[Course 44 Index] [Prayer-School Index] [Prayer Mini-Series Index ] [Prev Lesson] [Next Lesson]


-- © GodSpeak International 2009 --
-- Do not republish without written permission from <copyright@godspeak.net> --

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES
Author: John Delaughter <john.godspeak@sbcglobal.net>
Editor: Teresa Seputis

Prayer-School Course #44

The Building Blocks of Intercession

By John De Laughter

Lesson 15
The Prayer that Prevails

God doesn't send a prophecy to us, then reinforce it with another prophetic word, if He didn't mean for us to fulfill it. The Lord often emphasizes the prophetic word through another source, so there's no mistaking what He wants us to do.

When God does this, it's almost as if He's saying, "Yep, that's it child." While He does that occasionally, it doesn't lessen the enormity of the task He has in mind. This is especially true if you've tried to fulfill the word through the flesh, and failed. Then the next prophetic word comes, and there it is again; God invites you to do something you know you can't do.

You begin to wonder if God has days when He says to the angels, "What was I thinking?" Of course, God isn't like that. But we wonder, why He still pursues us with the charge. Didn't the Lord see what happened? Doesn't He know how we feel? How many hoops must we stumble through before He's satisfied?

If you've felt that way, you're not alone. This lesson will focus on the prayer that prevails. We'll examine how to take two practical steps to fulfill our prophetic destiny. They are:

  1. Acting on our word.
  2. Warring for our word (or prevailing through difficulty).

Acting On Our Word

First, we must take realistic steps to fulfill the prophetic word. And we need to involve ourselves in that process on a continual basis.

I want to make it very clear here what I'm saying, and what I'm not saying. I am not encouraging you to follow Abraham's example, where he took steps to help God's promise when God didn't specifically tell him to do so. Abraham's steps were pushed by impatience, when he sired Ishmael through Hagar. Abraham's ideas were immensely practical, but they led him outside of the prophetic word. Perhaps the Patriarch felt that "God helps those who help themselves." Many Christians believe that's a verse found in the Bible; but it isn't.

No, instead I am pushing you to place yourself in a position where only God's supernatural intervention can bail you out. For example, what Abraham did with Hagar took no faith. He slept with her, and she had a baby. There was no supernatural element to that equation. Any fleshly person could figure that out. If there is no need for supernatural intervention to make a prophetic word work, there's no place for God to get the glory.

Next, we must be careful not to infer that Abraham directly disobeyed the prophetic word when Sarah used Hagar to get a child of her own. I initially thought that might be the case. But, look at the passages where God speaks to Abraham before his escapade with Hagar. Nowhere does God promise that Sarah would bear the child. If anything, Abraham was guilty of how many Christians approach prophetic words.

For instance, Sarah read into the prophecy things that weren't there. Have you ever listened to a word from the Lord, seeking justification for something you already planned to do? We shouldn't put words in God's mouth. We must not undertake any long-term obligation that blames God for what blinds us. That takes courage and self-discipline. Such decisions are best made earlier than later. In Abraham's case, he could have said no when Sarah first suggested the idea. But, once Abraham agreed to Sarah's plan, it was harder to back out. As Abraham's night with Hagar began, the forces of the flesh made it difficult to, "Just Say No."

So, when we press into God to fulfill a promise, we must be careful that we do not manipulate the circumstances to do God's work for Him. We might be able to engineer the results that are promised in the prophetic word. But, where is God glorified in that? When will we give God a chance to prove who He is to us personally, if we don't give Him the chance to act supernaturally on our behalf? That's why our head knowledge about God seldom becomes a heart knowledge of God.

Warring For Our Word

Second, we must be wary of thinking that, when God promises to do something, that we won't encounter any problems. We often feel things will fall into place, and our destiny is fulfilled. We expect it to be like the song from the musical Annie, called, "Easy Street." If you're in the perfect will of God, things come easy.

Just the opposite is true. As we pursue God's promise, failures and miscarriages happen along the way.

Pursuing God's destiny doesn't occur in a vacuum. When you try to claim ground in the invisible world, it's usually occupied. Taking that ground doesn't come easy. And sometimes, you don't seize the ground on the first attempt. Like the Marines that invaded Iwo Jima, every inch of territory you claim only comes after prolonged struggle. Often, you end up fighting several battles over the same portion of your inheritance, before it finally belongs to you.

God promised the Children of Israel the whole of Canaan. But, they didn't possess the land until they overcame those who first lived on the land. Some of Israel's enemies never vacated the land, because the Israelites gave up on trying to drive them out.

Next, casualties of war happen. Faith and fear divides people. When Jesus followed His destiny, it drove a wedge between he and his family (John 7:3-5). We chide the disciples for their absence at the crucifixion. But, where were his brothers? As we put on the whole armor of God, we avert many causalities, but not all (Eph. 6: 10-19).

Then, the neglect of others can affect us. Reaching our destiny is a joint effort. For example, if an intercessor doesn't pray for us, we can get hit. Or, if God has laid a burden on another person's heart for you, and that person ignores the burden, there are delays. Some delays cause more havoc than others do.

A key point mustn't be forgotten here. We need to share our specific prayer requests with others. Sometimes, the rugged individualism of American society puts a high value on those who can handle their challenges by themselves.

But, if you take steps to fulfill God's destiny, the attempts to accomplish that feat through the flesh will fail. Our pride slows our ability to learn that lesson. Part of the message is to humble ourselves before others and ask them for their help through prayer.

I don't want to spend more space on the issues. I do want to properly lay the blame for setbacks. If we incorrectly blame God, it can paralyze our efforts to realize our destiny.

Conclusion

Now, let's return to our original point. We must behave our beliefs. We must pursue God's promises, without falling back on the flesh. We must be engaged with God, pursuing His promises in such a way, that only His intervention can deliver our destiny.

I know of two instances where famous figures, Heidi Bakker of IRIS Ministries and John Wimber, late of the Vineyard churches, had to behave their beliefs before God fulfilled His promise to them (Rodney Hogue, Community of Grace, Message, "The Believer's Authority," 8/19/2007).

God promised Heidi Bakker that she would see blind eyes opened when she prayed for them. And the Lord promised John Wimber that he would see people healed when he prayed for them. But, in both instances, the promised result didn't happened overnight. John Wimber had to pray for people for months before God started to actually heal them. In fact, John had developed a good canned speech that he used to explain to people why they weren't healed. John was delivering the speech the same night God healed someone through him for the first time.

The same pattern occurred with Heidi Bakker. She prayed for hundreds of blind people, and they stayed blind. The one day, she the prayed for a blind woman named Heidi. God healed that person sight. From that day forward, Heidi had much better success when she prayed for the blind to see. But she had to stick it out. Time after time, she faced seeming failure. But she kept praying until God delivered on His promise to her.

Our challenge--and I'm including myself in the group--is to keep on pushing, to keep on placing ourselves at God's disposal until He comes through. For some, it's simple but not so simple. Praying for someone is easy. But, John Wimber lost church members as he pursued God's promise to him. How many people would you and I prayed for, before we gave up, and decided the prophetic word was amiss, or we didn't hear from God?

We can't let our self-estimations become God's limitations. My thoughts towards myself are tainted. His thoughts toward me are true. God knows more about me than I do. He sees more in me than I see. I cannot deny the destiny God is prodding me towards. Why would God put the DNA in us to follow a destiny, without giving us the means to fulfill it? That is the challenge. I have to come to the place, where I believe my experience will catch up with God's words over me.


-- © GodSpeak International 2009 --
-- Do not republish without written permission from copyright@godspeak.net --

[Course 44 Index] [Prayer-School Index] [Mini-Series Index ] [Prev Lesson] [Next Lesson]