Prayer is the indispensable element. The air of an abiding life.
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| Heart Seeds from Japan |
To see movement and progress in the hopes of people, cities, nations, our own assignment, requires prayer, both corporate and individual.
Personally, I see prayer rooting everything of value in the Kingdom of God.
It rooted the Lord Jesus. It appears to be essential to life, hearing and knowing the will of the Father for Jesus and the apostles he shaped.
I expect myself, and all Christians actually, to be intentionally pursuing an abiding worship-filled life of prayer.
- A life of prayer that actually moves a couple mountains in their lifetime. my lifetime.
- A life of prayer tapping into the miracle reality of a faith that finds itself often confronted by the impossible.
Not just a individual prayer life.
Lost in the playground of Holy Spirit experiences, personal quests and endless encounters that don't translate into any tangible benefit for the Body of Christ, such a personal prayer life cannot be the fullness of the mission and purpose of Jesus Christ on the earth. Certainly a brick in the roadway of kingdom progress, such wanderings need insight, wisdom and some faith action in the world of love. If heaven conducted itself in such a way, if the character of God was like this, Jesus would still be in heaven enjoying the beauty of the Father and the fullness of the Trinity for himself. Instead, love compelled him to come down from the Throne of Heaven and lay down his life in love. Prayer is not an individual pursuit in the Kingdom of God. It is an essential element of individual abiding and practicing of the presence, but it is not the fullness of Jesus Christ if left on its own. The revelation of Jesus in his Death, Resurrection and Ascension to sit at the right hand of the Father as the High Priest of the Heavenly temple is proof enough that prayer leads us to service, love and sacrifice.
Prayer is also corporate. Centered with the family of believers, each one is called to overcome the world, preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, and disciple the Nations. Not an individual mission. A family mission. A mission forged in community, communion and co-laboring with Jesus and the Saints.
So, yes. I have a few assumptions behind these ideas. They could be called presuppositions. That is ideas usually hidden behind the words we speak or ideas we put forth. They are typically not out as part of the discussion. They do undergird and hold up the ideas we typically put out in front.
Assumption 1
To minister in the way Jesus did, we are most likely required to have the same commitment to prayer he had.
What did that look like?
Hebrews 5:7-9
Cries, tears, reverent submission, suffering, obedience. All the words we are unfamiliar with. The sustaining teachings we have little experience in and the endurance we have little patience for. What does this look like when such words are applied to prayer? I'm not sure we speak this language.
The description of this kind of prayer proves lots of time with the Father both in encouragement, insight, and empowerment for the mission of his Father's will. That mission ultimately overcame death. Imagine. Jesus was a human person in all the ways we are, except for sin, and he was fully God. The primary means of overcoming, or at least central to his mission victory, was prayer described by these words, cries, tears, reverent submission, suffering, and obedience.
Can we categorize or characterize our prayer journey with these same words?
So the weaknesses of our lives he understood by experience. He overcame the world and remained the perfect sinless Lamb. But he experienced the weight, pain, intensity, tears, prayerful cries, of overcoming death. The all around us, ever pressing in to inform and teach us, death. The death that fills up minds and hearts while people live, death.
And Jesus experienced the way of the Father's will right in the middle of the ever-present voice, teaching, character, mindsets, and threats of death.
This was the life he had to lead based on that call and mission of the Father's will on earth. In the conflict to overcome the world there was suffering. Jesus obediently moved through the suffering with the support of the Father through prayer and in a life of continual strengthening in thanksgiving and intercession. He did that through prayer as a core abiding reality, in Spirit and truth. This led to prayers of tears, cries of intercession and supplications to overcome death.
Prayer is powerful. Prayer is the air of heavens victory in you and me.
Assumption 2
To know the Father the way Jesus does and to grow in eternal life, requires the same commitment to prayer and intimacy Jesus had.
Listening is key to getting hold of the Father's will. Jesus spent morning after morning away in prayer. So much so the disciples finally caught on and asked, "Teach us to pray".
To walk in the Spirit, Overcome the World and see the unseen, requires a consistent dedicated persistent life of prayer. To move mountains, hindrances, spiritual obstacles on the pathway to, "well done good and faithful servant", requires ever increasing prayer and growth in the language and power of God's presence.
Paying without ceasing as I understand it, is continually abiding in the presence. Translating prayer into the wisdom and revelation of the Holy Spirit. All the time listening as we walk in those revealed steps. Pouring out in service and love the grace we've been entrusted with from Christ. That grace comes from his victory. Gifts of overcoming power and love that he won for us. With his own blood, he purchased for us abiding prayer in continuous and ever-expanding presence. Such grace empowers us in his victory. Prayer, listening, and writing lays the groundwork for a faith that activates this grace. Prayer supports, under-girds, upholds, sustains, empowers, emboldens, encourages, and so much more than we ask or thing, empowers the grace we have received.
