I am posted today to plead with whoever reads this, to take up the mantle and the mission of intercessory prayer for The Body of Christ.
Stir up in yourself a love for The Church. Not a passive, weak, soft love, but a love that is willing to go on the offensive for The Church, that is willing to defend her even unto death. (Death of self in prayer, for the purposes of this post)
Allow The Holy Spirit to move you with such compassion that you begin to intercede intensely for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Lift up the leaders of churches all across the world, in all the nations.
Even those more visible, media type preachers that you do not agree with, lift them up in prayer, pray that they would hear the voice of The Lord. You may not agree with them, pray for them not against them for the sake of the people. Let God decide who to lift up and bring down. When we as people of prayer try and do it for Him, we are tying His hands, He will not move on our prayers.
Pray for the Christians in hostile nations. Pray that a great outpouring of intercession and power would be released on their behalf.
I am reposting the articles below, in hopes that they will stir you to prayer. After today, I will be reposting a few posts that I sense need to be read by somebody out there, or several people, that The Lord wants to speak to.
Call Them In to Send Them Out!!!
They will come from Many Nations.
With a Common Vision.
On a Holy Mission.
To fulfill with Burning Passion.
The LORDS Great Commission.
Prayer-A Life of Prayer
Below I have posted a couple of past post, mixed in with some nuggets of wisdom I have gained on this long, and sometimes odd, journey of Prayer that The Lord has had me on since I was a small child.
I pray they bless you and help you enter deeper into the place where your prayers become more effective in the lives of others and The Church.
"Intercession involves more than just prayer. Learn about your subject, study it, become well familiar with it. If you don't care enough to learn deeply about your subject, how can you enter in with compassion and empathy?" Randy Furco
The Ministry Of Prayer
Lets start with our essential scripture verses for The Ministry of Prayer to, and for ,The Body of Christ Locally and Globally!!
Romans 8:26-28
Amplified Bible (AMP)
So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groaning too deep for utterance.
And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will.
We are assured and know that {God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
I feel led by The Holy Spirit to re-emphasize these verses and plead with whoever He may lead to read this, to take up this Ministry to your Local Church and The Body of Christ Globally.
My heart is assured that we have past a road marker of sorts in The Spirit. More than any other time in the history of The Church, I believe the Ministry of Prayer as explained and revealed in the verse above is needed, is mandatory and is the call of every mature spirit filled Christian.
Our brothers and sisters in Christ need us. Our leaders need us. We are a family. We are an army and we are connected in a very real way both naturally and spiritually.
There are things that the enemy has sent his servants on assignment to accomplish, in order to disrupt Gods plan for His Children and The Church. There are Angels sent from heaven on assignment for God to bring His Plans and Purposes to pass.
In the middle of this battle is us, The Church! The enemy already has mankind in his grip. His focus is to keep them blinded and buffet the Church so we will lose real Faith in The Lord Jesus and His Word!
The outcome of The war is and has been already determined. However the outcome of the battles we are in now, and will be in soon, depends on The Ministry of Prayer! I will state that again.
The outcome of The war is, and has been, already determined. However the outcome of the battles we are in now, and will be in soon, depends on The Ministry of Prayer.
In closing I will say what I said in an earlier post. There is ALWAYS a part we play in receiving Gods promises. The above promise is no different!
"We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose."
We must purposefully take up The Ministry of Prayer for The Local Church and The Body of Christ in The World.
"Anyone who would say a life of intercession is not a life of discipline,dedication and hard work: Does not live a life of intercession." Randy Furco
Prayer/Tongues and The Will of God
Romans 8:26-28
Amplified Bible (AMP)
So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groaning too deep for utterance.
And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will.
We are assured and know that [[a]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
I don't think there is a better translation that brings out the revelation of these verses than The Amplified Bible. I chose to only post three verses, because the revelation is so deep,so profound that I want to be sure the reader grabs what The Lord is saying.
We have heard the verse over and over that says "All things work together for good....", but is this always true, no matter what? Or, like with any promise of God, is there an essential part we must play?
First, all things don't just magically work together for good. You can choose to do many things, that will quite hinder you, and not work together for your good, can't you? Within yourself, you can't control all circumstances or other people.
What, and most importantly, Who does the scripture reveal, that is essential to "All things working together for good..."
The revelation about the importance of the ministry of The Holy Spirit in a Believers life, in The Church and in the world on behalf of the Believer, is revealed mightily, not only in these verse, but in this entire chapter of Romans.
My friend you can pray from your mind. You can know The Word, you can be as religious as you like. But unless you are actively allowing God, through His Holy Spirit to partner with you in your labor of prayer, you are missing out on the promises of these verses. Not only for yourself, but your family, your church and your community.
I have stated it before, and without reservation I will state it here. If believers all across the planet, all of a sudden stopped praying in tongues, the foundations of the world systems would begin to fail, the foundations of government would begin to collapse. The enemy of God and man would reek havoc on The Church and mankind........
The only ministry, that is able to cause all things to work together for good, is The Ministry of The Holy Spirit partnering with the prayers and intercession of The Church on earth. This is how God causes His Will and Plan to come to pass on earth. This is how His purposes are accomplished.
This is why the verse says "who love God and are called according to HIS Purposes". The Church and an individual believer must be standing in a place of salvation and in a place where they have submitted themselves to Gods purposes. Then in that agreement, The Holy Spirit joins forces to cause Gods Plans and Purposes to be revealed and manifested on earth.
Don't limit what God can do through your effectual fervent, spirit filled prayer. He, right now, is asking you to join forces with him, and pray in the SPIRIT, PRAY IN TONGUES! If you have not been baptised in The SPIRIT with the evidence of speaking in tongues, then just ask The Father, and He will do so.
