Luke 18:1
And he (Jesus) spoke a parable unto them to this end,
that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
What prayer is not!
C H. Sprugeon said, “True prayer is not a mere mental exercise, nor a vocal performance but it is deeper far than that, it is spiritual communion with the Creator of heaven and earth”
We are told in Matthew that prayer is not for the purposes of being seen or heard by those we would wish to impress with our religious abilities. God is not interested in how well we can perform. He looks only at the heart of the person praying to see if his/her intentions are honest and sincere. Read below as Matthews explains to us what prayer should not be.
Matthew 6:5-8
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."
What is prayer?
If you are born again and know Jesus as your Lord, prayer can be one of the most powerful tools you have. Why? Well, because it opens the door to a personal dialogue with the creator of the whole universe. (Yahweh, YHVH)
Prayer is simply having a conversation with the one who knows you better than you know yourself (because He created you and gave you life) and the one that knows everyone else better than anyone else does (because He created them, as well!).
Prayer is a privilege that Christians have with the Father God (El Shaddai). He tells us in Hebrews 4:16 that we can come boldly to His throne. That is a part of what prayer is about, coming before the Father God in Jesus’s name, to talk with Him about what ever is on our mind. However, if you have the heart of God, and if you are full of love for the people, you will desire to go before the throne on behalf of others.
There is one thing that you must have in order to produce answers to your prayers and without it your prayers will not be answered. That one thing is FAITH! You have to believe that God is who He said He is and that He will do what his word says He will do.
Matthew 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Hebrews 4:16 16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
If you are sick in your body.
If you are alone and feel you have no one that cares.
If you are sick in your heart.
If you marriage is falling apart and you don’t know what to do.
If your family is in crisis.
If drugs are destroying your life, or pornography, or sexual sins, or demonic activity.
Due Season Ministries International believes in the power of prayer. We believe God has given us the opportunity to come boldly before His throne to request help for those with needs. We believe if we call upon His Name for help, He will answer!! Let us pray for you. God loves you and wants to help you.
Reach out for help from the only true and living God. Send us your prayer requests today and watch God work in your life!!!!
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Sweet Incense Intercessory Prayer,
What Is It?
Many people have heard of and remember Azusa Street. If not, Azusa Street was the location of a great revival that ushered in the Pentecostal movement in the early 1900’s. A William Seymour, a black, half blinded man, was used mightily by God during that time to show forth His glory.
Three major themes ring out at me about Azusa:
- It was a place of humble beginnings
- It was bathed in intercession before and during the mighty outpouring
- It brought all sorts of diverse groups together for one common purpose
Any great move of the Spirit has its foundation in Intercessory Prayer.
But true commitment to intercession comes
from a willing heart and from the Spirit of God!
And even though there are several kinds of prayers
that can be lifted up before the Lord.
Prayer in and of itself is not often a popular topic
and most especially intercessory prayer.
Check out the prayer meetings. Call a prayer meeting and see how many will show up. Jesus found this to be true when he asked his disciples to join him in prayer. They fell asleep. The flesh resists prayer even the simplest kind of prayer.
So it is also with intercession…
Intercession is a deeper place in prayer that a person can go with complete navigation by the Spirit of God.
We hear words or terms like: Prayer, Intercession, Travail, Standing in the Gap, Praying through, spiritual warfare, etc.
We use these various terms fluently and we assume others understand. There are many who do not!
We are instructed to pray! The Apostle Paul said in I Thess. 5:16-18 - Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Here Paul is not indicating any particular type of prayer but in Romans he does refer to a specific type of prayer –intercession.
He states in Romans 8:26 - Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Here we hear the Apostle Paul refer to the prayer of intercession-
He explains it as a prayer of mediation by the Holy Spirit on behalf of others or sometimes even ourselves.
The Webster’s Dictionary says that it is mediation or prayer on behalf of another.
This lines up completely with what Paul described in Romans 8:26
I say again:
The act of intercessory prayer is always a prerequisite to any great move of God…
This is the ground work that has to be laid... the very foundation... which has to be laid first before the Spirit of God will come in power and demonstration.
God wants to show Himself mightily! He has called me to preach the Good News to those lost, hurting, sick and in need. However, prayer must go forth before, during, and after ministering to the people.
I need you to join with Due Season Ministries International with prayer coverage to execute the Word of God with power and demonstration.
Intercession is a selfless act- It is a giving of yourself to see others blessed and set free. It is sometimes even labor intensive!!
In Hebrew the word intercession is ‘Paw-gah” which means: impinge-by violence to “come between, entreat, or to come together.”
Impinge means “to strick with a sharp collision, to fasten, to drive in, or to come in close contact.”
Praying in the Spirit does not necessarily imply only to pray in other tongues. In the Old Testament this experience is accompanied with strong crying, groaning, wrestling and real physical agony.
Isaiah 53:11 - Here we hear Isaiah prophesying of our Lord Jesus and His work here on earth. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”
Travail in the Hebrew here is Amal ( AW_MAWL) which means “toil, wearing effort, sorrow, travail, or trouble.”
Jesus was acquainted with intercession which was demonstrated through travail—A prayer which took on the requirement to stand on behalf of another or come between as a mediator.
Jeremiah 4:31- For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! For my soul is wearied because of murderers.
John 16:21 - A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Galatians 4:19 - My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
We know here that Paul was not referring to a literal birth; this was a reference to a spiritual birth that we were equating to.
I Thessalonians 2:9 - For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail: for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.
Hebrew Mochthos (mokh-thos) toil, sadness, painfulness, travail.
Romans 8:2 - For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Hebrew Sundo Dino- (soon-o-dee-no) travail in pain together.
You cannot offer up intercessory prayers spontaneously of oneself and without the help of the Holy Spirit- It is only possible as the Holy Spirit takes over in our lives and prays through us. We can only yield ourselves.
Before every crisis in a family or nation, the Holy Spirit will give intercession a burden. Sometimes we are called upon to intercede on behalf of something or someone that we may not know or will never live to see the fulfillment.
Examples:
Jeremiah never saw the return of Judah from captivity—He interceded for their deliverance but died 70 years before it came to pass.
Isaiah never saw Cyrus, King of Persia, decree the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. He died 116 years before it happened.
We can however yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit
We can provide a dwelling place for the presence of God to flow through I believe God has already spoken to many of you about being vessels of intercession from which he can pray. There are a few others that are about to feel and hear the call to yielding to the spirit of intercession.
It is a supernatural experience that is directed and completed by the Holy Spirit but WE can still be unwilling vessels. Do we want to see another great move of God in our midst? How can God’s word go forth without those who will carry the word to them?
I have been called to carry to Word of God and His anointing to the nations but I must have your help. I must have those that will cover this work in prayer.
As in the days of Azusa Street and as in the days of our Lord Jesus, I believe God wants to release signs, wonders, and miracles of healing of every kind.
Will you do your part as an intercessor so I can do my part as a carrier of the Good News to the lost and hurting?
Join as an intercessor today!
God Bless you,
Suzanne Eason
s.eason@dueseasonmin.org
Become a Prayer Partner in our online prayer chain to pray for Due Season Ministries International as we travel the globe and pray for the prayer requests submitted on our website. 
Dr. Suzanne Eason