The Glory of Intercession: Holy Spirit's Heart for Individuals

As a warning before you read this post, if you have an issue with praying in the Spirit, otherwise known as praying in tongues or a prayer language, please first read my article titled "The Holy Spirit and Tongues."


Looking forward, I saw worshipers connecting face-to-face with Yahweh. A beam of light broke out of heaven, invading the earth, bursting in the room to create a stairway to the throne of God.

To say it absent of figurative language, I did not have to strain or wonder to see the room-full of saints connecting with their God. Such a beautiful display of unity broke out on that night. We all together with the sound of one voice sang love songs to our God, the One True Living God. My eyes did not fully understand the scene before me until I saw my Chinese friend pouring her life out, not to anyone human being in the room, but to God alone.

Such a beautiful sight: nation with nation, people groups of all backgrounds, meeting in one college auditorium to gather before the throne of God and pour out our life-song.

Honestly, I became overwhelmed. How could I pray for all of these people? As an intercessor, what role did I play in seeing this community connect to God all throughout the week? And what of the families of these students who would, undoubtedly, return home to broken cisterns and empty wells? Do I abandon specifics to pray for nations of people? Oh Lord! Teach us to pray!

Then, Holy Spirit brought breakthrough. As the band played on, I felt prompted to pray in the Spirit. As I did, individuals came to my mind one at a time. I would focus in, with intentional focus, on his or her life. Although I do not know what the Spirit prayed through me, He did supply an understanding of the concepts. I was breaking off the chains binding these individuals from going higher in the things of God.

Paul attaches a statement to the armor of God passage in Ephesians 6:10-20 about prayer that says, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,..." (Eph. 6:18, emphasis added).

While the Scripture also teaches us to pray with our understanding (1 Corinth. 14:14-15), Paul clearly instructs the believers to pray in the Spirit at all times, and with praying in the Spirit in mind, watch out for the saints with perseverance and petition. Paul makes this statement in the context of war. Even using war-like language, Paul states, "be on the alert."

God has emphasized from the beginning of time that the Body of Christ functions best in unity. Even when the world only contained Adam, unity with God supplied Adam with life. The wise Solomon understood this (Ecc. 4:9-12), the apostle Paul taught on it (1 Corinth. 12:12-26; Eph. 4:1-6), and the lover of God, John, prophesied about complete unity of the saints at the end of the age (Rev. 7:9-10).

Paul writes to the Corinthians, "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Corinth. 12:26). At the highest effectiveness, the Church moves as a unit, an army if you will. When taking a step, the entire Body moves together.

And this unity of the saints happens best when we fight for each other in the place of prayer, with perseverance and petition for all the saints. If I have lost connection to community, it is first because I have lost connection to prayer. Without daily conversation with God, I will not have the heart of God; and without daily prayer, petition, supplication, and intercession for my brothers and sisters, I know not of their needs nor do I look for them--I do not love my siblings, bearing their burdens and rejoicing in their victories. Therefore, "with all prayer and petition," we must "pray at all times in the Spirit," making sure to "be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18).

Praying in the Spirit helps us to accomplish this because "we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" (Rom. 8:26). We pray and intercede for the saints in the Spirit, setting ourselves in alignment with what Jesus, the Great intercessors prays. In other words, praying in tongues allows us to pray the things on the heart of the Father and the Son.

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." -John 16:13, emphasis added

"He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God...Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." -Romans 8:27, 34, emphasis added

What conclusion do I make, then? "I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also" (1 Corinth. 14:15). Lord, teach me to pray both with my understanding and in the Spirit.

Specifically, may we believe the power of praying in the Spirit, and commit regularly to praying both in the Spirit and in understanding for the Church.

"Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." -Galatians 6:1-2

The Call to Rest_SETX House of Prayer

Since the start of the high and holy season (Jewish calendar), I have felt a shift. When asking Holy Spirit about the nature of this inward feeling, He whispered to me, "Rest...Slow...Wait." The Spirit then led me to a wilderness. 

Abram, when called, also went into a wilderness. While there, God stretched Abram from an exalted father to the father of a multitude, from Abram to Abraham. Right in the middle of Abram's name, God placed the Hebrew letter "Hey," which implies the divine presence or creative power of God. I believe that God is in the process of stretching me and all of those in pursuit of region-wide unity in the Body of Christ with the very intent of placing His grace, His divine presence, and His creative power right in the middle of our names.

"Hey" sits in the fifth position of the Hebrew alphabet and, therefore, represents the number 5. This new year in the Jewish calendar marks the year 5775, a year where the divine presence and creative power of God surrounds both sides of the decade, century, and millennium.

