Prayer - Enter in King of Glory

Dear Father,
I am so overwhelmed. You have asked me to pray for your people, your church, yet I don’t. Why is that? I read your word and my mind gets full of things that need prayer, yet from where I stand it seems to be a mountain that cannot be climbed – it is too big, it is too much.

Now, as I write this before you, I realize the problem, I am looking at your people through the eyes of my humanity instead of through the eyes of your divinity.

Psalm 24
The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah

Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah

Father, I desire to ascend into your holy hill. I desire to stand in that holy place before your throne. Thank you Father that you have made a way for your people. You have called us to come boldly before your throne of grace, the seat of mercy from which you rule. By the blood of your Son, Jesus, you have cleansed our hands and you have purified our hearts. (Hebrews 4)

Father, your people stand before your eyes, some ignorant of the blessings of righteousness purchased for them by your Son Jesus; some still deceived by the bondages of sin and still some are caught in the deceitfulness of their carnal and selfish mind-sets. Yet, it is not all hopeless, you have not forsaken us. You have set in your mind to make us into the image of your Son. You have chosen us to be His bride. Lord have mercy upon your people and for the sake of your Son’s name lift up our heads and teach us to lift up our gates – our hearts and souls – and allow you through your Holy Spirit to come into our lives and change us into that image of your Son.

Be gracious and merciful to us and have pity upon your church. Help us to see your Glory and welcome your glory into our hearts. Change us! Help us to yield to your instructions. Help us to surrender our opinions and accept yours as Truth.

On behalf of your people I cry out to you, O Lord, God of my God, Holy Father! The blood of your Son has purchased us – He has ransomed us from the hand of your enemy, do not leave us to our own devices. Pour out your Spirit upon us. Bring that sweet sting of conviction upon your people that causes us to see our error and Your glory, that causes our hearts to weep for joy at your merciful forgiveness and your great power that sets us free from the sin and shame, fear and unforgiveness that has chained us to lives of hopelessness and despair – false humility and deceit – backbiting and self-righteous judgments.

Father, your scriptures say that if we confess our sins before you that you are faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Father, I have confessed to you on behalf of your people. We are in desperate need of your forgiveness and cleansing. I lift up my head and throw open the gate of my heart – come into my heart Holy Father – King of Glory and come into the heart of your people.
Let us see you King of Glory!
Let us see you mighty in battle!
Let us be Jacob, the generation of those who seek your Face!

In 2Co 3:18 it says, "But we all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Make this scripture true in our generation! Let us see your Face.

Let us behold the glory of your Son Jesus!

Glorify your Son in us!

O'Lord, let us see the beauty of your holiness so that you will receive the glory and honor due your name.

Four Main Duties of an Intercessor

In the Fall of 1998 I attended a workshop on Intercession that was held in my area. The leader of that workshop (a local pastor) spoke on the 4 main duties of an intercessor and that instruction has been a foundational piece to my understanding of how to interceed in prayer for others.

First, to clarify the term intercessor: an intercessor is one who stands between or works on behalf of another. For instance, a lawyer is an intercessor in that the lawyer argues points of law on behalf of their client before a judge. Another picture of an intercessor that of a parent protecting their child from danger. A parent will move between their child and the danger and do everything within their means to protect that child.

FOUR MAIN DUTIES OF AN INTERCESSOR

1. An Intercessor is one who reminds the Lord of His promises until they are fulfilled.
a. Isaiah 62:6 &7,

"I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their
peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent and
give Him no rest 'til He establishes and 'til He makes Jerusalem a praise in the
earth."

b. To remind the Lord of His promises there are a few things we must know and believe about the Lord.
i. We must know His promises, both the promises found in the scriptures and the promises that have been given in prayer & prophetic utterance that are in agreement with scripture.
ii. We need to continue to grow in our knowledge of and our faith in the character of the Lord as spoken of in the scriptures. This includes the belief that He desires to fulfill those promises and is capable of fulfilling them.
iii. Hebrews 11:6,

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

2. An Intercessor is one who fights (or pleads) for Justice to prevail on behalf of another.
a. Isaiah 59:15 & 16,

"So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him."

b. To plead to God for justice we must believe that God is just, but we must also understand
that in that place of justice the Lord is also merciful.
i. Zephaniah 3:5,

"The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails..."

ii. Deuteronomy 10:17 & 18,

"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty
and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice
for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and
clothing."

iii. Hebrews 1:8,

"But God says about his Son, "You are God, and you will rule as King forever! Your royal power brings about justice." [CEV]

iv. James 2:13,

"For judgment is without mercy to the one who
has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

