Yeshua, the Living Word, God in the flesh, actually PRAYED. Out loud. On a regular basis. Why? When He was teaching His disciples to pray, He first reminded them that their heavenly Father already knew what they needed before they started praying. So, informing Him is quite obviously not what this is about. We are to pray for the same reason Jesus prayed…
Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is fulfilled in heaven. –Matthew 6:10, TPT
Yeshua knew the mind of the Father and intentionally aligned Himself with it, and we see from His wrestling in the Garden of Gethsemane that this was not always easy. Then He manifested that spiritual substance into the material realm through His own thoughts, feelings, actions and words. Even though He WAS (and IS) the Word, He still spoke the word, modelling for us the process. A very important spiritual protocol that servants of both God and the adversary must abide by is this: Verbal notification must be given in order for things to happen on the earth!
George Otis, author of Twilight Labyrinth, travelled the globe researching why some geographical locations are more spiritually oppressive than others and why spiritual outpourings come to some regions and not others. He said this:
I came to the prayer movement not through faith, but through research. For nearly a
quarter century, God, in his kindness, allowed me to witness his transformational handiwork in literally hundreds of international communities. As I scrutinized these breathtaking stories, I found, somewhat to my surprise, that prayer was a pronounced and common thread. Not merely in some of the accounts, but in all of them! And the pattern held when I took time to investigate historical revivals over the past 450 years. The inescapable conclusion was that transforming revival is the inevitable consequence of fervent, united, and prevailing prayer.
Quite simply, nothing of eternal consequence happens without prayer. Of course, it is the Father’s heart to lavish His blessings on mankind all the time, and, in the eternal realm, those blessings have already been poured out. But He is looking for an earthly point of agreement to usher that reality into the dimension of time. When our souls align with what our spirits know, and our words give it form, it is created. That is prayer. Prayer is the continuation and the culmination of the creative process of God. It is speaking your world into existence, just like in the beginning. Prayer changes your word and physically alters your brain.
The human brain will easily change its EEG pattern when it becomes “entrained” (in alignment) with the frequency of certain sounds. Your brain is constantly changing, rewiring according to what you are in agreement with. The scientific term “neuroplasticity” basically means that it is possible to sculpt your brain in the same way you sculpt your muscles at the gym. A new field of scientific research called “neurotheology” studies what happens in the brains and bodies of people who connect with the Creator. Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of research at Thomas Jefferson Hospital and Medical College in Pennsylvania and author of How God Changes Your Brain, says:
The more you focus on something — whether that’s math or auto racing or football or God — the more that becomes your reality, the more it becomes written into the neural connections of your brain.
Dr. Carolyn Leaf says it this way:
It has been found that 12 minutes of daily focused prayer over an 8-week period can change the brain to such an extent that it can be measured on a brain scan. This type of prayer increases activity in brain areas associated with social interaction, compassion and sensitivity to others. It also increases frontal lobe activity, as focus and intentionality increase. As well as changing the brain, another study implies that intentional prayer can even change physical matter.
You’ve seen that your thoughts, your emotions and your words all change your reality. Heartfelt, spoken prayer, as the combination (agreement) of all those things, possesses exponential power. As you align with God’s thoughts and feelings and become entrained in His sound, your sound will align, your brain will change, and your world will change. Here are some simple keys to remember as you use your words to create with God in prayer:
* Pray God-prayers by aligning with the mind of the Father. When Jesus told us not to pray with vain repetition (Matthew 6:7), He is speaking of prayers that are void of the rhema word of God and the substance of the Father’s desire.
* Pray specifically. Leave “God bless everybody” prayers behind and, just as an artist uses specific colors and shapes, paint with your words in as much detail as you and the Father can dream.
* Pray in aman (faith), being quick to repent anytime you slip into doubt and unbelief.
* Pray out loud. Remember, this is about following the Divine pattern, utilizing the innate power of your words. Journaling is great, and soaking is awesome. Both have their place. But do not neglect to pray aloud, using your unique voiceprint to co-create with God.
* Yield, allowing the Ruach of God to breathe the perfect prayer though you. Praying in tongues is one of the most powerful ways to do this. It takes you beyond the confines of your understanding and into agreement with mysteries and magnitude you cannot fathom. It strengthens your spirit, the real you. You can also say or sing the name of God (Yod Hei Vav Hei) out loud to establish a spiritual platform upon which you can build as you create with God.
* Pray the written word of God for exponential agreement.
* Engage the angels and heavenly beings who have been sent by the Father to carry out His will as it is spoken through you.
Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. –Psalm 103:20, NKJV
* Be audacious in prayer. We see from Scripture that what often seems arrogant and audacious is really just faith (think Joseph, David, Caleb). Such audacity pleases and compliments God, whereas a victim mentality and small thinking insult His kindness, His power and His very nature.
* Choose to step from passivity to passion. It is fervent prayer that accomplishes much (James 5:16). Remember, the imagination is a powerful tool to help you feel the passionate heart of the Father on your behalf!
* Pray until the answer manifests. You are the womb of heaven on the earth, and your prayers are the labor pains that birth what is in the Father’s heart into the realm of earth.
* Pray from the heavenly realm. Yeshua often went up on the mountaintop alone to pray. No doubt this was to pray without distraction, but this mountain was also a spiritual destination. Remember, the devil took Him up to the top of a high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of this world. That was not only a geographical mountain, but a spiritual high place. When you turn your awareness to the place where you are seated in Christ in heavenly realms, you are praying from a literal place of advantage over principalities, powers, rulers, thrones and dominions. Praying from the heavenly realm is what will unlock the supernatural realm to you, changing everything!
This is an excerpt from my book, Miracles Are Normal: Co-Creating Through Oneness With God. You can purchase paperback or digital copies from my website here: Miracles Are Normal. And you can purchase from Amazon here: Miracles Are Normal on Amazon
Until next time,
-Virginia