I've heard it said that this year also marks a Sabbatical year. These verses help define a Sabbatical year:

"Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard." -Leviticus 25:3-4

"At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts." -Deuteronomy 15:1

"But if you say, 'What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?' then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in." -Leviticus 25:20-22

Three main practices set a Sabbatical year apart:
1.) A Sabbath rest for the land
2.) The complete forgiveness of debts
3.) Refocusing ourselves to trust the Creator God, Jehovah Jireh, for our sustenance


With all of this said, I return to the story of my journey during the high and holy season. God has given the commission to build a House of Prayer within the Southeast Texas region, and He has faithfully opened doors, made connections, provided foundation, and shown us the right path to walk in during these beginning stages of obedience and building. However, if at any point I take the reigns for myself, may God push me out of the way, even if that means I fall face first into the ground.

The LORD will build this house; "'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). He alone will set watchmen on the wall (Isaiah 62:6). God will draw hearts to rebuild the house of the LORD (Ezra 1:5).

But for a short season, (and praise God that I mean short when I say short), we had the open opportunity to grab the reigns and fight to build the House of Prayer apart from the Spirit of God. We know and affirm that "unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain" (Psalm 127:1).

I heard the Spirit say, "Rest," and then later He whispered, "Slow." Following behind these, the confirming Word came in the phrase, "Wait." And when these winds blew, I had the choice of obedience or sacrifice. Just like Saul, I sat there with the choice to obey and wait for the Word of the LORD, or speed up the process by sacrificing, begging God to bless the work of my hands instead of submitting to His (1 Samuel 13:8-14).

I write this in confident obedience. God has called the Southeast Texas House of Prayer to a Sabbath rest. We have chosen to voluntarily rest at the feet of Jesus and wait for the Word of the Lord. May this represent our lifestyles at all stages in life, but specifically in this season, may we obey God's guidance to rest, slow, and wait.

In this season we will refocus ourselves to trusting the Creator God, Jehovah Jireh, for our sustenance and the building of this house. We will seek forgiveness of all debts for all people, repenting of the sins of our fathers and the fathers of this region. And we will rest from intensive building of the House of Prayer in this land until the Holy Spirit again commissions us to move forward.

So what does this look like practically for the Southeast Texas House of Prayer?

On the grand scale, this does not change much. All we are doing is slowing down because we believe that Holy Spirit has slowed the pace of the building project. We will not yet construct an organized and committed leadership team. Also, we will no longer host a series of 24 Hour Prayer and Worship services, (or until Holy Spirit gives us release to move forward in this). On top of this, we will wait to organize a community wide Harp and Bowl/House of Prayer orientation conference.

What we will do is wait. Submitting ourselves to the mentors He has placed in our paths, we will rest at the feet of Jesus and soak in every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD, just as Mary did when she chose the "good part" that Jesus said would "not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42). We will continue to pray, intercede, and contend for this region and for a unified movement of prayer and worship to arise. We will continue to build, just at a much slower pace that often appears as though we have paused, as we learn and seek revelation.

And little by little, grace upon grace, precept upon precept, brick upon brick, the Southeast Texas House of Prayer will wait and watch on the wall, hold the line, seal up and stand in the gaps, serving the Lord day and night, night and day, until Jerusalem is a praise in the earth.

Continue to contend for this region, joining with us as we wait for the breakthrough that Holy Spirit has us waiting for. We refuse to be like Saul, sacrificing from our own labors because we could not wait for the LORD's timing. Just like David, we will hunger and thirst for His every Word; and, unlike Saul, we not be ashamed when the LORD ascends over the mountain.

Praise be to God!

"For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience." -Hebrews 4:8-11

The Glory of Intercession

I'm chasing after something big. We're chasing after something big.

The disciples, who later became the apostles, wanted it. Craved it, actually. I believe they could see it radiating off of Jesus like the Shekinah Glory radiated from Moses.

It came from the depths of the heart of one and all of the Lord's disciples. A simple request, "Lord, teach us to pray..." And the Intercessor before the Throne of God responded with what we call the Lord's Prayer, or the Model Prayer.

For a long while, I have stopped there. At the Lord's prayer, I mean. But what if the disciples didn't fully grasp what Jesus said to them the first time the so-often-repeated Model Prayer ever came to earth?

Moreover, I intend to say, what if Jesus' response only sparked a journey, ignited the fire with one ember sent into orbit: "Our Father..."

Because, and let's be honest here, I cannot fully grasp prayer. Without the knowledge of the Father, the intimate connection to God as Abba, our Daddy, our prayers only reach ceiling-high.

I remember looking up at the stars late at night one autumn season. The same crisp air that always seemed to frighten away the mosquitoes has a tendency of making me feel alive inside. One particular night, I laid down on the chilled driveway, loaded with the weights of the world.

In my pain and confusion of simply working through the details, I began to lose myself in the distance of the stars. Under the pollution of city light, they one-by-one seemed to grow in number like an orchestra of instruments slowly taking their positions.

"Wow..." my voice trailed off.

A new weight suddenly slammed against my chest. Literally. No exaggeration. I felt my words go a few feet up, then slam right back down.

Like a drill pounding into the ground, the blunt force opened my heart bear before the Lord, the Maker of these stars. And as I did, my words reached further and further. I felt communion. And my words transformed from a couple of painful phrases, to repentance, to a direct line of communication with the Father.

The weight lifted, and I went to bed that night shining as the sun in its strength.

Nothing particularly supernatural happened that night. Besides my heightened imagination that allowed me to actually experience the weight of my words, I did not feel any surge of the Spirit. But I do believe He caught me up to glory.

And when I stop to think about it, I find this in prayer every single time I connect with my Father. Real intercession is encounter with God. Intercessors encounter God on behalf of those who will not approach Him for themselves.

We shift things in the atmosphere. Praying for the nations, the nations are blessed. But not because of us. Only because of the Father. I do not fully grasp prayer, but I do know that Moses stood before God on behalf of the people and encountered the glory of God. The glory of intercession radiated from his face, blessing the world around him and bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.

I want to discover this glory of intercession. I have approached the Lord with the same request: "Teach me how to pray." So far, He has poured out much revelation, but the roots of it all comes in encounter. Said another way, we must experience relationship with God to partner with God. We must partner with God to accomplish His work. And we only accomplish His work through rest, the act of trusting and depending with a silent confidence in His leadership. All of these represent the foundations of intercession.

But above all, Christ responds with, "Our Father..." To pray is to join in communion with God. And, as we all know, relationships are lifelong journeys.

Will you come with me on this journey? I need encouragement and wisdom, council and advice as I seek out how to pray. I am shooting for the goal of posting at least one blog every two weeks about prayer.

"Lord, teach us to pray..."

Sleeping in the Midst of a Storm

For over four months now, Holy Spirit has time and time again reiterated the story of Peter walking on water towards Jesus to me. What a storm! Supplying various viewpoints to this story, God has spoken to me peace, a peace that passes understanding. Recently, however, He took this to a deeper level. May He bless you through this testimony and give you strength to press in and trust Him.

Back in March, Holy Spirit gave me a vision of a stormy cove, battering its waves against an unsteady boat. As the vision clarified, I found myself within the boat looking out into the storm. Those eyes! I saw the eyes of Jesus in the distance peacefully beckoning me. Despite the chaos, I had peace as I walked all the way to Christ, not once losing my gaze.

And He walked towards me also!

As the vision faded away, I asked Holy Spirit, "Why do you speak this to me?" My life had no storms in it at the time, so none of this seemed to fit. "Pay attention to this vision and prepare yourself. A storm is coming."

While looking at the water of a lake two months later in May, I asked Holy Spirit for a word. He told me, "Notice the water."

"What about the water?"

"It's water."

(Duh) "...And??"

"Water did not hold Peter up. Peter did not hold Peter up...I held Peter up."

Wow. Holy Spirit showed me that because of Peter's faith, he walked upon the foundation of Christ--fully supported by God in the midst of the storm--a firm foundation.

"But what about when Peter fell?" I had to ask.

"Still, I picked him up."

Even when Peter lost his peace and faith in the word and foundation of Jesus, God reached out His hand and picked him up.

Recently, God has commissioned me to raise up a culture of prayer in Southeast Texas by raising up Prayer Rooms in every place. This calling has challenged me tremendously, but I cannot doubt His call. He has confirmed it over and over again.

One of the scriptural promises and references that He gave me to work from comes from the story of Nehemiah. I believe that the vision He has given me currently only correlates with chapters 1-4 of Nehemiah, but soon, the vision will extend to the whole story.

In chapters 1-4, Nehemiah becomes burdened with the broken down condition of Jerusalem. While the temple has remained standing, the walls have completely broken down to ruble. God gave me this same burden for Southeast Texas. While the churches and congregations still remain, the wall has broken down. We have not centered our ministries around our pursuit of God. We have not maintained watchmen on the wall to unite us and protect us from attack. We have not sought after the face of God before we seek after the approval of man. Our ministries have lacked and fallen because the people have not prayed.

And like the children of Israel, without a wall, who wants to dwell in the city? The Church has become a place of pain, attack, wrath and dissension instead of peace, love, unity and power.

So Nehemiah repents--for his sins and the sins of the people collectively.