3. An intercessor is one who builds the wall (or hedge) of protection. In this situation we are standing inbetween some one to protect them from danger and helping build a spiritual wall so that eventually that person can stand in health and wholeness.
a. Ezekiel 13: 4 & 5,

"O Israel, Your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. You have not gone up
into the gaps (breaches) to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in
battle on the day of the Lord."

b. To build the wall of protection, we must believe we have the authority and the ability to
build. We must believe that, like Nehemiah, we are commissioned to rebuild. We also have
to be trained and equipped to build.
i. Isaiah 58:12,

"Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the
foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the
breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in."

ii. Ephesians 4:11 - 13,

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the [building up] of the body of Christ, till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

iii. 2 Corinthians 13:10,

"Therefore I write these things while absent, lest being present I may not deal sharply with you according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for pulling down."

iv. Ephesians 4:29,

"Let not any filthy word go out of your mouth, but if any is good to building up in respect of need, that it may give grace to the ones hearing."

v. 1 Corinthians 14:26,

"Then how is it, brothers? When you come together, each one
of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an
interpretation. Let all things be for building up."

vi. More Scriptures: (Romans 14:19),(Romans 15:2) ,(1 Corinthians 14:3) , (1 Corinthians 14:5), (2 Corinthians 10:8) (2 Corinthians 12:19)

4. An intercessor is one who stands betwen God's judgment and His people and pleads for mercy.
a. Ezekiel 22:29 & 30,

"The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated
the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a
man amoung them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf
of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."

b. To stand between God's judgment and His people, we must know His LOVE for us and
believe He is merciful. And we must know that He will not act contrary to character of His
Good Name.
i. Ezekiel 20:43 & 44,

"Then you will remember your wicked sins, and you will hate yourselves for doing
such horrible things. They have made you unacceptable to me, so you deserve to
be punished. But I will treat you in a way that will bring honor to my name, and
you will know that I am the LORD God."

ii. Psalm 86:5,

"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all
those who call upon You."

iii. John 3:17 & 18,

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

In conclusion, to grow in our effectiveness as intercessors, we must continue to grow in our experiential knowledge of God - His love for us; we must continue to grow in our understanding of His Character so that we can rightly represent him; and we must continue to grow in our understanding of who we are and what our authority is in Christ Jesus when we stand before our God in intercession.

Hope this is helpful.

Prayer - Let Us See Your Glory

Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, give to us - the Body of Christ, the Church - the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus; open our eyes and bring revelation and understanding to our hearts and minds. Holy Spirit glorify Jesus before us - let us see Him in His glory, help us to cooperate with you in the renewing of our minds so that we may know and understand the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

Give us eyes to see through the vessels of earth and clay. Lord, how we need to see the riches of the glory that our found within your people! Flood us with your grace, heal our eyes, let us see the beauty of Holiness.

Father, have we been blind to the glorious inheritance that has been placed within your people, but we have been ignorant of the power that you, through your son Jesus, has released toward us who believe. Father, you have released so great a power, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave, that we have been placed far above the principalities and powers and authorities that have ruled this world. You, have taken us - individuals and you have placed us into your Son, and you have seated us at your right hand. Oh, how wonderful You are, you have placed eternity in our hearts and You have placed us within the heart of eternity. You are marvelous!

Oh! Lord, let us see You! Let Your Church see the greatness of your glory! Open our eyes to see that glory within the hearts of your people, within the heart of your Church.

Prayer - Honor the Body of Christ: The Church

1 Corinthians 12:12 – 14, 26 & 27 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many….And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me to honor Your Name and the Name of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ.
Holy Spirit, come and help me pray for the Body of Christ.

Father, you have placed all who profess the name of your son Jesus into His body. You have created one New man. We are a many membered body, yet we do not see this body rightly.

Father, this body, the Church, is a broken body. We bite and devour one another, we judge one another out of insecurity and jealousy and we have made a mockery of the Name of Jesus before the world. Lord, forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Open our eyes to see the beauty of your Church. Help us to rejoice in the victories that you have won in and through those who profess the name of Jesus. Teach us how to honor your people and be thankful for those who are blessed by you.

Father, thank you for the Pasor's that You have brought to my home town. Thank You for their hearts, that they are men and women who follow hard after you. Thank You for the revelation you have given them of Your Body and for the desire that you have birthed in them to minister to this community as a unified Body of Christ. Lord protect those you have called to lead your people. Increase their revelation of Your Glory and the Glory of your Son Jesus. Increase their relationship with Your Holy Spirit, that they may be refreshed as Your Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus before their eyes.

