A close loving relationship is built on good honest communication. A powerful consistent prayer life is established the same, relationship-based communication. Spending time, talking AND listening to the heart of the Father to know His desires, His will and His heartbeat for the people of the earth is an absolute key ingredient to vibrant intercession.
John 15 is known at the “abiding” chapter in which Jesus goes into great detail of the value of abiding, and what it means. Psalm 27:4 says that abiding is the “most important” thing that “dwelling” or abiding is the One thing we should be seeking and if we do that, all else flows from that place of dwelling IN Yahweh including prayer. Prayer and intimacy or abiding work together. Without one the other suffers. They fuel each other.
To abide is to dwell, to stay, to “be in” to live, to remain stable and fixed, to continue. So, to abide is not at our discretion but His alone. He determines what abiding means. James 1:8 tells us a “double-minded man is unstable in all he does” so to “remain stable” or to abide, is to be single-minded on this One Jesus Christ. To do this means that we must “remain, or “continue in our faith established and firm, unmovable from the hope of the gospel” as Colossians 1:23 says.
Jesus points out 3 things in John 15: 7-11 about remaining or abiding. His words must remain in us, His love and His joy. These 3 are the fuel that empower us to dwell in the place of God. Through these we can stay seated in the heavenly place with the Champion Jesus as Hebrews 12:2 tells us. “Because of the JOY awaiting Him He endured the cross disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside the throne of God”. As His friends, we are daily invited to be with Him in that place which means to abide or dwell there. This is the place of prayer, being seated IN and WITH Him so that what He desires is released through our voice on the earth.
Today, it is critical for Christians to move from believing to dwelling. Believing brings us to the cross, but dwelling enables us to live in light of the cross. Dwelling is the place where our true identity as sons and daughters is found. The resurrection power Philippians 3:10 speaks of is the process of moving from the death of self through faith in Christ Jesus to living in the power thereof because we have died to our own purposes, strengths, and ways to dwell in His. Will we learn to dwell IN Christ be IN Him so that all power and authority is ours because we are in such close proximity to Him that who He is and what He possesses flows in and through us to a lost and dying world! This is intimate prayer, this is a prayer life that carries authority! #MyGodisYahweh