Releasing the Power of God in Prayer

We are called to impact the quantum field with love and bring into visibility the New Creation

“Releasing” is the key word of this chapter’s title. The power of God is always flowing through Christ: “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24).

Jesus Christ does not only have power, but He IS the power of God - and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. However, Christ does not force Himself upon us. He waits for us to respond in relationship and in faith, and then He is free to flow through us. It is striking that the declaration that God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” is immediately qualified by these words: “according to [in proportion to] the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). In other words, it is not a “given”: There are degrees of power that we can experience - or not - depending upon our responses and our choices.

God asks us to cooperate with Him, to enable His power to work within us and through us. During His days on earth, Jesus made it very clear that He does not work in isolation. Not at all. His very purpose in coming to earth was to reconcile the human race to God, and to co-opt men, women, and children to work with Him in ushering in His glorious kingdom: “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10). Jesus also said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). In response, He calls us to make a conscious choice. However, that choice does require focused persistence on our part. We need to strive to abide in our true identity in Christ, and to keep His word living and active within us. It involves hard work, but it is more than worth it! It is wondrous and humbling indeed to realise that the King of kings waits upon us to further His work upon the earth!

If we have actively made the choice to be “labourers together with God” (1 Cor. 3:9, KJV), our question now is how to pray and what to pray for? It is to our Master that we look for the answers. Jesus gives clear priority to the kingdom of God. In His Sermon on the Mount, He urges His disciples to “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33), shortly after teaching them to pray “May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10, PHILLIPS).

The kingdom of God is within those who believe (Luke 17:21). Therefore, when we ask for the kingdom to come - as Jesus has instructed us to do - the act of asking helps us to focus our inner eyes and our imagination on the kingdom and the characteristics of the kingdom. All our praying is directed toward bringing into manifestation the things of the kingdom of God, which is the new creation. In other words, the aim of our prayers is to bring about a change of circumstance(s) which will reflect the characteristics of the kingdom: righteousness and justice, goodness and mercy, eternal and abundant life, love and forgiveness, joy and peace, health and wholeness, sufficiency, completeness and perfection. In the kingdom, there is no sickness or disease, no accidents, no broken relationships, no conflict, no pain, no sorrow, no death.

The first three gospels clearly show that the main reason God became incarnate in Jesus was to establish the Father’s kingdom on earth, and He assures us that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32). Indeed, the main purpose of Jesus’ miracles was to point toward the kingdom and to demonstrate that there is no sickness nor death nor lack and limitation there - on the contrary, that it is replete with love, joy, wholeness, and peace. He was giving us windows into the kingdom of God, and urging us to make the kingdom and God’s righteousness the focus and priority in our lives. However, while on earth, Jesus limited Himself to preaching and demonstrating the kingdom within the setting of “this world,” because He had not yet gone to the cross to crucify “this world” and the “first Adam”; nor had He yet released His life as omnipresent Spirit. Whereas, unbelievable as it may sound, we who inherit the blessings of Jesus’ death and resurrection have a much broader authority than He did (that is, before His crucifixion) to heal the sick, raise the dead, and overcome the other works of the devil. Why? Because, before His crucifixion, Jesus identified Himself completely with finite human form and all its limitations. But now we, in our identity as adopted children of God, fully partake of Christ’s life, which is spiritual and omnipresent. The Spirit of Christ was released throughout the whole universe after Jesus had ascended and returned to the Father: “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe” (Eph. 4:10, NIV).

Jesus knew that His ascended Spirit would impart divine life to every atom throughout the universe. That is why He was able to give this astounding assurance to His disciples just before His arrest and crucifixion: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12). He does not specify what the “greater works” are, but logically they must be related to ushering in the kingdom of God - the new creation - because that is what Jesus came to establish through His sacrifice on the cross, and through His resurrection and ascension. One of the last statements - and, the last command - issued by Jesus to His disciple John in the book of Revelation, is: “Behold, I am making all things new... Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy]” (Rev. 21:5, AMP).

“Behold, I am making all things new” is, in itself, an astounding statement by Jesus Christ. The words that follow it are all the more striking, because they reflect the urgency of His message. It goes without saying that any and every statement made by Jesus is faithful and true, and yet He places such supreme emphasis on these lines that He instructs His disciple John to put down in writing that His words are indeed “faithful and true.”

Should we not, therefore, pay very close attention to this emphasis, and ask what it means for us? Another vital element in this verse is that Jesus is categorically saying, “I am making all things new.” Not “I will make,” but “I am making,” in the present tense. Furthermore, He says, “all things.” Not just a few things - but everyone, everything, every situation, everywhere. The question is: Do we take Jesus at His word? If we do not, then we will not see His word bearing fruit. However, if we do - then “Everything is possible for the one who believes” (Mark 9:23, NIRV).

Before He ascended to the Father, Jesus said, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me... to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). To be a witness is to provide proof that all that Jesus said and did was true.

All this would be an impossibility, a daydream, if Jesus had not also said: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). We have the authority of God Himself to overcome evil and the effects of the Fall - to overcome “this world” with its entropy, decay, and death. However, we do not stop there - simply dealing with the destruction of the negative - because the Lord calls us onward to “bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16). For that to happen, we need to follow the example set by our Master in dying to self, identifying with Him at every stage of His death, resurrection, and ascension. Then, going forth in Christ, standing firmly upon Galatians 2:20, we can take authority over the quantum field and all its constituent molecules and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, declare the Word of God which makes “all things new.”

Prayer and the miracles of Jesus

Jesus not only moves mountains but also the molecules and atoms that constitute them. He performed many miracles - miracles of nature, of raising the dead, of healing, and of abundant supply. His manner of prayer in almost all these circumstances was to speak a word or give a command, and sometimes he healed through touch. He never beseeched His Father to do the miracles. Rather, He trusted His Father to work through Him, and rested upon the authority that the Father had given to Him: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18).

We cannot go wrong if we base our prayers and commands upon the Word of God. There is no better model than the command that God Himself spoke repeatedly in the first chapter of Genesis: “Let there be...” In the name of Jesus, we can pray, “Let the new creation come”; “May Your kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”; “Let there be righteousness, let there be fullness of life, and let there be holiness and perfection”; and so forth.

The quantum field is now saturated with the Spirit of Christ, who fills the universe (Eph. 4:10), and God calls us to be coworkers in bringing in the harvest. But what does that mean? It means cooperating with the Holy Spirit, to be willing channels of the power of God to impact the quantum field with love, and to bring into visibility the new creation. A good place to start is with our own bodies. Jesus calls us to be His witnesses, and part of our witness to Him is through our bodies.

Since you are a spiritual being, and the Spirit is the dominant power, you can take authority over your physical body and command it to come into line with God’s pattern. You really can. You can command the molecules that constitute your body to release their grip on the old Adamic mould, reminding them that Jesus crushed that corrupted mould upon the cross. The old mould no longer has any substance nor legal right to exist, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the old Adamic law, or pattern of things (Rom. 8:2).

You remind those same molecules that they are saturated with the blood (that is, the life) of Christ, and then command them to come into line with His holy life. Let them manifest wholeness, peace, and the abundant life of Christ. In His life there can linger no arthritis, no cancer, no autoimmune diseases, no depression, no viruses or bacteria—and so on. No. In your new life in Christ, the fruit of the Spirit predominates and rules your body. From there you can radiate outward and pray for other people and circumstances that come to your attention. In each situation, remember that Jesus has given you full authority to issue commands (based on His Word) in His name, in order to channel God’s grace to those on whose behalf you are interceding.

As you abide more and more in Christ - in the truth of who you are in Christ - you will find that your very thoughts and desires actually act as prayers and commands. They do not always need to be articulated. You are in an attitude, or consciousness, of prayer and thus fulfilling the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing.” The more attuned you become to God and His Word, the more His power flows out through you to bless others, without you even being aware that you are making a difference. In that state, you can say that your consciousness (or state of faith) is drawing forth the truth of God.

The importance of perseverance and patience. In essence, then, to pray as Jesus taught us is first to acquire the right to use His name; and then, using His name, to pray and command in line with the Word of God - above all, to pray for the kingdom to come. If we do this, we will be following strictly in the way shown to us by the Master. However, we must not be looking out from the corner of our eyes to see whether our prayers are bearing fruit. Bearing fruit is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit, whereas our responsibility is simply to believe and to go on believing and praying. It is very likely that, in order to develop our faith and strengthen our spiritual muscles, the Holy Spirit may keep us waiting. The Red Sea did not part until the chariots were virtually upon the Hebrews. The Jordan did not dry up until the Hebrews had first gotten their feet wet. The walls of Jericho did not fall until the last blast. Jesus did not hold out his hand to Peter until the latter was sinking.

