“Isaiah also prophesied of a totally new paradigm of prayer characterized by ‘joy’. The Lord promised, ‘I will make you joyful in My house of prayer’ (Isaiah 56:7). The Church will be surprised by joy. In other words, God will fill the Church with enjoyable prayer that is ‘refreshing and invigorating’. Imagine the implications of a paradigm of ‘enjoyable prayer’. The climate within the body of Christ would be different because of deep partnership in prayer with the Eternal Intercessor who is our Bridegroom God. If God is not enjoyable, it will not happen 24 hours a day. Historically, prayer has been hard and thus greatly neglected, but new days of refreshing prayer are breaking forth even now.” Mike Bickle
If we are to bring in the great harvest at the end of this age, we must know the secret of enjoyable prayer. We saw that as we are involved in the combination of prayer and worship, our hearts are stirred towards the things that stir God’s heart. How can we get away from the reality of the world situation? We can’t. We will enter into the heart of God, and we will find great joy not only in prayer, but also in reaching out to the world around us. The angels rejoice in the salvation of the lost; we will do likewise. When we partner with God in reaching the poor and needy and in sharing the Good News, we will find exceeding joy. Luke emphasizes the great joy among the angels when one sinner repents. He wrote in chapter 15:10:
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The “harp and bowl” prayer room will help us to abide in Christ. This brings us into enjoyable prayer because it combines prayer and worship. When we combine prayer with singing and worshipping God, our heart begins to soar. The most significant passages related to enjoyable prayer outlines the beauty of God in context to the heavenly worship around the Throne in Revelation 4-5. We begin to encounter God’s emotions and affections. Some think seeking God in prayer is boring and frustrating. No! God is releasing enjoyable prayer to His people (Isaiah 56:7).
I look eagerly forward to praying in the International House of Prayer. It is the best part of my day, and I thoroughly enjoy it!
I have been watching a tiny apple tree in our back yard. It’s only a couple of years old, and it didn’t look like anything would come forth from this tree. It seemed to just sit there, looking absolutely lifeless with nothing to show for itself on the surface, but actually it was digging its roots deep down into the earth. Then, all of a sudden this year it is growing apples! It is bringing forth fruit. This is definitely a miracle from God because to the naked eye it looked like it wouldn’t ever produce anything.
God wants us to live in Him with our root system deep into the ground, unshakable by what is happening in the world. He has chosen and appointed us to bear lasting fruit, but before we can bear good fruit, we need to have our roots deep in God—in who He is and who we are in Him. The fruit can only be sustained by the life the roots give. If the roots aren’t deep, the weight of the fruit might be too much to bear. We read in John 15:16-17 in the Amplified Bible:
“You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], he may give it to you.”
Day and night prayer will keep us stable where nothing will be able to unearth us or cause us to fall, but there’s one important requirement. We have to be vitally united to the source. God’s Word has to continually be living in our heart. As we pray and abide in Christ in the prayer room, we will begin to bring forth abundant fruit outside the prayer room where the need is great. In John’s Gospel, he emphasizes abundant fruit when we are linked intimately to the vine:
“Dwell in Me and I will dwell in you. [Live in me and I will live in you]. Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing… If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. When you bear (produce) much fruit, My father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. I have loved you [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [continue in His love with Me]. If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love” (John 15:4-5, 7-10, Amplified).
By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC