“Faith does the impossible because it lets God undertake for us, and nothing is impossible for God. How great – without qualification or limitation – the power of faith is! If doubt can be banished from the heart and unbelief is made a stranger there, what we ask from God will surely come to pass. Prayer throws faith on God and God on the world. Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God.”

Are you believing by faith for something that is bigger than yourself, for something that only God can do, for some mountain to be removed? Are you stepping out of your comfort zone of what is the normal and asking God for things that are God-sized and not man-made? This is what God wants. Keep in mind that God will do nothing on earth except in answer to believing prayer. Let us believe Hebrews 11:6 which says, “Without faith it is impossible to pleaser Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”.

Are you convinced with all your heart that when you pray, something is released in the heavenlies that would not have been released if you had not prayed? Are you pregnant with the plans and purposes of God and with an anticipation of what God can do if you only believe and do not give up? Alice Smith says the following:

“Effective praying people live lives of continual ‘spiritual pregnancy’. They are pregnant with the plans and purposes of God. We should always approach the place of prayer pregnant with the great expectation of meeting with God and seeing Him answer our prayer. Come to the throne of God with a heart full of faith, for faith is the currency of heaven.”

The question we must ask ourselves is, “How can our faith be enlarged so that we have this currency of heaven? One of the big ways to enlarge our faith is through delay.

Delays Develop Faith

“Faith is often called upon to wait patiently before God and is prepared for God’s seeming delays in answering prayer. Faith does not grow disheartened because prayer is not immediately honored. It takes God at His Word and lets Him take what time He chooses in fulfilling His purposes and in carrying on His work. There is bound to be delay and long days of waiting for true faith, but faith accepts the conditions. It knows there will be delays in answering prayer and regards such delays as times of testing where it is privileged to show that it is made of courage and stern stuff.”

Let us remember that the delays of Jesus are used in the interest of a greater good. Look at the example of Lazarus when there was delay, and Mary and Martha’s faith was tested (John 11). Jesus waited and Lazarus died. This was a seemingly impossible situation. What is more hopeless than death (and this could be not only physical death, but death to dreams, plans, hopes, etc.). Will we believe even in the midst of impossibility? Jesus will come if we hold fast to our faith.

“If Christ delays, wait for Him. In His own good time, he will come and will not be late.”

When starting Intercessors Arise, I ran into many difficulties. I knew what God wanted to do, but obstacle after obstacle came our way. Over and over again I ran into computer problems, and over and over again I had to lay it in God’s hands and pray. The enemy fought hard and finally I made a decision to pray through all the obstacles and wait until God broke through I knew in my heart that He wanted to raise up intercession. Only God could make this happen and He had a perfect timing.

God broke through in a marvelous way and now my faith has been enlarged to believe Him for much greater things regarding Intercessors Arise. I believe that the test of faith was absolutely necessary for what God wanted to do. I encourage you that whatever obstacle you are facing, whatever impossibility you are praying through, don’t give up because God wants to enlarge your faith through the difficulty. Believe that one day He will break through in abundance. Thank Him now for what He will do even when you don’t see it. Remember, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

“Delay is often the test and the strength of faith. How much patience is required when these times of testing come! Yet faith gathers strength by waiting and praying. Patience has its perfect work in the school of delay. In some instances, delay is of the very nature of the prayer. God has to do maany things before He gives the final answer. There are things that are essential to the lasting good of the person who is requesting the favor from Him.”

“Faith that creates powerful praying is the faith that centers itself on a powerful person. Faith in Christ’s ability to do and to do greatly is the faith that prays greatly.” Quotes by E. M. Bounds

“Have faith in God, for assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:22-24

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts” (Proverbs 4:23, Message Bible).

God wants us to have a healthy heart. Since I have a family history of heart disease, it is especially important for me to take care of my heart. But to be honest, we all need to keep vigilant watch over our heart, not only spiritually but physically as well. Keeping a healthy physical heart is the way of wisdom and the right path.

What can we do to keep our heart in good shape?

A big way is to make sure we exercise regularly. If you don’t like to exercise, integrate these helpful tips into your everyday lifestyle to strengthen your heart. Whenever possible take the stairs instead of an elevator, and park your car at the far end of the parking lot from work. Try spending a few minutes of your lunch break taking a short walk. Think of housework as a chance to exercise. Brisk vacuuming can be a workout! Mowing the lawn and raking leaves is a chance to exercise. Walking your dog is a great way to exercise daily or you may want to take a walk with your family after dinner. There are so many ways to make exercise more fun without spending a lot of extra time to do it. I personally like to exercise, but I know that many people don’t. We must realize that exercise is absolutely necessary to keeping a healthy heart.

