Pastor Ken Olson…
I happen to be the online church pastor, so how apropos is that since we’re online this morning. I’m excited to be with you all this morning. Pastor Ray is traveling and taking a break, hopefully, somewhere much warmer than here. This morning, I wanted to share a passage from Romans 8 from the Passion translation. Verse 26, “And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede[x] on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs[y] too deep for words. 27 God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings,[z] yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny. 28 So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.”
Isn’t that good? I love that. One of the things I was pondering about this morning is the importance in this hour to not grow weary in our praying, in our believing, in our expectation. But to know that God is on the move and He has an assignment, a plan that He wants to accomplish through us and our praying and our very presence today. He has the ability to cause us to harmonize with His plan. As we pray in the spirit, as we pray inspired prayers in English, I believe He’s going to accomplish some great things. And if there is something in particular you personally are praying about, an assignment God has you on or something you’re praying over your family, I would encourage you to not grow weary.
Luke 18:1 says we’re not to grow weary, to lose heart, to grow faint, or to give up, but to keep on praying. Jesus said men ought always to pray and not to grow weary, give up, lose heart, or throw up the white flag. That’s important because we live in an hour where there are unprecedented problems, where there is stepped up activity in the spiritual dimension by the forces of darkness. And, of course, we’re at a really specific point in God’s plan for end-time events. So as a result, there’s lots going on. And a lot of maybe discouragement coming at people. Christians, the enemy dwells in the spiritual realm around us in the atmosphere around this world. And we don’t glorify him, we don’t lift him up by any means, but we should be aware of his devices and how he operates. And especially for those of us that pray, the enemy comes to discourage us, to try to take advantage of the fact that we live in a natural realm and we’re not always readily able to discern the spiritual realm. Or whether or not our prayers are availing or not. But I’m here to tell you this morning, your prayers are availing, they are working. The book of James says the effectual fervent or white hot prayer of a righteous man or woman makes much power available, dynamic in its working—Amplified Bible. I just want to encourage you this morning to keep praying to keep going. Keep going after God. Because He is on the move and He is working. No matter who you are or where you come from or how long you’ve been a Christian, your prayers are mighty before God. Your prayers push back the forces of darkness.
I heard a story of a minister who logged into his camera in his ministry. He and his wife were somewhere else and they logged in. They had cameras in their ministry and they’re in a building that is adjacent to other businesses. He logged in and… okay, this is not scripture but this is interesting. This guy is quite reputable. He said I logged in and saw in our office space this glowing balls that were just floating around in the atmosphere of his office. He knew right away it was demonic activity. He said to his wife, “Honey, let’s pray in the spirit.” I don’t know how they were able to view it but I’ve heard that cameras pick up spiritual activity. Maybe some of us have seen images of angels possibly, auras of angels captured with the technology we have today. The Bible says the spiritual realm is thickly populated by forces good, the angelic host of God, but also forces of darkness. Jesus Himself said “I saw Satan cast down like lightning to the earth.” So we know he’s here for a time until he is fully dispatched and dealt with one day soon to come. But the truth is, even now we don’t have to be afraid of him. Because we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. We’re the ones that have been recipients of authority and power. Jesus said I’ve given you power to tread on the enemy and over all darkness. This is good news. This is our platform, our position, our place from which we get to pray. Not because we’re somebody, not because we’re good and not bad. But because we’re in Christ and He is in us. So when the enemy deals with us, He deals with Jesus because He’s in us.
Anyway this minister saw this activity on his camera. He said, “Honey, let’s pray.” So they began to pray intensely in the Spirit. And immediately as they began to pray, these orbs just “poosh.” Scattered. And they kept praying until they were all gone. So the enemy is persistent. That’s why we’ve got to get up every day and put them on the run. The truth is you should never let the enemy rest. Just keep him on the run, all the time. Because you’re not afraid of him, he’s afraid of you. Our prayers are so essential in this hour. I can hear almost in my heart the Spirit of God and the heavenly arena calling out for the prayers of the saints. Jesus said in Luke 18, men ought always to pray. Not lose heart and give up, faint or wave the white flag. Amen? In fact, it was Charles Wesley or maybe John Wesley long ago who said it seems like God can do nothing for humanity or in the affairs of humankind except someone asks Him. It’s true. We’ve been given this beautiful and amazing privilege to make history, literally, through our prayer lives. Through our strong stand of faith. Every time we come to our place of prayer.
So I want to encourage you to keep going. The enemy has only one tool in his toolbox and that is to try to discourage you, to throw accusations and try to draw our attention to the fact that maybe we don’t see anything changing in our circumstances. Try to sow a seed, “You’re wasting your time praying.” That’s all he’s got. Lies, insinuations, the subtlety of the “second word.” So let’s always go back to the main Word. Which is that whatsoever things we desire when we pray, we’re going to receive them.
John 15 says if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. God is in the business of increase, not just financially but increase in general. And the fruit of His plan in people’s hearts and in their lives. Because it brings Him glory. It brings Him acclaim. It glorifies Him. So He’s looking for the precious fruit of answered prayer in this hour. He designed prayer to be answered. Last time I checked, you know on the back of baseball cards you see a baseball players batting averages and their stats. Last time I checked on the back of Jesus’ baseball card of His averages, He batted a thousand when it came to prayer! I don’t see one account where the Father said, “Ah, Jesus, I’m just not up to that today.” “You know, heaven is currently on backup power so let’s just wait on that, that You’re asking Me to do to raise so and so from the dead.” Or turn water into wine or something. Prayer was designed to be answered. It was designed and placed in the church to be a vehicle through which we can make history. So that we can push back the forces of darkness, so that we could exercise our authority.
In fact, there’s a passage in Isaiah where it talks about the power of just your words. How many of you know God’s Word spoken out of your mouth is just as powerful as His Word spoken out of His mouth? He says this in Isaiah, “so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isn’t that good? Imagine those forces of darkness scattering like they did in the story I shared with you as soon as you get up in the morning and open your mouth.
One of the things I’ve been doing lately is getting up and saying, “Lord, what are You up to today? I’m in.” And I begin to pray. I search my heart and let Him lead me and show me. You see, we live in a natural realm, a very thin veneer of existence. A shadow or projection of the real realm, that being the heavenly realm. And this natural realm is in parallel with the spiritual realm. And the beautiful thing about the saints and the church is that we stand between the two. We’re called to navigate the two and to be a portal, if you will, a door through our relationship with Jesus, between that realm and this realm. So that we can bring what’s in that realm to this realm. Jesus when He taught His disciples how to pray, one of the things He pointed out to them is, He said, “Hey, guys, pray that it would be on earth as it is in heaven.” So never get queasy about asking God big. Never get nervous that you’re pushing your boundary in prayer. God is all into increase. He’s all about bringing heaven to earth. He’s all about invading our lives and where we go with the power and presence of God. And we’re that vehicle through which He wants to invade earth, through which we’re able to bring change, through which we’re able to make history, through which God is able to do what He wants to do in this final time.
I heard a story about a minister who had a vision and the Lord talked to him about prayer. In the vision, the Lord showed him that a prayer is analogous to nuclear blast or detonation, like the ones you’ve seen on video that occurred in the Nevada desert. Where you see this enormous flash and heat and light and mushroom cloud that billows up and everybody goes “Wow, that is so impressive.” But the truth is, Jesus pointed out to him, people are drawn to the spectacular, the supernatural. Prayer is analogous to the invisible shockwave that travels along the ground and spreads out 360 degrees, out, out, out and changes the landscape of everything that it encounters. In fact, at the beginning of that vision, Jesus told this man, “Son, begin to pray in the spirit.” As he began to pray, that’s when that nuclear like detonation vision happened and he saw this nuclear explosion. Jesus pointed out, “That’s what happens when you pray.” It’s not the spectacular. It’s not what you see necessarily but there’s an invisible shockwave when each of us prays that travels along the landscape of this realm. That has the ability to reroute people’s lives. That has the ability to scatter darkness. That has the ability to reset some things according to God’s plan.
One of the things that I’ve taught and have understood through the years and have heard corroborated by other ministers that I respect is that prayer synchronizes you with heaven. That the truth is according to 2nd Peter 1:3, all things that pertain unto life and godliness have already been paid for and purchased and prepared and put in place for each of us. Concerning our life. Concerning our calling. Concerning our church. Concerning our nation. In other words, the heavy lifting has already been accomplished and already done and set to the credit of our account.
Psalm 139 says that every day of our lives, in fact, have been written down in a book before we came into existence, and in all likelihood before God created this current creation. And those books are in a library in heaven where angels actually access your book, spoken about in Psalm 139. That has pages after pages of God’s design and desire and perfect will for your life. While down on this earth, it’s tough and there’s opposition and pressure at time and spiritual warfare and there’s a body we have to deal with that doesn’t always want to do what we want it to do spiritually speaking. And we live in a fallen world. We have all that to deal with but in heaven, if you were to go there, you would think you’re God’s favorite. Because you are. You would think that everybody loves you. Because they do. You wouldn’t even have the thought that there’s a chance that you would fail in the plan of God. You wouldn’t think a thought about I’m not good or I’m unworthy or I don’t measure up or God doesn’t love me. Those thoughts are foreign and don’t even exist. Because it’s an atmosphere of love, of light, purely of the presence of God.
But when you come down here, you find out that not everybody got the memo that you’re God’s favorite, that you’re the best, that you can do no wrong. Where was I going with that? Good question. Ha, ha, ha. I guess to say that prayer is our ability to bring heaven to earth. It’s our empowerment to accomplish the plan of God. In fact, in the mind of God He never intended that one single believer on this earth would do life or do a day apart from the Holy Spirit, vital, intimate, ongoing communion with the Holy Spirit.
And, of course, how we yield to the Holy Spirit is with our tongues. One of the most important ways we can participate in the supernatural and bring that heavenly atmosphere of God’s presence is through praying in the spirit. So I just encourage you today to keep going. If you let something go, something you once believed God for, you once dreamed of, a person you were praying for, something you desire or something God put on your heart about this nation or whatever. Maybe you let it slip. Pick it up again.
The Bible says that the heavenly host are cheering us on in our race of faith, more than ever right now. To ask, to seek, to knock, and to not give up. The Word is true. And when you pray in the spirit under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you are synchronizing yourself… going back to that book, in heaven. You’re praying out of that book. Maybe not language you know in the moment. But as you yield to Him, you’re praying directly from the book of all your days of the perfect and full and robust plan of God. The way God sees it for your life.
In fact, John 16:13 says howbeit when He the Spirit of truth comes and He has come. Jesus sent him. He’s a down payment on our salvation. He will guide or lead you into all the truth. That word truth can actually be translated as reality. He’ll guide and lead you into all reality. What reality is that? Is it some alternative reality? No, it’s the reality the way God sees it for our lives written down in our book in heaven. When we yield our tongue over to Him, yes we participate in the supernatural but we also precipitate the supernatural in the sense that we set angelic hosts in motion. I’ve heard one minister in particular say that we trigger angels to go to work to help and facilitate bringing to pass the will of God for that which we pray for, for that which is for our lives. The Bible says they minister to us and for us. The more you yield over to the spirit and you pray in your prayer language like we read about in Romans 8:26, the more we synchronize with His plan, the more we set angelic assistance into motion. And the more you’ll find that you will begin to experience God ordained events and timing and provision, the more we’ll release what 2nd Peter 1:3 promises. All things have been provided for us that pertain unto life and godliness are released as we sync up with Him through prayer.
Does that help anybody this morning? Or encourage anybody? So keep going after Him. Keep praying and stirring yourself up day by day. The Old Testament says who among you will stir him or herself up to take hold of more of God? Don’t let the enemy pull the wool over your eyes, so to speak. He tries to take advantage of the fact that we don’t readily see the spiritual dimension. We’ve got to develop our spiritual senses and acuity. We have to remind ourselves of what the Word says. And remember what God has done. We should celebrate the wins and answers and things that have happened in days gone by because of our prayers and yieldedness to Him. It’s just the beginning.
Prayed…
We just love Your presence and we worship You… welcome Your presence… have Your way in us… move in our midst… we’re hungry for you and desire You to manifest… that you might increase in us and through us… I pray that you refresh each of us… fill us and restore the joy of our salvation … that Your Spirit would swell up in us and propel us forward in new passion and strength and determination and to pray to seek, to ask, to knock, to pursue You… knowing that You are working to accomplish Your great plan… Thank You, Lord…
Annie led group in worship…
Prayed…
Fill us to overflowing… out of our bellies would flow rivers… a removing and uncovering of our spirits and the well would be uncluttered… distractions banished… strongholds broken… bondages … a release of Your power to break those things… in every life… throughout the Church in the nation… an uncovering of the body of Christ… of what it means to follow and know Jesus… we pray for an uncovering of things that have been hidden… laid in store… latent dreams… we pray that there would be a removing of the clutter… pushing back of the distractions and opening up of the way… for the plan of God to have a clear highway… for the fulfillment of that which is yet to be done… we lift our hearts to You… have Your way in that regard… even right now that You would highlight to our mind’s eye things that maybe we’ve let go of… we pray there would be a resurrection of God ordained ideas… of callings and mandates that You have transmitted by Your Spirit to us… we pray You would bring to the surface all that’s on Your heart, Lord… that’s why we’re here … is to express Your heart… not our hearts… our prayer is that we would decrease and lesson… and Jesus would increase and grow and expand and be so evident in our lives… that You would appear in the midst of our services … more of You… we pray for a synchronization according to Your plan… we pray out the mysteries in accordance with Your plan… we pray You would accelerate Your plan because that’s what praying in the spirit does… we pray for an acceleration of those plans… there’s not much time, Lord… there must be a quick work… across this nation… we pray for a restoration and even restitution… where the enemy has broken things… stolen things… from the church and our purposes… we pray for a holy wave or storm that sweeps across this room, this church, the church in America and the world… to restore, to heal… we pray for a restoring of callings of finances and of children… families… of the supernatural ways of God… we call for restoration of order… God’s ways… that we would grow and progress with the ways of God…
