Tag Archives: intercessors

The Supremacy of Christ

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”He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy” (Colossians 1:15-18).

If we want a powerful prayer life, we must believe that Christ is supreme and above all. This needs to go much deeper than head knowledge. This needs to be heart revelation. We need to abide in this truth. It is important to have a high view of Christ because He is our representative, advocate, intercessor, King and Savior. Jesus is supreme in our prayer life. We pray in His powerful name, we glorify and worship Him throughout the day, and we intercede to the supreme Christ who is Head over all, the majestic Savior of the world.

This knowledge of the supremacy of Christ should affect us as believers in every way. It should radically affect our prayer life. We live in a world that tries to minimize the supremacy of Christ. Satan knows that his time is short. The antichrist spirit is permeating society in every area. If we are bringing the Kingdom of God and Christ into this world through our prayers, we must know and proclaim the power of this truth, the reality of the supremacy of Christ over every area of darkness encountered on earth.

The truth is found in Colossians 3:11b, “but Christ is all, and is in all.” Let the reality of the supremacy of Christ touch you deeply. Let this staggering reality change your life completely. May it touch all who are growing in intercession as Christ’s disciples just as it did the Apostles Peter, Paul and John.

“But the reality of God is staggering! Peter did not succumb under the convicting power of ‘religious knowledge’ – he met the reality of Jesus Christ! On the road to Damascus, Paul was not blinded and devastated by a ‘new doctrine’ – he met the reality of Jesus Christ! When John beheld our glorified Lord on Patmos, it was not a ‘new spiritual insight’ that left him slain as a dead man – he beheld Jesus Christ!” Francis Frangipane

What does His supremacy mean in His name? It means that His Name is divine.

  • Lord – (kurios) – He is Lord, master and owner.
  • Jesus – (Iesous)  – He is Yahweh. Yahweh is help and salvation.
  • Christ- (Kristos) – He is the Anointed One, a title for Messiah.
  • The Lord Jesus Christ – He is our master, owner, the God who brings us salvation, the Anointed one.

The Scripture leaves no question about the incarnation of Christ. God became human, “infinity compressed to a span beyond our comprehension.” When Jesus Christ walked on earth He had all the limitation of a real human being: He ate, got tired, wept, suffered and was tempted. It appears that as a real man He used none of His Godhead powers directly for the entire duration of His earthly ministry. He did all that a true trusting son of a father would do. Jesus demonstrated all the characteristics of true humanity without sinning.

How the Scriptures Present His Supremacy

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11).

I encourage you to take time to meditate on the following verses and worship Jesus in His supremacy, glory and greatness. As you worship Him and pray over these verses, He will become bigger in your eyes.

  • He is the image of the invisible God, He is the representation of the reality of God
    The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3).
  • He is the firstborn over all creation
    Firstborn means His lordship, dignity, excellence, and leadership of all creation – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15).
  • He is the Creator and sustainer of all things
    “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4).
  • He is the Head of the Church
    “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy” (Colossians 1:18).
  • He is seated in the place of absolute authority
    “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3).
  • He is called God by God
    “But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (Hebrews 1:8-9).

As intercessors, we need to lift our view of Christ higher and higher. See His greatness in your life situation, see His ability to answer your prayers, see His solution to every problem you face. The devil is doing all he can to destroy the reality of Christ’s supremacy. He is trying to convince the world that he has won. But the truth of the matter is this – the greatest battle has already been won at the cross. Jesus Christ is the answer to the world, He is the reason for our existence, and He is our help in every circumstance. He is the living Christ, the head of the Church.

As we abide in Him and in the reality of His glorious supremacy, we become partakers of His resurrection life, His victorious life. As we pray in His name, we pray in His authority. We begin to see His power over sin and over every spiritual battle we face. We begin to rise up to our destiny in Christ because we are seated with Him in heavenly places and we know it! (See Colossians 3:1, Ephesians 2:6)

“He who abides in Christ the Risen and Glorified One, becomes in the same way partaker of His resurrection life and of the glory with which He has now been crowned in heaven. Unspeakable are the blessings that flow to the soul from the union with Jesus in His glorified life. This life is a life of perfect victory and rest… Abiding in Jesus, in whom he has been raised and set in the heavenly places, he receives of that glorious life streaming from the Head through every member of the body.” Andrew Murray

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

The Beauty of God’s Diversity

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“Each prayer group is tempted to think its approach is the most effective way to pray.  Yet we find – if we’re willing to take the first step and actually get out there and pray with those who are different from us – that it’s Jesus we have in common.  When we’re standing in His presence together, focusing on Him, theological walls come tumbling down.  Prayer is not about us.  It’s about Jesus, His fame, His purposes, His desires.” Fawn Parish

May we not deprive ourselves of the richness, the wisdom and the many dimensions of God. Recently I was able to live with people from over 40 nations.  We lived with this diversity for many years in the past, and it was a tremendous experience to live with so many cultures once again.

Presently we are in Germany training people from many different countries who are working in many nations. It is wonderful and reminds me of what heaven will be like. In the same way, I have had the experience of praying with and meeting intercessors of not only different countries, but of different denominational backgrounds, ages, personalities and approaches to prayer.  It is a real delight for me to meet and get to know such a diverse group of people.  Some have been praying for years and some are beginning and wanting to learn more. I sense the delight of God in every single person who wants to learn to pray.

He enjoys all these different types of prayer warriors, and we should too!

Open your heart to others who may have a different denomina-tional background or prayer style than yours.  Know that God is not limited to just one style of praying.  He enjoys them all and is thrilled with every young Christian who is learning to pray. It is really time that we begin to focus on Him and forget our differences. This does not mean that we shouldn’t pray with those who are like us, but we must be willing to pray with those who are different and not judge their approach to God.

Remember that Jesus is the treasure, the Word of God is the treasure map, and each one of us is a clue to that treasure. We miss out if we never mix with those who are different, because they have clues to the treasure that we need. We see a wider spectrum of God’s nature as we see the diversity of one another.

The main thing that keeps us apart from one another is our pride. Someone has said that pride is like bad breath. You’re the last person to know you have it. God wants us to walk in humility, and to esteem and honor one another. The richness of God is wild, untamable and unfathomable. We must passionately seek to embrace humbly anyone who has a clue to the treasure of Jesus. Intercession is diverse in so many ways – cultural backgrounds, gender, denomina-tional background, spiritual maturity, etc.

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ” (1 Corin-thians 12:12).

The Diversity of Intercessors

“God didn’t make a mistake when He made us different.  He did it for a purpose.  Just as we need all the parts of our physical body, we need all the different prayer styles in the body of Christ.  We need all the different prayer styles to pray everything that is on God’s heart.” Alice Smith

The following are many prayer styles that show forth the treasure of diversity in the body of Christ.

  • Worship intercessors – They like to worship during prayer times or sing their prayers to God.
  • Warfare intercessors – They like to uncover the enemy’s evil plans and stop him through their prayers.
  • Crisis intercessors – They like to pray for emergencies.
  • List intercessors – They like to pray from a list.  They often have missionaries, unsaved friends or the sick on lists.
  • Issues intercessors – They like to pray for issues in the news such as government decisions, disasters or scandals.
  • Nations intercessors – They like to pray for countries or over a map.
  • Prophetic intercessors – They like to listen to God as much as they speak.  They like to pray on-target prayers.
  • Mercy intercessors – They feel the heart of God and pray in a way that brings God’s mercy into situations.
  • Special assignment intercessors – They like to pray for situations or people that God puts on their heart.
  • Administrative intercessors – They like to organize others to pray.  They inform others of prayer needs, organize prayer chains and help others to pray more effectively.
  • Evangelism intercessors – They like to pray for the lost until they are saved.
  • Flexible intercessors – They like to use a variety of prayer styles in prayer and can move from one style to another according to the need of the moment. 

“Prayer should enlarge, not limit, our view of God.  God is so enormous,
so multi-faceted, that no one prayer group could ever fully express or represent Him.” Fawn Parish

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

 

History Belongs to the Intercessors

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12341416_1070126429717130_3088997648226849866_n-2“God’s purpose may be thwarted or it may be accomplished depending, to one degree or another, on the obedience of His people and their willingness to use the weapons of spiritual warfare that He has provided. God is powerful enough to win any battle, but He has designed things so that the release of His power at a given moment of time often is contingent upon the decisions and the actions of His people. A principle weapon of spiritual warfare is prayer. Not just routine or mediocre prayer, but prayer powerful enough to move God’s hand in order to determine the destiny of a whole nation.” C. Peter Wagner

If we are involved in intercession, then we are working with God to determine the future. Certain things in history will happen through our intercession if we pray the way God wants us to pray. We have authority in prayer to actually see our cities changed. In many ways history belongs to the intercessors. When we pray, things happen in the spirit realm. God remembers every prayer we pray, and every one of them prayed through the power of the Holy Spirit has effect on earth. Not one prayer is forgotten.

Last year when I was in a particular city in Turkey, I remembered a prayer I had prayed in that very city several years before. It was as if at that moment, God showed me that He had remembered my prayers from several years before, and that it was extremely important and would have a powerful effect in that city one day.

“Prayer is power and strength, a power and strength that influences God, and is most salutary, widespread, and marvelous in its gracious benefits to man. Prayer influences God. The ability of God to do for man is the measure of the possibility of prayer.” E. M. Bounds

The prayers you pray influence God. He remembers every single one of them. Do not ever think that God hasn’t heard you or that your prayers do not matter. One day you will see that they have mighty effect in the spiritual realm. Do not give up or think it is not important to pray today. If ever there was a need for intercession, it is now. We are in a key (kairos) time in all of history. The Greek word “kairos” in the New Testament means the appointed or opportune time that God has set for something to occur. During a kairos time, we must respond in prayer and press through in intercession in order to see God’s plan fulfilled.

We are in a time of opportunity, and we must seize it in prayer. This is the appointed season for change and for intercession to increase. We must not fear the future. Instead, we must know our authority in prayer to see powerful change on earth.

We can pray God’s future plan into being through our intercession.

“This is a kairos time for God’s people to understand authority, for authority is the key to power. This is a time for us to deal with the spirit of fear that has imbedded itself into the heart of the church. The spirit of fear creates an unsound mind, it weakens power, and it negates love. God has given us an awesome responsibility… But, as we see through history, God makes the fulfillment of His desire contingent on the obedience of His people. Apostles, prophets, and intercessors play a crucial role. If the apostles, acting on the word delivered through the prophets, effectively mobilize the intercessors, and if the intercessors, in turn, enter into powerful, strategic, prophetic intercession, we in the body of Christ will truly be praying the future into being. It will be God’s best future for us, and our nation(s) will be blessed as never before.” Chuck Pierce


Pray for Your City

“Millions of feeble, sickly Christians, thousands of wearied workers, could be blessed by intercession. Churches and missions sacrificing life and labor with little result often lack the power of intercession. Souls, each one worth more than worlds – worth nothing less than the price paid for them in Christ’s blood – are within reach of the power that can be won by intercession. We surely have no conception of the magnitude of the work to be done by God’s intercessors, or we would cry to God above everything to give us a spirit of intercession.” Andrew Murray

How can you be the history maker for God’s purposes in your city? Below are some ways you can pray for your city and make a difference. You may want to pray these prayers for your nation, church or neighborhood as well. Know the areas where God wants you to intercede, because He will give you authority in those areas. God is seeking for intercessors. He will accomplish His will through the prayers of His people on earth.

  • Pray that a spirit of intercession falls on your city – If intercessors cry out for a spirit of intercession to invade their city, people will change and prayer will increase. Christians who had never felt like praying before will begin to pray. Prayer can be activated in your city.
  • Pray for corporate worship and prayer to arise in your city – Pray that the church begins to come together in corporate worship and prayer. United worship tears down the powers of darkness in your city. Pray for state gatherings of worship and 24/7 Houses of Prayer to be raised up.
  • Pray for the key authority structures and spiritual leaders in your city – Pray for all pastors and government leaders. Pray for faith, wisdom and holiness in the leaders in your city. Pray that God will help them to lead His people into holy living in difficult times.
  • Pray for God to reveal the lawless structures in your city – Pray that all terrorist plans and evil hidden plans will be exposed in your city and nation. Pray that unjust laws will be overturned. Pray for Godly rulers in your nation to be elected and put into place.
  • Pray for the church in your city to be empowered by God – Pray for the churches to arise in prayer, godliness and spiritual strength. Pray that the Church becomes a light to the lost in your city.
  • Pray for God to remove complacency in your city – Pray that the churches in your city becomes fervent and on fire for God and His ways. Pray that complacency stops and that the Church awakes to its destiny and calling in the last days.

“God seeks intercessors. He longs to dispense larger blessings. He longs to reveal His power and glory as God, His saving love, and more abundantly. He seeks intercessors in larger numbers, in greater power, to prepare the way of the Lord.” Andrew Murray

History belongs to the intercessors. Your city needs intercessors that will cry out to Him day and night with great boldness and expectation. God is seeking for intercessors. Will you be one?

“God seeks intercessors. He sends His servants out to call them. Let ministers make this a part of their duties. Let them make their church a training school of intercession. Give the people definite objects for prayer. Encourage them to make a definite time for it, even if it is only ten minutes every day. Help them to understand the boldness they may use with God. Teach them to expect and look for answers. Show them what it is first to pray and get an answer in secret, and then carry the answer and impart the blessing. Tell everyone who is master of his own time that he is as the angels: free to tarry before the throne and then go out and minister to the heirs of salvation. Sound out the blessed tidings that this honor is for all God’s people.” Andrew Murray

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC