Praying at All Times part 1- Change Starts with Me!
“With all prayer and petition pray (with specific requests) at all times (on every occasion and in every season) in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition (interceding in prayer) for all God’s people.”
Ephesians 6: 18 (Amplified).
Father, open our eyes to receive the Word You have for us, fresh manna from Heaven.
The term “with all prayer” has within it the application of all types of personal prayer and corporate prayer. As a member of His Body, we are not an island. We are a wonderful and intricate part of His Body. May we never lose sight of that. We are called to be a blessing to the local and global Body. As we read the rest of the verse, we see it highlighted once again that we are to pray for the Body. We must never get so tunnel focused that all we see is the fight we are in and lose sight of the bigger battle. Remember, faith works through, and with love and love is about laying down your life for the brethren. Our heads tell us to focus on our needs and what we are going through and that if we focus on others, we will fail. We are trained in the law of the fittest and survival. But your prayer is amplified through love, and the Father is able to find others in the Body able to pray for you as well. We need that because I can’t pray 24/7 but His Body can.
Give the devil heart attack and begin to let the love flow through praying for the Body. In full appreciation of what other members are going through, let us stand in the gap for them and approach the throne for them. Let us cover them in prayer made in and out of His rich love.
Let’s keep pressing in with a heart to receive from His abundance, knowing He is a good God and He cares for us. We come to the well of His mercy, His glory, and goodness, and we drink at this moment of need that we might be satisfied.
We are to pray at all times and every season.
- Your true NEED is HIM!
Oh, that we would fully understand that the greatest need that we have in Him! It is not the answer to our prayer, but Him. May we never replace Him or dethrone Him over a concern or care. “in every season,” in other words, seasons change, but we must come to the place where we understand seasons change, but He does not. Our material needs will change with the seasons, but our constant need of Him never changes. The reason we so often get into trouble is we forget that we need Him, daily we need Him.
“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.”
John 15: 4
We forget Him, His Word, and staying in prayer and we then find ourselves in a dry place, where we are dying. Our prayer life becomes unproductive and our spiritual authority diminished just when we need it most.
The Father’s heart breaks to see us restored. We need fresh touches from Jesus to shake off the old and to breathe life unto us. It is in His presence we are able to gain a vision of the greatness of His goodness towards us. Let us not stop on the threshold of what He has for us.
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your Word.”
Psalm 119: 67
- Seasons will change
If we could see from His perspective, we would know that He cares deeply for us and has a path that would keep us from all pain and loss; it is the path of hearing and doing His Word.
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Genesis 8: 22
The law of seasons ordained by God will not end until there is a new earth. Every season must change!
“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.”
Genesis 1: 14
God has put in place laws, including the law of cycles and seasons. When we look to the heavens, we are reminded of these cycles and seasons and that every season must end and change. If you place yourself in Him, in His Word, in prayer, then the season will end, and you will find yourself always in a better place.
Pray in all seasons. Pray when things are good and pray in the hard seasons. If we learn to build our spiritual muscles and stay praying strongly in the good seasons, we could keep ourselves from so much pain. We need to develop our prayer muscles.
Remember this
- In the Spirit
We are to pray in every season in the Spirit. That is Spirit-led praying and praying in our spirit language. As I said, now is the time to begin developing spiritual muscles. It is time to learn new prayer patterns, so you start praying all the time. You make prayer first in your life and not last. Prayer is not what you say over your food and when you go to bed. Pray is your intimate communication with the Father. It is about recognizing Who He is, what Jesus did, and who you are because of Him.
“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in Heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father Who is in Heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My Name, I am there in their midst.”
Matthew 18: 18-20
If Heaven declares it bound, then bind it on earth and if Heaven declares it loosed on earth, then declare it loosed on earth. We already saw that Jesus called on us through prayer to call forth the Father’s will into our lives and on earth. His Word is His Will. So pray the Word and when in doubt, pray in the Spirit.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations, and every loft thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10: 4-6
Did you hear that? Through prayer, you have great power to attack those speculations or thoughts that come into your head saying bad news. All the things that are seeking to disqualify you, harass or hinder you, through prayer, you can overcome.
Lord by Your Spirit underlines the following in our hearts today-
“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the Name which is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2: 9-11
Jesus told us to pray in His Name. He gave you a power of attorney to use His Name. So in prayer, use it. His Name has all authority. No matter what you face, it must bow to the Name of Jesus, period!
You have a responsibility to make a stand and pray. You have a responsibility to pray His will into your life. You have the responsibility to get into he Word and hear the Holy Spirit declare the promises to you. Then you have to take those precious promises and decree them into your life. Everything that refuses to bow take authority in His Name.
- Change the Spiritual Climate
Turn to Isaiah, chapter sixty.
“Arise, (from spiritual depression to a new life), shine (be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord); for your light has come, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you. For in fact, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness will cover the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you (Jerusalem) and His glory and brilliance will be seen on you.”
Isaiah 60: 1-2 Amplified
The call is for a changing of position and to shake off the depression and discouragement. Why?
“But in My favor and grace I have compassion on you.”
Isaiah 60: 10 Amplified
So tell depression, discouragement, and all that stands in your way to go! Command the harassing and destructive spirit to go in His Name! We must understand the importance of spiritual climates. If we could see into the spiritual realm, we would see how the enemy is the prince of the power of the air and how he loves to hold people in a depressive spiritual climate.
But when you worship and when you really pray, you break the climate. Don’t let some filthy spirit harass you but kick him out. Cover your home with the blood. Avoid strife, so you don’t allow that thing back in. Shut the door on the enemy! Praise and prayer hinder the enemy and, more importantly, release the resources of Heaven into your life.
If we look at Joel chapters one and two, we see a terrible time and a most difficult season falling upon the people, and the Lord calls them to
“’Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.”
Joel 2: 12, 13
- Stay soft-hearted
Here again, we see His offer of His grace and compassion, but we must return to Him. In fact, we must return and repent and rend our hearts. Many times we return to Him in difficult seasons, and when they are really bad, we repent. But the call is to go even further, “rend our hearts.” Real change must occur this time.
The hour is late, and judgment begins at the house of the Lord. We see from Hebrews twelve that He is shaking all things, and in our lives, He wants to bring us to where we are in His unshakeable kingdom.
I don’t speak this to condemn anyone but to exhort and encourage. There is mercy in Him. He is compassionate and understands what we are going through. He wants us out of it and knows the only way out is through His Word.
I looked, and the Lord began revealing to me things I did and how that sin opened doors that led me to where I am at. I could see His heart longing to bring that season to an end but remember what we sow, we reap. Let’s change the seed we sow so we can expect and receive a good harvest.
Your prayer life is essential, but it must be a real prayer life. A prayer life where we become vulnerable to Him. A place where we bow, and we listen.
- Lift Up His Name
Look at Isaiah chapter twenty-five and again hear the heart of the Father towards you-
“O Lord, You are my God, I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your Name; for You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.”
Isaiah 25: 1
He has plans for us, and He is faithful! No matter how far we have strayed, blown it, or disqualified ourselves, He always has a plan to get us where we need to be. But we need to begin to see Him and how glorious and faithful He is.
Now I realize Isaiah chapter twenty-five refers to when He reigns again on the earth, but we can still see His promise to us in this hour.
“For He will swallow death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears from the faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth. And it will be said in that day, ‘Behold, this is our God for Whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for Whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
Isaiah 25: 8-9
There will come a day where everything will change, and if I read the previous verses to you, you will see there will be a day you will celebrate your breakthrough. Until that day comes, we are to wait on Him and rejoice in Him and His salvation. This is what we must return to!
Recall all His faithfulness in your life and start to declare it. So wait on Him. Focus on Him! Honor Him. Listen for His voice. Stay close to Him.
So let us allow Him now through His Holy Spirit access to every area of our lives to expose all that must be changed and bow to Him. Let us wait on Him. Waiting is now focusing on our need but on Him. Looking into His eyes and remembering His love and faithfulness. Let us begin to exalt His Name and declare His greatness. As we wait, receive His peace and allow Him to embrace us. Cast off the heavy burden and trust He is in control.
Go back and read Isaiah chapter twenty-four and see how the earth is under judgment and it is a bleak time, yet a people begin to raise their voice towards Him in worship and awe.
Now think about “Praying at all times.”
We need a change in us-
- A heart change
- A focus change
- An attitude change
We need to spend more time focused on Him, His wonder and amazing mercy and love. Turn to Second Chronicles chapter twenty. Facing a massive attack from an enemy too great for them, Jehoshaphat prayed and sought the Lord. He was afraid but I want you to see in his prayer that he declares God as final authority. The Lord’s response was “The battle is not yours, but the Lord.”
