Priest's of the Planet 7

 

²⁵ So he is able to save fully from now throughout eternity, everyone who comes to God through him, because he lives to pray continually for them. Hebrews 7:25

How could we speak of prayer without taking a look at our example, our Magnificent Intercessor, Jesus? He is our mediator. Every one of us needs an intercessor: someone to come to God on our behalf.

³² “For He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.
³³ Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both. Job 9:32-33

God Himself saw that we had no one to intercede, so He supplied the need by sending us His Son! Prayer was and is the most important part of the present ministry of our risen Lord. Christ’s ministry did not end with His death. When He was raised by resurrection power, He entered another ministry for us; the ministry of intercession. This prayer ministry of Jesus goes on even while you are reading this page because

²⁵ So he is able to save fully from now throughout eternity, everyone who comes to God through him, because he lives to pray continually for them. Hebrews 7:25

        This One, who is fully man and fully God, is found before the Father in prayer for us. To find Jesus is to find Him praying. To really know the glorious Man, Christ Jesus, is to know an Intercessor. His full life and love are given over to prayer as He is surrounded by the Father’s Glory. More than anyone else, we love Him because He ever lives to intercede for us. Just think about it, our Lord Jesus is occupied with prayer for you! This is His primary task as He dwells at the Father’s Right Hand. He doesn’t primary live to judge, to demonstrate power, or to command angels. His special divine vocation is to intercede for His people.

        Can you imagine what Jesus is asking the Father to do for you today? It’s by His prayer that we’ve been saved from sin, self, and satan. Will you partner with Him, yield to God, and become an answer to the prayers of the Son of God? Jesus Christ wants to give you His voice in prayer. He invites you to join in His prayer time with the Father.

EVERY BELIEVER A PRIEST

Today, every believer is called a priest.

⁶ and to the one who has made us to rule as a kingly priesthood to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and dominion throughout the eternity of eternities! Amen! Revelation 1:6

² Shepherd the flock of God, which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 1 Peter 5:2

⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1 Peter 5:9

We are the priest of this planet. And all of us have the privilege of bringing the burdens of others before the Lord in Prayer.

We have become the “go-between,” bringing the burdens of others to God. This type of prayer is called intercession. What a privilege we have! This is not for the few but for all. No one could say that this standard of prayer is too high or unattainable. As His priest, your true ministry is before the throne of God, not merely on earth before men. Likewise, every church is called to be an interceding church and must actively pursue this priestly ministry of intercession. It’s part of our job description.

This means that you, a follower of Jesus Christ, are a priest of this planet!  

¹⁰ And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10

From Kings and priests flow power, influence, and blessing. In the king, power flows down; in the priest, power rises up and prevails with God. Jesus is the King-Priest, but He invites us into this ministry as His bride. We become heavenly Jacobs who prevail with God and become princes with power to move heaven.

        By standing as a priest before God, I share the very glory of Jesus the God-man. My true ministry is never what I am before men; instead, it’s what I am before God. The Old Testament priest was one who represented the people before God. He was to carry the burdens of the people before God. He was to carry the burden of the people into the presence of the Lord. Over his heart, he carried the twelve tribes in the form of a special breastplate embedded with twelve precious stones. The Apostle John wrote in Revelations 21 that he saw the bridal City- New Jerusalem-with these twelve jewels as gates or entryways. This was a picture of a miniature New Jerusalem being carried over the heart of the priest as he ministered before God. The essence, the New Jerusalem is where God and man mingle as one.

The priests in Exodus 30 were given the responsibility of burning incense upon the alter at least twice daily-in the morning and in the evening. This activity was to be a perpetual ministry throughout all generations.

¹³ A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Leviticus 6:13

We too, as new covenant priests, must be faithful to keep the fire burning It’s never to go out! Fervent, continually intercession rises like incense before the Father’s throne and moves His heart to respond to our cries. These prayers will fill up the golden bowls of incense in the presence of the Lamb.

⁸ And when the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures saw the Lamb had taken the scroll, they fell facedown at the feet of the Lamb and worshiped him. Each of them had a harp and golden bowls brimming full of sweet fragrant incense—which are the prayers of God’s holy lovers. Revelation 5:8

AS God’s priests worship the Lamb in the beauty of His Holiness, we’ll be empowered to cry out day and night for God’s Glory to fall upon His people. Arise, O priests of God! Keep the fires of intercession burning!

