Authors note: There is a cursed attitude within the Church that says, ‘all I can do is pray.’ Don’t you realize that when you pray, Heaven comes to earth, and all the gold, all the money, all the nuclear weapons are NOTHING compared to that? All the devices of men wilt under the power of God! Pharaoh had the greatest army of earth until the Lord led him to a little swimming party. When Paul and Silas were thrown into the death cell, they prayed and worshiped. The power of God fell, reversing the situation and bringing deliverance and salvation. Don’t ever say, “All I can do is pray!” Say, “I will pray…and watch what happens!”
THE WOMB OF CHANGE
And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you… Luke 22:31-32 NKJV
What great good could be accomplished if we stopped complaining, and started interceding?
It was November 8th, 2016, and I was in Accra, Ghana, timewise about six hours ahead of the east coast of the United States. It was the presidential election in the USA. I believed that if one candidate won, it would be indicative of God’s judgment on the country. If the other candidate won, it would indicate that God would pour out His favor on the nation.
Intercession is the womb of change…Francis Frangipane
(Can we influence God’s judgment or God’s favor? Yes! The whole Bible teaches that God’s favor or judgment rests upon the decisions that we make, individually and collectively. The Lord does not change. When we change…when we decide…we position ourselves for blessing or judgment. When you made the decision, of your own free will, to accept Jesus as your personal Lord, acknowledging that He died for your sins and rose again, you moved from a position of judgment to one of blessing. This is the essence of personal authority. Do you see it?)
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16 NKJV
I wanted to make a difference. I asked the Lord to give me seven good hours of prayer in the spirit for the election in the USA. I prayed from 730pm to 230am. The commentators on TV kept saying that the ‘blue wall’ of northern states would give the election to the candidate of judgment. I kept hearing in my spirit, ‘Crush the blue wall.’ So, I cried out and decreed again and again, ‘Lord, crush the blue wall!!’
When I went to bed at 230am, things on the TV didn’t look good. When I woke up several hours later, I turned on the TV with a great sense of trepidation. OH MY GOSH! The ‘blue wall’ had been crushed, turning the election to the candidate of blessing! As I’ve told people since then, I went to bed, much like Francis Scott Key, with ‘the twilights last gleaming’ and woke up with ‘that star spangled banner yet wave’…ing!’ (both lines from our national anthem)!
In his great book, SHAPING HISTORY THROUGH FASTING AND PRAYER, Derek Prince reaches this conclusion: God has made it possible for Christians by their prayers to ensure good government.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 1 Cor 13:1 NKJV
Step one in effective intercession is love – a passionate concern that manifests itself in action on behalf of another. Nothing of God works without love. Even the great gift of tongues is made ineffective to the speaker if outside of love. Get your heart right!
Step two is knowing the will of God concerning the situation.
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15 NKJV
A biblical case must be made for the thing that is desired in prayer. Can you show from the Word of God that the thing you seek is the will of God? This truth makes bible study much more personal. You are not trying to convince God. He knows His will. You are trying to convince yourself, your heart, so that you can believe that He will do it. Not too long ago I had a real biblical question about the subject of slavery. It took some serious careful study but in the end God was vindicated as being just and loving. You must study your bible until you are convinced about the will of God.
The other great reality that you can access to know the specific will of God is revelation. Consider the example above! There is not a verse in the bible about ‘crushing a blue wall.’ But there are verses about having good government. So, God will give specific revelation that fits within His overall promises and will as declared within His word.
Consider this too! Don’t quit your prayer time until you know that the Lord is releasing you. You will know as you sense the inner witness in your spirit. The anointing to overcome comes as He releases you, not sooner.
Now let me show you a wonderful reality from Romans regarding praying in tongues.
Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind ( PHRONEMA: thoughts ) of the Spirit ( your spirit man – the thoughts you hold in your heart ) is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Rom 8:27 NKJV
The Lord searches out and knows your thoughts when you pray in tongues. Practice this! Hold the thought of someone or something in your mind, your heart, and begin to pray in tongues. The Spirit will enable your spirit to make intercession for that person or situation according to the primary will of God, the best of all possible. You pray that through until God releases you and you are going to start seeing miracles.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess 5:16-18 NKJV
Stop complaining…rejoice always! Release the power of God wherever you go through continuous prayer. In everything…for everything…through the midst of everything, give thanks. Ask for prayer assignments. Look for opportunities even while you are out amongst strangers to pray for them and drop a little bit of Heaven on them and their situation. They will love you for it! Intercession…it’s the womb of change! Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…