Coffee or Tea with Me Inspirational Message

On By bythewatersministryIn Coffee and Tea with MeLeave a comment

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Many years ago, I was going through a situation, and God impressed upon me to pray “Let every lie be revealed, and every hidden thing come to light.” As I began to pray this prayer, the things that had been hidden from me came to light. It amazed me when I saw the lies being revealed even by the same people who told the lies. The most incredible thing was that not only were the lies and hidden things coming out in that situation but in others as well. It seemed as if nothing could be hidden from me. Over the years whenever the need would arise I would say this prayer and watched God move on my behalf. Last year I began to pray this prayer for my country and have seen God answer in such a beautiful way. Sometimes I think how that person can say something like that, but then I realize that they are only exposing the hidden things that are within them and exposing the lies they have led people to believe. It is glorious when God gives his people the power to overcome and deliver the victory into our hands. I encourage you to take this precious truth and put it to use in your prayer life. You will be amazed at how well it works.

-Rebekah Rankin

Where are the Intercessors?

On By bythewatersministryIn PrayerLeave a comment

 

 

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 “And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor,”

Isaiah 59:16

Where are the intercessors? Where are those that pray both night and day unto the Lord? The Spirit of the Lord is moving across our Land looking for intercessors. Those who will lay down their Lives as a living sacrifice unto the Lord as in Romans 12:1; “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrificed, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” He is looking for men and women who will give of their time to spend time in prayer and to intercede for others; those who are willing to give up the things that consume their time so that they may be able to spend this most precious time in the presence of God interceding for others. The ministry of intercession is not one of the five-fold ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11. This tells us that it is not a ministry that some are called to, and others are not. Intercession is a requirement and is expected of all Spirit-filled believers. We must rise up and take our places in this very import work of the kingdom, as intercessors.

Many ministries have risen only to fall in shame. This is because those that followed them did not take their place to intercede for their Spiritual leaders. Intercession is an essential part of our lives as believers. As we intercede for others, we impart strength to those who we pray for. This is important because it causes them to be strong and therefore in the time of temptation, they will be able to overcome. James 5:16 tells us to pray one for another. It is our responsibility to pray for each other. This is so we can strengthen each other so that we will be able to stand. While you pray, believe in your heart that the Lord has heard your prayer and will answer. When we see a fault in our brother or sister in the Lord, we need to pray for them. If people spent as much time praying for others as they do talking about them, the Body of Christ would be much stronger. There would be more unity and less separation. Talking about one another has never caused change. Only through prayer and intercession can we help each other to overcome our faults. Talking about people will tear them down and destroy them. We can either be cancer that consumes the Body of Christ or we can be the white blood cells and kills cancer. Prayer builds us up, makes us healthy and more lively members of the Body of Christ. As we see fault in others, we must first pray that they may see that a change is needed. Second, that God will give them the ability to overcome. As we begin to intercede, we will see change take place. If we are faithful to continue intervening, the victory will be won.

James 5:16 tells us, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” This is telling us that if we pray and continue in prayer, much will be accomplished in our lives and in the lives of those we pray for. If we continue in prayer for our nation, we will see many won into the Kingdom of God. The youth and the gangs will not be roaming the streets looking for something to do. Instead, they will be out witnessing and bringing others to Jesus. Evangelism begins with the bringing in of the harvest, the training of those brought in and, in due time, the sending forth of the new ministries. However, prayer and intercession must be a vital part of every stage of evangelism. A life of prayer and intercession is a life of victory.

In Luke11:1 one of the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” We must ask the Lord to teach us to pray. The traditional ways of prayer and worship do not conform to God’s ways. Many times, we do not know how to pray, and therefore we do not have a productive prayer life. We must let the Holy Spirit take over, He will begin to show us areas that we need to concentrate on. He will not only show us what we need to pray for but how to pray concerning that area. Do not be surprised if He leads you to pray for things other than those things that you wanted to pray concerning. The Holy Spirit might even guide you to pray for things that you have had no knowledge of. Let the Holy Spirit take over and lead the prayer time, and you will have a productive prayer life. Remember that the Holy Spirit is in no rush. Do not be surprised if it takes an hour or so praying in the Spirit before He begins to lead you in your prayer. Take the time. You will never be sorry.

As we begin to pray for our nation, we must pray as Jesus instructed in Matthew 9:38, “Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.” Remember that this is His harvest. It belongs to Jesus. Therefore, when we pray, we must pray as if the nation belongs to Him. The harvest belongs to Jesus, not to sin. The prayer must center around the bringing in of the harvest. Those that live in sin are servants to sin. Sin will have a stronghold on the nation as long as man lives as a servant to sin. However, as the laborers begin to win those who are lost in sin to the Lord, sin will lose its stronghold in the nation. If the prostitute gets saved, there will be no one selling themselves anymore. If the drug addict gets saved and set free, then the dealers will have no one to sell to. They will either get saved or leave the city. When the adulterer gets saved and set free, he will want to live a pure and holy life unto the Lord. As people begin to get saved and set free from sin they will no longer go to have their palms and cards read. Instead, they will look for instruction from the Lord. Therefore, witchcraft will lose its power. Win the nation to Jesus and sin lose its power over the nation. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into his harvest. Pray that the Lord will send you as a laborer to bring in His harvest.

1 John 5:14 says, “And this is the confidence that I have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us…” Here we see that we should have confidence in Him. Believe that the Lord loves us and that because He loves us, He hears us. The main point here is to ask according to His will. Jesus never asked anything outside of the will of the Father. Therefore, everything that He asked of the Father the Father did. This is the key to answered prayer. The more time we spend in prayer before God, praying in the Spirit, the closer we come to Him and His will becomes known to us. When we know, His perfect will we can pray according to His will. Therefore, the prayer will be answered according to the exemplary will of God. John 16:23 tell us that we must use the name of Jesus. Jesus is the only name that has the power, anointing, and authority to access answered prayer.

Hebrew 7:25 says, “Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Jesus makes intercession for us continually. In the New Testament, the Lord has never required anything of us that He would not do. The Lord makes intercession for us and requires that we do the same for His kingdom and all those that belong to Him. He lives to make intercession for me. How can I do any less for Him? Even though the Lord can do all things without our help, the Bible teaches us that He desires for us to be part of what He is doing. For example, Matthew 7:7 states, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be open unto you.”

Many people do not consider a life of intercession because it is not a life of outward fame and glory. It is in secret. We see this in Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” This time spent in prayer is time for one to enter into the presence of God; to come into the Holiest of Holies. A prayer life of intercession is life between the individual and God. The Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. People who have to tell how much time they spend praying have received the reward of man. To reap the prize of the Father is much higher than to obtain the award of a man knowing how much you pray.

We learn two essential keys to a life of intercession in II Kings 6:17, “And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.” The first thing that we learn is that we must be as Elisha. We must have spiritual insight to see what the Lord is doing in our life, even if it looks like everything is going wrong. If in the natural it seems as if the enemy is going to win and that the battle is in his hand, we must pray that the Lord will open our eyes to see that the victory is the Lord’s. Elisha was not blind. He knew the victory was the Lord’s and he believed that God would win the battle for him. We must not only pray that we have spiritual eyes to see what the Lord is doing, but we must also believe that He is able to accomplish that which He has shown us. Spiritual insight only works when we are willing to trust in the Father.

We also learn from the scripture that we must pray for the eyes of the Church to be opened. The Church needs to see through spiritual eyes what the Lord is doing today. The enemy always keeps the people of God looking far off so that they do not know what is happening today. The Lord gives us hope for tomorrow; yet, He desires us to see what He is doing now. The Church must recognize and believe. We must see that the Lord rules and reigns today and that He is in complete control of every situation. We must know that He keeps His word and that if He promised it, He is more than able to keep His promises. We must pray that the eyes of the Church be opened to see what God is doing. If His word says, “By His stripes, ye are healed,” then you are healed. If His word says, “signs and wonders shall follow them that believe,” then signs and wonders shall follow.

