Prayer Partners with Jesus
The heavens belong to our God, they are his alone, but he has given us the earth and put us in charge.
PSALM 115:16
Promotion is coming to the body of Christ. Our Lord Jesus is preparing His bride for reigning with Him. He wants to include us in the governmental affairs of His universe. As we labor alongside the Son of God in prayer, we become His "helpmates" in fulfilling the Father's will for planet Earth. It's a great mystery: Jesus wants us to share His throne! God has given the dominion of the earth to mankind. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were entrusted with the affairs of earth and were created to be God's agents, governors of the planet. But this right to rule was forfeited when mankind fell into the darkness of selfish pride and independence. When Jesus came, He restored our right to rule and reign with Him. And He's raising up men and women to rule with Him. When you're praying, don't ever forget you're really touching heaven and changing the earth. The devil only has the power to do on earth what the church allows and yields to him. As governors of this planet, the church is to exercise the authority of the kingdom of God in all things. Out of intimacy with God in prayer, we're able to destroy the works of darkness and release the deeds of light and glory to the earth. As His covenant partners and co-heirs, we have His life in us; we're sharers of one common life. We must become so conformed to His image that our deeds multiply and amplify His very works. And the goal of our lives must be more than having a ministry ... we must be able to say, "My true life is the Anointed One, and dying means gaining more of him" For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
Remember this: God loves His Son so much, He is determined to fill heaven and earth with people just like Him. You're not just a human being on your way to heaven. You're a duplicate of the Son of God having an earthly experience! And your life is on-the-job-training because you'll be ruling over the universe one day. You're in schooling for ruling and training for reigning! Earth's workshop will finish your preparation to sit on the throne with Jesus Christ, ruling over angels and nations forever! Living prayer, walking prayer, night and day prayer is coming to a church near you! Come on, intercessor: you must be diligent to become that prayer partner Jesus is looking for. May His eyes gaze upon you and find your heart to be a manger, a place that gives birth to eternal purpose. With His cross as your torch of truth and seated in the throne room, you take the kingdom by force. You're the one who knows firsthand the miracle power of God.
THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER
The Holy Spirit has come to teach us to pray. Whenever you yield to Him or make room for Him and obey Him even a little, He leads you to prayer. The life within you is a life of prayer. He knows what to pray and waits to be your personal prayer mentor. The Holy Spirit is interceding and partnering with us as we pray in Him
Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
As you have fellowship with God, the Holy Spirit flows through you, and the Spirit of prayer fills you. For whenever we live in the spirit, prayer rises from within. We move with God, and God moves with us. And heaven's heart is fulfilled when it's flowing through you. The prayers that move heaven are not released until they come from you. Elijah prayed through the spirit of prayer. Even though he was a man with similar problems and passions as any other, he prayed, and the heavens closed. He prayed again, and the heavens opened. Elijah cooperated and flowed with the spirit of prayer. "He prayed and received supernatural answers"
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. James 5:17
what this literally says is that Elijah prayed with prayer or prayed in prayer. As he prayed, true prayer in the Spirit came forth. He prayed, but the Spirit prayed through him. Elijah became a prayer partner with the Spirit within him. They breathed together the same request. This type of prayer in prayer must come in order for the church to move into the season of the open heavens. As we pray, our spirit and the Holy Spirit join as one and enter heaven with a request that will be answered. This type of prayer expresses God Himself, not just His will. God's very life comes flowing through us as we pray to the Father. When He prays, you pray with Him. When you pray, God prays with you. He is one with you inside and out! In this prayer moment, you and God cannot be separated, for you are mingled as one. As friends of God, we should be able to complete one another's sentences. We know each other that well! Let Him whisper His thoughts into you as you pray. This is what both Paul and Jude call "praying in the Holy Spirit"
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Jude 1:20
Both the spirit of the intercessor and the Spirit of God cry to the Father for an answer. This God-Man prayer combo is what the universe has waited for. "And now we, his church, are his body on the earth and that which fills him who is being filled by it!"
