Man was made by God to be His dwelling place, His living temple. God made man to be capable not only to have fellowship with God but, in fact, to live in union with God: "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:17). Though not in some mystical, New Age way, may man be joined unto the Lord. But in reality, by the grace and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the virtue of His own shed blood, it is possible for an individual to become the dwelling place, the habitation, the very temple of the Spirit of the living God. That is what it means to be a Christian.
When a person receives Jesus Christ and thus becomes the "house of God," such a person should henceforth seek to give himself or herself to be a "house of prayer." Not merely to pray, in the sense that that is commonly supposed. But to be a "house of prayer" means to be so yielded to God that His Spirit can fill you ~ in a way not unlike a room that is filled and permeated by the smoke and fragrance of burning incense. Of course, the Holy Ghost is not smoke, but a living Person whose Presence is real, and whose Presence profoundly affects ~ in many ways, the spirit and life of every individual in whom God's Spirit dwells. I know these truths by the Word of God ~ and by experience of the reality.
One cannot be a house of God without being a house of prayer. But prayer is as much to be received from God, as it is something that may be rendered to God. I don't mean that God prays to man. But God gives His Spirit to man, by which Spirit man is thus led and enabled to commune with God: which is what it means to pray: "For through him [Jesus Christ] we...have access by one Spirit [the Holy Ghost] unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). Through; by; unto. Thus we are shown that prayer involves the trinity of the Godhead. By the power and agency of the Holy Ghost; through the intercessory ministry of our great High Priest Jesus Christ; the prayers of God's children thus are brought as incense into the very throne room of God to be presented unto our Father.
Two nights ago, I dreamed I was in a building which had a dome-shaped ceiling high above a very large, round arena. There were hundreds of people in that arena, some of whom were seated, whilst others were standing or walking about. I had a strong sense of the Presence of God's Spirit in that place. I knew that God was wanting to move in the midst of the people. But there was a lot of commotion, as many of the people were talking ~ some of them boisterously ~ amongst themselves. In my dream I strenuously urged the people to stop their foolish talking and to turn their attention instead to God. After a while, as the noise of the commotion began to diminish, and as more and more people turned their minds to God, the Spirit of God filled that whole arena with a deep sense of God's Presence. I cannot adequately describe how wonderful and amazing was the feeling in that place. 'Heavenly' is the best word I can think of to describe it. Where, before, there was a generalized feeling of anxiety due to so much carnal chatter and commotion; now, it felt as if everyone who so desired was feasting on the peace and joy of God's Presence. At one point in the midst of dreaming, I recall that I heard myself actually praying aloud in my sleep ~ rebuking and denying the devil.
Tonight (as I'm writing this in the middle of the night), prayer was very different. Deeply painful. Agonizing. Wrestling. And with many tears. But Oh! what a comforting revelation I received from God ~ who reminded me that some of the greatest manifestations of God appeared as answers to prayers which arose from the midst of the very worst of circumstances. I thought about how that Moses prayed when he brought Israel to the edge of the Red Sea, whilst Pharaoh's army was fast closing in on them. And of how Daniel prayed in the lions' den. How that Daniel's three brave companions prayed fervently in the midst of a furnace of fire. Jonah prayed from inside the belly of a great fish. Of course, Jesus prayed while he was dying on the cross. Steven prayed as he was being stoned. Those prayers, from those men, in those circumstances ~ impacted kings and empires; opened the floodgates of heaven so that salvation and deliverance flowed down from on high; changed the course of history; and, impacted the kingdom of God for eternity.
The body of Christ, today, is in the midst of a host of similarly dire circumstances. John G. Lake, who was mightily used by God during what was perhaps the greatest outpouring of the Holy Ghost since the days of the first Pentecost, said, that if the prayers of God's people (in Lake's own lifetime) ~ which prayers had wrought such mighty manifestations of God ~ yet, those prayers evidently were not sufficient to bring about the return of Jesus Christ, Lake said: then, 'What a great cry there must need come from that generation that shall witness the return of Christ!'
What a great cry, indeed.
"O, come, Lord! Come quickly! Come: fill your temple with your very Presence, and clothe us with your divine power! Come, Lord Jesus, in all of your fulness and strength! We have renounced this present evil world; whilst we have earnestly sought to rescue many from out of it. You have not forsaken your people, Lord. Did you not hear the cries of your people when they could no longer bear their afflictions in Egypt? Did you not send and deliver them? And do you not now hear the cries of your people? In Iraq. In Syria. In Iran. In America. In Venezuela. In Russia. In China. In Canada. In Israel. In Sudan. In.... Surely, you do. Most assuredly, you do, Jesus. O! come, Lord! Come now. Come now, we pray!"
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