Intercessors are often referred to as “prayer warriors.” They believe they are doing a lot of good as they pray for our church, the congregation, even cities and nations. A lot of these good-hearted people get “burned out” from the continued spiritual warfare and begin to wonder when it will ever end. Some claim that it is because they are on the front lines, but that is not what our Lord tells us.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will [ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. (Matthew 11:28-30 AMPC)
If you are working with the Lord, He will carry the burden and you will feel refreshed. When you are working in the flesh, you will feel drained by your efforts. Often, the ineffectiveness of the prayers has us continually searching for a new prayer as we think, “if I can only get the right word or have enough faith, it will work!”
When we listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that is when we will get a breakthrough. Using prayers written in books became witchcraft prayers.
The definition of a formula: a set form of words for use in a ceremony or ritual.
The definition of spell: a spoken word or form of words held to have magic power.
Using the scripture to “force” God to act is manipulation and a witchcraft prayer
When we utter words given to us by man without the urging of the Holy Spirit and expect a certain result, this is akin to witchcraft. Another name for formula prayers is “witchcraft prayers.” This is manipulating the Word of God to get the desired results. We are relying on our knowledge and words spoken to bring a breakthrough instead of being guided by the Holy Spirit.
Learning from the prayers of others is great. Sometimes the words of others can help us voice what we need to say, but there is no magic phrase or prayer that will give us what we want. That is saying we don’t need the Holy Spirit to guide us in our prayers. In some cases, prayers can even open the door to an attack of the enemy. For more information, please see the “Traps When Praying” class in the Removing Attacks course.
The Holy Spirit should be the one to guide us in our prayers. To pray without the Holy Spirit is pride. It’s saying I don’t need you because I already know what to pray and I prefer the prayers man gave me. We must be willing to ask ourselves, is there a reason for what is occurring.
Applying this to the new revelation includes taking time to ask Jesus if we can enter into the Courts of Heaven instead of barging in or relying on what we learned from a book or what we think we know. If you cannot hear His answer about entering the Courts, how are you going to follow His instructions once before God as the Just and Righteous Judge?
Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude]. (Revelation 3:19 AMPC)
If we are encountering trouble in this world, we may be receiving correction from the Lord. During prayer for breakthrough, we must be willing to hear from the Holy Spirit who may reveal our sin, this is part of intercession. We need to confess our sin (see it the way God does), this includes turning from that sin (repenting), then apply the precious blood of Jesus: this is how we win the battle every time. The key to victory is not a specific prayer: It is finding out what the enemy is using to gain the right to attack us.
In order to operate fully in the new wineskin, we must let go of formula prayers. It is crucial to keep in mind that the enemy may have legal rights in the Courts of Heaven where the charges need to be removed before we take authority over anything. By applying the blood of Jesus after repenting, not only is all sin removed from all records in Heaven, but every time we repent, we acknowledge what Jesus did for us on the cross.
We have no need to attack the devil and start binding and loosing unless directed to by the Holy Spirit. These actions may even result in backlash in our finances, jobs, health, and both our marriage and our children. It is also time-consuming and takes away the focus from listening to the Holy Spirit.
That no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1:29 AKJV)
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ… (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 AKJV)
We must not fall back into old habits and start praying formula prayers. That is the flesh. If we realize something is wrong because of the backlash, we need to take a good look at ourselves first, to see what we might need to repent for, not begin waging war against the adversary. This is very dangerous. We need to humble ourselves and listen for instructions from the Holy Spirit. We need to understand that the new wineskin means letting go of all our old ways of doing spiritual warfare; letting go of teachings that are not exactly scriptural so that God can pour new wine in us.
Christians are often called on to pray for others or come into agreement with a pray others have prayed. Keep these things in mind concerning pray:
When someone asks you to agree in prayer because of a situation they are struggling with and you are struggling with the same sin, you must repent for your own sin first before praying for them.
Do not agree in prayer with anyone, unless the Holy Spirit releases you to do so. Saying “Amen” makes you responsible for every word said.
Don’t just pray with a person because you don’t want to disappoint them. We have been misled to believe we must agree with them as an act of kindness only to get backlash because we had no authority to do so.
Prayer must come through your spirit and in unity with the Holy Spirit to be fully effective with no backlash. If you don’t know what to pray then pray in your heavenly language only.
Shedding that old wineskin is not easy. We have old habits we have to break. We may slip back from time to time, but God gives us grace.
But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him. (1 John 2:27 ESV)
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10 NASB)
The anointing that God gives us is the power to pray with results; the power to heal and the power to set prisoners free. This will happen when we remember that the ultimate authority is God and His Spirit will help us pray!
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