Friday, September 16, 2016

Praying the Word

Praying the Word

Preface

This article is taken from the book, "Intercession: The Throne Ministry," by Emmanuel Church. This article is being printed in the hope that it will assist the Lord's people in spiritual prayer. Such prayer will not only meet the need of God's Will, but it will manifest itself in expression of that Will - that Will being, "to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery" ... "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:27).

And what great conflict there is against such an expression of God's Will in the lives of the Lord's people. That is why we feel there is great need for such prayer to be made at all times in the Spirit by the Body of Christ.

We have also found that praying the Word of God back to Him is one of the main ways God meets any critical situation in the Body, for it will guard the heart of His people and strengthen them for the warfare. This type of prayer will not only keep us awake and watchful against the enemy, but will aid in driving him off the ground of the inheritance.

Praying the Word

Beloved, we cannot express too much the importance of praying the Word of God as the Holy Spirit leads us. Through the years, praying the Word has become a vital force in our prayer life. All of the preceding chapters of this book ("Intercession: The Throne Ministry") have been brought forth as a result of our individually and corporately praying the Word. As we have encountered a problem or trial, or a move of the enemy of God, we have searched together the Word of God for a Word to pray; and the Holy Spirit has always given it to us. Oh, maybe not immediately, but over a period of time the Word has always come, "...precept upon precept, line upon line ... here a little, and there a little ..." as the Lord has taught us to wield "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."

Whatever the need, the Lord has always given His Word, the Written Word to pray. The Word says, "Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven": and the Word of God by the Spirit must be the Source, the Fountain-head, and the Ultimate Cause for all our praying. The Word of God is the only creative force that can bring forth that which is according to the Will of God.

Therefore, in each situation and circumstance, we need to pray and stand upon the "settled" Word of God; for it is the Holy Spirit's way to give a Word from the Whole of God's Word to meet any situation. We have found that whenever we get into problems of any kind, whether they be trials, persecutions, weaknesses, or afflictions, our human spirit and soul may begin to sink. If the problem is allowed to depress us, it will push our spirit downward, and thus our emotions, our mind, and our communion with God will be brought into a place of being pressed out of measure. In this position, we will not be able to come up over the situation. Now, "to overcome" means "to come up over." Overcoming is not simply sounding highly victorious and spiritual. Overcoming means that, in every problem we face, we allow the Resurrected, Ascended, Glorified, Exalted Christ to have His rightful position in our hearts.

For example, let us say that we are attacked by fear. In the midst of a problem or trial, some sort of fear over-whelms us, and we become frightened in some way. We become upset, our mind goes out of control, and we can only think about the problem. Though we desperately try to put our mind on the Lord, the situation has control over us. Now how do we "come up over" this? One way to come up over this in the Spirit is to pray the Word. Many of us have done this without realizing it. The Word of God is God's Will. Praying the Word by the Spirit is praying God's Will back to Him, and there is no greater prayer to pray than the Word of God.

Some of the books of the Bible which are excellent to pray are  those of Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and 2 Timothy. These are short books and are particularly about the Church and its calling, and they instruct us concerning our daily lives. The Book of Colossians contains four chapters, and it takes about twenty minutes to read it prayfully. In these four chapters, the Holy Spirit takes us from before the foundation of the world to the place where creation began, and then He brings us through all the redemptive process. He reveals our life in the Church and our daily walk with our husband, wife, and children. He continues on in the letter to give instruction to all of us who work and live in the world. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God begins this book with the presentation of the Headship of Christ in the universe and in the New Creation, and then He brings the Authority of this same Headship into our daily individual walk life, and He does this in only four chapters!

Now as we begin to prayerfully read the scriptures, we find that the Word of God is living and operative; and as we prayerfully read and pray the Word back to God, our mind will be girded up. The Word says, "Gird up the lions of your mind" (1 Peter 1:13). Praying the Word will accomplish this, for as we pray our mind will be filled with the inspired Word of God. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God," it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16); and as we pray the Word, the very Breath of God begins to take hold of our heart. The Resurrected, Glorified Christ takes our sinking heart and brings it into its rightful position, whichis that we are seated with Him at the right hand of God, "far above all principality, and power, and might, anddominion," situation, circumstances, and problems. Now from this position, we can look at the problem from God's vantage point - The Throne. No longer will we be in the circumstance looking up, but we will be seeing things as God sees them. Although our situation may not change, nevertheless, we will come to know that He is Lord over all in experience.

We will come to know that "(Christ) hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). Let us note that the Word says, "hath delivered us," not "is going to." As we pray scriptures such as these, we automatically will speak an "Amen" by the Spirit - "He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (are held together). And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: Who is the Beginning, the First born from the dead; that in all things He might have the Preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him ..." (Colossians 1:17-19; 2:9, 10). Amen! Amen! Amen!

As we pray the Word in Colossians, and in other scriptures as the Lord leads, we will come up over any problem into the Ascended life of the Lord. Also, we will find that our mind will be turned away from self, and we will begin to pray for the needs of others, forit is only after we have "come up over" our problem into the realm where Christ is All in All, and the enemy is under His feet, that we can begin again to intercede for others.

When we pray the scriptures found in Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21; and Colossians 1:9-19; 2:9, 10; 3:1-4 for the Body of Christ, we join ranks with those who are praying for the Full Plan and Purpose of God. Ephesians 6:17 and 18 tells us that our two offensive weaponsare the "Sword of the Spirit, whichis the Word of God" and "praying in the Spirit" with "ALL-prayer." As we pray the Word of God, we turn our sword upon the enemy and begin to do battle for God's Plan and God's people; thus, our sword is already sharp should the enemy attack us. We do not have to draw our sword for we are already prepared in full battle array; we have on the full armour of God, for we are seated together in Him Who is "far above all."

And, brethren, we should not wait to be attacked by the enemy, for the greatest defense is a vigorous offense. Let us attack the enemy with these prayers of God, for our of His mouth goes a "sharp two-edged sword." Let us be "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit ... for all saints." - "Let the high praises of God be in (our) mouth and a two-edged sword in (our) hand. Amen

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(The End)

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