My earliest job involved assisting at a Christian bookstore during a school holiday break. Eagerly, I spent the first of my income on a music album called ‘No Compromise,’ by prophetic singer/songwriter Keith Green. [1]

In addition to Keith Green’s powerful songs, the artwork on that album cover remains etched into my memory to this day.

Set in ancient times, it depicts one man standing whilst people all around him bow down to a passing official.

A soldier following the official is pointing at the upright man in fury.

The picture is from the story of Esther in the Bible, and the man’s name is Mordecai. [2]

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What It Takes To Be An Overcomer

The story of Mordecai reminds us that no matter our background, our circumstances, or the power of the enemy against us, we will overcome when we give the ultimate allegiance to God in our lives. This is what it takes:

The Odds are Stacked Against You

Mordecai came from humble beginnings, being the son of Jewish exiles, of the tribe of Benjamin, in ancient Persia.

His enemy Haman—the official infuriated by Mordecai’s refusal to bow down to him—had power, wealth, the ear of the King of Persia, and the ability to issue commands in the king’s name.

There was no earthly way that Mordecai could overcome such a powerful foe.

When God calls you to be an overcomer, you can be certain that the odds will be stacked against you.
In the face of seeming impossibility, when you experience breakthrough, He will receive the glory.

The Presence of a Powerful Enemy

Mordecai’s allegiance to God and his Jewish faith was likely to be the reason why he risked his life by going against the king’s edict and refusing to bow down to Haman.

This uncompromising stand inflamed Haman’s hatred, not only against Mordecai, but also against those that Mordecai represented.

Not content with destroying Mordecai alone, Haman issued an edict in the king’s name ordering the annihilation of the Jews throughout Persia.

What enemy are you facing at this time? The presence of a powerful enemy is certain proof that you are destined to be an overcomer.

You have a Sovereign God

With overwhelming odds set against him, Mordecai had God on his side—and we know that one man or woman with God is a majority.

Prior to the events that had set Haman on his path of destruction, the God of the Jews had already set His plan in motion to save Mordecai and his people.

From humble beginnings, Mordecai would rise up with Esther to help deliver the Jews from annihilation, and become the second most powerful man in the kingdom of Persia.

Traits of an Overcomer

What else can we learn from Mordecai as we ask, ‘What does it take to be an overcomer?’

1. Courage

Mordecai feared God and not man. By refusing to pay homage to Haman, he willingly risked his life to uphold his faith and his principles.

Later, Mordecai could call his cousin Esther to risk her own life, because as a leader he already practiced and exemplified great courage.

It took Esther great courage to enter the King’s presence without being summoned. This disobedience of the law could have cost her life, but instead, she received favour, because God was with her.

It takes great courage to face your enemy and refuse to bow down to intimidation. Allow your reverence and love for God to be greatest—and act upon that.

2. Loyalty

Mordecai not only demonstrated loyalty to God and his Jewish heritage, he was also loyal to key people in his life.

Esther was not his daughter, but his cousin, given to his care at the death of his aunt and uncle. When she married the King, Mordecai could have released her. But instead, he still kept in close touch with her—providing wisdom, care and spiritual oversight.

Mordecai was also loyal to God’s chosen leader of that time, the King of Persia. When he heard of a plot against the King’s life, Mordecai informed the King of it via Esther.

Mordecai’s loyalty to the king was a factor in Haman’s downfall and proved to the King that Mordecai would be trustworthy when his time of promotion came.

Are we fostering the value of loyalty in our lives—to the people God has placed within our care or oversight, and to the leaders God has given to us? It will make the difference when victory is needed.

3. Proactive in Spite of Pain

When Mordecai heard the news of the edict against the Jews, he was deeply grieved. The Bible tells us that he went out into the city in sackcloth and ashes and with loud crying.

But he didn’t allow the pain of the terrible news to immobilise him. Instead, he worked on a plan with Esther to make known the truth to the King.

At his darkest hour, Mordecai’s spoke some of the Bible’s most compelling words to Esther:

“…who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

In times of pain, we do not need to be disabled by negative emotion. Like Mordecai, we can use that distress to spur us forward in God’s purposes with renewed determination: God’s purpose in our lives and that of others will be accomplished!

4. Unity and Teamwork

Mordecai and Esther worked as a team to bring down the plans of the enemy Haman. Mordecai provided oversight, instruction and wisdom to Esther and she was able to expose the enemy’s plans to the attention of the king.

Later, Esther brought Mordecai before the king and they set in motion an edict that would overturn Haman’s plans and bring victory to God’s people.

Through unity, a nation was saved, an enemy destroyed and God’s plans were brought to fruition.

Unity with those God has called you to partner with is a powerful force in God’s Kingdom.

Breakthrough: The Overcomer’s Outcome

The people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits (Daniel 11:32)

As a result of Mordecai’s stand, together with Esther, the plot to annihilate the Jews was overturned, their enemies were destroyed, and the mourning of the people was turned to great rejoicing.

Mordecai was promoted to being Prime Minister in Haman’s place—second in power to the King of Persia himself.

When he left the presence of the king, Mordecai was crowned, clothed in royal garments, and in possession of the king’s signet ring—symbols of authority and power.

When you overcome your powerful enemy, you emerge with greater experience and insight of the authority God has already given to you as His son and daughter.

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Do you have any experiences or questions to share on this topic, or difficulties you are facing that you would like us to agree with you in prayer for? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the comments box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Notes:

[1] One of the songs off this album, ‘Make My Life A Prayer To You,’ written by Keith’s wife Melody Green, profoundly impacted me and became my life’s theme. You can listen to the original recording here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EDGmeP1aA4&feature=related

[2] Read the full story of Esther and Mordecai in the book of Esther in the Bible.

Some mysterious aspects of the story of Mordecai fascinated me as I researched for this article.

• Why did he spend so much time at the King’s Gate? Was it solely because of his concern for Esther?
• The King’s Gate was where important legal and business transactions were carried out.
• It is possible that Mordecai worked as a minor official there. (Esther 3:2)
• This would have been practical preparation for the future responsibilities that he would have as the nation’s next Prime Minister.

Enjoy the read!

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© Helen Calder 2011 Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

Apathy is a common barrier to growth in our spiritual gifts [1]—and it is the one that we have the least motivation to overcome!

We do not choose indifference—we drift towards it. (Heb 2:1) And as we do, it robs us of  our hunger for God and our motivaton to serve Him.

It also robs other people of receiving a life-changing blessing from God through us.

Some signs that apathy may be blocking growth in your gift of prophecy or other spiritual gift are:

• You believe that you have gone as far as you can go in the development of your gift
• You are comfortable with where you are, and not motivated to move forward in your ministry
• You can remember a time when you were excited about your spiritual gift, but you’ve lost the passion
• There is always a ready—and plausible—excuse as to why you should not step out and use your gift

There is one crucial ingredient that we must have, in order to overcome indifference and push forward in our spiritual gifts.

That ingredient is desire.

This also holds true for all spiritual gifts. This includes prophecy, as well as other revelatory gifts such as discernment, intercession and word of knowledge.

The Apostle Paul said,

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. (1 Cor 14:1)

Here are three kinds of desire that are vital to growth in our gifts:

1. Desire for God

In any relationship, when we love someone, we want to spend time with him or her—and it is the same in our relationship with God.

To crave spiritual gifts without the greatest desire being for God Himself is like marrying someone for his or her money.

In Acts 8, Simon the sorcerer offered money to the apostles so that he could have the same power that they did. Peter rebuked him strongly for the wickedness in his heart.

Our love for God leads us to want to be close to Him, and out of that hunger for intimacy comes the longing also to hear what He is saying—to know His heart and priorities.

And right there is the place where we receive revelation.

Our prophetic ministry will not have depth, impact and anointing unless we foster intimacy with God.

If you feel that you have lost that sharp edge of hunger for God and His Presence, now is the time to return to that place. (Rev 2:4-5)

2. Love for People and Desire to help them.

The Apostle Paul made it clear in his lengthy discussion about spiritual gifts, that love is the vital prerequisite to the use of the gifts. (1 Cor 13)

Jesus said the whole law is summed up by the commands to love God and to love our neighbour. (Luke 10:27-28)

Loving people leads us to desire to help them and build Jesus’ church.

I encourage you to stop and do a check on how you are going in this area.

• Is your motivation to prophesy, or utilise your gift based on a genuine desire to help people and lead them closer to Jesus?

• How are you going in your desire to build the church—what about your own church? I’ve learned that my passion for my own local church is often a barometer or how I am going in this area.

Of course, sometimes discouragement or hurt can get in the way of this—and I will discuss that in another post.

3. Desire for the Spiritual Gift Itself

In 1 Cor 14, we are told to ‘Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.’

This desire keeps us moving forward, not only to develop the gift, but also to use it to minister to others.

I have often heard it said that we should desire the Giver, not the gifts (and have sometimes said it myself!) But the Bible clearly says we should desire the gifts.

We should desire the Giver and His gifts.

I am challenged to have the desire that Elisha did, that caused him to pursue Elijah for his mantle. (2 Kings 2)

That mantle was the outward representation of Elijah’s prophetic ministry and office of the prophet.

We have all seen people who have an unhealthy focus on spiritual gifts or prophecy. Being concerned about this is a good sign.

We need to be alert to the wrong kinds of desire. To check our motives, we can ask questions like: [2]

• Am I comparing myself to someone else and wanting an ability that they have?
• Am I willing to wait, if this is not the right time to step out?
• Am I willing to submit this longing for a gift or ministry to leaders in the church—and hold back if they do not see God has called me to this area?
• Is this about loving people—or feeling fulfilled myself?
• Does reaching for this gift free me to be more of who God has created me to be?
• Is it clear—to others and to me—that it is God’s glory and His church that I want to bring attention to and not myself?

Don’t Separate the Gifts and the Giver

We think of a gift in the human sense, that we give a gift that is separate to us.

However, the gifts God gives us are the expression of His Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. We cannot separate the two.

When we cease desiring the gift, we have not only forgotten the value of the gift itself, we have lost sight of the treasure that is the unique expression of the Holy Spirit impacting others through us.

In valuing our spiritual gift, we are valuing the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 12:7)

When we long for the manifestation of a gift with a God-breathed desire—a desire that is birthed in communion with Him—we are longing for God Himself.

Keys to Reawakening Desire

Some things we can do are:

• Pray and ask God to stir a hunger up in you, so that you are not satisfied with anything less than God being first in your life

• Specifically repent of apathy. Invite the Holy Spirit to move and breathe His life into your heart and gift

• Stir up the desire by reminding yourself of the benefits of the use of your spiritual gift in helping people and bringing them closer to God

Was there an event you can look back on that caused you to stop desiring the gift? We will be looking at this in another post.

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Do you have any experiences or questions to share on this topic? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the comments box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Notes:

[1] Wayne Grudem defines a spiritual gift as ‘any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.’ (GRUDEM, W. Systematic Theology. 1994. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity. p1016)
For examples of spiritual gifts see the following scriptures:
1 Cor 12:4-11, Rom 12:6-8

[2] From my e-book, ‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts.’

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© Helen Calder 2011 Enliven Blog

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

One of the things I am passionate about is helping people to grow in their spiritual gifts—especially prophecy. [1]

People regularly share with me that they believe they have a gift of prophecy, but are not sure how to begin developing it.

Sometimes they express fear or embarrassment about stepping out with a prophetic insight, because they lack confidence.

I also come across prophetic people who tell me that they used to flow in the gift of prophecy but feel it has become blocked or closed down in comparison to how it used to be.

These Christians long for the ‘good old days,’ when they felt released in their gifts and saw miraculous things happen as a result.

This is why, over the next little while, I am going to be producing some articles on how to move forward and break through limitations in relation to prophetic gifts and ministry. [2]

But I need your help.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this topic, any struggles, what obstacles and barriers you have experienced personally, as well as testimonies and ideas for breakthrough.

