Relevant Prayer
  by Michael Barrett

We have come to a critical juncture in the Body of Christ.  We have reached a point in time where the issue of relevance must be considered.  Why do we do what we do and what, after all, is the real outcome of that activity in relationship to the eternal?  

We have a responsibility to consider the issue of relevance generally and also specifically.  One of the specific areas that must be considered is the area of prayer.  The ministry of prayer has always been a major part of the bedrock of all other effective ministry?a foundation, if you will, upon which rests the whole of the work.

The issue of the relevance of prayer is not one that this article intends to address but rather the issue of the kind of prayer that is relevant.  In other words, not whether prayer ought to be offered but exactly what kind of prayer ought to be offered.

It is critically necessary that a significant infrastructure of prayer / intercession come into place for the purposes of God to be seen in there fullness in our day.  In order for this infrastructure to be effective, the right kind of prayer must be offered and in my mind this necessitates some training or equipping for the saints to be prepared to be employed fruitfully in the awesome ministry of prayer.

There are a few scriptures that I believe begin to paint a vision of a model of prayer and intercession that is indeed relevant for this season and the coming seasons.  Those scriptures are Jeremiah 23:18, Psalm 25:14 and John 3:29.

The Counsel of the Lord

Let's begin with Jeremiah 23:18.  This verse in context provides a contrasting view of two distinct possibilities regarding hearing the Lord.  The one possibility is represented by a group who had claimed to have heard the voice of the Lord and was in fact speaking for Him but had not heard Him at all.  The other possibility is one that stands over against and judges everything else that is not in its essence the voice of the Lord.  This possibility is actually standing in the counsel of the Lord and hearing His voice to know exactly what He is saying.

The issue of standing in the counsel of the Lord and hearing His voice is the issue of friendship and intimacy.  In John 15:15, Jesus tells his disciples that He will no longer call them servants but that they were entering a new phase of the relationship.  Jesus promised to call them His friends and treat them accordingly.  He said in this passage that the servant would not know what his master was doing but that the friend would know.  I believe that we have entered into a time of divine friendship.  The Master wants to have you as His friend and treat you as His friend.  One result of this friendship is that the Lord will reveal His plans as well as the plans of the enemy to you.  This interchange occurs as you stand in the counsel of the Lord and hear His voice.

Friendship with God is a very interesting consideration.  Is everyone to be considered His friend?  Are all who are born again to be treated by the Lord as His friends?  At the risk of being misunderstood here I want to say that I don't believe that everyone in the family of God will be treated as friends of God.  Intimacy is the key and intimacy requires drawing near to God.  You must draw near to be near.  It is out of this nearness that one will experience true friendship.  The opportunity exists for every believer to experience this friendship with God; however, there is no guarantee that every believer will experience this friendship.

The Secret of the Lord

In Psalm 25:14 the scripture says that the secret of the Lord belongs to those who fear Him.  One of the main ways that the fear of the Lord is expressed in the life of the believer is in true humility.  The humble person acknowledges that he doesn't know and draws near to God in friendship in order to stand in the counsel of the Lord and hear His secret.  A person with a slave mentality will never expect to really know the secret of the Lord.  Intimacy is the on-ramp to the secret of the Lord.

There seems to be some confusion in the Body of Christ about the difference between position and experience.  We know as those who have been baptized into the Body of Christ and who are accepted in the Beloved, that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places.  We occupy a position that cannot be improved upon?that is we are in Christ!  This however speaks to our position and not our experience.  Though we are in Christ, we are instructed to draw near to God in James 4:8.  This can be a bit confusing unless we understand the difference between position and experience.

I want to mention something here about being "in the spirit."  In Revelation chapter 4, the scripture says that John heard a voice that invited him to come up.  John obviously said yes, for the next words go something like this, "and immediately I was in the spirit."  Now think about this.  If John was "in the spirit" as a result of saying yes to this divine invitation, where was he prior to saying yes?  Was John seated with Christ in heavenly places before the yes?  Was John baptized into Christ before the yes?  Did John love the Lord before the yes?  These are the kinds of issues that we typically don't think all the way through before we build doctrinal strongholds and lock ourselves inside.  I want to ask you to consider the difference between position and experience as it relates to intimacy and standing in the Lords counsel.

In the context of intimacy, it is not enough for the believer to be in Christ.  That would be like the married person saying, "Well I'm married."  Ok, you're married, but how is you relationship with your spouse?  Would you consider it intimate?  And if not, how would you expect to gain new levels of intimacy?  You wouldn't do so by getting your marriage certificate out and waving it in front of your spouse would you?  No!  You would need to invest in the relationship by spending time, listening, talking, really communicating from the heart?drawing near.  You could expect that with that kind of investment the relationship would grow in intimacy.

We are coming into new models of intercession during this new season.  The old way is insufficient and simply will not produce the Kingdom of God.  The secret of the Lord is available to those who draw near to God in the fear of the Lord; who invest in bridal intimacy and enter into divine friendship.  I encourage you to make it your aim to become more and more deeply acquainted with this new Kingdom way (it really isn't new at all, is it?) and watch the effect both inward and outward.

Bridal Intercession

Think about this: that there is a way to pray / intercede that yields perfect results every time.  Now hold on before you reject this idea as being far too lofty.  There are many factors that can effect how pray is answered and when it is answered so we can't forgo the consideration of these factors.  However, this model of prayer whereby we stand in the counsel of the Lord, hear His secret and pray / say what we are told to say will in fact produce staggering results.  Jesus said what He heard the Father say.  We are invited into a life of divine partnership in which we can hear the Father and say what He is saying.  This model of intercession is throne-room intercession.  We are in the throne-room, standing before the Father and waiting to hear what He is saying.  Wow!!  What an incredible thought!  This is a new model of intercession that will catapult the ministry of prayer into another dimension of effectiveness.

In addition to new levels of effectiveness resulting from this model, there is a divine by-product that will blow your mind.  As you draw near to God in intimacy and friendship, a number of things will begin to happen.  Your heart will be transformed as a result of worshipping and being in the presence of the Lord.  Also, when you are in the presence of the Lord, you are in the presence of the Word.  The result then will also be the breaking open of revelation that has never been seen before.  I can't begin to tell you how many times I have been in the presence of the Lord just waiting or worshipping when wham! the spirit of revelation opens up some verse or passage of scripture in the most profound way.  Another thing that happens is the wonderful effect simply being in the presence of the Lord has on the human heart.  You will find yourself in real repentance in the middle of a prayer meeting when the issue the Holy Spirit is dealing with you about was the furtherest thing from your mind when the meeting started.  Your heart will be tenderized more and more simply by drawing near, standing in the Lords presence, worshipping Him and gazing on His beauty.

Summary

In conclusion we need to consider that many of the things that worked in the past are irrelevant for today and for the future.  We stand in need of a serious retooling as we face the challenges that lie ahead of us.  Leaders I want to challenge you to take these things to the Lord in prayer.  Before you take a position or respond out of your history or even training?pray and ask the Lord about how to move the people you are leading into Real Relevant Prayer!  Saints, there is a model of intercession that awaits your participation.  The day we are in requires us to employ relevant prayer as one of the main components of our ministry vision.  Let's ask the Lord for wisdom, make the adjustments that need to be made and enter into effective prayer!!

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