WHY
PRAYER?...
WHY NOW?
By Doug Fortune
I guess I was under the impression that God is sovereign, that He
holds the destiny of all things in His hands. It appears that He has a purpose
and a plan, and He is going to do what He is going to do. In fact, some of us
are beginning to gain a deeper understanding that He has ALREADY done what He
is going to do; "Declaring the end and the RESULT from
the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying,
My counsel shall stand, and I WILL DO all My pleasure and purpose..." (Isaiah 46:10 Amplified Bible), "Then
said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching
over My word to PERFORM it." (Jeremiah 1:12 Amplified Bible)
If then, this is indeed the case, why on earth should I pray!?!
Perhaps it is just a good exercise?... perhaps something to keep me busy so I
don't get into mischief? Why on EARTH should I pray if Father is sovereign?
That is the key... it is
because we are on EARTH; "The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S:
but the EARTH hath He GIVEN to the children of MEN." (Psalms 115:16) The wording translated
as "hath He given" is nathan in Hebrew. It's meanings include- to
give, bestow, grant, permit, ascribe, employ, devote, consecrate, dedicate,
commit, entrust, give over, deliver up, requite to, put upon, appoint, assign,
designate. Yes, Father is indeed sovereign, but in His sovereignty He has
entrusted the affairs of the EARTH to US.
With this in mind, there is much talk in the Church these days
about going to the next level, the next dimension in God in order to impact the
earth. If we are going to the next dimension in God, then let's ask the
question, What IS IT and how do we get there?
What Is It?-
Some have called it the Third Day, Beyond the Veil, the Kingdom
Age, the Holy of Holies, Mature Sonship, the Deeper Life, the Christ-Life, the Parousia,
the Feast of Tabernacles, the Melchizedek Priesthood, etc. All of these terms
point to the same basic spiritual principle. Personally, I like the analogy of
the Tabernacle and going Beyond the Veil into the Holy of Holies, as it is easy
to understand.
The Outer Court of the Tabernacle, containing the Brazen Altar and
the Brazen Laver, speaks of our initial salvation experience in God, as it is
all about the shedding of blood, dealing with sin, and washing in the Water of
the Word. This could be likened to the Evangelical experience. This experience
could also be foreshadowed in the Feast of Passover.
The
This is where many Christians have come to rest in their spiritual
growth. We know however, that there is another dimension in the Tabernacle- the
Holy of Holies. There is another feast- the Feast of Tabernacles. There is
something beyond the Pentecostal/ Charismatic experience in our spiritual
growth that we are moving into. This is the next level, the next dimension in
God that is to impact the earth.
The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant. This was the
place of God's manifest Presence, His Shekinah Glory; "And there I will
meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all
things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of
How Do We Get There?-
In keeping with our analogy, since the Golden Altar of Incense was
located in the
For the explanation, we must refer to the Mishnah, which is the
first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the Oral
Torah. According to the Mishnah, the Golden Altar of Incense was taken into the
Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. This is the ONLY piece of furniture in
the Tabernacle that was moved from one part of the Tabernacle to another. On
the Day of Atonement, the Golden Altar of Incense transitioned from the
I believe that if we are truly going to impact the earth by moving
into this next "dimension" in God, foreshadowed by the Feast of
Tabernacles and the Holy of Holies, there is one thing that will serve as the
catalyst to transition us there- PRAYER! Prayer IS the Golden Altar of Incense!
Yes, we have talked about going to the next level, transitioning
into the next dimension in God for a long time, but I don't know that we have
seen a great deal in the way of results! Why is that?... because talking about
it won't get us there. Prayer is the KEY!... and not just any kind of prayer,
either.
The incense in this Golden Altar was lit on fire by coals that
came from the Brazen Altar, and the fire came out from God initially to light
the sacrifice on the Brazen Altar. This fire that originated with God was to be
kept burning continually; "And the fire upon the altar shall be
kept burning on it; it shall not be allowed to go out. The priest shall burn
wood on it every morning and lay the burnt offering in order upon it and he
shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall be burning
continually upon the altar; it shall not go out." (Leviticus 6:12-13 Amplified Bible) These
coals from fire that originated with God were used to light the incense; "He
shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the [bronze] altar
before the Lord, and his two hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and
bring it within the veil [into the Holy of Holies], And put the incense on the
fire [in the censer] before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover
the mercy seat that is upon [the ark of] the Testimony, lest he die." (Leviticus 16:12-13 Amplified Bible)
Just as with the natural incense in the Tabernacle, the
"incense" of our prayer must be lit with a fire that originates with
Father. The prayer that will transition us into the next dimension must be the
"prayer" that is burning in the heart of God! How many times have we
come before Father with our list of things we want Him to do? Perhaps it is
time to declare the "prayer" that is burning in Father's heart!
I believe we are living in the fulfillment of this Day of
Atonement and Father is beckoning us inward, as the Golden Altar of Incense
transitions us into a new dimension! We can continue to talk about it with
little results, OR we can enter into His plan and become that moving Altar of
Incense!
So, why prayer?
Because is Father's PLAN to transition us into the next dimension!
Why now?... because it is TIME to transition into the next dimension!