Pray Without Ceasing
If we could see our prayers the way God does, we would pray without ceasing
I Thessalonians 5:16-17 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
In the times when I minimize prayer, the problem is mostly that I don't fully grasp the dignity God has given to mankind. God has literally given dominion of the earth to mankind. That means it is the job of people to administer...appropriate...His power on earth.
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Psalms 8:4-6 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
Psalms 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord ’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.
God waits on us to direct the power that the Holy Spirit desires to release. Don't get me wrong, there are times God "breaks-in" due to our lack of action...man's weakness...but He prefers to agree with a man or woman who is willing to verbally agree with Him. He is waiting for me to issue some sort of out loud petition to heaven, or command against the enemy, on earth!
Isaiah 59:16 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.
God always "looks for a man" to agree with Him. Much has been lost simply because no person could be found willing to see the dignity God has placed on mankind's agreement with Him. When God gives something, He really gives it. The dominion He gave to man was so weighty and real, His own Son, Jesus, had to become a man forever to win it back. How much is lost in our city every day simply because no one sees the weight their simple words of agreement with God carry:
Ezekiel 22:30-31 So I sought for a man among 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. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God .
There is a legal reason our words matter, but there is also a relational reason our words matter. When we accepted Jesus as our savior, we literally became a part of His body:
Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
When my brain decides something needs doing, it relies on some other part of my body to get that thing done. This is the beauty of the body: the orchestration of so many parts to work together in agreement...to move, or run, or play music, or make a sandwich.
Jesus desires partnership with me to run His kingdom... so much so, that He literally shares His very name, the essence of identity, with me, and desires I would share MY name with Him. My mouth really is His mouth when I am agreeing with Him about a particular thing. When my mouth on earth agrees with His mouth in heaven, that thing IS done...for real.
The more I practice agreeing with Him, the more I will literally see my words fulfilled...the less I practice agreeing with Jesus, the less I will see my words fulfilled. It really is that simple. The more I pray, the more I will see "happen." God wants me to build this secret history of praying so I can hone in...more and more...on what He is saying and doing.
I picture it like a game of battleship. I pray and pray...and in the natural it feels like not much is happening, but on the other side of the veil, I am about to sink a destroyer. When I finally put that last "nail in the coffin" of the enemy, I see that thing finally happen...it is like hearing "you sunk my battleship" from the other side.
The Bible says our prayers are filling up bowls in heaven...every prayer for that restored relationship, or that healed disease, or that financial breakthrough, drips a little more into the bowl until it begins overflowing and pouring back down to earth in tangible results:
Revelation 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 8:3-5 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
Jesus has been given all authority on heaven and on earth...for real...right now. He wants me to enforce that rule of law with His Name above all names. The devil is a thief and a liar, and until He is locked up, he is going to continue to steal ground and roar like he is in charge.
I set my heart to be a good officer of the kingdom. I set my heart that no fear, sickness, anxiety, depression, worry, lack...nothing that disagrees with heaven...is going to pass my post unchecked! I am going to build the wall around my city, brick by brick....situation by situation...word by word...that Jesus is looking for!
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
"I'll pray for you" shouldn't be my last option when all else fails...it should be my weapon of choice!
I Thessalonians 5:16-17 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
In the times when I minimize prayer, the problem is mostly that I don't fully grasp the dignity God has given to mankind. God has literally given dominion of the earth to mankind. That means it is the job of people to administer...appropriate...His power on earth.
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Psalms 8:4-6 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
Psalms 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord ’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.
God waits on us to direct the power that the Holy Spirit desires to release. Don't get me wrong, there are times God "breaks-in" due to our lack of action...man's weakness...but He prefers to agree with a man or woman who is willing to verbally agree with Him. He is waiting for me to issue some sort of out loud petition to heaven, or command against the enemy, on earth!
Isaiah 59:16 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.
God always "looks for a man" to agree with Him. Much has been lost simply because no person could be found willing to see the dignity God has placed on mankind's agreement with Him. When God gives something, He really gives it. The dominion He gave to man was so weighty and real, His own Son, Jesus, had to become a man forever to win it back. How much is lost in our city every day simply because no one sees the weight their simple words of agreement with God carry:
Ezekiel 22:30-31 So I sought for a man among 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. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God .
There is a legal reason our words matter, but there is also a relational reason our words matter. When we accepted Jesus as our savior, we literally became a part of His body:
Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
When my brain decides something needs doing, it relies on some other part of my body to get that thing done. This is the beauty of the body: the orchestration of so many parts to work together in agreement...to move, or run, or play music, or make a sandwich.
Jesus desires partnership with me to run His kingdom... so much so, that He literally shares His very name, the essence of identity, with me, and desires I would share MY name with Him. My mouth really is His mouth when I am agreeing with Him about a particular thing. When my mouth on earth agrees with His mouth in heaven, that thing IS done...for real.
The more I practice agreeing with Him, the more I will literally see my words fulfilled...the less I practice agreeing with Jesus, the less I will see my words fulfilled. It really is that simple. The more I pray, the more I will see "happen." God wants me to build this secret history of praying so I can hone in...more and more...on what He is saying and doing.
I picture it like a game of battleship. I pray and pray...and in the natural it feels like not much is happening, but on the other side of the veil, I am about to sink a destroyer. When I finally put that last "nail in the coffin" of the enemy, I see that thing finally happen...it is like hearing "you sunk my battleship" from the other side.
The Bible says our prayers are filling up bowls in heaven...every prayer for that restored relationship, or that healed disease, or that financial breakthrough, drips a little more into the bowl until it begins overflowing and pouring back down to earth in tangible results:
Revelation 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 8:3-5 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
Jesus has been given all authority on heaven and on earth...for real...right now. He wants me to enforce that rule of law with His Name above all names. The devil is a thief and a liar, and until He is locked up, he is going to continue to steal ground and roar like he is in charge.
I set my heart to be a good officer of the kingdom. I set my heart that no fear, sickness, anxiety, depression, worry, lack...nothing that disagrees with heaven...is going to pass my post unchecked! I am going to build the wall around my city, brick by brick....situation by situation...word by word...that Jesus is looking for!
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
"I'll pray for you" shouldn't be my last option when all else fails...it should be my weapon of choice!
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