We also must work at what we eat in order to keep our hearts healthy. I like Dr. Don Colbert’s statement about the food we eat. He says, “You ‘wear’ your food on your body. You really are what you eat. Your clothes may be cotton, polyester, rayon, or silk but your body is made up of whatever you put in your mouth. Eyeliner and shapers can’t hide an unhealthy body. It’s time to make over your pantry and fridge with living foods so you can look and feel your best.” As you think about the health of your heart, realize that you want to control the amount and kind of fat, saturated fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol you eat in order to stay healthy.

Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy

“Food is a blessing from God. Exodus 23:25 (NKJV) says, ‘You shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless your bread and water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.’ The word bread is also translated nourishment. God wants us to enjoy food. Let’s see which foods He made to bless your body.” Don Colbert, M.D.

Here are some good ways to keep our heart healthy:

• Eat whole, natural, and fresh foods – Eat 6 or more servings of breads, cereals, or grains per day. Stay away from fast food restaurants.
• Eat five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables daily – This is not only good for your heart, it is a good way to prevent cancer.
• Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids – Eat more fish, walnuts, flaxseed oil, and green leafy vegetables.
• Drink water, tea, and non-fat dairy products – Choose skim or 1% fat milk and nonfat or lowfat yogurt and cheeses.
• Eat lean protein – This can be skinless poultry, fish, and lean cuts of red meat. Eat no more than 6 ounces per day. Learn to create low-meat dishes by including pastas, beans, rice, or vegetables in your main dishes.
• Avoid trans-fats and limit intake of saturated fats – This means avoiding fried foods, hard margarine, commercial baked goods, and most packaged and processed snack foods, high fat dairy and processed meats such as bacon, sausage, and deli meats.
• Use cooking methods that require little or no fat – Some examples are broiling, baking, roasting, and steaming. Trim off the fat you can see before cooking meat and poultry.
• Limit foods made with sugar and white flour – They increase blood sugar levels. Increased blood sugar levels stimulate the pancreas to release insulin.
• Use olive oil and garlic – Garlic can help thin your blood and lower your blood pressure, and olive oil is a healthy fat and can help raise your good HDL cholesterol.

Our heart’s job is to pump nutrient-rich blood throughout our body. Let’s not give our heart extra work by not taking care of it on a daily basis. It can’t handle too much extra work over a long period of time. It will suffer in health. Let’s wholeheartedly make the effort to daily keep a healthy heart. God wants us to have a strong heart, not only spiritually but physically as well.

“May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen” (1 Thessalonians 3:13, New Living Translation).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“For me, the hardest word in the English language is no. I would like to say yes to everyone and everything, but obedience to Christ requires me at times to say no. Like the gardener pruning the vine, I must constantly trim away unnecessary activities if new life is to spring forth.” Dwight Carlson

Tiredness and fatigue are common problems in most societies. Many people are tired. You know you are fatigued when you are experiencing a lack of energy, a loss of a sense of well-being, weariness, an overall unpleasantness, no ambition, and a loss of interest. Most of us, if we were to really admit it, are tired of being tired. Stress can produce tiredness and fatigue. Tiredness can be a real enemy because it can bring dissatisfaction, restlessness, irritability, a loss of joy, depression and so many other negative things.

God knows our energy capacity and never requires more than we are capable of achieving. We need to set appropriate limits and learn to say no. We also need to evaluate the emotional gauge in our life.

Emotional Fatigue

“I have now committed myself to installing an emotional gauge in the center of my dashboard and learning how to read it. I take responsibility to manage the emotional reservoir in my life.” Bill Hybels

When we are tired over a long period of time, we must look at the emotional area of our life. We may be emotionally fatigued and not even be aware it. If we want to walk in overall health, we must look at our emotional as well as our physical strength. It is important that we know what activities drain our emotional reservoir. These are tasks that sap us of energy in just a short time. We may be oblivious to the intense drain some activities are having on us emotionally.

