God is speaking about a new kind of prayer he is about to release to us. Paradoxically, this new method is an ancient way of prayer, one in which God’s faithful servants like David and Paul flourished. These heroes of the faith learned how to pray exactly what God willed for a person, and saw his answer unfold before their very eyes. This type of prayer can transform Christians from living in a persistent widow mindset (Luke 18: 1-8) into living in joyous, bride like intercession.
As the bride of Christ, we carry incredible favor with God. This favor is like the favor queen Esther found in the eyes of her king. I believe God is taking many Christians into a new season of intimate, bride like prayer. Real warfare in the Kingdom of God is always concerned with the battle for intimacy. This is a time to come off the battlefield and enter a new place of intimate petition. Many intercessors have become too exhausted and too burnt out to continue praying the way the church has been advocating. As we learn to become conformed to God and his nature, and be transformed in our minds and personalities, he’ll teach us to look beyond the natural into the supernatural realm and see the Kingdom of heaven at work in every need. It will no longer matter what life, people, or even the enemy throws at us, because we will understand that God is at work all around us.
I believe God is raising up an army of Esthers, an army of bridal intercessors, and this a time to come off the wall and rest in the throne room presence of God-in our secret place in him. It will be difficult for some people to come out of ministry and move into the discipline of resting in God, but the discipline of rest must be entered. This is a time of laying down ministry to gain fresh intimacy.
Don’t pray with importunity, like the Widow before the unjust judge in Luke 18, but pray with delight and favor. Don’t just pray against the enemy, but also let your delighted prayers cause the king to stir himself and come down. God’s anointing will cause you to intercede with joy so that his glory will fill the earth. What is the glory of God? In exodus 33: 18-19, when Moses asked God to show him his glory, God said he would cause his goodness to pass before him. One of the glories of God, therefore, is that he is good!
As bridal intercessors, it’ll be our joy and delight to pray for the goodness of God to come down so the church can learn that we really do overcome evil with good. The Holy Spirit will give us a new strategy for prayer and perseverance; one that contains the delight and laughter, and is full of ardent and passionate love, bathed in fresh worship, and birthed out of a deeper intimacy.
As we come in petition the Lord out of this blessed place of closeness, he will be pleased to speak his favor and blessing into our hearts. Not only will our prayers move his heart and hands, but the words we receive from him will be like a balm of Gilead across the nations, and churches will rise up in fresh favor. The attention of the church will be taken off the enemy and put on God.