What's Your Assignment??
II Chron.23:6b...."all the rest are to guard what God has assigned to them."
ICor.7:17...' retain the place the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him."
The Message says: " And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there."
Defining the assignment means being able to break it down into the following categories: 1. What 2. Who 3. Why 4. Where 5. How
I am going to start with the basic areas that actually train intercessors in their prayer assignments. Remember, we never start off on a Prayer Shield, we have, through obedience, learned to pray with what first, is right in our hand - right in front of us! It is through learning to pray for, and cover those in our immediate areas of influence and responsibility, that we gradually take on more assignments from God to pray for those among - specifically leaders. But....you never start your prayer journey being on a prayer shield. You learn the faithfulness, commitment and maturity needed for that assignment, by learning to pray for those people and situations in your immediate sphere of influence. Let's start there...
1. What is the area God has set you in, or called you to defend?
II Chron. 23: some guarded the gates, some the palace, some the king
What area are you in today - right now - home? Work? School? Family? Neighbourhood? Marriage? Church? Ministry?
Start with where you are - you are earning and learning, authority.
2. Who are you standing for? your children? Your spouse? Co-workers? Look around you - who has God placed in your path?
3. Why are standing? You need to know this because in times of discouragement you need to come back to this. You do this because God has called you.
Get a word from God - a promise - to set your vision and your hope on , when you pray. What has God told you He wants to do in that situation or for that person? Without a vision, or word from the Lord for those we pray for, we will falter...get discouraged or give up. Pray is not for the faint hearted. It takes perseverance, commitment and the ability to continue on, in the fact of overwhelming facts that tell us we are not making a difference!
How many times do we hear, " I don't know why I bother?"...IF God has told you to pray, then we pray, regardless of what we see with our natural eyes or hear with our natural ears. Remember, we are hoping to move things on a different spiritual level, for those we pray for!
Exodus: 32 : Moses has just had an awesome time with God, and he comes back to the camp and everyone is in rebellion!! BUT...Moses reminded God of His word ( to Abraham, Issac and Israel) vs. 13.." I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give them all this land."
4. How do we fight?
Our weapons are not of this world - they are not carnal - they are supernatural for the tearing down of strongholds. Eph.6:12...' we fight not against flesh and blood." .
Here are the weapons we use when we fight:
Scripture: God's word is indispensable! When was the last time you prayed scripture over your situation or over the person who you carry on your heart?!
Prayer: praying about all things....praying without ceasing...lifting everything to Him in prayer! This keeps us focused on Him and reminds us that the battle is in His hands! We want to be like David and call God down into the battle, not rush out take on the battles ourselves. Praying keeps us focused on and in conversation with, Him.
Praise: Ps. 34..' I will praise the Lord at all times'! If you live by what you feel, you'll be a wreck! Praise changes the atmosphere! Ps. 150 " Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Do you have 'breath'?? Then praise!! The enemy hates it when we praise...and he will flee in the face of an onslaught of praise! And by praise I don't mean just meaningless, 'thank you, thank you' or ' I praise You' repeated over and over! I mean serious Praise, that stirs up your spirit by calling to remembrance the greatness of God, His promises to you, His character !
Forgiveness: Now many people will be surprised I put this down as a weapon, but I believe that more prayers are hindered because of unforgiveness. I firmly believe that forgiveness is a huge weapon in our arsenal! If we forgive, then we have great authority when we pray, particularly if we are praying for those who are offending or wounding us! Remember the Word tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment! So..when you show mercy...you have great authority to ask God on behalf of the person you are praying for. When we participate in forgiveness and asking for mercy, we are participating in the ministry of Christ - it's what He came to do. If we don't..then the enemy will have a field day, harassing us and eventually effecting our ability to hear clearly from God.
Repentance: Another unusual weapon in our arsenal, and often overlooked. The quickest way to lose your authority is to be in rebellion or sin. Two responses to that issue, can be to ignore the Holy Spirit's conviction and pretend it doesn't matter to God...or just knowingly continue. In any case, if we quickly repent when we are aware that we are in 'sin' , we keep the blessing of God flowing in our lives and take away the right of the enemy to harass us, or accuse us.
5. Who are you standing with?
Remember when we take on prayer assignments, whether those in your immediate area of responsibility or something beyond, we never stand alone! God always sends support for us in any area He asks us to stand in. Sometimes it can feel like we are standing on our own ( eg. like David infront of Goliath), but the truth is God is always with us! " II Kings6....' there are more with us than against us.' BUT..you need to know 'who' God has asked you to pray for. If you don't, you can just be praying willy/nilly all over the map! That's not to say that you can't pick up spontaneous prayer assignments or short term, but generally part of your training is learning to hear God as to 'who' you should be praying for..and also be willing to hear Him say when that assignment is done! ( That's another topic we'll cover later!) There is a big difference between a spontaneous prayer and a prayer assignment. I often pray for people and situations 'in the moment', when I hear about a need, but Idon't necessarily take them on as a prayer assignment. I used to ( out of feeling guilty, or obligation..or just no sense of boundaries)...and believe me I wore myself out!
6. Where do you stand?
Right where you are! II Sam.23: 9-12 the story of Eleazar ( one of my favorits by the way) and Shammah - they took their stand - one in a barley field and one in a field of lentils. Now that might not look like the most strategic place to make a stand, but they did! Why? Because it was God's field...and it was time to stop being pushed back! Others had fled...but they stood. Sometimes God will ask to stand in places that don't look very glamourous or strategic, but our job is to hear and obey! Remember, we need to understand God's way and His purposes in our lives and in the lives of those we pray for.
God is looking for people who will pray, right where they are at. What's in front of you?What in your hand? What 'field' are you standing in, that others may not see as important, but God is saying, " Stand your ground - right here and pray!"
