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Kings are courageous, entrepreneurial, self-starters who bless the heart of God with their initiative. While much of Christianity is passive, God has some sons and daughters who carry His favor and do exploits. We all feel the wind of His Spirit blowing in the direction of blessing nations and inheriting our mountains. It works when we are connected with our own hearts and tap into what God wrote there. Religion has always been trying to be something we’re not; Connecting with your father’s heart is always becoming who we are. Kingdom initiatives that work and bear fruit have roots in the heart of God. For example:
• Great movies (art and entertainment) that inspire hearts and make lots of money typically tap into Kingdom themes and say something prophetic that God is already speaking to people – it moves us.
• Great businesses bless people and nations by providing something that’s needed (ministry).
• Great schools release creativity in people who become themselves and go out in the world and make a difference… from the heart.
• Great leaders and governments always increase the liberty and freedom of people to enhance their culture and economy.
How intercession works – Prayer is not just submitting a grocery list of needs to God. It is hearing what’s on the Father’s heart and then doing our part to make it happen. We are seated with Him in heavenly places for a reason. The seat is a throne and our role is to rule and reign with Him to release His heart of mercy and justice.
Knowing the Father’s heart starts with seeing what He’s already written in the desires of our own hearts. That simple exercise allows us to become ourselves. We listen to what is in our own hearts and we learn to hear what is in the hearts of those around us. After we discern it and clarify it, our hearts are a great snapshot of God’s call on our lives.
Intercession takes the same process and “listens” to what is being said in heaven. We each have a book that defines our destiny… and is the source of warfare (the focus of intercession).
Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Ps 139:16 NIV
The simple voices debating our destiny come from two primary sources:
1. The accuser who is offering up all the reasons God should not release his favor on our Kingdom initiatives, and
2. Jesus, the mediator who is always interceding for us before the Father (Heb 7:25). His blood is the answer for every accusation.
Your book – With this setting in mind, intercession is first asking to see what’s written in our book (what’s at stake?) Your and my Kingdom destiny is immeasurably more than anything we could ask or imagine (Eph 3:20) – it’s really good and is worth fighting for on both spiritual and natural levels. So we have to have a good grasp of our specific calling from both the desires of our own hearts and a revelation of what’s inside our book.
Your battle – The next step is listening in on the debate. Jesus is interceding before the Father and giving testimony of what is in your book and why you should be released to fulfill it. Here is a key verse:
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Rev 19:10 NIV
Listening to that testimony is important because it is the substance of our prophetic declarations over our own lives and others. We are simply understanding what’s in the book, hearing what Jesus is saying about our calling, and leveraging prophetic authority to advance the Kingdom in our own lives (metron).
The second thing you may hear is the accuser’s testimony against you – all the reasons you are disqualified from your calling. Hearing this is important in order to close doors that give the enemy access to our lives to kill, steal and destroy and keep us out of life and abundance.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 NIV
Filters – It’s important to realize that we are in a season of transition from religion to Kingdom. Our theological heritage is focused more on sin than on our Kingdom destiny. God designed all of us to overcome sin from the perspective of understanding our destiny. Our bright futures are very good reasons to live for Jesus and not sabotage our lives and happiness over some carnal appetite.
When we encourage our own hearts or minister to others, the prophetic starting place is always our destiny. If we are shown some vulnerability in intercession, we deal with it and put it behind us just like every other sin that Jesus has covered by His blood and the Father has long forgotten.
Loving people – Learning to see what in our books naturally gives us a prophetic perspective that is positive and encouraging… actually exciting, releasing, amazing and world-changing.
Note: if you’ve ever had a police officer for a friend, they are amazing people. They see a steady stream of problem people possessed by failures, mistakes, drugs and demons. They struggle to see people in a positive light because they are continually exposed to the worst in any culture. As a pastor and leader, I saw both successes and failures in a way that caused me to look for problems to correct… not healthy! I’ve since resigned as a sheriff in the Kingdom… a minister of prophetic condemnation.
Now we filter for books and destinies and the testimony of Jesus, and repeat them prophetically and practically. Our private intercession consists of trips to the throne room where we ask for access to books (destinies) and contend for their release. We’re seated on a throne and experiencing the authority that goes with setting captives free to inherit their land and their mountain. We’re seeing people and nations through God’s eyes and it’s easy to appreciate them, love them and work with them. It’s an amazing phenomenon. One of my favorite parts of intercession is reading the books of people who may not be saved yet… and telling them about the treasure that I found.
Every person, nation and initiative in the Kingdom has a book. Intercession is reading the book before we interact with the people or carry out the initiative: “See it in the Spirit, then do it in the earth.” It’s just the smart way for Kings to function from their own hearts and from God’s heart. It flows like a river.
