Monthly Archives: October 2015

How to Lay a Strong Foundation

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11264013_963028303760277_6266662734616935759_nKeep in mind that persistent prayer will pay off as you lay the foundations of a House of Prayer in your city. You will move forward by God’s grace because it’s His ability, not yours. Notice these important keys to laying a strong foundation.

  • You must be willing to dig deep – Remember we must dig a big hole first in order to build the foundation. This is not a superficial undertaking. You must believe in the power of prayer and be strong in prayer yourself. Develop a strong personal relationship with God. Strengthen your personal devotional life and love for God.
  • Partner with others – Look for others who have the same vision in your city, and partner with other prayer ministries in your area. God will give you a core group of dedicated and like-minded people.
  • Cast the vision for day and night prayer – Do this week after week. People need encouragement. Use the teachings on this website and on the Intercessors Arise website or books to teach others about prayer and Houses of Prayer. The Intercessors Arise books all have applications at the end of each chapter to study personally or in group settings.
  • Realize that there is an incubation stage – In this stage many in the area either have or are getting the vision, and there are many prayer meetings in the city in various churches. This stage may last for some time.
  • Develop your personal prayer life through learning to pray the Scriptures – Practice praying Scriptures in your own devotional time with the Lord.
  • Develop some corporate prayer meetings in local churches. Unity is essential and adds power to the prayer meeting – Also try combining worship and prayer together throughout some of the prayer meeting. This is called “harp and bowl”.
  • Have realistic expectations – Start small with a few prayer meetings in your church or in your city. Realize the value of a slow beginning. Strategize carefully and incorporate existing prayer activities. Understand the pressure people face in your society. Don’t be critical, but make it easy for others to join in prayer at their own pace.
  • Understand the establishing stage – This relates to the Church in the city or region and is not just one church. There is a need for a unified vision with unified values. Pursue the value of unity in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:3, 13; Colossians 3:14).
  • Realize that faithfulness and a marathon pace are essential – God is not looking for quick starts but for steady faithfulness over time. Keep it simple. Basically you are praying and calling people to pray. God’s strategies are not complex, but they do require faithfulness (Galatians 5:22; Psalm 18:25; Romans 12:12).
  • Know that Jesus is in charge – The House of Prayer will prevail because Jesus is the leader and the eternal intercessor for He rules as King in his high priestly ministry of intercession (Hebrews 7:25; Isaiah 53:12).
  • Go forward in faith and with God’s peace ruling your heart – Know that day and night prayer is God’s desire. He will bless and sustain it. To be a House of Prayer is not a challenge but a Biblical command (Matthew 21:13).

A stonecutter may hammer away at a rock for a hundred times without seeing even a crack showing. Yet it may be the 101st blow that splits the rock apart. It is not the one blow that will lay a strong foundation, but it is the consistent hammering in prayer with a steadfast vision that will do it. God will give you and others that burning, driving vision to go deep with the foundations. He will enable you to pursue the deeper life and the lifestyle of abandonment to Him and His vision for your city.

Laying the foundation will take a long time. Keep the peace of God ruling in your heart. Day and night prayer is God’s desire, and He will bless and sustain it with His power. Trust Him to build a strong foundation. Establishing day and night prayer is the most exalted occupation to those nearest His throne in heaven (Revelation 4:8). Set your heart to persist regardless of difficulties. God desires to find a resting place.

Let’s advance with faith and a determination to work. Let’s keep the vigorous, steady glow of prayer burning.

“Praying that influences God is said to be the outpouring of the fervent, effectual righteous man. It is prayer on fire. It does not have a feeble, flickering flame or a momentary flash, but shines with a vigorous, steady glow.” Joe Martin

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

An Architect’s Mindset

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11226567_964511230278651_6881985017139642886_nTo begin laying this great foundation in our cities for prayer, we need to have an architect’s mindset. Like an architect, we need to see the big picture. So often we are over-whelmed as we think only of our own personal problems or what our own church is facing, but we need to begin to see our entire city through the eyes of God. We need to have a vision that is persistent. Seeing life from God’s point of view changes everything. Our own problems become small in light of the needs of our city.

