Our New Prayer Posture: Declare / Prophesy

Question: Why is it appropriate to declare / prophesy as my new prayer posture?

There are many possible heart postures in prayer.  Begging, plaintiff, supplication, intercession, declaration, prophesying, devotion, warfare/battle, etc.  Although I don’t think begging and plaintiff are ever a good posture with God, all the rest can be a valid posture to take when engaging Heaven and/or earth in prayer. (See: Three Eras of Prayer Posture)

Now-a-days, I am more convinced than ever that we are not to pray from earth toward Heaven… as in a begging/plaintiff stance.  But rather we are to pray from our position of sitting with Jesus on the Throne.  “We are seated with Christ in heavenly places” (Eph 2:6).  This is our new residence.  Anything other than that is below what Jesus accomplished for us when He ascended on high. (Rms 6:4; Col 2:12)  If we were buried with Christ then we were also raised with Christ… we are seated with Him now… where He is seated at the right hand of the Father.  So this must become our new residence and center of our world… living from the Throne. (See: Where Do Christians Go When They Die? (Can we live in Heaven now?))

We’re not talking about grasping for or presuming more than God intends… rather we’re determined to not let our old sin ravaged mindset (See: Grace For the Sin Issue… and So Much More) terrorize us and keep us tethered to earthly places when we’ve been afforded the palatial environs of Heaven as our new home to live in NOW.

Before we knew the riches of what Jesus accomplished for us and gave to us, we thought we were just plaintiffs and beggars, hoping for a few morsels of provision to get us by till Friday.  This is misery Christianity… and so unnecessary.  It’s a mindset and resulting experience that is quite demeaning, even disrespectful, to the rich inheritance that Jesus offers us.  But thanks to Grace, we’re transitioning from worthless beggar sin-conscious posture to one of a confident and beloved son seated beside our Daddy and Jesus.  In fact, we’re on our way to learning how to be ‘kings’ unto our God… learning to rule and reign with Him.

No, we’re not trying to say that we replace God… or don’t need God… or are equal to God… but we are trying to effectively “put off” our extinct inferior identity (Eph 4:22; Col 3:9) and “put on Christ”. (Rms 13:14; Gal 3:27).

This “putting on” will likely take some time as our minds need to be renewed to see ourselves as God sees us.  You see, we usually practice whatever we believe… and we believe whatever we’ve heard because “faith comes by hearing”.  Unfortunately we’ve heard wrong for far too long.  But that’s all changing now.

Jesus said, “As you go preach that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt 10:7).  I believe that the Kingdom came during Jesus’ time on earth.  It was fully available then… and always has been, since then.  But we’ve not had very good teaching about what the Kingdom of God is and what it affords to us.  Mostly we thought that the Kingdom of God would be enjoyed AFTER we die (when our ‘ticker’ stops).  But that’s only part of the story!  The Kingdom of God is also available NOW!

Well, we’re retraining/renewing/upgrading our minds by the washing of the Word so that we might conform into the image of His dear Son.  This might sound lofty and elitist to you, but it is right there in the Holy Writ.  And no! It isn’t accomplished by grunting harder… indeed it is unattainable in our own strength… or by taking thought… or by grasping for it.  It is entered by “entering into rest”.

Now back to prayer posture: I’m very sure that Jesus never begged His Father for anything as if He was wondering if Father would ever ‘come through’ for Him.  Yes, Jesus did fervently supplicate in the Garden… but mostly His prayers were in the posture of thanks and commands.  Thanking the Father and commanding the issues.  In fact, look at the occasion at Lazarus tomb.  Jesus begins the prayer thanking the Father that the Father hears Him (and He interestingly interjects that He didn’t really need to pray this way.  He’s only praying this way because of the people).  Then Jesus loudly cries out, “Lazarus, come out!” (notice the command).  This I believe becomes the essence of our new model in prayer… give thanks, then declare and prophesy.

Thus, I believe that if we’re going to walk commensurate with our true identity and position in Christ we must begin to put off the begging and pre-programmed, mindless, no-need-to-grow-up, asking posture… we must learn how to confidently rule with Jesus from our Heavenly residence toward our earthly situations.  In answer to the original question: this is why I use the words declare and prophesy to describe our new prayer posture.

Personal testimony:  Since about 2010 I have very rarely asked Heaven for anything.  I’ve instructed my mind to notify me if I mindlessly assume the rote posture of asking.  You see, most everything that I would ask for has already been accomplished in Heaven and I’ve been duly informed that it is Heaven’s good pleasure to give it to me.  So for me to turn to my left and look into Daddy’s face (remember: I’m seated with Jesus in Heavenly places at the Father’s right hand) and start to beg for something that He has clearly communicated is already mine, is fairly inappropriate.  As my mind is being renewed with my new position and favor, asking is becoming a thing of the past… it’s only acceptable if I don’t know Father’s mind and heart on the matter.  Begging is obsolete.  So, no more begging for me!!  I really believe I can see Jesus smile at me when He watches me begin to think, speak, act and walk worthy of my true identity and position.  And where does it go from here…. O that’s a topic for another day!

So, learn to prophesy what you know to be true, my friends… it’s the M.O. of our future.

For further clarification on my positions on this subject see my posts entitled:

(Intercession: From faithless beggar petitions to confident kingly prophetic declarations)
(Grace Unto Co-Reigning!)

–MLH