Pray Network Forum

“How enthroned, magnificent, and royal the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ at His Father’s right hand in heaven! The benefits of His intercession flow to us through our intercessions. Our intercession ought to catch by contagion and by necessity the inspiration and largeness of Christ’s great work at His Father’s right hand. His business and His life are to pray. Our business and our lives ought to be to pray, and to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thessalonians 5:17).” E. M. Bounds

Do we realize that prayer and intercession can break through our most difficult trials? Intercession is the key that will unlock the treasures of God on earth. It will open up heaven and bring it to earth. God’s perfect will in heaven can only be brought to earth through the ministry of intercession.

Can we consecrate ourselves afresh to this great ministry? Can we make a commitment to prioritize prayer and intercession in our lives?

When you run out of strength and motivation to pray, look at the greatest intercessor throughout all of history—the Lord Jesus Christ. He is always interceding for us. If this is the ministry He is involved in, surely this should help us to continue in His example and not give up. Here is a prayer to be great in intercession like Jesus. You may want to pray this regularly in your own life.

My Prayer to be Like Jesus in Intercession

Jesus, You are the greatest intercessor throughout all of history. I pray that You will teach me to be a great intercessor like You. I thank You for always interceding for me. I thank You that even while on earth in Your humanity, You were the greatest intercessor. Help me to be like You in intercession. You prayed before You began Your public ministry (Luke 3:21-22). You emphasized prayer in Your teaching (Matthew 6:5-13). You trained Your disciples to pray (Luke 9:28-29). You prayed in secret and prayed in public (Luke 5:16, John 11:41-42). You arose early to pray and withdrew to lonely places (Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35). You always depended on Your Father and prayed for direction before choosing Your twelve disciples (Luke 6:12-13). Jesus, You paid the price to intercede. You were tempted in every way like us and, yet, were without sin. You humbled Yourself and became obedient to death on a cross, and You gave Yourself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (Hebrews 5:7, Philippians 2:6-8).

Jesus, You are the greatest intercessor in heaven. You are exalted above the heavens and are our perfect High Priest forever. You will always meet our needs (Hebrews 7:25-26). You are seated at the Father’s right hand and are exalted to the highest place with unlimited power. I thank You that I can partner with You in intercession. I can pray the will of heaven into the earth realm (Philippians 2:9, Act 7:55, Hebrews 1:13). You have all authority in heaven and on earth (Hebrews 2:7-9, Philippians 2:9-11). You are able to win every battle I bring before You in prayer. At Your name every knee will bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth. You paid the price so that I can come to the throne of grace with my intercession and be heard on high.

I thank You for being my example in prayer and intercession. You are always interceding for me. You speak to the Father in my defense as the Righteous One. You are holy, blameless, pure, and set apart. You can pray in my defense when I sin (1 John 2:1). Help me to lay hold of this great and powerful ministry. I want my intercession to bless the world and glorify You. I thank You that intercession is the key that will unlock the treasures of God on earth. Your perfect will in heaven can only be brought to earth through the ministry of intercession. I consecrate myself afresh to this great ministry. I commit myself to prioritize prayer in my life. I thank you for showing me the way as my Great Intercessor. In Jesus’ name, amen.

It’s time to go deeper in the ministry of prayer and show earth the power of intercession. You may want to purchase my new book: The Passionate Prayer Life of Jesus. Learn how to pray with His authority as you gain insight about Jesus' lifestyle and example of prayer. Learn about His life, thoughts, and practice of prayer. With crafted prayers at the end of each chapter, this book is excellent for spiritual growth both personally and in group settings. Grow as a fervent lover of God who passionately prays His will onto the earth.

“Intercession! Would one not say that this is the very holiest exercise of our boldness as God’s children? It is the highest privilege and enjoyment connected to our communion with God. It is the power of being used by God as instruments for His great work of making men His habitation and showing forth His glory.” Andrew Murray

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer (IHOPKC)
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org

Dr. Alice Smith Allow me would like to share some thoughts with you today about intimacy with God. As the Bride of Christ, we will never experience a moment of life alone again. He longs to share as much with us as we are willing to receive. Not only do we have the joy of sharing in the Bridegroom’s victories, but Jesus often invites us to share His burdens. Suppose a mental picture of a family member crosses your mind. Most of the time we think about them, and then from our human perspective we ignore the reason why they came to mind. Instead, ask, “Lord, what about this loved one?”
            The Lord may tell you about a timely need they might have. If so, in faith agree with Him concerning this burden. He may also expose the enemy’s plans to harm your loved one.

For example, the Lord may reveal to you that the devil has designed an airplane disaster for one in your family. So with ambassadorial authority, enter spiritual warfare. “Powers of darkness, I now call your strategy to destroy my family member to a halt in the power of Christ.” If you do not know how to pray, simply agree with God. Pray, “Lord, preserve your purpose for my loved one’s life.”
            A more difficult intercessory assignment is when God places a burden on us without an attached assignment. In other words, we receive the burden from the Lord’s heart, but we have no idea what it concerns. In this case Jesus is asking us to bear His burden by faith and to intercede without knowledge (Rom. 8:26). Listen friend. This is another way the devil deceives us into aborting the process of prayer. We may wrongly assume it makes no sense to bear a burden for something about which we have no knowledge. A mature intercessor will be willing to bear the burden while God alone bears the knowledge. This is faith pressed to the limits!
            We Christians, who consider ourselves intercessory prayer warriors, godly Bible teachers or pastors, listen up! Beware of the trap of trying to acquire a bigger and better “high.” Whether it’s prayer, Christian service or spiritual warfare, this is nothing more than fleshly Outer Court striving. Experienced Christians willingly submit to the discipline of the dry times. Consider the seasons when the Lord is quiet in your life to be times of “spiritual tune-ups.” During transitions, when He chooses not to speak, your spiritual ears are being fine-tuned to hear His voice. In time, your spirit will learn to hear Him, even when He whispers.
            The Lord Jesus doesn’t have to be screaming at us. A secure relationship is one that sitting in each other’s presence without words spoken can be enough. Earthly thrills diminish once we taste the delicacies of this sweet relationship with the Lord beyond the veil.

Finally

For 43 years, Eddie and I have traveled the world sharing the good news of the gospel, and equipping believers in their relationship to Christ. Each year we’ve been blessed to have the support of fellow Christians who share our burden for souls.
            This year (2013), for the first time ever since we began ministry (for Eddie in 1960 and me in 1968), for reasons unknown to us, our ministry income has dropped 60%. This has forced us to make drastic changes in every area. A refiners fire has indeed pruned, refined, re-calibrated and restructured us. But the calling of God has not been rescinded (Rom 11:29); and like the Apostle Paul, we are “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to...” (Phil 1:6).
            Today we are asking the Lord to increase the number of those who share our vision and who are willing to serve as “senders.” There are those who are called to “go,” and those who are called to “send.” (Rom 10:15)
            Will you come alongside and invest in the U.S. Prayer Center ministry? We have daily opportunities for ministry and see victories both here and abroad. But we need to hear from you. You know us! We rarely suggest a certain amount, but this month, would you send $100 or more? If you can’t, please send your best gift! When you do, enclose your greatest prayer burdens too. We will be honored to intercede for and with you for breakthroughs.

Sincerely serving our King with you!

By Phone:  1-800-569-4825  or  (713) 466-4009

Or make your check payable to:  U.S. Prayer Center

7710-T Cherry Park Drive, Suite 224

Houston, Texas 77095

Thanks you!

Spiritual Intimacy With God is Alice Smith's life message.

Her best-selling book, "Beyond The Veil," now a worldwide bestseller
is available in many languages.

Her newest book, "Spiritual Intimacy With God" is the sequel.

Here, Alice shares two minutes of video instruction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PZxBJpK6ExY#t=21

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Spiritual Intimacy With God
http://www.prayerbookstore.com/spiritual-intimacy-with-god/

Beyond The Veil
http://bit.ly/New-Edition-BEYOND-THE-VEIL

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NOTE:  Alice is also available to speak to your church or group.
800-569-4825

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God bless you!
Eddie and Alice

By Eddie and Alice Smith
U.S. Prayer Center, Houston, Texas

Sadly, as we enter 2013 we can’t help but notice that much of the twenty-first century church is in disarray.

Despite Paul’s 2,000-year-old admonition against division in the church (1 Cor. 12:22-25), it’s plain to see that the body of Christ is severely splintered. Among the divisions are:

•  Denominationalism

•  Racial tensions

•  The gender gap

•  The Charismatic versus non-Charismatic issues

•  Minister and laity distinctions

Although in the past twenty years we’ve seen some encouraging reconciliation in the church, the lost world might rightly ask, “Why are these Christians trying to reconcile me to God when they are not even reconciled to each other?”

It’s an excellent question, and one that deserves an answer. After all, reconciliation implies relationship!

But there is something else. Along with the need for reconciliation, we must offer the Lord new wineskins. God wants to pour out the new wine of revival upon his church. In fact, he has saved the best wine until last. It is a purifying wine, a healing wine, and an empowering wine. New wine however, requires new wineskins. (Mark 2:22) As someone has rightly said, “All new wineskins have one thing in common. They are freshly dead.”

To become new wineskins and truly live, we must die to ourselves and abandon the old. So the church today is in a state of flux. The only thing we can count on in the future is change! But as long as the church looks like a sieve, fraught with disunity, it will never hold water, much less new wine.

We are on the brink of what may be history’s last great revival and a worldwide harvest of souls. God is renewing the nature of the church (his bride) as he prepares her for earth’s final spiritual battle to be followed by the marriage supper of the Lamb.

However, Jesus said, “A house divided against itself will fall” (Luke 11:17). As unity enables, so also disunity disables. For 2,000 years, a disabled church has tried,

• To reach a disabled world

• To fight against the kingdom of darkness

• To complete the Great Commission

As a result of our divisions, not surprisingly, we have accomplished little. After 2,000 years of opportunity, much of the world is yet to know God and the eternal salvation that could be theirs through his Son, Jesus Christ. Two thousand more years of the same from the church will produce the same pitiful results!

That is precisely why we need watchmen (intercessors) who will “stand in the gap in prayer,” and for gatekeepers (pastors), who will move into their Kingdom positions to work effectively with them.

(Source: Eddie and Alice Smith’s book, Intercessors & Pastors: The Emerging Partnership of Watchmen & Gatekeepers, pages 5-6)

Elisha was a man of unusual “God moments.” I’m still pondering the floating axhead story—and have absolutely nothing to write about that!

But I am especially struck by the details of two miracles involving Elisha: the widow with the replenishing oil and the Shunammite woman’s son who was raised from the dead. Both of these stories from 2 Kings 4 have a common thread that intrigues me.

In the first miracle story, the widow was in deep financial trouble. She called out to Elisha for help, acknowledging that she was down to her last few drops of oil. Elisha instructed her to gather up as many jars as possible in her home. Then he told her to go inside and shut the door. Behind that closed door, the oil began to flow and the widow was supplied with more than enough to sustain her family.

In the second miracle story, the woman from Shunem lost her son, perhaps to a brain aneurism. (Just my guess—the passage says that he died after a horrible headache.) She was distraught and went to find Elisha. Elisha’s servant got to the woman’s house first and tried to help the boy according to Elisha’s instructions. Nothing.

Then Elisha showed up, went into the room with the boy, and shut the door behind him. Alone in the room with the lifeless body, Elisha began to pray. He lay on top of the boy, mouth to mouth, hand to hand. As Elisha’s body covered the boy, a sense of warmth began to return. Elisha got up, paced around the room, and then stretched out over the boy again. Suddenly the boy sneezed seven times with the breath of life!

Both of these miracles were done behind closed doors. No crowds; no big fanfare. Just simple acts of obedience and prayer in times of desperation. One miracle resulted in provision; the other resulted in a revived life.

I’ve noticed in my own life that God is calling me to more times of intercession behind closed doors. It’s just me and my God. Mostly I’m pleading with Him for revival of the church and spiritual awakening of our nation. I’m praying for the dead to live again!

But perhaps the greatest miracle is what God is doing in my own heart and life when I shut the door and get alone with Him. I think I am living again!