An architect can see a big, beautiful building even as he sees nothing tangible in front of him. He knows there is much work ahead for the workers in order to dig deep, and they must be willing to pay the price of hard foundational work. We also need to dig a deep foundation because we are building something of great significance and stature. We must be steadfast in prayer as we begin. Mike Bickle, founder of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, says the following:

“The first key is to be steadfast in prayer regarding a House of Prayer and to have an architect’s mindset. The architect’s mindset sees the big picture. To work with others to build a house of prayer, we must all think on the big picture. The more I understand the big picture, the more sense of responsibility I feel about getting the foundation right. What are we doing today that will impact tomorrow? I remind our staff that a building site starts with digging a large hole to build the foundation.”

It takes time and patience to build a solid foundation for day and night prayer. It takes great persistence in prayer. It can start with a couple two-hour segments with a committed group of people made up of worshippers and intercessors who will be faithful and steadfast. It may start with a one-month or one-week House of Prayer. Or it could start with increased prayer in your own church and your own life. We must pray that the foundation will be laid properly. We must have the persistence and steadfast heart to see a House of Prayer started in our church or city. We won’t see it with a microwave mentality, but God is looking for long-term faithfulness and persistence.

There are many examples of those who have stood the test of persistence. One was the American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh who discovered the planet Pluto. Astronomers calculated its’ probable orbit, but being only a “suspected” heavenly body, it wasn’t even tangible. Tombaugh took up this challenge in March of 1929. Time magazine recorded the investigation: It was the most dramatic astronomic discovery in nearly one hundred years.

He examined scores of telescopic photographs each showing tens of thousands of star images in pairs under the dual microscope. It often took three days to scan a single pair. It was exhausting, eye-cracking work—in his own words, “brutal, tediousness.” And it went on for months. Star by star, he examined 20 million images. Then on February 18, 1930, as he was blinking at a pair of photographs in the constellation Gemini, “I suddenly came upon the image of Pluto!”

You may not be trying to discover a planet, but you are attempting something that is challenging and may be exhausting at times. But it will be worth the effort. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh saw Pluto with the eyes of faith, and you are beginning to see the possibilities of prayer in your city through the eyes of God. The day of smallness has great significance in God’s sight (Haggai 1-2; Zechariah 3-4). Every House of Prayer will start small, but we can’t despise the day of small beginnings. We read in Zechariah 4:10: “Who despises the day of small things?”

Realize that the starting of every House of Prayer is a dramatic accomplishment in God’s eyes. It will change the face of your city. Increasing prayer in your church is also big in God’s eyes. Right now you may be looking at starting 24/7 prayer in your city, but think about your church as well. Scale it down to size and adapt this to your church even as you consider your city.

Think and pray with the eyes of faith of how to begin to lay a strong foundation.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC

World Missions was the Focus of the Moravians

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The Apostolic Prayers of PaulThe group of men and women Count Zinzendorf led in this hundred-year prayer meeting were called the Moravians. The Moravians followed his example in living a holy and loving life.

“In every detail of their lives—in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties—they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet.'”

Their powerful motto was:

“In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love.” Pitts Evans

Their testimony has spread all around the world but it began during one Communion service. This is what happened:

“The Holy Spirit fell on the group as on the day of Pentecost. Hearts were radically changed, and prayers were answered beyond expectations. Many more villagers began to set aside time for earnest prayer. Soon, prayer was going on 24 hours a day. Even the children organized prayer circles. This wave of prayer did not cease for a hundred years. So transformed was the village that John Wesley, visiting in 1738, called it the happiest place on earth!” Pitts Evans

The focus of the Moravians at the Herrnhut prayer meeting soon became world missions. Shortly after this hundred-year prayer meeting started, Count Zinzendorf felt strongly that they were to spread the Gospel of Jesus to the unreached people around the world. The focus of fervent prayer became world missions. This became known as the Moravian mission movement. They all felt the call of the Great Commission. Within twenty years, the Moravians sent out more missionaries than all Protestants in the previous two hundred years.