It is important to look at three gauges on the dashboard of your life in order to be healthy. The first gauge is the spiritual area of your life. Ask yourself questions like, “How is my spiritual life?” “How is my quiet time?” “Am I praying?” If this area reads normal, then you know you are doing all right spiritually. The next gauge is the physical gauge. Ask yourself questions like, “Am I eating healthy?” “Am I exercising?” “Am I getting enough rest?” “Am I feeling well physically?” If that battery is “ok”, then you know you are doing all right physically.

If these two batteries seem to be “ok” but you know something is wrong, you may be drained emotionally. If you don’t feel like building relationships, if people drain you, or you want to quit ministry or change jobs, something may be wrong. You may need to recharge your emotional battery, but you must realize that this is a slow process that takes time. You may be asking the question, “How do you recharge when you are emotionally drained?” You recharge by doing something totally different than your work or ministry. You may want to go jogging, read a book, listen to music or play golf.

Other keys to emotional recharging is using your major spiritual gifts and learning to wait upon the Lord. This will breathe life back into you and energize you. Working hard in areas that you are not gifted in will drain you quickly. Don’t let people pull you away from using your primary gifts. Don’t let busyness take you away from waiting on the Lord for His emotional and physical recharging. When you minister with the gifts God put in you, you have a new passion for ministry.

“He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength (causing it to multiply and making it to abound). Even youths shall faint and be weary, and (selected) young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord (who expect, look for, and hope in Him) shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up (close to God) as eagles (mount up to the sun); they shall run and not be wary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired” (Isaiah 40:29-31, Amplified).

Each one of us needs to learn to live a healthy, balanced life. We can’t work 70 hours a week and last very long. We need to learn to be marathon runners. We must learn to monitor our spiritual, physical, and emotional gauges so that we can minister for a lifetime. Can you run at the pace you are presently living at and still be running 20 or 30 years from now? Take inventory and learn to live a balanced life. My husband and I just spent a week in the country, and it did us a lot of good. I love to work but I am learning to take time out. I encourage you to not neglect your emotional battery. If it is running low, take the necessary time to recharge. You want to finish the race healthy and well-balanced for God’s glory.

“Replenishing emotional strength takes time – usually more time than it took to drain. The best analogy I can offer is a car battery. If you sit in a parking lot and run all your car’s accessories – radio, headlight, heater, horn, rear defogger, power windows – you can probably sap the battery in about ten minutes. After that massive drain, suppose you then take the battery to a service station and say, ‘I’d like this battery charged. I’ll be back to pick it up in ten minutes.’ What would they tell you? ‘No, we’re going to put the battery on our overnight charger… A slow, consistent charge is the best way to bring a battery back to full power.’ Likewise, to properly recuperate from an emotionally draining activity takes time.” Bill Hybels

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“When God’s presence becomes a tangible reality in a community, the church then becomes a catalyst for growth. God’s presence is more effective than our best church growth methods. When God’s presence is tangible, supernatural ministry results and becomes a magnet for hungry souls and broken people.” Rhonda Hughey

There is a popular Christian song. The song goes like this, “Let it rain. Let it rain. Open the floodgates of heaven and let it rain!” In many places there is a great desire for God to open the heavens and flood down His manifest presence upon the land. We must have a heart-felt expectation that God has heard our prayers and will answer. Pray that He will open the floodgates of heaven and come and rain His presence and fire on your land. As God descends upon the land, His people will rise higher into the throne room of heaven.

Evidence of God’s Manifest Presence

“God longs to open doors of spiritual reality to us. He wants us to sit with Him in heavenly places. We must live with a spiritual vantage point from the throne room of God. The throne of God is the seat of His authority; it represents the place from which He rules and reigns over the nations. Jesus invites us to this place of authority and victory. We have to see the Lord! We have to accept the invitation to come up higher around the throne, to behold Jesus, to see Him and believe! Once you see this, you have hope; and once we see what God sees, then we can come into agreement with His purposes. If we cannot see God’s kingdom purposes, we cannot agree with them!”

What is the evidence of God’s manifest presence upon a city? Slowly meditate on the following words as you think about God’s presence in your city: renown, joy, praise, honor, awe, tremble, abundant prosperity, peace, boldness, miraculous signs and wonders, Holy Spirit, crown of splendor, royal diadem, holy, great delight, married. What does God’s manifest presence look like and how do things begin to change?

