GOING DEEPER WITH GOD

YOU WERE CALLED
TO PRAY

PROPHETIC PRAYER

I recently half read an article that pretty well said "PROPHETIC PRAYER" was nonsense. Yet, I truly think they misunderstood what this means. So lets dive into the word. Though this is not about the gift of prophesy or the ministry of a called Prophet, it's simply that every born again Christian is said to be able and should prophesy over our lives and yes even in our prayers. First just a few scriptures about prophecy 

2 Peter 1:21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy

What does it mean to prophesy? Some contribute it to foretelling coming events and yes to a degree that is true. BUT, for the majority of God's people, by what we read in 1 Corinthians 14:1 every Christian should be prophesying, this is speaking the truth of God's Word over ourselves, and families, when the enemy or our fleshly emotions want to speak the lie. When we pray prophetically it is praying a blessing and praying according to God's word, it's never giving up on a lost loved one, because the word says "God is not slack in His coming but desires for all to come to repentance and be saved," "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved".

When we get a horrible doctors report I call on my Healer, I remember and speak in prayer and over myself many healing scriptures, I am reminded of  King Hezekiah when he was told by the prophet he was going to die, he turned his face to the wall, cried and prayed and God added 15 more years to his life. My favorite verse to pray and hang onto is found in Psalm 27:

Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

2 Peter 1:4 by which we have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There are approximately 7,462 promises by God in His word. His promises are "Yes and Amen"! To pray prophetically is to pray back God's promises in our prayers. Not that we have to use word for word but that His word is so in us we know what it means and as we pray the Holy Spirit brings to us the very promise/word we need to be praying, an example:

Praying for wayward sons and daughters:

Father I believe you have a good plan for my child a plan that is not evil but one that has a hope and a future, I trust that Your plan comes to pass. Your word tells me that a day is coming that my weeping will be over, because you are bringing my loved one out of the land of the enemy back to their own boarders. (Put the name of your love one in your prayer)

I used two scriptures Jeremiah 29:11 and Jeremiah 31:16-17.

The word prodigal which is used to describe our wayward children, actually means "the one who returns" so when you use this you are actually prophesying, that they will come home.

You can use God's word in anything you pray because there is a promise for that. To speak a blessing over ourselves, our spouse, our children and others is powerful in God's eyes. It is written: "out of our mouths we speak death and life" and "both blessing and cursing come from our lips." We never want to place discouraging labels on ourselves or others. Example: stupid, useless, always be poor, never amount to anything.

Go back and read 2 Peter 1:4. Answer this question: who are partakers of His divine nature? Salvation does not automatically make us partakers of His divine nature, it is the ones who align themselves around His promises. It is believing and understanding that His promises are for us today as when He first spoke them.

 Because I know He will never leave me nor forsake me, I have no fear for tomorrow because God is my rear guard and Jesus is my armor, I will not worry about tomorrow and I will cast all my cares on Him. I could go on and on, but His promises about who He is and who I am in Christ is what I live my life by. P.S. I just used 6 promises in what I just said. To prophetically pray says I believe this will come to pass though my eyes do not see, my faith to believe is steadfast..

Romans 4:17b God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

FOOTNOTE: This is not name it and claim it, or fake it to you make it.

Pray believing, speak His promises in your prayers, thank Him that though you do not see it yet, you believe He will bring it to pass. If you don't believe His word or His promises then why pray?

EFFECTIVE PRAYERS

These prayers have the power to produce an affect. Because we have spent time in our prayer closet, because we have sought after God, because we have aligned our lives around His promises and His word, because we have learned to recognize His voice, because we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our prayers, (to not seek the Holy Spirit's guidance is to just be praying in the flesh and there is NO POWER IN OUR FLESH),because when we pray we pray in faith knowing God hears our prayers and answers our prayers, we thank Him and we seek His will in our prayers and our everyday lives. And when we can't see, we still trust. Now you will see the power come forth when we invoke Jesus and His promises in our prayers. 

Powerful prayers are not wishy washy, they aren't a "now I lay me down to sleep" prayers, they are mighty prayers as a soldier enlisted in the Lord's army, they are praying the purposes of God, often times these are accompanied by fasting. Many see fasting as only giving up food, or going on a Daniel fast, some say it can include giving up a food or something you enjoy. In the past I have given up my favorite foods, limited my food intake, given up all television for a certain length of time, staying off social media. But if all we do is not do what we like we have accomplished nothing.

1. Fasting is personal, just because God told your friend to fast doesn't mean He told you to.

2. Fasting is private not to be promoted by "look at me."

3. Fasting is not giving up something, but, in fact, spending that time seeking God in prayer and in His word.

Here are a few examples of powerful prayers:

Joshua 10:12-13 Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: Sun, stand still over Gibson; and moon, in the valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, til the people had revenge on their enemies.

To do this the earth would have to stop rotating and it took God holding the earth in place during this time.

2 Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see". Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

A fearful servant was granted vision into the spirit realm, to see greater were those with them, than those in the Syrian army coming against them.

Acts 4:31 and when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the

Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Peter and John had been arrested so the church gathered to pray for them, they had prayed for boldness to speak God's word.

Time to stop! One more session on prayer, looking at intercessors, prayer warriors and prayer partners.