Intercessory Prayer: How God Can Use Your Prayers to Move Heaven and Earth (Large Print 16pt)

by Dutch Sheets

  The concept is that our prayers do more than just motivate the Father to action. They actually release the power of the Holy Spirit from us to accomplish things. Certain types of praying would of course do this more than others.

  For example, in our chapter on travail we spoke of this happening as we pray in the Spirit. Another powerful way this occurs would be through speaking the Word of God as a sword into situations (see Eph. 6:17). General declarations or commands are other activities that release the power of the Holy Spirit (see Matt. 17:20; Mark 11:23). The practice of the laying on of hands is another scriptural method of imparting power (see Mark 16:18; Heb. 6:2).

  That there is literal power from the Holy Spirit that can be released from us is absolute. The power of God that brings life, healing and wholeness to the earth flows out from usthe Church.

  Please don't picture some throne in heaven and feel like it's all there. He has now made His throne in our hearts and we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the naos of God. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19, this word means "holy of holies."" We are now the holy of holies, the dwelling place of God upon the earth. When He moves to release power upon the earth, it doesn't have to shoot out of the sky somewhere-it comes from His people where His Spirit dwells upon the earth.

  The Church, God's Womb upon the Earth

  Whether through speaking, touching, laying hands on the sick, declaration or worship, when God's power starts flowing upon the earth, it is flowing through human vessels. We, the Body of Christ, are God's womb from which His life is birthed or released upon the earth. The life that Christ produces flows from the womb of the Church.

  In John 7:38, Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' " The innermost being, or belly (KJV), is the word koilia, which literally means "womb." Translating it literally, we would say, "Out of his womb shall flow rivers of living water." The word "womb" speaks of reproduction. It speaks of birthing. It speaks of the bringing forth of life.

  A similar phrase is found in Revelation 22:1-2:

  And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

  The picture here is of Jesus as the source of life. Out of Him flows the river with trees on either side. Leaves are produced by the trees, which are fed by the river, which is fed byJesus. Peoplethe nations-eat the leaves and are made whole.

  What I want to point out is that the phrase "river of the water of life" in this passage is the same phrase in Greek as the "rivers of living water" in John 7. There is no difference between the river of life flowing out of the Lamb bringing healing and wholeness to the earth, and the rivers of living water that are to be flowing from the womb of the Church. We are His birthing vessels, His incubation chambers. Why should that surprise us? Is it not supposed to be the very life of Jesus in us that we are ministering to the earth?

  John 7:39 tells us, "But this He spoke of the Spirit." It is the Spirit of God flowing from us. He doesn't lay hands on the sickwe lay hands on the sick. He doesn't lay hands on a person and ordain-He tells us to do it for Him. He, inside of us, releases a river to flow into that person, and they are now anointed and appointed by God. When He wants to bring forth the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation and life, He does not echo it from the heavens. He speaks it through us. God's life, the literal power and energy of God, flows out of our mouths and penetrates the hearts of unbelievers, and they are born again.

  We are the ones who wield the sword of the Spirit-the spoken Word of God. When the Spirit of God wants to cut and bring judgment into situations, He doesn't just speak from the clouds. He speaks from His people-out of our spirits. When I speak His Word into a situation at the direction of the Holy Spirit, it is as if the Lamb of God Himself spoke the Word. It releases God's life! We are the womb of God from which the river is supposed to flow.

  Measurable Power

  It is important to realize that this power is measurable. There are cumulative amounts of it. That there are measurable levels of almost any spiritual substance is easily proven.

  There are measurable levels of faith. Romans 12:3 says, "as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." The word "measure" here is metron from which we get the word "meter." In other words, God has "metered out" to each a portion of faith; from there it must grow. There are levels of faith. There are measurable portions of righteousness. There are even measurable portions or degrees of sin.

  In Genesis 15:16, God told Abraham He was going to give the land to his descendants in four generations. The reason He could not give it to him yet was because "the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."

  There are measurable levels of grace. Second Corinthians 9:8 says, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you." In fact, in Acts 4:33, we are told that "with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all" (KJV). The Greek word for "great" is megas, from which we get "mega." There is grace, there is mega grace and there is all grace!

  There are measurable degrees of love. John 15:13 speaks of greater love. Matthew 24:12 talks of love that has grown cold. Philippians 1:9 refers to love abounding more and more.

  There are measurable degrees of the power of God. In Mark 6:5, there was a measurable degree of the power of God missing. The verse says that because of the unbelief of the people in Nazareth, "He could do no miracle there." The Greek does not say, "He chose not to" or "He didn't." It says literally, "He could not" because their level of faith or unbelief had hindered the flow of the power of God. Although He was able to heal a few sick people, He could not work a miracle.

  The same verse that talks about a "mega" grace talks about "mega" power (see Acts 4:33, KJV). They had mega power because they had mega grace! My point is simply that the aspects of the spirit realm are very tangible and real. The anointing is real. Power is real. We do not see it, but it is there. There are measurable, cumulative amounts that exist in the realm of the spirit.

  Certain amounts of this power or river or life must be released in the realm of the spirit to accomplish certain things. Different amounts are required for different things. Just as in the natural you need different levels of power for different things, so it is in the spirit realm. It is like the difference between the amount of power it takes to light a flashlight versus a building, or a building as opposed to a city. The same thing is true in the spirit. Different amounts of God's power are needed to accomplish certain things.

  Differing Measures of Power

  Let's look again at Mark 6 where Jesus could not get enough power flowing in Nazareth to work a miracle. Enough power was flowing to get some healings, the implication being that they were minor, because the verse differentiates between the healings and miracles. Enough power was flowing for one, but not the other. This implies that differing amounts are needed for different things. Jesus could release enough to get a few healings, but He couldn't get enough flowing, because of their unbelief, to work a miracle.

  The disciples in Matthew 17:14-21 had been casting out demons and healing the sick because Jesus had given them authority and power to do so. A lunatic boy was brought to them, however, and they couldn't get the job done. Jesus came along, and it was no problem for Him to exorcise the demon causing the lunacy.

  The disciples had enough power flowing in their ministry to deal with most demons and diseases, but they came up against one that required more faith and power-and they didn't have enough to overcome that one! Again, the obvious implication is that different measurable levels are needed to accomplish different things.

  I'm thoroughly convinced this principle is a reason it takes awhile to get most prayers answered. Receiving an instant miracle is far and away the exce
ption. Usually it is not just a matter of asking the Father to do something, but rather a matter of releasing enough power in the spirit to get the job done. Most Christians are not aware of this. After asking, we tend to sit back and wait on God when He is often waiting on us. We have failed to understand that there are prayers that do more than just ask Him.

  Sometimes, when it appears God has finally "gotten around to it" or when we think something just suddenly happened, the truth is that enough power has finally been released through prayer to accomplish it.

  Prophets Who Persevered for the Power

  When the prophet Elijah came to the widow's son who had died, he spread himself out on the corpse face to face and prayed three times (see 1 Kings 17:21). Why did it take three times? Because the man of God wasn't where he needed to be spiritually? Because he didn't have enough faith? Because he didn't do it right the first two times?

  We are not told the reason, nor is it insinuated that any of those things are true. I believe the reason was that he was releasing a little more life out of his spiritual womb or spirit each time. It takes a good bit of life to raise the dead!

  In previous chapters we have looked at 1 Kings 18, where Elijah prayed for rain, and discussed the significance of God choosing to work through man and man travailing to bring forth God's will. Let's look at this passage again.

  In 1 Kings 18:1, the Lord said to Elijah, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth." God didn't say, "I might." He didn't say, "If you pray hard enough." He didn't say, "I'm thinking about it." He just said, "I'm going to do it." It was God's timing, God's idea, God's will.

  Yet, we are told at the end of this chapter that Elijah labored in prayer diligently seven times in the posture of a woman in travail before clouds appeared and the rain came. He didn't casually walk to the top of the mountain and say, "Lord, send the rain," and immediately it was done. That's not the "effectual, fervent prayer" James 5:16-18 tells us Elijah did to first stop and then bring the rain.

  The question we must ask ourselves is: If it was God's will, timing and idea, then why did Elijah have to pray seven different times until the rain came? The most reasonable explanation to me is that it was necessary to persevere until he had completed enough prayer-until enough power had been released through his intercession to go up into the heavens and get the job done.

  Why did it take Daniel 21 days to get his answer when God sent an angel to him the very first day he started praying? I would think if God wanted to send an angelic messenger, He could get it through immediately if He wanted. He has enough power, doesn't He? Then why was this angel detained for 21 days?

  I believe Daniel's faithful praying every day was releasing power into the realm of the spirit. Not until enough power was released to break through the demonic opposition in the spirit could God get the angel through with the answer!

  Please understand that I am not limiting God's power. I am fully aware that one word from God could rout every demon in hell. What must be factored in is God's decision to work on the earth through man. It seems reasonable to me that if a man's prayers were responsible for the angel being dispatched, they would also be the key to breaking through with the message. As Billheimer said, "Although the answer to his prayer was granted and already on the way, if Daniel had given up it presumably would never have arrived.""

  Releasing the River of Power

  Why did it take Jesus three hours in the Garden of Gethsemane to break through? Why didn't the angels come immediately and comfort Him? Surely God was not holding out on this righteous, sinless man! Power was being released in the spirit to cause the breakthrough.