Father, there are many who profess the name of Christ who have believed that You have called them to judge and tear down other members of the Body of Christ.

Father, forgive us and pour out a spirit of repentence upon us, open our eyes to see the Body of Christ as You see it. But Father, I ask that you would close the mouths of all Your people who open their mouth to devour the body of your Son, Jesus. Close my own mouth when I begin to speak with a critical heart. Help me to honor and restore the members of your body, rather than tear it down.

Father, help us to hear Your heart as You cry and mourn over the critical heart of your people...it is a poison that infect's the Body of Christ, bitterness that infects the soul of your people. Have mercy on us and bring revelation to us of your great grace that has been given to us through the death and resurrection of Your son Jesus.

Lord God! Deliver us from the bewitching lies of self righteousness so that we may stand humbly before You and give glory & honor to Jesus our Savior and King.

Renew our speach and our thinking that it may reflect the scriptures that say in Philipians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, what ever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."

Open our eyes that we may see the Body of Christ - the Church as You see it and love & honor each member as You.

In Jesus' Holy Name
Renee

My Call to Prayer

Several years ago, the Lord highlighted the scripture 1 Samuel 12:23, "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you...," and I felt that He was asking me to pray for the Church. Now I knew that He was talking about the Body of Christ as described in the scripture in Ephesians 1:22&23 "And He [God the Father] put all things under His [Jesus] feet and gave Him [Jesus] to be head over all things to the church, which is His [Jesus'] body, the fullness of Him [Jesus] who fills all in all." I have to admit that I have not done a very good job of being obedient to this request and so I am deciding to change that. One of the things I'm going to do is to type out my prayers for the Church here. Along with those prayers I am going to share some insights concerning the Church to help any one who decides to join me understand a little bit of where my prayers are coming from. I'm doing this, because another part of the scripture found in 1 Samuel says, "... but I will teach you the good and the right way."

THE GLORY OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE – a thought.

I am attending a video study called “Driven by Eternity” by John Bevere during our Sunday School hour. This is a very intense study that has the potential of shaking ones faith down to the core and I only recommend it if you are truly hungry to grow up in Christ. The basic point of the study is to open our eyes to the fact that even as professing believers in Jesus, we will stand before Jesus as He judges us according to what He called us as individuals to do. This is not a judgment to determine our salvation, but a judgment that holds us accountable for our actions, thoughts and intentions after we acknowledge that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Jesus is our Lord (King) and has called each one of us to walk a path of obedience during our life time. This is not a path of obedience to tradition, but a path that we follow when walking in open relationship with our King. Some He calls to be pastors and missionaries and some he calls to be mothers, blue collar workers and professionals. We will not be judged by our success in the eyes and understandings of the world, but we will be judged according to the call of God that is upon our lives.

Below is just a very small percentage of the scriptures John Bevere expounds on during this study and following that is a description of what my thought was when contemplating what it will be like to stand before the Righteous Judge.

I am He Who searches minds (the thoughts, feelings, and purposes) and the [inmost] hearts, and I will give to each of you [the reward for what you have done] as your work deserves. Revelation 2:23, AMP

We know that God has said he will punish and take revenge. We also know that the Scriptures say the Lord will judge his people. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God! Hebrews 10:30-31 CEV

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:10, 12

We would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. 2 Corinthians 5:8-11 NLT

I believe that when we stand before the righteous judge, the Spirit of Truth will be the very atmosphere of the courtroom. When we enter that room, the revelation of our shortcomings will begin to roll over us in waves and our conscience will begin to convict us before the Righteous Judge even opens his mouth.

I believe that when He begins to speak, His words will only clarify & confirm what the Spirit of Truth has already revealed to our hearts and minds and we will find ourselves at his feet in awe of the great mercy He shows us by allowing us to even stay in His Kingdom.

I believe we will see that He truly was the one who built His church because no matter how hard we tried, our efforts fell short, and He will receive all the glory, honor and praise for we will see that we are just grass.

I believe we will understand that all of His judgments are just and that even in His courtroom, mercy triumphs over justice and we will know that even if He gives us the smallest parcel of land that is found in the most distant part of His kingdom, it is more than we deserve.

I believe our fear of the Lord will be based on the awesome greatness of His mercy and love that He bestows on us who deserve nothing. The final vestiges of our own self righteousness will be stripped away in that day and our Fear of the Lord will be based upon His incomprehensible Love for us instead of our fear of rejection that is based upon a hope of our own worthiness to be loved. With this revelation we will finally be at peace with God and we will rest in the acceptance of our Lord.