gates - Pray Network Forum - The Reimagine Network

“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. 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 in 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. We recently were in Spain. On the trip we spent all day waiting in the airport in Kansas City because our flight was cancelled because of tornadoes in Texas. Waiting is not easy. Often in other countries 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 is 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."

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“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

Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise

International House of Prayer KC Staff

deb@intercessorsarise.org

http://www.intercessorsarise.org

“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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