Tag: Spiritual wisdom

In my last post I referenced Paul’s two great apostolic prayers in Ephesians and focused on the place of wisdom and revelation in his prayer from Ephesians 1. We now shift our focus to his great prayer from Ephesians 3.  

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14–19 (NKJV)

We will come to the importance of love and the significant connection to discernment but first we examine how Paul began this prayer, “For this reason.” Prior to launching into his prayer Paul was laying out God’s purpose for the church, of which we are part. Here is how Paul presented our purpose and the reason for his prayer.

¹⁰ to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ¹¹ according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, Ephesians 3:10–11 (NKJV)

Our Father has an eternal purpose to accomplish through the church! That means we can wake up each morning looking forward to our part in accomplishing His eternal purpose in the earth! After all Paul said that is what Jesus wants to do through us and he was explicit in Ephesians 6:12 that our battle is with the dark forces in heavenly places.

This is where love comes in. You are likely familiar with Paul’s discussion of the role of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 and how he inserts chapter 13, the love chapter, in between 12 and 14 to show that love needs to be the motivating factor in the exercise of spiritual gifts. Not our weak human love, His love. Hence Paul’s prayer for us to corporately encounter His love in an overwhelming way.

In Philippians’ Paul makes a further point. He explicitly connects His love in us to the depth of our discernment and reinforces what Jesus told us about being like our Father and loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).

⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9–11 (NKJV)

The more we are filled with His love, the deeper our discernment and the more able we are to function effectively in our calling to demonstrate His wisdom in the heavenly realms to the forces of darkness we battle. We can do this every day by living with a kingdom perspective knowing that the King desires to reveal His love to us and through us.

Let’s join in and ask for the wisdom and revelation to live out of this great prayer in Ephesians 3!

In Proverbs we are told that hope deferred leads to faintness of heart. In Hebrews we are told that faith brings substance to our hope.

¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 (NKJV)

¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)

We can look at this pithy proverb and conclude that Solomon is merely letting us know that we can get excited when we receive what we want after initial disappointment. Alternatively we could go a little deeper, which I will do here. If we have been alive any length of time we have experienced disappointment, the sense of loss when we failed to realize something we desired. Whether tied to relationships, material things, a job opportunity or a myriad of other examples, the end result is we are negatively affected by how we feel as a result.

Hope deferred needs to be acknowledged and dealt with if we are to get to the substance of things hoped for. That means facing pain or loss so that we can move past it. While this is important on an individual level, it is deeply significant on a cultural scale. Let’s look at the situation when Israel was living in a state of ‘hope deferred.’ When Jesus appeared on the scene they had no actual control over their own nation and were functionally a province of Rome. Look at the verses below.

²⁰ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?”  And he answered, “No.”

²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

²³ He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. John 1:20–26 (NKJV)

There are a few things here. The religious leaders, in fact the nation, was expecting the Messiah, a deliverer as promised in scripture. The Old Testament had closed with a promise of Elijah coming (Malachi 4:5-6). This Elijah figure was to prepare the way for the Lord (Isaiah 40:3). The delegation from the Pharisees asked John why he was baptizing if he was not the Christ (Messiah in Hebrew), Elijah or the Prophet. They expected a Messiah King (see Psalm 110 for example) and a Prophet like Moses to lead them (Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Acts 3:22-24). They did this while not recognizing that the Messiah and Prophet were one person.  

They were living in hope deferred when Jesus arrived on the scene. What is significant for us is John’s statement, ‘there stands One among you whom you do not know.’ The answer to their hopes and dreams was there. He had been living among them for three decades and now was about to be revealed in power.

Perhaps some of you are like me. I have been living in an expectation of a significant move of the Spirit for decades. I am too young to have experienced the Jesus movement and too old to wait decades longer! I have been to many conferences. I remember over a decade ago going to one promoted with great promise. I was deeply disappointed in what actually took place but when I read the subsequent write up describing the conference I said to a friend, “I wish I had been there.” I remember going to a conference in another country in 2008 with my wife. What took place at one point was described as ‘revival.’ There were some very good things that happened at the conference but after experiencing some of what was described as revival I said to some friends that if that was where the church was going I didn’t want to be part of the church!

I won’t belabour my point. I have also over the years had deep and profound encounters with Jesus among His people, yet nothing that I would describe as revival, and I have studied a number of them. I have like many lived in hope deferred concerning a significant move of the Spirit. Now I have far fewer years ahead of me than behind me so I look more closely. This leads me to ask some questions. Is revival now standing among us? Is what many of us have interceded for among us and we do not yet see it? Are there indicators and signs? I don’t want more reports of something happening elsewhere, I want to be one giving reports of what is happening among us. I want vision like Elijah to see a great outpouring in a cloud the size of a man’s hand.

My present response? I continue to pray and look for revival and cultural transformation. At the same time I need to live out of what He has spoken to me. In the fall of 1995 while praying with some friends He spoke to my heart and said, “It is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). So I seek to do that. I want revival but I can’t make it happen and He has His timing. Jesus came in the fullness of time and I believe the coming move of the Spirit that so many have prophesied for decades will come. What can I do while I wait? What can you do? Be found faithful. I know His relationship with me isn’t dependent on revival. It depends on my willingness to draw near to His heart on a daily basis. So while I wait for a hope deferred I can also live in the substance of continued intimacy with Jesus and knowing His heart. I can live out of something else He spoke to me decades ago, “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (from Isaiah 30:15). Reflecting on what He has done and spoken while waiting for more brings my heart to a place of peace and rest with the one who stands among us. Please join me in that state.  

Having looked at what David established we can now turn our gaze to what we can or are establishing. I frame it this way because there is no neutral ground. Decades ago, the Holy Spirit highlighted something to me in Galatians that is critical to how we live our lives.

⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV

Now, you may have read these verses many times and in doing so may have noticed that there is no third field. In all that we do we are either sowing to the flesh or the Spirit. Our actions are not neutral, we are always establishing something. In terms of what to establish Jesus gave us The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and He gave us The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). So, we know what we are to establish. We are to live, share and teach the gospel and pray for His kingdom and will to be manifest in our lives and world as they are manifest in heaven. These things are the primary calling of all believers. Which brings us to the how.

I focused in my previous posts on what took place with the worship David established before the Ark of the Covenant and how the prophetic psalms released there established the future. The current prayer movement around the world frequently combines worship and intercession. I believe that done with wisdom this further establishes His kingdom on the earth. We may think that everything is set regarding times and seasons but this is not what scripture teaches. Look at what Peter wrote.

¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:11-13 (NKJV)

Catch the key phrase, ‘hastening the coming of the day of God’ preceded by ‘what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.’ Our behaviour influences the timing of the manifesting of His kingdom in His return (see also Titus 2:11-14). Given that what we do influences the timing of His return we need to exercise wisdom in all that we do.

Now back to worship and intercession. My ongoing experience is that focused meaningful worship stirs something up inside of me. As I give my heart in worshipping Jesus, I find myself more sensitive to His voice and more attuned to the spirit realm. I find scripture passages rising up inside of me. I find myself more aware of what He wants to speak into the lives of those around me. This happens because I am merely continuing what David established. I am before His throne of grace, the real Ark of the Covenant in heaven, I am being internally stirred and drawn by His Spirit and I have the opportunity to release life into the lives of those around me and into my culture.

I am convinced that if we engaged in worship with focused hearts and an expectation of doing what David did, establishing the future, we would have a far greater impact on the culture we live in. This is the history of the Welsh Revival, which was marked far more by worship than preaching. Evan Roberts, the human leader, would sit in His presence in worship then share what he was sensing, seeing or hearing. It changed a nation and sparks from the fire fell at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles and spread around the world, and that flame is still burning in many places. Every revival movement I have studied has been marked by fresh worship, transformed lives and cultural engagement.

I think key to seeing the scriptures below fulfilled is connected to intentional worship married to prophetic intercession.

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)

²⁷ To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10 (NKJV)

Look at the last phrase, ‘Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ Let us embrace this and reflect on the question I started this series with. Individually and corporately, what are we establishing?

As is clear from the scriptures previously presented in this series, David established two things that are relevant to what we are looking at. The Ark of the Covenant at Zion (Zion is the high point in Jerusalem) and open ongoing worship before the ark. Now we will look at what flowed from these two things.

I previously referenced David being given and giving a psalm when the ark first arrived in Jerusalem. Now I want to look at what some of the prophetic worship released. Our scriptures showed that David set people before the ark to worship and prophesy (1 Chronicles 16:4-7, 25:1-6). In the book of Psalms there are numerous prophecies regarding Jesus that have their fulfillment recorded in the New Testament. We will look at some representative prophetic psalms. An important note is who wrote these psalms. We have them mainly by David, then Asaph (Psalm 50, 73-83) and the sons of Korah.

We start with David. He wrote numerous prophetic psalms, one of which was Psalm 110. Here are the first two verses.

¹ The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ² The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Psalm 110:1-2 (NKJV)

This is a Messianic Psalm referring to Jesus and is not only the most quoted Psalm it is the most quoted Old Testament passage in the entire New Testament. It is referenced in Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, 16:19 and Luke 20:42-43. It is also referenced in Acts, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians and Hebrews. These references relate to just the first verse! The example below is Jesus using Psalm 110 to silence and confound His challengers.

⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

They said to Him, “The Son of David.”

⁴³ He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

⁴⁴   ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?

⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore. Matthew 22:41–46 (NKJV)

Next we have Jesus’ resurrection foretold by David in Psalm 16.

⁸ I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. ¹⁰ For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. Psalm 16:8-10 (NKJV)

This is the first post resurrection psalm quoted in the New Testament. The source is Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:29-31.

²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” Acts 2:29-31 (NKJV)

Asaph prophesied the exaltation of Jesus.

¹⁷ Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Psalm 80:17 (NKJV)

We find the fulfillment referenced in Acts 5.

³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. ³¹ Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:30-31 (NKJV)

A last example, Psalm 45. It is a Messianic Psalm by the sons of Korah and is repeated in Hebrews as referring to Jesus.

⁶     Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;

A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁷     You love righteousness and hate wickedness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

With the oil of gladness more than Your companions. Psalm 45:6–7 (NKJV)

⁸ But to the Son He says:

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;

A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁹     You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” Hebrews 1:8–9 (NKJV)

Many more Messianic Psalms could be referenced but I close with a non Messianic one, an honourable mention. Heman wrote Psalm 88, a lamentation and cry for help that has comforted many over the years. I reference Heman because was the grandson of the great prophet Samuel who anointed David as king.

So to our conclusion. David actually established three things. The Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, open prophetic worship before it, and most importantly, David established the future! He and the other prophetic worshippers declared and wrote what was on the Father’s heart and declared and recorded things to come. 

In my next and final post in this series I will look at how we can each answer this question for ourselves – What are we establishing?

To understand the significance of what David did in establishing the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem we need to do a bit of theological excavation. Our journey takes us back to Exodus. The verses below are the result of the tabernacle first being set up and close out the book of Exodus.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. Exodus 40:34–38 (NKJV)

Here we see the fire and cloud and Yahweh’s glory filling the tabernacle. The Ark of the Covenant within the tabernacle was His resting place on earth. Prior to the tabernacle being built according to exacting specifications, the cloud or pillar of fire went before or behind the people of Israel but not in their midst. There was a significant shift when the tabernacle was established.

In fact, in Exodus 33:3, 5 Yahweh is clear that if He were to come into their midst they would be consumed because they were sinful. We also see that Moses met with Yahweh outside the camp in Exodus 33:7-9 and that the cloud of His glory descended when Moses went to meet with Him.

⁹ And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. Exodus 33:9 (NKJV)

His glory descended and lifted but once the tabernacle was set up His presence was there between the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. In fact in giving the instructions for making the Ark of the Covenant Yahweh told Moses that He would hover over the ark and meet with him there.

²¹ You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. ²² And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel. Exodus 25:21-22 (NKJV)

Having done some theological excavation we need to look at what happened When David set up the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem. I referenced the verse below in my last post.

⁷ On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord: 1 Chronicles 16:4–7 (NKJV)

The psalm David gave is repeated in the Psalms as Psalm 105. We can look at this a couple of ways. One way is to see this as David writing out a song to honour the occasion. Another way is to see this psalm being prophetically released through David as the result of the Ark of the Covenant coming to a resting place in Jerusalem and David receiving a prophetic release, the Psalm. I obviously favour this latter view and think it is the correct one.

David received a prophetic release as a result of being in the presence of the ark, hence his instructions in 1 Chronicles 25 pairing worship with prophecy before the Ark of the Covenant. David knew from his own experience and that of others what happened in worship before the ark. Consider the first few verses of Psalm 105 and compare it to what happened with the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost.

¹ Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! ² Sing to Him, sing Psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! ³ Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! ⁴ Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore! ⁵ Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, Psalm 105:1-5 (NKJV)

¹¹ Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. Acts 2:11 (NKJV)

There was a prophetic release and a glorifying of God at Pentecost and then a prophetic understanding by Peter of fulfilled prophecy. We will look at some further examples in my next post. For now it is important to see the connection between a prophetic release and worshipping before Him.

In this series I am going to look at what can be established through our prayer and worship so that we can be more intentional in what we do. I will start with what David established in Jerusalem after he brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city and set up worship before it. I will then connect this to the New Testament pattern that we can engage in.  

The passage below contains a number of important spiritual principles related to worship and prophetic intercession which I will address over a series of posts. However, opening up the implications of this passage requires some history and context.

¹Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: ² Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. ³ Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶ All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the authority of the king. 1 Chronicles 25:1–6 (NKJV)

Frankly, it isn’t clear in this passage whether they were to prophesy before the Ark of the Covenant, as David had set it up by itself, or were being set apart for the temple Solomon was yet to build. Yet if we look further in scripture there is an answer to our question.

⁴ And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals; ⁶ Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷ On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord: 1 Chronicles 16:4–7 (NKJV)

What David was instituting was a continuation of what he began when he brought the ark to Jerusalem. There was open ongoing worship before the ark without the daily sacrifices and other aspects. We know this because the rest of the Tabernacle of Moses was still set up at Gibeon. We see this in the passage below.

³⁷ So he left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark regularly, as every day’s work required; ³⁸ and Obed-Edom with his sixty-eight brethren, including Obed-Edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be gatekeepers; ³⁹ and Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place that was at Gibeon, ⁴⁰ to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the Law of the Lord which He commanded Israel; 1 Chronicles 16:37–40 (NKJV)

So, we have worship before the ark in Jerusalem and sacrifices being offered on the altar at the tabernacle of Moses about 10 kilometers away at Gibeon.

This background sets the stage to see the significance of the Ark of the Covenant as Yahweh’s dwelling place. I will delve into this in my next post so we can begin connecting it to prophetic intercession and worship.

Hebrews 3:1 refers to us believers as partakers of a heavenly calling.

¹ Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, Hebrews 3:1 (NKJV)

To partake of something is to have a share in it, to take part. It is worth considering the implications of the phrase, ‘partakers of a heavenly calling.’ Our heavenly calling could refer to our final destiny, our purpose here on earth or the perspective we live with and from. I think it refers to all three but I think the first two can be subsumed under the third. We are to ‘take part’ in a perspective that reflects our heavenly calling in all that we say and do. In my blog I use the tagline, “An Eternal Perspective: Living in Time, Preparing for Eternity.” It was a thought I had a number of years ago that I simply put down in words so I would both remember it and seek to live by it.

To embrace a heavenly calling is to embrace an eternal perspective and holding this perspective should affect how we live here and what we look forward to when we step from time into eternity. How we should live from a focus on a heavenly calling was captured by Paul and Peter.

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NKJV)

¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 2 Peter 3:11 (NKJV)

Having a heavenly calling, having a part in something much larger than ourselves and that affects the rest of the body of Christ should inform everything that we do. It means that our thoughts and actions should be focused on bringing glory to God. Others should see Jesus reflected in how we live.   

This isn’t an exhortation to legalism or examining every behaviour in light of our calling. That degenerates into navel gazing. It is a call to lovingly walk in the freedom Jesus purchased for us and living lives of holiness through Him living in and through us. To partake of our heavenly calling means also partaking of an intimate relationship with Jesus in the context of His body here on earth, the church. It is embracing Christ in us and cooperating with His abundant grace to see Him live through us. It means embracing the truth in the two verses below. Living from that perspective.

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

²⁷ To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

For over a year I have been part of a Sunday evening online prayer meeting that began in response to Covid and has mainly focused on praying for our city. One of my friends has commented more than once, “Prayers have no shelf life.” I think the same is true of prophetic proclamations. So let’s look at where they go.

Years ago in a message I listened to from Larry Randolph. He related how the Lord had him move from the East coast of the US to California. He is a prophetic guy who didn’t want to move. He said in a vision an angel appeared to him with a drawn sword and said, “Move or die.” He and his family moved. While this may not fit with how we see ‘gentle’ Jesus it was how Jesus dealt with Larry. He already had an established ministry so when he arrived he expected to be welcomed somewhere in a church and given a position. Nothing happened.

It is at this point that we would likely concluded we had been deluded and ‘missed’ God. Larry sought His face and the Lord told Larry he was to go out into his backyard and prophesy to principalities and powers. I am sure he could have done that back East. Larry spent about a year doing that before the Lord opened up other things for him.

My story does have a point and comes from reading in Ezekiel. In chapter 25 Ezekiel is directed to release a prophetic declaration against the Ammonites, then the Moabites, then Edom and then the Philistines. This continues. In chapter 29 Ezekiel releases a prophetic declaration against Egypt that continues for chapters. My point has to do with where Ezekiel is doing this from.

¹ Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. Ezekiel 1:1 NKJV

Ezekiel, along with his fellow Israelites, was a captive in Babylon the entire time he prophesised. His prophetic declarations were never actually spoken to the people groups to whom they were addressed. They were however released in the heavens and heard by both the heavenly host and demonic principalities and powers.   

Given they were going to be carried out over time they were directed and retained by Yahweh. I believe the same things happens to our prayers. When our prayers are led by the Spirit as Ezekiel’s prophetic declarations were, they have no shelf life. They are retained and there is a response. We see clearly where they are kept in Revelation 5.

⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8

So, whether we are called like Larry Randolph to release prophetic declarations in the heavens or simply sit in a quiet place offering heartfelt prayers, let us remain confident that He sees, hears and retains what we offer and responds rightly in due season.