From God's divine grace and provision, King Artaxerxes agrees to support the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Here's the kicker for me. I feel called to this full-time, but the storm comes in this moment of trust in God's provision. Nehemiah felt the fear also. The Word says that, in the presence of King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah "was very much afraid" (Neh. 2:2). However, when the king questioned Nehemiah, Nehemiah "prayed to the God of heaven," recording further in the chapter, "the king granted [provisions] to me because the good hand of my God was on me" (Neh. 2:4, 8).

During the day, I had learned to strengthen myself in the Lord. I could keep my gaze on Jesus in the midst of the storm and walk out the days in trust in His calling and provision. When night approached, a different war seemed to rage within me. Because I am still working through the details of this vision with Holy Spirit, including the legal funnel that I will send support through, I still had doubts. And so, I did not sleep well through the nights, but would awake to God's lovingkindnesses and again strengthen myself in Him.

Holy Spirit reminded me, nevertheless, about Jesus's level of peace. In the midst of a storm one evening while sailing to the other side of a body of water, the disciples completely flipped out. They thought they would surely parish. But they forgot of the power and provision of God, even the God who laid below them in the bottom of the boat, fast asleep!

In the midst of the storm, Jesus had the peace to sleep soundly. I did not have this level of peace. "Holy Spirit, help me to find this level of peace," I cried. And the Lord answered me.

Last night, joining with a missions project at my home church for junior high students, the youth pastor and one of my spiritual guides spoke on this same story of Jesus sleeping in the bottom of the boat.

They pointed out that Jesus had instructed the disciples to sail to the other side. Why would God not provide the way? Surely God knew the storm ahead of them before He called them.

I teared up heavily. Surely the same God who called the disciples to cross to the other side, the One who knew the approaching storm, Who slept through the chaos of it all and Who hushed the wind and the waves, surely He knew what He had called me to and knew the approaching storm and would give me peace, perfect peace.

Matter of fact, before I left for the time of worship, Jesus spoke to my heart those exact words: "Peace, be still!" And, as I mentioned above, He warned me of the coming storm. He made His calling to me clear, knew the approaching storm, and would supply peace in the midst of it.

So, I return to the story of Nehemiah and I find this:

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, "What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" -Nehemiah 2:19

I had heard the same things. The enemy has come strongly against me whispering these lies: "What point is this 'Prayer Room' work? Are you rebelling against getting a 'real' job. You lazy pig!"

But Nehemiah, and now myself, reply this to the enemy:

So I answered them and said to them, "The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem." -Nehemiah 2:20

God has given His blessing, decree and confirmation. He will give us success. Therefore, I will obey, move forward, and build! And to the enemy, you filthy dog, you have NO inheritance in this work!

Later on in chapter 4, the same people come back to attack Nehemiah. This time they plot a secret military invasion. Nehemiah writes, "But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night" (Neh. 4:9).

The people still feared, but Nehemiah makes a stand:

When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: "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

Therefore, upon the Lord's decree, I will press in to Him, continue building, station "men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places," and remember the Lord who is great and awesome. I will fight for this region, for my brothers and sisters, my future children, my soon-to-be-wife, the House of Prayer that God is building. I will set watchmen on the wall.

And you know what? I slept deeply last night, full of peace and joy. And I awoke in the presence of the Lord.

He will provide my needs. He will provide your needs. He will fight for us and build our houses.

"'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. 'What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'" -Zechariah 4:6-7

The Call of an Intercessory Missionary

Throughout history, Holy Spirit has called men and women to a life of prayer and intercession. While the Word makes it evident that every believer has the call to pray, some receive a call to devote their lives to pray in the occupation of an Intercessory Missionary.

If you search the Scriptures right now, you will not find the term "Intercessory Missionary." Nor will you find "Youth Pastor," "Nursery Worker," "Secretary," or a host of other occupational titles that we use today. However, this does not discredit that God indeed calls men and women to operate in specific roles.

Before I define the occupation of an Intercessory Missionary, I would like to first make it clear that every believer has received the call to a life of prayer. Then, I will explore a few examples from Scripture of people who filled the role of an Intercessory Missionary. And, finally, I will explain the basics of an Intercessory Missionary.

Every Believer has Received the Call to a Life of Prayer

When Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount, his teaching on prayer goes out to all believers. He starts His section on prayer by saying, "When you pray..." (Matt. 6:5). Jesus did not teach that only a few should pray. Instead, Jesus taught,

"when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do...for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." -Matthew 6:6-8

All of His teaching on prayer centers upon the believer's position and relationship with God the Father. In fact, the model prayer that Jesus gives in Matthew 6:9-13 starts with Jesus saying, "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven...'" Jesus knew that prayer began with an intimate relationship with the Father, something that every believer has access to.

