Today we continue our series entitled, “The Benefits of Prayer and Fasting,” but an emphasis on “The Power of Prayer.” As I told you yesterday, God’s original intent was for Adam to replicate heaven on the earth. God placed Adam over the earth with the goal of colonizing it. Man was to rule the earth as a group of kings and a kingdom priests and God would ultimately be the King of the kings and the Lord of the lords of the earth. Adam failed. He did not extend God’s kingdom influence all over the planet. As a matter of fact, he lost the authority he had when he transgressed against God and he was ultimately kicked out of the Garden of Eden.
In the New Testament we are given the assignment to succeed where Adam failed. God has, once again, made us both kings and priests in the earth (Rev 1:5,6). He still requires us to extend His kingdom influence on this planet. If you read the end of the book, you will see that the ultimate God is for the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ (Rev 11:15). If that is going to happen, it is going to happen through us. This is where prayer comes in. We cannot invoke or extend God’s kingdom influence on this planet without God. And in most cases, God will not move in our lives until we initiate contact between our world and His. That initiation is activated through the vehicle of prayer.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- Heaven wants to invade the earth. This happens through humans. It happens when humans pray for God’s Kingdom to come and for His will to be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.
- God’s initial (and still His ultimate) goal is for the earth to look like heaven. God is likened to a king and this planet was supposed to be a colony of heaven. A colony takes on the culture of the mother kingdom.
- God rules the heavens and He sent man to rule the earth. While He can do whatever He wants, because He is God, He has chosen to honor the system He created. In this system, God expects man to rule this planet and to invoke heaven’s involvement in order to do so. The method for the invocation is prayer. Prayer invokes heaven’s influence in this world.
- Jesus was an example of what it looks like when a man, filled with God, invokes heaven’s influence on this planet. Jesus brought heaven to the earth daily while He was here. He is now gone. He left us in His place. He now expects us to do the same. God expects us to be the agents that bring both worlds together. We are supposed to bring heaven down the earth. And we do this through the vehicle of prayer.
- Think “Kingdom” and not “church.” Far too many Christians are comfortable living church-minded. They go to church twice a week, they perform their duties, give an offering, and then go about their merry way. Jesus did not come to establish a church, He came to establish a Kingdom! Jesus left us behind to continue what He started. We are the ones who are supposed to reach the world for Jesus. We are supposed to expand God’s Kingdom influence on this planet. To do this we need God. And to get God involved in our situations, WE MUST PRAY!
- God has given us the grace to affect (with effects and influence) the people of this world and the systems of this world. But we cannot do it without God and He [most of the time] will not move unless we invite Him to. We do this through prayer.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I expect Your involvement in my life in 2018 like never before. I have this expectation, because I am determined to pray like never before. I invoke Your presence and Your power daily. I invite You to get involved in every area of my life. I declare that the kingdoms of this world SHALL BECOME the Kingdom of my Lord, and of His Christ, because it will happen through me! I am an agent of change. I bring heaven down to the earth daily. I bring both worlds together. I unleash the supernatural into the natural. And I do this through prayer. Your Kingdom HAS come. You will shall be done. On earth, as it is in heaven, through me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
