From Essential Guide to Healing
By Bill Johnson and Randy Clark
Pgs 114-116
The commission to "take back the planet" starts with prayer. I do not mean a token prayer that we are sometimes guilty of, such as the prayer before a meal. I mean actual prayer that illustrates partnership. If my prayer does not move me, it will not move God. He shows us His will and then commands us to come into fellowship with Him and ask for the specifics of that will. Many people like to discuss the intricacies of prayer and often get distracted from the assignment to pray. It is His will for us to pray His will. Period.
It is foolish to assume that if something is God's will, it will automatically be done. That misconception is at the heart of powerless praying. Then prayer becomes a Christian activity that serves no real purpose other than to keep us oc¬cupied. Thinking God's will happens automatically is also a misconception about God's sovereignty. He can force His will easily. He has chosen not to. Partnership—co-laboring with us—is at the heart of His plan. And prayer is the initial part of our assignment.
Again, is His will always done? No! Consider 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.'' It is His will that none perish—yet people perish daily. We have a role to fulfill in carrying out His will. And the measure of His will that actually gets carried out is in some measure attached to how well we represent His purposes on the earth. We have a role, an influence, a part in the overall plan. We are partners with the divine.
When God tells us to pray in a particular way, it is not just to involve us in random Christian activity to make us feel useful. He is engaging us in the aforementioned partnership, where things get done properly and His will is released on the earth. Prayer is probably the most underrated of all Christian activities for that reason. It is the essential part that connects His heart with the actual circumstances of humanity. It is in that place of "agreement" where the heart of God is with the heart of man. That is what releases the purposes of God into the earth.
Join us at the Cross.
