Tag Archives: intercession

How should Jesus’ teaching regarding the Lord’s Prayer be understood, as a guide or a commandment?

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13

The subject of Jewish prayer, or tephillah as it is known in the Hebrew language (תְּפִלָּה, tephillah), more than a religious aspect of Hebrew spirituality is a subject that is part of the idiosyncrasy of being a Jew; the Jew prays and when he does so he establishes by his prayers the content of his entire history; So among the Jew, ‘teaching’ to pray is not only a matter of knowing what to say, but ‘teaching’ to understand the vision of a people who have their God so close to them, as quoted in the instruction of Moses in Deuteronomy:

For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

Deuteronomy 4:7

It is somewhat complicated to understand for the Westerner who is used to seeing prayer as nothing more than a ‘resource’ for help in times of distress.

The case of the teaching about the Lord’s Prayer, as it is known to the prayer that Jesus recited before His disciples, is not a school on how to pray, as it has sometimes been claimed to see and project, it is rather the correction to popularized models of forms of prayer that predominated among the people, which instead of establishing the knowledge of the doctrine of a close God who answers the prayer of His people, evoked rather pagan idolatrous models that established confusion and idolatry; We must remember for this purpose the correction that the prophet Elijah introduced in his time where apostasy predominated because of the Jezebelic cult of Baal:

26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. 28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

1 Kings 18:26-29

In the account that Matthew presents, the Lord’s Prayer is included as an extension of the teaching proclaimed on the mountain of Capernahum.[1] However, the account presented by Luke clearly establishes that Jesus responded to a request from the disciple-apostles, and it is clearly specified that they took as a basis the instruction that John the Baptist had given to his own disciples about how to pray with Truth as well,

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Luke 11:1

In any case, the Lord’s Prayer is not the school on how to pray, that is, understood as what to say, but in principle, the correction to models of forms of prayer that revolved around paganized conceptions.

The purpose in Jesus to introduce this model of prayer was to ‘undermine’ the popularized models of forms of prayer that were circulating in the environment, we notice in the context of the story; notice it:

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… 

Vs. 5:

The first correction that Jesus presents to them in His model is in order to throw away the model introduced by the ‘hypocrites’[2]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men; prayer is not in order to present a public drama, prayer is the act of honesty of the person as a fruit of the integrity he has developed before God; Jesus stressed to them: ” thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are“. Prayer is the sign of the integral communion that a person has developed before his Lord.

The second correction that Jesus presents to you is aimed at disarticulating the model of prayer implanted by the Gentiles converted to Judaism:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking..

Vs. 7:

Prayer is not effective because of the quantity of words, nor because of the loquacity of its wording; prayer is the result of the conviction that the person has developed of how close God is to him; Jesus emphasized: “Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (vs. 8)

Effective prayer meets certain conditions, the first of which, highlighted by Jesus as the most important, must be done in private; Jesus emphasized: “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.” (vs. 6)

 The second condition, in the same line of the previous one, the sentence must be short and precise: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Luke presents in his narrative the case of a publican who only said in his prayer, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”[3]

The third condition, an extension of the previous one, prayer must RECOGNIZE that we are addressing the God Creator of all things, and as such, we must respect Him as a father is respected: Our Father which art in heaven.

Prayer must ADMIT that God is sovereign, and that He does as He wills: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty is the recognition that God is not only a source of conflict resolution; in His sovereignty He acts as He chooses to do, this doctrinal vision is idiosyncratic of being a Jew according to the teaching presented in the Law of Moses, we find it in the writings of Job,

But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job 2:10

This doctrinal vision is also presented within Paul’s apostolic proclamation:

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

Romans 9:20-22

In prayer we must BE RESPONSIBLE for our personal actions: “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: “

It is not just a matter of asking, since He already knows our needs, it is about presenting ourselves in an act of humiliation by removing the arrogance we have acquired as a result of our acts; in another section of his teaching, Jesus emphasized:

22 but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Matthew 5:22-24

In conclusion, the model of prayer that Jesus introduced in His teachings to His disciples is not a guide, it is not a commandment, it is simply a correction to conceptions of pagan religiosity that the man and woman of faith accept as valid, mostly because of the results highlighted by some Gospel merchants. The man and woman of faith is not powerful because of the time spent on their knees in prayer, nor because of the loudness of their words; a prayerful activity without the proper attitude of submission to the Lordship of Christ is a falsehood to the Truth that man is justified by faith. The man and woman of faith must pray, of course, but not by emphasizing a ‘power’ in prayer over the power of integrity to do according to the instruction of the Word of God. Jesus prayed, and the biblical text points out that the more His fame grew, the more He went to desert places to pray,[4] but His power did not consist in the time of prayer that He spent not understanding that it was part of the communion that He was sent to do the Father’s Will.