• A new Spiritual Identity – God’s people begin to be personally transformed. They begin to know their spiritual identity in Christ. There is an increased intimacy with the Lord, both corporately and individually. They begin to release God’s glory to others. They bring light into the darkness and carry His presence wherever they go.“Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all the nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it” (Jeremiah 33:9).
• A New Spiritual Authority – A personal and corporate refining takes place. There is no more compromise or complacency, but there is steady growth in holiness. Passion for Jesus becomes the highest priority. The church has a new spiritual authority that greatly impacts the city. The Spirit of God is released through the church radically, and signs and wonders take place.“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-31).
• A New Spiritual Purpose – The church begins to really know her purpose, and begins to love and serve the city. Captives are healed and set free through the Spirit of God. Strongholds are broken. The church is an agent of change in the city. People are drawn to Jesus and the church because God’s people are carrying God’s presence and glory into the community.“So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6).
• A Transformation Takes Place – City transformation and fruitfulness begins to take place. The Kingdom of God begins to touch the earth and kingdom vision is released. There is city transformation that reflects God’s glory and beauty. The city has a new name and is no longer deserted or desolate.“You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take great delight in you, and your land will be married.” (Isaiah 62:3-4).

“We must become hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus in our midst. We must cry out in desperation for God’s presence to be restored in our lives, our churches, and ultimately in our cities. We must treasure the manifest presence of God, because as Jesus said in John 15:5, ‘Without Me you can do nothing.’” Rhonda Hughey

The glory of God is contagious. Hunger for His presence increases. Many individuals who have been here in Spain praying say that their lives have been changed even after only a few days. All of a sudden everyone is seeing what is really important in life. I have heard passionate prayers, I have seen many tears, and I have heard many cries for God’s presence to come to the city. God is doing something big. Everything is narrowing down to one thing – seeking God and His manifest presence.

We invite you to seek the Lord for your city. Give God extravagant time. Pray through the above points for your city. It is time for us to hunger for God’s presence. We can’t do anything without the presence of Jesus. It is time to seek the Lord.

“Information doesn’t transform cities. Conferences can’t transform a city! Education can’t transform a city! Having citywide ministry programs or large networks cannot transform a city. Only the presence of Jesus can bring transformation, and only individual people willing to get on the altars of prayer to contend for His presence will become the kindling for God’s fire.” Rhonda Hughey

“The key of holy desperation for the presence and ministry of Jesus is required in order for us to move out of our complacent, satisfied existence. Desperation is the underlying fuel that ignites our hearts for unity, prayer, worship, and repentance. If we aren’t longing for Jesus our ministry activities will be routine and hollow. There is certainly no shortage of ideas, plans, methods, books, teachings, programs, and activities in the church; what we are suffering from is a drought of desperation for God!” Rhonda Hughey

Are we desperate enough for transformation? Are we each willing to pay the price that desperation requires? I had just begun to taste the level of commitment necessary for city transformation. We had finished a non-stop 24-7 house of prayer throughout the month of November. It had radically changed my life, just as it has so many who have stepped into the fire of God’s presence in this location in southern Spain. Prayer lives have been challenged. The question is, “How far are we willing to go? How desperate are we willing to become? Can we even begin to think about going back to how things were even one month ago?” The answer is “No!” We must proceed. We had stepped in this far and the levels of commitment required are going higher. God is challenging us to a new phase, a new mountain to climb for His glory. The battle is great, but there is no turning back.

There is something so exceeding real and alive to this dimension of living. There is something so necessary and dynamic to this taste of unity between the churches. Suddenly, we are realizing that we are in this together, and we desperately need one another to touch this region with God’s glory. We begin to value and love the body of Christ in all its’ dimensions as we have never done before. We begin to understand what it means to be members of one another. We have tapped into God’s wonderful plan for Kingdom living, and we can never return to the old ways. We are willing to radically change our personal lives and reprioritize everything! God has brought us all to the end of ourselves, and we are beginning to find true life together! It’s all the way forward for city transformation, and for once, we feel really alive with the purpose of God!

Indicators of Transformation

“The decision to make a radical lifestyle change and realign our hearts with the Lord is a matter of our will availing itself of God’s grace and reprioritizing our time and commitments. We can willingly and purposely begin to pursue God! When we do, He responds, and the more time we spend in His presence, the more desperate for Him we will become. It’s an interesting dynamic; the hungrier we are for Him, the hungrier we will become for more of Him!” Rhonda Hughey

There are ways we can evaluate our cities and see if they are on their way towards transformation. There are several ways to discern if the signs of transformation are present and increasing in our city. George Otis, Jr. gives several indicators of transformation. Below are some of these indicators adapted from his study. Take time to regularly evaluate your city and pray through these indicators. Study and pray these verses over your city for each one. Your city is on God’s heart. Pray until transformation becomes a reality in your city!

