Breakthrough in Prayer

“The enemy of our soul wants our full attention at the gate. Fear overtakes us so we will not move forward. Yet there is Another who is not like a roaring lion but is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Mighty Warrior. He will fight for us and blast through every closed place.”  Barbara Yoder

Prayer calls for strenuous persistence until we see the breakthrough. The enemy does not like prayer. He wants to hinder and stop our resolve through discouragement, weariness, persistent obstacles and battle-worn faith that wants to give up. As you pray for all the things that God has laid on your heart, don’t quit. God is able to break through.

But we must persevere, and what has often been said, we must PUSH through in prayer until something happens (Push Until Something Happens). The really powerful things that God wants to do are going to call for this type of tenacity in order to see the breakthrough. Hindrances and obstacles will come - This is all a part of the warfare - But there is victory if we do not quit. We must choose to never give up because there is breakthrough for us, and God will blast through every closed place.

When we need a breakthrough in prayer, we saw in our last teachings that we may feel we are caught in a narrow place. When in a narrow place, there is the tendency to want to go backward and give up, rather than risk and move forward. This is when we may face a crisis as to which way to go. This is where we have to decide. The devil screams in our ear, “Quit - Give up - This is too much for you - You will never win - Take it easy, and be like everyone else.”

At this point, we must decide whether we will continue to press on. We may feel depressed or discouraged because of the intensity of the battle at the threshold of breakthrough. We must not give in to the devil’s lies. He fears our future, and will attack internally and externally. He will attack internally through our identity in Christ and negative emotions, fears and wounds of the past. He will attack externally through other people and situations in our environment.

We must hold fast to what God has told us in our heart. We must increase our intercession, and bathe that vision in prayer again and again.

When we were living in Spain a couple of years ago, we were staying in a beautiful house in the south. It had large rooms and a beautiful mountain scene out the window. There were two main floors in this house. The only way to get to the lower floor was through a tiny winding staircase. When I first arrived and saw that circular staircase going down into my bedroom below, I wondered,

“How will I make it down that tiny little staircase?”

I’m small, but I just wasn’t familiar with that kind of door opening going down to the lower level of the house. Would I fall? I was a bit overwhelmed with all the changes I was making in a new country already. This was a narrow place. It looked hard to go through, but we knew that if we wanted to sleep that night (and we were tired), we needed to go down that narrow and winding staircase while holding tightly onto the small handrail. At first there was a feeling of discomfort at the threshold. But after some time, we went up and down that staircase quickly and with no fear. And we made part of that lower floor into a wonderful prayer room! The challenge was well worth it.

We need to understand the narrow place.

When we are at the gate or at the threshold, we are often at a narrow place where we feel we can neither go forward or backward. It is easy to feel depressed at the gate because it is narrow and there seems to be no way through. The word narrow is sometimes translated as trouble. In the New Testament, it is translated as afflicted or to suffer tribulation, and it means pressure.

The Apostle Paul experienced the narrow place when he said in 2 Corinthians 4:8, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” He knew what it was like to feel extremely uncomfortable at the threshold of breakthrough.

“In the Old Testament, narrow is translated as tight place, i.e. trouble; crowded by an opponent, adversary, afflicted, anguish, close, distress, enemy, foe, small, sorrow, strait, tribulation. Those words give a picture of extreme discomfort and challenge. That is why people feel as if the wind is knocked out of their sails at the gate. They feel overwhelmed or overcome in their emotions and their faith.”  Barbara Yoder

With all the difficulties and discomforts at the narrow place, we need supernatural help. We need God to bring us forward and break through for us. We read in Micah 2:13, “One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.”  

God will break through for us. He is developing us in the process, and we need to consider this process pure joy, because God is developing our faith and maturity. We must not give way to discouragement, but instead move into a positive anticipation of the future. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

“When we face a gate, we are at a crossroad. Which fork we take will determine the harvest and inheritance we loose. Paul said that whatsoever a man sows, that will he reap (see Galatians 6:7). If we sow faith, we will reap the rewards of faith. We will obtain the promise. If we sow doubt and unbelief, we will reap the rewards by not entering the new place, the place of promise.”  Barbara Yoder

Sow faith so that you can obtain the promise. How do you do that? There are several things to consider as you pray and cooperate with God to see the breakthrough.  

