Reigning declarative prayer… What’s the big deal?

“Isn’t that declarative prayer stuff just a fad?  Maybe it’s just a trendy passing fancy?” 

I believe that declarative prayer has more important ramifications than we can realize right now.  And it is not trendy, but it most certainly will become the trend… even the norm.

Big picture…

Here’s the ‘big picture’.  We, the body of Christ, are leaving an old age behind and are entering a new one.  Each age has it’s unique modus operandi.  Simply put, in the passing age we were trying to get to heaven someday after we die… but in the age coming upon us, we’re already in heaven now and we reign from heaven over earthly conditions.

In order to enter the coming age we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds… which will include our mindsets, prayer and worship patterns and the overall way we view life.

In reality, many of our prayers in the passing age have reflected an Old Testament paradigm.  In the OT God was afar off.  We didn’t know Him as Father… certainly not as loving Father.  We were fearful of God (not the Biblical Godly fear of the Lord).  We chose to stay at a distance because of our fear.  We didn’t see ourselves as having favor, clout or authority with God.  In our communications with God we related best with plaintiffs, beggars, orphans and widows… and referenced ourselves as such in our preaching and prayer. 

In the age we’re currently entering we must discard the OT mental perceptions that plagued our minds.  Those OT mindsets will short circuit what God wants to do with us NT saints, because literally, our words create our reality (Prov 18:21; Matt 9:29).

Actually the NT realities have been true since Jesus’ day, but now there is an increasing grace to more deeply understand and experience what’s been made available.  If we can see it and embrace it, that grace will transport us into the Kingdom Age… the Age where we ‘come of age’ in our minds, hearts, and experience. 

So what are some NT mindsets that we must embrace?

1. We are as He in this world – I Jn 4:11  (this is for real, OMG!!!)
2. If you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father – Jn 14:9  (Jesus invites us to believe the same about us… if they see you they see the Father)
3. That you would be filled with all the fullness of God  Eph 1  (Staggering!!!)
4. It’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom – Lk 12:32  (My value to Him is so great that He gives me everything)
5. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – Jn 17:22  (Jesus’ glory is our glory… we have one-ness with God!!)
6. Be perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect – Matt 5:48  (a wonderful declaration of Father’s empowerment to us)
7. If any man speak let him speak as the oracle of God. – I Pet 4:11  (Yes! Speak as the voice/heart of God!)
8. Till Christ be formed in you – Gal 4:19 (Paul can see it, so it is possible!)
9. On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. – Zech 12:8  (Stunning! Look at God’s plans for us)
10. I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unity (with us–author). – Jn 17:23  (Remember – Jesus always gets the answers to His prayers)
11. He that’s dead is freed from sin and made alive to Him – Rms 6:7, 11  (Not just dry theology… a revolutionary reality)
12. And in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority – Col 2:10  (Yes!  We are complete in Him!!)

And that’s just for starters!  But you see, none of this is new.  It has always been in our Bible… we just largely didn’t believe that we could experience it in our lifetimes. 

From these passages we see that re-presenting Jesus on the earth is not only admonished, but promised to the saints of God.  Now, if we’re honest we don’t look a whole lot like Jesus right now.  We wrestle with condemnation of ourselves, bickering between each other, unbelief, orphan-hood spirit, beggar and widow mentalities, insecurity in the love of God, and we’re confused about our own identity.  And in reality, all these mindsets propagate their continued existence through our faulty words, self-talk, conversation… and even in our prayer vocabulary.

But, all of that is changing.  As we place ourselves in an environment of believing believers, something is beginning to awaken in the souls of all true sons.  Father is speaking truths over us that are shattering the aforementioned bondages.  These fresh truths resound through our soul as our spirit bears witness with His Spirit that it is our Father’s voice calling forth our true identity.  You see…

Man can’t live by bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God. – Matt 4:4

This Voice calls forth life which has been dormant… or has been buried beneath compromising mindsets of men and religious traditions.

Coming of age…

Jewish culture celebrates Bar Mitzvah when a 13 year old boy can begin to practice religious law.  But another celebration – the completed son – was observed at about 30 years old.  The famous 12th century Rabbi Rashbam explains that at age 30, one is “worthy of leadership.”  In other words, the son has matured to the level that whatever the son speaks is exactly what the father would say.  This is what Father God did for Jesus twice.  Once at Jesus’ baptism and then again on the Mt of Transfiguration.  Father was telling the world that whatever Jesus says, is what He(the Father) has said (Jn 12:50). 

                This is my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased. – Matt 3:17 (baptism)
                This is my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased, hear ye him. – Lk 9:35 (Mt of Transfiguration)

Did you notice the extra endorsement on the mount?  You see Jesus had completed his sonship training… now Father endorsed Jesus as ready to be the re-presentation of Himself. 

Training for reigning…

I believe that we, the church, have been in a training-for-reigning-sonship-program.  We’re being trained to be mature sons.  (Eph 4:12-15; Gal 4:19, Rms 8:14, etc)  

My current view is that we have just begun to enter the ‘millenial’ age… the Kingdom Age.  I espouse almost no specific tenets about this age, except that you and I are invited… and are being empowered… to reign (Rms 5:17) and re-present Father as mature sons on the earth.

There is a growing belief that Jesus’ body is growing up in all things… even “unto the Head”, which is Christ Jesus (Eph 4:15).  When His Headship can flow freely through His body, then we will see a one-ness of Jesus and His body to the point that you won’t be able to tell the difference.  We will have grown up “unto the Head”.  The Head and the body become one.  We’re able to re-present Jesus because we are in Him and He is in us (Jn 17:23).  That means that whatever we say and do is what the Father has said and is doing.  The functional outworking is that there is no difference between us and Jesus.  Our one-ness with Jesus will qualify us to speak as the oracles of God” (I Pet 4:11).

If any of this is true, then we must shed the ‘by rote’ default religious thinking and prayer colloquialisms that dominate our prayer times and compromise our Kingdom age reality.  We must adopt vocabulary that reflects the age we’re entering.  I’m sure you agree with me; I don’t intend to be one who escaped out of ‘Egypt’, but couldn’t get ‘Egypt’ out of me… thus was prevented from ‘crossing Jordan’… and entering the next age.

But don’t worry, Father is a good Papa.  If we’re willing, He is so very patient… even when we find it difficult to make the changes.  In our transition, the body of Christ will still pray many asking prayers that reflect the poor-perspective-remnants of the passing age… beggar, default and ‘by rote’, but Father will help us. 

The first step to making the journey is 1) realizing the significance of the transition ahead of us.  The second step is to 2) desire to go on that journey.  The third step is to 3) get into an environment that will encourage and equip us for the journey.

And that is the big deal!  Bon voyage, friends!!

–MLH

For more related articles posted on my blog: Beyond the Map

Time For an Upgrade: Authoritative Prayer
Luke 18’s Unjust Judge – God or Satan?
Our New Prayer Posture: Declare/Prophesy
The Three Eras of Prayer Posture
Intercession: From faithless beggar petitions to confident kingly prophetic declarations
Dual Realities of the Believer (No More Pickle Juice)

 

 

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