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Tag: intercessory prayer
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All Prayer
Call for UPCI Ministers – International Day of Prayer and Fasting – March 23-24
Call to Repentance: Pray for nation, the world and world-wide revival
Esther – a time when God worked through shadows. God’s name isn’t mentioned in Esther. He chose to work through men and women.
Prepare for the greatest revival and harvest of this generation.
Joel 2:15-21
(15) Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
(16) Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
(17) Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
(18) Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
(19) Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
(20) But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
(21) Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.
Bobby Wade
To turn God’s favor to the Church as we repent for our mediocrity.
If we do, we will see Signs, Miracles and Harvest like we have never seen.
This International Day of Prayer and Fasting can turn tide in the favor of the Church and dislodge principalities.
If we do not heed pray, He will turn the Harvest to another.
James 5:16b, “The effectual [energetic] fervent prayer of a righteous [pure] man availeth much.”
Righteous men and women, pure in their spirit and motives, know that effectiveness in prayer has more to do with God and less to do with them.
It is God responding to the power, the energy, the life that is in the prayer of the righteous…
Prayer that is full of the Holy Spirit, understanding, heartfelt and full of passionate, fervent, zealous faith.
Ephesians 6:10-20
(10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
(11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
(12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
(14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
(15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
(16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
(17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
(18) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
(19) And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
(20) For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
“All Prayer” = With all kinds of prayer; prayer in the closet, with the family, the social meeting, the church service;
prayer at the usual hours, emergency prayer, prayers when you are tempted, or when you just feel like praying;
prayers of supplication for ourselves, or prayers of intercession for others.
All Prayer is the great weapon of our spiritual armor, and by this we may hope to prevail[1] – against our true enemy.
“…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” (Matt. 6:6).
“Pray, don’t pose.” –Mark F. Kuntzman
Old Song: “Prayer is the key to heaven, but faith unlocks the door…”
In January I was in a prayer meeting and saw a gold string/cord that attached to everyone in the room.
It was a prayer connection. We are all connected by prayer.
All Prayer will Elevate, Change and Shift your life into areas you didn’t know existed.
Some people will be intimidated by a truly righteous man or woman of prayer and faith. They will be try to drag you back down to their level of mediocrity.
They are satisfied with the common, the average, plain vanilla
But God’s Church was born of the Spirit and will stay in the Spirit…
We are Spirit born and Spirit led
The people of Nazareth event tried to drag Jesus down when they said, “isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”
He had just come from a 40 day fast and prayer – All Prayer – has supercharged Him for ministry that made him unrecognizable to those who had seen Him grow up.
Don’t allow the enemy to drag you down to his level. He’s a surface traveler, slithering on his belly, feeding on the dust of the earth.
The Word of the Lord came to me and said:
You have been content to let others fight openly while you quietly fight behind the scenes, but now is the time to step up and lead on the battlefield as I begin to call my faithful officers to higher roles.
You may not think you are up to the task of this endtime revival and harvest, the enemy tries to remind you of past failures and weaknesses, but I want to remind you:
Ro. 8:32-39, “…Christ…maketh intercession for us.”
When Jesus places His intercession between you and your past nothing can pass through, reach around, or bypass His prayer for you and you are thoroughly freed from your past.
So, pray with All Prayer.
And while your praying, maintain a Pure God-Centered Motive.
Staying in a constant state of prayer, a constant God consciousness, can far outweigh what the natural eye can see.
It’ll allow you to navigate with spiritual eyes of understanding amd see ahead.
This is what Paul & Silas learned in Philippi:
Acts 16:16-21
(16) And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
(17) The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
(18) And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
(19) And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
(20) And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
(21) And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
Eli Hernandez on Pure Motives
Your motive is key to success both in spiritual maturity and in prayer.
The damsel with the spirit of divination was trying to appeal to any signs of pride and arrogance still attached to Paul and Silas
If they had fallen for her words and allowed the vexation to take root their covering of humility would have been pulled off making them vulnerable to satan’s attack.
Since God resists the proud, if Paul and Silas had given in to impure motives a jailer and his family would not have been saved.
Pure motives must be maintained in prayer, if not, pride and arrogance will come in and get in the way and change pure motives into impure motives over time.
We must humble ourselves to avoid becoming a target of impure motives.
David’s prayer should you mantra “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
David knew what it was like for his motives to go off course.
Because he knew how to repent he could make a course correction.
A pure motive will discern spirits, and we are told to “try the spirits.”
So, if what someone tells you doesn’t line up with the written Word of God, no matter how exciting, appealing or emotionally fulfilling it may be, don’t let it into your spirit.
If you listen to that false voice, you may miss your own Philippian jailhouse conversion story.
Try the spirits – don’t judge them – with the Word of God.
There is a difference. There are those who judge, reject, criticize, then go out to eat and talk about how wrong that person was.
And then, there are those who try the spirit, reject it because it contradicts the Word of God, but then go on and pray to God for that person to come in alignment with the Word of God.
Which one are you?
Lord, search our hearts…remove those tendencies in us to judge and criticize others.
Help us to try the spirits based on the unity of The Holy Ghost and the Word of God.
As we go into this International Day of Prayer and Fasting on March 23rd and 24th (from 6 pm – 6 pm)
Let us repent.
Pray for our nation, our world,
Seek God’s face for revival and growth
Pray for a fresh outpouring of the supernatural
Check our motive.
All Prayer is Motivated Prayer – What motivates your prayers?
[1] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Ephesians 6:18.
Categories
The Missed Ministry
Isaiah 6:1-8
(1) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. (2) Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. (3) And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. (4) And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (6) Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: (7) And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. (8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
The Missed Ministry
Romans 8:26-28
(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.
(27) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
(28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
- The Holy Spirit’s Intercession means God is present with us for the purpose of aiding and directing us as an advocate does in a courtroom. The Spirit is willing to intercede for anyone, or to aid or assist in any manner.
- He often uses your prayer of intercession to help someone else. Sometimes you know who and what, other times you don’t
- “…According to the will of God…”
- The Spirit is given according to His will, and the purpose of God’s will is to grant His aid to all who truly love Him.
- The desires which He puts in your heart while praying are those which are according to His will – what God wishes to exist.
- Because you are praying His will then He will also guard you in those prayers.
- This doesn’t mean that you are infallible, or never make an improper petition, never have a selfish desire, or that your motives are always pure; but the Holy Ghost has a general superintendence over your mind, and as long as you yield yourself to His direction then you will not be led into error.
- You are most safe when you yield yourself completely to the influence of the Holy Spirit.[1]
1 Timothy 2:1-6
(1) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
(2) For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
(3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
(4) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
(5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
(6) Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
- Just as Jesus is the ultimate model of intercession, we are to follow that level of sacrificial intercession – He gave Himself a ransom (the redemption price for the captive).[2]
Uncle Mark’s notes: Man’s Intercession[3]
WHAT IS INTERCESSION?
- The Spirit maketh intercession. The Holy Spirit of God.
- Intercession = “interceded in behalf of,” to make petition, plead with
- It is the will and mind of God being revealed.
- With groanings = too deep for words. It is travail of the Spirit of God.
- “To sigh, murmur, pray inaudibly…“grief, groan, grudge, sigh.”[4]
- A.D. Urshan to Anthony Mangun: “Hold your belly and groan.”
DEFINITION OF AN INTERCESSOR: “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him” (Isaiah 59:16).
An intercessor is one who stands and prays for someone else by lifting them up and carrying their burden.
Isaiah 63:5, “And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold.”
HOW TO SPOT if you are an INTERCESSOR:
- You PRAY LONG and OFTEN.
- You SEE PRAYER AS A HIGHER PRIORITY.
- You are quick to pray for others.
- You RARELY MISS A PRAYER MEETING.
- You DERIVE THE GREATEST FULFILLMENT FROM PRAYING.
- You ARE SENSITIVE TO THE TRAUMAS AND MORAL DECAY IN SOCIETY AND CONSIDER PRAYER TO BE A PRIMARY ANSWER.
- You are ANOINTED WHEN you PRAY ALOUD.
- You CARRY GOD’S BURDEN AND EXPERIENCE TRAVAIL.
- You DEVELOP PRAYER STRATEGIES, ORGANIZING PRAYER.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER IS “THE MISSED MINISTRY”
A DIVERSE MINISTRY
GOD’S ANOINTING WILL DIFFER FROM INTERCESSOR TO INTERCESSOR, AS WILL THEIR METHODS OF PRAYING:
- SOME PRAY THROUGH LISTS.
- OTHERS FIND LISTS TOO RESTRICTIVE.
- SOME PRAY PROPHETICALLY, THAT IS ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF THE SPIRIT.
- ONCE IN THEIR PRAYER CLOSET, THEY JUST PUT THE CAR IN GEAR, THEN LET THE HOLY SPIRIT DRIVE.
- SOME PRAY FOR PASTORS, CHURCH LEADERS, GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS, ETC.
- SOME PRAY FOR CRISIS – AS GOD ASSIGNS THEM
- SOME FOCUS ON LOST SOULS.
INTERCESSION IS NOT GENDER BASED.
HOWEVER, THE INTERCESSOR’S GENDER, SPIRITUAL GIFTS, TALENTS, NATURAL INTERESTS, AND ASSIGNMENTS FROM THE LORD WILL SHAPE THEIR INTERCESSORY STYLE.
THE HIDDEN MINISTRY
THE MINISTRY OF INTERCESSION IS DIFFICULT FOR MANY TO UNDERSTAND PARTLY BECAUSE IT IS A MINISTRY THAT USUALY OCCURS IN THE CLOSET (IN SECRET).
TRUE INTERCESSORS ARE CONTENT TO REMAIN NAMELESS, FACELESS SERVANTS OF THE MOST HIGH.
INTERCESSORS KNOW THEY CAN REACH HIGHER FROM THEIR KNEES THAN FROM A STANDING POSITION.
THEY SHUN THE LIMELIGHT AND HAVE NO INTEREST IN ACCLAIM.
THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THE LORD WHO HEARS THEM IN SECRET WILL REWARD THEM OPENLY.
Would you rather be known of God, or known of Man?
A POWERFUL MINISTRY
GOD HAS CHOSEN TO RESPOND TO HIS PRAYING PEOPLE.
HE MOVES IN ANSWER TO THEIR PRAYER.
HE ANSWERS PRAYING PEOPLE.
GOD IS SETTING THE STAGE FOR A POWERFUL DIVINE INTERVENTION AS HE ACTIVATES THE GREATEST PRAYER MOVEMENT THE TRI-STATE HAS EVER KNOWN.
A SELFLESS MINISTRY WHO WILL SPEND LESS TIME PRAYING FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR NEEDS, FOCUSING ON THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.
A LIFESTYLE OF CONTINUAL “SPIRITUAL PREGNANCY”
PREGNANT WITH A BURDEN TO SEE THE GREAT COMMISSION FULFILLED.
Rachel to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.”
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalms 126:5-6).
TODAY, GOD IS RECRUITING AN ARMY OF INTERCESSORS
ALL OF US HAVE BEEN DRAFTED.
IT’S TIME WE REPORTED FOR DUTY!
LET PRAYER BECOMES AS MUCH A PART OF YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE AS BREATHING IS TO YOUR PHYSICAL LIFE.
YOU MUST FIND YOUR RHYTHM IN PRAYER.
YOUR PERSONALITY, SPIRITUAL GIFTS, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WILL DETERMINE IT.
PRAYERS CAN BE WRITTEN, SPOKEN, SILENT.
TRY TO MAINTAIN A CONSTANT AWARENESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
Paul’s description of ceaseless prayer:
“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 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. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-25).
Apostolic Life Cathedral is now to the point where we need intercessors to say with Isaiah of old, “Here am I; send me.”
THE HIDDEN MINISTRY
You’re Going to Miss Me When I’m Gone
Back in the late 1980’s, my uncle, Mark Kuntzman, was living in Moore, OK. He shared with me a story that told to him by his pastor when he lived there, and this is recollection of the story his pastor told him:
For 7 years the Church I was pastoring had been in a season of unprecedented growth and revival. I had not changed anything in my approach to pastoring, or leadership, but everything we did flourished and bloomed. It was as if we were sitting under an open heaven and God’s blessings and His favor fell on our Church. The saints were in unity, converts were being added to the church nearly every week, and we were positively impacting our community.
One day I was called to the bedside of a beloved elder saint who was about to make his journey to be with our Savior. After we had spoken and prayed, I stood to shake his hand and say, “goodbye,” but he held tightly onto my hand, looked me steadily in the eyes and said, “Pastor, you’re going to miss me when I’m gone.” I said to him, “I know that, brother,” but he shook his head and simply said to me one more time, “You’re going to miss me when I’m gone.”
Well, that saint of God passed shortly after, and we held his home going service, he went to be with Jesus, and life went on.
6 months later it seemed as if my legs were cut out from under me. There was division in the church, services were dry, attendance was low, conversions were at a standstill, finances were scarce, and I was losing patience in the struggle. So, one Sunday, to my shame, I got up in the pulpit and took my aggravation out on those sweet saints of the Church, and I felt good about it.
When that Sunday service was over, the widow of the beloved elder came to me and asked to speak privately with my wife and I. So, we went to my office, and as I turned to hear what she wanted to say she asked, “Pastor, do you remember my husband’s last words to you before he died.” I answered, “Yes, he told that I would miss him when he was gone.”
She agreed and then said, “I’m going to tell you why he said that. When my husband retired from his career he was praying one day and told the Lord that he wanted his retirement years to be spent doing something productive for Jesus and for his pastor and his church. So, every day, Monday through Friday, my husband would rise up and get dressed, drink his coffee and eat his breakfast, then he’d walk to his favorite chair, sit down and pray for you, for our Church, and for our community. At noon, my husband would take a lunchbreak and sometimes a short nap, but by 1:30, or 2:00, he would go back sit down in his favorite chair and pray until 5:00 PM for you, our church and our community. He did that every week for seven years until he died.”
Then she said to me with tears on her cheeks, “Pastor, that’s what he meant when he held onto your hand, looked you in the eyes, and said, ‘You’re going to miss me when I’m gone.’”
What is the missed ministry? Intercessory Prayer, The Ministry of Intercession, Intercessors.
Come on, Intercessors! Apostolic Life Cathedral needs you: elder, student, hyphen, man, woman, boy, girl, etc.
[1] Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible. Romans 8:27. paraphrased
[2] Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. 1 Timothy 2:6. Paraphrased.
[3] Mark F. Kuntzman. Man’s Intercession. Nov. 13, 2007.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. G4726 & G4727.
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 