And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

John 8:29

Finally, what is prayer? To answer properly, let us first think about the following: If God knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew 6:8), and furthermore, if the same Spirit asks for us with unutterable groans, as the apostle Paul introduced in his teaching: (Romans 8:26), is there a need for prayer? Why then the teaching about prayer?

Prayer is not a resource for ‘asking’, only, it is the attitude of gratitude before the sovereign God for all the great things He has done with us, and among us; there are no rules for praying, only gratitude, and we prostrate ourselves with gratitude that He had made us His people, and the blessing we have of calling Him, Father.

The biblical quotations are taken from the Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

Pastor Pedro Montoya

WhatsApp 1 (407) 764-2699

[1] Matthew 6:9-13

[2] Hypocrites’ here is not a derogatory adjective, it is the name with which Jesus classifies the Hellenized group who act in the same way as a theatrical actor. “Hypocrite” was the term used to refer to one who makes a performance in an amphitheater.

[3] Lucas 18:13

[4] Luke 5:15-17: 15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. 17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown…

3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. 4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Jonah 3:3-5

Most of us are familiar with the story of Jonah when he was commissioned by Jehovah-God to proclaim judgment on the great Nineveh because of the evil that its inhabitants had accumulated in all their actions,

Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 

Jonah 1:1-2

What calls the attention of history, is the number of days between the proclamation and the fulfillment of the fall of the judgment: Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

‘Forty’ has been in all the pages of the biblical history a number that has to do with judgment, precisely; of the best known stories we have as an example, the forty days of the flood,[1] forty years of pilgrimage through the desert because of the doubt imposed by ten of the twelve spies sent to recognize the land of Canaan,[2] and forty lashes of punishment to the one found to have committed a crime in some civil matter;[3] Ezekiel also presents a judgment on Egypt for forty years.[4]   In other cases, the number ‘forty’ appears related to a period of probation, such as the case of the forty days that Moses was on Mount Sinai in the presence of the Lord.[5]

<p class="has-drop-cap" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">There are, on the other hand, other accounts that include the number ‘forty’ and appear to be related to the intervention of a person, such as the stories of the kings who reigned over Israel, or over Judah, and did so for a period of ‘forty’ years;<a href="#_ftn6">[6]</a> also are cited the forty days of Jesus on earth after he rose from the dead.<a href="#_ftn7">[7]</a>There are, on the other hand, other accounts that include the number ‘forty’ and appear to be related to the intervention of a person, such as the stories of the kings who reigned over Israel, or over Judah, and did so for a period of ‘forty’ years;[6] also are cited the forty days of Jesus on earth after he rose from the dead.[7]

In these cases the number ‘forty’ shows that the judgments do not necessarily have to do with the occurrence of calamities in the region, but they are also the warning of situations that are fighting spiritually in the air with respect to the future of the region; in that sense, ‘forty’ years of the reign of David, and even of Solomon, speak of spiritual battles of David and Solomon against satanic forces of apostasy, which already by the end of Solomon’s reign begin to exercise dominion over Israel. Jesus’ forty days on earth after His resurrection speak of the adjustment of situations according to the righteousness of the Kingdom. ‘Forty’ is the number of spiritual warfare against the demonic forces that are placed in the air of a region.

The case of the Philistine Goliath of Gath, who went out for forty days to challenge the army of Israel,[8] shows with the number ‘forty’ the violent and dangerous aspect of the spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness; of David not having defeated Goliath that day which completed the cycle of the ‘forty’ days, Israel would have lost authority over the Philistines.

There is still one more case we need to study, and it is the main purpose of our teaching, that of Jesus’ forty days of fasting,

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Matthew 4:2 (Luke 4:2)

Both texts, Matthew’s and Luke’s, describe the spiritual warfare aspect of the ‘forty’ days of fasting;

being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

Luke 4:2

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Matthew 4:3

With this first activity, Jesus began the process of re-conquering the inheritance that Adam had lost in Eden, the apostle Paul ‘named’ Jesus as “the last Adam”,

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

1st. Corinthians 15:45

The ‘forty’ days of fasting began the battle to overcome on the cross, after three and a half years, the one who had the empire of death, that is, Satan,

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Hebrews 2:14

Was it all about fasting for forty days? Is that what the struggle was all about? No, it was not reduced to fasting alone, it had to do it during the ‘forty’ days in countdown before the celebration of the day of Atonement,[9] Yom Kippur, celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei).

The importance of the forty days of fasting consisted in the fact that this day was the day of Atonement, a day of proclaiming freedom and reconciliation to the people; it was also, above all, the day when Jesus would be initiating his saving ministry.

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Luke 4:18-21

The ‘forty’ days of fasting marked the spiritual value of the work of God that was about to begin. The value of the ‘forty’ days of fasting marked the value of obedience to God’s Word as a requirement of reconciliation,

And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

John 8:29

The apostle Paul emphasizes in his apostolic doctrine that the path of human reconciliation consists in obedience to the Word; disobedience brings about perdition,

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Romans 5:19

In conclusion, the ‘forty’ days of Jesus’ fasts were not only a protocol preamble to inaugurate a time of ministry, they were the basis of the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit in the work and teaching of Jesus, which concluded with the establishment of the Truth that freed from the death sentence all who believed in Him.[10]  The ‘forty’ days of Jesus’ fasts overthrew the empire of evil and perversion by which man and woman are inclined to evil, overthrew the empire of death by which man and woman were condemned to eternal death, and overthrew the empire of falsehood by which man and woman hide themselves in hypocrisy and lying to live at the expense of darkness; they were truly days of spiritual warfare.

By way of application, we are about to repeat a story similar to the ‘forty’ days of Jesus’ fasting. Next Wednesday, September 23, we will enter into a forty-day countdown to the celebration of the date of the presidential elections of the United States of America on November 3, an event that affects not only the nation per se, but the future of many nations of the world.

These forty days before the date of the elections are crucial, the next four years of the government of the United States of America will be decided within those forty days; there is a spiritual push to try to tip the balance to either side; the advances —or setbacks— of what will happen in Israel during the next four years will be decided within those forty days, it is a crucial date.

What is at stake in this upcoming election is more important than what was on the table for decisions in past elections; it means moving forward on God’s agenda, or going backwards and establishing a government of confusion.

Donald Trump was chosen by God to establish upon Israel the fulfillment of the most powerful prophecy we have seen in modern times, the worldwide declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of the Kingdom,

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Micah 4:1

And with the fulfillment of this prophecy, the time of Israel’s restoration began, a teaching originally presented within the doctrine of Jesus as the time of recollection and peace over Israel,

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Luke 21:24

This same teaching was established and ratified among the Gentiles, years later, within the teachings of the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans,

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Romans 11:25

So, what is under discussion not only has to do with the United States of America, it is a matter of God’s prophetic agenda about Israel, and the consummation of Jerusalem as the capital of the Kingdom of God to establish from there that Jesus is Lord and Christ, because that is what is written in the prophecy of Isaiah,

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:3

But not everything that is in projects of the Spirit of God has been completed, there is still more to do, and these next four years are decisive for that.

Therefore, these forty days of countdown before the date of the elections should not only serve us to draw conclusions based on the information we receive, but above all, to be alert to the instructions that God wants to give us, because although the agenda is prophetic and God is in control of it, some action of spiritual establishment could He give us to distort the operations of darkness.

Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.

Esther 4:13

Share this teaching with your fellow believers.

The biblical quotations are taken from the Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

Pastor Pedro Montoya

WhatsApp 1 (407) 764-2699

Chat en WhatsApp

[1] Genesis 7:4

[2] Numbers 14:34

[3] Deuteronomy 25:3

[4] Ezekiel 29:11-13

[5] Exodus 24:18

[6] 2 Samuel 5:4; 1 Kings 11:42; 2 Kings 12:1

[7] Acts 1:3

[8] 1 Samuel 17:10-16

[9] Leviticus 16:29: And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

Leviticus 23:27: Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

[10] John 18:37

…I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Luke 22:31-32

The most glorious part of a spiritual ministry is when the minister can by constant prayer to the Father sustain those under his care, recognizing that whether they are saved or lost depends on the mantle of protection that he places upon them.

When God raises up a ministry on earth He does so with the specific purpose that the minister may present them at the coming of Jesus, as persons qualified for salvation, that no one be lost in the way. This purpose is the basis of operation upon which the Kingdom of God is developed on earth; we see it reflected in Jesus’ own words when in prayer to the Father He manifested,

6I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word…   9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine…   12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. John 17:6-12

Prayer has a spiritual purpose, it was given by the Father as a resource of life and strength, not as a means to “ask” the Father about the things we need to subsist. The first biblical teachings about the value of prayer are found in the book of Exodus, when Pharaoh recognized the authority of the Almighty God of the Hebrews; and he discovered for himself the spiritual cover that Moses and Aaron had over the people,

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord. Exodus 8:8

And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me. Exodus 8:28

Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. Exodus 9:28

Even Manasseh, the most apostate king of all time in Israel, discovered at the end of his days the spiritual value of being under a mantle of prayer,

and prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God. 2 Chronicles 33:13

Jesus knew Peter’s strengths and weaknesses, knew that by his natural impulsivity Peter might incur at some point in an action that would expose him to the risk of losing the ministry he had received from the Father.

The night when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, Jesus discovered to Peter that Satan, days before, had summoned him into heaven, and had demanded that Peter be subjected to a trial of faithfulness; and what had the most impact on Peter was that the Father had granted it.

We’ve known of these satanic summonses before. In the book of Job we read that Satan demanded that Job be tried in his perfection character, and God permitted it.

8And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Job 1:8-12

No matter how righteous and perfect a person may be, struggling alone in the face of any demand that Satan makes for him to be tempted, this person is exposed to perish spiritually; God keeps his soul in heaven, but on earth it becomes necessary for someone to hold him under a cloak of prayer so that he can continue his work; the clearest example we see is when Peter was taken to prison and weighed a death agreement upon him,

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. 6And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. 7And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. Acts 12:5-7

In real life there are cases, many cases of people who have been exposed to satanic attacks, and have succumbed, and the reason for this is because they have had no one to intercede for them in prayer. So far we have seen prayer as a resource to “ask” for the necessary things, for the person, and even for the church, but not as a spiritual warfare resource to seize satanic jurisdiction over the lives of people in a region. A religious concept of prayer and its use has prevailed, and it is in our interest to dissolve it.

The main function of a minister is to keep in prayer those that God has given to his care, we discover it in the evidence that the apostle leaves us in most of his epistles,

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Romans 1:9

cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; Ephesians 1:16

always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, Philippians 1:4

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; 2nd. Timothy 1:3

I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, Philemon 4

The apostle Paul formed and developed in the ministry a team of ministers with the same dedication for the Gospel, and with the same boldness for the Word as he manifested it from the day he made confession of faith for Jesus, they remained firm in the profession of faith until the end; the key to his significant projection was due to the cloak of prayer and spiritual coverage that he sustained on those who worked with him in the extension of the Kingdom with him.

What would have happened if Jesus hadn’t begged the father for Peter? Surely Peter would have been plunged into guilt and regret that he denied his Lord, whom he loved so much, and for whom he had left everything.

The revival of which we have heard preached in our day as a movement of the Spirit of God will not come until we understand the value of prayer and commit ourselves before God to hold under a cloak of prayer to whom the Lord has delegated us, either as a working team, or as members together with those who are part of the body of faith to which we belong. The apostle Paul made it a requirement to help widows that they be involved in a prayer ministry,

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. 1st. Timothy 5:5

The apostle exhorts the Lord’s church to be active in prayer for the very life of the church,

rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Romans 12:12

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Colossians 4:2

Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. 1st. Corinthians 7:5

We must extend this life experience to entire countries. Pray for our rulers and for our regions,

Pray without ceasing. 1st. Thessalonians 5:17

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 1st. Timothy 2:1-3

We discover that the neglect of this exhortation has caused many of our countries to suffer from the violence caused by the establishment of darkness in governments.

And what about the absence of ministers according to the heart of God? We do not have them because we have not asked the Father for them.

pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Matthew 9:38

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Luke 10:2

Do we want revival? Let us begin to pray, to pray to sustain spiritually the members of our congregations of faith; and to pray and cover in prayer those whom the Lord has given under our care. We must understand that we are keepers of our brethren,

And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? Genesis 4:9

And the answer to Cain’s question is: yes, we are my brother’s keeper, otherwise God would not have asked him about Abel his brother. Whoever succumbs to Satan is because he did not have a keeper to take care of him, and that is why he died.

 

 

All biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version.

 

 

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Twitter: @pastormontoya

https://earthenwarevessels.com