How can you pray in a way that stands in the gap? Token prayers get token answers. In this sermon clip, Bill Johnson teaches on the importance of intercessory prayer and how to truly pray in a way that stands in the gap and brings transformation and redemption.

prayers of convenience get answers of

convenience token prayers get token

answers and prayers that are costly

prayers that that are literally put on

the line are the ones that actually

shape the course of history

turn if you would to Numbers Chapter 16.

I’ve got several verses we’ll just see

what we have time for because I’m not

going to do a full teaching because I do

want us to get back into worship and

prayer

but there’s this

situation in number 16. I love reading

numbers and

all these bizarre stories you know

and here’s this plague that is just

killing

I don’t remember how many now

thousands of people if I recall

correctly

plague and it says in uh

in verse 46 Moses said to Aaron this is

number 16 verse 46 Moses said to Aaron

take a censor put fire in it from the

altar

put incense on it take it quickly to the

congregation and make atonement for them

for wrath has gone out from the Lord the

plague has begun

then Aaron took it as Moses commanded

ran into the midst of the assembly and

already the plague had begun among the

people so he put in the incense and made

atonement for the people

here’s a phrase he stood between the

dead and the living

so the plague was stopped

what does the Innocence represent

biblically prayer he stood between the

living

and the dying and the dead

and if ever there was a time where we

needed for the people of God God to rise

to

to our potential to our call to our

place in prayer it’s right now to stand

between the living and the dead

and there are times where the the

measure of sin Etc that exists in a

given situation requires judgment but

the Lord looks for mercy

and he looks for those who will

intercede and pray and that’s really our

role so many would look at this and say

well God sent the plague just let it go

it’s supposed to discipline everybody

and put them in their place and that’s

not the heart of the Lord

the heart of the Lord there are times

where circumstances demand response but

he’s looking for someone who will simply

pray

and this harp and bold concept once

again that IHOP does so well is a

mixture of intercession and worship and

it’s what’s been going on here for for

months now

um

but I love the picture here of taking

incense or let’s just put it this way

the Cry of your heart and run into the

middle of a battle

prayers of convenience get answers of

convenience token prayers get token

answers and prayers that are costly

prayers that that are literally put on

the line are the ones that actually

shape the course of history and we see

it with Hannah we see that Hannah when

she was wanting a son and she had prayed

and prayed and prayed nothing had

happened and she finally comes before

the Lord and she is she’s besides

herself in the way she is praying in

fact the uh Eli the priest comes to her

and says you know you shouldn’t come to

the temple drunk and she said I’m not

drunk I’m I’m just I’m I’m grieved in

heart and she is praying outside of her

norm and sometimes it takes prayers

outside of our Norm sometimes we get a

religious muscle developed where we have

a norm and then there’s outside of the

norm

see

you just without you just make lights go

on and off it’s amazing

praying outside of yourself put puts you

on put you on uh you put your your your

reputation your thoughts your

self-esteem your all all of who you are

it gets put on the line and there is a

summons

before the Lord to see something changed

and it’s not an everyday prayer to be

honest it’s not an everyday prayer

because it’s it’s uh it’s too exhausting

and Jesus talked about those of you who

when you fast put oil on your face do

all this make sure that your countenance

doesn’t carry

the countenance of the battle in the

prayer time make sure that when you get

in public you’re not that person

many of us were turned off at an early

age to intercession because everyone we

knew that was an intercessor was

depressed

there were there were the sourest

looking people on the planet why we

didn’t want to be like them

and uh

and the but the Lord is is really

calling us into a place in a place of of

intense prayer

fasting is not uh an act that we do to

uh get brownie points it doesn’t like

increase our favor fasting is because

we’re hungrier for something that we

can’t see than we are for what we can

see

fasting is just simply one of the ways

you refine focus and refined focus is

where there’s a display of the excuse me

refined focus is where there’s the

greatest display of God’s given

Authority that he’s given to us refine

focus is that laser beam of effective uh

uh service in in prayer

what happens in in prayer so often

is prayers of prayers of convenience

I’ve got to be careful here because some

of those powerful prayers in the Bible

were one sentence prayers

I read the book of Nehemiah you’ll see

them but they weren’t prayers of

convenience they cost him

they cost him they they followed pretty

radical obedience pretty radical pursuit

of the will of God and yet he he prayed

these one sense prayers we sometimes

think in terms of long uh you know

um

hours of religious activity and prayers

which is has its place

but but the Lord is is actually there

are times where we pray pray pray pray

pray and then we pray and something

happens

there are times where we we keep

ourselves busy in the activity of prayer

and then there’s an Insight then there’s

there’s a word that comes to mind and

then there’s somebody walks over to you

and there’s a partnership uh the

agreement in prayer sometimes the

Breakthrough is waiting for a moment and

we position ourselves with the absolute

embracing of our assignment to pray

until we see breakthrough and there’s

that kind of a moment that comes upon

the people of God where we we pray but

we continuously position ourselves for

God show me what else there needs to be

done because sometimes the Breakthrough

comes at the end of a simple decree

sometimes it’s an act of obedience

sometimes

quite honestly sometimes we’re I’ve seen

situations where we pray pray pray and

finally we just we see no breakthrough

but we just leave it and say it’s done

we just let’s walk away we I refuse to

wrestle in this one anymore and it’s

because there’s that sense of Confidence

from the presence of God that it’s a

done deal

and sometimes in activities your

greatest activity

sometimes the position of rest is your

strongest position sometimes it’s it’s

violence but by violence and a Christian

sense let me

let me redefine that because this will

be reposted I’m sure but not my

explanation just the violence part

violence in the kingdom is faith

and it’s Faith that’s followed with

activity

faith is is violence when when the Bible

says in Matthew 11 it says the the

Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and a

violent take it by force

that violence is the activity

that is sponsored by faith

it is

it is faith faith is violent because it

requires action

and that and you you can’t you can’t

take biblical action and have nothing

happen

you can be busy and have nothing happen

you know you can be busy with you know

Christian activities but uh uh and have

nothing happen but but this response to

the spirit of God

where we make that decree where we give

that gift where we March from the

building