these words

Prayer as prophecy

prayer as prophecy

How often do I see the power of prayer in this way – as prophetic? How often to I see the words I chose to speak out loud as whether they are curses or blessing? How often am I speaking into the wind and expecting that God will hear, carry out and answer those prayers as I utter them in faith believing they will move mountains?

It probably is not as many times as I should be – my prayers are fairly passive.

 

God rises up and scatters his enemies.
    Those who hate him run away in defeat. – Psalm 68:1 GNT
If I prayed this as a prayer my mind goes to these words – “may You scatter Your enemies.” As a prophecy it would sound more like – “You will scatter Your enemies.”
This is a prayer that needs to come from me without any doubts or lack of faith as if God sometimes delivers and others times He does not – allowing enemies to do to me whatever they wish. I need to come in prayer with a certain knowledge and a completely confident assurance that God will rise up and He will avenge Himself of His enemy. Is this where prophecy comes in?
If I pray as I should, He has promised to grant my request – is that not better than any assurance I can receive from any prophet?

I look at God’s providence over me holding in His hand the destiny of His enemies. I do not see Him looking down from heaven laughing at all their plans only to then rise up and scatter them. I see my prayer calling on God to rise up and in my call to Him, He does and He engages Himself to scatter His enemies.

“The work of the Spirit can be compared to mining. The Spirit’s work is to blast to pieces the sinner’s hardness of heart and his frivolous opposition to God. The period of the awakening can be likened to the time when the blasts are fired. The time between the awakenings corresponds, on the other hand, to the time when the deep holes are being bored with great effort into the hard rock.  To bore these holes is hard and difficult and a task which tries one’s patience. To light the fuse and fire the shot is not only easy but also very interesting work. One sees “results” from such
work. It creates interest, too; shots resound, and pieces fly in every direction! It takes trained workmen to do the boring. Anybody can light a fuse.” – Hallesby

 

 

Life of intercessory prayer and faith

IntercessoryPrayer

When I worship, I think of my opening lines. Most of the time I call out to my Heavenly Father, following very much in the footsteps of how Jesus taught us to pray and how He lead in prayer Himself.

But David had some good opening lines too. I like this one in particular and am thinking about using it from time to time.

You are my king and my God;
    you give[b] victory to your people. – Psalm 44:4 GNT

I know about His power and His grace and I love the fact that He is my King. Who is mighty like God, who else do I worship and turn to for help? By virtue of His office, He comes and fights my battles for me. I think David captures an intercessory prayer here but he illustrates that such a prayer can only be prayed by someone who is sure of their personal interest in God and that God is their God before they can pray for the rest of the tired and tried family of the faithful.

It is the same point that David’s son Solomon was trying to make, challenging us to know God and be known by Him.

My lover is mine, and I am his;
    he feeds his flock among the lilies. – Song of Solomon 6:3 GNT

Is this not the love of Christ shown in His life and death and revealed to you and I by the power of the Holy Spirit? Isn’t this the same kind of love that draws me out of myself, my cold and selfish nature, unworthy and unfaithful, and makes me think about God in the first place? Is it not true that we know He loves us much more than we love Him at first. His love is certain – the cross is evidence enough. Are we not afraid that we count on our excited feelings and that it could be a fleeting emotion? However, as life goes on, and by His grace I keep persevering in a life of prayer and faith, I sense a response of earnest love coming from me and it gives birth to hope. When I think of His eye being on me and that He knows my heart, I am in awe of Him and am filled with hope and peace. That is my prayer and I joy as He finds these places where He feeds me and fills me.

The preface of the Lord’s Prayer (contained in these words, Our Father which art in heaven), teaches us, when we pray, to draw near to God with confidence of his fatherly goodness, and our interest therein; with reverence, and all other childlike dispositions, heavenly affections, and due apprehensions of his sovereign power, majesty, and gracious condescension: as also, to pray with and for others. – Westminster Larger Catechism