Your Kingdom Come
Extraordinary
Prayer and Its Role in Kingdom Advance
by Annie Taylor
“Intercessory prayer is spiritual
defiance of what is in the name of what God has promised. Intercession
visualizes an alternative future to the one apparently fated by the momentum of
current forces. Prayer infuses the air of a time yet to be into the
suffocating atmosphere of the present…History belongs to intercessors who
believe the future into being.” Walter Wink, in The Powers that Be, p. 185
Pray then like this: “Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10 ESV
Envisioning a God-sized
Future and Praying It into Being
What in your life and in this world doesn’t yet align with
God’s promises? What alternative future is God giving you to believe into
being?
One of my ongoing God-sized dreams is for John 17 unity in
the global church. “I [Jesus] in them and
you {God the Father] in me, that they [my disciples] may become perfectly one,
so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved
me” John 17: 23 ESV.
I prayerfully envision a future where all followers of Jesus
live God-empowered holy lives, wholly surrendered to Him. A future where
multitudes of freed captives abide in Christ and joyfully worship together in
Spirit and truth. A world where believers in Christ love one another well, are
quick to resolve issues in godly ways, and pray continually.
As I observe—in myself or others—ways in which this vision is
not yet reality, I pray kingdom opposites
into being. I pray unity over division, hope over despair, truth over lies,
light over darkness, good over evil, life over death, love over fear, and faith
over unbelief. I know these things are according to His will and so I pray in
faith, believing. By His grace and power, I will continue to pray until the
global church is fully unified. “And this
is the confidence that we have toward 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 that we have asked of him” 1 John
5:14-15 ESV.
I’ve seen Him move mountains of unforgiveness, shame, fear,
depression, hopelessness, and disunity. I’ve watched in awe as He’s healed
wounded hearts, restored marriages and resolved “unresolvable” conflicts. He’s
answered intercessory prayers in ways that are only possible by His Spirit.
He’s moved in power as I and others have simply worshipped. Recently He’s been
healing me of scoliosis that I’ve had for over 40 years. So far I’m at least an
inch taller. I no longer need a lift in my shoe or a small pillow for my back.
In the process He continues to align me with Himself physically, spiritually
and emotionally.
An Invitation
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV.
God uses many kinds of prayer in His global advance:
listening prayer, intimacy and abiding, worship, thanksgiving, confession,
repentance, intercession, wholeness prayer, prayer walking, 24-7 prayer,
prayer-shield teams and more.[1]
For the past fifteen years I’ve been most involved in
Wholeness Prayer[2]:
learning, receiving healing, praying for and training others. I’ve sat in awe
as He’s transformed hundreds of lives for His glory. Reproducible approaches
for helping laborers walk in emotionally healthy spirituality, is an important
piece in becoming the kind of people whom God uses to the launch of movements.
The above approach is just one of several in order to address the area of
emotional healthiness. This approach has been taught and born great fruit in
multiple languages and cultures around the globe, and is easily multipliable.
Our goal is to model, assist, watch, and release others into healthy self-care,
so that multitudes of former spiritual and emotional captives will be set free.
Healthier laborers launch healthier church planting movements. “His Kingdom come. His will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven.”
What is your part in God’s Kingdom advance? How can you
infuse extraordinary prayer into your life? Maybe by using time spent awake at
night or praying while waiting for others? By using challenges as a launching
pad for envisioning a God-sized reality and praying it into being? By praying
Kingdom opposites where needed? By joyful worship? By…
Lord God, please show us the future you’ve called each of us
to pray into being and empower us to persevere until these dreams become
reality. We look to you. We depend on you. We rejoice in you. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” Zechariah 4:6b ESV. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Annie Taylor and her husband serve with Beyond www.beyond.org. They have served in Southeast Asia since 1993. In 2001 she began
praying with people and seeing God set them free spiritually and emotionally.
She launched Freedom for the Captives Ministries (www.freemin.org) in 2004. She has trained hundreds of believers around the globe in
Wholeness Prayer and seen God set free hundreds of spiritual and emotional
captives. Since 2010 she has been increasingly involved in global intercession.
She serves on a multi-organizational global support team that empowers workers
involved in church planting multiplication around the world. You can contact
Annie at ffcm@emailglobe.net.