Intercessors Arise International

2010-06-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Increase Our Faith

"The utmost possibilities of prayer have rarely been realized. The promises of God are so great to those who truly pray, when He puts Himself so fully into the hands of the praying ones, that it almost staggers our faith and causes us to hesitate in astonishment. He promises to answer, to do and to give 'all things', 'any thing', 'whatsoever', and 'all things whatsoever' are so large, so great, so exceedingly broad, that we stand back in amazement.” E. M. Bounds

As we grow in prayer, we need to ask God to increase our faith. We are going to need an increase in our faith for prayer for the future. The days are going to get tougher. It is very Biblical to ask God for increased faith. Intercessors need to take action in radical faith for the many things that are happening in the world globally, nationally, and citywide. Faith is able to break through tremendous obstacles. This was the prayer of the apostles. The Bible says in Luke 17:5, "The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’"

Why is faith so important for us at this time?

Faith gives us the ability to obey God even in impossible situations. It’s a way to receive supernatural help from God. In these coming days we will be called by God to obey in a way we have never seen before. We will need his supernatural help more than ever. We need to see His power demonstrated in the needy world around us. We need great faith in order to stand firm in God's peace with all the rapid changes we are experiencing all over the world.

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, Paul encourages the church to "stand firm in your faith." Faith in God and His supernatural provision will keep us steadfast and stable when all around us is shaking. Increased faith in prayer will bring forth mighty results, and God will move in a supernatural way.

An extraordinary example of the prayer of faith was in a young man who believed that God answers prayer in a powerful way. Duncan Campbell, a well-known preacher, had been speaking in Scotland and stopped preaching because of spiritual resistance in the meeting. He took notice of a young man who had extraordinary faith in prayer that brought extraordinary results. Kathy Walters record the following in “Notes from the Welsh Revival”:
“Just then he noticed Donald, visibly moved under a deep burden for souls. He thought, ‘This boy is in touch with God, and living nearer to the Savior than I am.’ He said, ‘Donald, will you lead us in prayer?’ The young lad rose to his feet… He began to sob, then lifting his eyes toward heaven, cried, ‘Oh God, there is power, let it loose!’ The Spirit of God swept into the building and the heavens were opened. The church resembled a battlefield. On one side many were prostrated over the seats weeping and sighing; on the other side some were affected by throwing their arms up in the air in a rigid posture for an hour. God had come!

As the preacher came out of the church, the Holy Spirit swept in among the people in the road like a wind. They gripped each other in fear. In agony of soul they trembled; many wept and some fell to the ground under great conviction of sin. Several men were found lying by the side of the road in such distress that they could not even speak - yet they had not been anywhere near the church!

So great was the supernatural moving of God that most of the homes did not escape the conviction of the Spirit, and the routine of business was stopped, that the island might seek the face of God like Nineveh of Bible days. The town was changed, lives and homes transformed…”

See how God can touch a town when there is fervent faith in prayer together with a holy life. This young man knew how to touch heaven and change earth with his prayers. Donald is a good example of fervency in prayer. You and I must pray for increased faith for prayer. But how can we increase our faith level personally?

Ways to Increase Our Faith

Take time to study these points along with the Scriptures. Pray them into your life. Learn to live life expectantly, linking your faith to God’s ability.

Ask God to increase your faith - This is what the apostles did. They linked their faith to God’s promises. Nothing is impossible with faith. We read in Matthew 17:20-21, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Study diligently the Word of God - Ask God to speak as you meditate on Scripture. The enemy will throw fiery darts, so be sure to stand against his lies with the truth of God’s Word. Paul says in Ephesians 6:16 to "take up the shield of faith.”

Read the Bible out loud for spiritual breakthrough - There is something powerful that happens when you speak out the Word of God. Reading the word out loud makes it more tangible and breaks through demonic powers.

Recognize God’s greatness, and don’t magnify your problems - Concentrate on God’s attributes rather than your weakness. Problems seem to grow when you dwell on them and that will minimize your faith. God is far greater than any problem, and we must believe Him for miracles.

Push past your limitations - Stretch past your boundaries, and live outside your comfort zone. Learn to step out by faith in what God tells you to do.

Practice positive confession - If you say what you believe and confess it with your mouth, you are lifted into that domain. Once you know the heart of God, you can pray it boldly and then walk in faith even before you see the answer.

Learn to pray with expectancy - Believe that God will do something when you ask. Believe that He wants to answer your prayers. Don’t just act like he can do something, but believe that He will do something.

Your faith will be tested and stretched, but this is how it grows strong. James 1:3 talks about the “testing of your faith.” I had to learn to walk in a deeper level of faith over the last few months. After spending 3 months at the IHOP (International House of Prayer), we felt that we should sell our house and move there. It was a big step of faith.

We came back to Virginia Beach and were just beginning to get our house ready when we saw a realtor in his car further down the street. Suddenly without giving it a second thought I ran down the street and asked him if he was looking for houses. I explained that we were going to put ours on the market. Without hesitation he asked me if he could show it to a young couple. I told him my husband was painting our upstairs bathroom and it was messy. There was paint and torn wallpaper everywhere!

He didn’t care. It was a God moment. I ran home, raced upstairs, and told my husband someone was coming to look at our house immediately! Five minutes later the doorbell rang and there they were. We gave them a tour of the house and they loved it. They left and ten minutes later they were back and wanted to buy our house!

We packed up our home in a big truck and a few weeks later we were gone on our way to Kansas City. The home we had wanted to buy in Kansas City was sold so we had to leave Virginia Beach homeless and by faith. It was a real test of our faith. We had prayed with expectancy for that house but had lost it.

Could we ever find a house like that one? We questioned our hearts very seriously. We had prayed with expectancy, we were outside our comfort zone, we had practiced positive confession, but everything had fallen through. And here we were riding in a truck with most of our belongings to Kansas City without a home.

Due to some unexpected difficulties we actually closed on our house in the middle of our journey, signing papers at a truck stop and faxing them back to the lawyer. It was amazing. The week after arriving, we looked and looked at houses. We felt exhausted from the looking and were getting quite discouraged as our faith was being tested.

Finally we looked for the third time at one house. It was the perfect one for our ministry. It was better than the first one. God has broken through in a marvelous way and 2 days ago we bought the house! We are so excited. God answers prayer. When he closes one door, he opens a bigger one!

I was not always successful in my faith. At times in this journey I doubted and my faith seemed small. But God was stretching us.

I desperately want to grow in faith and believe God for the impossible. I realize that if I am not asking God for something that is beyond my capabilities and in the realm of the supernatural, than I am not asking “big enough” in my prayers. I want to see God move in miraculous power as in Donald’s testimony. I want to ascend the heights in prayer. My desire for all of us is Paul’s statement in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, "their faith was greatly enlarged." I encourage you to step out in faith in your life and watch what God can do. Ask God to increase your faith.

To purchase my new e-book called Breakthrough Prayer: Praying God’s Truth - overcoming Enemy Lies see http://intercessorsarise.org. Be sure to put 1 for quantity. The paperback version is not yet available.

"Prayer is not an indifferent or a small thing. It is not a sweet, little privilege. It is a great prerogative, far-reaching in its effects. Failure to pray entails losses far beyond the person who neglect it. Prayer is not a mere episode of the Christian life. Rather, the whole life is a preparation for and the result of prayer. In its condition, prayer is the sum of religion. Faith is but a channel of prayer. Faith gives it wings and swiftness. Prayer is the lungs through which holiness breathes."

Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

To subscribe to Intercessors Arise, click

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2010-06-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

The Power of Worship

"Whatever the issue in your life is, the key is to worship a holy God who created you and knows everything about you - your failures, shortcomings, insecurities, besetting sins and fears. He sits on His throne, omniscient, and says something like this: 'I know your final destination, and I know how to get you from where you are now to where I want you to be. I know why I created you. If you'll worship Me, I will visit with you. I can tell you how to get untangled from the snares in your path and how to move forward. I can even reveal to you things to come that are pertinent to your life and world.'" Chuck Pierce with John Dickson

There is power in worshipping God. If we want to see breakthroughs in our life and in the lives of others, than this is the time to enter into deeper levels of worship both personally and corporately. It is only as we ascend to the throne room in worship that we can descend back into the harvest field here on earth, praying and warring for victory in every area of life. When you and I come boldly to God's throne in worship, He gives us His plans and strategies for our lives here on earth. There is no way that we can walk in His peace, power, and perfect plan without a lifestyle of worship.

To ascend is to arise, come up, increase, recover and restore. God wants us to rise up. He knows what He is doing here on earth. He can make sense of things that are happening and can show us the way through challenges. He can strengthen us in prayer and intercession and give us keys during our seasons of worship that unlock the path before us and bring glory into our situations here on earth. It's time to devote our self to a greater worship of the Lord.

Worship changes our lives and how we see our circumstances.

It is amazing to see life from God's point of view instead of our own. Living for many years on a missionary ship, at sea I would often feel seasick. Some voyages could be quite long and very stormy. If you’ve had the flu, you can imagine how uncomfortable that could be. One day on a rough voyage would seem like an eternity! There was no way to escape the up and down or side to side motion of that ship.

But I did find one way to lessen the pain. My solution was to walk out on deck with my worship music and praise God as I gazed at the ocean. After an hour on deck worshipping God, my situation would seem very different - I would even feel better physically. It seemed like a miracle at sea, and in a very real sense worship does bring forth miracles.

A lifestyle of worship is the key to life.

We are entering turbulent waters, and we must lay hold of this reality so that each one of us may stand firm, hold steady, and pray fervently as the days unfold before us. There is no storm that Jesus will not be able to conquer. If we worship Him in the midst of resistance, we shall see His victory. He can break through any obstacle when we make worship our lifestyle. The Psalms are filled with worship. Psalm 96:1-3 is a good example.

"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”

Best-selling prayer author, Stormie Omartian, shares about an extremely difficult time in her life when she felt empty, paralyzed, and depressed. During that time the Lord spoke to her and said, “Simply worship Me.” This radically changed her life. In her book, The Prayer That Changes Everything, she says,

“We were created to worship God. It’s a state in which our soul finds true peace, rest, and purpose. But it must become a condition of the heart, a way of life, a pattern woven into the fabric of our being. Worship must become so ongoing that it is no longer even a decision that has to be made because the decision has already been made. Worship must become a lifestyle. When you make worship a lifestyle, it will determine in whose image you will be formed and what you become. Sometimes praise and worship will be the only thing you do in a situation. You will stand and praise God while the tornados of life whirl around you, and you will see God move on your behalf. And then you will understand the hidden power of praise. When you understand that concept, it will change your life.”

We all go through difficult times. In the midst of them, God loves persevering worship. Do you find it easy to worship God when facing difficulty? None of us do. This week we are moving out of our home in Virginia Beach after living here for 15 years. It is not easy packing, selling cars, or saying good-bye to so many people. It is not easy for my husband to drive a truck loaded with all our belongings to a place where you do not yet have a home. But the solution is praise and worship. God has it all figured out, and worship opens the way before us. There is power in worshipping God.

John Dickson was a man who faced an oppressive cloud of difficulty. He operated a Christian bookstore that went through a terrible financial crisis. Here is his testimony of how God broke through in his life.

"Sometimes we just have to tell our soul what to do. Our soul does not always feel like praising God. As I praised Him as an act of my will, my spirit began to awaken inside me. As my soul began to line up with my proclamations, a flow of anointing began to be released. The oppressive cloud would lift, and the presence of God would come into my store. Over time my business turned around, and I knew it was not because of my keen business… It was the Lord. He turned my business around because I praised Him in the hard place."

Are you overwhelmed by the troubles of life?

Are you overwhelmed by your circumstances?

Then praise and worship God with all your heart. Be radical and see the enemy flee. As you press through the heaviness, a transformation will take place. You will begin to see the beauty and greatness of God. Your faith will rise up. Your spirit will begin to sing. But you must take the first step. Open your mouth and begin. He can turn any darkness into light. Here is a breakthrough prayer to help you cultivate a lifestyle of worship.

A Breakthrough Prayer for a Lifestyle of Worship

“Lord, I choose to praise and worship You today. You know how to break through the difficulties in my life. I choose not to be overwhelmed with circumstances, but instead I choose to behold your beauty and greatness. You are my victorious God. I will praise Your name and proclaim Your salvation day after day. I will declare Your glory among the nations, Your marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96:1-3). I will sing to the Lord a new song.

Teach me to ascend to Your throne room in worship and then descend back into the harvest field here on earth, praying and warring for victory in every area of life. Help me to have a lifestyle of worship, thanking You in every situation. I believe that worshipping You is a key to breakthrough in every area of my life. I believe in the power of worshipping You . I know that Your truth dwells in a worshipping heart. I offer You a sacrifice of praise right now. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Notice the transformation that took place as John Dickson began to praise God right in the midst of a crisis. God brought victory and breakthrough. We can easily be overwhelmed by personal trials, but instead let’s be overwhelmed by the beauty of God. He loves it when we persevere in worshipping Him. He breaks through in our situation when we do this.

"When things are wonderful, we praise Him. When things are horrible, we praise Him. Whether we are happy or sad or terrified or bored, we are determined to offer to God our sacrifice of praise. Everything in us should give praise to the Lord.”

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

2010-06-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

God’s Watchmen

“Intercessors have strategic assignments in their prayer closets. The prayer closet is like those ancient watchtowers. From there, they can scour ‘the spiritual horizon’ like air traffic controllers. They often sense spiritual things discerning the good from the bad, the welcome from the unwelcome. In prayer, God sometimes exposes the enemy’s plans and shows the intercessor ‘the cards that Satan is holding.’” Eddie and Alice Smith

If ever there was a need for watchful prayer, it is now! We need to be watchful, especially as we see major changes happening worldwide on a weekly basis. Many of us watch the daily news to see in the natural what is happening, but God wants us to watch and see spiritually what is occurring on the earth. It is time for all of us to get our lives in order before the Lord, become watchful in prayer, and find our position as God’s watchmen on the watchtower.

Intercessors are front-line soldiers.

They see into the distance, observe what is happening, and lean forward in prayer. Sometimes they see with eyes of discernment, and at other times they may see things way in advance. God gives them insight in order to intercede. The Greek word for “watch” means, “to be vigilant, wake, to be watchful.” Jim Goll, well-known author, speaker and intercessory leader, says:

“A watchman on the wall does many things. He carefully watches what is happening and alerts the community when good ambassadors approach the city… A watchman also warns the city far in advance when an enemy approaches. He sounds an alarm to awaken the people because he knows ‘to forewarn them is to alert and arm them.’ Then they quickly can rally to take their stand on the wall against the enemy before he wrongfully tries to enter into the city.”

What does watching mean for you personally?

What does God want you to concentrate on during prayer and intercession?

For what has He given you discernment or a burden?

It may be your school, neighborhood, city, nation, or a particular people group. This is where we need to watch and pray. When we see danger coming, we pray and ask others to pray. We cry out to God to bring salvation, deliverance and make His name known. We pray against evil intruding in the area where we are keeping watch. We say “no” to the powers of darkness in Jesus’ name. We pray for God’s peace instead of fear, for life instead of death, and for hope instead of hopelessness.

At the same time, all of us need to be on the alert and pray diligently for the nations. For many years we lived on a ship that brought the light of the Gospel to various nations. Every hour of every day watchmen had to be on duty. These watchmen kept alert to any possible dangers that might come toward our ship - dangerous weather, thieves, fire, and other possible threats to our safety. During their watch, they stayed alert. They knew that being a watchman was a serious responsibility.

You and I must be vigilant as a watchman for our nation. Although we may get weary and tired, we have a responsibility. We are called to pray for our president, prime minister, or king. We are on watch. We read in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” In Isaiah 62:6-7 the Bible speaks of watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem:

“I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.”

God is raising up watchmen in this hour because the need for day and night prayer for our cities is urgent. Let the following grip your heart. This is adapted from George Otis, Jr., the president and founder of the research group, the Sentinel, and the producer of the Transformation videos:

"If the Church is the nations best hope, it must be awakened from its slumber and fast. Revival must become an urgent priority, not just a theological or historical curiosity. Its promotion must become the task of every pulpit, its implementation the responsibility of every believer. For this to happen, desperate intercessors must prevail upon God to provoke within His people a deep and widespread dissatisfaction with the religious status quo.

The Church needs godly shepherds who will resolutely refuse to downplay the urgency of the hour and the seriousness of the present condition. She requires committed prophets who will seize every opportunity to acknowledge with Ezekiel: ‘Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them’ (Ezekiel 33:10). We have come to the point, both as individuals and as a Church, where we can no longer coast on the momentum of past deeds and choices. Our relationship with God has become fallow, and it can only become fruitful again through true repentance and unreserved obedience.

In this unsettled hour, the eyes of the Lord are upon His people. Will He find faith in the earth? Will He find a hunger for His presence? Will He find a ready remnant through whom He can speak to the nations and their leaders? Let us press in to hear what the Spirit has to say to the Church. If this requires us to suspend, at least temporarily, some of our most cherished routines - let us seize the moment!”

You and I are in a serious spiritual war. Failing to take our post during these days of uncertainty could lead to serious consequences. We must be vigilant and not apathetic - We must be careful and not lax - We must watch with a serious gaze to hear and see all that God is saying and doing. Our families, our churches, our missionaries, and our nations are important.

If watchmen do not keep their post on a ship during serious weather conditions, it could mean the loss of the ship and every person on board. Remember the Titanic, which sank very quickly because the watchmen were not doing their job. Let’s learn to concentrate on prayer, listening with expectation, and seize the moment as we keep our watch. Let’s learn to be God’s Watchmen.

“Watchmen are ordinarily placed on the walls of a city to give notice to the rulers of coming danger. God appoints watchmen not only to warn men - often they will not hear - but also to summon Him to come to their aid whenever need or the enemy may be threatening. The great mark of the intercessors are that they are not to hold their peace day or night, to take no rest, and to give God no rest, until the deliverance comes. In faith they may count upon the assurance that God will answer their prayers.” Andrew Murray

Written by Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

2010-05-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

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

To subscribe to Intercessors Arise, click
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2010-05-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

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 cooperation. 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

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2010-04-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

God’s Boundary Lines

“The Holy Spirit has hedged us in according to God’s divinely set boundary lines. The devil also sets boundary lines, but his boundary lines are always to shrink us, to bind us, to pull us back and to remove from us the spirit of faith and vision… Through faith and intercessory prayer, we are to move the boundary lines back to God’s prescribed position.” Frank Damazio

Boundaries and borders are an important part of life. We have boundaries around our property, around our city, and even around our job. These boundaries protect us and help us to know our limits in how we should live and work. They also give us liberty, knowing how far we can freely go.

