Acts 2:42-43
As one of the pillars of the church, prayer was never meant to be an appendage that was just attached to the church ministry. It is meant to be the very furnace from where everything is birthed. Coming together in the body of Christ, we would pray together corporately to hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying so that we can knit our hearts together with one mind and in one accord just as the disciples did in the early church.
1 Timothy 2:1 says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
Intercession isn’t just for women or widows to gather together and pray for the church; It’s for the men and leaders to gather together as well. This was the apostolic instruction given to Timothy.
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
There are many different modes of prayer. You can pray in tongues, you can give praise and thanksgiving, or you can be in contemplation or meditation. You can go into a secret place and meditate on the word of the Lord and out of that place you receive revelation and out of that revelation, you become fascinated. The problem is that sometimes we become too bored and we do not take the time to sit at His feet to hear the graceful words from His lips that fascinate our hearts and keep us coming back for more to enter into supplication.
Supplication is the action of coming before someone who has the authority to grant a petition to ask or to even beg for something to be given. The reason we don’t supplicate more is because we’ve become too comfortable. We haven’t been put in situations where we find the need to supplicate. Hebrews 5:7 says, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”
The word of the Lord is like a seed being planted in the garden of your soul. After the seed is sown, the devil will try and steal it, unless you take that seed and go back to a place of meditation and water and cultivate that seed until it develops a root system. Then you will begin to walk out in the spirit of truth the manifestation of that word.
You have to take that seed that is planted in your heart, take it back to your homes, shut the door to the devil, and open your hearts and let God water that seed so you can begin to grow and begin to bear the fruit of the kingdom of God. This happens through contemplative prayer and meditation.
INTERCESSION
Intercession is seen clearly throughout the epistles and the life of the Apostles, specifically in the life of Paul. People want the power that God gave to Paul, but they don’t want His prayer life. It takes time, and we must put in the work.
Ephesians 6:18 says, “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
1 Thessalonians 3:10 says, “As we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.”
2 Timothy 1:3 says, “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.”
Romans 1:9 says, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you.”
Colossians 1:9 says, “ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
If you struggle with praying, then you can start by memorizing the prayers that are already in the Bible. God loves those prayers because He is the one that gave them to Paul. It is the wisdom of God to bow your knee and call upon the Holy Spirit to pray through you. Ask God what He wants you to pray. It is wisdom to take your time to devote yourself to the place of prayer.
If you truly believe that prayer makes a difference concerning the salvation of souls then your furnace should be on fire, calling out for a greater harvest. Prayerlessness is the fruit of unbelief. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” If you really believe that, then you should be on your knees more than you are.
Intercession and prayer aren’t about power, it’s about love; it’s about the restoration of the first commandment. The Great Commission does not precede the greatest commandment. It’s about intimacy and knowing Him and out of that place that He gives His heart.
Philippians 1:8-9 says, “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”
Paul did not walk with God in the flesh but it was through a devotional life that he was caught up in the realms he saw and heard things and this marked him with a spirit of prayer.
Discerning of spirits and the ability to approve those things that are supernatural come from the foundation of the knowledge of God’s love. Love helps you see clearly. Authentic love produces prayer and prayer produces authentic love.
A Call Back To Prayer
Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” The reason that you do not see the word revival in the New Testament is because they were already living in and had revival.
Let us therefore then rend our hearts and not our garments before the Lord, returning to Him with all our heart, in fastings, weeping, and mourning, praying for His will to be done and obeying every word that pours forth from Him.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
How are you making room for the Lord? Make room for Him in your families, homes, and ministries.
Do you need to return to the Lord? Do you want this spirit of prayer? Present yourself before the Lord so you can return to Him.