So after the articles, I will be asking questions. Please contribute using the comments facility on the blog. It is amazing how many people will identify with your journey—you may even encourage others who are having similar struggles.

Identifying a Limitation is Good News

Identifying a potential barrier to the growth of your gift or ministry is good news—for it is the first step to empowering you to break free and enter into the ‘more’ that God has for you.

In fact, in God’s Kingdom there is always more!

And you can turn that seeming obstacle into a stepping-stone to greater growth and fruitfulness.

Signs that you are Being held back in Your Prophetic gift

Here are eleven signs that there may be a limiting factor holding you back in your prophetic gift or ministry.

If you do not have a gift of prophecy, replace the words ‘prophecy’ or ‘prophetic ministry’ with the name of your gift or ministry.

See if you can identify with any of these:

1. You used to believe you were called to prophetic ministry [3] but now you are not so sure

2. You are wondering why your prophetic gift seems to be hidden and not recognised by other Christians or by leaders in the church

3. It is a long time since you stepped out, took a faith risk, and did something new in the use of your prophetic gift

4. You are drifting and have a lack of direction in your prophetic gift or ministry

5. You feel barren and are wondering where the fruitfulness is that you were promised or initially experienced when you started out

6. You recognise that difficulties in the use of your prophetic gift began with an event that occurred in your past

7. You are not sure what to do to get to the next level of growth in your gift of prophecy

8. You have been hurt or wounded in relation to your prophetic gift and haven’t gotten over it

9. You are not receiving opportunities to use and bless others through your gift that you would like to have

10.You are content with your current level of experience and do not have the motivation to press through for growth in your prophetic gift

11.You do have opportunities to use the gift of prophecy, but it is not flowing as smoothly or as accurately as you would like, or have known in the past.

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Now, some questions for you:

• Can you identify with any of the above issues?
• Are there any other signs that you can think of, or have experienced, that you are being held back in your spiritual gift of prophecy?

Leave a comment in the comments section at the end of this post. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Over the next little while we will be looking at how to overcome some barriers to growth in your gift. Many of these will apply to other gifts, not just prophecy.

Some of the things I will be considering include:

• Fear
• Not knowing where to start
• The effect of past hurts
• Apathy
• Not being released or given opportunities

Feel free to forward or share these articles with others who may be helped by them.

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Notes:

[1] The gift of prophecy is the Spirit-empowered ability to receive and convey a message from God—to make known the Father’s mind, intention and purposes.

[2] If you are interested in developing your gift, the e-book ‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts’ is a tool to help you identify which stage of development you are in and move to the next level.

[3] By prophetic ministry, I do not mean a role or position. Prophetic ministry occurs when you use your prophetic gift to love and help people in a way that brings them closer to God and releases them into His purposes. As Paul says, ‘the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.’ (1 Cor 14:3)

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Related Posts:

Why Is My Spiritual Gift Or Ministry Not Being Released?

Break Free Of Hurts That Are Blocking Your Prophetic Gift

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© Helen Calder 2011 Enliven Blog

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

‘It is the privilege of sons and daughters to feast at the Father’s table.’

For 450 years, Israel lived in slavery in Egypt. Now, God was teaching the nation a different way of living—a life of faith.

How Israel Lived under an Open Heaven

‘Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.’ (Ps 78:23-24)

The Bible tells us that God opened heaven to provide miraculous provision to the nation of Israel during its wilderness wanderings.

But God’s supernatural supply of their needs did not stop there—the wilderness manna was a sign of what was to come.

Israel’s destiny was to live in Canaan and continue a lifestyle of faith—dependent upon God for heaven-sent rain.

‘The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.’ (Deut 28:12)

Everything that is recorded in the Bible about Israel’s history is for our benefit and instruction. (1 Cor 10:11) The nation of Israel had to learn how to live by the provision of an open heaven, and so can we. [1]

Here are some principles we can learn from Israel’s history:

How to Position for an Open Heaven

1. Understand the Heart of the Father

We need to understand God’s motivation, in Israel’s history and for us today. He isn’t looking for dependent servants—He is seeking relationship. He desires sons and daughters.

 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son… I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.’ (Hosea 11:1, 4)

The manna, the rain, were a revelation: not of provision, but of a Provider; a loving Father.

2. Intimacy and Obedience

The nation of Israel was in the right place, at the right time for a miracle.

And the reason that Israel was positioned for a heavenly miracle of provision was because one man—Moses—had an intimate relationship with God.

Having heard God’s voice, Moses was able to lead Israel in obedience to Him.  Moses later left written instructions so that Israel could continue to live in obedience and reap the heavenly blessings.

Intimacy with the Father is the starting point for our miracle of provision. When we hear Him speak to us, and move out in faith upon His instruction, we will be in the right place, at the right time, for a miracle of supernatural supply.

3. Change your Source: Move from Self-Effort to Dependency Upon God

Having moved out in faith, Israel had no source of supply other than God. In Deut 11, God spoke to Israel, saying:

‘The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven… So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—then I will send rain on your land in its season.’ (Deut 11:10-11, 13-14)

Here, God is comparing the resources of Egypt with that of Canaan. The source of Egypt’s life-giving water was the river Nile. It was predictable and safe. It was self-sufficient, but a limited means of supply.

The Nile’s water could be accessed by man-powered irrigation. When the Nile flooded, irrigation would take place naturally, but during the remainder of the year, it was hard manual labour to pump the water into the fields.

In Canaan, however, the countryside was primarily irrigated by rainfall—and dependent upon those rains coming in their due seasons.

The picture is of an entire nation dependent upon the rain. Even their yearly calendar revolved around the seasons and the crops, which revolved around the rains coming in their due seasons.

And God made it clear that He was the source of the rain and that He could pour it out or withhold it at will.

He said, ‘Serve Me with gladness and obedience and I will send the rain. Turn away from Me, and you will remove yourself from that open heaven—because you and I were meant to do this together. You were never meant to be alone.’ (See Deut 28)

4. Become a Co-Labourer with God

The life of faith is one partnership and co-labour together with God. Even though God sent the manna, the people of Israel still had to collect it, prepare it and cook it. (Num 11:7-9)

Even though God sent the rain upon the land of Canaan, the people still had to labour and toil the ground.

Likewise, in order to position for God’s provision for our lives, we still need to work hard, to follow Biblical principles and to exercise wisdom as well as faith. We also partner with God through prayer.

5. Change Your Preferences

It is not easy to live a life of faith. It is not easy to trust God for His supply when He instructs you to step out in obedience to Him. As it is often said, FAITH is spelled ‘R-I-S-K.’

It is an amazing thing that having left a life of slavery, many Israelites still craved the provisions of Egypt. (Numbers 11)

When the Israelites said, let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt, (Numbers 14:1-4) they were saying,

• We want safety, we want predictability
• We want to do things our own way, in our own strength
• We want to be self-sufficient

They were really rejecting God Himself. Sadly, they preferred bondage with familiarity, to freedom and having to go out on a limb to trust God.

6. Celebrate God’s Provision

The Feasts and celebrations of Israel were established around the seasons and the provision of rainfall.

Like Israel, we need to ‘mark the moment’ and celebrate and remember God’s supply for our lives, our families, our churches and ministries, and our communities.

He is a faithful and loving Father.

 ‘It is the privilege of sons and daughters to feast at the Father’s table.’

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Do you have any experiences or questions to share on this topic? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the comments box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Notes:

[1]. Last week, I shared that an open heaven is the inheritance of every Christian believer.  ‘An open heaven is a state where there are no barriers between the earthly realm and the heavenly realm—the throne of God, and all the resources of heaven… These resources include the Holy Spirit, salvation, provision and blessing, miraculous intervention and angelic help in answer to prayer.’
For more information, see the following post:
An Open Heaven Is Your Inheritance

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© Helen Calder 2011 Enliven Blog

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

Jacob was on the run from the murderous fury of his brother, Esau. It was twilight and he was in a strange land.

The journey being longer than the day, he lay down on the hard ground with a stone for a pillow.