Boundaries help us to stand watch and protect what is within our borders. Our next-door neighbor (a difficult one) has always tried to encroach on the boundary line of our property, and it is through prayer and building a fence that we have protected what is rightfully ours. Through cutting down our tree, poisoning our plants and pushing against our fence, he has tried to steal or damage the property that belongs to us. These are physical boundaries.

In a similar way, we all have spiritual boundaries. God has given us authority and influence in certain areas, and we need to protect and stay within those boundaries. In order to move forward in the fullness of the authority of God’s borders, we must realize that the devil also has ways he tries to restrict our borders. He has a plan to hedge us in, to restrict and hinder all that God has planned for us. God wants us to reach our full potential, the full limits of His boundaries for us, while the devil wants to narrow us in and cause us to miss the full calling God has on our lives. In a real sense, he wants to poison and damage our inheritance.

The good news is that intercessory prayer can push back the boundary lines of the enemy.

We can learn a lesson from the python, a snake that likes to squeeze its prey to death. A python does not swallow its victim. If it catches a bird, it curls around it and slowly crushes it. With a deceptive plan, it pauses and waits for the bird to breathe in. As it breathes in and out, the python tightens its hold very slowly. Every time the bird breathes in, the python waits. When it breathes out, the python tightens its grip. Finally there is no air for the bird - it gasps for a breath and dies.

This is how the enemy works with us. He quietly and slowly limits our life and vision. He may squeeze us for days, weeks, or months. We breathe in and he closes in tighter. It happens so slowly that we don’t even notice it. But we are being squeezed and limited - unable to breathe freely - and eventually are pressed into bondage. Frank Damazio in his book Seasons of Intercession describes so clearly how intercessory prayer can push God’s boundary lines back into place. He says:

“But intercessory prayer pushes the lines back to where God has ordained them to be. Intercessors sense the work of the enemy, but they also realize God’s destiny for the situation. God has always set generous boundary lines for each individual, for His people, but that inheritance was only reached through warfare prayer… As God has given each one of us an inheritance, we need to reach our furthestmost borderlines through spiritual warfare. As we engage in intercessory prayer, God urges us to stretch out to break out.”

A few years ago my husband and I were at a conference for pastors and leaders. During one of the sessions, the speaker asked for those to come forward who felt like they were being restricted or squeezed like a python. A large number of leaders went forward. We were among them. The speaker then interceded and prayed a powerful warfare prayer for the group.

I remember the difference I felt after that intercessory prayer for us. It was as if a heaviness and weight had lifted. It was as if I could breathe freely once again. I knew that God had broken through in each one of our lives. This was very real and it made a huge difference. Realize that if you feel restricted, the devil may be behind the heaviness and weight that is pressing you down. You have an inheritance, and God wants you to break free. There is a future and a hope for you!

We each have a destination and we need to stretch towards it just as the Apostle Paul did. He said in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”

Paul was not willing to let the devil restrict him. He was not willing to be limited into mediocrity - He stretched to the boundaries God had set for him - He pressed through every difficulty in prayer. The word push or press in this verse means, “to press violently, to push one’s way into, to pursue, to speed on as in a race”. There are times that we must press through in prayer in order to see the fulfillment of what God has told us.

You have dreams God has given you.

You may have dreams of what God wants to do in the prayer ministry of your church or city. You may have dreams of working among drug addicts, reaching other nations, or starting a house of prayer. Establish your dream in the spiritual realm through persevering prayer. Do not let the enemy limit your vision or crush your dream. Don’t give in to discouragement, one of the enemy’s most potent weapons. Worship and praise God for what He is going to do. Keep establishing it in the spiritual realm through intercessory prayer. Build a spiritual fence around your boundary lines and the inheritance that God has for you, and do not let the devil encroach on your territory.

How do we do this? Here are some important things to remember in establishing your boundaries. Some of this is a reminder of what we already have emphasized, but we must do it again and again as we press through into new territory.

Establishing Your Boundary Lines

Know your God-given boundary lines - Know the boundaries God has ordained for you, strengthen your stakes, and push to their limits. Don’t let the devil squeeze you into a narrow place. “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2).
Repent of Satanic strongholds in your life - Strongholds are false beliefs (“It will never happen”, “I can’t do anything right”, “I’m a failure”, etc.) that cause fear, grief, worry, and all sorts of negative feelings. These are lies of the devil. We must repent of them as sin because this is where we have believed the lies of the enemy instead of the truth of God. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…” (Isaiah 30:15).
Strengthen your faith in God’s Word - Shake off the negative feelings of insecurity, doubt, and hopelessness. No longer dwell on what is contrary to God’s Word but think on whatever is positive. “Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion” (Isaiah 52:2).
Speak the Word of God out loud over your situation - Speak out verses God has given you for your situation. God’s Word will shatter the enemy’s work. “‘Is not my word like fire’, declares the Lord, ‘and like a ham-mer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” (Jeremiah 23:29).
Worship and proclaim praise at what God is going to do - Do this by faith even before you see it in the natural. You are building in the spirit realm first. “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs” (Psalm 100:2).
Walk in obedience to whatever God tells you to do - Run towards His commands, and hold fast to His truth. “I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statutes, O Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free” (Psalm 119:30-32).

Let us not let the enemy tighten his grip and squeeze us into a narrow place. It doesn’t feel good. God has promised each one of us a future and a hope. He wants to give us breakthrough faith in prayer!

“If you fear that your life is a waste or painfully limited, if you are dissatisfied and there seems to be nothing you can do about it, if you feel trapped, with no options, and think that life is all over for you, then you have been squeezed, limited. Your boundary lines have been moved back by demonic forces. This work of the devil strives to ruin your life, cause you to accept the narrow box he has put you in. Through intercessory prayer, you need to believe Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.’” Frank Damazio

A Breakthrough Prayer for God’s Boundary Lines

“Lord, teach me to live within Your boundary lines for me. Help me to use Your authority within those boundaries. I pray that You would break through any restrictions that the enemy has put upon my life. I thank You that he will not damage my inheritance. You will help me to reach my full potential in You. The enemy will not limit my vision and all that You have planned for me. Help me to stretch beyond my limitations to the boundary you have set for me. ‘I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me’ (Philippians 3:12). I choose to press through in prayer and become all that You have designed me for. I partner with You with my dreams and the desires of my heart. I refuse to let the devil squeeze me into a narrow place but I stretch forth my stakes, pushing to the limits (Isaiah 54:2). I repent of believing the lies of the devil (name any lies you have been believing). I shake off any negative feelings of hopelessness or insecurity (Isaiah 52:2). Help me to speak out Your Words of truth and worship You daily. Help me to obey You completely. I claim Your promise in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.’ Thank you for the freedom I have in You. In Jesus name, amen.”

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
http://www.intercessorsarise.org

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2010-03-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Extended Times of Personal Prayer

"Like flying over the battlefield in a reconnaissance plane, a day of prayer gives opportunity to think of the world from God's point of view. Especially when going through some difficulty we need this perspective to sharpen our vision of the unseen and to let the immediate, tangible things drop into proper place. Our spiritual defenses are strengthened while we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” Lorne Sandy

During the past three months I have been in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer (IHOP). It has been a great joy and blessing to me personally. During this time I have experienced several extended times of prayer. I invite you to make it a part of your life with God. You will find that it is not as hard as you think. It goes by fast and is such a great blessing. In the future, I will be giving you some tools to help you stay engaged in the prayer room.

We all need to sharpen our vision of God by fixing our eyes on the eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). He is always with us, longing for our attention. I encourage you to spend extravagant time with Him in personal prayer and devotion. Your view of what is really important will sharpen dramatically. We are made to dwell with God. He inhabits our lives and desires our relationship.

We are called to be men and women with a steadfast, single gaze at God.

The length of time you spend in an extended time in personal prayer can be a day, a week, or even a month. Some incorporate it into their weekly lifestyle. If you don’t have time available right now, make it a half a day. It depends on your personal situation. I know a Christian leader who spends one week every quarter of the year in personal prayer and meditation. He and his wife look forward with anticipation to this time apart with God. It is a vital part of their life and ministry. Others like to spend a day in prayer monthly. Here in Kansas City many spend 24 hours in the prayer room per week!

However God leads you, it is very important to make time for those valuable periods of personal prayer. God is looking for those who are desperate for Him. It would seem that in the coming days we must seek Him with more passion, more intensity, and with singleness of heart. We must have the mind of Christ and see from His eternal perspective. We are His earthly habitation. King David said in Psalm 132:4-5: “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.”

There are many Biblical examples of extended times of personal prayer. The men and women God used mightily spent extended times in personal prayer.

Jesus, our greatest example, spent whole nights praying to God (Luke 6:12).