“Moravians quickly spread out all over the known world, propelled by that incredible prayer meeting, preaching the gospel of the community… When a clergyman named John Wesley encountered the joyful witness of Moravian missionaries on a transatlantic ship in a storm, he headed off to Herrnhut straightaway for discipleship from Zinzendorf.” Peter Greig and David Blackwell

Martin Luther had tried to turn his training institutions toward world missions, but it wasn’t until he got involved in Zinzendorf’s 24/7 prayer meetings that the greatest missionary movement came forth from his generation. Three thousand missionaries went to the ends of the earth during the next two hundred years.

The continuous prayer meeting that God is presently initiating around the world will have the same focus. This is the season of harvest in every nation of the world. As we pray we will receive the heart of God for the nations. We will receive the burden of the Great Commission and the anointing to reach our neighbors. We will no longer be able to contain or restrain the empowering and convicting force of the Holy Spirit. This is where we are now headed.

In the prayer movement, we are beginning to move into more prayer for the nations and for the lost. In a recent early Sunday prayer meeting at our church almost every prayer was concentrating on the lost. As we were praying Scripture, there was a harmonious direction in prayer towards the harvest and towards lost souls. God is directing our intercession. His heart is towards the lost and the nations. This prayer meeting was very powerful, and I believe it is because God is saying something.

He seems to be showing us that it is time for all of us to open our eyes and look onto the fields for they are ripe for harvest (John 4:35). He is beginning to focus us onto the lost just as he did with the Moravian prayer movement.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

The Biblical Examples of Prayer

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IMG_1230Did you know that the first prayer meeting started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8)? The priests in Exodus and Leviticus had to keep the lamps in the temple burning day and night (Leviticus 6:13). They worked in shifts with non-stop prayer, worship, and singing because the fire on the altar was never allowed to go out.

Did you know that Israel began as a nation at a prayer meeting when called to rule as priests after leaving Egypt (Exodus 19:6; Revelation 5:10)? The first project given to Israel was to build a worship sanctuary (House of Prayer, Exodus 25:2). When King David became king over Jerusalem, he established day and night worship (1 Chronicles 15-16).

In the New Testament, we see that Jesus Himself began His public ministry in the wilderness where He fasted and prayed for forty days (Matthew 4), and He ended His life in a prayer meeting in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26). During His time the Essenes, one of the four branches of Judaism, believed in praying for 24 hours. The early Church began in a prayer meeting (Acts 1-2) and will end in a global prayer movement (Isaiah 62:6-7; Luke 18:7-8; and Revelation 5:8; 8:4).

The very end of the age will be a huge battle over two Houses of Prayer—the Holy Spirit’s prayer movement and the antichrist’s end-time worship (Revelation 13:8). In Revelation 4-5 we will worship around God’s Throne in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 4:8). The fact is clear—God’s plan in the Bible was to make intercession central.

And something on a huge scale is presently developing.

The prayer movement is quickly spreading around the world, but it is not without persistent prayer and hard work. As you read about the establishing of Houses of Prayer in cities and see the largeness of the task, you may be tempted to ask yourself several questions:

  • Is 24/7 prayer possible for my city?
  • Has this ever been done before?
  • Can we have faith for such a big venture as day and night prayer
    where we live?
  • What is the value of such intensity in prayer hour after hour and day after day?

These questions are legitimate because we need to really believe in prayer in order to pay the price. It will cost each one of us time and effort. We can’t begin and then quit. We are in this for the long haul. These questions have an answer that should motivate each one of us.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC

Verses to Memorize for Wisdom

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12065528_1035112536551853_5307152816253278059_nVerses to Memorize

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power to us who believe” (Ephesians 1:17-19a).

