Moses prayed to God and said, “Lord, You are a long-suffering and slow to anger, abundant in mercy and loving-kindness…Pardon, I pray You, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your mercy and loving-kindness, just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now” Num.14:18-19.
Dear Readers, what an intercessory prayer by Moses for his people! My friend, this should be the kind of intercessory prayer the Church should be praying for herself, for the lost souls, for the people in our family, community, city, nation and for the entire world in this last and closing days. Christ is calling “His Church”; and if you are a Christian, He is calling you and me to a deeper level of intimacy with Him, a deeper level of prayer and intercession greater than anything we have ever experienced. Can you hear this call? Will you answer?
I have preached in many places and still going; I have prayed and still praying; I have faced challenges and still facing new ones; I had fallen short and sinned before; I have been denied and discouraged; I have suffered for Christ and I have been serving God for some years now but in all of these, there has never been an insatiable desire, zeal, passion and longing within my heart to know Christ in His fullness, to live in His presence; to love, trust and obey Him; to walk with Him in close communion and fellowship, to intercede for people, bless and witness to them, than now. And I strongly believe this is what God requires of us today.
My friend, is this the cry in your heart today? If your answer is yes, may I inform you that such intense longing and desire within you is the work of the Holy Spirit preparing you for the last prophetic prayer anointing which God is now releasing upon the Church of Jesus Christ (His people) for manifestations of the Gospel before Christ’s second coming. The future belongs to intercessors but hear me, if you want to continue in your experience of this prophetic prayer anointing, you must allow Christ to bring you into deeper intimacy with Him. God wants to take His chosen intercessors into the spirit world, into a new strategic level of warfare prayer. And we can only key in to this new encounter through covenant relationship with Him.
My friend, as God’s people, we need to get back to the basics. We need to go back to the secret place of prayer, to the presence of the Most High God and pray with one mind and in one accord until we receive the Holy Spirit, anointing, power and boldness. The early Apostles prayed for power and boldness to proclaim the Gospel in the face of persecution and death, with signs and wonders manifested in the name of Jesus (read Acts 4:29-31). Listen! The world is waiting for the reality of the Gospel and the power of God to be demonstrated by us – the Church! It is time to seek God’s face until we hear from heaven and our lives are set on fire with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is time to stand in gap for the salvation of our loved ones.
My friend, we are the enforcers. God has placed the enforcement authority of Calvary’s victory in the hands of the Church. It is our job to see to it that the victory which Jesus won on the cross is enforced on this earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. But, this power doesn’t travel in words but in relationships. Jesus says, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. It is only by this that My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:7-8). Listen! Moses did not follow a formula for his prayers. He didn’t depend on his natural powers of persuasion to change God’s mind. In fact, God did not answer him because of what he said but because of his relationship with Him. Ordinarily, you’ll not obey the police man but when he’s in uniform, you have to because of his relationship with the authority of the land.
Moses had a deep, intimate relationship with God. He was known as the friend of God. The Bible says, “Moses was so close to God that He spoke to Him face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…” (Exo 33:11-12). The power and authority in prayer that flowed though Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul and other disciples in the early church were the result of their intimate and close relationship with God. My friend, do you want answered prayers? How close and intimate are you to Jesus? The Bible says, “The Lord is far from the wicked; but he hears the prayers of the righteous – those who have right relationship with God, those who operate in the Spirit of God.” (Prov 15:29)
Moses and Elijah are known as friends of God. They were men who had covenant relationship with God. They were men of faith and they were full of the Spirit of God. Moses prayed to God on behalf of his nation and God answered him (Num.14:18-19). Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down, prepared the sacrifice, placed it on the altar and prayed to God and He answered by fire (1 Kings 18:24-39). Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel with his face between his knees for the heavens to open and release rain and God sent rain (James 5:17-18). The prayers of these men of God were energized by the spirit of God and spoken with faith, with God’s power and authority and with the knowledge of their relationship with God
My friend, it is your intimate relationship with God that can bring manifestations of God’s supernatural power and authority through prayer, the kind that the atheist, Muslims, Hindus, pagans, unbelievers, doubters, mockers and agents of darkness will see and will not be able to deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ on earth. God answered Moses’ prayers because of His covenant with him (Exo 33:17). I had made specific covenant with God. Have you made one with Him yet? God answers prayers. I can testify to this. You have direct access to God. But you have to pray in the Spirit of God. In prayer, as you begin to travail, to wrestle, to intercede and to penetrate deep into the spirit realm, God will begin to reveal to you the spirits, the powers and the root causes of the battle you are facing or engaged in.
My friend, your battle is not against any sickness such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, disorder or cancer in your body. Your battle is not with your husband or wife, parent or family members, boss or fellow employee. Your battle is not with your financial condition, lack of finances and overdue bills. But, your battle is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). Nothing just happen! A spirit is behind that confusion, fear, frustration, terminal sickness, lust, homosexuality, betrayal of trust, jealousy, troubled relationship, violence, rebellion, hatred, anger, bareness, abandonment, loneliness, lies, corruption or greed. You need tear them down!
My friend, it is time to engage in intercessory prayer and in binding and loosing. But remember that you can scream and shout, “I bind you, satan!” and satan will just be laughing at you unless the binding and loosing is done in the Spirit of God. The battle must first be won on in the Spirit and in prayer. Our prayers must be Holy Spirit energized and spoken with God’s power and authority. Our intercession must be in accordance with the Word and will of God. The Bible says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). Listen, we cannot be praying outside the relationship with God and expect answer from God. The best example of those acting outside of the authority of Christ can be found in the Book of Acts 19:14. The seven sons of Sceva tried to deal with a demon-possessed man, without them themselves having any relationship with God. God’s protection is meant only for His children, not for His step-children. Are you a child of God? Give your life to Him today. Remain blessed!