Moses spent forty days and nights with God before receiving the Ten Commandments.

Elijah spent extended time alone with God as a preparation for ministry.

David spent extended time with God and took every situation to the Lord in prayer.

These men sought after one thing - God Himself. Your greatest victory, your deepest revelation, your highest joy is likely to come when you give God extended time. You will ascend the heights in prayer when you do. We are made to behold His beauty. Psalm 27:4 says, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” Andrew Murray in his book, Andrew Murray on Prayer, expresses man’s response to God’s desire to dwell in us.

“Here we have man’s response to God’s desire to dwell in us. When the desire of God toward us begins to rule the life and heart, our desires are fixed on one thing, and that is to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives… Our faith begins to see how high our calling is and how indispensable God has made fervent, intense, persistent prayer as the condition of His purpose being fulfilled. We are then drawn to give up our lives to a closer walk with God. We will wait unceasingly upon Him and will become a testimony to our fellow believers of what God will do in them and in us.”

Perhaps you are thinking, “This sounds good, but I’m a busy person. If I’m going to invest my time in an extended time of prayer, I need to know why it will help me! I need to know the benefits for my life personally.” There are so many beneficial reasons why we should spend longer lengths of time with God. Extended times of personal prayer have helped me personally to evaluate my life and prepare for future ministry. Let’s look at some reasons you may personally want to spend a day in prayer and how you can prepare for it:

For renewed perspective - Because of the struggles of everyday life, a day of prayer can give you a new perspective on your life.
For extended fellowship with the Lord - Your relationship is deepened as you spend extended time with God. It can help you to focus on one thing, your being a habitation for God.
For personal evaluation of your life before the Lord - With extended time with the Lord, you are able to personally evaluate your life, narrow down your interests to what is really important, and build up those areas that need strengthening.
For help in making important decisions - God has all knowledge and wisdom and knows the best way for all of us. Time with Him will give you heavenly revelation for every important decision in your life.
For preparation in ministry - There is no greater way to prepare for ministry than to spend extended time with God, who is the author and supplier for all our service. He knows exactly what He made you for, and He can prepare you in a way that will give Him the greatest glory.
For more time in focused prayer - You must make time for undistracted and focused prayer. God changes the world through your prayers, and you can be His channel of blessing.

How to Prepare for a Day in Prayer

“Finding and preparing a place for personal prayer should not be taken lightly. Christ’s invitation to us is of infinitely greater value than a visit from the president. The eternal God of the universe has asked for an invitation to dine at your house. When you pray, open the door and invite the Lord to sit with you in your heart and reveal His secrets to you. You are not merely finding a quiet place to pray. You are preparing a place to dialogue with almighty God, the King of Kings!” Eddie and Alice Smith

Decide on a place - Try to decide on a place that is free of distractions, telephones, and other people. You want to concentrate on God. You may spend a day in nature, a cabin in the woods, or even in your home but be sure to unplug the telephone.
Fix a date in your calendar - If you don’t plan a day of prayer, it may never happen. The devil will try to distract you. Write the date in your calendar and let nothing change it. It is your time with the King of Kings.
Ask God to prepare your heart - You want to enter a day of prayer with expectation. God is going to speak to you and meet with you. Begin preparing your heart before your extended time of prayer.
Bring the needed equipment - You may want to bring a map or globe, CD player, a light, a notebook and pen, your Bible and commentaries, a prayer journal, hymnbook, or devotional books.

During a day of personal prayer you want to read, pray, and meditate on Scripture. You want to spend time in worship and meditation. You want to confess your sins to the Lord, and take time to write down your thoughts.

I remember when my little four-year-old, blond-haired and blue-eyed niece, Madeline, was on her yearly vacation with her dad. It was an exciting time of flying alone with dad, visiting family and experiencing life in Minnesota. I had the privilege of watching her interact with my brother, Jeff, for a week.

As I carefully watched Madeline relationship with her father, I couldn’t help but compare it with our relationship with God, our heavenly Father.

Madeline has an unusual confidence in life - She is not afraid of trying new things - She loves to boldly climb the tree outside my parent’s house as her dad watches. We went to the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the U.S., and watched as she fearlessly and quite boldly went on the scariest rides with her father. She trusted him completely and held his hand as they went from ride to ride. She is trusting, she has no anxiety, and she enters into each day with joy and zeal. It energized me and excited my heart to watch her. I felt revived in a special sort of way. It felt a little bit like touching heaven.

Her father is good to her. He listens to her, reasons with her, and is there to help her through the ups and downs in life. This vacation was very important for her because it was an extended time of personal relationship with her father. This was very “special” because dad was with her and he cares.

This is so much like our relationship with God. Our personal prayer life is so significant. God can’t wait for us to spend it with Him. Just as my brother enjoys time away with Madeline, God enjoys us and longs to be with us.

He will reward you for spending extended time in prayer. You will definitely come back an enriched person with an overflow of His love and life shining through you. You will grow in your trust, joy, and zeal for life. I have so much enjoyed the extra time I have spent in personal prayer. It definitely changes my perspective. I feel as if I touch heaven. And I know it will do the same for you.

You will be a person with a passion for one thing, for God Himself.

I invite you to join the free prayer room webstream here at the International House of Prayer any time day or night at: http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000058181

“The viewpoint of an intercessor for God must not be as near the highest as he can get, it must be the highest. Be careful to maintain strenuously God’s point of view. It has to be done every day, bit by bit, (and especially during extended times of personal prayer); don’t think on the finite. No outside power can touch the viewpoint. The viewpoint we are to maintain is that we are here for one purpose only, to be captives in the train of Christ’s triumphs. We are not in God’s showroom, we are here to exhibit one thing - the absolute captivity of our lives to Jesus Christ.” Oswald Chambers (adapted)

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise deb@intercessorsarise.org http://www.intercessorsarise.org

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2010-03-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

A Pattern for Successful Prayer

“When we praise God, He inhabits or enters our praises, and His power overwhelms the power of the enemy. He is a mighty God, and Satan cannot match His strength. Light will dispel darkness through God’s entering into our praise. Through praise, the Lord Himself begins to do warfare on our behalf to silence our enemy, as we shall see.” Cindy Jacobs

Wouldn’t you like a more successful prayer life? Wouldn’t you like to mentor others in victorious prayer? If there were a pattern for successful prayer, would you not want to know what that is? I know I would!

When I was growing up I took a sewing class at school. I remember how my home economics teacher gave us careful instructions on how to make a dress. We first had to pick a pattern and then buy the right amount of material for that particular dress. Without the pattern it would be impossible to sew the dress - especially our class of eleven-year-old girls! I remember obediently going to the store with my mother and picking out the pattern and material. Throughout that course, I made the dress and even got a good grade for the class.

There was only one problem - I never wore the dress!

What was the reason? By the time I finished the dress, I had realized something very important. I didn’t like the pattern that I had originally picked out! And the color of the material was an ugly tan. I still remember it clearly. I had picked out the wrong pattern and the wrong material. As you can probably imagine, I never did become a seamstress - I never applied what I learned - and I definitely was not successful in that area of my life.

But I want to tell you about someone who was extremely successful in prayer. He had the right pattern for successful prayer. It was a perfect pattern that strategically empowered others. The Bible gives us an example of a victorious answer to prayer that affected multitudes of people. In one sense what happened in this situation is a pattern for successful prayer that is repeated all throughout the Bible. We can find an amazing picture of prayer in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.

Let’s learn how we can mentor others in successful prayer by looking at the pattern of King Jehoshaphat. He was a great example for us to follow because his pattern worked!

The first thing to realize about this king is that he was desperate. A vast army was coming against him. He was alarmed but resolved to inquire of the Lord. He proclaimed a fast for all Judah, and all the people came together to seek the Lord. The King was desperate - a good place to be - and His eyes were on the Lord. Instead of trying to figure everything out first - what we often do - He looked straight to the lord and said, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

The Pattern for Victory

Judah must go first. Judah actually means “Praise Yahweh”. This is truly the pattern for ultimate victory. Praise must go first! Let’s look at Jehoshaphat’s pattern for successful prayer.

Praise God - In 2 Chronicles 20:6-9 he prayed, "O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us’”

Describe the situation - In 2 Chronicles 20:10-11 he prayed, "But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.”

Ask God to intervene - In 2 Chronicles 10:12 he prayed, “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."

Jehoshaphat spent a lot of time praising God. Instead of spending most of the time trying to figure everything out, he turned his eyes upon God first and praised Him for who He is and what He has promised. This is the major part of his prayer. Then he described the situation (the problem) to God. Finally he asked God to intervene and help.

So often we reverse our priorities in prayer.

So often we complain and advise God what He should do.

So often we spend very little time praising Him for what He can do.

But look at this pattern - the majority of his prayer was praising God and the least amount of his prayer was asking God to intervene. If we were to consider the seriousness of this problem in our own lives, we would say it was pretty major. The army was vast, and it was coming against him. It was an immediate emergency!

The Empowerment for Victory

But when Jehoshaphat used this pattern for successful prayer, a prophetic word came forth that empowered the people to go into battle with the singers leading. This encouragement was directly from God. He certainly took immediate notice of this type of prayer, and He strengthened their hearts with this word:

Do not be afraid or discouraged - “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army” (2 Chronicles 20:15, 18).

