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Archive for the ‘Prophetic Prayer’ Category

An Urgent Call to Kneel in Order to Stand

Posted in General Discipleship, Prophetic Prayer, tagged , , , , on March 14, 2011 | 1 Comment »

World events in recent days and weeks require a sober-minded response on the part of Christians and especially Christian leaders.

There are many thoughts and responses by Christian leaders to the Japan earthquake, just as there were many responses to the earthquake in Haiti and New Zealand. In recent months and years many people have quoted Jesus’ prophetic declaration in Matthew 24:7-8 “There will be famines and  earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” Any time you have people writing and speaking about interpreting world events in relation to the ‘end times’ you have guaranteed controversy, so it is with a sigh and a groan that I wade into these topics.

What is on my heart is the response that Jesus himself called for among Christian believers: “Therefore keep watch (and pray) because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” -Matt. 24:42

Here are a few ‘obvious observations’ from Jesus’ dialogue about the end of the age in Matthew 24:

  1. Jesus gave numerous descriptions of the signs of the times, so that we would know them and look for them (see Matt. 24:6-25). He event says ‘”See, I have told you ahead of time” (v. 25)
  2. Jesus told us to learn lessons from the signs in world events. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out you know that summer is near. Even so, when see all these things, you know that it (he) is near, right at the door.” (v.32)
  3. Jesus also was clear that nobody will know the specific time of the return of the Lord. “No one knows about that day or hour” (v. 36), and “…the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (v.44)
  4. Jesus wants us to respond to the signs of world events by entering into PRAYER. “Therefore keep watch (and pray) because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (v. 42). Also, Jesus clearly says that he is looking for believers who will be ‘faithful and wise servants’ (v. 45) and that the activity of waiting and praying is what distinguishes the wise from the foolish believers.

Now I want to be very practical and specific at this point: The majority of Christians find it difficult to spend extended periods of time in prayer, by themselves. The reality of the human condition is that we need community. We need to be part of communities of believers who will gather together to watch and pray. If we are going to actually respond in the way that Jesus is calling us to respond, the majority of us will need to find some expression of a community of people who are seeking to go deep in prayer. Yes, some people will be able to do this on their own, and solitary times of prayer are vital and important, however the majority of Christian believers need the support of others around them in order to truly enter into the reality of diligent waiting and prayer before the Lord.

There must be a clear voice that sounds an alarm about the times that we are living in and are heading toward: The days ahead are going to become more difficult and perilous that anything that we have yet seen and we MUST alter the way that we live in order to begin to live lives that Jesus would describe to be faithful and wise.

Right now God is raising up houses of prayer in cities and nations around the world. Many of these are communities of people who are taking the call to prayer and worship seriously. I want to urge you to work to find a local house of prayer in the area where you live and actually get involved and begin to watch and pray! The time for merely talking about how important prayer is but not actually doing it is over! Jesus has warned us that if we do not respond and live as wise and faithful servants who watch and pray then our love for God will grow cold and many will end up being offended at God. However, to the ones who will enter into lives of prayer and worship and extended times of waiting on the Lord will be be able to stand firm to the end and they will be saved! (see Matt. 24:13)

This is NOT a response that is based out of fear; it is the only way to live free from fear in the days ahead! Jesus told us many of the signs to look for and told us ahead of time what to expect, so that we would not be “alarmed”, or full of fear. A lifestyle of prayer and worship is the pathway to live in confidence before God, able to rest in the revelation of his love and sovereign power.

I conclude with a sobering question: How would Jesus describe your lifestyle right now? Are you living as a ‘faithful and wise servant’? These are the questions I am asking myself as I look at my own life! This is the time to throw ourselves into lives of waiting on the Lord in prayer and worship and to call everyone around us to do the same.

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Billy Graham’s Thoughts on Prayer Pt. 2

Posted in General Discipleship, Prophetic Prayer, tagged , , , , , on January 23, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Recently Rev. Billy Graham, the famous evangelist, gave a rare interview during which he reflected on his life and expressed his desire to have spent much more time in prayer and worship. In my previous post I wrote about how stunning this quote was in light of all that God has done through his ministry over the years.

