“Praying for Those on Their Wilderness Walk” by Bethany Gadd.
Many of us are praying for precious children who belong to the Lord but, for some reason, are on their wilderness meander. We who believe, like Joshua and Caleb, are walking that journey alongside them. At times, the Spirit of the Lord speaks with authority through our mouths.
In John 11:43-44 (NKJV) we read, “Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who had died came out, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’”
Jesus didn’t ask, didn’t pray for Lazarus to be brought back to life; He simply declared and commanded him to “Come forth!”
There are times to pray and times to ask favors and mercy of God.
But there is a time to declare! A time to command someone to “Come forth!” When you become active in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and you feel that authority come upon you, don’t be surprised if words of declaration come out of your mouth. Imperative words for something to “Be still!” or someone to “Be loosed!” or to “Come forth and live!”
When Lazarus came forth from the grave, he was bound hand and foot with grave clothes. Even his face was tightly wrapped in a cloth. He couldn’t walk; he couldn’t move his arms. He could merely hobble or shuffle along. He couldn’t speak; he could hardly breathe. Others had to unwrap those binding cloths OFF from him, so that he could start to function as a living, walking, talking human being.
When souls first come to God, they may still have the clothes of death around them: stifling them, restricting their spiritual walk. We must unwrap those cloths that bind them so that they can breathe and start to function as a living soul, start to exercise their strength, and start to move, grow and achieve exploits.
Even when we ourselves transition to a new level of faith or ministry, we may become aware that there are old clothes that we need to remove. Swaddling clothes are great to wrap tightly around a baby to make him feel secure in this bright new world. But they must be removed for his limbs to extend, and before he can begin to walk and function fully like a little man.
Let us pray.
But then, let us declare.
And, in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, let us command and ordain that His “will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
FROM: Ladies Prayer Intl November 2022 Newsletter – UPCI Ladies Ministries -ladiesprayerinternational@aol.com