Open Wide the Gates

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may 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 them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is he, this King of glory?  The Lord Almighty - he is the King of glory” (Psalm 24:7-10).

What a privilege it is for you and I to pray that the King of glory would come into the gates of our cities and nations.  The King of glory is mighty in battle.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of hosts, the Commander of heaven’s armies.  He is eternal, holy, and mighty.  Because of the recent earthquake that left devastation in Haiti, we must pray that the King of glory comes into that nation.  Psalm 24 is a battle cry for the Kingdom to come to earth.  It also looks forward to Christ’s future entry into the New Jerusalem to reign forever! 

You and I are in a war of tremendous proportions.  Wherever we are living, we are to battle for the land and must pray for the King of glory to come in and rule into our nation.  When we do this, we are cultivating a Kingdom prayer life.  The question we must ask ourselves is:

“Are we using our authority in prayer?”

The astounding reality is that God actually shares His authority with us (Luke 12:32).  It is our responsibility to pray for our president, king, prime minister, and leaders to yield to God, working for His righteousness to come forth.  He is the Judge and Ruler of the universe, and we are here to enforce His Kingdom on earth through our prayers.  It is not only a privilege to help bring in His Kingdom, but it is our responsibility to use our authority in prayer.  Let’s learn to be intercessors like Moses.

Prayer Warriors for God’s Kingdom

“As Moses stretched forth his rod on God's behalf over Egypt, so the church by its prayers stretches forth Christ's authority over the nations and their rulers.”  Derek Prince

In this great warfare between the powers of light and the powers of darkness, how do we prepare for battle?  To be a prayer warrior for God’s Kingdom, what qualities do we need to pray for?  We are at war against the forces of evil, and we must not take this lightly.  Just as we must exercise to keep physically fit, there are spiritual qualities we must also exercise in order to be fit for war in intercession.  There are personal qualities we must develop in our lives.  Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords!  We must prepare for battle through:

·     Intimacy - We must have an intimate relationship with the Lord.  We must be one with Christ, listening for His directions and assignments, strong in worship and the Word.

·     Our Position in Christ - We must know who we are in Christ and that He is the King who is mighty in battle.  We must wage war in Christ’s authority through prayer. 

·     Faith - We must believe in the power of prayer and that God will use faith-filled prayer to break the power of evil over the land.  He is greater than the enemy and has defeated Satan at the cross.  

·     Character - We must realize that godly character will cause the enemy to flee.  God is looking for integrity, the fruit of the Spirit, and a dedicated life.  Growing in holiness and humility is opposite of the enemy’s pride.  Humility enables us to receive the grace of God. 

·     Discipline - We must say “no” to the things that weaken our spiritual lives such as too much TV, food, or laziness.  Soldiers must live a disciplined life even when they don’t feel like it.  In order to pray for the government in our land, we must exercise self-government first.  

·     Truth - We must be truthful without any hypocrisy or falsehood in us.  We are here to speak truth, study truth, declare the truth, and hold onto it tightly during times of warfare (Zechariah 8:16-17).

As believers we must understand our rights and responsibilities as citizens of heaven.  We must know our position in Christ at God’s right hand.  We are made alive, raised up, and enthroned in the heavenly kingdom.  It has already been accomplished (Ephesians 2:4-6).  Psalm 24 was probably used in corporate worship many times.  The people outside the gates would call out to the temple gates to open and let the King of glory in.  From inside, they would say,

“Who is this King of glory?” 

Outside in unison they would say,

“The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” 

They would proclaim God’s great power and strength.  Then the gates would swing wide open.  Should we not do the same regarding our need for God’s presence in our cities?

When my husband and I travel to other countries, we spend time waiting in airports.  Often I have heard this call over the airport loud speaker, “Will (person’s name) proceed urgently to his gate!”   They are paging for someone because his plane to about to take off, and he is not present.  Many of us don’t realize that our nations are in urgent need of prayer.  We are taking our time, but God is asking us to proceed urgently to heaven’s gate, to the throne room of prayer.  We must beware of complacency.  This is the time to seize the moment in prayer and intercession for our countries. 

