An Exhortation to Pray

The revivalists of history-- both, great and small-- and their people would spend two hours a day in prayer during  their fruitful lives, a little-known fact. That type of commitment to God from His children is what it will take for America to experience a much-needed revival and awakening. This is one of the keys to revival. We must be so connected with the Father that His works follow us wherever we go!

I want to empower the prayer warriors, intercessors and prophetic voices in this hour to double down in prayer and warfare.
Though we do not like to admit weakness, there are times when we can grow weary in praying and interceding. Whether it be for family members, our region, our nation or the nations of the earth, every issue matters to the Lord. As we press in to God and partner with the Lord in prayer and intercession in bombarding the kingdom of darkness, things can seem to intensify and to worsen in the natural. It can seem as if our prayers are agitating the atmosphere, and they are, because we are agitating the darkness with the hosts of heaven and the presence of God. While the darkness appears to be thickening and gaining momentum, we should not shy away because it is in that time we are to double down in our prayer and intercession.

"My face is set like flint. I will not be moved." This is what double down means. Merriam Webster defines double down as, "to become more tenacious, zealous or resolute in a position or undertaking."

Much of the church prays with microwave expectations; we give up after a few "travailing" minutes. Prayer meetings are not exciting to the flesh and sadly, because of this, they are vacant of fleshly bodies. There is an unspoken rhetoric among believers that someone else will pray. I would dare say that most believers are of the mindset that prayer is boring.

If prayer and intercession are boring, you are doing it wrong.
Jesus withdrew from His disciples and the crowds to pray and to intercede. It was a facet of His relationship with the Father(Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34).

Jesus has provided a blueprint for you and me as co-heirs with Him. We are to be a praying people, a royal priesthood. Priests pray! Priests stand in the gap as tears soak their faces and His fiery Spirit captures their tongues to loose the declarations in accordance with the Word of God. Intercessors do not come off of their post and their decrees until they see the manifestation of their prayers. Time does not move them off the promises of God, and when the devil raises the stakes, prayer warriors double down.

Prayer is not unspoken. The devil would love nothing better than to downplay prayer and strip it of its power. Prayer is an arsenal all by itself. Ephesians 6 assures us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The Lord is encouraging His intercessors and prophets to not only engage in prayer and warfare, but to double down on what we are declaring by faith. Refuse to come off the wall, and refuse to be silent. Get louder with your prayers and your warfare as the darkness tries to intensify. Double down on lost family members and seemingly hopeless situations, and do not give in or give up. Get excited about prayer, set your face like flint, and tell the devil, "I ain't budging!"

The author of this exerpt is unknown.

Spurgeon On Intercessory Prayer

The memory of Charles Haddon Spurgeon has been cherished among evangelical Christians for over the past 100 years. Many Christian leaders consider him to be the greatest preacher ever. He is commonly hailed as the "Prince of Preachers". Over 63 volumes of published sermons still bear witness to the richness and success of C. H. Spurgeon's ministry. Though he is known as a great preacher, it was not preaching that made Spurgeon great. It was prayer. Spurgeon himself repeatedl attributed his success to he and his congregation's faithful prayers.

It has often been remarked that the whole church helped produce Spurgeon. When visitors would come to Spurgeon's church he would take them to the basement prayer-room where people were always on their knees interceding. Then Spurgeon would declare, "Here is the powerhouse of this church."

In a sermon delivered on August 11, 1861 titled “Intercessory Prayer” , Spurgeon says:

First, then, by way of commending the exercise, let me remind you that intercessory prayer has been practiced by all the best of God's saints. We may not find instances of it appended to every saint's name, but beyond a doubt, there has never been a man or woman eminent for piety personally, who has not always been pre-eminent in his anxious desires for the good of others, and in his prayers for that end.But further, while we might commend this duty by quoting innumerable examples from the lives of eminent saints, it is enough for the disciple of Christ if we say that Christ in His holy gospel has made it your duty and your privilege to intercede for others.

When he taught us to pray, he said, "Our Father," and the expressions w hich follow are not in the singular but in the plural—"Give us this day our daily bread." "Forgive us our debts"; "Lead us not into temptation"; evidently intending to set forth that none of us are to pray for ourselves alone, that while we may have sometimes prayers so bitter that they must be personal like the Saviour's own—"Father, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me"; yet, as a rule, our prayers should be public prayers, though offered in private; and even in secret we should not forget the church of the living God.

Intercessory prayer has stayed plagues. It removed the darkness which rested over Egypt; it drove away the frogs which leaped upon the land; it scattered the lice and locusts which plagued the inhabitants of
Zoar; it removed the murrain, and the hunder, and the lightning; it stayed all the ravages whic God's avenging handdid upon Pharaoh and his eople
. Intercessory prayer has healed diseases; —we know it did in the early church. We have evidence of it in old Mosaic times. When Miriam was smitten with leprosy, Moses prayed, and the leprosy was removed. It has resored withered limbs. When the king's arm was withered, he said to the prophet, "Pray for me," and his arm was restored as it was before. Intercessory prayer has raised the dead, for Elias stretched himself
upon the child seven times, and the child sneezed, and the child's soul returned.
As to ho many souls intercessory prayer has instrumentally saved, recording angel, thou canst tell! Eternity, thou shalt reveal!

There is nothing which intercessory prayer cannot do. Oh! believer, you have a mighty engine in your hand, use it well, use it constantly, use it now with faith, and thou shalt surely prevail.
And, O God, lend us thy strength now, that this duty may come forcibly home to our conscience, and we may at once engage in this exercise!

Brethren, I have to exhort you to pray for others. Before I do it, I will ask you a personal question. Do you always pray for others? Guilty or not guilty, here? Do you think you have taken the case of your children, your church, your neighbourhood, and the ungodly world before God as you ought to have done? If you have, I have not. For I stand here a chief
culprit before the aster to make confession of the sin; and while I shall exhort you to practice what is undoubtedly a noble privilege I shall be most of all exhorting myself."

 Let's make an effort to intercede for others. It is our secret weapon to seeing the miracles, the salvations, the transformations, the peace, blessings, and goodness of God in the lives of others around you!

ACTS Prayer Process

How often do we sit down to pray, and this happens: we think of our family; we pray for our family; we think of all we have to do that day; we pray God would bless all we do; we sit some more, and then we say 'Amen'. Our prayer life should be more than a laundry list of prayer requests. This prayer plan gives us more structure and more holistic themes for prayer.

ADORATION
Revere and Exalt, Approaching a Holy God
...Sets the tone for the entire prayer
...Reminds us of God's identity and inclination
...Can purify the one who is praying
...God is worthy of adoration
...Thank God for his specific attributes, character, or personality

Scriptures

...God is love
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:8-10

...God is merciful
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.”
Titus 3:5

“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:4-5

...God is our Creator
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1

“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 4:11

...God is faithful
“Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.”
Psalms 117

...God is holy (perfect, sinless, altogether ‘other’)
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come.’”
Revelation 4:8

“Let them praise Your great and awesome name - He is holy. Extol the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.”
Psalms 99:3,5

CONFESSION
Naming Your Faults
...Try not to lump them together, but confess them specifically
...Then pray, “Please give me your strength to put this sin behind me and live more righteously.”

Scriptures

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Psalms 103:12

THANKSGIVING
Expressing Gratitude
...There are four kinds of blessings to thank God for:
......Answered prayers
......Spiritual blessings
......Relational blessings
......Material blessings
...Look at Luke 17:11-19, where Jesus heals the lepers. All of those who were healed were undoubtedly grateful to Jesus, but only one came back and directly thanked him.

Scriptures

"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits"
Psalms 103:2

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thes 5:18

SUPPLICATION 
Asking for Help
...Areas of supplication:
......People: authorities, the lost, the sick, etc.
......Family: parents, siblings, household issues or decisions, marriage, children, etc.
......Personal: character growth, fruit of the Spirit, personal needs, direction, purpose, etc.
......Ministry: the things God wants you to do or people to invest in, your church, your Christian fellowship, etc.

Scriptures

"You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God."
James 4:2

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7

To start, try spending 3 minutes in each of the four sections. Notice which sections were easiest and most difficult for you. With practice, each area will become easier and more natural.

Plead & Declare the Blood of Jesus Christ

The most powerful plea before God, the devil and the world is the blood of Jesus Christ.

We overcome the devil and his works when we testify to what Jesus' blood has accomplished. We become like those believers who are already in heaven, having followed Him faithfully all the way: "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev. 12:11).


Jesus' triumph over the powers of darkness is reinforced whenever we agree with and declare the benefits of His precious shed blood.

Even when you proclaim it within the privacy of your prayer closet, the enemy gets blinded with the glory of heaven!

We call out for God's mercy, knowing that, because of His blood, "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). When we pray like this, our prayers strike the mark without fail.

So we overcome Satan when we testify personally about what the Word of God says the blood of Christ does for us. Therefore, "let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary" (Ps. 107:2).

Yes, there's power in the blood of Jesus! Praise the Lamb of God for what He has done on the cross! The blood of Christ avails for you and for me! Let's each declare with thanksgiving what the blood of the Lamb has accomplished for each of us!

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