The Power of Prayer IX

Let’s recap for a moment. We have covered the following points:

Point 1: Praise Him - seek a relationship with the Lord
Point 2: Repent – in humility request forgiveness of your sin
Point 3: Ask of Him
Point 4: Pursue the Lord in the morning and often throughout the day

Now we need to move on to cover the next 3 points.
Point 5: Use your lips to praise Him in worship and in prayer
Point 6: Petition the Father regularly for your needs and for those of others
Point 7: Yield to His will

Obviously from looking at these points, you see that points 4 and 5 could be sub points of Praise, Repent and Ask. But, I don’t want these lost or buried in other discussions as they really are key to our ability to sustain an ongoing relationship with the Father. If we truly believe that pleasing God is the only mission as we rise each morning, then pursuing Him in the morning gives respect and honor to Him who will direct our path. Pursue His will for the day and the rest will fall in line. Once you start to open up your heart to Him in this prayer walk, you won’t be able to contain your outpouring of affection and praise. David was reprimanded by his wife for dancing and singing before God. David was spot on. He didn’t need to be reserved. He was too close to the Almighty to contain the passion for Him and the works of His hand. If you think you need to pray in silence all the time, you won’t be able to really open up to Him. Have a conversation with God. Just try it. Go somewhere that will give you privacy…a hillside or room…you decide where you will be free from the perception of being crazy. Later on you will most likely not be concerned about such things but for now, find a place where only you and the Father can converse without interruption. Then talk to Him…literally. If you have lips, use them. If you have a tongue, use it. God wants to hear from you. He is not limited to audible expression, however. If you pray in silence, He is able to hear that as well. Many were not given speech as a physical attribute. But, I assure you that God makes no mistakes and the prayers of the mute can be just as powerful if not more. My point is this, if God has given you legs…use them for the kingdom. If He has given you arms, use them for the kingdom. If He has give you lips…use them for the kingdom. The Scriptures call praise from the tongue, the fruit of our lips.

• Psalm 63:3-4: My lips will glorify You
• Hosea 14:2: Praise Him with your lips
• Hebrews 13:5: The fruit of your lips that praise him
• Psalm 40: Words of my lips honor Him
• James 3: With the tongue we praise our Father

Remember, it starts with the heart first – the lips are an expression of the soul.

"…they come to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Isaiah 29:13

Before we can move on to Point 6, which is intercessory prayer, we have to understand two more critical areas. First, we need to understand where the power in our prayer originates. Then, we absolutely must understand who we are praying to. I don’t believe we as humans will ever fully comprehend what you are about to read until we spend time with our Lord in eternity. However, He has given us enough to make necessary adjustments in our daily acknowledgements. If we give respect to something, we tend to make it a greater priority.

What power enables us to have a voice before God?

In Genesis chapter 6, verse 18, God gives His covenant to Noah and he and his family were spared from the devastation upon the earth, because of sin. Noah was 10 generations removed from Adam, approximately 1,700 years. For 40 days and 40 nights, while the rains fell upon the earth, this covenant was preserved in a wooden ark that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. It was made of cypress wood and covered in pitch.

Fast forward to the time of Moses, approximately 1,700 years after the flood. For 40 days and 40 nights (Exodus 24:18) God gave his covenant to Moses and told him to build another ark. This ark was made of acacia wood, 3 ¾ feet long, 2 ¼ fee wide and 2 ¼ feet tall, covered in pure gold both inside and out with cherubim facing each other, looking toward the cover. The lid of the ark was called the atonement cover. Very symbolic for what was to come. Three times in Exodus 25:10-22, God says to Moses to put his testimony (or covenant) in the ark. Inside the ark was a gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff, and the stone tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4). If you are one who appreciates God’s perfect engineering, you should note that Moses was 40 years old when he and the Israelites began a 40-year trek across the desert.

The ark was the source of contact with God. Men were still sinful and the sacrifices they made before Him were still imperfect. But, God’s presence was apparent and the Israelites were able to accomplish great things when they respected the presence of God and followed His commands. They were afraid to go to battle without the ark at their side. With it they knew no foe could prevail against them.
The power in the ark was able to:

• Stop the flow of a mighty river (Joshua 3)
• Bring down the walls of cities (Joshua 6)
• Stop the Sun (Joshua 10)
• Break down idols (I Samuel 5)
• Destroy Armies (I Samuel 6)

It was the Holy Spirit that was in the Ark of the Covenant (I Kings 8:27/ Acts 7). The same Holy Spirit that gave Israel direct contact to God the Father, is the same Holy Spirit that Christ said would come after his departure (John 14:15-26/ 16:5-16). The same Holy Spirit that inhabits those who have accepted the life giving blood of Jesus. Just as the death angel passed over God’s people in Egypt, those who had the blood of the lamb over the head of their door, so has the blood of Christ marked us and identified us as His own, suitable for the Holy Spirit not by our own works, but by His so we are saved from the death angel once more.

Ephesians 1:13-14: "…having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit."

I Corinthians 6:19: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Is it no wonder that Christ himself says that, "…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." The faith to move mountains. Think about that for a moment. If the very power that was able to stop the sun is able to reside in your body, what is stopping you from taking the sword that belongs to you? You are the Ark of the Covenant on two legs! Your body is now gold in the eyes of the Lord and the atonement covering is the blood of Christ.