• The political leaders acknowledge their sin and dependence on God – 2 Kings 11:17-18; 23:2; Jonah 3:6-9.
• The economic conditions improve – 2 Chronicles 17:3-5; Psalm 144:14; Isaiah 60:5; Amos 9:13.
• Kingdom values are integrated into daily life – Ezra 10:4; Nehemiah 8:10; Ecclesiastes 10:17; Acts 19:17-20.Crime and corruption diminish – 2 Kings 12:13-15; Nehemiah 5:6-12; Isaiah 60:17-18.
• New laws are put into effect – 2 Chronicles 19:10; Nehemiah 10:31.
• There is a decline in divorce, bankruptcy and suicide – Nehemiah 12:27-28, 43; Isaiah 54:11-14; 62:3, 7; Jeremiah 30:17-1; 31:11-13; Hosea 2:15.
• The natural environment is restored – Leviticus 26:4-5; II Chronicles 7:14; Ezekiel 34:27; 36:29-30.
• Christians take responsibility in healing and helping their community – Isaiah 58:10-12; 61:104.
• Christians take revival into other cities and nations – 2 Chronicles 17:9; Isaiah 61:6; Acts 11:20-26.

An Invitation

“To walk through the doors before us, the doors of intimacy, hope, and heaven, and to respond to His generous invitation, we need only one master key: the key of holy desperation. Are you desperate for His presence? Then open the door…”

Lord, help the Church in my city to focus on your Kingdom in everything we do. Make us desperate for Your presence. Bring the churches in my city together in unity. Teach us to walk together and love and esteem one another. Help us to find ways to worship and pray together. Reveal to us our city through Your eyes. Teach us brokenness and humility. Help us to walk low and give You all the glory. Help us to walk in repentance. Give us a heart for the lost and the broken-hearted in our city. Help us to walk in Your authority and power and minister to people outside of our church building. Fill our city with a spirit of prayer and intercession. Make us holy and righteous. We seek Your face. Make us hungry. Make us desperate for You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psalm 14:9-10).

“To be desperate means to be without hope in your current condition and to know that in your own power you don’t have the necessary resources required to change it. People who are desperate become determined to find help, often taking great risks to meet their desperate need. In the communities where transforming revival has occurred the people of God were desperate enough to change their lifestyle and their priorities and to commit their time and resources, making everything secondary to the desperate pursuit of God in their midst. They cried out in desperation, and the Lord heard their cry.” Rhonda Hughey

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“If Christians prayed as Christians ought – with strong commanding faith, with earnestness and sincerity – men, God-called men, God-empowered men everywhere, would be burning to go and spread the Gospel worldwide. The Word of the Lord would run and be glorified as never known heretofore. The God-influenced men, the God-inspired men, the God-commissioned men, would go and kindle the flame of sacred fire for
Christ, salvation, and heaven, everywhere in all nations. Soon all men would hear the glad tidings of salvation and have an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.” E. M. Bounds

Day and night prayer ignites the power of God to release the fire of the Gospel throughout the earth. Every nation, every city, every people group, every neighborhood cannot miss the tremendous influence of the atmosphere of prayer released from the 24/7 prayer room. There is something deep and far-reaching that happens when God’s people give themselves to 24/7 prayer and intercession in a given location. It cannot be measured by human means, but its’ dynamic power can set the fire of God loose in a nation in a way that is beyond comprehension.

I have heard of evangelists going to a region, locking themselves in a hotel room, praying unceasingly for days, and then going out and sharing the Gospel with incredible results. If one man can see that happen, imagine the effect when the Church worldwide gives itself to prayer and actually makes prayer its primary business. Then we shall surely see things happen! None of us have gotten there yet, but it certainly should be our highest ambition and shall take a primary role as we see the end-time scenario unfold before us.

Perhaps one of the greatest prayer warriors in all of history was Praying Hyde of northern India who lived from 1865-1912. He would miss meals and would bow down or lie on the ground because of intense travail, and cry out to the Lord daily for souls. He was burning within for the salvation of the lost. Finally with an agonizing passion for those without Christ, he began to pray that God would let him win a soul to Jesus every day that year. At the end of the year, four hundred souls had been won through his daily witness. The next year Hyde cried out to the Lord for two souls a day! That year about eight hundred had responded to Christ through Hyde.

But his heart grew in intense desperation, and he began to plead to God for four souls a day. That year he led four souls a day to Christ. He would first travail for the lost, and then go out and speak to men and women about how to find eternal life through Christ. He first prayed, and then he witnessed. After praying, the Holy Spirit would lead him to the right individuals. Multitudes came to Christ through this praying man. What a fantastic method of evangelism!

The ministry of Anna is increasing across the earth. God is raising up individuals who give themselves to day and night prayer as she and Praying Hyde did. Anna in the Bible, even though extremely old, worshiped God night and day almost all her life. We read in Luke 2:36b-37, “She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” God is raising-up intercessory missionaries who pray night and day. The urgency of the hour and the present emphasis on prayer makes 24/7 prayer a possibility in this generation. We cannot do without intercession and individuals who give themselves to prayer like Anna. The need is too great.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

God must reveal Himself to us, and He does it as we behold Jesus  in the prayer room (Hebrews 1:1-3, Matthew 11:27, Colossians 2:2-3, 1:19, 2:9, 2 Corinthians 4:6). God wants us filled with fiery love and desire for Him, and the prayer room is the perfect place to cultivate this transformational love relationship. What we behold of God’s heart we become. We are like the beautiful emerging butterfly. Our identity is in Jesus. We discover who we are and what is our worth and destiny by encountering His heart for us in the prayer room. We become successful as lovers of God, and we begin to measure our success in an entirely new way. Imagine what will happen in our cities when God’s people begin to measure success in this way. There will be no more envy and competition. We will be seeking God and His ways, not ours.

When we prayerfully adore and study the person and work of Christ  and live obedient lives, we grow in intimacy. This is not studying academically, but it is more a drinking in of the beauty of Christ just as we would behold a beautiful landscape. We fix our attention and affection upon Christ. We listen carefully – We hear – We behold – We gaze in stillness upon Christ and are transformed into His likeness. We use Scripture as we do this, and we give God our time. Jesus must be our focal point. Our hearts will be unsatisfied if He isn’t. He must be central in our study, devotion, and discipleship. We must be dynamically connected to Him. We are His inheritance and delight (1 Corinthians 3:23, Song of Solomon 7:10, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, Romans 14:8).

God is using prayer to help prepare and purify His Church all across the earth. Remember that a 24/7 House of Prayer in your city will help prepare Christians to live fully for God. God is using the prayer room to sanctify and cleanse His people and make her a Church filled with His glory. The Church is like the transformed butterfly emerging from its cocoon. In the prayer room we learn to abide by dialoging with God and listening to the Holy Spirit actively within us as He gives us wisdom, direction, and empowers us to live the Christian life – We are attentive and engaged – We are developing a heart connection with the Holy Spirit – We are learning the reality of John 15:5-7. In the prayer room we cultivate a transformed heart. Don’t be discouraged by any difficulties you encounter as you build 24/7 prayer in your city. God is developing a beautiful butterfly and teaching you to fly. Remember that without Him we can do nothing, but with Him we will bear much fruit!

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“Cultivating a responsive heart of extravagant devotion to Jesus takes time and deliberate effort. Love does not grow automatically but rather it automatically diminishes unless intentionally cultivated. A responsive heart to God, renewed in freshness and tenderness, is precious and rare, to be guarded with great care and renewed day by day. Satan’s first priority against the Church is to lead us astray from cultivating the ability to be responsive to God with wholehearted love and extravagant devotion. If Satan leads us astray from the purity of devotion to Jesus then our service and love for others will eventually fail.” Dana Candler

As we build the House of Prayer in our cities, we must realize that it’s all about God coming and taking His place in our hearts. It’s about loving God and preparing the earth for the reign of Jesus, the King. It’s about obeying the first commandment: “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38). The fire of loving God will ignite our faith to live a life of prayer and devotion. He wants us to turn to Him with all our heart (Joel 2:12). Then He will pour out His Spirit in our nations.

God wants to transform our hearts in the prayer room. There is no better way to experience a changed heart as in the prayer room. He wants to impact our hearts so that we impact our cities and the nations. If we love God, we will love others better and with a much greater consistency. Let’s remember that the Church of Ephesus had left their first love (Revelation 2:1-5). Their once fiery love and passion for Jesus had grown cold. Their minds had been led astray from the simplicity of pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Loving God and living a holy life must be our primary focus.

Houses of Prayer help us to encounter God on a deep level. Growing in an intimate relationship with God should be our ambition, our highest calling. This means that we know and are deeply known by God. We have a relational knowledge of God and not just a factual understanding. God is a person to be known, and our knowledge of Him produces affection. We position our hearts in the prayer room to receive the love He desires to manifest to us. He wants to partner with us, and He releases blessing to those who are in unity with His heart. Loving God was Jesus’ last public invitation and declaration before He went to the cross (Matthew 22:37-38). It is the great commandment and first priority to God. We impact His heart when we love Him. This should be our life focus (Song of Solomon 8:6-7).

As a child I would try to catch butterflies in a small net. In those days there were several country roads where they loved to freely fly, and monarch butterflies were plentiful. In many of my travels to other nations I have seen outstanding displays of God’s creative and rather remarkable handiwork in butterflies and moths. The colors, designs, and sizes are beyond imagination with reds, yellows, and oranges etched into a perfect design.

We can learn a lot from these colorful insects, and I am sure we can all testify to the transformation (metamorphosis) that takes place as we watch the miracle of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. A crawling ugly and repulsive caterpillar crawls up into a ball and seems to have died with no appearance of life as it lays imprisoned in a tomblike cocoon. Suddenly after a long time delay – it struggles – it pushes – it endures – it works hard to break out of that cocoon and comes forth as a beautiful and graceful butterfly! And did you know that the whole purpose of the butterfly is to reproduce itself, and it spends all its life seeking to do this? It’s amazing! But there is a great problem when this struggle doesn’t occur.

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day when a small opening appeared, he sat and watched it trying to struggle its body through the small hole but without making much progress. It seemed to actually stop and go no further. He thought, “I’ll help free this butterfly”. So he took scissors and snipped off the cocoon. The butterfly easily emerged but had a small body and shriveled wings. He thought the wings would expand, and the butterfly would fly. It didn’t happen. The butterfly could never fly but could only crawl in it’s swollen body and shriveled wings.

No beautiful transformation took place.

That man didn’t realize that it was necessary for the butterfly to struggle in the cocoon to get through that tiny opening. Fluid would force its way from the body of the butterfly to its wings, making it ready for flight once it achieved freedom from the cocoon. God wants to bring transformation into His Church. He wants to transform all of our lives. Often we want the easy way out. Struggle, tests, trials, and tribulations are not pleasant words. But this is exactly what we need in order to see transformation in our lives. This is what is needed in the prayer movement as God brings transformation onto the earth.

Developing 24/7 prayer in our cities and increasing the level of prayer in our churches involves perseverance and struggle. But it brings transformation in our lives personally, corporately, and regionally. Obstacles are necessary for transformation. We would be crippled and without strength without them – We need to struggle to see things from God’s perspective and do things His way – We need perseverance as we prepare for His soon return to earth. He is strengthening our character and stabilizing our hope in the eternal.

He is creating within us a faith in His promises.

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:42-44).

Spreading the vision for prayer and starting a House of Prayer in your church or city will take a great deal of faithful serving. It will take hard work and endurance. There will be times when you wonder if you are doing the right thing or if it will ever happen. The opposition from the enemy will be great. But this is God’s personal invitation to greatness for you. God designed you for greatness (Matthew 5:12, 18:4, 11:11). Deep in your heart you desire greatness, significance, dignity, nobility, honor, and impact. You want to be great in God’s sight. You are learning to live for His Kingdom purposes.

The Sermon on the Mount is all about the lifestyle of the Kingdom. In obeying it, we position ourselves for greatness. We pursue obedience in our speech, our physical appetites, our time, our money, and our eyes. We renew our inner man for eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:16-127). We work to become faithful disciples of Jesus through our heart obedience and our ministry impact. We respond to all that the Holy Spirit shows us so that we may be worthy of our calling (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). Our eternal destiny is to possess Godliness and become like God in character (Ephesians 5:2, Romans 9:29).

