Troubleshooting Your Prayer Life

This is a VERY helpful summary and reference. If you find yourself praying for the same things over and over but never seeing the answer you're seeking, this is for you - and all the rest of us, too.

The Secret to Releasing God's Power

From Dutch Sheets:

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37 NASB)

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession.” (Hebrews 4:14 NASB)

“Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23 NASB)

Today, I want to encourage you as you pray - for prodigals, unsaved individuals, the miracle you need, even the saving of America. And since people are already thinking about Christmas, I thought I’d do so with a passage that has to do with the birth of Christ.

Luke 1:37, shown above, was the angel's response to Mary‘s question of how she, as a virgin, could possibly have a baby. The angel told her Holy Spirit would overshadow her and impregnate her with Christ. (v. 35) He then mentioned Elizabeth being pregnant with John the Baptist. (v. 36) Then he made the powerful statement in verse 37, “With God, nothing is impossible.”

A more literal and accurate translation of this verse is, “For no word spoken by God is without power.” Just let that sink in. The angel was saying, “The words I’m speaking to you are God’s words. Therefore, they have the power to perform this miracle. No word spoken by Him is without power.” What a statement.

Whether it be an angel speaking God’s words, as it was here, a prophet (Isaiah 55:11), or an intercessor walking and talking with God, no word God has spoken is without power. This is why I often put Scripture references in the prayers at the end of the posts, as I did yesterday. I want you to know which verses the prayer is based on so you can be confident in its power, and also to equip you as you continue praying and declaring God’s Words. There is no more powerful prayer, or weapon against satan, than speaking God’s Word. As you pray for your prodigal, speak the Word. Use verses Holy Spirit gives you personally, of course; you can begin by using the references I gave in yesterday’s prayer.

The other two verses above (Hebrews 4:14 and 10:23) encourage us to hold firmly to our “confession” of faith. Confession is the Greek word homologia, which simply means to “say the same.”(1) “Confessing” our faith in God is “saying what He says” - literally. This is how our faith is released: by saying what God says. This is how His power is released from us: by saying what God says, which is never without power. Don’t overcomplicate it; just say what God says. Say what He says about salvation. Say what He says about overcoming demonic strongholds. Say what He says about your needs being met. Say what He says about your body. Say what He says about our nation.

Say what God says!

Both of these two verses in Hebrews also tell us to “hold firmly” to “saying what He says.” (The KJV uses the phrase “hold fast.”) Each verse uses a different word, however, when telling us to hold firmly to what God says. The first verse  (Hebrews 4:14) uses krateo; (2) the other (10:23) uses katecho.(3)Though they sound similar, these are completely different words. The first (krateo) is from a word meaning strength or might; this is telling us that regardless of how much effort it requires, we must be determined to keep saying what God says. Why? Because no word He has spoken is without power!

“Holding firm” in the second verse (katecho) is from a word simply meaning “to hold” something. This form of the word, however, adds intensity to the meaning: don’t let go! Hold on! Don’t let go of saying what God says. Grab His word, say it, say it again, and keep on saying it!

By using both of these words, Holy Spirit is telling us: “Hold on, keep on holding on; hold on with all of your might and strength to what God says!” Why? Because no words spoken by God are without power!!! When you say what He says, you are releasing His power!

The verse in Hebrews 4:14 actually occurs in the context of prayer. Two verses later (v.16), we are told to come boldly to the throne of grace, where we will receive mercy and grace in our times of need. So, “As you pray,” God is saying, “hold on to saying what I say - with all your might and strength - which will release the power of My Words and promises.

And finally, Hebrews 10:23 above tells us to do this “without wavering.” This is a figurative use of the Greek word aklines,(4) which literally means “not leaning.” The concept of the root word, klino,(5) is “to slant, slope, or lean.” The prefix “a" in Greek makes it a negative - “without leaning” or “don’t lean.” The point is: stand upright! Be firm! Don’t let anything knock you off balance! If you’re leaning, you won’t be able to stay on target as you press toward the finish line. You will get off course; you’ll waver. Hold on to what God says; keep saying it, and this will keep you on course. . . WHILE IT RELEASES HIS POWER!

Take some time and look up verses that relate to the issue for which you are praying, whether that be a prodigal or a nation. Holy Spirit will lead you to various verses. Perhaps even get a friend or two to do the same, then combine your lists and the insights He gives. Then begin saying them. Declare them over your situation/s daily. This will release the awesome power of God.

For today’s prayer, let’s do something different. Use the verses I shared in yesterday’s prayer and declare what God leads you to decree from them. Here they are once again:

Pray with me:

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6 NASB)

“But when he [the prodigal son] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!” (Luke 15:17 NASB)

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Colossians 1:13 NASB)

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NASB)

“Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38 NASB)

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NASB)

Our decree:

No word spoken by God is without power!

_____________________________

1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), reference no. 3671.
2. Ibid., ref. no. 2902.
3. Ibid., ref. no. 2722.
4. Ibid., ref. no. 186.
5. Ibid., ref. no. 2827.

Copyright © 2023 Dutch Sheets Ministries, All rights reserved.

How to Make Your Prayer Work: "There is More"

 From Dutch Sheets:

An increasing number of believers understand that prayer involves more than simply asking or petitioning God. Making requests of Him is certainly one aspect of prayer: the Lord’s Prayer tells us to “ask for daily bread, the forgiveness of our trespasses, and deliverance from evil” (Matthew 6:11-12), and James said at times we “have not because we ask not” (James 4:2).

But there is more. And the “more” is vitally important. Whether or not we receive the blessings Christ provided, as well as the needed breakthroughs against evil, is determined by more than just our asking and God’s willingness to answer. Because this isn’t understood, people often form wrong assumptions about prayer, and about God. For example, when their prayers go unanswered, many people automatically assume God simply chose not to do so; what they requested must not have been His will. Others assume they must not have enough faith, which is terribly demoralizing and robs them of future motivation. Some believe they haven’t asked God often enough, “importuning” or persisting with God in their praying, as they believe Luke 11:8 teaches. Still others conclude that prayer is simply a futile, religious exercise - God will do what He wants, regardless of whether or not we pray. These are tragic outcomes that hinder our lives, as well as Christ’s cause.

Prayer for peoples’ salvation is far too important to allow our past failures, disappointments, and lack of knowledge to hinder the process; under no circumstances should we grow discouraged and give up. We must grow in our understanding of the “more.” That is what this and the next 2-3 days of posts are about. Today, we’ll look at the fact that our prayers do more than just motivate God to act; they release Holy Spirit’s power to break through!

The Substance of Prayer

Gordon Lindsay, a great man of prayer and the founder of Christ for the Nations, often taught about what he called the “substance” of prayer.(1)The concept is that our prayers do more than simply move God to action; they actually release the power of Holy Spirit from us to accomplish things. Certain types of praying would, of course, do this more than others. For example, praying in the Spirit releases great power. When spiritual opposition is involved, speaking the Word of God becomes a powerful weapon, a spiritual sword, against those powers (see Ephesians 6:17). Spirit-led declarations or commands release the power of Holy Spirit (see Matthew 16:18-19; 17:20; Mark 11:23). The laying on of hands is another scriptural method of imparting power (see Mark 16:18; Hebrews 6:2).

That there is actual power in us, in the person of Holy Spirit, which He desires to release from us, is undeniable truth (Acts 1:8). The power of God that produces life, healing, and wholeness resides in and flows out from us, the church, not just from God’s heavenly throne. He is now also enthroned in our hearts - we are the temple of Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19). The word translated as temple (naos) in these two verses, was used to refer to “the holy of holies.”(2) We are now the holy of holies, the dwelling place of God and His glory on the earth. When He releases His power into situations, it doesn’t flow only from heaven; it flows from Holy Spirit here on earth, who dwells in us. Whether it be through speaking, touching, laying hands on the sick, decreeing and declaring, praying, or worshipping, God’s power is released on earth through human vessels.

A symbolic picture of this is given in John 7:38, where 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 as the KJV says, “belly”) is the word Greek koilia, which literally means “womb.” Translating the verse literally, we would say, “From his womb shall flow rivers of living water.” The word “womb,” of course, speaks of reproduction, of birthing - the bringing forth of life.(3)

After this announcement, verse 39 goes on to say, “But this He spoke of the Spirit.” Of course! The river Christ spoke of as flowing from us is the Spirit of God. He is the source; we are His conduits. Holy Spirit doesn’t lay hands on the sick - we do (see Mark 16:18). As we do so, He, from within us, releases His river of power and life to flow into that person.