• Don’t give in - Don’t give into fear, despair, or hopelessness because this will entraps you. In your prayers, praise and thank God for what He will do in you and how He will break through for you.  

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

• Remember - Remember what God has done for you in the past. Meditate on past experiences in your life where God helped you and brought blessing.  

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11-12).

• Strengthen - Strengthen your faith through the Word of God. The Bible will help you to continue to believe the truth rather than the lies of the enemy. Pray God’s promises over your situation.  

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). 

• Persevere - Persevere in prayer with unwavering faith. Increase your intercession, and press on to lay hold of God in prayer during a difficult time.  

“…but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).

• Build - Build a new history. Don’t let your past determine your future. Believe that God is leading you on in triumph. 

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal process in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

• Expect  - Expect God to break through and bring you to a new place. Thank and praise Him with expectation. Live hopefully, patiently, and faithfully as you pray for breakthrough.   

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12). 

Remember that God is able to break through every barrier. He can break through the obstacles and bring you to a new level of victory in your life. Great things happen when there is breakthrough because it affects everything. Long-term barriers are broken. We move into a larger place, and there is an increase in blessing. The harvest is released, revival breaks out, and churches in the city begin to grow. The powers of darkness are broken.

When there is breakthrough, joy and new understanding break out. Where there was once darkness, suddenly there is new light and revelation. Worship, prayer, and thanksgiving explode in breakthrough. Even nature is affected. We read in Isaiah 44:23, “Sing for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forest and all your trees…”

It’s time to believe God for breakthroughs!

A Prayer for Breakthrough

“Lord, I thank You for teaching me about breakthrough prayer. Help me to persevere in prayer until there is a breakthrough. I choose to not give up in the narrow places (name those narrow places in your life). Show me the way in which I should go, and help me to hold fast to You as I move forward. I claim Micah 2:13, ‘One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.’ You will break through the gate for me. I choose to positively anticipate my future. Help me to consider the testing of my faith as joy because I know that it develops perseverance (James 1:2-4). I want to be mature and complete. Help me never give in to fear or hopelessness (2 Timothy 1:7).

I will remember what You have done in the past (Psalm 77:11-12). I will strengthen my faith in Your Word (Romans 10:17). I will press on to take hold of that for which You have taken hold of me (Philippians 3:12). And I will expect You to bring me to a new place of breakthrough. I choose to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12). Thank You for being the God of the breakthrough. Thank You for breaking through for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

“We as believers need to press into God, dust our faith off, get into the Word of God and prayer, and begin to believe God for a fresh wind of prophetic revelation that will impart faith and vision. The Word of God is full of promises concerning our victory and our future. Everything in the Bible is about overcoming. That was, in part, what Jesus’ death and resurrection were about. Jesus experienced the ultimate breakthrough when He overcame death. He had to risk dying to overcome it. The gate of hell or death could not prevail.” Barbara Yoder
  
By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
deb@intercessorsarise.org
http://www.intercessorsarise.org

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Breakthrough Faith at the Gates


“Gates are where we win or lose. That is why Scripture uses gates as the place to be broken through. We must break through intimidation, faithlessness, fear, hopelessness, despair, or whatever else looms like an unconquerable foe at the gates. The threshold is where we either leap forward or back out. Yet once we leap, it is where we meeting the incredible supernatural power of God to break through before us victorious over every obstacle. It is after we leap that we begin to possess our inheritance for the current season. It is where increase and abundance come in whatever dimension we are crossing over into. It is there we meet God in a way that is new.”  Barbara Yoder

The death and resurrection of Jesus was the greatest breakthrough in all of history. Take time to think about this astounding breakthrough. Jesus broke the power of death and evil when He died on the cross for our sins. His resurrection is proof of the most wonderful and glorious accomplishment on earth. He provided a way of breakthrough for those who trust in Him. 

There are shut doors that need to be opened by the resurrection power of God. There are long-term barriers where we need the explosive power and might of God to break through. Our God has the breakthrough anointing for each one of us. We don’t have to feel trapped in a narrow place. He will use His authority and force to open the gates that have been shut. 

Perhaps you are still waiting for a breakthrough in your life.

Jesus has the breaker anointing to break through in any situation that you or I may face. We need breakthrough in order to see heaven come on earth and to see the Kingdom of God released among us. God is looking for people who believe Him for breakthrough. 

God wants us to rise up in faith in order to see the breakthrough. He is the one who will break through for you, but He needs your cooperation to open the gates - the opening to those closed places - that lie before you. Barbara Yoder in her book, The Breaker Anointing shares with us what faith will do for us.

“It opens the gate of heaven. When heaven’s gates open, what is in heaven comes down to earth. Health, wholeness, peace, love, grace, glory, revelation, strategy, and all the rest of the nature of God and His Kingdom come down when the gates open.”

As I have already said, the enemy tries to restrict us. He coils around us and tightens His grip like the python snake. He wants to restrict the Church worldwide, but we know that the Gates of Hades will not prevail against her (Matthew 16:18). Gates are exit and entry points that must be opened. Especially when we are at the place of threshold, the enemy will try to terminate our forward movement. He will attack with fear and through squeezing the life out of us. 

There is warfare at the gates and especially at the threshold of breakthrough. This is where we must overcome. The Hebrew root meaning for threshold, gate or door is “caphaph” and means “to snatch away or terminate”. The other word for threshold is “pethen” and means “to twist as a snake”. It even sounds like the python and may be where the name of this snake originated. 

When we are experiencing strong enemy warfare at the gates, it may seem that there is no life or direction but only darkness, despair, and the feeling of being lost. This is not what God wants for us. This is an enemy attack at the point of threshold and breakthrough. He tries to snatch away our destiny and seeks to terminate our work for God at this point. There is fear at the brink or threshold because we are moving into a new place or territory. It is as if we are at the precipice of a mountain and there is a fear of risk, because there is a need for more faith in order to leap over to the other side. 

Haven’t you been there? You know you must jump but your flesh doesn’t want to. It’s too risky. You might fall.  

We made a move for several months to southern Spain where I experienced this first-hand. I knew I had to jump and make the move, yet it was so hard personally. My cozy home seemed just too comfortable and the unknown was not very appealing. But after I made that jump and settled into the new place, everything changed.

God began to open new doors of breakthrough, but I had to take that first step and by faith go through the gate God had put before me. I won a victory at that gate, but it was a place of real personal battle until I finally stepped through it. I had to wrestle through to a new place of victory. I had to give up what I had before and cross over into that new place. It wasn’t easy but it was necessity.   

In 5 weeks we are making a move to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri in order to base our ministries from that location. It’s a huge step. We’ve been in Virginia Beach for 15 years, but God wants us to move forward in faith. We’ve sold our home and are driving a truckload of all of our belongings to Kansas City without having a place to unload it!  We are trusting God to break through for us. We sold our house almost instantly but that’s another story I will have to tell you in the future. God broke through in an incredible way!

We are all overcomers through Christ. He is the one who will win the victory, but we have to exercise our faith. He is the one who will break through for us, but He wants our cooperationH . We need God’s supernatural intervention to break through gates. It is impossible for humans to do it, but God will go before us and break through. He will break through those impenetrable gates before you to bring you into new places of victory. Isaiah 45:2, “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze (brass) and cut the bars of iron.”    

I encourage you to persevere in faith, and do not give up. 

There are breakthroughs in prayer that are close at hand. The enemy is trying to terminate your forward movement. You may be battling in faith and feel hindered by the enemy. Press on and press through for the breaker, Jesus, will surely come, and He will come with His resurrection power. In 2005 I found out I had breast cancer. Having a life-threatening disease was a great test of faith. What God was showing me during the months of going through breast cancer  - with continual challenges of faith daily - was that He was preparing me spiritually for the next step. I could never move further without this personal preparation. 