Build Foundational Strength        

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11226567_964511230278651_6881985017139642886_n“The Lord will test the endurance of this new praying church, but gradually the power of God will be released in the cities of prayer. The extraordinary presence of the living Christ will make miracles seem ordinary. Faith will once again rest on the demonstration of the Spirit and not upon the wisdom of man; multitudes will be genuinely saved… The only way we can stand victorious before our enemies is if we kneel humbly before our Lord together.” Francis Frangipane

In order to stay stable and secure in difficult days, there are several areas where we need to be strong. Building strength in the following four areas will help us to stand strong against the enemy:

  • Personally – In personal prayer and intimacy. Our entire lives must be built upon our relationship with God. Intimacy and praise is the key to living strong personally during times of stress. Knowing God and His character calms our heart and gives us courage.You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely (Psalm 59:17).
  • Corporately – In corporate prayer and worship. We must pray that the Church of Jesus Christ in every city increases its focus on prayer and worship, and becomes a praying Church and a praying community. As life becomes more difficult, praying corporately will become necessary. Together in prayer we will find God as our refuge.God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
  • Relationally – In all our relationships. We must learn to walk in peace, forgiveness, and repentance on a continual basis with everyone. We cannot afford to become bitter or judgmental. It is time for the body of Christ to unite and to realize the power and strength of that unity.The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace (Psalm 29:11).
  • Spiritually – In the Word of God. We cannot listen to the enemy’s lies any longer. This is a season where we must hold onto the Word of God as our truth in every situation we face. Learn more about praying the Word of God in chapter four.My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word (Psalm 119:28).

We need to be like Noah who knew God intimately and obeyed Him. He built an ark when people were partying and having an easy time. Could you have taken the courage to do that? Noah knew what God told him to do even when outward signs did not speak of a flood that would cover the entire earth. He continued in obedience and faithfulness even when he was the only one.

Many of you are called to be forerunners. You are called to promote, lead, and encourage the prayer movement in your church and city. You know what the Lord wants. You know that 24/7 prayer is critical for your city. The highest identity of God’s people now and throughout all of eternity will be through intimacy-based intercession as Sons of God and as the Bride of Christ. We are created to interact deeply with God’s heart. He will govern the universe in partnership with us through intercession.

This is your time to build a strong foundation. You may not be building an actual ark, but you are building a House of Prayer in your church or city. Like the ark Noah built, when the storm comes the Houses of Prayer will protect people from destruction and will provide a covering, bringing more mercy to that city or town being prayed for. You must faithfully build one brick at a time, believing by faith that when the storms come, your city will stand because it is built on the rock of Christ and on prayer (Matthew 7:24-25).

There are others of you who are not the ones to lead in building a House of Prayer in your city, but you are the supporters. You say, “Yes” to prayer in your heart. You are the ones who pray and hold up the arms of those who lead the prayer movement in your city or in your church. You know how necessary prayer is for your city and you support it willingly in mind, heart, and action. You want to know God deeply and are willing to unite with others even from different denominational backgrounds than yours. You are a very needed part.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC

Ways to Apply the Moravian Example

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10412023_964163253646782_2435281989214651302_nLet the Moravian example challenge you to rise up higher in prayer than you have ever been before. The following quotes taken from the Moravian prayer movement are ways you can apply this in your prayer meetings.

  • He dedicated the rest of his life to the service of Jesus Christ – Pray that those in your prayer meeting will grow in an intense personal devotional life. Expect God to deepen everyone’s dedication to the point of sacrificial living.
  • The Lord gave the entire community a burning desire to see sinners come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ – Open your heart to those who do not know Christ. Be a witness and shine God’s light outside of the prayer meeting.
  • The Lord gave the entire community a renewed call of the Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the Gospel – Incorporate times to pray for the lost and for the nations. Be willing to reach out to the lost where you live.
  • This resulted in the greatest concentration of Christian workers being sent out into foreign missions since the first century – Expect that God will call some from your prayer meeting to go to the nations. Be willing to go or to send as God directs.
  • This fueled young Zinzendorf’s fire for evangelism – Expect God to burden those in the prayer meeting for evangelism and for your city. Cry out to God for your city. The Moravians had a burden for the lost.
  • Prayers were answered beyond expectation – Expect God to answer your prayers. Look forward with anticipation for the answer to your united prayer. Expect souls to come to Christ.
  • He was a man of serious devotion, fervent prayer, and was known for his commitment to radical holiness – Expect God to move those in your prayer meeting into radical holiness. There is no room for sin in one who is hungry for holiness. Confess all known sin on a daily basis.
  • In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love – Let unity and harmony be a high priority in all of your prayer meetings. Do all things in love.
  • In every detail of their lives—in business, pleasure, in Christian service, in civil duties—they took the Sermon on the Mount as a lamp to their feet – Pray through and live out the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle as a group and individually. Study and read it regularly. Let your life shine for Christ in the marketplace.
  • I have one passion; it is he and he alone – Narrow your life down to a passionate pursuit of Christ.

Is your passion for Christ?

God’s first priority is that we love Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37-38). It’s the First Commandment. It’s a wonderful foundation for all of life. In giving God extravagant devotion, we make a great impact on the world around us. There is sustaining power if we make Him our foundation. It takes time and effort to prioritize our lives towards God and prayer. It goes against the world system.

But it’s dynamic. It’s refreshing. It’s absolutely life transforming—and it’s the highest and greatest lifestyle.

Life is becoming very pressurized because of constant change and stress. God wants to teach us to live without fatigue and sweat. There is purity in being devoted to Christ and the devil knows it. He aims to get us off track and confused (2 Corinthians 11:3). But God wants to show us the highest way to live.

Our primary calling is internal. When we are energized by intimacy we will be able to sustain spiritual intensity throughout our life. God is searching throughout the earth to find those whose hearts are loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is searching for those who will pray and intercede.

Are you willing to pay the price to seek Him, not only for yourself, but also for your own city? It’s time to lay the foundations for Houses of Prayer in all the cities throughout the earth. Let’s change the history of His church worldwide. Let’s adopt Zinzendorf’s motto personally and corporately.

“Zinzendorf’s motto, ‘I have one passion; it is He and He alone,’ would fan into a movement that God would use to change the history of His church.” Joe Martin

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC

One Hundred Year Prayer Movement

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11226567_964511230278651_6881985017139642886_nThere has already been a hundred year, non-stop prayer meeting with absolutely fantastic results. The way has been paved before us in the spiritual realm. As we arise in building Houses of Prayer, it is important that we look at our historical roots. Understanding the historical beginnings of day and night prayer should challenge and give us courage for the future.

It has been done in a place called Herrnhut (meaning “on watch for the Lord”) in Germany. It can, therefore, be done in each one of our cities. In fact, it is going to be worth more than we can comprehend because it is of the highest value to God. This 24/7 prayer meeting started over 280 years ago and launched a worldwide missionary movement.

The Moravian hundred-year prayer meeting started in 1727 by Count Zinzendorf. He was a deeply spiritual man and traced his intense devotional life to one event on a single day when he visited an art gallery and saw a portrait of Christ wearing a crown of thorns on his head. At the bottom of the picture was written:

“All this I did for you, what are you doing for Me?”

Count Zinzendorf was only nineteen years old, but as he read this, he was so touched by the Holy Spirit that it completely changed his life forever. He could never live the carefree lifestyle of a European nobleman. He dedicated his entire life to the service of Jesus Christ. This one man’s dedication led to one hundred years of non-stop prayer.

“For more than one hundred years, beginning on August 26, 1727, there was a Moravian brother or sister somewhere engaged in prayer, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Among the brethren this meeting was known as the “Hourly Intercession.” There was literal prayer without ceasing for one hundred years. The prayer focus soon moved from those at Herrnhut to lost souls in Europe and around the world. The Lord gave the entire community a burning desire to see sinners come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and this fueled young Zinzendorf’s fire for evangelism.” Pitts Evans

Count Zinzendorf gave inspirational leadership to this prayer movement through the love that he had for the Church and for prayer. His acceptance of strangers, his selflessness, and his great love for the Lord inspired many others. He had a powerful interest in prayer. He would set aside whole days and nights to fast and pray when he was a university student. This non-stop prayer meeting began because of his steadfast faithfulness in prayer in his small corner of the world called Herrnhut.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOP-KC

Our Prayer for Encountering God

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10407494_964089923654115_5859114877055829784_n-2Lord, we long to encounter You in our lives. We want to be like Moses who sought you face-to-face. We want our city to be one that seeks after Your presence. Bring us into unity as we seek Your face. Give us Your heart with Your passion in this prayer room, and burden our hearts to reach out to the lost that live here. Help us to fast and pray for transformation in our city. You promise in Your Word that our light will break out like the dawn, Your light will guide us; You will satisfy our needs and strengthen our frame, etc. [Continue praying through Isaiah 58:6-12, bringing before God His promises.]

Help us to fast and pray like Charles Finney, Rees Howells, and You when You fasted forty days and nights. Give us a hunger for prayer. Help us to focus on You alone. Come into the center of our every activity, and remove those things that keep us from encountering You. Capture our hearts, and reveal Yourself to us individually when we are praying alone, and corporately when we are praying together. We want to adore You and be wholly consumed with Your person.

We praise You because You are holy, righteous, good, all loving, merciful, etc. [Pray the attributes of God.] You are our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). You are the ruler of the kings of the earth, the faithful witness, the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty, the Living One (Revelation 1). [Pray the names, descriptions of God, and the Word of God.] We want to be like the woman who took an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume and poured it on Your head because she loved You so much. Help us to love You extravagantly with our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Verses to Memorize

“Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always (Psalm 105:2-4).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Ways to Adore God in the Prayer Room

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Our Prayers for Wisdom in Developing a House of Prayer“Your statutes, LORD, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days” (Psalm 93:5).

It’s time to learn how to love and adore God in the prayer room both personally and corporately. Let’s get ready for the harvest. Here’s some ways we can do this:

  • Express your love and longings for God as a group – Have extra times of worship without asking for anything but just praising God.
  • Delight in Jesus Himself – Don’t just worship God for what He has done for you, but delight in Jesus Himself and Who He is.
  • Learn to be unselfish in your prayers – Don’t always be me-centered but learn to be God-centered.
  • Pray the attributes of God and Jesus – In your prayers say: “You are holy,” “You are righteous,” “You are good, forgiving, loving, merciful, etc.”
  • Pray the names and descriptions of God and Jesus – Worship God as: “Wonderful Counselor,” “Prince of Peace,” “Savior,” “King of Kings,” Pray verses that go along with each name or description such as Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

As the days grow darker may we be consumed with the person of Jesus Christ. May our affections be stirred to the limits of their intensity, and may we respond with an unearthly delight and an unspeakable joy.

This is what happened to a woman who delighted to worship Jesus with all that she had. She knew how to sit at Jesus’ feet and seek one thing—Him alone. She was not caught up in the tyranny of the urgent as many of us are today. She knew what was essential. She was determined and single-minded. She beheld the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4). She went beyond the call of duty in her devotion.

It was extravagant—it was powerful—it was a consuming reality.

In Matthew 26:6-13, we read about this woman who took an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ head as he was reclining at the table. This woman crossed the line of social and religious propriety when she entered a roomful of men.

But nothing could stop her from pouring on Jesus’ head a jar of very expensive perfume worth a year’s wages. We read in verses 8-9: “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’” But Jesus defended this woman when He said to those present, “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” The word “beautiful” means noble, fine, and elegant. It pleased God. I am sure it excited His heart.

Adoration means extravagant passion. This woman knew what really mattered. Everything else springs from this. She teaches us the most important lesson—to love God extravagantly. Let’s learn from her example. Let’s learn to continually love God in the prayer room and to take that adoration and love everywhere we go.

“Whether we think of, or speak to God, whether we act or suffer for Him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than His love and the desire of pleasing Him. All that a Christian does, even in eating and sleeping, is prayer when it is done in simplicity according to the order of God… In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is a continual prayer.” John Wesley

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC