Tag Archives: prayer

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

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

The Trumpet Call to Fast and Pray

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11391477_967242056672235_2340525631262904599_nThere has been a dramatic increase in fasting and prayer worldwide over the last several years. A few years ago Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, called for two million Christians to fast and pray for forty days for worldwide revival and for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. TheCall, led by Lou Engle is calling young people to fast and pray. When I was in Orlando, Florida, hundreds of young people came together to fast and pray for twelve hours. You can watch many of these prayer events on God TV. They are powerful, contagious, and life transforming.

Fasting combined with prayer and worship greatly affects our personal lives and releases the power of the Holy Spirit in us and in our cities.

When Solomon consecrated the temple (2 Chronicles 6:1-2) and requested that the Lord would be attentive to their prayer (2 Chronicles 6:40-42), the Lord answered, fire came down, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple (2 Chronicles 7:1). The Lord visited Solomon and made it clear that when the nation enters into a crisis, if they would humble themselves, repent, pray and seek His face, then he would heal the land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

This is God’s strategy for us in times of crisis. It’s time to return to the Lord with fasting, weeping, and mourning (Joel 2:12-13). We can change the future direction of a nation if we do this. God is merciful and slow to anger. He is gracious and compassionate, and He relents from doing harm (Joel 2:13b). We often look to honor, money, and the size of our ministry, but God values humility, serving, fasting, and prayer.

The Joel 2 fast in Scripture was God’s solution to calamity (see
Joel 2:12-17). Disaster was coming to the land, but it was not too late to avert it. The Joel 2 fast may not only stop the judgment of God, but it can also release the power of God. Isn’t this what we so desperately need in these days in so many of our nations? Instead of disaster we want the power of God released on the land. We read in Joel 2:13:

“Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”

In the Bible blowing the trumpet announced the call to gather at the House of Prayer as a solemn assembly with fasting; it also signaled a crisis. The House of Prayer within a city is a perpetual solemn assembly. It is God’s solution in days of crisis. God is calling people all over the earth to enter into a lifestyle of fasting and prayer as the days get worse. The trumpet call is sounding all over the earth. Let’s respond to the call.

“The trumpet call to fasting is being heard throughout the world. This is the decade of fasting and prayer. ‘Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly’ (Joel 2:15)… Today, the trumpet call of the Spirit is clear. We are to prepare for the future with a great deal of prayer and fasting. Congregations and leaders are responding worldwide. Intercessory prayer, joined with fasting, increases the spiritual alertness and effectiveness of God’s people.” Frank Damazio

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

The Global Bridegroom Fast

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11377124_968330206563420_8613144503090277919_n-2Mike Bickle, founder and director of the International House of Prayer started a Global Bridegroom Fast (GBF) several years ago. It’s a monthly three-day fast where believers worldwide join together in prayer and fasting for revival. It’s a monthly fast on the first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of each month in the pattern of Joel 2, with seven days of fasting in December, totaling forty days of prayer and fasting throughout the year.

I encourage you to try this monthly three-day fast. My husband and I love this fast. Imagine joining others worldwide in a solemn assembly fast. Believe it or not, it is not that hard. God is giving extraordinary grace to fast, and doing it together worldwide seems to be much easier and more powerful.

To help you during the fast, worship and pray with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City live via the free Global Bridegroom Fast webcast. Join us for live, high-quality web-streaming, 24/7 prayer and worship all month. I receive many of my ideas for writing about prayer in the Global Prayer Room. If you don’t know what to pray, then pray these Global Bridegroom Fast prayer requests during your fast:

  • Fullness of the Holy Spirit and unity in the Church (John 14:12; 17:2-23). Pray for spiritual breakthroughs in the worldwide Church with unprecedented unity, purity, and power.
  • Houses of Prayer (Isaiah 62:6–7). Pray for the release of “grace for fasting” with worship and prayer to establish 24/7 Houses of Prayer in the cities of the earth, including Israel.
  • Wealth of the nations (Haggai 2:7–9). Pray for the release of finances for the great harvest, the prayer movement, and the poor.
  • The great harvest (Matthew 24:14). Pray that over one billion souls are converted by the power of God.
  • A youth revival movement (Malachi 4:6). Pray for a worldwide revival especially among the youth and the poor of the earth.
  • Revival to Israel (Romans 9-11). Pray for the fulfillment of all the prophetic promises to national Israel.
  • A wall of fire of protection (Zechariah 2:5). Pray for a divine protection over all that is birthed through prayer.

The prayer room is an ideal place to nurture your prayer life during seasons of fasting. It provides a solace from distractions and a place already filled with the Spirit of God. As the Church worldwide moves forward in the prayer movement, let’s realize that fasting, prayer, and seeking God’s face are increasing dramatically across the earth.

Your prayer room is part of a great prayer tapestry that is beginning to cover the earth. Fasting and prayer will increase not only the effectiveness of your intercession, but it will bring you to a place of deeper intimacy with God. And it will prepare the earth for the final harvest and the second coming of Christ the King.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

The Power of Fasting and Prayer

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11692554_990318764364564_5003763167195494253_n“Faith needs a life of prayer in which to pray and keep strong. Prayer needs fasting for its full and perfect development. It is only in a life of moderation and temperance and self-denial that there will be the heat or the strength to pray much. We are creatures of the senses: fasting helps to express, to depend and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, to sacrifice ourselves, to attain what we seek for the Kingdom of God.”

There is definitely power in prayer. But there is an added blessing in seeking God when we combine prayer with fasting. God’s people in many nations are involved in prayer and fasting on a regular basis. People like to fast for various lengths of time and in all sorts of different ways. Individuals fast meals, sweets, TV, and anything else that is a personal form of self-denial and sacrifice for God’s Kingdom purposes. Forty-day fasts are even becoming more popular. God leads each one differently.

But there is one important key that adds to its blessing. When fasting it is good to slow down and spend more time in the prayer room, more time on our faces before God, and more time in silence and stillness. Prayer rooms are excellent places to gain the most out of seasons of fasting. An atmosphere of prayer will keep you still before the Lord and away from the distractions of the world. You may be thinking:

“I’m not so sure—Is there really any benefits to fasting? If I fast from food when I’m very hungry, I want to know that it really does accomplish something.”

Fasting is actually a form of voluntary weakness. When we fast we are submitting our strength into God’s hands. Fasting is choosing voluntary weakness (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). It may appear foolish in man’s eyes, but there is lasting strength and empowerment from God through fasting. Let me assure you, fasting has powerful, long-term results in your life and in the life of others. It’s an empowering grace with God’s divine ability and perfect sufficiency (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). It is a way of getting hold of God’s infinite resources.

When we fast, our hearts are enlarged to receive more from God at a deeper level. We become weak but God becomes strong, and we experience more of His power. We can fast in many ways—energy, money, words, giving, serving, praying, time, and so on. We submit our strength into God’s hands and trust him to answer in His way, in His time, and with His power.

When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that He overcame the temptation of the devil in the wilderness while fasting and praying
(Luke 4:1-14).

He overcame the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It was an opportunity to manifest the strength of His inner man. And after that forty-day fast, he came forth in the power of the Holy Spirit for ministry. He was able to perform great signs and wonders from that point on (Luke 4:14). You can imagine the intensity of the battle in that wilderness position, but Jesus knew that the power of fasting and prayer was necessary to overcome the devil. He embraced this period of voluntary weakness and everything that went with it—loneliness, lack of strength and activity, lack of convenience, and so much more. Jesus embraced a life of weakness while on earth (Isaiah 49:3-4).

When we fast and pray we are developing a deep history with God just as Jesus did. We are learning to fix our gaze on Jesus and are discovering how to be victorious in spiritual warfare. We are learning to turn these wilderness experiences into an oasis with God where we grow strong in the Spirit. There are many benefits and long-term results from practicing this great spiritual discipline. Have you ever wondered which way to go when you needed spiritual discernment? Have you ever found it hard to hear God’s voice?

Fasting will sharpen your ability to discern good from evil and will help you to see God’s perspective (Hebrews 5:14). It will give you an increased ability to hear God’s voice clearly and receive divine revelation (Acts 13:2). It will increase your perception of the unseen world because fasting removes distractions. We see with spiritual eyes and are able to focus more on the eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

I know in my life that there are times when the future looks difficult, and I need more faith and more spiritual power. Fasting increases faith and helps us to militantly hold on to that which looks absolutely impossible (Hebrews 11:1). I have experienced greater spiritual power after times of fasting.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Our Prayer for a Heart for the Nations

11230031_994913747238399_3289985085759092424_nLord, help us to see the big picture of what You are doing in the nations. Your Word says: “these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7). Give us vision for this worldwide House of Prayer for all nations. Help us to build Your House in our city. You are orchestrating strategic shifts and realignments. Help us not to resist what you are doing but eagerly gain new Kingdom alliances. Help us to relinquish our personal rights and celebrate the victories of others. Teach us to pray Your Word over the nations.

As we seek to pray, we ask you to give us your heart for the world. Help us to feel as you feel for the lost and the dying. In the midst of our prayer meetings, transform us into your likeness. Give us Your perspective on the world and all that is happening internationally. Empower us, and give us faith so that as we leave the prayer room, we will be a blessing to all those we encounter in our lives. We want to see Your mighty power to save, to set free, and to heal everywhere we go.

Arrest our attention. Revive us, and free us from ourselves so that we may represent You to a lost world. Give us Your heartbeat. Help us to cry out for souls. Help us to catch the vision for prayer in our city. Increase the vision for prayer in our churches. Clothe us with Your presence, and use us for Your glory in the prayer movement. We sing to You Lord. We praise Your name. We proclaim Your salvation day after day. We declare Your glory among the nations, Your marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96:2-3). In Jesus’ name, amen.

Verses to Memorize

“these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:6-7).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

How to Pray for Your City

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The Incredible Power of United Intercession“Your city is God’s city. The people are made in His image. Satan is an invader and a usurper operating in our territory. God did not give demons authority over your city. Demons have infested the earth’s atmosphere since before the creation of mankind, but they can only extend their authority into a town or an institution when people sin. When you look into the history of your city, you will find clues as to what is oppressing the people today. This is our planet, and the only authority Satan has is stolen human authority.” John Dawson

In the above quote, John Dawson emphasizes the fact that this is our planet and that your city belongs to God. The following are some ways you can bring authoritative intercession for your city into your House of Prayer:

  • Cover your city with continuous praise and worship – God gives you His heart for your city through worship and, therefore, a positive attitude is important. Instead of complaining and reacting toward the sin in your city, praise God for the good things. Satan is already an accuser, so praising God and declaring by faith the eternal purpose and dream of God over your city brings in His presence and defeats the enemy.
  • Wait on the Lord for insight – Don’t depend on your own wisdom, but listen to God with childlike dependence. God will open your eyes as to what He wants to do in your city when you set aside your own agenda and wait upon Him. The Lord will give you His strategies for reaching your city.
  • Identify with the sins of the city – We can all identify with the roots of any sin in our city. The potential is in each one of us. We need to identify in personal and corporate repentance. Nehemiah identified with the sins in his city and prayed, “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you” (Nehemiah 1:6-7).
  • Overcome evil with good – Come in the opposite spirit. If there is a lot of violence, demonstrate the spirit of peace. If your city is full of greed, demonstrate generosity. If there is hate, live a life of love. This will give you great victory in your city.
  • Travail over your city – Just as a pregnant woman travails to give birth to a child, you birth God’s dream in your city through travail (John 16:21). You must pray until something happens; this takes dedication and perseverance. This has everything to do with faith for your city and revival. The Apostle Paul is a good example
    (2 Corinthians 11:27-28).

“The level of a spiritual victory for your city is directly affected by two spiritual conditions: the intensity of your desire and the size of your faith. God wants to see if you want the minimum or the maximum. Do you want institutional survival—or citywide revival?” John Dawson

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

Prayers from the Book of Revelation

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11667261_990255734370867_6429920607243431306_n“When you pray the hymns of the Revelation, you pray with all of heaven, going before God as He sits on His throne and  joining with Him in worship. You will hear and say some of the same words the angels and elders say to God. Try praying these hymns and get to know some of what is going on in heaven, what will happen when heaven comes here, and how all of heaven and earth talk to the One on the throne and to the Lamb.”  Wesley and Stacey Campbell

We need to realize that the book of Revelation is a prayer manual in the end times. There are seventy to eighty direct or indirect references to prayer in the book of Revelation. Some of these references are hymns, declarations, worship, supplications, altars, incense, and others. These prayers reveal the end-time events and Jesus as the conquering King of kings. They also reveal intercession as the governmental center of the Kingdom of God. The prayer movement will have a vital role in God’s plan to release the Kingdom of God on earth.

Take some time this week to pray some of the hymns in the book of Revelation listed here. Ask God to show you things you have not seen before. Ask Him to speak to your heart and bring you into “zoe”, life-giving revelation. Ask Him to cause the Word of God to burn within you as you journey through life. We need to be like the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders in Revelation 4:8b-11 who continually marveled at the awesome holiness and glory of God:

“Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.'”

  • Revelation 1:4-7 – A prayer to anticipate the second coming of Christ.
  • Revelation 2:7-8, 11-12, 17-18, 26-29; 3:5-7, 12, 21-22 – A prayer for overcomers.
  • Revelation 5:8-14 – A prayer to the Lamb.
  • Revelation 6:9-11 – A prayer for the persecuted.
  • Revelation 7:9-17 – A praise of the end-time harvest.
  • Revelation 11:15-18 – A prayer in expectation of the future reign of Christ.
  • Revelation 19:1-8 – The wedding song.
  • Revelation 22:12-17, 20 – A prayer asking Jesus to come.

Praying God’s Word and studying it is like a rich treasure. Approach your study of it with a spirit of love and devotion towards God. Help others in your House of Prayer to realize its life-giving power in your prayer meetings. Don’t just look at it as an intellectual pursuit. Often when we get a letter from our friends, we react in a certain way. We reread it to see what they have to say with the interest of a friend and loved one. But frequently we treat the Bible like a textbook, looking to gain intellectual knowledge. God wants your affection and love as you read and pray it.

Respond to Him as you read. Say, “Thank You” for His promises, and ask Him for strength to follow His commands. Pray for understanding when you encounter a difficult passage, and ask for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17-18). Pray for increased understanding and that He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).

Believe that God will transform your House of Prayer as you study, commune, and pray His Word. Develop a loving dialogue with a commitment to obey, and watch how your lives change over time. You are digging deep for gold, and you will not be disappointed. His Word in your heart and proclaimed through your lips, is like a burning fire that will touch and transform not only your own lives, but all those you come into contact with. Remember that agreement with God in His Word changes us, it changes the spiritual atmosphere of our cities, and it releases His power in the world.

Cherish it, love it, pray it, and appreciate it as you walk this journey of life and as you build the House of Prayer in your city.

“Seeking the face of God, and then gazing at it, has to begin sometime and someplace. It begins by bringing our whole person before the consuming fire who is God, reciting His words—the Bible—out loud to Him and then letting the Holy Spirit reveal Christ to us. This is why we pray the Bible. May it be that as you engage in this practice that your prayer times will have the same result as the disciples’—whose hearts burnt within as God talked with them along their journey of life. Yes, may your heart burn and your light shine.” Wesley and Stacey Campbell

 By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC