From "The Mechanics and Pracitice of Prophesying"
"...So often I am in conversation with people who are moving in the prophetic. And I hear in their voice the determination to put forth the word. There is a zeal there, a stone will to relay the message. And I look and try to detect some hint of mourning, some sign of the intercessors heart. And so often I am saddened to find none. Where is the mourning? The sadness?
We see sin in the camp, and are ready to lay low the sinner. Is this the role of the NT prophetic?
Look at how Paul spoke concerning the Corinthian fornicator:1 Corinthians 5
1 It is reported commonly [that there is] fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
Oh my brother-sister, do you think that all there is to being in the prophetic is being indignant against sin? If so, you have missed it and missed it badly. If you have never mourned for lost souls, you have no right to preach sin at them. If you have never groaned in sorrow for the state of the Church, then you are miles from the place where you can speak out against her sins. Throw down your robes of righteousness, and rend your heart at the alter! It is better that you sorrow than be indignant! Weep rather than rail! Cry unto God for them. They are no better or worse than you have been. What have you got that places you a position to judge? The darkness they are in is so great, the enemy aligned against them is ominous. The enemy does not need your help in heaping condemnation on them! They are lost, and a heartbeat away from hell. If you do not plead for them, NO ONE WILL!
Psalms 102:5
By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
Psal 130:2
Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
Seek out of that voice of supplication. Enter into the position of the lost one,
You can learn to mourn! You can teach your spirit to intercede. You have the spirit of the interceder in you. It is in your nature to be compassionate and to plead the case of the lost!Jeremiah 9
17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning [women], that they may come:
18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters....
20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
Jesus knew how to intercede in His spirit:John 11
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, {was troubled: Gr. he troubled himself}
34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Notice the Greek says "he troubled himself".
*You need to know how to allow your spirit to perceive the pains and sorrows around you.*
When the intercessor's spirit in you perceives the pain, sorrow, and lack: it will respond with intercession and words appropriate to the situation.
Look at the ministry of Jesus:Matt 14:14
And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
Matt 15:32
Then Jesus called his disciples [unto him], and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
Matt 20:34
So Jesus had compassion [on them], and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
Mark 1:41
And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth [his] hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
Mark 6:34
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
Over and over we see how Jesus:
(1.) "Saw"- or perceived the sick, sorrowful, and needy,
(2.) His spirit was "moved with compassion", and
(3.) He performed whatever miracle was needed to fulfill the need.
But the key is allowing the spirit of Christ in you to perceive, or empathize with the needs of the lost. Taking their burden upon your heart will cause your spirit (which is the spirit of Christ in you) to react with intercession, or the appropriate prayer or action to meet the need.
Open your Bible to Isaiah 59 and look at the intercession of Isaiah for the sinful nation of Israel. Look at the pronouns used in the progression:
In verses 1-3, he recounts the sins _to_ the nation, and uses they pronouns "you" and "your".
In verses 4-8, he changes, and is speaking to God about the people, using the pronouns "they" and "their".
Then, in verses 913, he enters into a state of full empathy with the nation, and uses the pronouns "we", "our" and "us".
You see, Isaiah was interceding for these people, and so entered into a unity with them and the judgement that was about to fall upon them! If you are to intercede, this is what you must do. Pointing out sins and pronouncing judgement is nothing. Anyone can do that! But will you enter into prophetic intercession for the lost?
Finally, he does something that few of us have had the courage to do for the lost, he actually cries out on their behalf, and calls into question truth and justice!Isaiah 59
14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
15 Yea, truth faileth; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw [it], and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment. {maketh...: or, is accounted mad} {it displeased...: Heb. it was evil in his eyes}
In other words, Isaiah is actually complaining to God that this situation is not fair!
He cries to God for justice on behalf of these people. Justice is backwards! He tells God that "truth has failed them", and "when people try to live righteous, they are made out to be mad, and become victims!" It was then that the "LORD saw [it], and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment(or justice)".
How many of us have gone this far in intercession? I have. I have complained to God in ways that scare me when I think about it! I have seen the judgement coming on America, and cried out to God for justice! In the woods behind my home, I cried this prophetic intercession while on my face before God:"At least as much power in mercy as in judgement! You are just, and your are merciful! You will judge a nation with such a terrible judgement! But will you be just in doing so, if you have not poured out of your Spirit in a greater measure of mercy first?!! Not _just_ as much power in mercy, MORE!"
I cried out this prayer in 1980. At that time, I felt that the nation was about to experience a terrible judgement from God. It is my firm conviction that it was the intercessory prayers of Christians across the nation that delayed this judgement, and initiated the present prophetic move of the Spirit! We are approaching the crossroads again! The judgement was delayed, but not canceled. It is up to those of us who have a revelation of the interceding spirit of Christ in us to intercede for more power of the Spirit in our lives and the lives of all God's people! If _you_ do not do it, it will not be done. There is no-one else!
Look at the reaction to Isaiah's intercession:
Isaiah 59
16 And he saw that [there was] no man, and wondered that [there was] no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance [for] clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
18 According to [their] deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. {deeds: Heb. recompences}
19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. {lift...: or, put him to flight}
The enemy in our case is the devil and all his forces. This is what we need. It will only happen if we intercede and make it happen!
EXERCISE:
Go down to a public place such as a park or a mall. Just sit quietly and look at all the people as they pass by. Think about their lives, how empty and void they are. Do not judge them because of the way they act or the way they look. See the sorrow and loneliness they are feeling inside. Understand their frustration and anger. Think about how much God loves them and what they are missing. Remember the utter lostness you felt before you were saved. See these people as victims of the enemy's brainwashing and torture. They are lost. They are wandering in darkness. They desperately need help. Most of them are not even aware of their lost condition. They are unaware of the storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
For the most part, many of us have conditioned ourselves to turn from the unpleasant truth about the condition of our culture. We do not like to see suffering, and so turn our eyes away. If you are going to be in the prophetic flow, you are going to have to be willing to look the suffering straight in the face. You are going to have to be willing to empathize and receive that burden. Like Jeremiah, you must be willing to weep for the lost. If you do not feel the pain and burden of the lost, you will never intercede for them. If you do not have an interceding heart, you will never minister to them. You cannot hide your eyes from their suffering, and expect to minister to that suffering.
Copyright 2006 Low Tide Press