I keep saying United Prevailing Prayer changes everything.
So what does United Prevailing Prayer mean?
1. United -
Competition may be in American blood, its definitely in mine as a coach, but it's not in the blood of Christ. Every member is vital to the victory Jesus is bringing. Sons and Daughters must learn to exercise grace in faith and serve and love one another as Jesus did. He laid down his life for us and so we should lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. John 15:12-17; I John 3:16We have all kinds of activities that foster and promote the local church organization. Yet few of these offer partnership or co-laboring in unity with the wider churches or ministries around us.
For the ekklesia, which is called to ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE SPIRIT, we appear to have less generous working unity than the world does in business, non-profit work or simple neighborly love. Not good.
Jesus entrusted us with a most incredible insight into his prayer life in John 17. It gave us a window or picture of what and how he prays; his hopes and his victory on the Cross, in the Resurrection and as soon to be ascended, King.
What he won for us, is how he prays for us.
Unity and love among us, demonstrates to the world that he actually came (John 17:20-21). Real tangible love among the brothers is completely attainable, if we position ourselves in Christ with his eyes for one another. John 17:20-21
Anything dividing us is a lie. Poor teaching and worldly ambitions turn us away from the power of love and service to the ekklesia of our city and region. Such ambitions? Such dividing elements? Are they for money and power. James 3:14-18
2. Prevailing - "prove more powerful than opposing forces. be victorious." Oxford Dictionary.
Prevailing prayer proves our overcoming strength in Christ. This kind of prayer does not shrink back in the face of the need for a miracle. The impossible is expected to come along at any time. These impossibilities are gifts from God, stages to prove the Gospel of the Kingdom to the impossible. They regularly arrive when we set ourselves into the motions of grace and faith.
Everything is easy when we simply admire the thought of overcoming the world. When we are living in the reality and action of overcoming the world, we realize it cannot be done without prayer.
The power of prayer mixed with patient endurance is a prevailing recipe.
Jesus paved this path-Way. Let's follow him into joy. He travailed in prayer. Believing that through the cross he would overcome death and defeat it forever. And so he did.
To prevail in prayer is to hit head on the obstacles and hindrances that will surely come as we seek to do the Father's will in the world.
Prevailing prayer is the power that keeps on knocking, asking, seeking in the face of the impossible. The breakthrough of God's amazing news in Christ, is found in prevailing prayer. Prevailing prayer is rooted and established in love, the most compelling and eternal reality in the universe. Prevailing prayer is the partner of HOPE. It puts hope in motion. Prevailing prayer is an act of faith. It cannot be done without faith. And so by nature, it abides in the "please to God" realms.
It is impossible to abide in prevailing prayer, without compelling, clear, actionable faith.
Prevailing prayer will overcome the drout and momentum problems we face in winning the world to Christ. Prevailing prayer is walking in the Spirit by faith. Prevailing intercessory worship and prayer are the foundation of every family and ekklesia. Regions, cities, nations, advance in "every spiritual blessing in Christ" in prevailing and consistent prayer. Standing on the promise and activating the power of continuous dialogue with God, is indispensable. As prayer is indispensable, prevailing prayer is equally indispensable for the Saint on the mission with God. Walking in the Spirit is walking in prevailing prayer both corporate and individually.
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| Flowers in Rocky Desert Soil |
3. Prayer -- in secret and in corporate
Secret praying is the root and foundation of abiding and walking in the Spirit (Matthew 6:5-13). This Kingdom life cannot be done except for a vibrant and supporting intercessory prayer and worship filled life.
The secret place is indispensable to knowing and activating the mystery of Christ in you the hope of glory.
The Master was devoted to prayer. We are called to the same way. What appears weak is actually the greatest strength available to us. Prayer moves mountains. A mustard seed moves a mountain? We have much to learn about the power of prayer.
Prayer sustains the move of Christ in our hearts. Prayer covers and upholds the holiness and truth of the Gospel. Prayer opens the doors for the Gospel and removes the blinders of the enemy over groups of people. We really should need no convincing, but the guts seem to have fallen out of the churches prayer life.
Corporate praying...
Prayed Peter out of prison. Corporate praying and worship busted Paul and Silas out of prison. We need corporate, developing, intercessory worship and prayer to sustain and uphold the Saints in consistent walking in the Spirit and overcoming life.
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