I have a confession to make: I never really believed in the power of prayer. Oh, I knew that I should believe in it, and so I kept praying anyway, reciting the litany of "God bless so-and-so" every night before bed, specifically mentioning my loved ones in my prayers and eventually ending with "and the world" so that everyone I didn't have time to mention was included anyhow.
Yet, somehow, asking Yahweh for things never made sense to me. Even as a young person, I wondered why an omniscient, omnipotent being was waiting on my prayers to move in a direction that He had always longed to go. "Please heal so-and-so" is rather silly considering the fact that He knows so-and-so's needs, He desires the fulfillment of their needs more than I do, and He already finished that whole "sickness" idea on the cross.
As I began to grow in Yahweh and realize that many of these lacks are not even Real, I found prayer even more silly. Really, Yahweh took care of all of our needs before He ever made us... before time.
The closest thing I could come to having any of this whole "prayer" idea make sense was something I learned in a Narnia book by C.S. Lewis. "I think He likes to be asked." And I really do think that the purpose of prayer in that sense is to have relationship with Yahweh. I really don't call it "praying" when I talk to Him. It's really a conversation, albeit with the Creator of the Universe. However, I still couldn't figure out why I had to ask Him for things He already wanted and that He'd already given me.
Intercession, or standing in the gap, can be used as another word for prayer. But to do that causes it to lose its validity in my mind. Intercession is so much more than prayer.
Prayer is an "Earth-to-Heaven" perspective. The first problem with this is that it dichotomizes Heaven and Earth, but I will leave that alone for the moment. The problem with this concept that I wish to address is that prayer in the sense of what I've mentioned here is a conversation with Yahweh in which you address Him from a position of lack, presenting the felt needs of the "Earth" to the power of the "Heavens." In this position, you have no power and authority and you have little revelation. You simply hope that Yahweh will do what you ask Him and wonder why it isn't already done since, you know, He did say that it was already done...
Intercession can be done from this perspective as well, but it usually goes deeper than that. Some see it from a "Between Heaven and Earth" perspective, where you "stand in the gap on behalf of the land" or a person, need, or situation. You have a little more awareness of Heaven's Reality and power, and now by your ability to bridge Heaven and Earth, you can bring that Reality and power into the situation for which you are interceding... which is sometimes true.
Still, there's a lot of striving in this perspective, and since Yahweh's telling me to let things go, I don't see how this can continue to work if I am to go deeper in Him.
So there's the "Heaven-to-Earth" perspective, which is where I've been the past couple of years as I've grown into what Yahweh has called a poet-intercessor. A "Heaven-to-Earth" intercessory position surveys the heart of Yahweh on a matter or toward a person or situation and shares His heart with that matter, person, or situation. I often do it through poems. I quite enjoy this. However, I must be careful even here not to dichotomize Heaven and Earth. Some people are not aware of the union of Heaven and Earth, and so I believe this intercessory position is quite valid and useful as you share the Reality that Heaven and Earth are One with them and that Yahweh's heart on a matter is the only Reality there is. There is power in this.
And yet, I have recently learned of another, perhaps deeper, way of interceding for people and situations called "Resonant Intercession." Resonant Intercession is so very beautiful. When you intercede for someone thusly, you literally resonate with the Heart of Yahweh toward a person or situation and your frequency becomes His frequency for them. Then, you hold this person or situation in your heart. You love them as Yahweh loves them. You see them as Yahweh sees them. You vibrate with His frequency, and by holding them in your heart, you change their resonant frequency to make it more in tune with Yahweh's Reality for them. You cannot change a person completely. They have a process of relating to Yahweh and freewill and choice in the matter. However, you can resonate just enough to cause them to be open to Yahweh's Heart. You can help them receive Reality! Situations may change completely or not depending on your authority in that situation. That is to say, you may or may not see an immediate result. However, I do believe that over time, you will see change. Resonant intercession has power!
Of course, you cannot participate in Resonant Intercession without having Yahweh's Heart. This is in line with the Word of letting go in hope and trusting Yahweh, focusing on your relationship with Him. As you grow in Yahweh and know His Love, you will naturally begin to love others and to resonate with His Heart toward them. There is no striving or struggling here. There is only Love. And once again, Yahweh is all that there is.