It is so crucial to the Church that the children of God arise as intercessors today. We only have to look at the world around us to see the great need for intercessors who will stand in the gap and make up the hedge. In Ezekiel 22:30, the Lord looked for an intercessor and found none: “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none”. Here we see that the Lord requires us to pray and intercede for the land and those around us. Also, in Isaiah 59:16 it says, “And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor.” Today let us arise in power and unity as intercessors and pray for our nation and, most important, for the harvest. As we arise and begin praying for the harvest in our country and for each other as fellow laborers, we will begin to enter into true unity. True unity begins with praying one for another. The Apostle Paul prayed the most wonderful prayers for his fellow laborers. In Colossians 1: 9-11, “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” .What a victorious prayer!

As the people of God begin, with pure hearts, to pray prayers such as this for each other, we shall see the Church empowered beyond comprehension. What would be better than being filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding? What would be better than walking worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God? What could be better than being strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness?

This was Paul’s desire for his fellow laborers. If this could be our desire for each other, then there would be no division. We would be secure in unity. Each of us, filled with the knowledge of God and His will, would be able to fulfill His will and to be pleasing unto Him. Through prayer, intercession and walking in the will of the Father, this nation will be taken for the Kingdom of God.

-Rebekah Rankin

If My People Pray

On By bythewatersministryIn Prayer1 Comment

 

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Rebekah Rankin

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

II Chronicles 7:14

What a glorious day it will be when the people of God get a vision to pray for our land. Every time the people of God pray things change; however, in the scripture we see that to pray alone is not enough to turn a nation. There are principles in the word of God for us to follow. First, we know that it is up to the people of God. Only those who have taken the name of Jesus and walk in the power of the Holy Ghost can make the difference. It is not essential what the people in the world are doing. They do not decide which way things go. Only the Lord has the power to change things. He makes changes according to the hearts of His people. If his people are willing to fight the battle in the natural, then He will let them have man’s decision. But, if the people of the Lord will battle in the Spirit according to the plan of God, then the victory will be even better than we could even think possible.

The first thing this scripture tells the people of the Lord to do is to humble themselves. To be humble is what a true intercessor must be. For the life of an intercessor is a life of praying in secret. They pray in secret and the Lord answers openly. The intercessor does not get to be seen of men, for they are not in the spotlight. They are only in the glorious light of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:5-6

To be humble means that some are going to have to be willing to say, Lord, I was wrong. The way that I am going, the things that I am doing are not working, Lord, show me what it is that you desire for me to do. That brings us back to the second thing, to seek His face. We need to stop asking for what we want and begin to find out what the Lord wants from us. To seek the face of the Lord is to find out what His perfect will is for our lives. Then we need to line up to His plan and begin to walk in the will of God. God’s plan never is man’s plan. He has better things for His people than we would plan for ourselves. When we begin to seek the Lord, we begin to build a relationship with Him. How can we get to know Him as He desires us to know Him when we do all the talking? We must listen to all that He has to say. Moses spoke to God face to face as a friend to friend. He desires this kind of a relationship with His people.

Next, it says, “turn from their wicked ways.” What is a wicked way? It is any way that is not God’s way. Many people are walking outside of their true calling. They have ministries and are doing good works in the name of the Lord; however, if what they are doing is not the will of God for their life then it is a wicked way. There are many people today who have been put in places of authority in the church just because of money and television, or there was a vote that gave them a title. A title in the church means nothing if God has not given His anointing to it. Some people do not want to do ministry that they have been called to do; so they decide whatever they want to do without ever asking the Lord if it is His will for their life. Some never do any kind of ministry they only support someone who is doing the same type of calling that they are called to do. Then there are those who never bother to ask God what He wants them to do. They run around doing whatever they want and expect Him to bless it.

In the book of Revelations, the Lord admonishes the seven churches then He says, “But, I have a few things against thee.” He was pleased with what they were doing that was according to His plan, but the things that were not according to His plan He was not pleased with. As we seek the face of the Lord, He is faithful to reveal to us the things that He is not pleased with. Then it is up to us to turn from the way that is not pleasing to the Father.

Mark 11:24 tells us, “Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them.” When we pray in the Spirit our desire changes from what we want to what the father wants. He makes His will known to us and changes the desire of our hearts. These are the things that the Lord wants us to believe for because this is what He will bring forth. We only have to receive His will and believe that He is faithful to bring it forth. It is time to find out what His perfect will is for our lives and to begin to walk according to the will of God.

Another wicked way would be teachings and doctrinal beliefs that do not line up with the truths of the word of God. Many times, people come to the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues and continue to hold onto teachings that they were taught in their denominations. Most of these do not even believe in the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you into all truth. So, if the Holy Spirit is to bring us into all truth how can those who do not have the Holy Spirit have it revealed to them? Well, they cannot. Many of the teachings carried over even came from people who would say those who speak in other tongues have a devil. How can they have greater truths when even the most basic things have not been revealed to them? We must seek the face of our Lord Jesus and ask Him to show the precious truths of His word. Then we must be willing to receive them and walk in them. It is time to turn from the lies that have plagued the church and to begin to walk in the truth. Then will the Lord hear from heaven and forgive His people for leaning to their own understanding and walking in their own way. Not believing the reality of the word of God is a sin because sin is unbelief. If what we think is not the truth then we have accepted a lie and walk in disbelief. Jesus is the truth. We are only going to find Jesus in the pure, undefiled truths of the word of God. He will forgive because the Lord desires to bring His people into His glory.

Finally, the scripture says that He will heal our land. This is the only way that we are going to change our nation. Now, I believe in freedom and thank the Lord Jesus for the right to vote, protest, the freedom of the press, and all the freedoms we have in the United States. I also believe that everyone that desires to should exercise these rights; however, let’s be honest with ourselves to change laws will not change the hearts of men. When a man is evil, laws will never change what is in his heart. We have many laws and men break them every day. The people of God need to get a vision to pray for the salvation of those who are lost. Not to only pray for those that we love, but to pray for the salvation of the nation. When the Lord begins to change the hearts of men, there will not be people wanting to commit abortion anymore. Better yet, maybe women will not find themselves in that kind of situation because they will want to live right and walk before the Lord pleasing in his sight.

The only answer is in Jesus and spending time in His presence. Fighting the battle man’s way is easy. It takes less time, less commitment, and the enemy doesn’t fight back very hard because the hearts of the people are not being changed. The enemy fights harder when lives are being changed and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. When lives are changed the enemy gets mad because he is losing ground. He lost ground when the people he thought were his begin to serve the Lord. As the Lord changes the hearts of men, they are no longer servants to sin. Satan is not concerned with laws he is concerned about consuming the souls of men. The people of God must become worried about the salvation of those who are lost and get a burden to pray.

Every day that the people of God fight the battle man’s way they lose more and more ground. Because the battle is not in the natural, but in the spirit. It must be fought in the spirit through prayer. If they would fight the battle in the plan of God praying according to His will in the power of the Holy Ghost, then the hearts of the people will change, and we will see a significant move of God in the land. We will not have to vote Christians lawmakers in office because God will change the hearts of the ones that are already there.

It takes consistency and continuance to win the battle. James 5:16 says, “‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” This means that for your prayer to be effective we must be consistent in our prayer life. We must keep praying no matter what it looks like in the natural. Remember the battle is not physical but spiritual. Continue even when the enemy fights hard. The struggle is the most substantial right before the victory because the enemy knows he is losing.

The church wins a battle in the natural and a law is passed. A great victory. I thank the Lord for those achievements in the natural; however, it causes the church to relax. The law is changed we are holding our ground, but the hearts of men are still evil, and that evil is stilling the children of our nation. The battle will only be won when the hearts of men turn to Jesus. We must feel the Compassion of the Father and let the love of Jesus flow through us and begin to pray as never before.

The only thing that changes a nation is the salvation of its people. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. The Lord moves when His people begin to pray and walk according to His plan. It is time to stop going after what we want and to find out what the Lord wants from us. We must pray according to His plan, and He will change the World for His Glory.

-Rebekah Rankin