There was nothing in Jacob’s life that indicated what would happen next. His past was a mess—his future seemed uncertain. His hope was that a relative in a distant place would give him refuge.

But that night, he dreamed of a stairway reaching from earth into heaven, upon which angels were ascending and descending.

Above the staircase stood Almighty God. He spoke to Jacob of the covenantal promises given to Abraham and Isaac, and now passed on to Jacob.

Jacob’s life was changed by the revelation of an open heaven above his life. [1] There was nothing he had done to deserve it. God’s favour towards Jacob was based on covenant, not on personal merit.

Jacob was an heir to the promises. And like Jacob, we are heirs of a covenant; not through anything we could achieve ourselves, but by grace, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

An Open Heaven: Our Inheritance

When Jesus was baptised, Mark tells us that the heavens were ‘torn open’ as the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. (Mark 1:10) [2]

Jesus lived and ministered under this open heaven. He was in touch with the Father at all times. Nothing was impossible. Demons fled, diseases were healed; even death could not stand in His way.

Heaven’s supernatural resources were made available to Jesus as He prayed and did what He saw the Father doing. (John 5:19)

When the veil tore open at Jesus’ crucifixion (Matt 27:51), the heavens were opened permanently for all who would believe in Him and become children of God—for Jesus Himself is the stairway to heaven. (John 1:51, John 14:6)

Then, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God baptised the waiting believers. (Acts 2)

Everything that was available to Jesus to accomplish the Father’s will is also available to us today. Jesus would not say, ‘Follow Me,’ if that were not the case. Living under an open heaven is our inheritance, and it should be our expectation.

What is Available to us Through an Open Heaven?

An open heaven is a state where there are no barriers between the earthly realm and the heavenly realm—the throne of God, and all the resources of heaven.

As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we can live in the constant awareness that nothing separates us from our Father and His resources.

Here are some things that the Bible reveals are available to us through an open heaven. I encourage you to look up and meditate on the following scripture verses.

1. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit

(Matt 3:16, Acts 2)

2. Provision and blessing

(Deut 28:12, Mal 3:10)

3. Salvation—Ourselves and Others

(Isaiah 45:8)

4. Prophetic Revelation and God’s Throne

(Exodus 24:9-11, Ezek 1:1)

5. Angelic activity in Response to God’s Command, bringing Supernatural Answers to Prayer

(Ps 103:129-21)

The House of God

Many Christians associate an open heaven primarily with angelic activity, however as we can see from above, that is just one aspect.

We need to guard against becoming preoccupied with angels. Jacob did not name the place where the heavens opened to him, ‘Dwelling of Angels.’ He named it Bethel, ‘House of God.’

The revelation he received of God that day was so profound that later God would re-introduce Himself to Jacob as ‘The God of Bethel.’

In another era and on another journey, Elisha had to pass a test in order to bear the mantle and authority of Elijah. Would he keep his eyes fixed on his spiritual father to the very end? Or would he be distracted by the brilliance of the glorious carriers—the chariots of God?

When the heavens opened to Stephen, Ezekiel and John, they saw the throne of God.

I want to have my focus on the throne—‘where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.’ (Col 3:1)

There is the source of our life, and our authority. There, we seek the Father’s will and directive, knowing that the resources of heaven—including the angelic hosts—are released at His word and by our partnership with Him in prayer.

As Jesus said,

 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’” Matthew 6:9-10

The Glorious Revelation

A revelation of what Jesus has done in opening heaven to us will change the way we pray.

• It will change the way we see
• It will change the way we think and act
• We will be conscious of what Father is doing ‘NOW’ and the resources that are available to us ‘NOW’
• We will have confidence in exercising our authority
• Our faith will be increased
• We will live in constant expectation

We will live centred upon God.

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Do you have any experiences or questions to share on this topic? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the comments box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

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Notes

[1] You can read this story in Genesis 28.

[2] I recommend Bill Johnson’s message, ‘You Already have an Open Heaven.’  You can find it on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RULjmyJbQs8

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Related Posts:

No Longer Waiting for Revival

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© Helen Calder 2011 Enliven Blog

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church