October 19: We Have The Victory
The fervent desire to be effective in prayer is admirable, achievable and absolutely essential for the person who believes they are called to be involved in Intercession; that is
ALL of us; as well as those who are called to take this art to the next level; to take on the ministry of an intercessor.
As a Pastor I rely, first of all, on the call of God and the anointing given by the Holy Spirit to stand in this office. Added to that is the additional confidence that I have, in the knowledge that there is a team of intercessors and others in the church who feel led to intercede on my behalf, and on the behalf of the church I have the privilege to pastor.
All of the ministries and work done by the body of Christ in the world has to have its basis firmly based in prayer that has given birth to that work well before it has even begun to become physically apparent, to a single person, that anything is happening. It has been given birth in the spirit through the work of intercessory prayer.
This is no insignificant matter. The outcome has serious consequences on an eternal level for those who are in dire need to hear the Gospel and to be brought into salvation; not simply a hope that they might make Heaven. But, that they may enjoy the benefits of that salvation here in this life as well.
For the Sick and the Maimed this is a matter of health and healing. For the Poor it is the provision of their needs being met. For the Lonely and the Widowed there is comfort and peace; all of those things that Jesus proclaimed he had come to provide when he read the scriptures from Isaiah on the day he began his public ministry. (Luke 4:17)
Jesus’ ministry, no simple act, of God Stepping down into the world. It was the culmination of prophesies and prayers and intercessions that had been made for centuries before Jesus was ever able to be conceived, birthed and grow in stature as a man. A man, who was then anointed at his Baptism, with the Holy Spirit and with the power required to fulfil the initial stages of his earthly ministry.
All of this was achieved and brought to fruition based on the prayers and intercessions that were built on the promises made to Abraham by God. A faith that was accounted to him, and to those who followed in his footsteps, as righteousness. A Faith that produced a confidence and an attitude of victory, that the battle was already won, because he who had promised was and is faithful to do what he has said (Heb 10:23), even centuries before it was to come to pass; Faith and Patience working together.
In the New Testament the church, the body of Christ in the Earth, is informed that their position is even better than that of those men and women of God recorded throughout the Old. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit informs us, on more than one occasion, that we have been raised up to the position of Victory. But, we have to renew the way we think and look at the world around us and, to recognise the true nature of the work; the battle we face to bring this spiritual victory into the physical world around us.
If we come to recognise that we have the victory, before we begin, and that we build our confidence upon that victory, we will face the task with a very different attitude to the one we would have if our eyes are fixed upon each and every struggle, fall and defeat that we face along the way.
This is by no means denying those difficulties. But, as every champion knows, you have to keep your eyes upon the prize, the goal ahead, or be overwhelmed by what it takes to get there. In spiritual matters this is even more important as we recognise that what we see, feel and sense in the world around us had its beginnings in the realm of the spirit first of all (Heb 11:3).
Before we enter the prayer closet we need to recognise that we already have the victory and we are to help to bring that victory to fruit
ion in the world.
I highly recommend this book for your reading and study in this area: it is by Charles Capps and called “The Tongue – A Creative Force. It is one of the foremost comprehensive books to deal with this subject and is invaluable to growth, spiritually. Follow the link on the image to go directly to the Capps Website, or check out your local Christian Bookstore.
To download this week’s important Spirit-Filled message click on the following link and save the linked file to a directory of your choice on your computer. Otherwise your browser will open up with a player to simply listen online.