Defining your Destination Series Part 4: Understanding the foundational Principles of Prayer.
Prayer is a result of God's established authority structure between heaven and earth as well as a product of His faithfulness to His Word.
Prayer was born out of God's arrangement for man's assignment on earth: Lets read Genesis 1:26-27-
'Then God said " Let us make man in our image.in our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,over the livestock all the creatures that move along the ground." '
Please mark the two words LET THEM.
By these words,the creator defined the boundaries of His right to legally influence and interfere in the earth realm. This is based on the principle of God's integrity and His commitment to His Word.Why is it so important? Because it establishes 4 principles-
i.God's purpose is more important than our plans.
ii.God has placed His Word above Himself.
iii.God will never violate or break His Word.
iv.God's Holiness is the foundation of His integrity and faithfulness.
These four principles can easily be confirmed in two scriptural texts Proverbs19:21-22-
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails"
In the same vein, Psalms 138:2
"I will bow down towards the holy temple and will praise your name for your have exalted above all things your name and your Word"
The fact that He places His Word above Himself submitting Himself to the dictates of His own Word!
In effect,whenever God speaks,He Himself is willfully obligated to obey His own Word.Therefore, any law of God is a law to God.He is faithful to His word at all COST. This being understood,we can appreciate the implications and impact of these initial words spoken by the creator at man's creation " Let Them Have Dominion Over......".
Please note that the He did not say "Let Us" but "Let Them". With this statement,God created 7 primary laws:
1.The legal authority to dominate the earth was given to mankind only.
2.God did not include Himself in the legal authority structure over the earth.
3.Man became the legal steward of the earth domain.
4.Man is a spirit with a physical body:therefore only spirit with physical bodies can legally function in the earth realm.
5.Any spirit without a body is illegal on earth.
6.Any influence or interference from the supernatural realm on earth is only legal through mankind.
7.God Himself,who is a Spirit without a physical body made Himself subject to this law.
The following are the results of these laws which were established by God Himself.
i.The legal authority on earth is in the hands of humankind.
ii.The creator,because of His integrity will not violate the law of His Word.
iii.Nothing will happen in the earth realm without the active or passive permission of man who is its legal authority.
iv.The creator and the heavenly beings cannot interfere in the earth realm without the cooperation or permission of mankind.
v.God must obtain the agreement and cooperation of a person for whatever He desires to do in the earth.
These Principles are critical for understanding the nature,power and purpose of prayer.It is from these precepts that we get the definition of prayer.
WHAT THEN IS PRAYER?
i.Prayer is man giving God the legal right and permission to interfere in earth's affairs.
ii.Prayer is man giving heaven earthly license to influence earth.
iii.Prayer is a terrestrial license for celestial interference.
iv.Prayer is man exercising his legal authority on earth to invoke heaven's influence on the planet.
Every action taken by God in the earth realm required the involvement of a human being-To rescue humanity from the flood,He needed Noah. For the creation of a nation.He needed Abraham.To lead the nation of Israel,He needed Moses. To bring back Israel from captivity,He needed Daniel. To defeat Jericho.He needed Joshua. For the preservation of the Hebrews, He needed Esther.For the salvation of mankind,He needed to become a Man!
Prayer is therefore not an option for mankind but a necessity. If we don't pray heaven cannot interfere in the earth's affairs.It is imperative that we take responsibility for the earth and determine what happens here by our prayer lives.
We are invited to discover our power,authority and rights in the earth and to position ourselves to become faith channels for heavenly influence in earth's affairs.Heaven depends on you and earth needs you.Without you,heaven will not and without heaven,earth cannot.
But how effective our prayer life stands,depends on how spiritually rosy our relationship equally stands with God!!