Yet, somehow, asking Yahweh for things never made sense to me. Even as a young person, I wondered why an omniscient, omnipotent being was waiting on my prayers to move in a direction that He had always longed to go. "Please heal so-and-so" is rather silly considering the fact that He knows so-and-so's needs, He desires the fulfillment of their needs more than I do, and He already finished that whole "sickness" idea on the cross.
As I began to grow in Yahweh and realize that many of these lacks are not even Real, I found prayer even more silly. Really, Yahweh took care of all of our needs before He ever made us... before time.
The closest thing I could come to having any of this whole "prayer" idea make sense was something I learned in a Narnia book by C.S. Lewis. "I think He likes to be asked." And I really do think that the purpose of prayer in that sense is to have relationship with Yahweh. I really don't call it "praying" when I talk to Him. It's really a conversation, albeit with the Creator of the Universe. However, I still couldn't figure out why I had to ask Him for things He already wanted and that He'd already given me.
Intercession, or standing in the gap, can be used as another word for prayer. But to do that causes it to lose its validity in my mind. Intercession is so much more than prayer.
Prayer is an "Earth-to-Heaven" perspective. The first problem with this is that it dichotomizes Heaven and Earth, but I will leave that alone for the moment. The problem with this concept that I wish to address is that prayer in the sense of what I've mentioned here is a conversation with Yahweh in which you address Him from a position of lack, presenting the felt needs of the "Earth" to the power of the "Heavens." In this position, you have no power and authority and you have little revelation. You simply hope that Yahweh will do what you ask Him and wonder why it isn't already done since, you know, He did say that it was already done...
Intercession can be done from this perspective as well, but it usually goes deeper than that. Some see it from a "Between Heaven and Earth" perspective, where you "stand in the gap on behalf of the land" or a person, need, or situation. You have a little more awareness of Heaven's Reality and power, and now by your ability to bridge Heaven and Earth, you can bring that Reality and power into the situation for which you are interceding... which is sometimes true.
Still, there's a lot of striving in this perspective, and since Yahweh's telling me to let things go, I don't see how this can continue to work if I am to go deeper in Him.
So there's the "Heaven-to-Earth" perspective, which is where I've been the past couple of years as I've grown into what Yahweh has called a poet-intercessor. A "Heaven-to-Earth" intercessory position surveys the heart of Yahweh on a matter or toward a person or situation and shares His heart with that matter, person, or situation. I often do it through poems. I quite enjoy this. However, I must be careful even here not to dichotomize Heaven and Earth. Some people are not aware of the union of Heaven and Earth, and so I believe this intercessory position is quite valid and useful as you share the Reality that Heaven and Earth are One with them and that Yahweh's heart on a matter is the only Reality there is. There is power in this.
And yet, I have recently learned of another, perhaps deeper, way of interceding for people and situations called "Resonant Intercession." Resonant Intercession is so very beautiful. When you intercede for someone thusly, you literally resonate with the Heart of Yahweh toward a person or situation and your frequency becomes His frequency for them. Then, you hold this person or situation in your heart. You love them as Yahweh loves them. You see them as Yahweh sees them. You vibrate with His frequency, and by holding them in your heart, you change their resonant frequency to make it more in tune with Yahweh's Reality for them. You cannot change a person completely. They have a process of relating to Yahweh and freewill and choice in the matter. However, you can resonate just enough to cause them to be open to Yahweh's Heart. You can help them receive Reality! Situations may change completely or not depending on your authority in that situation. That is to say, you may or may not see an immediate result. However, I do believe that over time, you will see change. Resonant intercession has power!
Of course, you cannot participate in Resonant Intercession without having Yahweh's Heart. This is in line with the Word of letting go in hope and trusting Yahweh, focusing on your relationship with Him. As you grow in Yahweh and know His Love, you will naturally begin to love others and to resonate with His Heart toward them. There is no striving or struggling here. There is only Love. And once again, Yahweh is all that there is.
Comments
Post a Comment