TAKING HOLD OF THE POWER OF HIS GREAT GLORY TO IMPACT OTHERS

[Albert Finch]

What would life look like if we postured ourselves as "victorious ones" and declared WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST into this natural realm?

When we yield our lives before Christ in prayer, He is then able to impart to us His heart of intercession. Inspired intercession is knowing God's plans and desires and declaring His will until it comes to pass. We can never give up or lose hope. Instead, we stand on His promises and prophesy them into the unseen realm until they become reality in the natural realm.

Matthew 21:22 states, "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."    If God has given us a blueprint of something, then we must have the faith to believe it will happen. We must stop believing by what we see but believe by what God has showed us.

COMMUNION WITH GOD

Prayer is one of the greatest spiritual resources at our disposal. Prayer is a way of communication with the Lord. Through prayer we are able to confess our sins, pray for the sick, bless others, and give thanks; communion with God is more fully facilitated by being personal with the Lord. But most importantly it is a way for us to express God's heart. 1 John 5:14-15 states:

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

When we are in that place of intimacy with God, we can hear His heart. We are able to feel what He is doing and the season He is bringing us into. He is able to show us the things of the future and from that place decree them with greater authority. We speak the hidden things of the Lord into existence, even if at the time we are experiencing difficulty and hardships. We are called to live a victorious life speaking as though our Father is speaking.

As it says in Mark 11:24 - "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

That is a clear statement! When our relationship is secure in Him, our desire would only be to ask those things according to His heart and purpose.

OVERCOMING IN PRAYER

Prayer is not just about asking for things, although there is a place for that; there is much more to prayer. Prayer is being near God and coming before Him with an open heart. It is a place of opening our spiritual ears to hear Him and meditating on His goodness and His great love for us. It is declaring who He is and the power of His great glory. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords; He is the Prince of Peace, the Son of God; He is the Messiah. Our love for Him grows.

THE HIDDEN LIFE

The story of Esther tells us where she was hidden away for 12 months in preparation for being presented before the King. It is remarkable how she presented her case before him by trusting that his love for her would sway him into agreement with her noble request.

That is the mantle of the Bride of Christ! His great love for her will compel Him toward her righteous prayers. But we must first draw close to Him and have our hearts transformed into His. Our ultimate goal is be like Him and do the works He did. We enter into a place of rest in the presence of His glory.

We know who we are in Christ without doubt or fear. We are sons and daughters of God by His marvelous grace. We have the Blood of Jesus flowing through us. By His Blood we overcome the darkness of this world. Too many in the Church have limited themselves and limited God by not understanding their inheritance in Christ and their right standing with God.

Colossians 1:27 - "...to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Christ in us is our hope of glory. When we are weak, He is strong. As 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says:

"And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

A NEW MODEL

Many of the old models are being put away, for this is the hour to stand in faith and prophesy the new things to come. Isaiah declared in Isaiah 43:18-19 - "Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. 'Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.'"

We know we have the victory over sin, death, and the darkness of this world. There is no way we are losing this battle, because the Lord provided the victory through the Cross. Even when things are hard, we must praise His name, because what the enemy intended for evil God will turn to our good.

No one wants to go through hard things, but as it states in James 1:2-4 - "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

The more we go through, the more we overcome; and the more we overcome, the greater our authority becomes. We are made perfect and complete and lacking in nothing. God allows us to go through hard times because He has given us the grace to overcome it.

According to 1 Corinthians 10:13 - "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

TEACH US TO PRAY

Luke 11:1 states: "Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'"

We do not want to pray in our old ways, asking and begging. We want to come before Him as His Bride, drawing near to Him in a deep place of intimacy, and just be. When we are near Him, He is able to dwell in us more fully. From this posture everyone we encounter will be impacted by His presence in us.

By praying the scriptures in the epistles of Paul that pertain to our inheritance in Christ we come to know who we are in Christ; the power that is flowing through us and our authority over sickness, distractions, or other issues of life. Our body is the temple of God and we have the right to take authority over every area of it – spirit, soul, and body.

We encounter God on a deeper level and our prayer life is transformed into living in a place of victory. Our intimacy with Christ grows stronger than ever with a sweet desperation for more of Him and the fulfillment of Jeremiah 33:3:

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY