my
prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense; [and]
the lifting up of my hands [as] the evening
sacrifice.”
The Old Testament
Jews prayed many times during the day and often
offered up sacrifices in conjunction with their
prayers. They were uncertain whether the Lord would
hear them, and they approached prayer very seriously.
Our sacrifice is our prayer offering itself.
We were made
righteous by the Blood of Jesus Himself; we need not
make additional sacrificial offerings. We can approach
God with clean hands and pure hearts at any time of
the day or night, and rest assured that our prayers
are always well received.
1Timothy 2:8 “I will
therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy
hands, without wrath and doubting.”
The early church
prayed everywhere and all the time. They probably
lifted their hands and faces towards heaven and called
on the Lord in deference and respect. He blessed them
abundantly, and they were excellent witnesses to
unbelievers. They walked in love and unity among
themselves, and stayed in the Spirit through concerted
prayer efforts.
We can do likewise
in our prayer relationship with God. We can develop
continuous praying lifestyles that please Him and
cause Him to manifest His anointing power and glory in
us. We will walk in the miraculous as we usher in the
Kingdom of God, and it will be critical that we remain
in constant prayer and supplication for our every
need. So too, we must intercede for all the saints, so
that we each perform the vital tasks that are assigned
to us in the days to come.
David As A Role
Model For Prayer
Psalm 17:1 “Hear the
right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my
prayer, [that goeth] not out of feigned lips.”
King David loved the
Lord with total abandon. He constantly praised and
worshipped God in His prayer life. He was guileless
and sincere in his love for God. He enjoyed a close
intimate relationship with the Lord that guaranteed
him the answer to all of his prayers.
Blessings were
poured out on him, and spilled over into every area of
David’s life. He was a great warrior and a devoted
king. He enjoyed personal victory and public acclaim
because of his close fellowship with the Lord.
David wrote down
many of his prayers in the form of “Psalms,” sacred
poems that he often set to music. He sang His praises
and thanksgiving. He cried out to the Lord with
emotion and passion, and the Lord was ever ready to
respond to his needs.
The king prayed for
protection and victory in battle; he cried out for
forgiveness and begged for God’s mercy when he sinned.
He implored the Lord for favor and effectiveness in
all that he attempted during his life, and he was
amply rewarded for his prayer efforts.
Psalms 23, 51 and 91
are perhaps the best known of David’s psalms. We often
quote the 23rd Psalm at
funerals or in times of distress. The 51st Psalm is
known as the Penitent’s Psalm and may have been
written after David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba.
The 91st Psalm is known as the Warrior’s Psalm, and in
it, we invoke special protection from the Lord and
victory in battle.
These are just a few
of King David’s prayers to the Lord for protection and
favor, thanks and praise. The Book of Psalms includes
prayers of praise, gratitude, petition, penitence and
even Messianic prophecy. It is an uplifting study in
how we should approach the Lord in prayer.
Psalm 35:18 “I will
give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will
praise thee among much people.”
Psalm 55:1 “Give ear
to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my
supplication.”
Psalm 64:1 “Hear my
voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear
of the enemy.”
Psalm 143:1 “Hear my
prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy
faithfulness answer me, [and] in thy righteousness.”
David always asked
the Lord to hear His prayers and be merciful towards
him. He knew the Lord was faithful and worthy of all
praise. He sang many of His prayers and prayed them
fervently and enthusiastically. He was a great prayer
warrior, and we should follow his example of sincerity
and zeal in our communications with the Lord.
Prayer Brings Us
Into God’s Presence
Psalm 140:13 “Surely
the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the
upright shall dwell in thy presence.”
If we are in right
relationship with the Lord, free from all known sin,
we have continual access to Him in prayer. We grow in
intimacy and develop our relationship with Him the
more we pray. And we know that if we pray according to
His will that our prayers will indeed be answered. He
is ever faithful, loving and merciful to our needs.
Prayer takes us into
the presence of God, where all glory and power reside.
If we would fellowship with God forever, we must
sincerely pray for the coming of His Kingdom to the
earth, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer. We should desire
that heaven comes to the earth more than anything, and
be relentless in our pursuit of His presence.
So too, prayer
teaches us how to communicate with the Lord. If we are
going to live with Him for all eternity, we should
begin fostering a deeper relationship with Him now.
There is no substitute for the intimacy created in our
prayer lives. We ought to devote ourselves to praying
often and passionately. We will reap a huge return of
blessings for our efforts.
Topics For
Discussion
1. Define Prayer
2. Answers To Prayer
3. Persistent Prayer
4. Prayer And Fasting
5. Prayer Styles
6. King David As A Role Model
7. Prayer That Brings Us Into God’s Presence
Chapter 2 – Types of
Prayers
Psalm 54:2 “Hear my
prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.”
There are many
different types of prayer to cover any conceivable
need or human condition. Simple prayer is just
conversation with God. It consists of the believer
giving utterance to his concerns or thoughts or
discussing his plans or dreams. There are some
instances, when we cry out to God in desperation and
pray for emotional consolation or spiritual insight.
Many times when we fall short of God’s glory and sin,
we pray for the Lord’s mercy and grace.
Other times we pray
for others or present our needs to God. We may give
Him praise and thanksgiving or even speak the Word of
God to Him and remind Him of His promises to us. We
can pray privately or in a group setting. We can speak
with other tongues or pray in our own language.
Whatever the case, we can be certain that the Lord
hears our prayers, acknowledges them, and that He will
respond appropriately – on time every time.
Petition and
Supplication
Psalm 86:6 “Give
ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice
of my supplications.”
Petitions or
supplications are simply appeals to the Lord to meet
our needs. They are requests or entreaties for relief,
to which we hope He will favorably respond. They may
be routine temporal needs or urgent spiritual
requests. We may need material things or revelation
and wisdom that only He can provide. Perhaps we need
strength to fight off temptation. Regardless of the
nature of our problem, the Lord will hear our prayers
and mercifully answer them.
He may not
immediately grant our prayer requests, but we can be
certain that the answer to every situation we face
lies with God. He is ever loving and concerned about
us. He is our Provider and takes delight in our
dependence on Him for everything that we need, both
temporal and spiritual. It is not His intention to
keep us hanging.
While it may appear
that our prayers go unanswered at times, persistence
always pays off. If we will pray continually and cry
out to God, the Lord will answer all our prayer
requests or reveal the reason why He has not yet done
so. If we take a stand of faith and not doubt,
patience will have its own reward; He will always do
more than we could ever ask or think.
Philippians 4:6 “Be
careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God.”
We are forbidden to
have anxiety over the things of this world. The Lord
wants us to be carefree and joyous. He knows our
requirements even before we ask Him. So too, He has
promised to meet all of our needs and does so most
generously. However, we must not simply play “gimme,
gimme” in our prayer lives. This would be taking
advantage of His loving generosity.
We should also give
the Lord His rightful praise, and thank Him for the
outcome to our prayer even before we see it
manifested. Well-balanced prayer communication
requires that we (1) give Him praise; (2) thank Him
for hearing us; and (3) ask for our needs to be met.
Following this pattern, we are assured that our
prayers are heard and that our wishes will be granted.
It is equally
important that we wait for the response from God. He
always acknowledges our prayers in some fashion.
Sometimes He gives us an inward witness, so that we
can know His thoughts concerning our prayers. Other
times, the answers may manifest quickly, and we know
that we have been heard. We should be sensitive to His
voice and patient in our prayer efforts. We will never
be disappointed; He will always respond in a timely
fashion.
Prayer Of Affliction
Psalm 88:2 “Let my
prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my
cry;”
For the times that
we are distraught and in need of heaven’s touch, the
Lord stands ready to hear our cries. He will comfort
us in all our affliction. He responds with compassion
and love and alleviates our distress. He is ever
attentive to our human condition and generous to
supply us with spiritual and temporal resources to
walk in total victory.
Although we may
experience temporary sadness and heaviness of spirit,
prayer will elevate our mood and calm our minds and
spirits. We should never allow ourselves to become
desperate or despondent. That leads to fear and
depression, and leaves us open to further attacks of
the enemy. We should always have faith and confidence
that our prayers are heard.
We have the Creator
of the universe as a Father, and He loves us with a
deep abiding love. He will never leave us or forsake
us. Our needs are important to Him. He will mercifully
provide a solution to every problem that we share with
Him, and He provides us with “the peace that passes
understanding,” regardless of our situation and
circumstances.
1Kings 8:28 “Yet
have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and
to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto
the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth
before thee to day:”
The Lord hears and
honors every prayer we lift up to Him. He respects
that we seek His favor, and through the Blood of
Jesus, He sees us as righteous and worthy of His help.
He will never abandon us in our need. He loves us with
an everlasting love, and takes great pride in the fact
that we depend on Him to provide us with all that we
require to be happy and successful.
God will never
permit us to suffer more than we are able, and He is
on time every time in meeting our needs. He will give
us strength and endurance that will sustain us through
every test and trial that we encounter. We need only
be patient and persistent in our prayer efforts, as He
alone is our ultimate source for all power and
provision.
Praise
Psalm 50:23 “Whoso
offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that
ordereth [his] conversation [aright] will I shew the
salvation of God.”
We must always
praise God when we approach Him in prayer. It should
be our standard greeting to Him. It paves the way for
our prayers to be heard and our petitions to be
granted. He is deserving of all our praise and glory.
We should praise Him for who He is and what He
does for us. He is a great and awesome God, and worthy
of all honor and glory.
The Lord inhabits
the praises of His people. Praise always gets His
attention and causes Him to come on the scene in a
dramatic way and manifest His presence to us. Whether
we praise as a church body or in private is
irrelevant. It is more important that we praise God,
than how we choose to do so.
So too, the
anointing power and glory of God show up when we
praise and give Him thanks. We are supernaturally
empowered to perform miraculous signs and wonders as a
result of our praises to Him. We can heal the sick,
cast out demons and even raise the dead, as Jesus told
us we would, if we will devote ourselves to praising
almighty God more often.
Hebrews 13:15 “By
him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to
God continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips
giving thanks to his name.”
We go to the Father
by the way of the cross. His Son, Jesus Christ, died
to save us from our sins and restore us to right
relationship with Him. We are deemed righteous by
Christ’s very own Blood. When we pray, the Father sees
Jesus coming to Him with a need.
We should always
approach the throne of grace through the merits of
Jesus Christ. He is our mediator of a better covenant
with God. We enjoy the privileges and blessings that
His victory over sin, death and the grave purchased
for us.
Through Christ, we
ought to offer up a continuous sacrifice of prayer and
praise to the Father. So too, praying in the Name and
by the Blood of Jesus ensures a positive prayer
response, and is perhaps the quickest way to have our
prayers answered.
2Samuel 22:50
“Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among
the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.”
When we praise God
and give Him all the glory for the good things in our
lives, we show ourselves to be a loving and thankful
people. We must demonstrate our loving gratitude for
all the world to see in the days to come. We will then
be living gospels of the Kingdom of God. All
the nations of the world will pattern their behavior
after ours, as we go about our days giving praise,
glory and thanksgiving to almighty God.
Thanksgiving
Psalm 140:13 “Surely
the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the
upright shall dwell in thy presence.”
Praise and
thanksgiving take us into the very presence of God
quickly and expediently. When we pray, this is an
important consideration. We are sometimes pressed in
our needs and impatient for the solutions to our
problems. But if we will take the time necessary to
give thanks, it will be our assurance that our prayers
will be answered on a timely basis.
It is in the very
presence of God that we experience peace and joy, and
have all our needs met. So too, we are in total
protection from the enemy when we are in communication
with our great and glorious God. No evil can exist in
His presence; no harm will come to His people that
continuously dwell with Him in close prayer
fellowship.
Ephesians 5:20
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”
We need to develop
an attitude of gratitude in our prayer lives. We must
thank the Lord for His kindness and mercy, His love
and generosity. We should be grateful that He always
hears and answers our prayers. We ought to give Him
glory and praise, thanksgiving and gratitude all in
the Name of Jesus Christ, even before our prayer needs
are met.
1Thessalonians 5:18
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
It is vital that we
thank the Lord in all our circumstances, when we have
unmet needs and when they are satisfied. Whether we
are joyful and at peace, or afflicted and in despair,
we should maintain continuous attitudes of gratitude
in our daily lives. It is vital to our walk with God,
that we acknowledge His provision, His mercy and
goodness to us.
Remaining thankful
even when we are in dire straights, will give us the
hope and confidence we need to endure all hardship. It
will produce patience in us and strengthen us in our
weakness. We must remember that our situations and
circumstances are only temporary, and that the Lord
can intervene and change everything in a heart beat.
Corporate Prayer
Psalm 35:18 “I will
give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will
praise thee among much people.”