In the real life airport situation, missing a plane can cause a lot of time and discomfort.  But for us to miss this window of opportunity to pray for our leaders and our nations can cause us years of agony and pain.  There isn’t much time left.  We must proceed urgently to the gates of heaven and take our authoritative role in prayer for our cities.  We read in Luke 18:7-8, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night?  Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” 

God is the supreme ruler over all human affairs, and we can exercise a decisive influence upon the course of our governments through prayer and godly action.  God’s kingdom is supreme over all other kingdoms and over all other forces that work on earth (Philippines 3:20, Psalm 103:19, Ephesians 1:20-23).  Let’s extend the rod of Christ’s authority and advance His kingdom.  Let’s bring heaven to earth through our prayers.  Even though we are in a tremendous battle against the forces of darkness, the truth that Christ is the supreme ruler over all rulers and governor over all governments is reason for us to rejoice! 

“Lord, I pray that you would teach me how to be a prayer warrior for Your Kingdom.  Help me to cultivate a Kingdom prayer life.  Teach me to pray Your Word over my city, my nation, and my family.  Develop intimacy, faith, discipline, truth, and character in my life.  I long to walk in the fruit of Your Spirit.  I long to speak truth, study truth, and declare truth daily in my life.  Teach me to pray regularly for my nation, president, and city.  Teach me to pray Kingdom prayers for my city and nation.  I thank You that You are the supreme ruler over all and Your Kingdom is supreme over all kingdoms.  I praise You because You are the King of glory.  ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being’ (Revelation 4:11).  In Jesus’ name, amen.”

“He rules now in the midst of his enemies and rules by the rod of His strength (Psalm 110:2). The rod is the mark of the ruler’s authority. The rod of Christ’s authority, exercised in His name, is sent forth through our prayers.  In every direction that the rod is extended, the forces of evil are compelled to yield, and Christ in turn is exalted and His kingdom advanced."  Derek Prince

This is adapted from the book I am in the process of writing called Heaven Touching Earth: Cultivating a Kingdom Prayer Life.  

Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

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The Power of Crying Out

"In moments of fear, anxiety, and trouble, the right step toward experiencing God's powerful deliverance and protection is to simply cry out - to use our voice in fervent appeal for His help."  Bill Gothard

Do you ever practice crying out to God for help? 

I think most of us do, especially when we’ve been in serious trouble.  This is how our Biblical predecessors often prayed.  Fervency in prayer and crying out loud is key a deeper prayer life.  My husband has often tells others that fervent, passionate prayer is the type of prayer you’d pray if your airplane were falling from the sky.  You would cry out to God in desperation with all your heart!  There would be no place for distracted, apathetic prayer under those circumstances.  No way!  It would be a life and death matter! 

Many of us are facing impossible circumstances where the "crying out" type of prayer is needed for spiritual breakthrough.  Crying out loud seems to be a key to a powerful prayer life that influences heaven and sees tremendous answers.  Often we are urged by the Spirit to cry an impassioned declaration of God’s powerful ability.  It demonstrates our total dependence on God to accomplish the victory.  We need to catch hold of this truth and apply it to our prayer lives.  We read in Psalm 86:7, “In the day of trouble I will call upon you, for you will answer me.”  When we cry out to God, we experience His all-sufficient, supernatural power to answer us.

God often arranges our circumstances so there seems to be no way out. 

Haven’t you been there?  The problem doesn't seem to go away.  But in response to our crying out to Him, He answers.  He may bring healing, protection, or direction.  He wants to show us that He is our sole saving power when we are at the end of all our known resources.  In the Bible there is a consistent pattern of God's people crying out to Him and His answering in His power.  David often cried aloud to God with deep emotion when in desperate situations, and God answered his cry.  He says in Psalm 61:1, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their trouble."  Bill Gothard in his book The Power of Crying Out states:

"Many believers today seem unaware of this consistent pattern in God's Word.  It could even be said that the most significant difference between the prayers of God's saints in Scripture (so powerfully effective) and our prayers today (so seemingly ineffective) is this: There was a fervency in the prayers of biblical saints - a fervency that is inherent in crying out.”

Crying out to God is not something we do mechanically, but it flows out of our relationship with Him.  Do we really know that God actually hears us and longs to hear our cry?  He is our father and loves to hear our voice.  We have the authority and right as His children to call fervently to our Father.  Do we realize that there is power in the spoken word?  When it is spoken fervently, sincerely and with all our heart, it is even more powerful.  Do we realize that as we cry out to God aloud, He sees that we are seriously and boldly coming to His throne of grace?  Do we not comprehend that when we cry out to God in our distress He will answer? 

We will see that crying out in prayer is the very turning point that brings His deliverance.  It happened often in the Bible and can happen for us as well.  Notice in Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, and 28 how God loves to answer those with a sincere heart in their need.  "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.”  Crying out triggers God's deliverance over and over again.  Many of you are facing desperate situations in your life.  Our nations are facing desperate situations.  A devastating earthquake recently in Haiti, a financial crisis in many nations, starvation and hunger, and so many other alarming situations.  Learn to cry aloud to God with all your heart.  Trust Him - your deliverer - to undertake in your behalf.

"Days of trouble.  Hours of crisis.  Moments of urgent and fearful need.  They come to us all unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.  How can we prepare for such times?  We can prepare by being ready to cry aloud to the Lord for His saving help, boldly expecting His deliverance.  God invites and expects His beloved ones to do exactly that:  ‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble,' He tells us; 'I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” 

The Doulos ship, that sailed from country to country, was our home for several years.  During one of our voyages - with over 300 persons from 40 nations aboard - we were sailing down the coast of South America and were about to enter the Straits of Magellan.  This is a narrow, long passage of quite some distance off the coast of Chile.  Our next port of ministry was the southernmost city at the tip of Chile.  You could consider this area of the world the “ends of the earth.”  The straits are known for their treacherous and dangerous seas. 

The weather at the time was stormy, and the waves were choppy and unsafe which would make it very difficult for our old ship to pass through safely.  This ship - built in 1914 and in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest floating passenger ship in the world - caused great concern as we anticipated this dangerous journey.  In light of our situation, the captain made an urgent request to gather together immediately and pray for God to calm the seas.  He told us to cry out to God to give us a safe passage through the Straits of Magellan so that we could arrive on time at our next port. 

With no time to waste, the entire staff and crew gathered together in our main lounge to pray.  You can imagine the thoughts that raced through our minds and the level of anxiety many of us felt as we hurried to the main lounge.  After all, we were on a tiny, old ship imagining the possibility of being tossed around in treacherous seas.  At that moment we felt very dependent on a supernatural God who could turn our situation around by His power and might. 

We began to pray and cry out to God to calm the seas for His glory.  Perhaps you can guess what happened next.  Yes!  God answered prayer - the seas became still - and the ship passed peacefully through the narrow passage.

My future husband and I sat on deck and admired the beauty of God’s creation in this gorgeous part of the world.  We had met each other on board, and this was our first date and one we will always remember.  During that voyage we saw many shipwrecks along the way right in the midst of all the natural beauty of massive rocks and clear blue seas.  This was a vivid reminder of God’s powerful answer to our desperate prayers.

Is crying out to God effective? 

It certainly is - Our ship was able to reach its destination safely - We were able to continue our conferences and evangelistic programs right on schedule.  God used such a situation to build our faith as we cried out to Him and lived His answer.  He wants to break through in extreme situations.  He will do the same for you as He did for us on this voyage.  I recommend that you read and pray through some of the heartfelt prayers of David.  Psalms 16, 25, 31, 51, and 63 are excellent Psalms that you can pray out loud for yourself and others.

You may be passing through dangerous or difficult waters.  God hears your cry.  He wants to take you deeper in passionate, fervent prayer.  And remember when He answers your prayers, give thanks to Him for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds on your behalf.  Crying out to God for help is a wonderful way to live.  We not only should do it during times of trouble but as we pray for revival in our city and nation.  God loves it when we pray with fervency and passion.

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.  He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.  They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men” (Psalm 107:28-31).

This is from one of the books that I am getting published called Deeper Still: Secrets to a Deeper Prayer Life. 

  

Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

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