ICor.7:17...' retain the place the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him."
The Message says: " And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there."
Defining the assignment means being able to break it down into the following categories: 1. What 2. Who 3. Why 4. Where 5. How
I am going to start with the basic areas that actually train intercessors in their prayer assignments. Remember, we never start off on a Prayer Shield, we have, through obedience, learned to pray with what first, is right in our hand - right in front of us! It is through learning to pray for, and cover those in our immediate areas of influence and responsibility, that we gradually take on more assignments from God to pray for those among - specifically leaders. But....you never start your prayer journey being on a prayer shield. You learn the faithfulness, commitment and maturity needed for that assignment, by learning to pray for those people and situations in your immediate sphere of influence. Let's start there...
1. What is the area God has set you in, or called you to defend?
II Chron. 23: some guarded the gates, some the palace, some the king
What area are you in today - right now - home? Work? School? Family? Neighbourhood? Marriage? Church? Ministry?
Start with where you are - you are earning and learning, authority.
2. Who are you standing for? your children? Your spouse? Co-workers? Look around you - who has God placed in your path?
3. Why are standing? You need to know this because in times of discouragement you need to come back to this. You do this because God has called you.
Get a word from God - a promise - to set your vision and your hope on , when you pray. What has God told you He wants to do in that situation or for that person? Without a vision, or word from the Lord for those we pray for, we will falter...get discouraged or give up. Pray is not for the faint hearted. It takes perseverance, commitment and the ability to continue on, in the fact of overwhelming facts that tell us we are not making a difference!
How many times do we hear, " I don't know why I bother?"...IF God has told you to pray, then we pray, regardless of what we see with our natural eyes or hear with our natural ears. Remember, we are hoping to move things on a different spiritual level, for those we pray for!
Exodus: 32 : Moses has just had an awesome time with God, and he comes back to the camp and everyone is in rebellion!! BUT...Moses reminded God of His word ( to Abraham, Issac and Israel) vs. 13.." I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give them all this land."
4. How do we fight?
Our weapons are not of this world - they are not carnal - they are supernatural for the tearing down of strongholds. Eph.6:12...' we fight not against flesh and blood." .
Here are the weapons we use when we fight:
Scripture: God's word is indispensable! When was the last time you prayed scripture over your situation or over the person who you carry on your heart?!
Prayer: praying about all things....praying without ceasing...lifting everything to Him in prayer! This keeps us focused on Him and reminds us that the battle is in His hands! We want to be like David and call God down into the battle, not rush out take on the battles ourselves. Praying keeps us focused on and in conversation with, Him.
Praise: Ps. 34..' I will praise the Lord at all times'! If you live by what you feel, you'll be a wreck! Praise changes the atmosphere! Ps. 150 " Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Do you have 'breath'?? Then praise!! The enemy hates it when we praise...and he will flee in the face of an onslaught of praise! And by praise I don't mean just meaningless, 'thank you, thank you' or ' I praise You' repeated over and over! I mean serious Praise, that stirs up your spirit by calling to remembrance the greatness of God, His promises to you, His character !
Forgiveness: Now many people will be surprised I put this down as a weapon, but I believe that more prayers are hindered because of unforgiveness. I firmly believe that forgiveness is a huge weapon in our arsenal! If we forgive, then we have great authority when we pray, particularly if we are praying for those who are offending or wounding us! Remember the Word tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment! So..when you show mercy...you have great authority to ask God on behalf of the person you are praying for. When we participate in forgiveness and asking for mercy, we are participating in the ministry of Christ - it's what He came to do. If we don't..then the enemy will have a field day, harassing us and eventually effecting our ability to hear clearly from God.
Repentance: Another unusual weapon in our arsenal, and often overlooked. The quickest way to lose your authority is to be in rebellion or sin. Two responses to that issue, can be to ignore the Holy Spirit's conviction and pretend it doesn't matter to God...or just knowingly continue. In any case, if we quickly repent when we are aware that we are in 'sin' , we keep the blessing of God flowing in our lives and take away the right of the enemy to harass us, or accuse us.
5. Who are you standing with?
Remember when we take on prayer assignments, whether those in your immediate area of responsibility or something beyond, we never stand alone! God always sends support for us in any area He asks us to stand in. Sometimes it can feel like we are standing on our own ( eg. like David infront of Goliath), but the truth is God is always with us! " II Kings6....' there are more with us than against us.' BUT..you need to know 'who' God has asked you to pray for. If you don't, you can just be praying willy/nilly all over the map! That's not to say that you can't pick up spontaneous prayer assignments or short term, but generally part of your training is learning to hear God as to 'who' you should be praying for..and also be willing to hear Him say when that assignment is done! ( That's another topic we'll cover later!) There is a big difference between a spontaneous prayer and a prayer assignment. I often pray for people and situations 'in the moment', when I hear about a need, but Idon't necessarily take them on as a prayer assignment. I used to ( out of feeling guilty, or obligation..or just no sense of boundaries)...and believe me I wore myself out!
6. Where do you stand?
Right where you are! II Sam.23: 9-12 the story of Eleazar ( one of my favorits by the way) and Shammah - they took their stand - one in a barley field and one in a field of lentils. Now that might not look like the most strategic place to make a stand, but they did! Why? Because it was God's field...and it was time to stop being pushed back! Others had fled...but they stood. Sometimes God will ask to stand in places that don't look very glamourous or strategic, but our job is to hear and obey! Remember, we need to understand God's way and His purposes in our lives and in the lives of those we pray for.
God is looking for people who will pray, right where they are at. What's in front of you?What in your hand? What 'field' are you standing in, that others may not see as important, but God is saying, " Stand your ground - right here and pray!"
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