Essays on
Larry Lea's Prayer Guide Video Tapes (1-6)
by
Doug Woolley
1/12/89
The Highest Call #1
Walking in the fullness of joy is a must for us. In Jesus' presence there is joy and not dullness. Most peoples' experience in prayer has been a downer. They have not had victory in this area. We need to develop a life of prayer.
There is a higher call than the call to preach. "The highest call of all is the call to pray." This should be our number one priority. We all have a purpose and a ministry, but we all need to pray. It is dangerous to get successful in the ministry and to not be answering the call of prayer.
God puts desires in our heart to pray and to seek Him and to know Him. We need to go from the desire to pray to the discipline of prayer, and then we will take delight in prayer. As wee seek the Lord, He places desires in us to accomplish His will. Our desires will then be according to God's will, and we can then ask for it and see it come (1 John 5:14‑15). As we believe for our requests and do not doubt in our hearts, then we will receive the answer to our prayer (Mark 11:23‑24).
Matt. 21:12‑16 says, "Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple... and He said to them 'It is written, My House shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a robbers' den.' And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." Then the people praised God. Jesus first cleansed the temple and turned it into a house of purity. Similarly, He takes anything out of us that He does not like or that would hinder us from being a house of prayer. We should say, "Holy Spirit, reveal to me anything that would hinder me from being a house of prayer." After the temple became the house of prayer, it became the house of power, seeing the blind and the lame healed. Next, the house became a house of perfected praise.
"There is something spiritual about early rising" for prayer. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). The first thing we should do in the morning is to seek God. Jesus, our example, rose early in the morning and prayed (Mark 1:35). A disciple is a disciplined follower of Jesus. The disciples found Jesus in a place of prayer. If we are disciples of Jesus and Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Father interceding for us, then we need to find Him and pray. We need to run the race to win by discipling ourselves to pray. We need to learn how to overcome, which we learn as we pray. Dr. Cho was asked "how did you manage to get such a big church?" He responded, "I pray and I obey".
The Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9‑13)
God gave Larry Lea the revelation that each sentence in the Lord's prayer is a topic to be expanded upon. By applying this revelation to our praying, prayer can take us at least one hour. Praying for an hour seems Biblical: In Matt. 26:40, Jesus found His disciples sleeping instead of praying and said to Peter, "So, you men could not keep watch [tarry] with me for one hour?" "Something supernatural happens when you learn how to pray for one hour. Jesus tells us to pray the Lord's prayer "in this way", so it must be good:
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, Amen.] ‑ (Matt. 6:9‑13)
Our Father Who Art in Heaven
We need to visualize and see the blood of Jesus on the altar of sacrifice. This will launch us into the presence of God and into the holy place. "We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus" (Heb. 10:19). The blood of Jesus is the only way to get into the presence of God. The blood of Jesus bought us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the family of God. As we look at the blood we should say, "Father."
Hallowed by Thy Name
"Hallowed be Thy Name" means "praise be unto Your name." The name JEHOVAH comes from the verb TO BE. Jehovah means "I am that I am," "I will be all that you need Me to be." Jehovah's relationship to Israel and to us is summed up in Jehovah's covenant names. We need to appropriate the names of God into our lives:
Jehovah‑TSIDKENU: "the Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:6)
Jehovah‑M'KADDESH: "the Lord who sanctifies"
Jehovah‑SHALOM: "the Lord our peace" (Judg. 6:24)
Jehovah‑SHAMMAH: "the Lord is there" (Ez. 48:35)
Jehovah‑ROPHE: "the Lord that heals" (Ex. 15:26)
Jehovah‑JIREH: "the Lord who provides" (Gen. 22:14)
Jehovah‑NISSI: "the Lord our banner" (Ex. 17:8‑15)
Jehovah‑ROHI: "The Lord my shepherd" (Ps. 23:1)
There are five covenant promises given to us by virtue of the blood of Jesus. First, we are forgiven of our SIN past, present, and future. Second, we have the fullness of the Holy SPIRIT. Third, we have SOUNDNESS in health and healing. Fourth, we are free from the curse of the law (the curse of failure of always falling short [of the glory of God]) and now we can have SUCCESS. Fifth, we have SECURITY, being free from the fear of death and hell.
Thy Kingdom Come #2
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." A literal translation is, "I command Your kingdom to come." It is not an entreaty, but it is a declaration. We are making faith declarations about the kingdom of God coming and the will of God being done.
The tongue is the rudder of our lives' (James 3:3‑5). Where we set our rudder, that is where we are going. We need to set our priorities in motion every day. We need to get militant in our spirit in declaring the kingdom. Jesus has a kingdom that is ruled by Himself.
Priority #1 – Yourself
We are to declare Jesus to be king in our lives'. Rom. 14:17 says, "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." As Jesus rules in our hearts, then we have righteousness, peace, and joy. We need to pray, "Jesus, your rulership and reign come into my life." We need to visualize this in our spirit. As this is done, He will produce righteousness, peace, and joy in our lives'. God has already established His kingdom, and we need to pray that it comes into motion in the natural realm. Faith is a declaration of the revealed will of God. We need to order our day in the spirit. No matter what happens this day, we have already ordered our day in the will of God.
Priority #2 ‑ Your Family
Our family is the next priority, even before the church. We need to pray over our marriage partner. The marriage is sustained through love that comes from the spirit of God. We are to make faith declarations of our love four our spouse.
Next, pray over children and for their future mate. Larry Lea was going out with a nice girl, but when he met his future wife, he got an inspiration of her going to be his wife. He believes this happened because his parents prayed for God's will to be done with his future mate. We need to get revelation of what our children will be doing, then we can make faith declarations and know how to train them.
Priority #3 ‑ Your Church
We need to pray for pastors, leaders, and elders. We need to command a spirit of faithfulness over the people in the church. We need to pray for the harvest. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest. Is. 43:4‑6 suggests that God is going to bring people from the north, south, east, and west into salvation and into the church. After making a faith declaration, then we need to speak to the principalities and powers over these areas. This is a war. We need to be militant. Next, we speak to the angelic hosts to minister to heirs of salvation. We need to dispatch these angels. First, we set in our heart the will of God, then we speak to principalities, then we dispatch the angels. We need to pray in the harvest.
Priority #4 – Nation
As we pray for the nation, we can make faith declarations over the president and other leaders. We then pray for Thy kingdom to come in those areas of the nation that are on our heart. Pray for spiritual leaders and revival.
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread #3
(How to pray in what we need)
1. Be in the Will of God
To be in the will of God, we first need to be in fellowship with God and love Jesus and really like being with Him. We need to have fellowship with Jesus. Second, we need to have fellowship with one another (Heb. 10:24). To be in the will of God, we need to have our life connected to the body of Christ, the church. If we are connected to a church we live under an umbrella of protection. We must have fellowship with one another in a church.
Third, we must have diligent and balanced work habits. If we do not work, we will not eat (2 Thess. 3:10). There are some who think they don't need to work because God will provide everything. Others are working more than they should in order to keep up with the "Jones." He is insecure thinking that God will not take care of his needs.
Fourth, we need to be obedient in our giving. We rob God by not giving tithes and offerings (Mal. 3:8‑10), and then we are cursed. God cannot bless something that is already under a curse. God wants to pour out a blessing unto us, but we need to be giving above and beyond the law. Luke 6:38 says, "Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it shall be measured to you in return."
2. Believe it is God's Will to Prosper You
We must believe that God's Word works for us. Money is talked about much in the Bible. God is no respecter of persons. Phil. 4:19 says, "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory." God owns the cattle on over 1000 hills and can afford to bless us.
3. Be Specific
We need to be specific about what we need from God. If we are not specific we may not be sure our prosperity is from God. God knows what we need before we ask, but He wants us to ask before we can receive it. If we are already financially secure, then we need to believe God for our needs to give to missionaries and others.
4. Be Tenacious
We must be tenacious and have shameless persistence in our prayers, just as the man kept knocking on his friend's door for bread at midnight (Luke 11:5‑9). The man's friend gave him all he needed, as a result. Sometimes God allows our faith to be tested, but we should continue to knock. Daniel prayed and did not receive his answer until twenty‑one days later (Dan. 10:12‑14). A spirit of tenacity will not quit. Shall the son of Man find faith when He returns (shameless persistence)? We must reposes lost ground the devil has stolen from us. If a thief steals, then he must give back sevenfold (Prov. 6:30‑31). Satan must return sevenfold of what he stole.
Forgive Us Our Debts #4
Ask God to Forgive You
We need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sins in our life. David prayed in Ps. 139:23,24, "search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." The Holy Spirit will put a search light on areas of our heart that are not right. "Lord, if anything is not right, show me." When we are willing to confess our sins, then God forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). To confess means to agree with God.
Forgive Others to be Forgiven
Matt. 6:14‑15 says, "if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Jesus emphasizes this point because He knew that the greatest hindrance and block of heaven opening to us is an unforgiving heart. If we are not willing to forgive others, then that will block the doors of heaven from being open.
Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive his brother seven times. Jesus said that he ought to release forgiveness to his brother as many times as he sins against him. Jesus told a parable of a master and a servant who owed him ten million dollars (Matt. 18:21‑35). The master graciously released the servant from debt, but then the servant punished another servant who owed him a minor ten dollars. The master got mad at the cruel servant and told him that he should have forgiven his debtor, just as he was forgiven. The master then handed him to the tormentors. Similarly, if we do not forgive our trespassers, then we will be turned over to tormentors, demons, and not be forgiven by the Father.
The debt of sin that we owe is so great that we cannot repay it. Yet, we are forgiven of our sin, so we ought to release forgiveness to others. The servant in the parable made an emotional decision and chose not to forgive his debtor. We need to choose to forgive everyone who wrongs us. We need to have a spirit of forgiveness flowing through our heart all day. We make the decision to forgive when we pray in the morning. If we have not made a will choice ahead of time, then we might get in the emotional realm.
If we had not been forgiven of our sin, then we cannot forgive well. If we have been forgiven by God because of the blood of Jesus, then we have the ability to forgive. When you don't forgive, then you are tormented by demons: You start to hate the person an become bitter toward them. Instead, we must make a faith declaration that we will love our enemies and allow the fruit of the Spirit to come forth.
Lead Us Not Into Temptation #5
We need to pray that God will "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from [the evil one]." Sometimes we are not free enough to love Jesus because we are so bound by temptation. Mark 14:38 says, "keep watching and praying, that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." We are beat by the devil because we do not pray and put on the whole armor of God.
Eph. 6:10‑18 says you need to "put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." Furthermore, "our struggle [wrestling] is not against flesh and blood," but against spiritual forces. Paul uses the word "wrestle", which is a term used for the Roman games where the loser would have his eyes gouged out. If we lose against the spiritual forces, then we lose our vision. Paul is telling us how to avoid the evil one. We must put on the armor. The armor is the application of Jesus in our lives:
1. Loins girded with truth
2. Breastplate of righteousness
3. Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
4. Shield of Faith
5. Helmet of Salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
2 Cor. 1:20 says that all the promises of God, in Him, are yes and Amen. God gives us the promise that Jesus is in us. Therefore, we already have righteousness, truth, and faith in us. We need to put on this armor by declaring 'Amen'. We need to first acknowledge that these are already in us, but now we implement that which we already have. We need to make our declaration of who Jesus is in us. "Jesus, you are my salvation," and then we see a helmet come on our head. "Jesus, you are the Word of God," and then you see Him giving you the words to say.
Build a Hedge of Protection
Three attitudes of the heart are necessary in order for us to have a hedge of protection, as promised in Ps. 91:2‑14. Each attitude begins with a BECAUSE. You will have protection first "because you have made the Lord your habitation," which means to live in his presence and be walking in praise. Second, you have protection "because you have set your love upon God." Third, you have protection "because you have known His name." This refers to submitting to His authority and Lordship. As a result of implementing these attitudes, God becomes a refuge (a place of hiding and deliverance) and a fortress (which implies a hedge of protection surrounding you). We are to put the armor within and the hedge of protection without. We can build a hedge of protection around our stuff too.
Thine is the Kingdom #6
God has the kingdom, the power, and the glory, and He has made us participants of them. As we focus on this, we end our praying with praise. The kingdom of God is His, but "do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). The power belongs to Him, but he has "given you power to tread upon serpents and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you" (Luke 10:19). The glory belongs to God, but as we love Him and suffer with Christ, the glory will appear on us (Heb. 2:9‑10, Rom. 8:17).
Towards the end of prayer, the people of the Bible would shout and praise God, which is called "Shamach"‑ meaning to command or address and shout. Psychiatrists prescribe shout therapy in the woods, but it is just emotional. We need to shout the victory at the end of prayer. Walls will come tumbling down.