Strategic Prayer for the Body
I have noticed that the Lord blesses us in a special way on the mountain. I see it by the word He gives. I don’t plan it as any planner makes plans, but it comes, and I am amazed at what a serious word the Lord sends on the mountain. This is all prophetic, because you don’t know in the evening what there will be in the morning, and then you are astonished that the word is so serious, so powerful.
He honors the sacrifice – do you understand? He sends the fire on the sacrifice, this is what the fire falls on, it never falls just like that. First, something receives death, be it a ram or a calf, like it was with Elijah or Abraham, Moses, them Solomon. First, a sacrifice has to lie on the altar, but the fire doesn’t fall on the rocks, but on the sacrifice, where there’s blood. And here we bring it, this is our life in blood, it is a good sacrifice, when you have to rise yearly, make your way up here, even when it’s freezing cold, waist up snow or slippery, when it’s pouring rain – you have to go anyway. And that’s a sign that we’re alive, a sign that you haven’t gotten old and lazy. It is also a sign that the church in the Body is still a living church, more alive than any of the living. She doesn’t look at weather conditions or her physical weakness, she keeps going.
As long as we are here, brothers and sisters, we are alive! Our Mountain time is a sign. This mountain is like an Angel of the Mountain, who watches over who’s appeared here. Do remember Deborah’s song of victory? She says, “the people willingly offer themselves (showed their zeal)”. So this mountain is where we show our zeal. It’s not only faithfulness that we need, but zeal. You have to really push to get here, so we demonstrate our zeal to the Angel of the mountain. The people willingly offer themselves – this song of Deborah is very powerful.
And there are such moments, when we demonstrate with ourselves that we are alive. A wicked or defiled man wouldn’t want the mountain – what would he do here? Being hypocrite, living in wickedness and go up the mountain to pray – this won’t work; this is why some are blown off. But when the faithful remnant stands, the church is alive, because the church is alive because of the faithful remnant.
All of Israel shall be saved – so it is written, but on the other hand, it is written that only the remnant shall be saved. I will say what the formula is here: it is so that because of the faithful remnant all of Israel shall be saved. It will begin with the faithful remnant and end with all of it. The fire will begin with faithful remnant as when you put dry grass and start a fire, the wet wood starts burning because of the grass. Likewise the faithful remnant will set on fire with acceptance of the Messiah and all of Israel will follow.
Salt is a good thing: a little pinch saves the whole dish, it dissolves and penetrates, and makes the thing good. He says, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world.
I’ll share the word, which is the prayer for this season, which may last a year or less. We’ve taken important decisions – to set up goals and stay in them.
Prayer for the Body of Christ. We need to pray for the Body of Christ and bless it, bless pastors, in different denominations and confessions, that they stand in the Word. Many have evaded into game, away from the word, from the teaching.
There was this story, such a time in the history when Israel got divided and brother rose up against brother – Jeroboam stepped against brothers and there was a war between Abijah and Jeroboam (2Chronicals 13). Today we also watch fight, competition for precedence, mocking tradition and holiness – it is all present in churches today. And we must pray for the Body, for the brethren.
“Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men – Such a powerful army, men with swards, spears, bows – Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor”. A violent war. And look at the strategy the prophetic people have. They didn’t pump their muscles, but the war was fierce. Here’s what they did:
“Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever.” They were David’s descendants who rules in Judea, and he takes the root system, the foundation, he takes up the righteous cause and makes a warning to the enemy, because “you would be defeated as you go against what is impossible to defeat”.
“…the Lord God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?” The covenant of salt! It’s worth coming up the mountain to hear such word. Remember this word, the covenant of salt!
“Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
Then worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and weak-hearted and could not withstand them.”
Weak-hearted! Brothers, young men, you cannot be weak-hearted!
“And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods. Have you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods?” – Such a word to the enemy, such instruction, reproach, cleansing.
“ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. And they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense” – Do you see, they had a gathering every day, every morning and every evening they burn sacrifices, they never quit. How can one never quit? – Sacrifice! That’s a sign that you haven’t left the Lord, a daily sacrifice. And sweet incense is praise.
“ they also set the showbread (fresh Word) in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn (working revelation) every evening; for we keep the command of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!” – Such a kinglike, prophetic, apostolic word. It is the word about themselves and the word to the enemy, to the Body, which is lost today.
“ But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets. (They didn’t get their bows, but sounded trumpets) Then the men of Judah gave a shout” – they gave a shout of spirit! It wasn’t simply a shout, why should one fear shout. But it was a shout of spirit, a concentrated, nuclear prayer. There was spirit in this shout of spirit.
“Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah (from the shout and the trumpets), and God delivered them into their hand. Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain”.
Judah’s losses are not mentioned. And here are four things that brought victory: first is a legal revelation of the stand, which includes past history and present and understanding how things will be, that is knowledge of God. First thing is knowledge of God, right confession. Second thing – cry out, third – blow the trumpets and fourth – gave a shout. And five hundred thousand fell slain.
“Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers. And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephrain with its villages. So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the Lord struck him, and he died.”
That is, there was this righteous remnant in Israel, the holy remnant – dominated in the Body. And this is what we should pray for – that righteous churches of God, righteous ministers, prophets, priests dominate in the Body, that they carry righteousness. This is what we should pray for the Body.
“ But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in the annals of the prophet Iddo”. – There was a prophet by the king, that is, it was an apostolic dimension. It is wondrous. It was righteous dominion.
Many kings had faults, but their deeds were victorious, and this man brought victory, his words to the enemy, about himself were absolutely pure and true in the knowledge of God.
And we shall pray for the Body that the righteous remnant may arise and ascend into domination. This is powerful. This is Apostolic prayer, as we have a great battle in the spirit ahead of us that we have to fulfill.
Therefore, we should engage with God. In order to ascend into domination we need to change a mountain top, rise up even higher, to the highest mountain, radiant Zion