The battle is God’s - “For the battle is not yours, but God's” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Take up your positions and stand firm - “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm” (2 Chronicles 20:17).

See God’s deliverance - “…see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 20:18).

The Lord will be with you - “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you." (2 Chronicles 20:18).

Jehoshaphat’s army was led by praise. They faced the enemy singing. As I already mentioned, Judah means “Praise Yahweh”. They had thanked God for the victory by faith even before seeing it. We read in 2 Chronicles 20:19, “Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.”

The Lord set up ambushes, and the enemy was defeated. But when the praising army arrived, the enemy was already dead. God had given them a tremendous victory. They returned joyfully and with great plunder because the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. See 2 Chronicles 20:24-26.

Are you presently in spiritual warfare?

Do you know others who are in battle who need to learn this pattern of successful prayer?

You may feel that you are in a battle that seems absolutely enormous and you may see no way through. Think about it - whose battle is it really? Who is going to fight this battle for you? Why not try this pattern for successful prayer right in the midst of your situation? Why not mentor and empower others in this method of strategic prayer? Here’s how you can help yourself and others align themselves with God in prayer. And this is what you can teach the younger generation, even children. God invites you to enter into the strategic empowering of others in this type of prayer. Start with praying, “Lord, I don’t know what to do but my eyes are upon you.”

Then spend most of your time praising God. Describe your situation to Him, but do not allow yourself to be afraid or discouraged. If you are, simply confess it to the Lord. Then ask Him to intervene for you. After you have prayed in this fashion, stand firm and take up your position (Do what He says) and watch the deliverance of the Lord. Remember, He is with you - This is His battle - He is aligning Himself with you to lead you forth in victory.

“Praise causes the presence of the Lord to come into our midst. Even though God is omniscient, He manifests His authority and rule in our environment when we praise Him. When we praise, God comes in and leads us forth… He does not just visit us, but He abides and aligns Himself with us to walk with us into the path that He has chosen for us.” Chuck Pierce

Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
http://www.intercessorsarise.org

To subscribe to Intercessors Arise, click intercessorsarise-international-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org

2010-02-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

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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intercessorsarise-international-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org

2010-02-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

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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2010-01-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

Jesus’ Passionate Prayer Life

“The Life of Jesus provides the model for our prayer lives. God is seeking to mold us into the image of His Son (Colossians 1:27-28). If we are to act like Christ, our prayer lives must be conformed to His. Many Christians are unwilling to pay the price that Jesus paid when it comes to interceding with God. Jesus’ prayers came with vehement cries and tears and, ‘because of his godly fear’, He was heard by the Father.” Henry and Richard Blackaby

Jesus was passionate!

We saw it in the wonderful film The Passion of the Christ. He was passionate about the lost, He was passionate about life and death, and He was passionate about prayer. Jesus wasn’t lukewarm or apathetic about prayer. No! He was on fire and fervent about it, and we must be too. We are living in a time when passionate prayer is needed for every nation.

Jesus modeled a lifestyle of prayer. He prayed often. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Jesus prayed in the desert and other lonely places (Luke 5:16), and he often prayed all night long (Luke 6:12). His prayers were with such intensity of focus that at the end of His life He even sweat great drops of blood when He prayed (Luke 22:44).

We may not sweat drops of blood when we pray, but we do know that sometimes prayer requires a wrestling in the Spirit with passion and fervency. Jesus never gave up, and He doesn't want us to give up in prayer. He says in Luke 18:1 that we should always pray and not give up. We read about the example of Jesus’ passionate prayer life in Hebrews 5:7:

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayer and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”

Luke’s Gospel is labeled the Gospel of prayer. In this Gospel we see that whenever Jesus had to make a decision He prayed. He prayed before his conflict with the Pharisees, before choosing the disciples, and on the Mount of Transfiguration. And today He is still praying for us. Think about that! The prayers of Jesus were heard because He left it all up to God. In Heaven He is praying and always lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Many of you are deciding to increase the level of prayer in your own life. Others of you are trying to develop a greater prayer focus in your church or ministry and are running into opposition and spiritual warfare. The enemy will try to stop prayer in any way he can because he fears the prayer movement that is increasing all over the world. I have felt the intensity of warfare.

Don't give up or let the enemy discourage you. Things will happen as you persevere. God delights in your prayers! Prayer is the most important thing you can do because after you have prayed, the fruit will come. When you plant seeds of prayer, they must grow. And when you pray God's Word over your life, ministry, family neighborhood and city, His Word will not return void.

Why did Jesus pray so passionately?

He knew that His authority and message came through prayer and through connecting with the Father in the power of the Spirit. Jesus always knew when He should withdraw and pray. He never became distracted by the work, because He always knew that power for the work came from God. More prayer equals more help and more blessing. Prayer was Jesus’ continual lifestyle and practice. He prayed passionately for Himself and for other as he walked this earth.

And, no matter what our calling is in life, He wants to bring us into a deeper, a more passionate and intimate prayer life because He wants us to walk in a new level of power and authority. In the book Experiencing God Day-by-Day, Henry and Richard Blackaby exhort us to go deeper in prayer:

“Throughout history God has looked for those willing to yield everything to Him and His desire to redeem a world. At times God has marveled that no one was willing to go with Him (Isaiah 63:5, 59:16). The prophets seemed to grasp more than the common people, for while society carried on as though nothing were wrong, the prophets agonized and wept over what they knew God was preparing to do. God is calling you to go deeper in your prayer life with Him. If you are willing to be the person Jesus can take with Him into the most sacred moments, you will experience things only the angels shared with Jesus in the garden that night.”

The Prayers of Jesus

We have several examples in Scripture of the passionate prayers of Jesus. His prayers glorified the Father and showed how deeply He wanted God’s will to be done, even at great personal expense. His prayers demonstrated His deep love for us and His desire for our unity. Through His prayer, He teaches us how to pray to the Father. He teaches us to forgive. Heaven was opened when Jesus prayed and His very appearance changed.

“Jesus… went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:28-29).

“And as he was praying, heaven was opened” (Luke 3:21).

Meditate on each verse and think about the following examples of the prayers of Jesus:

The Lord's Prayer - “This, then is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one’” (Matthew 6:9-13).
Glorify Your Name - “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again’” (John 12:27-28).
Glorify Your Son - “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him… and now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began’” (John 17:1-5).
A prayer for believers - “…I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one…” (John 17:6-19)
A prayer for unity and love - “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…” (John 17:20-26)
A prayer for God’s will to be done - “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39-42, Luke 22:44).
Father forgive them - “Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots” (Luke 23:33-34, 46).

Jesus' Passion Is That We Would Pray

A football game is definitely a passionate occasion. Fans are in the bleachers waving, yelling, and jumping up and down. The air is filled with noise as one of the players catches the football, quickly looks around, and throws it with all his might to another player. The quarterback catches it and runs right and left, dodging his opponent. He finds an opening, races down the field, and makes a touchdown. By this time the crowd is screaming. Banners are wildly waving! Even the quiet ones surprise you with a sudden burst of unexpected emotion. This is what I call passion.

But as you look at this illustration, think about it personally.

Jesus’ passion is that you and I would pray. He wants us to be passionate about prayer and excited without any reservations. He loves it when we earnestly seek Him and trust Him, praying diligently to the end. He loves it when we believe that prayer puts us on the winning team. Just as a football player runs with all his might and uses every ounce of energy to win, Jesus wants you and I to be passionate about prayer to that extent. He loves it when we passionately seek Him and embrace a life of extravagant devotion to God in prayer.

When you have made it your aim to grow in prayer, you have chosen a noble passion. When you have made it your goal to see prayer mobilized in your church or city, you have chosen a wise ambition. When you call upon God to teach you to pray as Jesus and His disciples did, you are praying a wonderful prayer. Every day when you say “yes” to prayer you make the Father glad.

In our travels to various nations, we are seeing increased desire to pray and to pray effectively, a passion in prayer such as we have never before imagined. The pursuit for prayer is not just an individual pursuit but churches, ministries, and cities are seeking God on a wider scale. Truly this is the end-times Church arising to her destiny. I am presently in the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. It’s Saturday afternoon and there are a few hundred young people here in the prayer room. They are ones who want to have a passionate prayer life like Jesus and are making it their aim.

During the next couple of months I will be sending you teachings from my books on prayer that I am in the process of finishing, editing, or publishing. This is from the book called: Jesus’ Passionate Prayer Life: Discovering How to Pray Like Jesus. Our teaching about the life of David will be delayed for a few months.

I encourage you to join in prayer and embrace a life of extravagant devotion. Watching the free webstream of day and night prayer at: http://cdn.zionnetworks.tv/tpr/move/index_IU.html

“I want to encourage you to embrace a life of extravagant devotion to God, without any regard to cost. I want to encourage it not only because you will have the greatest reward you can have at the end of your life, but because you will fulfill your destiny in God, and just because it is an incredibly enjoyable way to live.” Mike Bickle

By Debbie Przybylski

www.intercessorsarise.org

2010-01-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

A Devoted Heart

“Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God” (Psalm 86:2a).

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling like an exhausted runner in a race that never ends? Are you sometimes emotionally out of breath where it’s hard to concentrate, difficult to relax, and you feel unmotivated and restless? Do you feel like you need to gather lost strength and your activities are running ahead of your heart?

Life in 2010 can be quite challenging. It is hard to live above the noise and demands of everyday life. But if we are going to survive, we must learn to balance our outward busyness with our inward reflection. It’s a life-long process. Only God can keep us in perfect balance.

Last month I wrote about an awakened heart and here we will look at the Biblical example of David. He was a man who cultivated his heart relationship with God. In the next few weeks we will be looking at David’s life and writings. He is one of my favorite Old Testament characters because he was a man who had a devoted heart. His heart hungered deeply after God. What do we know about his life? He was a triumphant king who had great tragedy - He was gifted yet human - He was strong in battle yet fell in weakness. In spite of all of these things, David was God’s chosen man.

David battled with impossibilities just like us. I like his humanity. He was shockingly real - a man who was desperate, dependent, and cried out to God on a regular basis. He didn’t have life together as we may think of some superstar Christians. He didn’t want to be big in man’s eyes, but big in God’s. David’s struggles are for all of us to see. They were very real, vivid struggles. God is letting us in on his secret life. God is teaching us what true greatness is, because unfortunately there is still a lack of depth among Christians today.

David Was Devoted in Obscurity

“But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

David lived during the time of the Judges. Samuel, the prophet, was old and the people were not satisfied with God’s method of leading a nation. The Israelites wanted a king! Other nations had kings, and they wanted to be like them. They rejected God’s ways, and Saul was their choice. After all, he was physically attractive, strong-willed, and had many external qualities (1 Samuel 13:14). But God’s choice was different. De did not look at talents, gifts, and personality. He looked at internal qualities of the heart.

When the time came for choosing a king, 7 sons passed before Samuel. But God did not choose these. The youngest son, David, was tending sheep. He wasn’t plotting about how to become king or complaining about his mundane job or envying his brothers. David was worshipping God out in the fields and shepherding his sheep. This time in his life was very significant.

Perhaps we can think that David’s job was boring, unimportant, worthless, and very lonely. It even seemed in the natural as if he was left out of God’s big picture altogether. But God often tests us with the boring and the mundane. When He develops inner qualities, He is never in a hurry. It is in the little things that we prove ourselves capable of big things. They are actually the behind-the-scenes tests of integrity. We may think, “I am in the wrong place, I have talent, I should be a leader or doing something important!” But God sees and he is looking at our heart.

God knew all along how He was going to use David. He was very pleased with David’s performance, his worshipping heart and care for his sheep, his integrity and obedience. Above all else, He was pleased with David’s devoted heart. And He chose David as King. We read in 1 Samuel 13:14, “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people”.

Every single day was purposeful in God’s eyes. David - the very least and the youngest in his father’s estimation - was great in God’s eyes. He was God’s choice man. He was anointed first in private before his public anointing. At the perfect time “the Spirit of God came mightily on him” (1 Samuel 16:13).

What God did in and through David was the outcome of his private life of devotion. He had a prepared heart that was fixed on God. His life was devoted to seeking God in prayer and worship. God was David’s greatest reality.

Remember the life of David the next time you are tempted to be discouraged in the ordinary. David - who was obscure, unseen, and unapplauded by the crowd - was big in God’s eyes. Perhaps David wrestled with insignificance and routine in his harder moments. He may have combated negative feelings and attacks from the enemy in his thought life. But he passed the test of routine and obscurity, and was faithful in his devotion to God.

David had a Heart After God

“Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:7-8).

What was the secret to David’s success? Throughout his obscure life alone out in the fields, He continued to praise, worship, and thank God. He cultivated his heart and allowed God to root out self. All of this seemed so contrary to human wisdom, but in His perfect timing God used David mightily. David had a shepherd’s heart of trust and devotion. He was the giant killer, the composer of Psalms, Saul’s personal musician, Jonathan’s closest friend, a hunted fugitive and, finally, the King of Israel.

The Bible says that he was a man after God’s own heart. For the Bible to say this about a man is quite astounding. David used all his energies in pursuing God. He spent time with God. His inward life was more important than his outward activity. It was his highest priority, and he learned to work effectively from the inward to the outward. Out of our hearts flow our energy, insight, and influence for God. David let God penetrate his heart deeply. God was his one dominant passion. The cost was high to feel God’s burden, to feel His anguish, to understand His heartache, and to stand in His truth day in and day out. But he was willing. Look at the influence of the Psalms in your own life. Have they not touched you inwardly again and again?

David was not preoccupied with accomplishment. He was preoccupied with God. What we are comes out of our private life. It’s invisible to almost all but God. Yet it greatly influences others. Great lessons are learned in the secret place. Dependence is learned and we are touched at the bottomless depths of our personality and spirit. We aren’t going to get anywhere unless we go into the deep with God. I lived on a ship for years and we never got anywhere unless we launched out into deep waters. If we learn this lesson - private before public - we have learned the greatest of lessons that will affect the rest of our lives. It’s solitude and devotion before activity.

Learning to Live a Devoted Life

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2).

Christians often have the problem of living on the surface, the visible level. It’s a temptation we must all face. The outward is most immediate for our attention. It demands our time and energy. We can feel trapped by the tyranny of the urgent. The battleground of the ages is activity - It’s Satan’s great strategy - If he can keep us constantly active, he has gotten us - We are no longer captain of our souls, and easily sink. An impulsive desire of mankind is to avoid concentration on God. It’s so easy to work for Him any day than to let Him work in us.

People all around us are driven, but why? We are often starved for respect and public applause. Perhaps we are afraid to face our inner problems or never had the approval of one significant person in the past. Maybe we are trying to gain acceptance or want power in order to compensate for the loss of never hearing “Well done”. Or we could be covering guilt and are trying to clothe it in spirituality. Maybe the hurts of the pass will just not go away. We may have been raised in a home where accomplishment and drivenness was a way of life or where there was pride and competition all around us. There are many reasons why. But it’s time we look inside and let God drive all the wrong motives out of us. We must learn to live a devoted life.

Perhaps the opposite of drivenness is to learn to wait upon God in stillness. David said in Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”. In waiting David demonstrated dependence. He listened and he waited while he watched over the flock. He knew how to draw on God’s resources (Psalm 63:8). He knew how to receive from God in solitude. Fountains of living water come from the interior. God wants to build dependence and quality from the inside out. David learned how to battled for his nation in God’s strength, not his own.

Are you tempted not to make prayer and devotion to Christ your first ambition in life? Does the devil tempt you to focus on the externals of life rather than what is most important. Are you tempted this year to run around in endless activity or are you learning to listen to the still, small voice of God. Keeping Jesus as Lord of our life is the best way you and I can live in 2010. Let’s keep Jesus in the center and cultivate a devoted heart.

We are presently living at the International House of Prayer Mission Base in Kansas City, and it’s refreshing to see hundreds of young people who are seeking to develop their inner life and put Christ at the center. Awakening services are taking place and God is reviving hearts. In the midst of very cold weather, God is warming the heart and bringing everyone into a higher level of devotion. I will keep you informed.

“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (Psalm 63:6-8).

By Debbie Przybylski

2009-12-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

The Greatest Invitation

“We stand before a real Person who extends to us this invitation of the highest order. It is a call to fervency that flows from the fullness of love. Just as His eyes pierced through the crowds of old, Jesus summons each single heart out of its lethargy into wholehearted givenness to God. He beckons us to the only foreseeable future, the only plausible outlook, if we desire to live in the fullness of His highest for us. He calls us to give Him everything.” Dana Candler

Everyone loves an invitation. A young woman loves when her boyfriend invites her to spend the rest of her life with him. Children love when their friend invites them to a birthday party. At Christmas everyone loves to be invited to a Christmas meal or gathering.

The truth is that a vast number of people in the world feel unloved. As I have already expressed in previous letters, life situations may have damaged our heart. We, ourselves, may feel unloved or unnoticed but there is one who invites us into an intimate and powerful relationship beyond all of our wildest dreams. He is wholehearted in love with us and loves us fully. And He invites us into a loving relationship with Himself.

This is what you and I were made for - He wants us to accept this invitation fully and comprehensively without compromise.

In this special season, God is offering you an invitation. It’s an invitation to you personally from God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. He wants you to enter into His heart in prayer and intimacy. It’s about abandonment to Him and accepting that invitation - not only at your salvation - but now today. It’s about entering into the heart of God in prayer with your whole being. It’s about a divine summoning to wholeheartedness. He is inviting you to love Him in every dimension of life without reserve or regret. He invites you to experience the deep things of His heart and the power of His life. To enjoy active intimacy with Jesus includes understanding and feeling His heart (Ephesians 3:18-19).

God wants you to accept His invitation to enter His heart and the things that matter most to Him. He wants you to discover His burning desires and consuming yearnings in this next year. He wants you to enter His heart in reverential awe and deeper intimacy. He wants to set you on fire through communion with Himself.

“The radiant image of the Father’s glory has come to light a fire in us, a burning love, a consuming yearning. There is nothing lukewarm about the God of revelation. Always radical and total, never does He reduce what He expects of us to fractions. Our communion with Him is to become a blazing fire, a perpetual ecstasy. These strong words will sound strange and exaggerated only to those who have not tasted that the Lord is good. They may have studied and read, but they have not drunk deeply.” Thomas Dubay

God is inviting you into a deeper relationship. He invites you into the purposes that He designed through all of eternity. “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalms 33:11). This is not a small invitation. It’s the greatest invitation that you will ever receive - It will affect everything in your life - It will empower you to live successfully in the end times.

A wealthy young man decided to spend a winter on the beautiful island of Bermuda. He had his fancy Mercedes convertible shipped there, but when he arrived he discovered that the speed limit was only 20 miles an hour. For several weeks he drove around the island at merely 20 MPH in his powerful sports car.

One day he drove behind an old man on a small motorcycle. He got so frustrated that he hit the gas pedal and raced past the old man at 40 MPH. But suddenly the old man shot past him on his motorcycle. So the young man hit the passing gear and went up to 55 MPH. The old man shot past Him again. So he angrily raced pass him again at a reckless speed for that island. But the old man again shot past him.

The young man finally coasted to a stop at the side of the road. The old man stopped too. Absolutely amazed at the speed, the young man approached the old man and said, “What kind of power do you have in that bike?”

He said, “It’s not the power in my motorcycle son. My suspenders were caught on your bumper!”

God is inviting you to enter His heart in relationship. He wants you to catch your suspenders on the bumper of His love - He wants you to learn to lean upon His strength and ability through prayer - He wants you to have a greater vision of His greatness - He wants to empower your life in a deeper way this coming year. Many of us are leaning on our own abilities and lack strength and power in our life. Perhaps you feel like the young man who was going only 20 MPH. You know there is more but you can’t grab hold of it. You don’t want a powerless and meaningless life. You may ask,

“How can I catch the suspenders of my life onto the bumper of God’s love and power?”

It’s through His invitation to relationship. He is bringing things back into order through the work and grace of Christ. He is inviting you to partner with Him in order to see the release of His divine will on earth and the bringing of all things in heaven and on earth together under His headship. This will be the summing up of all things in Christ. This should create within you a sense of reverential awe. You are invited into a relationship with the God of the universe who wants to bring you into His eternal and transcendent purposes.

Doesn’t this create within you a sense of destiny for this New Year?

Does this not give you a sense of hope?

“Lord, I thank You for Your personal invitation to me. I thank You that you want to have a deeper relationship with me in this next year. Thank You for working intricately in my life so that I am stable in the hard times. I choose to have a life of thanksgiving. I choose to be patient and content when You are bringing me deeper. I want to grasp hold of Your wisdom in the hidden place. I treasure these times in my heart because You are building internally in my life, and You are developing me in the spirit. Transform and empower my life.

Lord, I want to be still in order to know You (Psalm 46:10a, Jeremiah 19:13-14). Teach me how to shut out external activity. Help me to grow in the art of meditating on Your Word and in my love relationship with You. You have set my feet on a rock and have given me a firm place to stand. You put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to my God (Psalm 40:1-3) ‘One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple’ (Psalm 27:4). I thank You for this invitation to a deeper relationship with You. I accept and cherish this invitation. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you have never received this invitation, see http://www.intercessorsarise.org/Intercessors_Arise/Salvation.html and receive this free gift.

We pray that you had a blessed Christmas and that you will have a beautiful New Year.

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

2009-12-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

An Awakened Heart

“The glory of God is man fully alive.” John Aldridge

Our heart is very important. Without it we will die. Recently I had been thinking seriously about the heart because I needed to go to a cardiac center to have a stress test. Then they said I couldn’t have it because I have a left bundle branch block in my heart and would need to have a more thorough nuclear stress test. You can only imagine how seriously I was thinking about the heart after hearing that news! Fortunately the test results said they could find no serious heart problem. I was very glad for that news because our heart keeps us alive.

But not only does our physical heart keep us alive, our spiritual heart is extremely important as well.

My father had two heart operations several years ago. One of the operations was because he had a shell around his heart that was constricting and causing it to tighten. Without the removal of that shell, he would have eventually died. So many people have a shell around their spiritual heart to protect them, but they are dying and have no life inside. Their heart is hardened.

Many people are losing heart in these days. Trials seem to overwhelm them and situations in life threaten to distract, discourage, and disillusion. People are not taking time to stop and listen, to be still and really breath in God’s strength. Daily life is often filled with computers, cell phones, the inter-net, text messages, and TV. God wants us to stop and let our heart catch up with all our frantic activity. He wants us to have a heart fully alive and filled with his destiny and plans.

Recently we had a large tropical storm hit Virginia Beach. The flooding was terrible - houses and streets were filled with water. Many lost electricity, streetlights were off, trees fell, and the rain pounded. My husband flew in from Texas during the worse hours of that storm. The small vulnerable plane was delayed because of the bad weather. When the passengers boarded the pilot said, “We’ve taken on extra fuel so we have a few more options.” During the flight the stewardess told the passengers, “Put your seat belts on really tight because this is a bad storm!” I am sure some of the passengers were losing heart in the midst of their turbulent journey. Thankfully they arrived safely.

In life we sometimes face rough weather. But is there a perspective that takes us above the storm? How can we be fully alive in times like this? How can we have an awakened heart when things seem to be stormy all around us?

We are here on earth to fulfill a unique purpose. God is positioning his people for a great harvest. He has a plan. Every Christian has a unique destiny for such a time as this. Knowing your place in God is extremely important in order to be released into His fullness. There is a dream that is in you that is created by God. He wants to enlighten our hearts. We must let go of inferiority, smallness, and move into the greatness of God.

God Wants to Awaken our Hearts

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).

God wants us to see with the eyes of our heart. He wants the eyes of our heart enlightened so that we may know the hope of our calling. Our primary calling is to know and love Him with all our hearts, but we also have a God-given calling on earth that will bring Him glory. He wants each of us to have a heart fully alive to our own unique calling and purpose. Many of us have a calling that involves prayer. When we see our personal destiny on a heart level, it changes everything.

Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in His heart, so is he”. The thoughts and intentions of the heart shape a person. It is with the heart that we believe. The heart is who we are on the inside. I used to work with child evangelism. A good way to describe the heart to a small child is, “It’s the real you inside that laughs and cries.” The heart is very important because it is the center of who we are and what we do. It is the center of our emotions and how we feel about life.

Our destiny is of enormous significance. God is a god of order, and He is the master strategist. He brings us in line with his predetermined plan and purpose where true creativity is released. He wants us to find our destiny - who we are in Christ - and he wants us to be confident in the knowledge of it. So many fail to connect with their God-given purpose. They simply go through the motions. I have heard people who have a high calling in God say, “I feel empty inside.”

The enemy strikes at our dreams and our destiny, and this struggle is played out on earth. There is a clash of kingdoms. He will fight our heart with doubt and unbelief because he knows what we can be in Christ. He knows that we are dangerous to the forces of darkness. He comes in to steal, kill and destroy but God wants to give us an abundant life (John 10:10). We have a new identity. But destiny does not just happen without difficulty and a wrestling with God in order for it to fully emerge. If the glory of God is man fully alive, the enemy strikes at that. Because of this many people are disillusioned, hurt, and hindered to God’s potential in them.

Jesus was dynamic, fulfilled and passionate. He knew His mission in life. Coming into line with our purpose causes abundance. When we discover our life purpose and destiny, life takes on new meaning. Everything makes sense. There is no chaos because we are in line with God’s Kingdom purposes. He makes the complicated simple. Ask yourself: How would I like to be remembered? What would my life look like if it turned out well? What is my God-sized dream?

We are called to love God and bring Him glory on earth. We read in Ephesians 2:10 that we are God’s workmanship made for good works. People called by God often feel inadequate. Look at the life of Moses and Jeremiah. They felt inadequate! God gives us humanly impossible assignments. We must attempt something so great for God that it is destined to fail if God is not in it. But if He calls, He also gifts. We work together with Him. It is important for us to know who we are and what we are called to do. There is more to life. God put eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

We often think in terms of a career. Sometimes our calling is combined with a career and sometimes it is replaced by a career. A calling is something I do for God. A career is something I choose for myself. A calling is something I receive. Careers often promise status, money and power. A calling generally promises difficulty and even suffering. A career will bring a retirement, but a calling is not over until the day you die. The rewards of a career may be quite visible but temporary. A calling is eternal. You are on a mission for the God who created you. Listen to God and follow your calling.

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, had enormous influence in life. But because of his part in the Watergate scandal, he went to prison. He thought his career was over in prison, but with humility came blessing. His calling actually began in prison when he started working with other prisoners. The real legacy of his life was his biggest failure as an ex-convict. His great humiliation was being sent to prison but that was the beginning of God’s greatest use of his life.

How Can We Have an Awakened Heart?

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

The bible sees the heart as the source of all creativity, courage, and conviction. It is the source of our faith, our hope, and our love. It is the wellspring of life within us (Proverbs 4:23), the very essence of existence, the center of our being, and the fount of our life. Verse after verse displays how important our heart is to God. In the Psalms alone there are numerous verses about the heart. Psalms speak about the meditation of the heart (19:14), desires of the heart (23:4), a pure heart (24:4), the secrets of the heart (44:21), a broken and contrite heart (51:7), an undivided heart (86:11), a wise heart (90:12), an upright heart (97:11), a steadfast heart (108:1), a secure heart (112:8), a free heart (119:32), an obedient heart (119:34), a joyful heart (119:11), and more.

