Peter was arrested and thrown into prison, but the Church prayed. The Church was small in those days, there were only a few of them, but their prayers were just as powerful as if a multitude had been praying, because they were the representation of God on Earth; they were the ones who were partnering with Him in bringing God's will to Earth through intercession.
What followed was shocking. In Acts 12:9 we hear these words: "Peter followed him (the angel) out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision" (parenthesis mine). The account continues to describe Peter's process of embracing his miracle deliverance "when this had dawned on him..." (verse 12).
This reminds me of Psalm 126, when God had answered a nation's prayer that had been in captivity; He had brought them into freedom and their response was similar to Peter's: "... we were like those who dreamed" (verse 1).
The Lord Has Done Great Things for Them
Have you ever had something happen to you that made you feel like you were dreaming? Where you wanted to pinch yourself because it felt like it was too wonderful to really be happening, an experience of shock and awe? This is what was experienced in Psalm 126, when the Lord delivered the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity.
"When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. (Photo via Piqsels)
"Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them." (Psalm 126)
Right here in these Scriptures is an instructive word for His Beloved in 2024. God has heard our prayers. The Ecclesia of the Lord is alive and well. Her intercession is bringing Heaven to Earth!
Prophetic Instruction: This Is Your Lifetime Call
Every word from God is pregnant with promise, and if we receive His words with expectation, they become prophecies over us and His Church.
Particularly in this season, we must continue to pray for our nations around the globe. God is with us; He is not against us. We must continue to intercede when we see darkness trying to steal, kill, and destroy, because when we pray, we have a holy platform, a place that is hidden from darkness, a place in Christ that is set aside for us to bring our requests to the Lord. We are in Him, and He is in us. We are compelled to enter this place and intercede for His will to be done in our nations and families as it is in Heaven.
This is not a seasonal call. This is a lifetime call. The Lord is raising up a new level of intercession in His saints, not only those who are called 'intercessors,' but for all of the Ecclesia. We, as partakers of Christ, are by nature intercessors. From our mouths come life or death, and by simply speaking something out, life is formed. So how much more happens when we speak things out in faith to the living God?
Bringing the Invisible into the Visible
We are like Peter and the early Believers in the process of discovering how much power God has given us and how much favor we have with Him. The faithful Believers who had prayed for Peter's release struggled to accept that God had answered their prayers, so much so that when Peter arrived at the door, they had more faith to believe that it was an angel than the man Peter in the flesh—the very answer to their prayers!
They could not see or understand that Heaven had come to Earth in a very concrete way. The supernatural had entered the natural, which simply means that they were seeing in their "earthy lives" what they had prayed for! (Photo via Pikist)
It's similar to the occurrence when Martha, the grieving sister of a very dead Lazarus, told Jesus that she did believe in the resurrection, but failed to understand that Jesus wished to bring the resurrection right there into her world. It is shocking news that this is God's will, but it is true!
What we have seen in the USA is a lesson for us, revealing that our prayers don't just do invisible things, but they are designed to bring the invisible into the visible, bringing the concrete things of Heaven quite literally into our realm. We know it in our heads, but sometimes it takes the shock and awe of a corporate miracle to help us, His corporate Body, realize that the veil between Heaven and Earth is very thin, and our prayers remove that veil.
What we witnessed in the USA was a sign and a wonder—not a sign to stop, but a sign to keep going, to increase our faith and intercession and expectation. Maintain your command posts for your nation and for your family. Don't give up! We've only started.
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Mandy Adendorff
Email:Â click here
Website:Â www.mandyadendorff.com
Mandy Adendorff has passionately released the Kingdom at home and abroad for over 30 years. She has planted an equipping supernatural school in Connecticut, teaches and ministers prophetically, and authors numerous books. Mandy is an artist at her core, creating art that impacts the human spirit. When she was fifteen years old she encountered Jesus, but because she is Jewish, she hid her faith until the fire inside couldn't be contained anymore and she has been ministering ever since. Mandy, her husband Stuart and their two daughters immigrated to the US from South Africa and are based in New England, USA.
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