And we can know that we have this intimate access to the Father. Paul teaches, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9). And John writes,

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God..." -1 John 3:1-2a

If we have believed in our heart, (a power resulting in righteousness), and have confessed with our mouth, (a declaration of allegiance resulting in salvation), then, indeed, we are children of God (John 1:12; Rom. 8:16-17, 10:10; Gal. 3:26; 1 John 2:28-3:10). According to Jesus's teaching on prayer, you then have all you need to engage in a life of prayer, which is a life of constant communion with the Father.

But some may still lack the knowledge of the call. I believe that Paul wrote to Timothy, "I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension" (1 Tim. 2:8), precisely because many still lacked in the knowledge of God's call on them to pray.

Again, Paul had to write to the church in Thessalonica, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thes. 5:16-18). He makes it clear: "This is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Paul explains that every believer has received the call to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything. The call to a life of prayer resides behind all three of those. "Always", "without ceasing", and "in everything" very obviously point to a continual lifestyle of prayer.

Paul does not mean that every believer should devote themselves to the occupation of an Intercessory Missionary when he instructs believers in this threefold lifestyle. Instead, Paul draws on the principles that Christ teaches on prayer by making prayer into a conversational, communion life with the Father. This involves maintaining a steady dialogue with heaven. Jesus teaches this to His disciples by saying,

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." -John 15:4-5

Abiding in God involves rejoicing always, praying without ceasing for what the Spirit brings to mind, giving thanks in everything, meditating on the Word, and keeping constant fellowship with God. The Word contains an enormous treasury of scriptures on this topic of abiding in Him. Only when we abide in Him can we accomplish victory and see fruits in our lives.

Paul writes, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" -Galatians 5:16

Peter writes, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" -1 Peter 5:8

And James writes, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." -James 4:7-8a

The Call to a Life of Prayer in Relation to Giving

In addition to maintaining constant communion with God, however, every believer has received the call to set aside specific time for ministering to the Lord. The call to partake in the Sabbath demonstrates this, along with Jesus's teaching on prayer that "when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret..." (Matt. 6:6).

But every individual's time looks different. God has given us each a unique calling and way to spend our time. While all believers are called to devote time to the ministry of the Kingdom and to prayer, God has called some believers to work in the marketplace, an occupation that would only leave an hour or two to the work of prayer daily. Similarly, God calls others to the work of an Intercessory Missionary, who spends four to ten hours a day, or even more, in the place of prayer.

Jesus demonstrates this principle through the story of the widow giving everything she had for the kingdom of God. It reads,

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on." -Luke 21:1-4

Jesus did not chastise the work of the wealthy because of their wealth. He spoke badly of the wealthy because they did not give their all to the kingdom's work while the widow gave her absolute all.

Time proportions out much like the giving of our resources. While a simple mite represented the all of the widow, thirty minutes may represent the all of a CEO. We must each decide between ourselves and God what the giving of our "all" looks like. For some, that means that God has called them to the full-time occupation of prayer.

Examples from Scripture: The Anna Calling

One example in particular of someone called to devote themselves to full-time prayer comes from the short story of Anna found in Luke surrounding the story of Jesus's birth. It reads,

And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. -Luke 2:36-38

Anna served in the temple "night and day" through a service of "fastings and prayers" for the bulk of her life. This story reveals that the calling to continual prayer indeed exists, and should surely be viewed as temple service, or an actual occupation. Anna represents the occupation of an Intercessory Missionary. She did the work of the kingdom of God from the place of prayer.

Notice, however, that she did the work of an evangelist from the place of prayer: "she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." This marks the ministry of an Intercessory Missionary. While devoted first to the place of prayer and intercession, the time spent before the throne of God plunges an Intercessory Missionary into the place of declaration. They simply must speak of His glory and redemption.

Examples from Scripture: The Seraphim

Anna's declaration of God's goodness resembles the work that the Seraphim, or "the burning ones," do in the heavens. Take a look at how John describes the work of these creatures in the Revelation of Jesus:

...and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind...And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."  -Revelation 4:6, 8

How magnificent! These creatures, "full of eyes in front and behind," had the primary job of gazing up the LORD and declaring His worth. "Day and night they do not cease." For all of eternity, they have gazed and have never exhausted themselves on the beauty of God. Isaiah sees the same vision as John, but describes it this way:

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filing with smoke. -Isaiah 6:1-4

Again, how magnificent! The foundations of thresholds of the heavenly temple of God trembled at the voice of these creatures! Image if one of these "burning ones," as their name means, came and gave the message in the pulpit of your church this upcoming Sunday morning. What a Word! May we so speak and so live from the power of the throne of God, the place of gazing upon the LORD and receiving divine revelation.