Praise and worship
should not be underestimated in their ability to get
God’s attention and quickly bring Him on the scene in
our corporate gatherings. The Lord loves our
attention, and the anointing power and glory of God
manifest for miraculous signs and wonders to occur, as
we give Him all our thanks and praise in our reverent
worship.
We ought to thank
God and praise Him for all that He is and for all that
He does for us. The Lord appreciates our gratitude,
and our willingness to publicly display our feelings
for Him. It brings Him great honor and glory when we
pray together as a church body. He is quick to respond
to our prayer requests and faithful to meet all of our
needs.
Isaiah 56:7 “Even
them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them
joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings
and their sacrifices [shall be] accepted upon mine
altar; for mine house shall be called an house of
prayer for all people.”
The Old Testament
sacrifice rituals have been abolished. We are to
literally present our bodies as living sacrifices to
the Lord. That requires that we acknowledge Him in our
corporate worship gatherings as well as in our private
devotions. Prayer is our sacrificial offering to Him.
It is so much better a sacrifice than the blood of
sheep and goats that was offered up in the Old
Testament church.
Prayer is an
important component of corporate worship that is often
neglected. We spend much time in praise and worship
and in hearing the Word of God preached, but we often
fail to pray together in supplication and intercession
for others. Corporate prayer is powerful and effective
in getting God’s attention. He requires it of us, and
is delighted when we seek His fellowship in our group
prayer efforts.
Colossians 1:12
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us
meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light:”
We should also show
thanksgiving in our corporate worship, as is fitting
and proper for the saints of the most high God. The
Lord is kind and generous, and it is essential that we
express our gratitude for His continuous love and
mercy towards us. Thanksgiving, when combined with
praise, is not only fitting but critical to our
relationship with God.
We should not have a
prayer problem in the church. We ought to be devoted
to giving the Lord praise, thanksgiving and all the
glory that He deserves if we would see heaven come to
the earth in the Kingdom of God. He will answer all
our petitions to birth His Kingdom totally and
completely, if we will get back to basics in our
prayer lives.
Private Prayer
Psalm 61:1 “Hear my
cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.”
We should pray
privately, as well as in the congregation of
believers. Our prayers send up a sweet aroma to the
Lord, and He is ever anxious to hear from us. We share
our plans with Him, and discuss our concerns. We are
no surprise to Him; He knows our innermost thoughts,
but delights in hearing from us, as well.
Prayer is a sign of
our close intimate relationship with God. The more we
pray, the greater the rapport that we establish. We
should persistently pray for all of our spiritual and
temporal needs. We can have total confidence that the
Lord not only hears us, but also answers all our
prayer requests, whether they are for ourselves or for
others.
I am convinced that
the Kingdom of God will be birthed by the heart-felt,
sincere prayer of those who desire the Lord’s presence
and His way of doing things above everything else.
After all, it is the Lord’s express will to bring
heaven and all of its blessings to the earth. It could
very well be that only a few of us need pray for the
coming of the Kingdom, as long as we do so
persistently and passionately.
Whatever the case,
it will not occur, unless someone petitions the Lord
for heaven to actually come to the earth realm. He has
dominion over every area of the universe, but the
earth God has given to man. He will never intervene in
our affairs unless we ask Him to do so. We need Him
now more than ever to hear us from heaven and deliver
His eternal redemption plan.
Prayer For
Protection
Matthew 26:41 “Watch
and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the
spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.”
Jesus knew that we
would struggle with temptation just as He did in His
earthly walk, and He knew that the remedy for that was
prayer. If we are in close communication with the
Lord, we enjoy a favorable position when it comes to
battling the enemy. We have Christ’s own hedge of
protection that surrounds us, and the devil will be
reluctant to try to penetrate that.
We must sanctify
ourselves of all fleshly desires and soul plans and
purposes, and walk in spiritual maturity. If we would
be holy and perfect as the Lord Himself is perfect, we
should pray for supernatural strength in every area of
our lives. Prayer keeps our spirits in ascendancy to
our souls and our flesh, and is our divine connector
to God Himself.
So too, when we need
wisdom, direction or revelation, prayer will help us
tap into a supernatural reservoir of knowledge. The
Lord delights in revealing His mysteries to us if we
will only seek His face in heart-felt, fervent prayer.
He will be our guide and our protector if we will ask
Him for His help. He will deliver us from all evil,
and surround us in His love. This gives us added
strength and confidence that we can walk out our
destiny as the Lord plans for us.
Intercession
James 5:13-15 “Is
any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry?
let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him
call for the elders of the church; and let them pray
over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and
the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed
sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
The most loving
thing we can do for another human being is to pray for
them. We should routinely intercede for others’ needs,
particularly if they are being oppressed by the devil
or sick and in pain. We ought to build each other up
in our most precious faith through prayer,
encouragement and exhortation.
The “elders” of our
church today are each and every mature believer that
walks in faith and the anointing power to destroy
demonic strongholds. That means that most of us should
be able to lay hands on the sick and pray a prayer of
healing for them. We should command all sickness to
leave, and loose the healing power of God in their
lives. We may not see immediate results, but we know
that our prayer changes lives for the better.
We should humbly
serve others in intercessory prayer for their needs,
as if they were our very own. The Lord will answer our
prayers and we will be walking as Christ walked on the
earth in humble service to others. We will be
righteous examples to the world that God indeed has a
praying people, and that He hears all of our prayers.
Ephesians 6:18
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
We must pray for one
another especially as the days progress towards the
coming of the Kingdom of God. The church must be
perfected in spiritual maturity to prepare to meet
Christ as her Bridegroom. We each have to come up
higher in our love walk, and unity should be our goal.
We must be living testimonies to the saving power of
God in our lives.
The Body of Christ
needs to be strengthened and encouraged to do all that
they are called to do to usher in the Kingdom of God
on this earth. They will need prayer for discipline
and endurance, and revelation of the Lord’s plan and
purpose for them in the days ahead. They will require
a full anointing of the Lord’s very own power and
authority to usher in His Kingdom on the earth.
We must pray for the
peace and conversion of Israel so that God’s chosen
people can be redeemed and ushered into the Kingdom of
God. We should remember that a hardening of hearts has
come on a portion of them for our benefit. We have
been grafted in as a direct result of their temporary
lack of faith. Now it is our turn to lift them up in
prayer, so that their hearts may be softened and their
captivity turned to freedom in the Lord.
James 5:16 “Confess
[your] faults one to another, and pray one for
another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
The law of love
compels us to seek righteousness at all times. We
cannot be healed of all physical, emotional and
spiritual affliction unless we are walking in right
standing with God and with one another. Unforgiveness
of any kind will hinder our prayer efforts. So too,
unconfessed sin will interfere with our receiving
healing. We need a prayer covering from those who are
righteous with the Lord.
When we sin and fall
short of the glory of God, we need intercessory prayer
from our brothers and sisters in Christ more than at
any other time. We must acknowledge our sins, confess
them to one another, and be quick to repent and turn
from all unrighteousness. We should turn towards
holiness and right standing with God again. The
Lord wants us walking in love and unity, and it
pleases Him immensely when we pray for one another’s
needs.
Colossians 1:9 “For
this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do
not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might
be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding;”
We should pray for
each other in the church, so that we might have
increased revelation of the plans and purposes of God
in the days to come. We ought to seek His will in all
things and expect to hear direct from heaven for
wisdom and spiritual understanding regarding our
divine destinies. We should reflect on His guidance
and direction to us, and be quick to obey all of His
commands to us on a timely basis.
We must preach the
Gospel of the Kingdom to all the world, and intercede
for men to be baptized and filled with the Holy
Spirit. The end-time harvest of souls is ripe and we
are to bring it in, so that the Kingdom of God may
become a reality in our lifetime. It is not the Lord’s
will that anyone should perish or be denied access to
His Kingdom. We are promised the heathen for our
inheritance, and assured of a household salvation.
There are many souls that rely on our hearing clearly
from God for our direction.
Praying In The
Spirit
Romans 8:26
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for
we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but
the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.”
There are times when
we are so overwhelmed with our thoughts and emotions
that we don’t even know how to pray. For times such as
this, praying in the Spirit in our supernatural prayer
language is the logical solution to our prayer
problem. The Holy Spirit of God itself makes
intercession for us according to the will of God. This
is a foolproof method to have our prayers answered, as
it takes us direct to the very heart of our
interaction with God.
Contrary to what
some may believe from erroneous teaching, the gift of
spiritual tongues is still available and highly
beneficial to our Christian walk today. The Lord will
grant us this gift if we ask Him for it. Praying in
our supernatural tongue will enable us to enter into
communication with God quickly and easily. We only
pray His will in the Holy Spirit. So too, He is able
to download vital information to us using this
communication method.
The enemy cannot
penetrate this type of prayer communication since it
is encoded spiritually. He can neither impede nor
intercept information when we pray in this fashion.
Praying in the Spirit is critical if we would remain
in close contact with the Lord concerning His plans
and timetable as we usher in His Kingdom on the earth.
It is a most efficient method for communicating with
Him.
1Corinthians
14:13-15 “Wherefore let him that speaketh in an
[unknown] tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I
pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my
understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will
pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the
understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I
will sing with the understanding also.”
Corporate prayer
should always be decent and orderly, Paul advised the
church. If we speak in tongues in the congregation, we
ought to pray for the power to interpret what we
prayed, so that we edify others and they can support
us in our prayer efforts.
While this should
not discourage us from praying in the Spirit in a
group setting, it will remind us that we always need
to pray with our human understanding as well as our
spiritual prayer language. That way we will be assured
that we hear clearly from the Lord.
Prayer In The Early
Church
Acts 6:4 “But we
will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the
ministry of the word.”
The early church of
Acts should serve as a viable example of effective
prayer and discipleship for us today. Early Christians
prayed continuously, and gave themselves over to
extensive study of what Christ had taught them. They
clearly heard from God Himself regarding what they
should say and do, and constantly spread the good news
of the Kingdom of God.
They walked in total
love and unity as a church, and the Lord was able to
do mighty works through them. We are told that their
numbers greatly increased as they preached the Gospel
of the Kingdom, and many miraculous healings signs and
wonders took place. The actual power and glory of God
Himself showed up because they were diligent to pray.
Acts 12:5 “Peter
therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made
without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”
When any of them was
in trouble, the entire church responded in
intercession. They prayed continuously until they had
their breakthroughs. They sang God’s praises and gave
thanksgiving for all His mercy and grace. They offered
the Lord praise and honor in their prayer lives, and
He was quick and ready to manifest His presence in
their midst.
The early church was
unselfishly devoted to each other in all things. They
shared what they had in common, and there were none
with any temporal or spiritual needs. They attracted
multitudes of unbelievers by their sincere love for
God and one another. Their prayer intercession should
be a vital example to us of how we are to hold one
another up in prayer in the days ahead.
Acts 16:25 “And at
midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto
God: and the prisoners heard them.”
This passage
describes an episode where Paul and Silas were
imprisoned. They were locked in the innermost area of
the prison, with no hope of release, until they began
praying and singing hymns to God. Their prayers and
praising brought the Lord on the scene and all the
prisoners’ chains were released. Paul ended up even
converting his jailer. This is a magnificent example
of prayers of faith in action.
If we will step up
our prayer efforts and give God all the praise due
Him, we will also be successful in setting captives
free from the bondage and oppression of the enemy.
Satan has blinded the people of the world and told
them that God is angry with them. They are afraid to
pray, for fear their prayers will not be answered. We
can effectively intercede for them and attract
millions of unbelievers to knowledge of the truth –
God loves us and wants to hear from all men.
When The Heavens
Turn To Brass
There are times that
we simply feel discouraged in our prayer relationship
with the Father. It may seem that He has turned a deaf
ear to us, and we do not see the answer to our prayers
manifesting. It seems as if our open heavens have
turned to brass, and that we are wasting our time
praying. While it appears in the natural that God has
stopped listening to us, this is not the case. Our
prayers are simply being contaminated for one reason
or another.
Perhaps we have
unconfessed sin that is interfering in our prayer
lives. Sometimes it may be as simple as our harboring
unforgiveness towards someone. All we need to do is
approach the Lord and ask for revelation regarding our
prayer hindrances, and seek understanding for
correcting our error. If He reveals sin, then we
should be quick to seek repentance, turn away from all
unrighteousness and receive His mercy. He will restore
us to right standing with Him and re-establish the
prayer communication lines.
So too, we may be
praying outside of the will of God for our lives. It
could be that we are focused on material prayer
requests, instead of spiritual gifts. While we are
always entitled to have our temporal needs met, we
must worship the Creator, not His creation. We may
have to reassess our priorities, and realign our
thinking so that it falls into God’s permissive will
for us. We should seek His guidance and direction for
our lives, instead of just our short-term needs.
Our prayer impasse
may also be due to interference in the heavenly
realms. While Satan cannot permanently affect our
communication with the Lord, he may bring fear, doubt
and unbelief into our prayer efforts. These hindering
spirits should be bound and cast out. We should loose
“open heavens” over our prayer requests, and ask for
angelic hosts to carry our words to the Lord. We can
also invoke Christ’s intercession on our behalf, as He
serves as our mediator and High Priest in heaven’s
courts.
1John 3:21 “Beloved,
if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence
toward God.”
Persistence always
pays off and the effectiveness of our prayer
communications will always be restored. We must never
fear that the Lord has permanently tuned us out or has
blatant disregard for our needs. He will never leave
or forsake us; our faith should sustain us in every
delay we experience in seeing our prayer requests
manifest.
We know that if we
are walking in love and righteousness, that the Lord
indeed hears us and will respond positively to our
needs. If we have pure hearts and clear consciences,
then we can have the utmost confidence in approaching
God in prayer. We have His promise that our requests
will be heard, that our prayers will be answered, and
all our needs will be met in abundance.
Topics For
Discussion
1. Describe the different types of prayer.
2. The Importance Of Thanksgiving And Praise
3. Benefits Of Intercession
4. Corporate And Private Prayer
5. Praying In The Spirit
6. Prayer In The Early Church
7. Breakthrough Prayer
Chapter 3 – Jesus On
Prayer
The secret to Jesus
Christ’s effectiveness while He walked on the earth
was not due to the fact that He was God. On the
contrary, He walked as a mere man who communicated
regularly with His Father. They enjoyed a strong,
intimate relationship based on continual, ongoing
prayer and fellowship. Jesus walked in continuous
miracles and had extraordinary breakthroughs because
of His diligence to pray.
Christ requested and
received critical information and direction from His
Father in His prayer life. He heard clearly and
succinctly, and was perfectly obedient to follow the
Lord’s direction for His life. He said that He did
only what the Father told Him to do, and spoke only
what the Father told Him to say. He was an expert
communicator and always obedient to perform the Lord’s
express will in His life.
Jesus walked as a
man in the anointing power of God Himself. While He
was indeed human in every respect, Christ always
prayed for strength and revelation before He did
anything. He encouraged His followers to do the same.
He desired that they fellowship closely with Him and
His Father, and He knew that ongoing, focused prayer
would help them grow confident and strong to do the
Lord’s will in all things.
Advice From Jesus On
How To Pray
Matthew 6:5-6 “And
when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
[are]: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They
have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter
into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
Jesus cautioned His
followers on how to pray. He warned them not to make
an ostentatious show of their prayer, but rather to do
it humbly and sincerely. The Lord is not pleased with
pretended piety or sanctimonious showmanship. He is
concerned that our prayers come from humble, contrite
hearts. He wants devotion and sincerity in our
communications with Him, whether they be conducted in
a group setting or in private.
Hypocritical prayer
is to be shunned in all its forms. The Lord is not
mocked; He knows when we come to Him of our own
volition with hearts that are genuine and sincere. He
despises pretense and ignores rhetoric. Prayer is
intimate communication between God and us. It is His
desire to speak with us openly and directly through
our prayer sessions. We can bring Him all of our
concerns and questions and never be worried that He
will be shocked or put off by us.
Matthew 6:7-8 “But
when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen
[do]: for they think that they shall be heard for
their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto
them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need
of, before ye ask him.”
Christ reminded His
disciples that the Lord hates nagging. Vain,
repetitious prayers are worthless. They do not get
God’s attention positively; they most probably annoy
Him. He knows that these types of prayers do not come
from the heart. It is His desire that we simply
fellowship with Him.
The Lord knows what
we need even before we ask Him, but He delights in our
coming to Him to provide all our needs. We should
always pray in faith, in the knowledge that we will
receive what we ask, and thank the Lord in advance for
hearing and answering our prayers. We can have total
confidence that He not only hears us, but also honors
our requests in faith-based prayer.
Jesus Prayed For The
Coming Of The Kingdom
Matthew 6:9-13
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Jesus Himself taught
us how to pray; He gave us His model prayer for
birthing the Kingdom of God on the earth. We are to
give glory to God and pray that His way of doing
things and being right in heaven will come to the
earth realm. Then we make our immediate needs known,
and ask Him for forgiveness. We are then to petition
Him to deliver us from all evil. We close the Lord’s
Prayer with the affirmation that His is all the power
and glory.
If we will pray the
Lord’s Prayer persistently and affirmatively as Jesus
taught us, believing that what we pray will indeed
come to pass, then we will see the Kingdom of God
manifest in the earth realm. It will take that kind of
continuous supplication to bring the breakthrough, but
it will be well worth our effort. We will actually
experience heaven on earth and enjoy all the blessings
of God, as a result of our heart-felt, fervent prayer
to birth the Kingdom.
Jesus’ Model For
Private Prayer
Matthew 14:23 “And
when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into
a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was
come, he was there alone.”
Luke 6:12 “And it
came to pass in those days, that he went out into a
mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to
God.”
Jesus knew His
limits as a man during His earthly ministry, and we
should realize ours, as well. He always took time to
rest, be alone and pray to the Father, so that He
would be re-energized for His earthly walk. He would
go off by Himself and sometimes pray all night. During
this time of rest and solitude, He was able to receive
divine revelation and increased strength to do all
that He was called to do during His ministry.
We need to take time
in our lives for private prayer also. The Lord beckons
to us to be much with Him. He desires a close
relationship that is built on plenty of quality time
spent in intimate private prayer and devotions. It is
during our private prayer time that we receive our
greatest spiritual gifts from God. He will provide
ongoing revelation and impart His anointing only to
those who are serious about their fellowship with Him.
Jesus Prayed For The
Holy Spirit
John 14:16 “And I
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”
Christ knew that we
would need ongoing comfort and guidance when He left
us to return to His Father. He prayed that the Holy
Spirit of God would come to His followers and
virtually indwell them. This happened for the first
time at the feast of Pentecost when the early church
was baptized with the Holy Spirit.
We have access to
that same baptism today. When we are born again and
baptized with water, we become eligible for the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, as well. We need only pray
that the Lord sends His Spirit to us, and we will
enjoy all the benefits of a life with direction and
purpose, complete with the fruit of the Spirit
manifesting in us.
Galatians 5:22-25
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law. And they
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit.”
We should strive for
spiritual maturity, holiness and perfection and
cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in our daily lives.
Love, joy and peace are essential, and will strengthen
us to serve the Lord and one another with passion and
zeal. So too, we will be protected from enemy attacks,
if we will learn to walk in the Spirit instead of our
flesh and soul desires. That will keep us in the very
presence of the Lord where all blessings lie.
The fruit of the
Spirit just don’t miraculously appear in us. We ought
to work at developing them in our lives. As we develop
one spiritual attribute and perfect it, the others
seem to gather momentum. For example we must exercise
patience and longsuffering in our dealings with one
another. We should pursue temperate, balanced
lifestyles. Our faith must be strong and unwavering
despite our circumstances, and we should be meek and
humble servants.
We must sanctify
ourselves, crucify our flesh, and lay down all our
soul’s ambitions. If we will apply ourselves, we can
indeed position our spirit in ascendancy and walk in
spiritual lifestyles, rather than worldly ones. As we
mature spiritually, we will grow in holiness and
perfection. If we cultivate all the fruit of the
Spirit in ourselves, we will have better relationships
with God and with others and enjoy personal victory in
every area.
Jesus’ Advice On
Intercession
Luke 6:28 “Bless
them that curse you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you.”
Jesus did not come
to abolish Old Testament law; He came to fulfill it.
He taught us His law of love, which summarizes the Ten
Commandments into two major categories – love of God
and love of neighbor. We are taught to pray to our God
as a form of devotion, deference and respect in an
effort to establish a more intimate relationship. We
bring Him our thoughts and concerns, as well as our
needs; we give Him thanks and praise for his great
glory.
We are taught to
pray for others, as well. While we should be engaged
in intercessory prayer for those in the brotherhood at
all times, we must also pray for our enemies. This
type of prayer effort is extremely selfless and
powerful for converting our enemies’ hearts. It
prevents all forms of anger, bitterness and
unforgiveness from taking root in our lives. It ought
to be our goal to walk in love and unity with all men,
regardless of how they treat us.
Jesus Prayed During
Trials And Tribulations
Matthew 26:36 “Then
cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane,
and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go
and pray yonder.”
Imagine the Son of
God who comes to the earth to preach the good news of
the Kingdom of God, yet must experience rejection,
betrayal, suffering and death to accomplish His goal.
Christ may have been God, but He suffered trials and
tribulations in His walk as a mere man. He needed to
pray to help strengthen Himself to fulfill His
destiny. He needed the consolation and comfort that
only time spent with His Father in prayer could offer
Him.
What did His
disciples do while He was agonizing in prayer? Did
they intercede and share His burden? Did they pray
that He would be strengthened and refreshed? No, they
fell asleep and left Him alone to face His potential
fate. Will we be guilty of the same thing, or will we
be strong in prayer to overcome all temptation? Will
our faith be encouraged, or will we entertain fear,
doubt and unbelief that will prevent us from doing the
will of God in our lives?
Watch And Pray
Mark 13:33 “Take ye
heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time
is.”
We cannot afford to
be asleep on our prayer watch in the days ahead. We
must renew our vows to the Lord, and rededicate our
lives to fulfilling our part in His eternal redemption
plan. If we are members of the Body of Christ who will
actually be called into service in ushering in the
Kingdom, we have to remain alert and ready to answer
our call to action when Christ directs us. We cannot
be caught up in any distraction that would prevent our
immediate obedience.
If we are members of
the church and the Bride of Christ, we should be
engaged in fervent, persistent, intercessory prayer
for the Body of Christ and the coming of the Kingdom
of God to the earth. We should seek supernatural
breakthrough in the heavenly realms. We must be
sanctifying ourselves and preparing to meet Christ as
our Bridegroom. We should all be praying for full
evangelization of the earth, and be actively engaged
in preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and harvesting
souls.
Jesus’ Prayer For
His Followers - John 17
John 17:1-3 “These
words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven,
and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son,
that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is
life eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Jesus was the
epitome of unselfish devotion for those who believed
in Him. He took the time to intercede in prayer to the
Father for His followers, even before His death and
resurrection. He knew His role in God’s eternal
redemption plan, and had been successful in turning
the disciples back to right relationship with God.
They believed that the Father had sent Him, and in
return they received eternal life.
John 17:4-5 “I have
glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify
thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was.”
Christ was not
ashamed to ask His Father for His reward. He
accomplished all that He set out to do in His earthly
ministry. All that He wanted in return was to share in
God’s glory forever, as He had enjoyed it from the
foundation of the world. He sought validation for His
work and the Father has exalted Him above all others
because of His perfect obedience.
John 17:6-8 “I have
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me
out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest
them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have
known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me
are of thee. or I have given unto them the words which
thou gavest me; and they have received [them], and
have known surely that I came out from thee, and they
have believed that thou didst send me.”
God sent His very
Son to those who were elect and chosen by the Father
to receive Him. The Father must have been
exceptionally pleased with His Son’s performance
during His earthly ministry. Jesus walked as a
perfect, sinless human being, and was successful in
demonstrating the anointing power of God to all His
followers. They believed that the Father indeed sent
Him, and they believed in the words that He spoke to
them.
John 17:9-12 “I pray
for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine
are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in
them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are
in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,
that they may be one, as we [are]. While I was with
them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that
thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost,
but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be
fulfilled.”
Jesus prayed for all
those that the Father had given Him, and He was proud
to proclaim that He had kept them all safe through the
power of God that worked in Him, except for Judas
Iscariot. He reminds the Father that He must now leave
them, and that they will now require more of God’s
presence in their lives than ever before, since they
will remain in the world after He leaves.
John 17:13 “And now
come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world,
that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
Christ knew that His
return to the Father was imminent and that His prayer
for His followers would bring them divine empowerment
to survive in this world, despite what might happen in
their surrounding circumstances. He wanted His joy and
success in ministry fulfilled in His disciples. He
desired that they walk exactly as He had while on the
earth, doing the works that He did to bless others.
John 17:14-16 “I
have given them thy word; and the world hath hated
them, because they are not of the world, even as I am
not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take
them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep
them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as
I am not of the world.”
Jesus’ followers
were changed men and women after they sat under His
teaching. They realized their divine origin and the
importance of their earthly destinies. However, they
were subject to scorn and derision by those of the
world who refused Christ’s teaching. They were even in
physical danger for their very lives if they openly
followed in Christ’s path.
Christ did NOT pray
that we would be evacuated from the planet earth, when
the going got tough. On the contrary, He asked the
Father to protect us from all evil, while we stayed
here to do His work. And so we remain and follow Jesus
in the works that He did, enjoying supernatural
protection from all harm until the coming of the
Kingdom of God to the earth.
John 17:17-19
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I
also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I
sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified
through the truth.”
We must sanctify
ourselves just as Jesus sanctified Himself during His
earthly walk. We must remain rooted and grounded in
the Word of God and purposely lay down all known sin.
We should purge ourselves of the desires of the flesh
and the distractions of the soul. As we lay down our
lives in God’s service, we will grow into spiritual
maturity and holiness.
John 17:20-23
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word; That
they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the
glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that
they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and
that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and
hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
Jesus wanted us to
have everything that He enjoyed with God. He prayed
that we would be one with Him, as He was with the
Father. He also prayed for our unity as a corporate
group of believers. He shared the glory that He had
rightfully earned during His ministry with us, so that
we would walk in divine authority as He had. He wanted
to make an open show of our faith and devotion to the
entire world.
John 17:24 “Father,
I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be
with me where I am; that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before
the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the
world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and
these have known that thou hast sent me.”
Jesus said that He
would go and prepare a place for us when He left us.
While we are currently seated with Him in heavenly
places, we will also behold Him in all His glory when
the Kingdom of God comes to the earth. He will boast
of us to all creation, because we have believed that
the Father sent Him. He will be proud that we have
walked as He walked on the earth, doing the works that
He did. We will be glorified with Him for all
eternity.
John 17:26 “And I
have declared unto them thy name, and will declare
[it]: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may
be in them, and I in them.”
Christ is in us, and
the love that He shared with His Father is in us as
well. We are to love the Lord and one another, so that
we all may be one. If we love one another, we will
walk in total unity in the days ahead. There will be
no proud and haughty spirits that enter into our
fellowships and cause competition or division among
us. We will each assume our God-given role in the
Lord’s eternal redemption plan.
We will have the
distinct honor and privilege of seeing heaven come to
the earth in the Kingdom of God. We will co-labor with
Christ to establish godly standards for living,
restore all of creation, and rule and reign with Him
in full glory. We will love the Lord and His people,
as we dwell in peace and joy together for all
eternity.
Topics For
Discussion
1. Why Jesus Prayed
2. Jesus’ Advice On How To Pray
3. Prayer in Temptation
4. Jesus And Intercessory Prayer
5. How did Jesus teach us to pray?
6. Jesus’ Prayer For The Kingdom To Come
7. Jesus’ Prayer For Us – John 17
Chapter 4 – How To
Get Our Prayers Heard
Hebrews 11:6 “But
without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and
[that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him.”
The Lord wants us to
know Him as our God – our Creator and our Father. We
must believe that He is indeed who and what He says He
is, in order to approach Him in prayer. It would be
pointless to pray to a powerless entity, therefore, we
must earnestly believe that God is all powerful and
eminently capable of answering our prayers. If we do
have faith in Him then we also know, beyond a doubt,
that He hears us and grants our requests.
Religion has taught
us that we are to view ourselves as unworthy, and that
God must be approached with fear and trepidation. The
traditions of men would have us believe that sometimes
God answers prayer and sometimes He doesn’t, that it
all depends upon whether we are being good or bad.
Well-intentioned clergy tell us that God sometimes
brings trouble and that He remains silent to teach us
a lesson or to punish us.
These are lies from
the pits of hell and an insult to all that Jesus
Christ did for us. In reality, we are sons and
daughters of the living God. We have been washed clean
and made worthy by the very Blood of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. We have rights and privileges
that we have yet to exercise; divine power and glory
that remains untapped; and accessibility to the throne
of grace whenever we need it as long as we walk in
love and righteousness.
Confidence In Prayer
1John 5:14 “And this
is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask
any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”
We know that the
Lord will indeed hear us from heaven and honor our
prayer requests, as long as they line up with His will
for our lives. We do not have to beg, wail or lament
to have our needs met. We do not have to agonize or
travail in prayer for hours or days. The Lord wants
mature sons and daughters that come boldly to Him, by
the merits of His Son Jesus Christ. He stands ready to
greet us in our prayer and will supply all that we ask
of Him.
We should examine
both the permissive will and the express will of God
with regard to prayer. While we may sometimes request
things that are not blatantly sinful or outlandish,
they may be permitted by the Lord but are not part of
His perfect will for our lives. In such a case, He may
appear to delay the answer to our prayers. He may
ultimately give us something more suitable or even
better than what we originally requested.
Praying for God’s
perfect or express will for our lives will produce
much quicker and more positive prayer results. For
example, we know that it is the Lord’s express will
that we prosper and be in good health because the
Bible tells us that. If we pray for prosperity and
follow His guidelines, we will experience financial
breakthroughs. If we pray for good health, the Lord
will always respond and heal us of any injury or
disease that comes on us.
So too, it is His
express will that heaven comes to the earth in the
Kingdom of God. If we pray for that to happen, it will
definitely manifest because it lines up with both what
the Word of God promises and His direct purpose for
our lives. We can have total confidence that whatever
we ask according to the will of God, will indeed be
granted to us.
Heirs To The
Promises Of God
Romans 8:17 “And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that
we may be also glorified together.”
We are joint-heirs
with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places.
Since Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father,
we are seated right up there with Him. We have
immediate access to the throne of grace, so that we
can pray and make our petitions known at any time.
And we know in
confidence, that what we ask, we will receive. As
Spirit-filled believers, we always hear from God and
we never pray outside of His will for our lives. We
need only thank the Lord and wait for His response, to
see the answers to our prayers manifest in the natural
realm.
While we have
experienced trials and tribulations in the world, our
suffering has only matured and strengthened us to be
more like Christ. We always try to do the works of
Christ in our daily lives. We have earned the Lord’s
respect and favor as a result. He will amply supply
our needs and generously reward us for all our efforts
on His behalf.
Colossians 3:24
“Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward
of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
As long as we have
sanctified ourselves and repented of all known sin,
and are walking in righteousness and love for God and
one another, there is nothing to impede our prayers
from being heard and answered. The enemy cannot
interfere; our sense of unworthiness is not a factor.
We are heirs to the promises of God Himself if we walk
as Christ walked on the earth.
Our reward is
secure, and we will experience joy, peace and
prosperity forever in the Kingdom of God. We will be
glorified with Christ, and He will boast of us to all
creation. He will take vengeance on all our enemies
and provide us with safety and security for all
eternity. The Lord himself will dwell with us forever
in His Kingdom, and generously supply all of our
needs.
Know Your Rights And
Privileges
Galatians 3:29 “And
if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise.”
As believers and
heirs to the promises of God, we enjoy certain rights
and privileges. Because of who we are in Jesus Christ,
we can invoke the terms of both the Abrahamic and
Messianic covenants. We are descendants of Abraham; we
have the same bloodline as Christ does. We are his
seed and heirs to the entire world.
So too, we have even
better promises, because we were also redeemed by
Christ’s very own Blood. We experienced not only
salvation from our sins when He went to the cross, but
we also received full restoration of our right
standing with God. The Lord looks at us and sees Jesus
Himself in all His righteousness.
We enjoy Christ’s
grace – unmerited favor in all that we do. If we miss
the mark, and fall short of God’s glory, we have the
opportunity to immediately turn and repent. The Lord
is ever merciful, and quick to forgive us. We can
always enjoy fellowship with the Father; we can
communicate with Him intimately and as often as we
desire.
We also have all of
Christ’s anointing power and authority available to
us, as long as we sanctify and discipline ourselves
for its use. We will walk in miraculous signs and
wonders – healing the sick, freeing the captives and
even raising the dead in the days to come! We will
help bring heaven to the earth realm through our
fervent prayer and obedient service to the Lord.
2Peter 1:4 “Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust.”
We are members of
God’s very own family; we come from royal blood. The
Bible says that we are kings and priests unto our God.
We have the privilege of making our needs known, and
the confidence that they will always be met. We have
the responsibility to intercede for others, and we can
expect to see changed lives as a result of our
prayers.
We walk in
supernatural protection and miraculous power and
authority. We destroy demonic strongholds that impede
our progress and cause suffering in those around us.
We shake up world governments and cause them to line
up with godly principles. We walk in supernatural
blessings and total security in a dark and unstable
world.
Hebrews 6:17
“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the
heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,
confirmed [it] by an oath:”
Christ’s victory
over sin, death and the grave restored our
righteousness once and for all. His Blood is our
guarantee of right standing with the Father. Our
relationship that was marred by Adam’s transgression
is now totally restored. In fact, we have a better
relationship now than ever before. We actually enjoy
sonship rights – inheritance to all the promises of
God. We are the actual sons and daughters of the
Creator of the universe.
We have God’s very
word, confirmed by His oath, that He will be our God
forever. His word is immutable; He is not a man that
will lie and deceive us. He will minister to our
spirits and provide us with guidance and direction
through His Holy Spirit. The Lord will give us ongoing
revelation and be our divine empowerment to do all
that He asks of us in bringing heaven to the earth.
He will generously
provide for all our temporal needs in His Kingdom. The
earth will be a veritable paradise. Our flesh will be
changed to glorious, incorruptible bodies that live
forever. We will enjoy peace, and prosperity, love and
unity, safety and security in the very presence of our
awesome God for all eternity.
Prayers Of Faith
Mark 11:24
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye
desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them],
and ye shall have [them].”
Jesus taught us to
have faith in God and the faith of God!
There is nothing more powerful than prayer that is
backed up by faith in the Word of God. Christ taught
us that we must believe that we receive everything
that we pray for, and eagerly anticipate receiving it.
We should make our petitions known to the Lord, then
immediately thank Him for hearing and answering our
prayers even before they manifest.
Any type of prayer
can be done in faith, whether it is a prayer of
petition and supplication, intercession or praise and
thanksgiving. If we have needs and entreat the Lord
for them to be met, we will have whatever we ask as
long as we are consistent. We must pray as though the
Lord as already heard us and acted on our request. We
should thank Him and give Him praise even before we
see the prayer results.
This type of
faith-based praying is critical to help usher in the
Kingdom of God on the earth. We must believe that it
will come, and actually thank the Lord for its arrival
before it appears in the natural realm. The Father
will not deny us something that is good and
beneficial; He will indeed make good on our request
because it aligns itself with His Word. We have God’s
guarantee that His Word will not return void to Him;
He always makes good on it.
John 16:24 “Hitherto
have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall
receive, that your joy may be full.”
We also have
Christ’s own power of attorney to use His Name in
prayer to the Father. That is our guarantee that the
Lord will hear us and respond favorably to our needs.
When we pray in Christ’s Name, it is as if Jesus
Himself is making a request. Our prayers are heard
immediately, and our answers are forthcoming. That
will cause us great joy and we should praise the Lord
in earnest for His generous love towards us because of
the merits of Christ Himself.
Making Demands On
The Word Of God
One sure way to have
our prayer requests answered is to pray the Word of
God, which is the very will of God Himself. With
words, God created the universe; our words that line
up with His have creative power also, because we were
created in His image and likeness. Our words are
virtual dynamos of divine power and authority. When
they line up with God’s words, they are invincible!
When we pray for
Biblical precepts and promises in our lives, we can be
certain that they will manifest because they are God’s
express will for us. His Word is His will! We
simply remind Him of His promises – call Him to
remembrance of what He has said – and ask for them to
materialize in our lives. And since He never lies, we
will have what we ask in accordance with the Word of
God that we verbalize over our situations and
circumstances.
For example, we
should voice-activate the Word of God, and personalize
it so that it will increase in potency. That will
bolster our faith and confidence. We must also remind
the Lord that this is His Word and His
will for us. We should actually say something like:
“Father, your Word says … therefore, I claim it as my
very own promise and I believe that I receive!” We
should then thank Him and wait patiently for what we
claimed to manifest in the natural realm.
When we make demands
on the Word of God, and speak forth His promises to us
out loud, we announce our position to all the demonic
hierarchy. We break through enemy strongholds and the
devil will flee far from us and stop impeding our
prayers from being heard and answered. Satan knows
better than to interfere with the spoken Word of God
Himself; it has awesome inherent power.
Spiritual Decrees
2Corinthians 4:13
“We having the same spirit of faith, according as it
is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken;
we also believe, and therefore speak;”
We should never pray
outside of our faith. What we believe will happen,
ultimately will manifest.
While prayer is
important, speaking the uncompromised Word of God over
our lives will have astounding results. It places a
demand on God’s promises to manifest in the natural
realm, and He will always make good on His Word. It
never returns void to Him, the Bible tells us, and we
can rely on positive results for our efforts.
We should make
verbal decrees of our promises in the Bible, and speak
them over our all of our situations and circumstances.
For example, if we want supernatural protection, we
should speak: “No plot or scheme formed against me
will prosper” or “He gives His angels charge over me
to protect me in all my ways.” This will set up a
shield around us that the enemy cannot penetrate.
If we want abundance
and prosperity in our lives, we should say: “My God
does supply all my needs according to His riches in
glory” or “I am prospered going in and coming out;
everything that I put my hand to prospers.” If we need
healing we should decree: “Jesus bore my infirmities
and carried my diseases, and by His stripes I was
healed” or “The same spirit that raised Jesus from the
dead, quickens my mortal body.”
We will have what we
speak, and we should be extremely careful not to
cancel our spiritual decrees with subsequent negative
words. We should never give more power to a problem
than it already has, by speaking about it with others.
We ought to speak the solution or the desired result,
in order to see that manifest in our situation and
circumstances.
Our conversation has
to be carefully monitored. We cannot verbalize
negatives of any kind; we must speak only words of
light and life – to ourselves and to others. Our words
will bless us or curse us, depending on their content.
The Lord Himself honors our words as if they were His
very own, and He will give us what we decree over our
lives, whether it be good or evil.
Job 22:28 “Thou
shalt also decree a thing and it shall be established
unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.”
We should never
speak idle or careless words. We should speak only the
Word of God to our situations and circumstances. We
can be absolutely positive that it will produce good
fruit in our lives. What we believe and decree for
ourselves and for others, will come to pass in the
natural realm. The Lord Himself guarantees that to us.
We should always be
diligent to pray the Word and the will of God in all
matters. That is why it is critical that we actually
decree “heaven on the earth,” as we have prayed in the
Lord’s Prayer. The Kingdom of God exists in all its
magnificent glory in the spiritual realm, and we
voice-activate its coming to the earth with our
positive decrees that it will manifest. We actually
bring it into reality by praying faith-based prayers
and speaking it into existence!
The Lord has
designed this eternal redemption plan from the
beginning of time. It is His express will to usher
heaven into the earth realm and to dwell with His
people there for all eternity. He delights in
partnering with a people who pray in faith and speak
possibilities such as the Kingdom of God into reality.
In fact, it is
absolutely vital that we pray and decree the Kingdom
coming on the earth, because the Lord will not
intervene unless we ask Him. He has given all power
and authority in the earth realm to men. He cannot and
will not do anything here, unless we pray for it to
occur and voice-activate its coming. He has done His
part and is now waiting for us to do ours. Our divine
destinies include fervent, effectual prayer fro divine
intervention.
Prayer That
Justifies Us
Isaiah 43:26 “Put me
in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou,
that thou mayest be justified.”
The Lord loves it
when we remind Him what He has promised us in the
written Word of God. He wants us to plead our case
before Him as we would in a court of law, and use the
Word as our evidence that we should have what we ask.
He is ever ready to make good on His promises to us,
and is delighted that we have strong faith in His Word
and know our rights and privileges in Christ. He
expects us to believe sincerely and proclaim boldly.
We are not only
entitled to contend with the Lord for His promise, but
we are urged to do so. We can actually pray and
declare the Word over our lives to see it manifest in
the natural realm. We can personalize the Biblical
promises of God and speak them out of our mouths. We
ought to do this often and teach others to do it, as
well. We will see astounding results in or lives, as
the Lord backs up His Word in power and might.
Hebrews 10:38 “Now
the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw
back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
The Lord wants us to
come boldly to the throne of grace with our prayer
requests. He is never stingy in providing our needs;
He simply wants us to confidently and expectantly
demand our rights that He has promised us. He loves it
when we contend with Him in our faith. He will make
good on all His promises and do even more than we
could ever ask or imagine.
Conversely, the Lord
is displeased when we shrink back from Him in a sense
of false humility or fear. Doubt and unbelief
displease Him; only faith-based words get His
attention. He wants us to be mature sons and daughters
that communicate with Him freely and comfortably. He
delights in our boldness and will reward our
persistence with answered prayer to meet all our needs
Proverbs 23:11 “For
their redeemer [is] mighty; he shall plead their cause
with thee.”
We should always
have total confidence that our prayers are heard and
that our requests will be honored. We have Jesus
Christ as a mediator and High Priest, who is ever
ready to intercede on our behalf. While that may not
be necessary, it is comforting to know that our Lord
and Savior backs us up in all that we request of our
Father.
Reward For
Righteousness
Ruth 2:12 “The LORD
recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee
of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art
come to trust.”
If we are in right
standing with God and obedient to His commandments, we
will have a generous reward for our prayer efforts.
The Lord knows that He can trust us to do His will,
and that what we request is both valid and important
to His overall plan for our lives. He will be our
source and our supply of all good things that we
request of Him.
We, in turn, should
trust the Lord to answer our prayers and grant our
requests. We should remember that He wants to bless
us, and freely supplies all of our needs. His hand is
not shortened to meet your needs and mine –
continuously and generously. He has the wealth of the
entire universe at His disposal, and an inexhaustible
supply of all that we require.
Hebrews 10:35 “Cast
not away therefore your confidence, which hath great
recompence of reward.”
Once again, it
cannot be stressed enough, that the Lord wants us
walking in total faith and confidence in our prayers.
He will never cause us to be ashamed by leaving us
empty handed. That would not bring Him any honor or
glory. He wants to demonstrate His love for us; He is
ever able and willing to meet our prayer requests
fully and completely. Our faith and confidence have
their own rewards, and the Lord is never stingy in
providing them.
If we are confident
that what we pray is heard and will be answered, that
gives us renewed hope for the future. We will be more
patient for the actual manifestation of our prayer
results, and eagerly await the details of the Lord’s
provision. It is truly exciting to see how and when
God will minister to our needs. He delights in our
peace and joy, and is ever ready and willing to bless
our lives in abundance.
Exceeding Abundantly
Ephesians 3:20 “Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that
worketh in us,”
We are virtual
prayer dynamos, and we don’t even recognize that. Our
Father is the Creator of the universe and He rejoices
in our prayers. There is no good thing that He will
withhold from us. In fact, He will do far more than we
could ever ask or think in our prayer lives. The key
then lies with how and what we pray. Prayer has power,
and we should fine-tune our methods so that it is more
effective for our benefit and for that of others.
If we pray the
Lord’s Word and will, we will never be disappointed.
He will be quick to hear and generous in His answer to
our prayer requests. Why then should we pray for small
things, when we could be praying for the big picture?
The Kingdom of God will solve all our problems and
meet all of our needs for all eternity…
We need to step up
our prayer efforts. If more of us pray and ask Him, we
will see God’s awesome power and glory released on the
earth. It is the Lord’s express will that heaven come
to the earth realm; we pray it all the time in the
Lord’s Prayer. We can voice-activate it with our
faith-based prayers and spiritual decrees for the
coming of His Kingdom. We will not be disappointed; we
will enjoy paradise on the earth as a result of our
passionate prayer efforts!
Topics For
Discussion
1. Why God Answers Prayer
2. Heirs To The Promises Of God
3. Our Rights and Privileges
4. Rewards For Righteousness
5. Prayers Of Faith
6. Spiritual Decrees
7. Exceeding Abundantly
Chapter 5 – Hear Us
From Heaven
2Chronicles 6:39-40
“Then hear thou from the heavens, [even] from thy
dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications,
and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which
have sinned against thee. Now, my God, let, I beseech
thee, thine eyes be open, and [let] thine ears [be]
attent unto the prayer [that is made] in this place.”
This prayer of
Solomon is a great example of how we should pray for
the Lord’s presence to come to the earth. He asked for
his people to be forgiven, and prayed that the Lord’s
eyes would be opened and His ears attentive to their
cries. He requested that the Lord’s glory fall on the
place where His people could worship Him. Solomon’s
prayer was sincere and came from a humble, contrite
heart, even though he was a king.
However, while the
situation is similar, we are not merely seeking the
Lord’s glory to fall and reside in the Ark of the
Covenant as Solomon was when he prayed this prayer. We
are seeking His manifest presence with us for all
eternity in the Kingdom of God when it comes to the
earth. We want to live with Him in all His power and
glory, close up and personal, in intimate fellowship
with the very Creator of the universe.
This is a huge
request, so we need to sanctify ourselves more fully
and refine our prayer methods so that we are more
effective in being heard. We must renounce and turn
away from all known sin. Nothing evil can reside in
God’s presence. We should walk in the Spirit instead
of the flesh; this ensures us that we will be
spiritually mature and perfect as He is perfect.
We must plead our
case before the Lord for the coming of His Kingdom to
the earth. We should place a demand on the written
Word of God, and all of its promises to us. We should
be praying prayers of faith and making spiritual
decrees. We can visualize heaven actually coming to
earth realm as we pray and seek God’s favor.
Sanctification
Through The Truth
1Thessalonians 5:23
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I
pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
If we would be
consecrated vessels of honor for the Lord’s use, we
should continue to purge ourselves of all known sin.
We must overcome all fleshly desires that hinder us in
our spiritual walk. We must lay down our personal
agendas in favor of His purpose and plan. We must get
over our “selves” and become totally dedicated to Him.
We should rid
ourselves of all worldly goals and desire the coming
of the Kingdom more than anything else. We should
strive for spiritual perfection and a deeper intimacy
with God. If we are walking in total righteousness,
then our prayers will be heard and answered promptly.
We will have what we ask, and even more than we could
ever imagine.
We will receive
ongoing revelation of the Lord’s plan and timing to
usher in His Kingdom. We each have our specific parts
to play in His eternal redemption plan. The Lord
cannot do this without our active cooperation, since
we hold dominion over the earth. Everything will
proceed in an orderly fashion, and right on schedule.
Christ will return
to receive His Kingdom from us. We will have put all
His enemies (including death) under our feet, and
fully evangelized the earth. All world governments
will be reorganized and absorbed into His Kingdom. All
demonic strongholds will be overcome and He will
banish Satan and his minions to the bottomless pit.
Prayer To Birth The
Kingdom
Luke 11: 1-2 “And it
came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain
place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto
him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his
disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say,
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so
in earth.”
We should pray the
Lord’s model prayer with fervor and persistence, if we
would have it manifest as the Kingdom of God on the
earth. We ought to plead our case with heart-felt
sincerity, stand on God’s Word and remind Him that
this is His eternal redemption plan. We should
give Him thanks and praise for His great glory, and
request that He unleash His creative power in the
universe once again.
Voice-activation of
God’s promised Kingdom is mighty and powerful for
tearing down all demonic strongholds that would
prevent it from manifesting in the natural realm. We
have to decree that it is indeed established and bind
everything that would deter its coming. We should
loose Kingdom blessings in our lives by speaking them
out of our mouths.
We should visualize
the Kingdom; we can use our spiritual gifts of
imagination to picture it in great detail. We will be
joyful and prosperous, healthy and strong. We will
build homes and dwell in them with our families for
generations. We will walk in harmony with each other
and with the animal kingdom in total peace. All our
needs will be met for all eternity.
We can see ourselves
serving in the Kingdom in our divine destinies. We
will be teaching and governing, ruling and reigning
with Christ. If we spiritually decree that it is
already here in all its splendor and actually see it
in our mind’s eye, that will be powerful in causing
the Kingdom of God to actually manifest in the natural
realm as the Lord has promised us.
Watch And Pray
1Peter 4:7 “But the
end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober,
and watch unto prayer.”
We ought to devote
ourselves to consecrated prayer for the Kingdom of God
to come, as never before. We must present our prayer
petition both passionately and persistently. We should
also intercede unselfishly for others who are
instrumental in helping to bring the Kingdom about. We
must not neglect to give the Lord all the thanks and
praise that He so rightly deserves.
We should wait
expectantly for the next move of God to take place. He
will pour out His power and glory in the earth realm
to attract many new believers. He will work with us
and through us to draw all men to Himself.
We will preach the
Gospel of the Kingdom and baptize new believers. We
will perform miraculous signs and wonders as a
testament to God’s power. Many will be healed of
incurable diseases; hospitals and funeral homes will
be emptied as a worldwide testimony to God’s love and
majesty, as it operates through His people.
It is the Lord’s
perfect will for all men to dwell in His presence in
the Kingdom of God on the earth. He has promised us
that He will supply all of our needs; we will enjoy
peace and prosperity, health and longevity, safety and
security forever. He wants to know us intimately and
fellowship with us for all eternity; that’s the very
reason He created us.
Lord’s Hand Is Not
Shortened
The Lord is able to
do all that He has promised us. He will
establish the Kingdom of God on the earth. It’s simply
a matter of when that will happen. That depends on us.
Are we ready and willing to do all that it takes to
bring heaven to the earth realm? Are we sanctified and
consecrated to His holy purpose? Can we walk as Christ
Himself walked on the earth? Do we want the Lord’s
presence more than anything else in our lives? These
are questions that each of us must now ask ourselves,
in preparation for ushering in the Kingdom of God.
We have much to
accomplish if we would be joint-heirs with Jesus
Christ to all that the Kingdom of God has to offer. We
have to be willing to actually partner with the Lord
in fulfilling His redemption plan. We must be
consecrated and dedicated to His purpose, not our own
agendas. He wants and requires our active
participation in every phase of Kingdom building.
We all have our
parts to play to make the Kingdom a reality. Prayer to
birth the Kingdom should be our primary goal. Each of
us should pray continuously for its manifestation. We
must continually purge ourselves of all known sin and
fleshly desires so that we can dwell in the presence
of a perfect and holy God. We will have to sacrifice
everything to gain everything.
The Body of Christ
must be mobilized, and angelic hosts mustered to do
their part in tearing down demonic strongholds that
interfere with our efforts. The Bride of Christ must
purify and prepare herself to meet Jesus as her
Bridegroom.
So too, we must
preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and fully evangelize
the earth, to include the nation of Israel. We should
walk as Christ walked, and heal the sick, set captives
free of demonic oppression, and even raise the dead in
the days to come.
Everything must
happen in the Lord’s timing and by the anointing power
of His Holy Spirit; He will synchronize all of our
efforts to keep pace with His perfect plan. All that
we must do is seek Him for guidance and direction. We
must be quick and obedient to do all that He assigns
us, and work cooperatively with one another in
ushering in His Kingdom for all the world to see.
A Holy People
Revelation 21:3 “And
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold,
the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God
himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.”
We know from the
written Word of God that the Lord wants to tabernacle
on the earth with His children. However, He will not
reside in the Ark of the Covenant this time. No church
or temple will house Him. He will actually take up
residence with us in the Kingdom of God in all of His
power and glory. We will enjoy an intimate
Father/child relationship with Him. However, nothing
that defiles can exist in His presence.
We should be praying
for Him to purge and sanctify us as a holy people, so
that we can enjoy His companionship. We must cooperate
with sanctification, by laying down our souls and all
desires of the flesh that interfere with our spirits
being in ascendancy. He will consecrate us for His
purpose, hear our pleas, empower and organize us in
our all efforts to usher in heaven on the earth as He
has promised He would do.
Romans 12:12
“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing
instant in prayer;”
If we have purged
ourselves of all selfish personal goals and fleshly
desires, as much as we are humanly able, the Lord will
complete our sanctification. He knows that we are
striving for full maturity as His sons and daughters.
We try to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We
desire the Lord and His way of doing things more than
we desire life in the world system. He is continually
working with us and in us to accomplish His purpose.
But for the time
being, we are still subject to worldly trials and
tribulation and susceptible to temptation and sin. We
should be patient in our suffering, yet passionate in
our zeal for more of God and His power and glory to
manifest. We should be instant in prayer and strong in
spiritual warfare, to stop all the enemy’s efforts to
deter and detain us in reaching the spiritual
perfection and personal consecration that is needed to
usher in the Kingdom of God.
Overcomers
2Corinthians 2:14
“Now thanks [be] unto God, which always causeth us to
triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of
his knowledge by us in every place.”
We have suffered
scorn and derision for thousands of years as followers
of Jesus Christ on the earth; many have ridiculed and
persecuted us for our faith. We’ve experienced disease
and death, oppression and poverty at the hand of the
enemy. We have been constantly tormented and tempted
to sin, yet through Christ we have been able to
triumph over all adversity. We have overcome the
world, the flesh and the devil.
We have tried to
walk as Jesus walked on the earth in humble, unselfish
love and service to others. The end-time harvest is
ripe now and the full number of believers is being
called in. The Bride is prepared to meet the
Bridegroom, and the Body of Christ is ready to advance
over the face of the earth. We have every reason to
believe that now is the appointed time for the
Lord to hear us from heaven and intervene to usher in
His Kingdom in the earth realm!
We make all our
Kingdom prayer requests in the Name and by the
sacrificial Blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. We know that through Him we can be victorious
in bringing heaven to the earth. He Himself taught us
how to pray and approach the throne of grace.
Therefore, we come boldly before the Father with this
need, knowing that He will indeed hear our prayers and
answer them quickly.
The Lord has been
the source of our strength and our encouragement. We
believe that He can and will make good on all His
promises to us. We can do all things through Christ,
to include birthing the Kingdom of God through
sacrificial prayer and dedicated service to God. We
decree that it has already manifested, and we
visualize life there. We have the total faith and
confidence that we will prevail and actually see
heaven come to the earth in this generation.
The Role Of Israel
In The Kingdom Of God
Romans 10:1
“Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is, that they might be saved.”
The Jews have been
hated and feared for thousands of years because they
were chosen by God to be His covenant people. The
enemy has done everything possible to tempt them to
disobey and sin against the Lord. He has managed to
all but destroy them as a nation. They have been
severely oppressed and they are eager for peace and
prosperity. They are still waiting for their Messiah,
and they will not be disappointed.
Romans 11:25-27 “For
I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall
turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this [is] my
covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
sins.”
We must earnestly
pray for the Jews to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom
and embrace the saving power of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. We cannot overlook the importance of the
conversion and salvation of Israel, as it relates to
the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. They
are God’s original chosen people and they will also
reside there for all eternity.
It was to Israel
that the Lord sent His Son. And despite the fact that
they rejected Jesus, He loves the Jewish people with a
deep abiding love. He desires to fellowship with them,
as much as He does with us. They are bound to Him by
Abrahamic covenant, and He will not break His promises
to them. They will inherit the earth as was promised
to Abraham.
It was only due to
the nation of Israel’s unbelief that we were fortunate
enough to be grafted in and adopted as the Lord’s
surrogate people in the first place. Christ will
ultimately turn them from their sins as He originally
set out to do. When the full number of the Gentiles
that was planned from the beginning of time is
harvested into the Kingdom, then Israel will be
converted as a nation, as well.
Believers in the
Gospel of the Kingdom will provide a strong testimony
to the Jews regarding the power of their Messiah. Mass
healings and resurrections of the dead will convince
them that their God is still sovereign and working on
their behalf. We will set them free from demonic
oppression once and for all time. Their hearts will be
softened to receive the good news, and they will
embrace it eagerly as they finally welcome Jesus
Christ into their lives as Lord and Savior.
Romans 11:31-2 “Even
so have these also now not believed, that through your
mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath
concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have
mercy upon all.”
God is ever merciful
to His people, even though they walk in sin and
rebellion. We should be merciful, as well, and pray
for our Jewish brothers and sisters. When Israel is
converted, and their captivity is turned, we will all
take up residence together in the Kingdom of God on
the earth. The Bible tells us to pray for the peace of
Jerusalem also, as it will be a hub of Kingdom
activity. Christ Himself will rule and reign over all
the earth from His headquarters in Jerusalem.
2Chronicles 6:27
“Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of
thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast
taught them the good way, wherein they should walk;
and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given
unto thy people for an inheritance.”
The Lord Himself
will intervene from heaven for the redemption of His
chosen people. He will not permit them to be excluded
from the peace and prosperity that His Kingdom
promises. They will share equally in our rewards,
regardless of the fact that they are only recently
converted. The Kingdom of God was their birthright,
and once they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior, they will become joint-heirs with Him to full
redemption just as we are.
Zechariah 8:22 “Yea,
many people and strong nations shall come to seek the
LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the
LORD.”
Jerusalem will have
a prominent part in Kingdom life. The physical city is
a type and shadow of the church – all of God’s people
– comprised of believers from all tongues and nations.
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is coming to set
His feet down on the Mount of Olives outside of
Jerusalem when He returns to the earth. It will be out
of Jerusalem that Christ rules and reigns.
Representatives from every nation will go there to
celebrate the Lord’s feast days for all eternity. (See Zechariah 14)
Thank The Lord For
His Kingdom
Psalm 79:13 “So we
thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee
thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all
generations.”
We have prepared
ourselves to share in Christ’s inheritance. We are
willing and able to work to restore all of creation
and set up the Kingdom government, so that there will
finally be peace on the earth. We have learned
righteous judgment so that we might help judge both
angels and men. We will be just rulers of God’s people
and competent teachers of Kingdom principles.
We have served the
Lord with devotion and loyalty and we desire to see
His face, enjoy His presence and reap our eternal
rewards. There will be peace and prosperity, love and
unity, health and length of days in the Kingdom of
God. We are eager to embrace all its ideals, and we
will be faithful to execute all of the Lord’s plans
and procedures for operating His Kingdom.
We will teach our
children and our children’s children, and each
successive generation thereafter, to walk in the ways
of the Lord. We will give Him all the praise and
glory, as He meets all of our needs for all eternity.
We will be His people and He will be our God. We will
dwell together in intimate fellowship, just as He
intended from the creation of mankind.
Revelation 11:17
“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou
hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.”
There will be great
rejoicing in heaven when the Kingdom of God is finally
brought to the earth. It will be a magnificent show of
God’s power and glory. The saints and angelic hosts
will all praise God and give Him thanks for His
victory over evil. All of creation has eagerly awaited
this moment and the entire universe will celebrate.
The Lord is the same
yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is worthy of all our
praise and honor. He loves His people with a deep
abiding love and He has engineered the most intricate
salvation plan that could ever be imagined. Not a
single soul will be lost that is destined for His
Kingdom. Everyone whose name is written in the Book of
Life will be called in and saved.
We should give
enthusiastic thanks and praise to the Lord for hearing
our pleas even before the Kingdom comes. We ought to
visualize it already here and decree that it has
arrived. We must be in earnest prayer for one another
and for Israel. And we should rejoice in the fact that
the Lord always answers faith-based prayer, and is
diligent to keep His promises to His people.
Topics For Discussion
1. Praying For The Lord’s Presence
2. Techniques For Birthing The Kingdom In Prayer
3. The Lord Is Able To Usher In His Kingdom
4. A Holy People
5. Overcomers
6. The Role Of Israel In the Kingdom
7. Thank The Lord For His Kingdom
Chapter 6 – Ushering
In The Kingdom Of God
Mark 1:15 “And
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Christ never
promised that He would evacuate us from the earth. Nor
did He say that He would destroy it. He told us that
He would be with us always, and that this would be a
world without end. The only destruction He discussed
was of the ungodly and their ungodliness. He will
destroy all evil in the wrath of His coming, and
banish Satan from our midst. The earth itself will be
restored and revitalized so that it reflects heaven’s
own glory.
The time has arrived
for us to repent and believe all that He taught us in
the Gospel of the Kingdom. We must get back to the
basics of our faith. We should be praying for the
Kingdom to come to the earth, and working actively to
facilitate that. First and foremost, the Gospel of the
Kingdom must be preached to all mankind. We should
pray that the full harvest of souls is reaped all over
the earth.
This will not be a
friendly takeover of the planet. There will be strong
resistance, and the people of God must take a unified
stand against all attacks of the enemy that might try
to prevent the coming of the Kingdom of God to this
earth. We should build each other up in our precious
faith, and war against any mind-blinding and hindering
spirits that may deter us in our efforts to fulfill
our parts in the Lord’s redemption plan.
No Escape Plan
There are many
Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is going to
“rapture” us out of here, and beam us up to heaven
prior to destroying all evil and setting up His
Kingdom on the earth. However, that would seem
improbable and impractical, since we are His hands and
feet on the earth. He needs us as much as we need Him.
The Bible says that He owns the heavens, but the earth
He has given to men.
There are still
souls to harvest, and the Lord requires our help to
bring them in. So too, we are an army of believers. We
have been well trained and amply equipped to do the
Lord’s will in overcoming evil ourselves. If we are
taken out of here, then evil would run rampant over
the face of the earth and totally destroy what the
Lord has created.
I believe that the
Lord will mobilize a people within the church to help
usher in the Kingdom prior to His coming. This group
is called the Body of Christ and they will overcome
all resistance, and physically set up the Kingdom
infrastructure under Jesus Christ’s direction as Head
of the Body.
They will overcome
all of Christ’s enemies – including death – and
deliver the Kingdom to Him at His coming. Christ in
turn, will present the Kingdom in all its glory to His
Father, and the Lord Himself will come to take up
residence with His people on the earth for all
eternity. None of this can be accomplished if we are
removed from here.
The Kingdom Instead
Romans 14:17 “For
the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
God’s promises were
sealed forever by His covenant with us. They have been
stored up for thousands of years, yet now is the time
for Him to deliver everything that He said that He
would give us. The Kingdom of God is an imminent
reality, and we can and will do our part in making it
manifest in the earth realm. It will yield
righteousness, peace and joy for all who enter in.
Heaven is actually
coming to the earth realm. God’s way of doing things
will be perfect and our redemption will be complete.
Evil is being abolished and peace and righteousness
will prevail. We will receive our glorious
incorruptible bodies that will be impervious to
disease and death. The entire earth will be restored
to beauty and balance. All men will dwell with the
Lord and with one another in love and unity; we will
enjoy peace and prosperity for all eternity.
The Kingdom Within
Us
Luke 17:20 “And when
he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of
God should come, he answered them and said, The
kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither
shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold,
the kingdom of God is within you.”
Christ taught us
that the Kingdom of God potentially resides deep
within every believer. We need only make it
experiential to see it evolve outside of us. By this I
mean, that we should be walking in Kingdom principles
even now, before it actually manifests in the earth
realm. We should love the Lord and one another, and
walk in total unity with our brothers and sisters in
Christ. We must pray for one another, that we might be
sanctified and consecrated for His use.
We each have
specific callings – some to the church, others to the
Body of Christ. Regardless of what our role is, we
should be seeking the Lord’s direction for the
successful completion of our own unique part in His
eternal redemption plan. We will all be important to
the coming of the Kingdom of God on the earth, and the
Lord will empower us to do all that He needs done. We
need only be willing and obedient to cooperate with
Him.
While the Body of
Christ will actually usher in the Kingdom through
spiritual warfare and loosing Kingdom blessings into
the earth realm, the church has an important role, as
well. The Bride of Christ will be sanctifying and
preparing herself to meet her Bridegroom. She will
pray for the Body of Christ to be strong and
courageous, and for all men to come to full knowledge
and belief in the truth.
All of us must
assist in bringing in the full end-time harvest of
souls that are required before the Kingdom comes. We
will all – church and Body of Christ – be responsible
for evangelization and baptism of new believers
throughout the world. It is the Lord’s will that no
man should perish; preaching the gospel is of critical
importance if men’s lives would be forever changed.
The Kingdom Comes In
Power
1Corinthians 4:20
“For the kingdom of God [is] not in word, but in
power.”
The Kingdom of God
will be ushered in with all miraculous signs and
wonders. We have the distinct privilege and serious
responsibility to assist the Lord in His efforts.
We’ve been given great power and authority as
believers in Christ. We should be doing what He did
during His time on the earth. While many of us will
feel unworthy, there will be a core group of believers
– the Body of Christ – that take God at His word and
walk in full power and authority just as Christ did.
They will overcome
every effort of the enemy to deter Kingdom building.
They will preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all of
the world, baptize new believers, heal the sick and
set captives free from enemy oppression. They should
even be raising the dead in the days to come, as the
power and glory of God falls on His people in a full
anointing to destroy all of Christ’s enemies,
including death.
Mark 9:1 “And he
said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be
some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of
death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come
with power.”
Christ died not only
for the forgiveness of our sins, but also to restore
our rights and privileges that were lost in Adam’s
transgression. Satan was defeated in Christ’s victory
over sin, death and the grave. Now it’s time for man
to rise up and take back dominion over the earth, as
it was intended from the beginning of time.
We must forcibly and
purposefully take back the planet for our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ, using the keys to the Kingdom
that He has given us. We should verbally bind the
enemy and cast him out of our affairs on the earth. We
should loose blessings and overcome his every effort
to hinder us. We will set all captives free of enemy
oppression and loose blessings into their lives. Men
will be free to worship God in Spirit and in truth.
We should do
everything Christ did, and more, since He has gone to
be with the Father. If we fail to do our part because
of sin and disobedience, the Lord will disqualify us
from entering His Kingdom. Christ told us that only
those who do the will of the Father are eligible to
enter in. We must be willing to do all that we are
assigned in the days to come. There are eternal
ramifications for our faithfulness – we are a chosen
generation!
John 14:12 “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works]
than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Those of us who
respond to the Lord’s call to the Body of Christ will
do the works of Christ in setting captives free of
enemy oppression, healing the sick and raising the
dead. We will walk in miraculous signs and wonders to
provide hope for mankind, and show forth the awesome
power and glory of God to a world lost in darkness and
despair. Men will be eager for God’s way of doing
things, since the world system has miserably failed.
We have been given
all power and authority in the earth realm. We will
revise world governments to align themselves with the
Word and the will of God. We will restore peace and
unity to the world, as all men turn away from sin and
embrace Kingdom principles. We will have dominion over
nature, the animal and plant kingdoms. All of creation
will be restored to its original beauty and balance.
We will be living
testimonies to God’s gracious mercy and anointing
power, as we do the works that Jesus did when He
walked the earth. Christ promised us that we will
perform even greater works since He is now united with
His Father. We will minister unselfishly to others to
attract them to the Kingdom way of life. We will serve
as godly examples of righteousness and justice, faith
and love, glory and honor for all the world to see.
Keys To The Kingdom
Matthew 16:19 “And I
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.”
The Lord created the
universe by speaking it into existence with His own
words. He formed everything by simply speaking life to
it. The Bible tells us that, “in the beginning, God
created the heaven and the earth.” He then spoke to it
and said, “Let there be light, and there was light.”
Everything that was ever created was spoken into
reality by God Himself through words. (See Genesis 1)
The Lord created man
in His very own image and likeness to have dominion
over the earth realm, but Adam forfeited that power
and authority when he sinned against God. Jesus Christ
restored it to us with His victory over sin, death and
the grave. With the same power-based words that God
used, we will re-create the earth and restore it to
its former balance and beauty.
All power and
authority has been given to us by Jesus Himself to
tread on serpents and destroy evil from the face of
the earth. Christ also gave us the keys to His
Kingdom; they are voice-activated. With words, we bind
Satan and his demonic efforts to prevent us from
establishing the Kingdom of God. And with words, we
release peace and order back to the earth.
Whatever we want to
manifest, we should call forth and decree will happen.
If we bind all evil and strip the enemy of his power,
we must also loose corresponding blessings into the
earth realm. Christ gave us His power of attorney, the
authority to do this with our own words used in His
Name and anointing power.
For example, we
should bind demonic spirits of hatred, chaos and
confusion, and loose love, peace and order on the
earth. To eliminate poverty and infirmity, we must
bind them and cast them out, and loose spirits of
prosperity and good health. Death and destruction will
have to go as we speak life and restoration to the
earth again.
We should bind and
cast out every effort of the enemy to blind and hinder
us, and loose wisdom, revelation and understanding in
men. All heaven stands behind our words as we speak
the Word of God over our lives. Nothing can in any way
prevent us from ushering in the Kingdom of God, except
fear, doubt and unbelief. If we shrink back from our
duties now, the Kingdom will not manifest in this
generation.
The Lord has chosen
us to be what the Bible calls “a peculiar people,”
because of our strong faith and enthusiastic boldness.
He has given us a full anointing of His very own
divine power and authority. He relies on us to do our
part for Kingdom manifestation on the earth. We will
overcome all evil and loose innumerable blessings for
all mankind who embrace Christ as Lord and Savior.
Great Faith Brings
Great Rewards
Luke 9:62 “And Jesus
said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the
plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of
God.”
Our faith must be
stronger than ever before. We cannot shrink back in
fear, doubt or unbelief. We must be strong and
courageous if we would help Christ usher in His
Kingdom. We should seek His direction and be quick to
obey. We must have total confidence that He can and
will supernaturally empower us in all that we are
called to do. All that is required of us is
willingness to do our part. He will be our personal
empowerment.
He may ask us to do
what seems to be physically impossible, but His
anointing power will enable us to accomplish anything
that He assigns us. So too, we will have legions of
angelic hosts that will assist us in our efforts.
Jesus Himself will be our Commander-In-Chief, and all
that we must do is be obedient to His lead. This will
all be accomplished by the Holy Spirit of God – not by
any human power or strength.
Matthew 6:33 “But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you.”
We should be seeking
the Kingdom of God and His way of doing things more
than anything else. Then we will enjoy all spiritual
and temporal blessings. There are many rewards stored
up for us in Christ’s Kingdom. The Lord will take
vengeance on all our enemies, and destroy all evil.
Nothing defiling will oppress us in the Kingdom of
God. We will judge both men and angels. Each will have
an eternal reward or punishment.
We will have the
distinct privilege of ruling and reigning with Christ
for all eternity. We will be given the heathen for our
inheritance, and we will be just rulers and able
teachers of those in our charge. We are promised that
all men will live together in peace and unity forever.
Christ Himself will ensure that Kingdom principles are
strictly enforced.
We will help to
restore all of creation to its original beauty and
balance. The Kingdom will be a new and improved
version of the Garden of Eden, as it was before the
fall of Adam. We will all enjoy the earth’s bounty;
there will be no more natural catastrophes that
threaten our existence. All of our needs will be met
in abundance and we will live long and strong as the
Lord’s people.
Peace and
prosperity, love and unity, health and longevity,
safety and security are our promised rewards for all
eternity. We will dwell in the very presence of God,
and we will have intimate fellowship with Him and with
one another. Life will be perfect and good, just as it
was intended to be from the original creation. Heaven
itself will come to the earth realm and we will live
forever in a virtual paradise.
Divine Destiny
1Peter 2:9 “But ye
[are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth
the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light:”
We are called out
and chosen for such a time as this. We have a divine
destiny and eternal purposes. The Lord Himself will be
our empowerment. If we have purged and sanctified
ourselves for its use, the anointing power of almighty
God will fall on us in full measure to accomplish the
works that are required of us in the days ahead. All
we must do is consecrate ourselves, be prepared to
obey, and move when given the command to advance.
While it may seem
that we are unprepared to do the works that the Lord
is asking of us, we must remember that throughout
Bible history He has used ordinary men and women to
accomplish supernatural feats. The Lord takes delight
in partnering with His people, and He empowers us to
do all that He requires of us. Christ’s anointing will
fall on us without limit; we will perform miraculous
accomplishments in His Name, all for His honor and
glory.
Moses and Abraham
had no special training for their roles as leaders of
God’s people, yet they faithfully fulfilled their
missions. Esther was only a poor orphan girl, yet the
Lord sent her to the palace of the King so that she
might save her people from total destruction. Christ’s
apostles were mostly fishermen, yet He used them to
spread the good news of His Kingdom in the early
church age.
So too, the Lord
will use even the humblest of us to accomplish His
eternal purpose. Our physical limitations will have no
bearing on our supernatural performance. We are a
chosen generation, conceived and born for such a time
as this. We are a royal priesthood and have an eternal
destiny that we have been prepared to fulfill from the
foundation of the world. God will move in us and
through us to accomplish His plans and purposes for
all of mankind.
Topics For
Discussion
1. Rapture vs. Coming Of the Kingdom
2. Seek The Kingdom
3. The Kingdom Comes In Power
4. Keys To The Kingdom
5. Rewards In The Kingdom
6. Divine Destiny
Chapter 7 – In His
Presence
Psalm 16:11 “Thou
wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence [is]
fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are]
pleasures for evermore.”
One of the greatest
benefits to Kingdom living will be the actual presence
of our God. He is the source of all light and love,
wisdom and understanding, mercy and kindness. We will
know the fullness of joy in His presence and rejoice
forever in His love for us. We will give Him all the
glory and praise that He deserves and fellowship with
Him in close intimacy.
The Lord set His
mind to take up residence with us in the Kingdom of
God from the foundation of the world. He knew us from
the beginning of time, and it was His heart-felt
desire to have a close relationship with us. It will
be His pleasure to live with us on a continuous basis,
supplying all of our temporal and spiritual needs. He
is ever loving and generous, and wants to bless us in
abundance for all eternity.
While the Lord will
indeed make good on His promise and supply all that we
require in His Kingdom, we should take the greatest
satisfaction in just being with Him on an intimate
basis. We have felt distanced and alone for much of
our lives; it will be a distinct privilege to enjoy
His loving companionship. We will delight in Him and
He will delight in us forever and ever.
1Chronicles 16:27
“Glory and honour [are] in his presence; strength and
gladness [are] in his place.”
We will be honored
and glorified forever in the presence of our Father
and His Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord has reserved His
presence for those whom He loved and called,
justified, and sanctified. He is proud of our
accomplishments on His behalf; He will boast of us to
all creation. He is a proud parent and wants to show
us off. He will glorify us as He glorified Jesus.
So too, in Him
resides the very seat of justice and all the power of
the universe. He is an awesome God, to be praised and
held in reverential fear. We will no longer be scorned
or defamed for our belief in Him and His Word. He will
take vengeance on all our enemies and cleanse the
Kingdom of God from all defilement; we will dwell
peace and prosperity, safety and security for all
eternity.
Entering Into The
Lord’s Presence
Psalm 95:2 “Let us
come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a
joyful noise unto him with psalms.”
We should practice
entering into a more intimate fellowship with the Lord
now, so that we will know how to interact with Him
once we enter the Kingdom together. We must thank Him
for His great goodness and praise Him for His power
and glory that manifests in us. He is a great and
awesome God and worthy of our praise. His company is
to be desired more than anything.
As His children, we
can sing and shout our praises, or even whisper our
heart-felt gratitude to Him. He delights in hearing
from us, regardless of how we approach Him. As long as
it is genuine and sincere communication filled with
reverence and respect, the Lord enjoys His fellowship
with us.
All men should pray
and meditate to seek a deeper relationship with the
Lord. We can know His heart for us and His plans and
purposes for our lives. We can share our hopes and our
dreams, our disappointments and concerns with Him. We
know for a fact that He hears us and is always
merciful and compassionate to all of our needs.
Righteousness Will
Take Us There
Psalm 140:13 “Surely
the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the
upright shall dwell in thy presence.”