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:23
We must become the container of God and join eternity in the divine unity of prayer before the throne. Our Father has included us in His construction company. He's the senior partner, but since you are His child, He has included you as a cosigner to all the legal work required in running the business or ruling over our nations. As a helpmate of Jesus Christ, God's plan is to partner with us. There are certain things we must do as part of this partnership. There are some things God will not do for us. We must be the ones to pray to fast, to give generously, to evangelize, to study the Word of God, to love our spouses and children, to go to the unreached lands, to serve our local church, and to develop a rich devotional life in God. All of these things are awaiting our activity, our doing. It is not God's job to do these things for us. These are the secrets and mysteries of God. Paul was one who devoted himself to the grace of God. He understood that it was God plus nothing. Yet he refused to let grace be wasted on an undisciplined life. He labored in the grace of God. He worked in the energy of grace to become a follower of the Lamb in all things. But when it was all said and done, he knew it was only by the grace of God that he accomplished anything. Listen to his heart:
"But God's amazing grace has made me who I am! And his grace to me was not fruitless. In fact, I worked harder than all the rest, yet not in my own strength but God's, for his empowering grace is poured out upon me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Grace works hard. Grace gives us strength to finish. Grace gives us the power to partner with divine energy. God will continually revitalize you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases Him ... but we still have to work out our practical salvation day by day
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12-13
THE DIVINE PARTNERSHIP
God has chosen to adapt His intentions and deeds through this interaction with us called prayer. Prayer moves God. The all-powerful God is stirred to action by our prayers. He knows all things, but He will withhold certain miracles and activities until we pray and seek Him. God told Moses that He had seen and heard and felt the affliction of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, but He waited and waited until their cries burdened Him and He could not hold back any longer
So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel. Judges 10:16
Intercession activates heaven. It's the onramp for the heavenly superhighway of miracles. Prayer releases power to the earth. What a mystery! According to Genesis 2, God created man with a will and the ability to decide and determine his future. God has a will and man has a will. Whenever our will is not in agreement with God's will, God is limited. Our will affects God's plan and purposes. The church of Jesus Christ can extend God's kingdom or delay the coming of that kingdom. When the church places its will under God, He will move on earth the same way He will move in eternity. If we don't oppose God here, then heaven's will is done on earth. When the church decides, God acts. The Lord wants a bridal partner who will work with Him as a co-laborer with God
We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 Corinthians 6:1
When Israel wandered in the wilderness of the pre-promised land, God was faithful to supply them with all their needs, including food and water for nearly one million people. This was an amazing miracle that continually reminded His people that God was one with them. Listen to one of the miracles God accomplished in providing water: "The Lord said to Moses, 'Gather the people together and I will give them water.' Then Israel sang this song; 'Spring up, O well! Sing about it, about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank-the nobles with scepters and staffs"
(Numbers 21:16-18).
The Lord brought them to the place of water, but they had to dig the well! So, it is with the divine partnership. The Lord requires our participation. He longs for a partner that will discover the treasures of His purpose and then move out in active fulfillment to achieve it. The "princes" and the "nobles" are the partners who have grasped this principle and set themselves to perform it. Are you a noble ditch digger? Will you be a partner with heaven, or will you be one who waits and waits for something God calls you to perform? Without any labor, God cannot bless. But when we know the purposes of God and sing (prophesy) to our well from the throne room, we step into divine partnership, we touch the place of miracles, the supernatural flow of spiritual water. Using our scepter of authority and the staff, rod of power in our hand and bring it to pass, O mighty ones who do His bidding!
SOWING AND REAPING IN PRAYER
The incredible principle of sowing and reaping applies to prayer in ways many do not comprehend. This is not only a principle for finances; it is also a foundational principle for the spirit lead life.
