“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.” (Jer. 42:4 NIV)
What Is Spirit-Empowered Prayer?
It Is Letting the Holy Spirit Take Lead
All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14, NASB) As in a waltz or dance, you let the other take the lead and gently nudge you in the direction you are to go. We learn to yield to the “now promptings” on the Holy Spirit.
It Is Letting the Holy Spirit Empower You
In Spirit-empowered prayer, the Holy Spirit will light upon you and give you power as it was on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2). It’s like getting a booster to your rocket. Your prayers will hit the target.
What Is Prophetic Intercession?
It Is the Place Where Prophet and Priest Are Brought Together
The Priest: pleads the needs of the people to the Lord. The Prophet: pleads the interests of God before the people. Therefore, in true authentic prophetic intercession, the ministries of the priest and prophet unite in their graces and burdens.
Prophetic Intercession Pleads the Promises
As you arise in worship and are seated with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places, you are not just praying to God but rather having come into agreement with His heart, you are now praying with God.
In revelatory prayer, you pave the way for the fulfillment of the prophetic promise that has been revealed previously. In prophetic intercession, the Spirit of God pleads, through the believer, the covenant promises of God that have been made to His people throughout history. Every unfulfilled promise is to be pleaded by the Spirit-empowered believer before the throne to see it come to pass.
Calling Forth the “Anna Company” (See Luke 2:36-38)
Anna’s primary prophetic ministry was her life of prayer, which helped prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. As it was in the first coming of Jesus, so it will be before the second coming-gifted, consecrated, prophetic intercessors will lay hold of the purposes of God.
Prophetic Intercession Is to Conspire Together
The word conspire means “to breathe together.” When God created man from the dust of the earth, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being (see Gen. 2:7). This Hebrew word that we translate “breathed” can mean to breathe violently, such as when the violent, rushing wind filled the upper room on the day of Pentecost. Prophetic intercession is our conspiring with God, breathing violently into situations through prayer in order to bring forth life.
More Forms of Spirit-Inspired Prayer
Praying in the Spirit through the Gift of Tongues
Praying with the gift of tongues is one of the foremost form of Spirit-inspired prayer. Praying in the Spirit is your spirit communicating directly with God. It’s called a “prayer language. “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.” (1 Corinthians 14:2, NIV)
“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” (Romans 8:26-28, NIV)
“For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit [by the Holy Spirit within me] prays, but my mind is unproductive [it bears no fruit and helps nobody].” (1 Corinthians 14:14, AMP)
Praying in the Spirit is an amazing form of prayer! Since you do not always know how or what to pray in a given situation, you can bring the need before the Lord and yield to the Holy Spirit. Praying in the Spirit is the means by which the Spirit intercedes through your spirit.
It Is a Form of Intense, Fervent Praying
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” (James 5:17-18, NASB)
Fervency is to pray with purpose and focused intentionality. The word “fervent” comes from the Latin word for “to boil hot.” To pray earnestly means that one’s entire being is engaged in prayer. It is a God worked in prayer request!
Jesus Is Our Example in Fervent Praying
“In the days of His flesh [Jesus] offered up definite, special petitions…and supplications with strong crying and tears.” (Hebrews 5:7a, AMP)
“Strong crying and tears,” especially the Greek term for it, gives the idea that He cried out loudly in prayer, even shouting and screaming. It was the sound of the battlefield, a struggle of life and death. In no way was it timid or restrained.
“The Lord will go forth like a mighty man, He will rouse up His zealous indignation and vengeance like a warrior; He will cry, yes, He will shout aloud, He will do mightily against His enemies. [Thus says the Lord] I have for a long time held My peace, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry out like a woman in travail, I will gasp and pant together.” (Isaiah 42:13-14, AMP)
The Invitation to Spirit-Empowered Prayer
Spirit-Empowered Prayer might take time. You have to be tenacious. Never give up. You might go through stretches when you are not crying out. In fact, nothing seems to be happening. It’s like being a watchman on a wall when nothing is happening. But you stay there. You don’t abandon your post. You keep alert at all times and must learn to persevere. You need to be ready when the Holy Spirit is ready.
When you undertake Spirit-Empowered Prayer, you operate with a watchman’s anointing. You watch to see things in the Spirit. What is the enemy up to? What does God want to do about it? You take the keys of the kingdom in your hand and you bind up the darkness. You welcome the Spirit of the Lord’s presence. You are vigilant and determined. You worship the Lord, communicate with your fellow watchers and walk in agreement together. Then prayer what is on God’s heart.
Will you join me in the journey of Spirit-Led and Spirit-Empowered Prayer? Then together we can release Spirit-Empowered Prayer that Strikes the Mark.
With Great Expectations!
James W. Goll
If you are interested in more on this topic, please see my Prayers that Strike the Mark Study Guide or the full Prayers that Strike the Mark Curriculum Kit.
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