Declarations and proclamations are tools of government used by kings.  When Jesus cleansed us by His blood He made us kings and priests unto our God.  The scripture says: 

Isaiah 44:7
And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me...

Job 22:28
You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. 

Habakkuk 2:2
Then the Lord answered me and said:  "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, 
That he may run who reads it.  

1 Timothy 1:18 (Fight the good fight)
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, NKJV

God wants us to write the vision down like the Declaration of Independence is written down and then He wants us to begin to proclaim the vision or the prophetic word God gave us.  Just like the Declaration of Independence initiated a war to free our people from oppression so our declarations which have been divinely inspired declare war on our adversary the Devil and his demons.  It is a war against oppression and to expand the kingdom of God (Rev. 19:11, 1 John 3:8, Matt. 6:9-12).

One way we express this is by writing down the prophetic words God gave to us through prophets and then we pray using those prophetic words.  The written prophetic word becomes like the written decree of a king which must also be proclaimed (written & verbal).  What follows are the declarations we are encouraging our congregation to join us in making.

God designed apostles to work with prophets.  You see them teamed up all through the New Testament.  Both gifts have a gift of revelation which means they tend to hear and see things God is saying and doing more frequently than others.  The apostolic gift has also been given a gift of wisdom to understand how to bring prophetic words into reality (timing, teamwork, big picture, resources etc). 

This can create a tension or friction between apostles and prophets sometimes. It is important to be aware of this.  It is also important to recognize that in the New Testament God also gave the Church gifts of prophecy, tongues, interpretation, words of knowledge and words of wisdom.  This adds a lot more people to the mix and really highlights the need for us to have a view of the "big picture."

Here's a few more things I've learned over the years.  Apostles love to work with prophets.  God designed it that way.  As the apostolic gift in my life became more prevelant I began to see more and more prophets function.  It is not uncommon for me to have people approach me telling me how that their gift was dormant in their church.  However, when they got around me they began to sense their prophetic gift stir.  I believe it is partially because I covet to hear what God is saying and I'm struck by the following scriptures. 

• 1 Cor 13:9 - For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
• 1 Cor 14:29 -  Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.
• Amos 3:7 - Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. NKJV

So its important to realize:

In Luke 22:41 Jesus is praying prior to going to the cross. He is struggling with the personal sacrifice He will have to make.  After wrestling with inner turmoil in great agony He comes to the place where He says "not My will, but Yours, be done." The prayer of consecration or dedication is where you put your trust in our Heavenly Father counting on His faithful love and wisdom to see you through a great challenge. This scripture in Job illustrates this well and sets us up for another type of prayer.

Job 13:15 - Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

Our communication with God must be combined with faith and it often expressed with zeal and emotion. The following scriptures provide keen insight.

James 5:15-16 - And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

James 5:16 says that the "fervent effective prayer of a righteous man avails much."  This scripture reveals a few keys that links righteousness with fervency and effectiveness.  Our righteousness comes from the blood of Christ which enables us to come boldly before God's throne of grace that we may find mercy and grace to help in our time of need.  Righteousness sets the stage for our fervency. 

Fervent means to show intensity of feeling or spirit. It can also be described as warm or even a hot passion.  Effective means prayer that works.  Righteousness combined with fervency creates prayer that works.  Verse 17 provides us a picture of what James is saying.  He refers to the prophet Elijah who prayed for rain to break a drought right after he had just confronted and defeated 450 prophets of Baal.  He did this by calling fire down out of heaven to burn up his sacrifice that had been soaked in water. 

If your prayer life lacks results, then maybe it is time to get fired up.  That's what Elijah did.  As he got fired up he brought fire down and demonstrated God's miracle working power in the face of idolatry.  Elijah was a prophet with passion. 

Jesus demonstrated his passion to.  Zeal for God's house of prayer ate him up and caused him to drive out the merchandisers.  Jesus also moved with compassion.  Compassion occurs when the passion of anger comes into the presence of love.   God hates sin and iniquity that hurts the people he loves. For example, Mark 3:1-6 tells the story of how Jesus healed a man with a withered hand when he was angry.  Jesus went on to perform a number of supernatural miracles that was performed through compassion.   That my friends is the key to prayer that works. 

In the book "Developing Aposotlic Strategy" I share this powerful spiritual warfare strategy in "The Principle of Mass."  This is one of the key principles that has empowered so many churches to begin to transform their communities documented in "Operation Rolling Thunder - Revised."  There is truly exponential power generated when we agree.  One can put a thousand to flight and two ten thousand.  I want to encourage you to be like Abraham who trained his household to war for their family members (Genesis 14).  This is critical to your family's destiny in Christ and you can play a very important role in building the wall of prayer in your church which can also help transform your city.

Matthew 18:19“ - Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." 

Jesus sets the example for us as a king and as a priest.  In Hebrews 3:1 He is called the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. In Hebrews 7:25 we see one of the functions that a priest performs.  It says, " Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

Intercession means to entreat on behalf of another person, to intercede, fight for or protect another person.  We are all called to be like Jesus.  He wants us to pray and intercede for others.  That practice should start in the home praying for your family first.    Following 1 Timothy 2:1-4 we should then intercede for all men and kings in authority that we may lead a peaceful life because God desires that all men be saved.

Simply put prayer is just communication.  It involves listening and speaking.  The following scriptures provide a great place to begin to learn about the different aspects of prayer.

Luke 21:36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Ephesians 6:18 "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints"

Philippians 4:6-7  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Jesus admonishes us four times in the New Testament to "watch" and "pray always."  The Greek word translated "watch" litterally means to stay awake.  It also means to... click Read More for the rest of the teaching bottom right.

Lying has become an accepted part of American culture.  There are attorneys who find loop holes to help their clients break their agreements (contracts) and even the Washington State Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that is was legal for politicians to lie. 

However, for Christians, no I don't mean people who call themselves Christians, I mean those who seek to be Christ like; we are called to be like our Lord Jesus Christ.  God watches over His word to perform what He said.  God cannot lie.  Even though the court ruled it was legal for a politician to lie in 2007 that does not make it right.  I promise you there are eternal laws at work.  There are consequences for breaking your word and benefits for keeping your word.

For example, learning to keep your word is one of the keys to miracle working power flowing in and through your life.

I hope you can join Evangelist Charlene Allen, WISDOM Ministries and myself in Olympia WA on February 28th at River of Grace Church.
1901 7th AVE SE,  Olympia WA Click here for map and click Read More to the right for the flyer.