In order to encourage us to pray faithfully and persistently, Jesus gave us the parable of the insistent widow who would not give up asking until the judge answered her request. He also told of the man who did not stop knocking until his neighbour got up to give him bread. These parables speak of bold and patient faith. Waiting on God and abiding in His Word in this way keeps us humble, heightens the sense of our need for Him, and causes us to experience His presence in deeper ways. Therefore, using His name, we keep praying and asking for the kingdom to come, and we wait in expectation and Thanksgiving.

The most important thing is to stay centred on Christ and to remember that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Believe that He is directing the earthly molecular traffic within you and around you, for He not only moves mountains but the molecules and atoms that constitute them as well. We don’t need to grit our teeth either, for God is infinitely more desirous to demonstrate wholeness through our prayers than we are to see it. We can put all our weight on these tender and reassuring words of Jesus: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke12:32, NIV).

The Word of God can be seen as frozen spiritual energy which, when tapped into and released, can move mountains, heal the sick, and bring abundance out of scarcity. The activity of meditation and prayer is the spiritual equivalent of splitting the atom. It unbinds the energy hidden in the Word of God.

In praying, it’s important to emphasise the need to ensure that what we seek to bring into manifestation on Earth is really of God and of the Holy Spirit, rather than of the human mind.

Resting always on biblical Truth, we can pray with confidence. We are called upon to take seriously our status as an adopted son or daughter, and a co-heir, with power to do the same things that Jesus did, including the power to command the elements, to raise the dead, and to heal at a distance. Every command issued by us, in the name of Godhead, ripples through the entirety of the energy field until it is picked up where it is most needed. As our commands go coursing through the universe, somewhere unbeknown to us, someone, or some situation, is receiving them and benefiting by them. For example, it may be that a rabbit caught in a snare finds release, or a stillborn child springs to life, or a broken relationship is healed, or a surgeon reaches the right diagnosis.

Praying from Heavenly Realms

One of the things that God says about us is that we have been seated in Christ Jesus in heavenly realms.31 What does “heavenly realm” mean? Usually, we think of it as being “up there” - far above planet Earth and the entire cosmos. And that is true, but it’s even broader than that. The “heavenly realm” is actually wherever Christ is. It is the realm of the Spirit of Christ, and Christ Himself is omnipresent, as Scripture declares: “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe” (Eph. 4:10, NIV). It helps to know that the gospel writers refer to the heavenly realm as the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is within us or among us (Luke 17:21). And Paul writes in Colossians 1:13 that God has “conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love.” So we can see that the “heavenly realm” (or realm of the Spirit) is, in fact, everywhere! It is all-pervasive and not bound by the limitations of space-time.

While we are praying and looking for the kingdom, we take authority over situations that are plainly not God’s will. Jesus gives us His authority and calls us to abide in Him - in the same way that the branch lives because it is connected to the vine: “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:5). Thus connected to the ever-flowing source of “divine sap,” we can set aside any tendency to be anxious or fearful, and trust Him to do the work through us: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).

Abiding in Him - having our lives hidden with Christ in God - gives profound insight into the meaning of “praying in the name of Jesus.” It means, literally, to let go of one’s own name and identity, leaving them at the foot of the cross, and stepping into the very identity of Jesus. Therefore, we believe that it is Christ who is praying through us and as us. That is what it really means to “pray in His name” - the power of God can flow through unhindered, imparting grace upon grace.

Intercession is offering up our born-again, spiritual self to God so that He may use us to form His new creation. When we speak out the Word of God and intercede, our understanding of the operation (the oneness) of the quantum field strengthens our faith. The words of God, either spoken out loud or prayed in silence, focus our intentions and course through the quantum field like lightning, affecting the object(s) of our intentions.

Prayer audio experience

Please listen to this unique and inspired blend of spoken word and ambient soundscapes. Created by Ann Shakespeare and Rob Townley, to deepen your understanding of God.