An awakened heart is important to God. We are preparing for a worldwide harvest and an end-time revival. The glory of God is man fully alive. How can we have an awakened heart in these days we are facing? Here are some ways:

Go deep with God now - Prepare for the end-time revival. There is an ebb and flow in the movements of God. The receding of the waves gives time to prepare deeply. When we lived on a ship, we often had thousands of visitors a day! We had to be ready in advance. When revival hits there is no time to prepare. You must be ready. Pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. Give Him time, and enjoy His presence. Let Him speak to you through His Word. We often don’t see clearly because we don’t see with the eyes of our heart.

Practice praise, worship and thanksgiving - Worship the attributes of God. Your intimacy with God is intimating to the enemy. Warfare is not primarily taking authority over the devil, but it is discovering the majesty of God. Get lost in the immensity of who God is. He wants to fascinate our heart. We often magnify the problems. Praise brings God’s sovereignty and presence to earth. He wants us to know him in fullness. We have to come into the place where our whole life worships Him.

Let go of earth and grab hold of heaven - We must fix our eyes on what is unseen. This means we narrow down our life. When I travel, I am forced to live from a suitcase. I find that there are not that many things that are really necessary. Seeking God and living from an eternal perspective is what is important. We must live beyond the natural. We must learn to live with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. We must cultivate the eyes of our heart, if we want to be fully alive.

Make a commitment to receive God’s heart - We must know how to inhabit the place of God and hear his heart. We have to position ourselves to be with God to know his heart. He wants to put his hand upon our heart and bring us to life. We must make a commitment to feast our attention on Who God is so that He will show us in our heart what is most important.

It’s time to realize that the glory of God is man fully alive. God wants to impart freedom, faith, healing, and hope to our heart. Too often we believe the lies of the enemy. God wants us to give heart to other battle-weary hearts through our faith in God. As we praise, grow in intimacy with Him, and fix our hearts on heaven, the river of God’s life will flow through us. People should be able to touch our blessing. We can stimulate faith and love for Jesus by doing little acts of kindness wherever we go. We find life as we lose it. We find joy, freedom, and happiness as we give life away for Jesus. As we bless others, as we speak to the potential we see in their lives and breath life into them, we find life.

Our destiny in God depends on an awakened heart. Maybe your heart has been bruised, hurt, and you feel that your dreams are not coming to past. God can awaken your heart. The glory of God is a heart fully alive. As you worship and praise Him, as you delight in Him, as you walk in His presence and pray for the people around you, you will find life. God will begin to awaken your heart. God wants to fascinate and captivate our hearts. He wants to awaken our hearts so that we are fully alive.

“Lord, forgive me when I neglect my heart. Forgive me when I am too busy. Put your hand upon my heart, I want to feel You. Let me know that I’m alive. Fascinate me; captivate me. Capture my imagination and my affections. Awaken me!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSINFmNDdVc

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this” (Psalm 37:4-5).

By Debbie Przybylski

2009-11-20T05:26:00.000-08:00

Cultivating a Thankful Heart

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

It is not always easy to give thanks, but this is the very thing we must do in order to see God’s will accomplished in our lives. This is how we move into higher realms of faith for ourselves, for our city, and for our nations.

Thanksgiving breaks the power of the enemy. Whenever you give thanks to God, despite the most difficult circumstances, the enemy loses a big battle in your life. When you give thanks in the midst of difficulty, you bring pleasure to God's heart and breakthrough begins. He is looking for Christians who live in a realm of praise and thanksgiving where the enemy no longer has an ability to hold or manipulate a person. Satan is defeated when we have a thankful heart because thankfulness during difficulty is a sacrifice, pleasing to God.

Are you thankful?

Are you thankful for your present circumstances?

Are you thankful for your salvation, your friendships, and your job?

Thankfulness is a key to a victorious prayer life. We enter His courts with praise. It is the key that turns your situation around because it changes you, your outlook, and your attitude. There is power in a thankful heart. Thanksgiving brings contentment. An attitude of thanksgiving accepts and embraces God’s will.

Begin to thank God for all the blessings he has given instead of dwelling on the negative. Discontent dries up the soul. Look at what Elizabeth Elliott - who lost her husband on the mission field and has faced multitudes of hardships - says about loving God's will and being content. In her book, Secure in the Everlasting Arms, she says:

"To love God is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by one who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and His wise apportionment. It is to follow in the steps of the Master, as did Paul, who was able to say that he had learned contentment no matter what the circumstances. His circumstances when he wrote that? Prison. No easy lesson, but great gain which is the sum of godliness plus contentment (1 Timothy 6:6)."

Look at the example of Jesus. He followed the will of His Father to the very end. He obeyed without complaint. In Philippians 2:5-8 Paul says that we should have that same attitude. Jesus made himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. We also are to have this same attitude with a humble and thankful acceptance of God’s will for our lives. Elizabeth emphasizes the fact that Jesus embraced hardship without a complaint:

"Jesus loved the will of His Father. He embraced the limitations, the necessities, the conditions, the very chains of His humanity as He walked and worked here on earth, fulfilling moment by moment His divine commission and the stern demands of His incarnation. Never was there a word or even a look of complaint."

The Duke of Wellington was the Great British military leader who regretted that he had not learned the secret of praise during his lifetime. He had many great accomplishments and even defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. He was a brilliant and demanding man and when he was older, he realized that there were areas in his life that needed to change. In his old age a women asked him this question,

“What would you do differently if you had your life to live over?"

He thought carefully and said, “I would give more praise.”

This is a lesson for all of us. That we would learn to be people of praise and thanksgiving to God all the days of our lives would be a great accomplishment. William Law, who wrote the book A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, stresses the greatness and the happiness of thanksgiving. He says:

“Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it… Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it… Turns all that it touches into happiness.”

David writes in Psalm 116:17, "I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.”

Did you know that thanking God for a difficulty is actually an offering that He highly values? You are bringing a gift of thanks to Him. It makes Him smile. It’s so easy to complain and point the finger and find fault. But to come in the opposite attitude and gives thanks brings breakthrough and joyful contentment. Let each of us seek to have an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving during this Thanksgiving season, and rise to a new level of holiness. Here are some ways to practice this attitude in everyday life:

Thank and praise God for everything in your life - Thank Him for even the difficulties. It is a sacrifice to do this, but He can turn troubles to triumph. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

Don’t allow yourself to complain about anything - During the difficult times, be very careful to watch your tongue. Instead of complaining, think of ways you can verbally offer God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 1:14-15).

Don’t compare yourself with others - Don’t wish your life were different. God knows what is best for you. The Bible says having a thankful heart is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. When we begin to thank God for what we have rather than comparing ourselves with others, it opens the door for God’s blessings. “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else” (Galatians 6:4).

The Apostle Paul was a wonderful example of one who practiced thanksgiving in prayer. He didn’t complain about anything even when facing imprisonment. He didn’t fall into self-pity or compare himself with others. That would be hard for most of us. Instead, Paul thanked God in every circumstance, even the difficult ones. He was thankful in his prayers for others even when they were having trouble spiritually. See 1 Corinthians 1:4, Ephesians 1:16, Philippians 1:3, Colossians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2 Timothy 1:3, and Philemon 4.

Most of us are in need of breakthroughs in prayer. The enemy is fighting hard with fiery darts of discouragement and lies. The way we will begin to deal with the lies in our lives and the vicious ways he tries to destroy our joy is through cultivating a thankful heart.

As we cultivate a lifestyle of worship and praise, we will be able to break through the strategies of the enemy. A worshipful and thankful life permeates the atmosphere with the presence of God because worship is the atmosphere where God’s truth dwells. Thanksgiving turns all that it touches into happiness.

A Prayer for a Thankful Heart

“Lord, teach me to offer you a heart of thanksgiving in all my daily experiences of life. Teach me to be joyful always, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all my circumstances. I accept them as Your will for my life (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I long to bring pleasure to Your heart. Break the power of the enemy in my life. Defeat Him through my sacrifice of praise. Change my outlook and attitude into one of joyful contentment with my present circumstance. Help me not to dwell on the negatives because discontent dries up my soul. I thank You for… (Name a difficult circumstance in your life presently and thank God for it). I offer this to You as my thank offering (Psalm 116:17).

Jesus, I want to be like You who obeyed the Father without complaint. You embraced the chains of humanity when you walked this earth. Convict me whenever I complain or compare myself with others. Give me Your attitude of humility and thankful acceptance. I want to be like the Apostle Paul who learned contentment in every circumstance. I choose to continually offer you a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that give praise to Your name (Hebrews 13:15). I want to give You enjoyment through a life of thanksgiving. I long to bring a smile to Your face. Teach me the power of a thankful heart. I know that Your truth dwells in a thankful heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

This teaching is adapted from a new book I just finished writing called Breakthrough Prayer: Praying God’s Truth - Overcoming Enemy Lies. Please pray for the editing, publishing, translations, and distribution of this book plus 4 others on prayer!

"God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too… An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy." William Law

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
http://www.intercessorsarise.org

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