We Are the Voice of God

Not only are we Christ’s womb, we’re His mouth. When the Spirit of God wants to release power against His enemies, He uses us to wield “the sword of the Spirit” - the spoken word of God (see Ephesians 6:17). God doesn’t release the decree from heaven, but from His people - up from our spirits, out of our mouths. As we do so, this releases God’s power! Incredibly, we have become the mouthpiece, the voice of God from which His power and life flow.

At the time when God was teaching me this in the mid-80s, I had 45 warts on my hands. Some were quite large and had eaten into my fingernails and cuticles on three fingers, completely replacing them. They had been spreading/multiplying on my hands for 7-8 years. Doctors told me they didn’t want to burn or freeze them off, for fear of mutilating my hands, nails, and cuticles.

Many people prayed for me, with no results. I was in numerous services where “gifts of healing” and “workings of miracles” (1 Corinthians 12:9-10) were occurring, with many people healed - but never me. Finally, Holy Spirit spoke to me very clearly, “Though some are healed through the gifts of My Spirit, others are through the prayers of the elders (James 5:14), and still others through the prayer of agreement (Matthew 18:19) - I will not heal you through any of these methods. You will have to do what I’ve been teaching you - speak My Word over your hands every day (Mark 11:23), numerous times each day, releasing My power to them until the healing comes.”

I determined to obey. Six or seven times each day, maybe more, I spoke God’s Word - which is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) - over my hands, using several Scriptures promising healing and breakthrough. Though I saw no change for two weeks, as God’s power was released and accumulated, the work it was doing became visible - the warts began to shrink. Daily, I watched them become smaller and smaller, and my fingernails and cuticles began re-growing. Once this process began, it took a total of two more weeks for all of the warts to disappear and new nails and cuticles to grow. The entire process took a month.

Although it was most definitely God’s power that dissolved the warts and gave me new skin, nails, and cuticles (with no scars), He did not release it. I had to do so. Christ provided the healing provision, Holy Spirit supplied the power and strategy . . . but I had to release that power and provision by declaring God’s Word.

We must do the same for the lost, releasing Holy Spirit’s power to break strongholds, addictions, and deceptions in prodigals and unbelievers. We petition our Father, but we war against satan and his strongholds. I leave you today with 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (TLB):

“It is true that I am an ordinary, weak human being, but I don’t use human plans and methods to win my battles. I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil’s strongholds. These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding Him. With these weapons, I can capture rebels and bring them back to God and change them into men whose hearts’ desire is obedience to Christ.”

Tomorrow, we will talk about why, in most situations, the release of this power cannot simply be a one-time prayer.

Pray with me:

Father, we have not fully understood Your amazing power in us. Therefore, we have been impotent in our prayers, asking You to do what You have told us to do. Our ignorance has been costly. But we are awakening to our authority in Christ, and to His river of life - Holy Spirit - that is intended to flow from us.

We ask You to increase our understanding of this even more, as well as multiply the number of those receiving this revelation. Teach us how to more effectively release Your power to those who need it, releasing the flow of Your life into situations where spiritual death is operating. Bring greater boldness to the church and heal people from hope deferred, in order that they may persevere in their intercession. So many have given up.

Father, we ask You to pour out Your Spirit in this nation. And we decree the release of Your great river - flowing from Christ, via Holy Spirit, via the church, and into our world. We declare over our prodigals: Kingdom, come! Will of God, be done! Dry bones, you will live! Addictions, we break your hold! Deception, we release the light of truth to replace and overcome you! Demonic control, we break your control over our family members!

And Father, as we pray and release Your power, we ask You to bring the greatest awakening America and the world have ever experienced. Send revival to our churches, and from there into the nation/s. Transform them. Let Your great river flow into the Middle East. Dethrone the Prince of Persia; we bind his influence in Jesus’ name. Release Your river into all the nations! We agree in our prayers for this, in Christ’s holy name. Amen.

Our decree:

We release the power of Holy Spirit over our prodigals and every city and neighborhood in our nation, in the powerful name of Jesus!

Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books.

___________________________________

1. Gordon Lindsay, Prayer That Moves Mountains (Dallas, TX: Christ for the Nations Inc., revised 1994), p. 43.
2. Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977), p. 422.
3. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 2836.

Copyright © 2023 Dutch Sheets Ministries, All rights reserved.

Keys to Praying for the Lost

From Dutch Sheets Ministries:

After yesterday's post on praying for prodigals, I felt I should follow it with this teaching.

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; NASB)

“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; NLT)

Second Corinthians 10:4 tells us we have been given spiritual weapons, empowered by God, with which to demolish “strongholds” in people. The root word is echo, which means “to hold.” The form of the word used here, ochuroma, means “to hold strongly,”(1) thus, a stronghold. It is also the word for a castle, fortress, or prison.

A foxhole or trench is hastily dug in a time of war to hold (echo) a position. I once toured a castle atop a mountain in Salzburg, Austria. From this impregnable fortress, someone had ruled the entire territory. That…is a stronghold! (Ochuroma).

According to this word used in 2 Corinthians 10:4, unbelievers are prisoners, captives. This verse also tells us we have God-empowered weapons that can demolish these prisons.

Verse five of 2 Corinthians 10 breaks down the stronghold into three distinct components, informing us of exactly what we must destroy with our spiritual weapons. This information is vital.

The first portion of the stronghold mentioned is “human reasoning.” The Greek word (logismos) is not referring to individual thoughts, but to beliefs, reasonings, wisdom, logic.(2) Our English word “logic” is actually derived from this Greek root. Logismoi (plural) are the mindsets (opinions, beliefs, etc) we have NOW, resulting from the teaching, training, information, experiences, etc, we have received in the PAST. Before Adam’s sin, which was passed on to all of us, he and Eve procured their wisdom, logic, and beliefs from their Creator, God. We would have, as well, had the Fall not occurred. However, James 3:15 tells us unredeemed humans’ wisdom now originates from earthly knowledge, our human souls (intellect and emotions), and demonic influence.

“Houston, we have a problem.”

“Okay,” you might say, “but when an individual hears the truth, including the gospel, how do these logismoi veil or blind them from truly seeing, understanding, and believing?” It has to do with the way our human minds function. When information comes to us it is first filtered through our subconscious mind or memory, the home of our logismoi, our opinion center. This is involuntary, automatic, and occurs in a fraction of a second, before it even gets to the conscious mind where we then process it. Think about that! We already have an opinion before we even think about the information - yes, we’re opinionated! This means that when people hear the gospel, before they even have time to process it, the information is filtered through this subconscious mind. Unbelievers don’t hear a pure version of the gospel; they hear it after it has been filtered through what they already believe!

For example, on an outreach to Mardi Gras a friend and I shared the gospel with a young girl who, as it turned out, had been horribly abused in the past. “God is love,” we told her. “He loves you so much He sent His Son to die for you.”

She was not impressed. This wounded soul heard not only what we said, she also heard something else - from deep within, buried in her memory center. “Really?” She asked. “If He is love, why did He allow me to be so abused? Doesn’t seem like a loving God to me.” From the pain, her mind had formed a logismos - a belief - part of the stronghold now controlling her. Someone will need to intercede for her, tearing down this prison.

When praying for the unsaved, ask Holy Spirit to show you the logismoi, the beliefs that control them, blinding them to the gospel. As He does, war against them, declaring, “In the name of the Jesus I tear down the stronghold of . . .” Then ask God to replace it with truth. Do this daily, it will likely take time.

The second portion of the stronghold mentioned in 2 Corinthians 10:5 is pride, “proud obstacles.” The KJV uses “high thing” to translate the Greek word hupsoma, which is actually the same root word for “Most High” God! One leading lexicon defines hupsoma as “all pride that rises up.”(3) This is a reference to the root of pride that came to the entire human race when Adam and Eve bought satan‘s lie that they could “be like God,” (Genesis 3:5). This had been Lucifer’s downfall, attempting to elevate himself as the Most High. He passed the same temptation on to our fore-parents, and when they bought the lie, his fallen nature was passed on, as well. Humankind now elevates “self” and its knowledge above God and His Word.

We cannot change an unbeliever's nature; only the new birth can do this. We can, however, release the power of Holy Spirit to them, which will counter this dark root with revelation, the light of truth. His power and light are well able to do this, causing their proud heart to bow the knee to Christ’s Lordship.

With this in mind, look at verse 5 again, this time from The Living Bible:

“These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding Him. With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God, and change them into men whose hearts’ desire is obedience to Christ.”

What a promise!

Regarding the third element comprising strongholds, the Lord tells us we can “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” The word “thought” is noema, which also means plans, schemes, or plots.(4) It refers to spontaneous thoughts and temptations satan uses to control people, as well as to the ongoing schemes and plans he uses. God says we can stop these attacks! In our intercession for unbelievers, we must declare that none of satan’s plans to hold them captive will prosper. Bind his schemes and thoughts according to Matthew 16:18-19. Shield the person from satan’s lies and temptations; close the door to these things.

Mary Smith of Maple Valley, Washington, had been praying for her brother, John, to be saved for approximately 12 years, with no results. Like most people, she prayed general prayers such as “Lord, come into his life,” or “Lord, reveal Yourself to him.” Mary didn’t realize there were other biblical instructions on how to pray for John.

Her brother had major problems, including drugs, depression, and extreme anger. Early in 1995, Mary participated in a class I taught where I related these and other principles regarding praying for the lost. Mary shared them with her husband and their children, then they all began implementing them for John. Specifically, they prayed the following:

• That God would lift the veil off his mind, bringing revelation and enlightenment
• That Holy Spirit would hover over him and protect him
• That godly people would be placed in his pathway each day
• That everything exalting itself against the knowledge of God, specifically pride and rebellion, would be destroyed
• That all ungodly thought patterns (logismoi), would be destroyed
• That satan was bound from holding John captive through wicked thoughts and lies
• That the armor of God would be placed on him

After two weeks of praying in this way, John overdosed on drugs. While in the hospital, “the Lord met him in a powerful way,” Mary said. “He cried out to God. The veil was definitely lifted and he received a revelation of God. He now understands the Word and responds to it. Confusion is gone! John separated himself from the world and his former friends. He is now pursuing God and Christian relationships. His focus is on pleasing God, knowing Him more, and is even considering one day being a missionary.”

We have been given authority! We can turn unbelievers “from darkness to light and from the dominion of satan to God” (Acts 26:18). We are called to enforce and make effectual the freedom Christ procured. The unbeliever cannot war for his or herself; they cannot and will not overcome their internal prison of darkness - but we can do so for them! We must take our divinely powerful weapons and fight. The powers of darkness will resist, but “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses” (Nehemiah 4:14).

Pray with me:

Father, we thank You for Your heart to save. Thank You for loving us, even when we are still rebellious. Thank You for the Cross. Thank You for sending Jesus to redeem us. Thank You for Holy Spirit‘s work of making this sacrifice understood.

We pray for prodigals and others who do not know You, that the revelation of Christ and His provision would be made real to them. We bind every belief system and thought pattern that blinds them to truth and deceives them. We release Holy Spirit’s power to overcome the root of pride in them, that which entered the human race at the fall. Cause them to bow their knee to Christ and His Lordship.

We also ask that Holy Spirit’s power be released to their minds and hearts, drawing them to You. Send the right people to them, and separate them from those who are being used to influence them wrongly. We ask You for these things in Jesus' name, and we thank You for the answer. Amen.

Our decree:

We declare that every stronghold in the life of those we pray for will be torn down by the power of Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3794.

2. Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, p. 923.

3. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 851.

4. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3540.

Copyright © 2023 Dutch Sheets Ministries, All rights reserved.

Operating in the Invisible Realm

I am going to do several posts this week on the importance of understanding and operating in the realm of the spirit. The Scriptures often refer to this realm as “heavenly places” or “the heavens.” Much of it will be taken from my book, Authority In Prayer, one of my best books on prayer.

I never do a post just to sell products. My staff, however, has asked me to mention a unique book, Praying for the Impossible. A while back, my publisher combined two of my best selling books, Intercessory Prayer and Authority In Prayer, into one binding. In other words, it is a set of two books, bound as one. This has now been discontinued, and they offered us a significant discount on those they had left. We want to pass much of the discount on to you. If you would like this presentation - two books in one - you can order it through our product department on my website while they last. If you already have these books, this would be a great gift to someone you want to introduce to a deeper understanding of prayer.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. And raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

This sounds like one uninterrupted passage of Scripture, doesn’t it? It is actually 5 separate verses from Ephesians 1:3, 1:20, 2:6, 3:10, 6:12. I became fascinated one day as I read these verses consecutively, with none of the in-between sections. When I saw how well they flowed together, I realized they really do provide a continuity of thought. In summary, they tell us we have been given everything we need in order to operate in heavenly places; Christ has been given all authority in this realm; we have been seated there with Him in that position of authority; through us, from our position there with Christ, God intends to deal with the kingdom of darkness; finally, the last verse describes the evil kingdom, listing its various components.

What are “heavenly places”? This is not referring to heaven, God’s home, but to the invisible atmosphere all around us. We must understand this relatively unknown dimension in order to fully partner with God and experience the fullness of His blessing. It is the unseen realm of the spirit - invisible yet real, hidden yet very active. Much of what happens on earth is influenced by it; certainly anything of eternal significance or regulating the destinies of people and nations is influenced from it. Most people, including Christians, give little thought to an unseen world governing the one we see. Many, especially in cultures that emphasize higher education and intellectualism, are actually cynical of this dimension’s existence. But the Bible is filled with descriptions and accounts of it - in fact, this is actually the story of Scripture. Apart from the invisible realm, there is no God, Satan, angels, demons, fall of humankind, birth of Christ, redemption through the Cross, miracles, or resurrection of the dead. Yet again, surprisingly, most American Christians live their lives without weighing how much this realm affects us, let alone how we can influence it.

Consider the following significant statement: the more we learn to function in the invisible spiritual realm, recognizing and applying its governing principles, the more we can partner with God, positively impact our world, avoid the snares and influence of the evil one, and enjoy the blessings of our salvation.(1) As I meditated on the Ephesians verses, God began revealing to me that I was not conscious enough of this realm. It was not a new subject to me. I have comprehended it for many years and realized that we can influence it through our prayers and actions. But Holy Spirit began revealing to me that even so, I was not as cognizant of this dimension as I needed to be.

I saw clearly that if I was to be as effective as was possible in changing situations on earth, I had to understand more fully how this heavenly realm affected them. Also, I needed a greater understanding of how I could influence the invisible world. And, hopefully, do all of this without becoming weird!

The more I meditated on this spiritual realm, the more I realized it is the Bible’s major theme - two invisible kingdoms warring for control of the world. If we could see what takes place around us in this dimension, we would no doubt see a great clashing of kingdoms - angelic and demonic forces engaged in phenomenal warfare. I don’t know exactly what it looks like, but I know it is occuring. The following vivid account of the unseen gives us a glimpse:

When the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike these people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-18, NASB)

The invisible forces were there all along - it was just that Elisha’s servant could not see them initially. And so it is with us. We live in a world filled with constant and tremendous angelic and demonic activity. Our natural eyes, however, cannot perceive it.

It amazes me how many Christians, though they claim to believe the Bible and would say they believe in these “heavenly places,” still have a problem consciously relating to it. Many, for example, take issue with any form of prayer dealing with demons, angels, or invisible strongholds.

The world, of course - those who do not profess to be Christians - has an even greater problem acknowledging the invisible spiritual realm. The very suggestion of an invisible sphere influencing the visible world elicits immediate skepticism (or mockery) and often an inference that anyone who believes in this realm is not in touch with reality.

What a boost for the devil’s activities!

At some point, however, if we are going to be truly effective in prayer, we must acknowledge, understand and learn to influence the spiritual realm. We must move beyond our fear of criticism and agree with Scripture. Jesus is our example, and He frequently dealt with the invisible. He was aware of it and consistently engaged unseen entities, stirring up demonic opposition everywhere He went.

The early church in Acts did so as well, confronting forces of darkness and dealing with them when appropriate. We are inconsistent if we confess to be Bible-believing followers of Christ and yet refuse to acknowledge and deal with the invisible kingdom of darkness. Failure in this area has rendered us largely impotent.

Pray with me:

Father, teach us more about the spiritual realm. Give us understanding of how to impact this dimension and extend Your kingdom influence into it. We ask for greater revelation of how to release the victory of Christ into the earth, changing nations, cities and people. Make us more conscious of the invisible realm where much of what happens on earth is determined.

We pray that anointed teachers will be raised up to skillfully teach on the subject. Please awaken them to the need for this so that we can influence this realm with balance, skill, and accuracy. And please break off of the church all hesitancy of engaging with this spiritual realm.

And as we do so often here, we ask You for, and thank You in advance, for sending the greatest awakening/revival that has ever occurred to the nations of the earth. We are asking for entire cultures and people groups to be swept into Your family. We are asking You to break off of them the control of principalities and evil spirits, freeing them to see truth and receive Your love and provision. And we ask all of this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Our decree:

We boldly declare that the spirit of wisdom and revelation is being released into the church at the highest level possible.

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1. Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce, Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation, (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2005) pp 75-76.

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