Prayer In These Times – week six
THE NIGHT SHIFT
DREAM PRAYER
THE SECRET PLACE OF REVELATION AND DIALOGUE
THE INTENT is to leave more time for prayer tonight.
I admit that what we’re delving into is pertinent to ALL times as much as THESE time, but THESE times are OUR times, and I firmly believe they are THE times before the return of our Lord, and that being the case, our understanding the urgency, glory, potential, necessity, and spiritual nuances of prayer, are more and more critical.
I’m further encouraged to see how the Lord is “working me over” as I delve into this study, and I am believing He will do the same for anyone who wants to go deeper. I want to. And I know I need to go deeper in Him.
Jesus said this about times prior to His return:
Luke 21:25-36
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
The Parable of the Fig Tree
29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
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.”
It’s almost humorous for our Lord to say “Assuredly” – as if EVERYTHING that He EVER SAID was anything less than guaranteed. I believe He tells us things like: “verily verily” or “assuredly” as a pre-emptive strike against what He knew would be a point of prophetic contention – He knew there would be lies propagated in the future to specifically speak contrary to the plans of heaven. He was saying “ASSUREDLY” for us.
All that to say: Moran’s message this past weekend was solid, and if you haven’t sat in the classes re the Isaiah Apocalypse or Ezekiel 33-39 a few years ago, then perhaps this weekend’s message presented itself as a shock to you, a wake-up call. Personally, Moran is yet one more clear voice speaking biblical truth. I am of the mind that we’re called to identify the FIG TREE SITUATION of our times. There are things happening in the earthly and heavenly realms, IN THIS SEASON, and they are intended to be signs for us.
THE JESUS TELL US CLEARLY:
BACK AGAIN TO THE FINAL VERSES we just looked at (BACK 2 SLIDES)
Luke 21
31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.
“GENERATION”: (GENEA – means way more than the group of people taht were HEARING JESUS SPEAK – it can mean AGE, which theo-LOGIC would lean us toward believing. The context of the passage, to coordinate with ALL of prophetic scripture, would require that this was definitely NOT fulfilled during the days of the first or second century, but instead position themselves within the timeframes prior to the completion of this AGE.
AND THEN WE’RE ASSURED THIS IS NOT GOING TO “GO AWAY” SIMPLY BECAUSE WE EITHER IGNORE THE SITUATIONS ON EARTH, or EVEN WORSE, TRY TO PREACH OR TEACH AROUND THESE TRUTHS.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
AND HERE’S THE “PRAY-ALWAYS” ADMONITION FROM THE LIPS OF OUR LORD:
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.”
That being the situation, it would be THEO-logical to assume that our Lord, in His RELENTLESS MERCY, would be working to prepare us to WATCH and PRAY ALWAYS. He is FOR us making it, and standing successfully, by His grace, before His throne of judgment.
SO HE IS ON THE MOVE and CALLS US TO BE ON THE ALERT.
Our time in prayer, and understanding the prayer context, is critical.
We do need to reclaim the LIVELINESS OF COMMUNICATION WITH GOD. It is WONDERFUL
WHEN and
WHY and
HOW
our Great God speaks to His people and reveals Himself to His people.
That will be a lot of our focus this week, and maybe rolling into next week as well.
There wants/needs/deserves to be an ANTICIPATION OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD, as we make room for Him, both in our TIME and also in our HEARTS OF FAITH.
And those places are blessed as we see how God has spoken to people throughout the entire age.
I am very much trying to increase my personal pray-always awareness throughout the day and the night.
Part of God’s never-changing persona is that He is ALWAYS mystifying and magical and marvelous, and loves surprising His people.
I am personally marveling how the Lord has been dealing w me during the preparations for this class, and as I prepare. It continues to be a season of huge challenge for me, as I press into what He is doing and how He has been communicating w me.
FOR ME, IN THIS SEASON (I say this appreciating your season and your walk w Him is YOUR season and YOUR walk w Him) – one thing is that God has been dealing w me heavily in the place of DREAMS.
DREAMS and PRAYER are not contradictory, and I want to demonstrate that scripturally.
FIRST AND FOREMOST – look at this prophetic declaration BY PETER, in explaining the UPPER ROOM birthing of Holy Spirit indwelling – the announcement of a new season of intimacy between GOD and MAN, ushered in w fire. Peter was quoting Joel:
Acts 2:16-21
16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’
The “great and awesome day of the Lord” is the Lord’s RETURN – not His birth or even His crucifixion. THAT being the case, Peter was in some ways pulling these verses down to explain the BIRTHING of the SEASON – but we would be wise to see in this declaration as pointing to INCREASE of these components as we get closer to the real “great and awesome day of the Lord” – including increase in signs and wonders and dreams and visions.
Because of the 24/7 nature of God, GOD TAKES YOUR SLEEP TIME/DREAM TIME SERIOUSLY, as should you. Let’s look into this truth, both to see how it might factor in communications FROM God as well as even communications TO God, both of which therefore qualify as PRAYER.
I am convinced PRAYER INCLUDES on your knees or in whatever posture of reverence you might assume, BUT also that Prayer – communication dialogue w God, ought to rightly include ALL those other times in our days.
CRAZY BALAAM had a few things right:
Numbers 22:18-21
18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.
19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”
20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.”
21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
FAR MORE DEFINITE IS THIS DISCOURSE – God coming to Solomon and BOTH OF THEM dialoguing in a DREAM, and its importance to God Himself.
1 Kings 3:3-15
3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.
(so we see God still working in the life of Solomon, even w Solomon NOT living as he should have been. That is ENCOURAGING to us, in that perfection is not a requirement, and yet the outcome of Solomon’s life ought to seriously provoke us to do better than he did).
4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
6 And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.
9 Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”
10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice,
12 behold, I have done (God’s instant timing) according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.
13 And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.
14 So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
15 Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
1 Kings 9:1-9
God’s Second Appearance to Solomon
1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do,
2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
3 And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments,
5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,
7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
1 KINGS 9 IS PARALLEL TO 2 CHRON 7:14
2 Chronicles 7:12-14
(God’s Second Appearance to Solomon)
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
13 When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,
(we have been standing on the promise of a DREAM DIALOGUE between God and Solomon, since it occurred. How can we blow off our own dreams?)
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
AND THEN THE CONFIRMATION OF THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF THOSE DREAM DIALOGUES:
1 Kings 11:6-10
6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.
8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded.
So what we are seeing is that our ALL-THE-TIME AWARENESS OF THE PRESENCE and POTENTIAL for dialogue w God will bless us and keep us ON COURSE and IN THE SPIRIT.
PSALM 17
1 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me and have found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
…(then a descriptive of the men of this world)…
Verse 15 COULD be speaking to resurrection – waking up in eternity w God, but giving some respect to verse 3 we might also consider this the “morning daily wake-up” – coming out of the night-test and knowing all things are right w God.
15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
Psalms 63:6
6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
AND understanding God dealing w ALL MEN – here’s the “mother of all prophetic dreams”, then interpreted by young Daniel in Babylon – which catapulted him to prominence and position, and set in motion the ONLY written account in scripture of a KING’s salvation adventure, and also provides for all of us THE spiritual framework for the ENTIRE AGE IN WHICH WE LIVE, culminating with the purposeful and supernatural collapse of the governments of man, by God Himself.
Daniel 2:1-45
1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
SUCH A DEAL
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.
6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm:
9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon;
15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.
16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
18 that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.
(FIRST THINGS FIRST: Praising and thanking God – could this also have taken place during the night vision?)
So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
23 “I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”
25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and (CONTRARY TO DANIEL’S HUMILITY) said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.
30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome.
32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.
37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory;
38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.
39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours
(INFERIOR IN THAT THE RULING HEAD DID NOT HAVE AS MUCH ABSOLUTE POWER. THAT WAS THE MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE – and we know Darius was up all night looking for some LEGAL WAY to free Daniel from the lion’s den); then another (GREECE), a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron (ROME), inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided (MIXED SYSTEMS OF RULE – as we see throughout the earth); yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile (constant flux and change as people battle for position and authority, with the populace asserting itself and powerful men jockeying for control within these “mixed environments” of clay and iron. The results continue to be roughness and strength and conflict, and of less value than gold or silver or bronze).
43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.
There’s been lots of theories and thoughts about the FEET of the STATUE – many thinking the feet represented (ONLY) DEMOCRACY – anointed ones along w the common masses. Some go so far as to say the FEET are America. I don’t know how they conjure that up.
The image I “borrowed” (for the slide) had the feet as the restored Roman Empire, since many contend Rome (and the Roman Catholic Church), almost ALONE, is the BEAST.
Others feel the FEET are a combined European power group – but there too I tend to disagree.
My view of the FEET is about a worldwide order of many nations, including European nations and likely America, along with kings and nations from the far north (Ezekiel) and elsewhere. If you want to embrace all of the obvious prophecies re the final invasion of Israel, then you need to include Zechariah 12-14, Ezek 36-39, lots of Isaiah (clearly pointing to what was the Assyrian Empire)
44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
AN OBSERVATION RE THE 24/7 OF GOD:
During the World War 2, my dad worked in the ship yards, wiring battleships. The urgency of the battle had 3 work crews, each spending 8 hours, working around the clock, 24/7, because of the urgency of the hour. Our nation was at war.
I believe we should figure that God, knowing the lateness of the hour prior to His return, would want to be speaking w us, and having US speak w Him, 24/7.
I THINK WE’D DO WELL TO ANTICIPATE THE LORD SPEAKING W AT ALL TIMES. That mindset and preparation of our hearts will place us into more effective place of readiness.
WE’VE LOOKED AT THESE SCRIPTURES before, but I think I am understanding more and more what they are pointing to for OUR LIVES, especially in THESE TIMES
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
(I am thinking the “disobedience” Paul is talking about is what is NATURALLY IN US, and that he is pointing to a Spirit-empowered and willingly Spirit-possessed life where all of our disobedience thoughts, contradicting the Lord’s thoughts, are taken captive)
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I UNDERSTAND THIS in principle. I personally am working to get there.
All scripture NKJV
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