Prayer, The Combination Prayers

Prayer, The Combination Prayers Father’s House Ministries Prayer, The Combination Prayers Based on Colossians 3:16-17 Today, I want to conclude the s...
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Prayer, The Combination Prayers Father’s House Ministries

Prayer, The Combination Prayers Based on Colossians 3:16-17 Today, I want to conclude the series on prayer. When I started, I thought I was going to give you a general overview of different types of prayer disciplines and ask you to pray more. However, once I started to share on prayers, I found that I have been on prayers for the last ten weeks. It has been a wonderful and powerful series – through it, some of you have caught the passion for prayer, many of you received the gift of prayer language (that is, tongue), and the most of you are actually feeling and sensing the presence of the Holy Spirit on the continuing basis. To me, there is nothing more precious than being able to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, so that I may rest in His presence. I pray that all of you would have your passion for Jesus kindled. As your pastors, there is nothing that pleases Pastor Michele and me more than your hearts being ignited with the passion for Jesus and our hearing that you are enjoying the fellowship with the Holy Spirit continually. Both Pastor Michele and I thank God, and we want to thank you, whenever we see or hear of you being transformed into the image of Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Now, today, I want to bring the series on prayer to conclusion. In the beginning, the definition of prayer I gave you is, Prayer = A process by which information is exchanged between an individual and God directly through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. Therefore, under this broad definition of prayer, any exchange of information between God and you would be a prayer. That means your prayer is not limited to your speaking forth what you want from God. Even in Colossians 3:16-17, it says: Colossians 3:16-17 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Here, God is telling us that we may communicate with Him in not only in words, but also in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs, in words, in deeds, and in giving thanks. Actually, God has unlimited ways of communicating to us – and likewise, we have unlimited ways of communicating with God. Therefore, our communications with God may take on many different forms – not limited to what we would normally call a “prayer.” So, today, I would like to conclude my series on prayer by sharing with you, the combination prayers. The term “combination prayer” is what I would call any prayer in which you are praying in one form or another combined with one or more activities. In that context, as in Colossians 3:17, anything we do could be and should be a combination prayer. Colossians 3:17 exhorts us to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him, that is, with a prayer of thanksgiving. A good illustration of a combination prayer would be • Praying in tongue, while praying also in the mind 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. • Here the Holy Spirit is showing us that we do not need to be limited in praying in one form – in these verses, our spirit is praying and so is our mind – In fact, we could have our entire body, soul and spirit be praying at the same time.

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Prayer, The Combination Prayers Father’s House Ministries •



Examples: a. Praying in the spirit out loud, with thoughts related to or unrelated at the same time. b. Praying the spirit quietly, with thoughts related to or unrelated at the same time. c. Praying in the spirit loud or quietly, with thoughts related to or unrelated at the same time, and raising our hands or dancing in worship of our God. Activation – have the congregation spend a minute praying in spirit and in the mind.

Another good illustration of a combination prayer would be • Praying in the intimacy with God – in the secret place where He and you are alone. • To me, this is the most intimate form of prayer – it is spending that intimacy with the Holy Spirit. • This is a form of prayer, in which you are more concerned with spending time with Jesus, that is, fostering deep intimacy, than making petitions. • Some people call this form of prayer, Soaking Prayer. • Examples: a. Soaking Prayer i. Free Combination Prayers: Ordinary Prayers, Meditative Prayers (meditation, contemplation, listening prayer, seeing prayer, and/or discernment prayer), Heart Prayers, Spirit Prayers, and any combination thereof. ii. Often focused on two-way communication with God: listening His voice and responding. iii. Often Music is an integral part. iv. Often With a Strong Presence of the Holy Spirit. • Why Strong Presence of the Holy Spirit? o We start out by inviting the Holy Spirit – our establishing the intimacy. o He loves to spend time with us in intimacy – our showing the intimacy. o We value His presence – our proving the intimacy. More amazing thing is that He values our presence very much too; that is, our being ourselves before Him without any hidden-ness of guilt or shame, or without trying to be someone we are not. He loves when we give our undivided attention to Him; that is, our full devotion. Oh! How He loves when we show our love to Him! o Example: I love it greatly whenever my sons show their love for me – by coming to me and desiring to spend time with me, wanting to play a game with me, giving me a hug, and telling me that they love me – How much more God, Who is love, love those moments when we tell Him that we love Him and value His presence and His intimacy. Let me ask you a question – Do you value the presence of the Holy Spirit? o Have you ever had His warm, blanket-like presence, come over you and you know that this presence is the most important thing in your life? o And when He does, are you willing to drop everything…and go and spend time with the Holy Spirit? o And when He does, do you tell Him that you love Him and His presence, and that you greatly value His intimacy with you? o I know it may not mean anything to some of you – especially if you have not had that experience – but, if the Holy Spirit were to let you feel His presence come over you right now, how much would you value it? o Why do you think David cried out “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalms 51:11 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. • Was he concerned that he may lose the deposit of the Holy Spirit? • Did he not have an assurance of salvation? – Of course, he did. • But, unless you were in His With You Presence, and how good and important that presence and the moment is to you, there is no way you would understand. • He was crying out for that intimate loving presence that just came over him and he did not want that With You presence of the Holy Spirit to lift or disappear.

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Have you ever cried out “Oh Holy Spirit, please do not take away your Holy Spirit from me. Not now! Please stay with me longer! Please linger with me a little longer!” • It is the cry of intimacy! o Sometimes when you set your heart to pray and spend time with Jesus, you feel His presence hubbering over you, waiting and inviting you to join Him in the moments of intimacy, in quietness, and in communion. o Sometimes when you do not feel His presence right away, you need to invite and wait for His presence to come. Example: As I was driving my car, the loving presence of the Holy Spirit came over me, and I am enveloped in His thick liquid love…His inviting me to share that intimate time with Him…my valuing His presence…and as His presence lifts, my desiring to spend more time with Him…asking Him to stay another minute or two… Example: Sometimes when I step into a pulpit ready to preach or getting ready to pray for His people, I would feel His presence already waiting for me, hovering over the pulpit waiting for me to come, or inviting me to join Him in ministering to His people. Sometimes, when His presence is strong and it hovers over me in strength, I can hardly walk straight… However, sometimes when I step into the pulpit to preach or getting ready to minister, and do not feel the presence of God, I may have to wait a while and invite Him afresh until He comes. o The question then is…are you willing to wait for Him or do what you want to do without Him. • Activation – have the congregation spend two-three minutes in the soaking prayer. i. Invite the Holy Spirit ii. Freely combine different forms of prayers: Ordinary Prayers, Meditative Prayers (meditation, contemplation, listening prayer, seeing prayer, and/or discernment prayer), Heart Prayers, Spirit Prayers, and any combination thereof. iii. Focus on two-way communication with God: listening His voice and responding. iv. If helpful, add background worship music. b. Prophetic Worship – Worshipping as the Holy Spirit shows and leads i. Not much different from Soaking Prayer, except the Prophetic Worship combines various forms of worship with your prayers. 1. Combined with Playing Instruments 2. Combined with Singing 3. Combined with Prophesying 4. Combined with Reading the Scriptures out aloud 5. Combined with Dancing 6. Combined with Flag Waving ii. Music is an integral part, and worshipping as the Holy Spirit gives you the words is the key. iii. Often with a strong Presence of the Holy Spirit o Example: A person might be listening to worship music, has an urge from the Holy Spirit to dance around the room, and as she dances around the room, she picks up a ribbon attached to a stick and starts to twirl it, and she is prompted by the Holy Spirit to start singing or praying in the spirit. o Example: A person might be playing his guitar, and as he is playing it, the Holy Spirit gives a new song or new rhythm in his spirit and he starts to play unknown music. o Example: In a group dynamic, the group would be playing together and as they come to a pause in the worship, the drummer suddenly breakouts with a new rhythm, and everyone would synchronize the worship to that new beat…

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Prayer, The Combination Prayers Father’s House Ministries Example: In another group dynamic, the group of people would worship together with music (keyboard, drums, guitar, singing, etc…) and suddenly the Holy Spirit would lead a person to read a short scripture, then another would prophesy according to the heart of God in those verses, then another would start to sing a new song in the theme of the prophesy, and everyone would be led by the Holy Spirit to synchronize the worship experience. This example is often used in places called “House of Prayers” throughout the U.S. As the Holy Spirit leads and provides, and as He provides a place for us, we hope to establish a House of Prayer in which continuing prayer & worship are offered to God – with the freedom for people to come and worship God through singing, playing, ministering, and in prophetic worship – one session might be with the adults, the next session might be with the youths, the next session might be with the mixed group, the next session might be pure intercession, the next session might be teaching on the intimacy in God or how to become intimate with God, etc… In fact, would you all start to pray for such “House of Prayers” in which all of us can come together whenever we can, and worship Him freely – this is one of the vision and the mandate God has given to Father’s House. o

Another good illustration of a combination prayer would be • Having Prophetic Experiences. Having prophetic experiences like having dreams, visions, trances, third-heaven experiences, mental images in our minds, thoughts, and imaginations, and like having physical manifestations. Having prophetic experiences are great, but more important than having the experiences is how you discern those experiences: that is, how to engage the prophetic experiences, interact with the prophetic experiences, discern the prophetic experiences, and interpret the prophetic experiences. – That is why we spent two weeks on how to discern, not only prayers, but also all prophetic experiences. That is why we spent two weeks in why need to discern, how to discern, what to discern, and how to apply the prophetic experiences. a. Discerning the spirit while having prophetic experiences of the mind or of the spirit, such as dreams, visions, trances, third-heaven experiences, and mental images in our minds, thoughts, and imaginations. Example: Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh’s dreams – of seven fat cows and seven lean cows, and of seven full heads of grain and seven thin heads of grain. b. Discerning the spirit while having prophetic experiences of the body – the manifestations. Manifestations are simply our body’s reaction due to the presence of the Holy Spirit – the manifestations are a form of prophetic expressions initiated by the Holy Spirit. Example: A woman weeping and crying out aloud during the worship service, because the Lord, in her vision, came and freed her from 30 years of guilt and condemnation – by telling her that He does not condemn her, but love her with the everlasting love. John 8:3-11: Jesus not condemning the woman caught in adultery. Example: A man shaking uncontrollably during worship, because the Lord, in his vision, came and anointed him with the anointing for miraculous power and what felt like a powerful wind blowing through his body. Acts 2:1-4: Holy Spirit came as a violent wind – things shake when violent wind comes. Psalms 77:16-18: the elements and earth trembled and quaked under the glory of God; how much more, a man. Example: A man doing the motions of swimming on the floor – because he was having an experience before God, such that he was swimming in the river of His Spirit, as Jesus was removing the shackles off him and healing him. Revelations 22:1-2: The river of the water of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb.