While I cannot know what it is like to be 92 years old, as Billy Graham is, one thing is clear: at that age a person spends a lot of time reflecting back on their life but even more time thinking about what lies ahead: eternity with God. The reality is this: our view of the future greatly impacts our present; or put another way, our view of the next age (meaning eternity after we die) greatly impacts our view of the present age.

In these days, God is raising up a world-wide prayer and worship movement on a scale never seen before in history. As we move closer and closer to the time of Christ’s return, the area that the Lord is emphasizing strongly is that of prayer and worship. This is not surprising when we look at Jesus’ words in Luke 18:

And the Lord (Jesus) said, “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. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?“  -Luke 18:6-8

In the context of talking about night and day prayer Jesus asks the question about whether there will be faith on the earth when he returns. This refers to faith in relationship to prayer. Jesus is asking a rhetorical question. He knows the answer, but he is asking it in order to make a strong point. Jesus himself drew the connection between night and day prayer being raised up in the earth and his return.

Again in my previous post, I pointed out that time is a ‘non-renewable’ resource so it is very important that we spend it wisely. Are we investing our time in the things that Jesus values? Are we listening and responding to what the Holy Spirit is saying to believers (the Church) and investing our time accordingly?

I believe strongly that the Holy Spirit is raising up Houses of Prayer all around the world in these days and calling Christians to participate in communities of night and day prayer and worship. Many years ago a prophetic man named Bob Jones heard the Lord refer to these communities of prayer as ‘the house(s) of the watchful and the wise’. At the time of Jesus’ return, he is looking for ‘wise and faithful servants’ (Matt. 24:45).

Here’s the thing about these houses of prayer that God is raising up: they are primarily about expressions of extravagant love and adoration for Jesus Christ our great and beautiful King and Savior who we long see return to the earth. Worship is at the heart of the house of prayer. These communities do works of justice but as expressions of love for Jesus. These communities spend much time in worship and prayer, but as expressions of their deep and abiding passion for Jesus. Billy Graham’s comment about wishing that he has spend more time in prayer, study and meditation, comes from a heart that longs for Jesus. Think about what he said:

I’d spend more time in meditation and prayer telling the Lord how much I love him and adore him and looking forward to the time we are going to spend together for eternity.

Here is a man who is looking ahead to eternity and wishing that he had spent his time differently in this age. There are so many ways for us to spend our time; so many activities that we can give ourselves to. Many things pull us away from the kind of activity that Billy Graham is speaking about. We are living in a historic period in history where God is raising up communities of people who are standing together to give themselves to lives of worship, prayer and meditation on God’s Word. I consider it an incredible honor to be living at time where these ‘houses of prayer’ are being established all over the world. We can connect with others who are hearing the prompting of the Spirit to give themselves to prayer and worship and we can strengthen each other in pursuit of the very lifestyle that Billy Graham spoke of.

How are we spending our time? Are we spending it in ways that we will regret later in life?

Take some time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about this issue. Ask yourself, “how am I going to respond to what God is saying to me?”

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Praying for the Revelation of God’s Glory

Posted in Devotional Prayer, Intercessory Prayer, Prophetic Prayer, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on August 3, 2010 | 1 Comment »

“We can’t just confront society with issues of righteousness we MUST present them with the glorious person of Christ and His saving grace…” – Stuart Greaves

I saw this on Twitter from Stuart Greaves, who is an intercessory missionary at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and I instantly knew that I had to write about it.

The revelation of the glory of Jesus has been at the center of my prayer life for the past several months. In particular, in the past few weeks, the following passage in Ezekiel 1:26-28

Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

I cannot begin to express how important this is to our prayer lives. What Stuart Greaves is saying is that it is not enough for the Church to only stand up and call for righteousness in society. The reason is that when we do so, it comes across as simply being negative; the Church is well known for what it stands against but not as much known for what it stands for. Sadly this is what has happened over the past decades and it has turned off many people in our western society.

As Christians we must present what is infinitely better and more desirable than anything else, namely the glorious son of man, Christ Jesus. Further, there is no desire for righteousness apart from the person of Jesus Christ, so to call for righteousness in society without a clarion call to the magnificence of Jesus sounds hollow and undesirable.