This can be cultivated in the prayer room and the development of our secret life with God. He sees our heart. Seeking to lovingly obey is never in vain. We should seek to live out the 8 beatitudes in our daily life. He is looking for a people who obey Him wholeheartedly. The Sermon on the Mount is the core vale of God’s Kingdom and the litmus test to measure our true success in life. We are on a journey to greatness. Matt Chandler from the International House of Prayer writes about God’s invitation to greatness:

“The Sermon on the Mount is the litmus test to measure our success in life, spiritual development and ministry impact. Our foundation call (internal) is to live out the 8 beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) as we pursue 100-fold obedience (Matthew 5:48, 6:22). The beatitudes are like 8 flowers in the ‘garden of our heart’ that God wants to fully blossom…. God invites us to greatness without regard to our outward achievements or the size of our ministry impact. Rather it is based on the development of our inner man in love, meekness, and revelation or in righteousness, peace, and joy in the spirit (Romans 14:17). Without the paradigm of being on a journey to greatness, the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle is much more difficult to sustain. Living in light of receiving reward in heaven and being great in God’s sight is a major theme that is emphasized in Matthew 5:5, 12, 19. 46, 6:1 4, 6, 18, 20, 7:2.”

The prayer room helps us to become great in God’s eyes rather than mans. It helps us to pursue the journey to greatness. As you attempt to get involved in His House of Prayer in your city or church, realize that it requires humility and a servant’s lifestyle (Matthew 20:26-27). Those who lead in Houses of Prayer open the way to God’s pathway of greatness. They must be willing to go through difficult and refining situations that seem unbearable at times (Isaiah 48:10). Jesus went through the cross for the joy set before Him. We must trust his leadership of God, live in His grace and for His glory (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 12 Corinthians 4:17, Romans 818). We are partnering with Him and are seeking heavenly rewards instead of earthly ones (Matthew 6:1-20).

I heard about a famous professional baseball player who said that the aim of his life was to hear his manager say to him, “You are the greatest player I have ever coached.” He was motivated by the hope that one day he would hear his manager’s affirmation. How many multitudes of athletes feel like this? But how much more should we as Christians be motivated by the hope that one day we will hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness’” (Matthew 25:21). What more could we ever want? In starting and maintaining Houses of Prayer we are seeking for God’s “Well Done” in our lives and are involved with what God’s cherishes and esteems so highly (Matthew 25:21).

Establishing 24/7 Houses of Prayer helps to bring God’s people into a love relationship with Him and helps them establish a close partnership with Jesus on earth. This brings glory to God in the deepest sense. Prayer is rooted in humility and takes time and energy. But when you do this, you are investing your time and energy in order to help others grow in righteousness, peace, and joy.

Let’s press on with diligence and faithfulness (Philippians 3:12-14). He will help each one of us to be faithful in the face of pressure, obstacles, and difficulty. He will help us endure the mundane and smallness of working day-by-day and week-by-week as we get started. This matters to Him. We are living for a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. It’s a daily adventure in pleasing God. It’s all part of God’s invitation to greatness in His Kingdom. This invitation brings transformation in every area of our lives. Our hearts and our thoughts are transformed.

God is developing us in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12. He is our source, and we are absolutely dependent on Him. Let’s wholeheartedly pursue his fullness and hunger and thirst for His righteousness. We are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10, 4:12, 1:28-29, 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23). We are seeking to be obedient and perfectly established (1 Peter 5:10, 1 Timothy 6:13-14). We are seeking a blameless life. In the prayer room, we learn to hunger after God, we grow in purity of heart, we learn to become peacemakers, and we grow in meekness. God brings inner and outer transformation. Then we take Him with us out into the marketplace and people are drawn to the Holy Spirit living within us.

We are living in a transitional time in all of history. The Holy Spirit is preparing us for a release of His glory upon the Church. There will be a mighty release of signs, wonders and glory at the end of the age (Joel 2:28-29). This will bring transformation. God is right now shaking everything that can be shaken in the nations (Haggai 2:6-7). He is inviting everyone to become great in His Kingdom. He designed us for this. True greatness will be fully manifested in the age to come, not here. It will be based on our heart’s response, and it is available to all (Matthew 5:19, 20:26-27, 23:12). Let’s seek Him in all that we do with a childlike faith and a humble heart. He is transforming our hearts and our minds. It’s time to see life from His perspective. Let’s position our life for greatness in His Kingdom and accept this wonderful invitation.

Recently I was sitting in the back of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. I was looking at 100’s of young people who were accepting God’s invitation to greatness with glad hearts. It was powerful.

“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me (Matthew 18:3-5).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC