Frustrated in a Good Way
"Pray passionately in the Spirit, as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all His Believers." (Ephesians 6:18)
Above all things, this is a season to pray. The Father reinvigorated my prayer life this season when four of our friends passed away, one after the other. It birthed in me a renewed passion for prayer and intercession for those around me and the events of the day. When I received the news of their deaths, something in me woke up. I believe that it was maybe a little taste of what John G. Lake felt when his wife fell ill to tuberculous and wasn't being healed. It was then that he sought the Lord earnestly for healing for her and others.
May the events of the day frustrate us, in a good way, causing us to all become intercessors. And may we not wait for some tragedy to spur us on!
Will You Be My Prayer Partner?
Several years ago, my husband had a dream where he was praying on the sea of glass in the throne room of God. He began to feel a presence next to him, so he looked up. It was Jesus, kneeling beside him. Jesus looked at him and said, "Will you be My prayer partner?"
In this desperate hour, I hear the Father calling us to Himself. I see that old military recruiting poster with Uncle Sam on it. He's pointing his finger toward us and saying, "Uncle Sam needs you!" Father God is not Uncle Sam in that He's not demanding, but I do believe His desire is to stir us all to join Him in a more dedicated place in prayer. And just like in my husband's dream, He's saying, "Will YOU be My prayer partner?" This is YOUR invitation and an opportunity to join Him in one of the most highly effective ministries of all, the ministry of intercession.
Your Prayers Are Powerful
Here are some of the visions I've had in dreams lately. I saw Believers stepping up their prayers and seeing miracles take place. I saw someone laying their hands on a loved one and their loved one was healed. I saw someone praying for a wayward child to come home and they did. I saw family members communicating for the first time in a long time. I saw household salvations. I saw finances turning around. I saw businesses rescued, ministries receiving strategies to move forward, and bills paid.
I saw all these things in my dreams this last month. I believe that miracles are about to break out as we get serious in our prayer journey!
Priestly Ministry
Some of you have longed for ministry. Well, here it is! It's a ministry that will take you straight into the inner courts of Heaven; into the throne room of God. It's the ministry of the priest. Put on your holy garments. It's time to go in and partner with Jesus in taking a stand against the plans of the enemy. The victory has already been won, but we must pull it into reality. We must not waste time on doubt and unbelief. It's time to fight, perhaps, the biggest battle of our time. But thanks be to God, we're on the winning side and covered by the Blood of Jesus.
In intercession, we see what the Father is doing and join Him in calling it in. We know that the Father wants to heal sickness, reform governments, unite His people, restore order where there's chaos, and on and on. And He's inviting us to take part in bringing His order into this very chaotic time.
The ministry of prayer is inner court ministry. But did you realize that the five-fold ministry is outer court (not that we don't acknowledge the importance of the five-fold)? It's vitally important for its function and in what it accomplishes in the Church. But in prayer, we enter the inner courts of Heaven as we fully engage our hearts to see Heaven come down to Earth. We have the ability to release God's authority over long-held strongholds of the enemy. Oh, how vital your prayers are!
A Vision of Weariness
I saw, in a vision, God's people growing weary. And I heard someone say, "I've already fasted and I've already done prayer gatherings, but I haven't really seen anything change." Then I saw the Father respond by sending hosts of angels from the sanctuary to help. The Father said, "Now is not the time to let up! The bowls are about to tip and the breakthrough is very close." This season demands our prayers. The Lord is sending you help from the sanctuary!
"And don't allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you've planted is coming!" (Galatians 6:9)
Persistent Prayer Moves the Heart of the Father
The widow in Luke 18 was persistent and would not take no for an answer:
"The Lord continued, 'Did you hear what the ungodly judge said – that he would answer her persistent request? Don't you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all of His chosen ones who cry out to Him night and day? He will pour out His Spirit upon them. He will not delay to answer you and give you what you ask for. God will give swift justice to those who don't give up...'" (Luke 18:6-8)
So, be ever prayerful, ever expectant; just like the widow was with the judge. Our prayers will stop the plans of the enemy. We must be the Aarons and Hurs that hold Moses' (the godly leaders of our day in our nations) hands up during some of the most difficult times in recent history. And we must humbly, fervently, and effectually pray faith-filled prayers. And when there's need for repentance, we must do that too so that our land will be healed! (See 2 Chronicles 7:14.)
The Need for Clear Discernment
The Lord has been saying, "I am teaching My people about clear discernment in this hour." Discernment is the ability to see and hear what is of God and what isn't; what He's doing and what He's not doing. In order to discern properly, we must recognize the difference between the voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the enemy. Discernment is knowing the truth; not our self-perceived truth or someone else's truth as we or they see it, but His truth about a situation, for Jesus is the truth. He said in John 14:6, "...I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life..." He holds the key to discernment.
Unfortunately, the devil tries to feed us lies, day in and day out. And if you're on social media, you'll find that there are a lot of lies being propagated there. It takes discernment to navigate through it all. Most of it only confuses the issues and brings contention and conflicting reports. It's time to close our ears to the lies and determine to stay away from all the conflicts that are being stirred up as a result. (Photo via Unsplash)
Discernment Is Not Found in Controversy
"But avoid useless controversies, genealogies, pointless quarrels, and arguments over the law, which will get you nowhere" (Titus 3:9). Instead, let's go straight to the place where wisdom finds its home: the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and prayer.
You can recognize wisdom by its attributes:
"But the wisdom from above is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice or hypocrisy in any form and it always bears the beautiful harvest of righteousness! Good seed of wisdom's fruit will be planted with peaceful acts by those who cherish making peace." (James 3:17-18)
So, there you have it. Wisdom is full of peace. It won't be found in conflicts.
"What is the cause of conflicts and quarrels with each other? Doesn't the battle begin inside of you as you fight to have your own way and fulfill your own desires?" (James 4:1)
"...[The devil is] full of nothing but lies – lying is his native tongue. He is the master of deception and the father of lies!" (John 8:44, emphasis mine)
I've posted this before, but it might be good to review it just in case you missed it. Here's one way to discern the difference between the Father's voice and the voice of the enemy.
Discerning the Father's Voice
The Father's Voice:
• Stills you
• Reassures you
• Enlightens you
• Forgives you
• Calms you
• Encourages you
• Comforts you
Satan's Voice:
• Rushes you
• Frightens you
• Confuses you
• Condemns you
• Stresses you
• Discourages you
• Worries you
The Spider Dream: God's Deliverance from Lies
Lately, I've been having lots of spider dreams. Spiders can represent lies. You may remember this little poem: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." In my dreams, I would see spiders coming at me and I would always either kill them or tell them to leave and they would go. In one dream, I was encircled by spiders, but they were all dead and I was able to step over them and out. Not many days following, I was out for my morning walk and a spider ran across my path. In fact, it happened twice. I believe that it was a sign in the natural confirming the spiritual (see 1 Corinthians 15:46).
Lies are a major stronghold of our day. They've become so commonplace that the general public doesn't even want to call them lies anymore. So, they've renamed them. They'll say that they misspoke, they were misled, they didn't realize what they said, it was a false conclusion, or a mistake. They'll do almost anything to call it something different. But a lie is a lie and it comes from the pit of Hell. The Lord tells us in Proverbs 6:16-19 that there are seven evils He truly hates and one of those things is spreading lies and rumors.
I believe my dream of stepping over and out of the ring of dead spiders represents God's deliverance from lies. I had a vision of Christians who were telling lies like there was nothing wrong with it. It's time to step out and over those lies. As a Christian, as one who is in Christ, lies cannot be tolerated. In Christ, we're no longer in darkness; the very light of Jesus should be shining out from us and flooding us with His revelation light (see Ephesians 5:8)! We cannot participate with lies. Lies cloud our discernment. The Lord shed His precious Blood for us and it's time to repent. If that's you, hide it no longer. The Lord will restore you when you confess. It's time to go and make it right with the one you lied to.
"Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God's will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes." (Romans 12:2)
And there are some of you reading this that have been lied about. The Lord is asking you to forgive the person (or persons) who lied about you.
"Never hold a grudge or try to get even...Beloved, don't be obsessed with taking revenge, but leave that to God's righteous justice. For the Scriptures say: 'If you don't take justice in your own hands, I will release justice for you,' says the Lord." (Romans 12:17, 19)
As Believers in Yeshua, it's time to shut out the lies of the world and the devil. Instead, let's saturate our hearts in the Word of Truth. We've been redeemed and can step over and out from the spirit of death that makes its home in lies. Deception can steal our devotion to Christ.
"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19 NKJV) (Photo via Unsplash)
"But now I'm afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's clever lies, your thoughts may be corrupted and you may lose your single-hearted devotion and pure love for Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3)
Another Dream: I'm Married to the Man of My Dreams
I had a dream about a handsome young man that was trying to get my attention and affection. He tried to hold my hand and was saying all kinds of nice things about me. Finally, I turned to him and said, "I'm not interested. Go away. I'm married to the man of my dreams."
You, too, are married to the man of your dreams: Jesus! The enemy would love to try and distract us with things that look good, sound good and flatter us, but it only leads to nowhere or, worse yet, to our destruction. Don't allow distorted discernment to come in and steal your pure devotion to Christ.
Our pure love for Christ leads us into discernment, and when others don't understand our relationship to Jesus, we must remain loyal to Christ, the one who loves us.
In the 5th chapter of the book Song of Songs, we find the brides-to-be, or the immature lovers of Christ, who have yet to fully understand the depths of the love of God. In this portion they come to the Shulamite, or the Bride of Christ, and say:
"'What love is this? How could you continue to care so deeply for him? Isn't there another who could steal away your heart...?'" (Song of Songs 5:9)
And like the Shulamite, we must respond, "'He alone is my beloved. He shines in dazzling splendor yet so approachable – without equal as he stands above all others, outstanding among ten thousand! The way he leads me is divine. His leadership – so pure and dignified as he wears his crown of gold...'" (Song of Songs 5:10-11)
Did you notice this phrase, "The way he leads me is divine"? As we give ourselves in complete devotion to Christ, we find that His love leads us into true discernment!
Discernment Comes with a Genuine Love for Others
"I continue to pray for your love to grow and increase beyond measure, bringing you into the rich revelation of spiritual insight in all things. This will enable you to choose the most excellent way of all – becoming pure and without offense until the unveiling of Christ." (Philippians 1:9-10)
With our prayers, and with true spiritual discernment, we can change the world. I believe we're in the midst of a great reformation and a new moving of the Spirit. When I picture a new move of God, I often get a vision of a rocket ship taking off. During the first stage of lift-off, the ship's base begins to rattle, things quake; there's kick-back, but finally it's thrust into another realm – a new atmosphere.
And I also think of the breakthrough it requires. I picture an analogy like what I read years ago from Barbara Yoder's book, "The Breaker Anointing." When you're near a breakthrough, you'll find that the battle will be the hottest at the threshold. The angels will be warring, the swords will be clashing, and the path will get narrower and narrower. The more difficult it gets, the more you know that you're on the verge of breaking through. For you're about to cross over the threshold and giving up at this point cannot be an option for you, because you're about to pass through the gate!
The principalities are raging over the nations right now but I believe that we will experience a breakthrough soon. It's time to pray and to walk in discernment and repentance when necessary. For you and I are the portals He wants to send His glory through!
"So wake up, you living gateways! Lift up your heads, you ageless doors of destiny! Welcome the King of Glory, for He is about to come through you." (Psalm 24:7)
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Candice Simmons
Stairway Ministries
The Passion Translation
Email:Â brian@passiontranslation.com
Website:Â www.thepassiontranslation.com
Brian and Candice Simmons have been described as true pioneers in ministry. As a spiritual father and mother, their teaching and spiritual gifts have opened doors in many nations to take the message of authentic awakening and revival to many. For the last 40 years they have labored together to present Christ in His fullness wherever God sends them. Dr. Simmons is currently working as the lead translator of The Passion Translation.
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If there EVER was a person (or couple) you needed to listen closely to, it's Candice Simmons and her husband Brian Simmons.