        The Lord has chosen to partner with us so that together we can enter the fulfillment of His purposes for heaven on earth. There’s a longing in His heart to communicate this burden with His prayer partners, which we call intercessors. There are specific prayer that really need to be prayed, and He will give us the ammunition to pray them. But we must first hear His voice and understand His heart. Hearing His voice is so critical for our prayers to be effective. We hear what’s on the Father’s heart and then pray what we’ve heard so that His will may be done on this earth as it is in heaven.

As you advance in prayer, you’ll soon begin to discern other ways that God shares His burdens with you. Often, a strange heaviness will come upon you, and you’ll sense that it’s time to pray. You know that it’s not the devil, nor is it a form of depression-in fact, there’s never a time when it’s not a good time to pray. It’s the Lord’s Spirit stirring you to seek His face and to discover what’s on His heart.

⁸ Lord, when you said to me, “Seek my face,”
my inner being responded,
“I’m seeking your face with all my heart.” Psalms 27:8

This is what it means to be His partner.

        We willingly take upon our heart the desire to pray until His burden lifts.

²⁷ All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸ 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 11:27-30

At other times, you may find yourself weeping for no known reason. Again, this is not depression or self-centeredness. The Lord allows us to feel the emotions that’s associated with the problem so that we’ll have empathy for the situation or person. And if you’ll ask Him for specifics, you may hear more or have pictures flash before your mind that will provide you with more prayer ammunition and possibly something that you can do to put feet to your prayers.

¹⁰ Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him

 the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
¹¹ So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. ¹² And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
¹³ Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” Acts 9:10-14

The Prophet Daniel took prophetic words that was written by Jeremiah and prayed it through until an angel appeared.

² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Daniel 9:2

¹⁰ For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 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. Jeremiah 29:10-11

He knew the prophetic destiny for Israel was to be brought out of their Babylonian captivity and back into their land. Daniel didn’t just read this prophecy and say, “Oh, that’ll be nice.” Instead, he interceded with all his heart.

³ Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel 9:3

God’s prophet stood in the gap between the helpless condition of his nation and the hope filled promise of God. This is how we use every prophetic insight.

Remember the words of Samual.

¹⁰ Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” 1 Samuel 3:10

Become one who waits daily at the Lord’s gatepost.

Awaiting your prayer assignment and becoming His true prayer partner! God tells us,

³⁴ Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors. Proverbs 8:34

Intercessors Open the Gates of Heaven on Earth

As intercessors, we are given the very keys to the gates of heaven. We have the ability to stop hell’s worst and release heavens best. We have the authority to function in the domain of the Almighty

¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

We take our God-given keys and use them to unlock the heavens through the power of the Holy Spirit. And as “Holy reminders,” we act as God’s secretaries, telling Him about the appointment He has agreed to keep!

Every promise of scripture becomes a point of reminding God to keep His Word. And as we pray, the promises are answered. God lets us ask Him to do what He wants to do! May the Lord find a good secretary in you! This is the blessed mystery of being a prayer partner praying from the throne room with Jesus. It’s not always large numbers of people but large prayers prayed by His people.

Getting Started In Intercession

The Lord loves to hear your voice in prayer.

¹⁴ “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”
Her Brothers
¹⁵ Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
The Shulamite
¹⁶ My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies. Song of Songs 2:14-16

HE calls it sweet and is touched every time He hears it. As far as He is concerned, you can’t pray a “bad” prayer, for you are His precious child. His love filters out all our funny vocabulary and clumsy emotions to find our real heart. You can expect to find Him smiling, not frowning.

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

He doesn’t find fault in you when you come to Him.

⁷ You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you. Song of Songs 4:7

Start in this place of sweetness and sacred confidence, and you will begin to see your prayer life grow as your capacity to know Him and His love grows. Those who are the most powerful in prayer are those who are ravished by His love. Let every encounter with Jesus in prayer be a precious and sacred time of sharing your heart with Him. Learn to listen as He answers and shares His most sacred secrets with you.

 

Pray this together:

Lord Jesus, You have called us to pray with you. We take our place as priests before God making intercession for others. We love knowing that you are praying for us right now. We love to think of being one with You. Make our prayer the echo of Your heart. Use our voice in prayer to move this nation closer to heaven. Help us to carry the concerns You have for the people around us and become intercessors with you.

We love You, Lord!

Amen.

 

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