Because God has established these heavenly "Intercessory Missionaries," if you will, we know that God's heart has this position in mind. God desires for us to sit before Him ministering to Him before we go forward to proclaim.

Examples from Scripture: Mary at the Feet of Jesus

Perhaps my favorite story of one who gazed at the Lord, ministering before Him, comes from the story of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. It reads,

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." -Luke 10:38-42

So often the Church believes that we can accomplish more through meetings, plans, programs, and budgets than through prayer. Mary, on the other hand, chose the good part, the one thing that Jesus said was necessary. Mary chose to gaze upon the Lord and listen for His word, and Jesus said that Mary's choice would not be taken away from her.

Image having a person such as Mary, Anna, or even a Seraphim or two on the Board of Directors at your church. Such a person who has spent a long amount of time listening and gazing, in prayer and intercession would be considered a highly valued member of the team. Such a call resembles the calling of an Intercessory Missionary.

Defining the Occupation of an Intercessory Missionary

As supplied through the examples above, an Intercessory Missionary does these basic things:

-Works in the place of prayer through fastings, prayers and intercession.

-Operates from the place of prayer to proclaim the kingdom of God.

-Gazes upon and ministers to the LORD, devoting themselves to the ministry of the Word.

In addition to these listed above, an Intercessory Missionary also...

-Combines intercession for social justice with acts of social justice

-Stands in the gap for the Church and the oppressed

Mike Bickle, Director of the International House of Prayer Mission Base of Kansas City, writes,

"The Lord is calling people to a full-time ministry occupation that I refer to as an intercessory missionary. I define an intercessory missionary as one who does the work of the kingdom from the place of prayer and worship, while embracing a missionary lifestyle and focus. Others may define this term a different way. At IHOPKC, as a rule, we ask those who embrace this full-time occupation of 'intercessory missionary' to commit to fifty hours per week, including being in the prayer room for at least four hours a day, six days a week." (This article can be found at the link provided HERE)

Additional Examples from Scripture:

Some additional examples from the Word include:

-The concept of setting watchmen on the wall (Isaiah 62:6-7; Ezekiel 3:16-21, 33:1-9).

-Paul's embrace of day-and-night prayer and call to widows to this ministry

(1 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Timothy 2:1-8, 5:5; 2 Timothy 1:3).

-The establishment of full-time worshipers in the tabernacle of David (1 Chronicles 9:33, 16:37, 23:5, 25:7; 2 Chronicles 8:12-14, 31:4; Nehemiah 11:22-23, 12:44-47).

More support from scripture along with more details on Intercessory Missionaries can, again, be found at Mike Bickle's article, titled "The Call to be aFull-Time Intercessory Missionary".

End-Time Prayer Movement Coming to the Golden Triangle

As the second coming of Jesus approaches, Holy Spirit will raise up a powerful prayer movement in the Body of Christ. How do I know this? Jesus taught on it in Luke 18:1-8 saying,

“…will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night...? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Isaiah prophesies that the Son of Man will indeed find faith on the earth because He will have established it, writing in Isaiah 62:6-7:

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

Isaiah teaches that 24/7 prayer ministries will rise up and continue until Jesus returns to restore Jerusalem as a praise in the earth. Likewise, in John’s account in the book of Revelation, a golden bowl full of incense represents the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8), and this incense will go up before God and release the seven trumpets at the end of the age (Revelation 8:1-5).

Prayer all of a sudden got serious, right? Actually, the prayers of the saints have always been this serious. In Exodus 32:11-14, we see Moses interceding on behalf of Israel. Moses asks God to remember His covenant and relent. What a large portion of the Church may find radical about this passage is verse 14: “So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” Because of this passage and the Holy Spirit at work within me, I believe that the Church can accomplish far more if we wait on God and intercede for the needs around us in the place of prayer before we act in the place of justice. The Body of Christ must act in the place of justice (Isaiah 58); however, if we do not first live in the place of prayer, our attempts are simply humanitarian attempts and are not fueled by our love for God (Isaiah 30:15; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

When Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to His word and Martha became offended with Mary, Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42). Jesus reveals to us that gazing upon Him moves His heart to action. In this same way, the Seraphim burn before the throne of God with the primary task of gazing upon Him and declaring His glory (Isaiah 6:1-7; Ezekiel 1; Revelation 4:5-11).

The apostles saw great need in devoting themselves to prayer. So much so, that the position of Deacon came about just so that the apostles could more diligently serve (Acts 6:1-4).