Intercessors are key to the world harvest that we are beginning to see in the nations. The enemy knows this and is trying to hinder the prayer movement. He will do this by trying to hinder the faith of God’s people. God has been preparing you for the future. This is the time to crossover to a new place and to take new territory for the Kingdom of God. But this involves letting go and moving forward with God in a dimension you have never known before.

“Crossing over require us to give up something that is precious to us such as a prized possession. It may be a thing, an attitude, a person, security, or our desire for the future. It can be anything that we hold on to when the only way to get to the other side is to let go of it. There is an aspect of idolatry to that. It has become a god to us, something we worship and to which we are bowing our knee. To cross over will mean to let go of that which will not fit through the gate with us.”  Barbara Yoder

How to Break Through in Faith


Many of you may be at the door, at the threshold point of breakthrough in faith. The enemy is taunting and trying to stop you from forward movement. The keys are a breakthrough God. What do you need to do in order to see the breakthrough and touch the God of the breakthrough? Remember, there are things you must let go of in order to see the breakthrough. Here are some keys that will help release your faith and unlock the door to breakthrough: 

• Realize that God is going to break through for you - You can’t do it by yourself. He has the resurrection power to break through every obstacle in your life. Meditate on God and His Word until you know that He is the breakthrough God for you.  
• Yield all control to God - Let go of the known and trust God to get you across to the other side. So often we try to control our own lives. We must let go of anything that God may want us to give up. We need to yield our will, and move to a new level of trust in God.
• Wait on God and find out what action He wants you to take - Be still and make sure you know God’s leading in your life. Some of you may be in a place of waiting, and it may take faith to wait. But others of you may know what God wants you to do, but you have been hesitant and fearful. Hesitate no longer.
• Move forward in faith and obedience - Bold action will open the gate and release God’s spiritual power. Do not waver because of fear. Take a leap of faith. God will catch you in His arms on the other side. 

Realize that if you refuse to leap at the point of breakthrough, you have made a choice to stop. Then you are stuck at that place until you go back and again choose to step out by faith. God will then open up new revelation to you. You’ll wonder why you had been so hesitant. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

We will come to this choice of breakthrough again and again in our lives. God expects us to walk by faith daily. Remember that Jesus’ death and resurrection was the greatest place of breakthrough. 

Jesus broke through every power of darkness when He died on the cross. His resurrection is the key to all power and all victory against the enemy attacks we face today. We can walk in great faith without fear because our King has already won the battle at the cross. We can pray great prayers without doubt or fear, because we pray them in His most powerful Name.

A Breakthrough Prayer for Faith at the Gates

“Lord, I thank You that Your death on the cross and resurrection was the greatest breakthrough in all of history. You have provided the way for breakthrough. Your resurrection power can open any door. I want to believe You for breakthrough in my life. Today I ask You to break through in the following areas (name those areas specifically). I want to see the Kingdom of God released in this place. Help me to believe You for a greater breakthrough. Open heaven’s gates and bring heaven to earth in these situations. Help me to cooperate with You and move forward in faith. I claim Your promises in Isaiah 45:2, ‘I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze (brass) and cut the bars of iron.’ Break through every obstacle of the enemy in my life and make the crooked places straight. Bring me into a new place of victory. 

I choose to persevere in faith and not give up. Help me to go through the gate - crossover to a new place - and take new territory for the Kingdom of God. I choose to let go of anything that will not fit through the gate. I yield all control and choose to wait on You. Show me what action You want me to take. I choose to let go of the known and the comfortable, and I trust You to get me across to the other side. Help me to move forward in faith and obedience. Hebrews 11:6 says, ‘And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’ I earnestly seek You Lord. Help me to walk by faith every day. Thank You for breaking through for me at the gates. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

“Today, as much as at any time, we need men of great faith and men who are great in prayer. These are the two chief virtues that make men great in the eyes of God. These two things create conditions of real spiritual success in the life and work of the church. It is our main concern to see that we keep this kind of quality faith before God. This kind of faith grasps and holds in its keeping the things for which it asks without doubt and fear.”  E. M. Bounds

  

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

To subscribe to Intercessors Arise, click

intercessorsarise-international-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org