We must pursue
ongoing sanctification and willing obedience to the
Lord’s commandments, so that we are deemed worthy to
enter the Kingdom of God and reside with Him for all
time. Spiritual maturity, holiness and perfection
ought to be our continuous goals, as we lay down every
aspect of our own individual lives, seeking His
approval and His plan for us instead.
We should walk in
the Spirit instead of the flesh, so that we have
fellowship with God and one another. Love and unity
are not optional. We must love the Lord with all our
strength, and our neighbor as we love ourselves. We
will be together for all eternity if we will lay our
differences aside and work together towards our common
goal – to see heaven manifest in the earth realm.
By Invitation Only
Zephaniah 1:7 “Hold
thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day
of the LORD [is] at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a
sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.”
The Lord wants to
dwell forever with His people – both the original
chosen nation of Israel, as well as those who have
believed in Christ and were grafted in as His people.
He loves us with an everlasting love, and created us
to fellowship with Him as He did with Adam in the
Garden of Eden. He wants nothing to separate us from
Him for all of eternity.
The Lord has called
us from the foundation of the world. We are a chosen
generation of believers that will be His hands and
feet on the earth in the days to come. He has prepared
a wonderful Kingdom for us to dwell in. It will hold
many blessings for us. It is His precious gift to us,
and we should be worthy to receive and enjoy it as He
has planned.
God is calling all
men into His Kingdom. His invitation is open to one
and all, and the very same benefits are available to
each of us, whether we have been believers all our
lives, or are just recently converted and baptized. We
will all be welcomed and treated with the same fair
and equitable standards. In fact, there are many who
are called in last, who will be first in the Kingdom
of God because of their child-like love and purity.
Psalm 51:11 “Cast me
not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy
spirit from me.”
Sin and disobedience
interrupted the fellowship that we had with the Lord
at creation, and the Lord grieved for the loss of His
children. This is the very reason He sent His Son,
Jesus Christ, to the earth the first time – to seek
the lost and redeem them. Christ accomplished His task
and blessed the entire earth with His obedience unto
death.
Jesus not only died
in atonement for our sins, but He restored us to right
relationship with the Father, as well. We are members
of His very own family, sons and daughters of the
living God. We enter into the Lord’s presence by the
Blood of Jesus through the way of the cross. Christ’s
Blood assures us that we are eligible for Kingdom
living. But we must pursue righteousness on a
continuous basis.
We should vow never
to let sin interrupt our fellowship with God again.
Righteousness is a spiritual condition that we can
acquire and maintain in pursuit of perfect holiness.
The Holy Spirit is life to us, and it is important
that we are filled with a full anointing of God’s
Spirit at all times, so that we can overcome all
temptation to sin.
When we fall short
of God’s glory, we must be quick to repent and turn
from our sin. The Lord is ever ready to restore our
righteousness again, and bring us back into perfect
fellowship with Him. He restores all of our rights and
privileges, and even blots our transgressions from His
memory, so that He can begin anew in His relationship
with us.
Nothing Evil In His
Presence
Revelation 12:10
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is
come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of
our brethren is cast down, which accused them before
our God day and night.”
Jesus vanquished
Satan and stripped him of all power with His victory
over sin, death and the grave. The devil can no longer
accuse us of sin or disobedience; we’ve been made
righteous by the Blood of Jesus. We now have legal
right to be in the Lord’s presence again.
We enjoy the very
righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself. When the Lord
sees us, it’s as if He were actually seeing Jesus,
because we are now joint-heirs with Him. If we should
miss the mark and sin again, we need only repent to
have that righteousness restored. The Lord is ever
merciful, and willing to forgive us.
So too, Christ will
destroy demonic strongholds for all time in the power
of His second coming to the earth. Satan and all his
minions will be thrown into the bottomless pit. No
evil will be present in the Kingdom of God. It will be
a safe, secure abode for God and men for all eternity.
Acts 3:19 “Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come
from the presence of the Lord;”
We must believe in
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repent from all known sin
and be baptized in order to enter the Lord’s presence
for all eternity. As believers, we must prepare
ourselves for eternal fellowship with God and strive
for holiness, even as He is holy.
As believers, we
should lay aside our fleshly desires and our soul’s
ambitions. If we sin, we must immediately repent and
turn towards righteousness again. We have to be
diligent to walk in love, peace and unity with all
men.
Jude 1:24 “Now unto
him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present [you] faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy,”
Nothing defiling can
come close to God, and we must be holy and spiritually
mature to live with Him for all eternity. We have
worked diligently to overcome the flesh and all its
defilement, so that we may be counted worthy to enter
into the Lord’s presence. We have put all our fleshly
desires and soul ambitions under, and released our
spirits to be in ascendancy.
We walk in love and
keep His commandments. We are pure and righteous and
have overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. By
the Blood and the Name of Jesus, we can indeed remain
sinless as we are presented to the Father in all His
glory. We must strive to be holy and perfect as He is,
in order to dwell in His presence forever.
Benefits Of Dwelling
In God’s Presence
Revelation 21:4 “And
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the
former things are passed away.”
There will be no
sorrow or pain, fear or oppression of any kind in the
Kingdom of God when it comes to the earth. It will not
be as it has been in the past for us. Every memory of
sorrow and loss will be supernaturally taken from us.
The Lord Himself will ensure that we have joy and
gladness in return for all our suffering through the
years. Our mortal bodies will be turned into glorious,
incorruptible ones that will live forever.
God will supply all
our needs; we will have health and prosperity, love
and unity, peace and joy for all time. There will be
safety and security in the Kingdom of God; no evil
will oppress us. The Lord Himself will take vengeance
on all our enemies. For our former shame, we will
enjoy His favor and blessings. We will dwell in
perfect harmony with Him and with one another all the
days of our lives.
Isaiah 65:17-25
Isaiah 65:17 “For,
behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the
former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
The same awesome
power that the Lord used for His original creation
will be employed for the universal re-creation. Heaven
and all its wonders will come to the earth realm. The
earth will be restored and renewed. We will not recall
the pain and sorrow, hardship and evil that we
encountered in the past. Everything will be made fresh
and new again.
Isaiah 65:18-19 “But
be ye glad and rejoice for ever [in that] which I
create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing,
and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall
be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”
The New Jerusalem
will be a real place and a hub of Kingdom activity. It
will be peaceful and prosperous, and we will go there
to worship the Lord on His feasts and holy days. It is
out of Jerusalem, that Jesus Christ will rule and
reign forever in the Kingdom of God. His decrees will
impact the entire universe, and ensure that peace and
order prevail.
The Jewish people
will be converted, and take up residence in the
Kingdom with other believers from all nations of the
world. The Lord will take particular delight in being
reconciled to His chosen people. He will turn their
captivity and give them joy for their former sorrow.
He will remember their sins no more, and embrace them
once again as He intended from the beginning.
Isaiah 65:20 “There
shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old
man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall
die an hundred years old; but the sinner [being] an
hundred years old shall be accursed.”
Health and longevity
will prevail in the Kingdom of God; disease and death
will be abolished. There will be no premature deaths;
all men will live out their days in heaven on the
earth in glorious, resurrection bodies. They will
enjoy their lives and walk in peace and unity. No sin
will be tolerated; there will be no evil present in
the Kingdom.
Isaiah 65:21-22 “And
they shall build houses, and inhabit [them]; and they
shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They
shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not
plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree
[are] the days of my people, and mine elect shall long
enjoy the work of their hands.”
We will build homes
and inhabit them; we will not labor for another’s
benefit. We will enjoy the work of our hands and
cultivate food for our own consumption. There will be
plants and trees that are beautiful and produce bumper
crops for our use. We will be nurtured both
spiritually and temporally for all eternity.
Isaiah 65:23 “They
shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble;
for they [are] the seed of the blessed of the LORD,
and their offspring with them.”
We will experience
no oppression or exploitation in the Kingdom of God.
All will dwell under the same fair and equitable
standards. No man will labor in vain; we will enjoy
what we produce from our work. Our families will be
blessed beyond belief. We are the children of God, and
our inheritance is guaranteed to us forever, from
generation to generation.
Isaiah 65:24 “And it
shall come to pass, that before they call, I will
answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
We will not have to
spend hours and days in prayer to get the Lord’s
attention in the Kingdom of God. We will dwell in His
very presence for all eternity. He will know our needs
and meet them even before we ask. All our needs will
be satisfied in abundance as we walk in close intimacy
with our God forever.
Isaiah 65:25 “The
wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion
shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be]
the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in
all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.”
The animal kingdom
will be tamed and live in perfect balance and unity
with one another. They will not kill or devour any
longer. There will be no destruction or death in the
Kingdom of God. However, God is a just God and justice
requires payback. The serpent will eat dust forever,
for the part it played in the fall of Adam.
For Thine Is The
Kingdom
Isaiah 60:18-21
“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting
nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt
call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The
sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but
the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and
thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down;
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD
shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy
mourning shall be ended. Thy people also [shall be]
all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that
I may be glorified.”
There will be no war
or destruction in the Kingdom of God; no violence of
any kind will be tolerated. Jesus Christ will rule and
reign with an iron rod to ensure that all men will be
righteous, and live in eternal peace and unity with
God and one another. There will be no pain and
suffering; the Lord promises us blessing with no
sorrow added.
He will provide all
our needs in abundance. We will build homes and raise
families in peace and prosperity. There will be no
death or disease to mar our lives. We will see
generation after generation of God’s people living in
joy and praising Him for all His glory. We will enjoy
an intimate relationship with our God and with one
another.
The Lord will be our
eternal source of light and glory in the Kingdom of
God. There will be no night and day, no climatic
turbulence or natural catastrophes. The earth will be
restored and re-created to even better than its
original state. It will be in perfect balance –
beautiful and bountiful for God and His family to
enjoy forever and ever.
The Power And The
Glory
1Chronicles 29:11
“Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and
the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all
[that is] in the heaven and in the earth [is thine];
thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted
as head above all.”
We serve a great and
awesome God; He is all wise and powerful. He has
purposed from the very beginning of time to have a
people with whom He could fellowship and love as a
Father loves his children. His original chosen people,
the nation of Israel, rejected Him and repeatedly
disobeyed His commandments.
However, through His
Son Jesus Christ, a new people were called out and
gathered from all over the earth. Together with a
repentant Israel, they will populate the Kingdom of
God forever. The Lord Himself will come to the earth
and take up residence with His people. He will bring
His power and glory with Him, so that life in the
Kingdom will be idyllic.
The Lord will see
His eternal redemption plan for man come to
fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. It will be
established on the earth for man and God to dwell
together in perfect harmony. Love and joy, peace and
prosperity, beauty and balance, health and longevity
are only part of what we can expect. It will literally
be heaven on the earth for all eternity!
Revelation 7:12
“Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and
thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, [be]
unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”
Topics For
Discussion
1. Characteristics Of The Lord’s Presence
2. Entering Into The Lord’s Presence
3. Who will dwell with the Lord?
4. What will become of evil?
5. Benefits Of Dwelling With God
6. Isaiah 65:17-25
7. The Kingdom, The Power And The Glory
Epilogue
The Lord has heard
our heart-felt prayers. The Kingdom of God will be
birthed on the earth very soon, regardless of what
might appear to be true. Those of us who are earnest
to see it come in our generation will consecrate
ourselves anew to the Lord’s purpose and eternal
redemption plan. We will embrace our divine callings
and make ourselves ready and available to do our part
in ushering in His Kingdom.
Our relationship
with the Lord should be our total focus now. We are
preparing to enter into His presence, and that will
require a whole new level of holiness in our lives. We
must re-dedicate our all our efforts and continue to
purge and sanctify ourselves. We should keep His
commandments and walk in love and unity with all men.
We ought to pray, meditate and study the Word of God
so that we are found approved and can fellowship with
for Him in the Kingdom.
So too, our faith
must increase as we see the signs of the coming of the
Kingdom. We should be eager and enthusiastic for
heaven to come to the earth realm. We must embrace our
divine destinies and fully cooperate with the guidance
and direction of Jesus Christ. We should realize that
we are indeed able, through the power of His
anointing, to work miracles and impact the entire
universe for all eternity.
All creation is
waiting for us to take our place and step in to God’s
power and glory. We will do the works of Jesus and
evangelize the entire world. Many will repent and be
baptized into our faith. We will heal the sick, raise
the dead and set captives free from enemy oppression.
The devil cannot and will not prevent us from doing
our part to usher in the Kingdom. We have angelic
hosts that will back us up and pave the way for total
victory.
We can begin now to
walk in the Kingdom of God by exercising all our
rights and privileges, and by living according to its
principles of righteousness. We should speak it into
reality with faith-based prayer and our creative
words. We must decree that the Kingdom of God is here,
make demands on the Word of God, and remind the Lord
of His promises to us. He will indeed hear us from
heaven and consummate all things in Christ!