For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isaiah 61:11
God promises that righteousness will blossom before all the nations. This is a prophetic promise of the glorious church arising in holy partnership with her Bridegroom, King Jesus. This prophetic word must come to pass. God's purposes will surely blossom and come forth just as the spring brings new growth in the gardens of the earth. But something has to be sown first something must first be planted if it's to spring forth! Only what's been planted in the earth will bud to new life ... there has to be a human partnership with God in planting seeds of righteousness and praise if they are to spring up and bring light to the nations. God needs His children to plant the right seeds so that the earth brings forth the right fruit. We have to sow righteousness and praise before the nations if we are to reap of the same kind! The future state of a glorious church releasing light and power to the nations depends upon watchmen on earth who will never be silent and who will give God no rest until He makes His promise a living thing. This is ordained prayer. This is sowing prayer that will reap a harvest of righteousness. Where there is no one to partner with God in prayer, righteousness is not found, and the nations perish. There must be a high level of cooperation with the intent of God and the activity of the church to accomplish the goals we seek. This exhilarating prayer will not grow silent until the light of glory shines upon us! We work together with God to determine the affairs of men and even future events. If we learn to pray with Jesus, breathing out His prayers on the earth, we can shape history. Think of Joshua commanding the sun to stand still. God needed his prayer to work that miracle. In a way, in everything God wants to do on earth, He wants us to work with Him from the throne room to bring it to pass. We become the voice of the Lord and the scepter of righteousness in His hand. The High Priests of the Old Testament entered the Holy Place alone, but our Great High Priest invites us to come and be partners with Him in the Holy of Holies. The Father has given His Son to be the head over the church. He is the head, and we are the body
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 1 Corinthians 12:27
Yet, the head cannot say to the rest of the body, "I don't need you"
And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:21
Jesus needs His body to fulfill the plans of the Father. All of the destiny of the universe is waiting for the head and the body to flow as one until we fully express the nature of the Father. Then Jesus will have a place to "lay His head"
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Luke 9:58
SHAPERS OF THE FUTURE
Prayer is the power that shapes the future, moving God to fulfill what is promised and stirring earth to respond to heaven. The future belongs to the intercessors. With the politics of hope, intercessors are filled with a vision of what can be if they pray. God will intervene in all the affairs of earth if intercessors will pray. And the prayer of agreement will release the dreamed of future, creating the reality that is hoped for. Will you be a shaper of the future? Will you enter the throne room and lock arms with Jesus and partner with Him? God longs for us to agree with Him. As we take our place in the throne room, the true purpose of creation falls into place. God has a representative and partner on earth that will exercise dominion over what needs to be changed. He allows us to take part in the councils of eternity. It's our supreme task to enter into this alliance with the throne room, calling out, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. On earth, like it is in Heaven." The Lord longs for a partner to join Him in prayer. Our prayers not only meet the needs of man, but they meet the needs of God. By uniting our hearts in the prayer of agreement, heaven and earth together, God's desired future is released from the throne. Prayer is the Father's gateway to have His will escorted to the earth. This is why He implores us to ask, search, and knock. These imperative commands must be fulfilled if God is to fully implement divine strategies in a fallen world. We have been commanded to command. We have been required to insist for intervention, to be asking for the sick, the poor, the lost, and the weak. Prayer is, in a sense, ordering God to bring His kingdom near. It's using our authority to conform the present into the desirable future. It's time to use our kingdom power to flood the earth with His purposes and plans. Our prayers stir His attention and stir Him to action. They set God free to act on our behalf. It's sending a letter to heaven where it's sorted, read, and responded to. Our words are powerful. They have power as a co-creator with God to shape the future together with him as His partners. God says to the church, "My realm created your realm, but your realm moves my realm as you pray. Move me to move the world, and I will bring my kingdom to you. I'm about to "tag" you and you're "it!" What if you were gripped with this reality? Would you want to pray more for His kingdom to come to the devastated places on earth? Far from being passive, prayer becomes a means of creating action where there is nothing but darkness. Our prayer voice becomes a trumpet that heralds what God is about to do. Let's see angels that hurl coals of fire from the altar to the earth by means of our fervent prayer
1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thundering's, lightnings, and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:1-5
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
The yoke of Jesus is a yoke of union. It is the blending of the human and the divine. This is what took place in the manger. The Son of God was born as a prototype for a coming people. Our Lord Jesus took this yoke when He was born a man. Now Jesus extends a yoke to His church, a yoke of union with Him. It is a yoke of divine partnering in the affairs of heaven. Earth is invited to rule with heaven in a holy oneness. This is where God wants us to go as we approach the wedding feast of the Lamb and His wife. It is a cooperative prayer initiative. You and God in a holy "co-op." It's the purpose of God to make you into a "look-alike" of Jesus Christ, reflecting His image, flowing in His power, praying His prayers. The day will come when you will be able to say, like David said, "I am prayer"
But I give myself to prayer. Psalms 109:4
Yes, the Hebrew text actually says, "I am prayer!" God will have a people who have become prayer. You cannot separate the person from the prayer. To pray as His partner will one day make us prayer itself!
Pray this today: Father God, give us a greater love for our brothers and sisters. May our fellowship together in prayer always be sweet and life-giving. Help us to bond easily to other believers. We lay aside our preferences to put others above ourselves. Let us walk with others the same way you walked with your disciples, demonstrating love and mercy each day. Amen.