“It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” –Acts 6:3b-4

After Jesus commissioned them to wait for the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, the apostles continually devoted themselves to prayer in the upper room (Acts 1:4-5, 12-14). Still gathered together in one accord, the apostles witnessed the power of waiting upon the Lord through prayer and fasting when the Holy Spirit fell on them at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). We can see that they understood the power that prayer has over a region in Acts 4 when Peter and John were arrested for teaching and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. When released, “they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them” (Acts 4:23). The Word then says that “they lifted up their voices to God with one accord…And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:24, 31).

This passage reveals how God desires for us to partner with Him. We wait for His guidance and power and intercede for His influence and breakthrough in the place of prayer, and then we operate in the place of justice and proclamation of the Gospel, “filled with the Holy Spirit” and speaking “the word of God with boldness.”

It is in this place of prayer and intercession that I believe God has commissioned me. Let me make myself clear, not everyone is called as an intercessory missionary. The best ministry that any individual can do is the ministry that God has called that person to. We must embrace God’s individual calling on our lives and not despise our own ministry by imitating that of another.

God has called me to establish a culture of prayer within the Southeast Texas region, starting with the Golden Triangle area. The vision is to raise up “Prayer Rooms” within individual congregations. After one Prayer Room establishes the culture within that congregation, I will follow the Spirit to establish the culture within the next congregation. At God’s appointed time, the Prayer Rooms will come together to form a House of Prayer for the Golden Triangle area. While 24/7 is the goal, it is not the vision. The vision simply comes from a desire in God’s heart for prayer and intercession to rise up from this region.

Behold, Jesus has said to us, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38; Luke 10:1-23). Will you join with me in asking the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers as we prepare the way for the coming of the LORD? If you are interested in partnering with me financially or feel called to take part in this vision in any way, please send me a message on Facebook or at timothyturner1595@gmail.com.

Peace be with you,

Tim Turner

Intercessory Missionary/Forerunner

The Collision of Compassion and Justice: Lovingkindness

     Compassion and Justice work hand-in-hand to create a powerful depth to God's love that none other can match; and, with the two, the faithfulness of God becomes amplified in a way that transcends all other dimensions of love that any part of creation can attempt to muster up. That connection, between His love and His faithfulness, should always remain glued together. The very reason He remains faithful comes from His covenant love. Of course, His character is faithfulness, but to separate love and faithfulness would limit Him to earthly bounds. He loves because He is faithful; He is faithful because He loves. And, thus, His compassion and justice collide to form His lovingkindness, a type of love that combines agape sacrifice with covenant faithfulness.

    
     The opening dialogue of Daniel 9 begins with Daniel explaining that he "observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years," and the verse immediately following shows Daniel's response to this understanding: "So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed..." (Daniel 9:2-4a NASB). What a wellspring of God's lovingkindness, beloved brethren! I think this deserves some unpacking, however. I encourage you to put forth the effort to follow in God's Word as we look at this. I also implore you to comment below if anything is contrary to truth.

    
     According to 2Chronicles 36:11-21, Zedekiah led the people towards evil in the sight of the LORD. Jeremiah had already prophesied that God would destroy Jerusalem and that the people who surrendered to the Chaldeans would live (Jeremiah 21:1-10); however, Zedekiah refused to humble himself before these words of the LORD and chose to rebel against King Nebuchadnezzar. Iniquity increased, amongst the leaders and the priests as much as the people, and they defiled the LORD's house that He himself had consecrated. "And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place" (2Chronicles 36:15).

     This compassion carries significant weight to it. God sent warning after warning with His messengers and even went to the extreme of sending them early, with enough time to repent. What great love does this demonstrate! "But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy" (2Chronicles 36:16). And here, in the verse immediately following, comes the justice.

    
     Before continuing, we should explore the aspect of justice as a means of love. Justice involves destruction, and it is this character of God that many have difficulty overcoming. Many ask how a God of love could justify the destruction found in the Old Testament. The truth of the matter is that Christ came to destroy as much as He came to heal and fulfill.

     A true follower of Christ will indeed seek to please Him. Within this, believers should constantly ask God to search their hearts and weed out any evil within them. We should continually seek to cleanse ourselves from all iniquity. The blood of Christ truly covers all sins; however, we, as children of God, should seek to become more like Him. When we make such requests, we are actually asking God to destroy things—the evil and sin within us. We leap into His compassionate arms and ask for justice so that we may love and live for Him more and more. He knows every fiber of our being and accepts us with compassion, but cleanses us with justice.

     This demonstrates lovingkindness, that mixture of agape sacrifice and covenant faithfulness, that while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for the ungodly, the wretched, and the low, whom we all once were when we were of the kingdom of darkness. And in His lovingkindness, He sacrificed all He had and took on the entire wrath of God on our behalf. We will never know the full wrath of God because Christ took it all for us! And He destroyed death, sin, the grave, and the enemy. Through His compassion and justice, He has made a way for us. And by His death, He has cut a covenant with us, according to His promise. Therefore, within the combination of compassion and justice, Jesus Christ becomes for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—and demonstrates His lovingkindness.

    
     Therefore, going back to the beginnings of Daniel 9 and the context found in 2Chronicles 36, we see both God's compassion and God's justice demonstrated. This correlates with Daniel 9:2 because the justice that God speaks of in 2Chronicles 36 is the same seventy years prophesied by Jeremiah that Daniel says he understood and observed. 2Chronicles 36:20-21 expounds on this in saying, "And those who escaped from the sword he (the king of the Chaldeans) carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years."

     At surface level, verse 20-21 seems only to clarify that Daniel 9 and 2Chronicles 36 indeed correlate, but the question remains: what truth did Daniel come to realize that brought him to the point of confession and repentance? Daniel does not specifically elaborate on what he understood and observed; nevertheless, truths of God's character found in these passages should bring us to the same place that Daniel found himself—repentance.

    
     Verse 21 of 2Chronicles 36, in particular, shines light on deeper aspects of God's character of lovingkindness. In context, God had already set up the seventy-year oppression if Israel did not turn from their wickedness. Important to note, nevertheless, comes in God's other intention for those seventy years. "...to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years" (2Chronicles 36:21). God also intended the seventy years for a gift of Sabbath to the land!

     Many know that God ordained the seventh day, the Sabbath day, as a day of rest. Exodus 23:10-11, however, takes this to an even deeper level through the seventh year Sabbath of the land. "Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow..." (Exodus 23:10-11a). God even goes on from the instruction to reveal the whys: "...that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat" (Exodus 23:11b).

     This Sabbath of the land required large amounts of obedience and faith. The produce of the land supplied every bit of the food for the people. To not cultivate and grow produce meant that no income whatsoever existed. It also would humble the wealthy by spreading equality amongst Israel. And, probably highest of all, it called for a cultivation of the grounds within the self to weed out iniquity.

     The fact of God's faithfulness in this command to a Sabbath of the land comes in Leviticus 25:18-22, which explains that if they observe this command, they will dwell in the land in safety, the land will yield its fruit, and there will always be enough. And, as for the income and food for the seventh year Sabbath of the land, God states, "I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years" (Leviticus 25:21). This promise extends for three years because it takes an entire year to have produce for the next. Therefore, they would not only need produce for the seventh year, but also for the eighth and even the ninth.

     Abundance such as this meant that some carelessness might go into the gathering of the fields. According to God's instruction, any forgotten sheaf should be left for the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger (Deuteronomy 24:19-22). This abundance added onto the corners of the field, which God also instructed to be left for the poor and stranger (Leviticus 19:9-10). This means that obedience to God in the Sabbath of the land and the leaving of the abundance brought equality to all of Israel.
     On top of that, the land had time to rest and replenish its resources. In the same way, the hearts spent the entire year leaning upon God's provision. Thus, a cultivation of the hearts commenced instead of the cultivation of the land. This year would then give breakthrough for a walk of obedience, faith, and righteousness for the six years to come.

     With this entire context, God's gift of the seventy years of Sabbath to the land meant that, although the children of Israel would spend seventy years in captivity, God, all the while, was in the process of working redemption and reconciliation. The land would have finally received the Sabbaths that the children of Israel had neglected; therefore, God then would be able to abundantly bless Israel through their renewed obedience after the time of the captivity had ended. He prepared a way for forgiveness. Compassion worked hand-in-hand with Justice to display a depth of God's love that none other could/can even compete with. God brilliantly painted His lovingkindness in His Fatherly correction of Israel—with compassion and justice.

     And Daniel ecstatically gets it! Well, maybe with less outward enthusiasm, but his spirit, nevertheless, rejoiced for the healing to come. With such a beautiful display of the character of God's lovingkindness, Daniel exhibits the only true response:

So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day--to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him...for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion."

-Daniel 9:3-9, 18b

    
     Beloved brethren, our God deals in great measure with compassion, but justice cannot be separated from this attribute of God's love. True understanding of God's lovingkindness brings us to our knees in repentance and cries out for both compassion and justice. Righteousness belongs to the Lord. Our own merits, systems, or paths cannot justify us. The LORD has/is sending "warnings to [us] by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He [has] compassion on His people and on His dwelling place" (2Chronicles 36:15). People get ready...Jesus is coming. And even so, come Lord Jesus, COME!

But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

-Romans 2:2-4