Allow Him to use you to bring His will to earth. Allow him to use your heart and voice to cause all things to work together for good, not only for you, but set your focus even higher, for The Church in The World!!!!!!
"The Life of an Intercessor can become so attached, so in tune with what The Lord wants to do on the earth through His Church, that their life becomes a living testament, an amazing journey, only fully understood by God and His chosen vessel." Randy Furco
Prayer For The Healing of The Body of Christ!!
The Body of Christ is in need of healing. There comes a time in the life of a believer that the Lord wants them to stand for healing, to stand for what belongs to them.
We can carry the scars and damage of past sin in our physical body. We can walk around with the remnant of brokenness and pain resonating in our body. Often times, we don't even realize how these things are holding us back, damaging our environment and the very people we are called to love.
The Lord loves us, is patient and merciful to us. However, we must, at one point, yield to His healing and delivering work in order to properly fulfill our mission and purpose.
There comes a day that He will lead us into a battle, that the outcome of ,will not only affect our destiny, but the destiny of others. A battle that will be presented to us as a clear choice, to fight, or not. To progress or not. To take ground or yield ground to our enemy.
So it is, with The Body of Christ, in this nation, right now. We have carried within The Lords Body, scars, pain, unforgiving, resentment and hate, for far too long. The LORD will have none of it any longer. The Church is His Body, and He demands that those in His Body yield and allow Him to heal.
He is no longer content with allowing his Body to walk this nation broken, scarred, segregated, full of distrust and hate. He is no longer willing for His Body to be out of balance and unhealthy.
He is leading us into a battle of His Making. Many will have a clear choice, to choose healing or not. To fight or not. Those who choose to stand and be healed will enter into a glorious ministry of reconciliation and deliverance.
Those who choose to hold on to the brokenness, prejudice, pain and resentment will remain unhealed and be subject to the attack of hatred that is coming upon this nation. Trying to battle using natural means that are doomed to fail.
I see in The Spirit a new labor of prayer. A battle in prayer to drive out of The Body of Christ all that offends. So that she can be free and able to move unhindered. Yes, drive out prejudice and racism. Yes drive out materialism. Yes drive out the foul political Spirit that has gripped her. Yes drive out dead religion, doubt and unbelief.
Drive out every false doctrine, worthless debate and foolish babbling. So much to drive out, so little time. However what He has determined.....He shall accomplish.
2 Chronicles 7:14-16
Amplified Bible (AMP)
If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place.
For I have chosen and sanctified (set apart for holy use) this house, that My Name may be here forever, and My eyes and My heart will be here perpetually.
"It can be hard at times for the intercessor to see another standing on the stage or platform that he or she spent years laboring over in prayer. To see the fruit of their prayers in so many other lives, yet still have to struggle with issues in their own.
Jealousy and Envy is always knocking at the door. That is okay, do not be condemned. Take it to The Lord, He understands, He will not scold or reject you. He is invested in your life and ministry. Leave it at His alter with joy, naked and not ashamed, and He will be faithful every time to give back to you the joy and peace that comes with seeing the fruit of your laboring with His Holy Spirit" Randy Furco
A Type and Shadow of Speaking In Tongues??
(Some edits of original post)
Notice, in the verses below, that although Hannah was not speaking she was pouring her soul out to God, from a deep place in her heart. So deep that she could not express it with words, only the utterance of her soul could express it.
She was praying very much like the rivers of living water that flow from our Spirit man, from that deep river that is released when we enter into fervent prayer. We pray in The Spirit out to God, uttering words that we do not know, crying out to The Lord!
Oh I believe with all my heart, that Hannah, if she was filled with The Holy Spirit would have been praying in tongues fervently, crying out to The Lord. I am convinced that this account is SHADOW AND A TYPE of deep,fervent prayer in The SPIRIT.
The kind of prayer that avails much and changes the course of lives,cities and nations!!
1 Samuel 1:12-17
Amplified Bible (AMP)
And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli noticed her mouth.
Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.
Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you.
But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.
Regard not your handmaid as a wicked woman; for out of my great complaint and bitter provocation I have been speaking.
Then Eli said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.
The Next Chapter shows Gods Judgement and Mercy. Mercy toward Hannah. judgement toward Eli's sons. AND The the ministry of Samuel, a foreshadowing of Christ. Below Hannah's Prayer is prayed out, and the result of her prayers are Nation Changing. She prayed for a child and that Child was Part of Gods plan on Earth. A living testament to the life of an intercessor!
1 Samuel 2
New Living Translation (NLT)
Hannah’s Prayer of Praise
Then Hannah prayed:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.[a]
How I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you rescued me.
No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
“Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;
he will judge your actions.
The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
Those who were well fed are now starving,
and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
and the woman with many children wastes away.
The Lord gives both death and life;
he brings some down to the grave[b] but raises others up.
The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up.
He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
lacing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and he has set the world in order.
“He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to his king;
he increases the strength of his anointed one.”
Then in The New Testament:
ACTS 2:13-21
AMP
And all were beside themselves with amazement and were puzzled and bewildered, saying one to another, What can this mean?
But others made a joke of it and derisively said, They are simply drunk and full of sweet [intoxicating] wine.
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: You Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be [explained] to you so that you will know and understand; listen closely to what I have to say.
For these men are not drunk, as you imagine, for it is [only] the third hour (about 9:00 a.m.) of the day;
But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams.
Yes, and on My menservants also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels and predicting future events pertaining especially to God's kingdom].
And I will show wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and smoking vapor;
The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the obvious day of the Lord comes--that great and notable and conspicuous and renowned [day].
And it shall be that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord {invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord--Christ] shall be saved.
Can you see the shadow and type. Pray Fervently. Make your request known to God. Get a big picture view of what God wants to do through you and your prayers!
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