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Prayer, The Combination Prayers Father’s House Ministries Another good illustration of a combination prayer would be • Prophetic Ministry. Prophetic Ministry – Interceding or delivering a word to others, during or after having heard the voice of God. 1 Corinthians 14:3 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. Now to everyday experiences, more important illustrations of combination prayers I would like all of you to exercise daily are: • Praying while driving, studying, reading the bible, making an offering, and even sleeping. Example: A man praying while driving – pray driving through the city asking for the harvest of souls or for the revival God promised – in either in words or in the spirit. Example: A man praying while studying – pray in the preparation to study, during the study, and after the study – in either in words or in the spirit. Example: A man praying while taking an exam – pray for peace and guidance during the exam – in either in words or in the spirit: John taking the California Bar. Example: A man praying before, during and after reading the Bible – pray for the Holy Spirit to teach and give revelation as you read the bible – in either in words or in the spirit. Example: A man praying before, during and after an offering – pray for the Holy Spirit to bless and multiply the offering, and use it to destroy the work of the devil – in either in words or in the spirit. Example: A man praying before, during and after sleep – pray for the Holy Spirit to use dreams to speak or to give revelation during the sleep – in either in words or in the spirit. o Example: John ministering in Mexico – When I was ministering in Mexico, I had to give a message that evening, but I did not have a message ready. I was trying to formulate a message all day, but nothing other than a mixture of loose thoughts was in my mind. More than that, I was very tired…and I had only about two hours before the meeting. So, I lay on my bed, praying and asking the Holy Spirit to download a message to me – and I fell asleep without knowing. When I awoke up, I did not have a clearly outlined message in my mind, but only a few bullets of things I wanted to share that night and I felt confident that everything would be OK. That evening, I gave a message that was one of more revelatory than the usual, and people were blessed greatly. Praise God. Example: David going to bed in the LORD Psalm 63:6 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Here, “think of you” means to “meditate on you” or to “imagine the wonders and memories of you” or to “dream of you.” How many of us know that David was a man just like you and me, and he fell asleep many times remembering the LORD; that is in his prayer. Most of us would blame ourselves and say: “Woe is me, I fell asleep again and my flesh is too weak!” --- but we must understand and have faith, that the Holy Spirit (and His ministering angels) were with us during our sleep – because we had invited Him – and left a deposit of Himself (that is, the anointing) for us. Our God is Good! And, He is Very, Very Good! In fact, He is Great! He is Bigger than, and Greater than our falling asleep to miss Him! Of course, if all our prayer is in this mode, then we might want to check whether we are merely falling asleep every time.

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Prayer, The Combination Prayers Father’s House Ministries So, I have given you several examples of the combination prayers – and I pray and hope that you have seen how easy it is to pray – in fact, God wants your prayer life to be not only something you do once a while, but praying to be a part of your life. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. By now, you have seen that there are more ways to pray and communicate with God than you thought possible. I have covered at least seven major categories of prayers in the last ten weeks: 1. Ordinary Prayer (5 sub-types, with additional sub-sub-types) 2. Meditative Prayer (5 sub-types) 3. Heart Prayer (2 sub-types) 4. Spirit Prayer (3 sub-types) 5. Prophetic Symbolism (4 sub-types) 6. Social Justice (2 sub-types) 7. Combination Prayer

All these are acceptable forms of prayer, I pray and hope that you would become comfortable with several of these prayers. Never be intimidated by anyone whom you think prays better than you or more than you – you might want to be challenged by their prayer life, but never intimidated them – think of the story of Balaam’s Donkey. You can all become the one with great prayer life, if you want to with the help of the Holy Spirit. Philippians 4:13 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. As a good musician is able to play several instruments, all Christians should know and practice several of these prayers. You should find the ones you like and could do with ease, and continue to practice them until you form your holy habit. • •

Hebrews 5:14 [NIV] 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14 [NRSV] 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil Another way of expressing Hebrews 5:14 would be “You will discover great riches of God, and be able to distinguish between good and evil, by forming a Holy Habit through training yourselves by continued practice.” Pastor John

We need to all find the types of prayer that we are most comfortable with, and allow the Holy Spirit to talk to us, show us, and lead us to be conformed into His image. As we walk with the Holy Spirit, some of these practices will start to form a discipline, and it will become what I call “holy habit.” Having disciplines in the Holy Spirit is a wonderful and great gift of the Holy Spirit. Develop them, and enjoy them. MINISTER: Lord, I pray that the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation will come upon Your people, open the eyes of our hearts, and impart Your Spirit of intercession, so that we may all learn to pray and enjoy being in Your presence – so that we may know You, and that we may know the hope to which You have called us, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18-19

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