  I am not speaking to you about vain repetition. I am not talking about asking God again and again and again. I am talking about understanding the ways and principles of God enough to know how to release the river in order to give birth to things out of your spiritual womb. When we intercede, cooperating with the Spirit of God, it releases Him to go out from us and hover over a situation, releasing His life-birthing energies until that which we are asking for comes forth.

  Why did it take a month to get rid of the cyst on my wife's ovary? What was I doing as I prayed for her an hour every day during that time? I was releasing the river from my womb!

  Some would say that God finally did it after I had persevered enough. No. Throughout the entire month, her pain was decreasing, which according to our doctor had to mean the cyst was shrinking. It didn't just suddenly happen. Power being released in the realm of the spirit was accomplishing something physically inside of her. Every day when that power was released, it was destroying the cyst just a little bit more . . . and more . . . and more.

  Why did I have to pray for more than a year for the comatose young lady I told you about at the beginning of this book? I went to see her at least once a week for a year, speaking the Word of God, weeping, calling forth a new brain inside of her head and fighting the good fight of faith. Why did it take a year? Because it takes a lot of power to form a new brain. Why didn't God do it instantly? I don't know. I tried everything I knew to get Him to do so.

  I said, "Damsel, I say unto you, `Arise!"' She arose not! I did all the things I'd read about the heroes of faith doing. In faith, I even sat her up in the bed and commanded her to wake up, but like a limp rag doll she flopped back down on her pillow. I do not know why God chose not to do it as an instant miracle, but because He didn't I'm relatively certain of this: A measurable amount of the river had to flow until there was enough of it to produce that miracle.

  Ephesians 3:20-21 says:

  Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and forever, Amen.

  The word for "exceeding abundantly beyond" is the same word for the abundant grace of God in Romans 5:20. The word is huperperissos. Perissos means "superabundant"; 12 huper means "beyond" or "more than."" Together, they would mean superabundantly with more added to that. That's like saying more than more than.

  Ephesians 3:20 says He has enough power to do more than we can ask or think with more added to that-more than more than.

  So, why are we often deficient?

  Operative Power

  The power source is not the problem. The rest of Ephesians 3:20 gives us a clue. It tells us He is going to do this more than more than enough "according to the power that works within us." Wuest translates the phrase "in the measure of the power which is operative in us." The word "measure" is kata, which not only has this implication of that which is measured in us, but Strong says it is also used at times with the connotation of "distribution."" He is going to do this superabundantly more than we can ask or think in the measure of the power that is distributed from us. Are you distributing power? Are you distributing the river?

  Please don't think you are releasing enough power to accomplish the miraculous by sporadic or casual praying. You are not! You must release the power of God inside of you on a consistent basis. James 5:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (KJV, emphasis added). Wuest translates it this way: "A prayer of a righteous person is able to do much as it operates." Notice the verse doesn't say, "A prayer of a righteous person is able to do much because it causes God to operate."

  It certainly does this, but that's not what this verse is telling us. It says, "A prayer of a righteous person is able to do much as it [the prayer] operates." The Amplified translation reads, "The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]." Wow! Our prayers go to work. Notice the word "continued." The Amplified captures the present tense meaning of the verb. We have the power inside of us that created the world. We have the same power in us that went into the depths of the earth and took the keys from the kingdom of darkness. We must release it. Release the river! Release the power! Release it and release it and release it an
d release it some more! Again and again and again!

  Tipping the Prayer Bowls of Heaven

  As we do, the Scriptures indicate that our prayers accumulate. There are bowls in heaven in which our prayers are stored. Not one bowl for all of them but "bowls." We don't know how many but I think it very likely that each of us has our own bowl in heaven. I don't know if it's literal or symbolic. It doesn't matter. The principle is still the same. God has something in which He stores our prayers for use at the proper time:

  Revelation 5:8: "And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints."

  Revelation 8:3-5: "And another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

  According to these verses, either when He knows it is the right time to do something or when enough prayer has accumulated to get the job done, He releases power. He takes the bowl and mixes it with fire from the altar.

  I want you to picture this. He takes the same fire that fell on Sinai, the same fire that burned the sacrifice consuming the rocks and water and everything else when Elijah was on the mountain, the same fire that fell at Pentecost, the same fire that destroys His enemies, the very fire of almighty God, and He mixes your bowl of prayers with His fire! Then He pours it upon the earth . . . lightning starts to flash, thunder crashes, the earth quakes. Something awesome happens in the realm of the spirit, which then affects the natural realm.

  This must be what happened when Paul and Silas were in jail and began to sing praises late in the night. Worship started ascending, God was anointing it, the bowls filled and God poured it out. The earth literally started quaking, the jail door opened and their shackles fell off. As a result, the first convert in Asia was born again in Philippi. The gospel made its first penetration into a new continent on Earth.