8-15-10
In John 6:63 Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life.” God’s words are spirit and life and they are the means by which God imparts His life to us. Prayer and intercession causes us to internalize God’s Word (life) as we speak God’s words back to Him many times. Each time we say back to God what He has declared to us, it marks our spirit, illuminates our mind and tenderizes our heart.
One way that we are filled with the Spirit’s presence is by singing God’s word back to Him. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Col.3:16) God’s word will progressively dominate, saturate and renew our mind and heart as we simply declare His word back to God in prayer as we pursue total obedience. Our inner man is changed by many prayers that also function to renew our minds and hearts.
Intercession draws us into intimacy with God’s heart and unifies us with God’s people as it humbles and transforms us. The result of the Father ruling the universe through intercession is that His people are established in intimacy, community and humility while engaged in governmental partnership with Jesus.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit”… (Jn.15:7-8). Jesus promised that if God’s words abide in us then we would have power in prayer. The Word abides in us as we meditate on the Scripture and pursue obedience.
Our effectiveness in prayer is dynamically connected to our depth in the Word. The Word abides in us only as it takes root deeply in our mind and heart. It is not enough to only learn the right concepts to pray. The Word must take hold of our hearts if we are to be strong in prayer. The fuel for the spirit of prayer is the Word of God abiding in our inner man. We feed on the Word to keep our prayers from being superficial. We do not want to just “say our prayers” but we want to be filled with God’s heart and a spirit of prayer.
“Lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty…then you will lay your gold in the dust…Yes, the Almighty will be your gold…for then you will have your delight in the Almighty…you will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you…You will declare a thing, and it will be established for you”…(Job22:21-28)
The saints will decree God’s decrees with power as we fill our hearts with His Word and live a life of abandonment to God.
Blessings,
Gary