The issue here is that we cannot get a revelation of the glory and splendor and beauty of Jesus Christ apart from the place of prayer. In prayer we are in the place (or activity) where we can behold his glory. If the Church is to rise up and have a prophetic voice in our western culture that calls people to the knowledge of God and the revelation of God in the person of Christ, it MUST begin in the prayer rooms. This kind of prophetic voice is not cultivated in classrooms and Sunday worship services. It is only developed through hours and hours spent in the Presence of the glorious One whom we have fixed our eyes toward knowing and loving.

Ezekiel was a man to whom God revealed his glory to and then was called to be a voice to his generation, calling them to return to the Lord, calling them to return to the glorious One.

In our times of prayer we need to rediscover a passion for the glory of God being revealed to the people of our generation. I challenge you to begin to begin to include regular, lengthy times of worship and intercession on this critical theme. Start reading Ezekiel 1:22-28 and Revelation 1:12-18. Read them over and over and let them lead you in your prayer times. Pray for a greater revelation of God’s glory to your spirit!

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Why Pray for the G8 & G20 Summits

Posted in Intercessory Prayer, Prophetic Prayer, tagged , , , , , , , on June 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »

On June 25-27, 2010 the leaders of the most industrialized nations in the world will be meeting in the Muskoka area near Toronto, Ontario. The G8 leaders will meet June 25-26 and the G20 leaders will meet June 26-27. These are annual meetings and this year is the 5th time that Canada has been host to this gathering of international leaders. (you can find out more information at the Government website)

In anticipation of this event, God has raised up a national prayer initiative called ‘The Luke 18 Weekend‘ to pray over the G8 and G20 meetings. This initiative is being led by Cityscape Prayer Ministries and there are over a dozen Canadian houses of prayer and other prayer ministries that will be involved from coast to coast. The weekend will consist of a call to 72 hours of continuous prayer and worship in cities and regions across Canada. This is truly an historic event because never before in Canada has there been such a national mobilization of night and day intercession for a single event!

In the context of a western culture that has grown increasingly cynical about government and politics we must understand why it is important that we pray for such an event. It is easy to simply say that the G8 and G20 meetings are ‘much ado about nothing’ and that similar meetings of international leaders rarely change anything.

Today I want to look briefly at some Christian and Biblical reasons why it is extremely important to be involved in the Luke 18 weekend:

The most immediate reason is that as Christians we are commanded to pray for our leaders. The words of Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 are familiar to us:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority…

It is clear that God’s will is for us to be in prayer for those who are in positions of governmental leadership. Our cynicism does not release us from the mandate to pray for our leaders.

A second reason that the Luke 18 weekend is of tremendous significance is in light of the hour of human history that we are living in and the need to sound a prophetic voice to the kings of the earth. Psalm 2 is a well known Psalm that speaks to the human drama at the end of the age. It gives a powerful declaration in verses 10-12:

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The G8 and G20 summits are clearly a gathering of the kings of the earth. To host these leaders in our nation of Canada is an honor that should be taken seriously. As Christians we must also be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying through the Scriptures. The great need of the hour is for the kings of the earth to hear the warning of Scripture to respond and honor Jesus Christ, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the One who is coming to rule over all the nations of the earth!

How will they hear this warning? Will it be through picketing and protests? No, such a warning must strike their spirits and this will only happen by the power of God moving in response to the intercession of His people!

The final and most important reason why the Luke 18 weekend is so critical and why Christian believers across Canada should be involved is this: God desires it. This national prayer initiative is not simply some idea that was cooked up out a desire to be cool and trendy. The Luke 18 weekend is a gathering that the Lord has raised up. God is saying “I want there to be continual worship and intercession over these meetings”. Christian leaders from across the nation have agreed that this is what God is saying and Christians are responding to this call to continual worship and intercession for this important event.

Here in Edmonton, there will be 72 hours of continual prayer and worship hosted by House of Prayer Edmonton. More information about how to become involved can be found on the HoPE website. For people in other regions of the country, more information can be found on the Cityscape website.

It is time to put our words into action and gather together and pray!

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