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WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?
MY NAME SHALL BE GREAT
“For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My
name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for
My name shall be great among the nations,” says the Lord
of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)
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n the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi shows up and
confronts the nation of Israel over their half-hearted offerings,
lame sacrifices, and corrupt priesthood. The prophet calls them to
just “shut the whole thing down” because they have lost the revelation of God and His infinite worth. But then he delivers one of the
most powerful prophecies concerning the emergence of worship
and prayer in the earth before the second coming. In response
to Israel’s blindness, God will go to the four corners of the earth
and release the revelation of His name until incense arises from
every nation. This global movement will attest to God’s greatness
and provoke an obstinate people to jealousy.
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Prayer: Why Our Words to God Matter
The core reality of Malachi’s prophecy is the greatness of God’s
name. Right now there is so little prayer and worship because our
view of God is so small. But God is anointing preachers and teachers who will release the knowledge
of God and restore the revelation
of His greatness and the worth of
His Son. When the Church enters
into this revelation, our lives will
be transformed and we will join in with the song of heaven, praising the worthy Lamb of God.
RIGHT NOW THERE IS SO LITTLE
PRAYER AND WORSHIP BECAUSE
OUR VIEW OF GOD IS SO SMALL.
WHO IN THE WORLD DO YOU
THINK YOU’RE TALKING TO?
“Who in the world do you think you’re talking to?” This is the
phrase I heard as I was looking in the bathroom mirror. I was in
Basel, Switzerland, getting ready to preach at a morning conference session on prayer. In the middle of my preparations I suddenly heard the Lord say, “I have two questions for you.” When
He spoke, I knew in my spirit that these questions contained key
revelations concerning prayer. The first question arose within me,
as clear as day: “Who in the world do you think you’re talking to?”
Immediately I understood that God was highlighting the need for
us to change our thoughts and beliefs about who He is, what He is
like, and how He feels about us.
There is no greater hindrance to a life of prayer than wrong
thoughts about God. In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, theologian A. W. Tozer addresses this very issue.
The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church
today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it
is once more worthy of Him—and of her.1
Our God is glorious, beautiful, and good, and He cannot be
improved upon. Yet so few of us are connected to this reality, and
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our low estimation of God manifests in our prayer life. Like Israel,
we fail to recognize that He is a great king worthy of our time and
energy, our love and worship. This is why developing a strong and
faith-filled life of prayer must begin with changing our thoughts
about God.
In Luke 11, after spending years observing His interactions
with heaven, the disciples concluded that the secret to Jesus’ life
was prayer. “Teach us to pray.” The first thing Jesus told them to do
was forget about their shopping list of needs and problems. Instead,
in the very opening of the Lord’s Prayer He highlighted the importance of connecting to a person and a
place. The person is the Father and the
place is heaven. “Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name” (Luke 11:2b).
The source and foundation of all faith
and intimacy in prayer is found in a
true revelation of the Father.
Sadly, a majority of the Body of Christ has been more impacted by the father of lies, Satan, who constantly bombards us with
doubt and accusations against our Father in heaven. The enemy
knows that if he can sow unbelief into our hearts and minds concerning who God is and how He feels about us, then we will never
pray. This unbelief is typically rooted in two areas: God’s ability and
God’s emotions towards us. Either we believe God does not have the
resources to help us, or we believe He is stingy and will withhold
those resources from us. Many of us view God as a middle-class,
working dad with seven billion children; He has a good heart, but
there are so many demands placed on Him, and we are just another
voice crying out for something. Others view God through the lens
of their relationship with their earthly dad who was emotionally
absent and unwilling to meet their needs. Without even realizing
it, they attribute those same characteristics to God. In both cases
we allow broken, fallen men and the lies of the enemy to form our
beliefs about our heavenly Father.
THE SOURCE AND
FOUNDATION OF ALL FAITH
AND INTIMACY IN PRAYER
IS FOUND IN A TRUE
REVELATION OF THE FATHER.
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Prayer: Why Our Words to God Matter
The only way to break free from this unbelief is to feed ourselves on the knowledge of God—the truths concerning who He
is and how He feels about us. That morning in Switzerland, after
the Lord confronted me and asked what I really thought about
Him, I preached on the greatness of God. The Bible is filled with
the revelation of God’s nature. He is merciful, long-suffering, patient, faithful, and compassionate. He is jealous—an all-consuming fire—and He is love. He is not just loving, for that is an action,
but He Himself is love. He is rich to all who call upon Him, not
just in provision, but in generosity. He is overflowing in abundance toward those who call out to Him. He is kind, all-knowing,
all-powerful, and present everywhere. He is eternal—the Alpha
and Omega, beginning and end. He is meek and humble, just and
righteous. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. As Job declared,
“Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a
whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can
understand?” (Job 26:14).
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself when God began? Genesis 1 states that “in the beginning” God was there. In John 17 Jesus
speaks about the glory He experienced with the Father “before the
foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Have you ever meditated on
the truth that our Father is uncreated? Everything else in existence,
from the smallest atomic structure to the most powerful angelic
being, is created. God is in another class; He is uncreated and He
has no beginning. He is eternally powerful and eternally wise. No
one gave Him anything and no one can take anything from Him.
He is so transcendent and infinite that He must humble Himself
to behold the heavens and the earth:
The Lord is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
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Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
(Psalm 113:4–6)
In Isaiah 40 God releases a powerful message of comfort to His
people in the hour of their greatest suffering. What is this message?
All flesh is grass, but the word of God stands forever. Our source of
comfort and confidence comes from seeing the greatness of God!
Isaiah then goes on to describe this greatness: God measures the
seas in His palm and the heavens with the span of His hand. He
weighs mountains in a scale. The nations are like drops in a bucket
to Him, and all the people like grasshoppers. He names each star
and calls it forth in His strength. There is no one like Him. (See
Isaiah 40:7–26).
In 1999 I heard a message preached on Revelation 4 titled “15
Doors into the Beauty Realm of God.” For over an hour the speaker
elaborated on the descriptions of the throne room found in Revelation 4, and I barely understood a word he was saying! The concept
of meditating on the greatness of God and encountering Him on
His throne was totally foreign. However, I determined that I would
unlock whatever God might have for me in this chapter, and so I
began to consistently meditate on Revelation 4. Today, I am convinced that when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9), He was thinking
about the greatness of the Father on His throne.
In Revelation 4 the apostle John is supernaturally transported by the Spirit to heaven. The first thing that he sees is a throne,
and then he describes the One seated on the throne. If you have
ever tried to explain something unfamiliar to an individual, then
you know what it’s like to use examples and analogies in order to
paint a picture. This is what we read in Revelation 4. John is trying
to use familiar objects to describe the heavenly scene before him.
He says the One on the throne is like a jasper stone and a sardius
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Prayer: Why Our Words to God Matter
stone. A jasper stone is the ancient equivalent of a diamond, and
a sardius stone is red, so he is describing something diamond-like
with fiery red intermingled. Then there is a rainbow like an emerald surrounding the throne. These gemstones are beautiful in the
natural, but the beauty of God transcends what can be seen with
natural eyes. His beauty is the compilation of all His perfections.
It is the product of His nature and His very Being. God is blinding
light and holiness, He is an all-consuming fire of love and jealousy,
and He overflows with covenantal mercy. He is beautiful, burning,
and merciful.
This mercy is clearly demonstrated as John describes the scene
around the throne. Twenty-four elders are seated on thrones, wearing robes and crowns. Our God does not give us what we deserve!
Instead, He shares His throne with us, clothes us with His own
righteousness, and crowns us with rewards. When we awaken to
the revelation of our place before God, I believe prayer and worship
will erupt across the earth.
The book of Revelation does not describe the glory and greatness of the Father alone. Immediately in the first chapter we read
a description of Jesus that reveals the divine glory of the Son. In
Revelation 1, just before the throne room scene in Revelation 4,
John hears a voice like a trumpet. When he turns to see the source
of this voice, he beholds a Man standing among seven lampstands.
His white hair represents His wisdom, His garments represent His
calling as an intercessor and High Priest, His eyes are eyes of fire,
zeal, jealousy, and love. His bronze feet represent His zeal to oppose unrighteousness. His voice like waters is creative in power. The
sword in His mouth is the power of the Word of God. His hands
holding the seven stars represent His nurturing of prophetic messengers. John was so overwhelmed by the beauty and glory of this
Man that he fell at His feet like one dead (Revelation 1:12–20). I
believe the day is coming when an entire generation will fall on
their faces at the revelation of Jesus. Isaiah 4:2 says that in the last
days the Branch of the Lord will be seen as beautiful and glorious.
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Jesus is the Branch—the promised King who will come and rule
the earth—and all of humanity will see His beauty and glory when
He returns to reign. Isaiah 33:17 prophesies that our “eyes will see
the King in His beauty.”
I have often heard Mike Bickle share a powerful encounter
he had concerning the glory and beauty of Jesus. During a Friday
night prayer meeting in 1996 he quietly said to the Lord, “Jesus,
You are so beautiful.” He said this because he had been thinking
about the Song of Solomon—but as soon as the words left his
mouth a powerful surge of God’s presence rushed through him.
He was surprised by this, and so he said it again: “Jesus, You are
beautiful.” Again the presence of God rushed through him like
electricity. This went on for five hours. Every time Mike declared,
“Jesus, You are beautiful,” or “Body of Christ, open your gates to
the beautiful God,” the power of the Holy Spirit would touch him.
A week later Mike received a letter from a woman who wanted to
share a dream with him. The night of the prayer meeting, while
he was declaring the beauty of Jesus, this woman received a word
from the Lord in her dream: “God said that He would give you the
revelation of His beauty, and you were to call the Church to the
beauty of God.” We are not supposed to know Jesus as someone
who simply meets our needs and gives us things; He is the beautiful God who will overwhelm our hearts and exhilarate us with
the revelation of His glory.
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
“Who do you say that I am?” This is the question Jesus asked His
disciples over two thousand years ago, the question I heard in Switzerland, and it is what God is asking us today.
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He
asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the
Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist,
some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
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Prayer: Why Our Words to God Matter
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon
Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God.” (Matthew 16:13–16)
Many believers are content to listen to what others say about
who Jesus is. They think it is enough to be connected to someone
who owns their convictions. But what others say about God should
be a catalyst for our personal journey of faith and discovery. This is
why Jesus asked the disciples what others were saying about Him.
He wanted them to wrestle over whether or not they were basing
their faith on personal revelation. It as is if He was saying, “Are you
living your life through the words of a man or a woman? Have you
truly grappled with your beliefs? Have you come to your own conclusions and do you possess your own revelation?”
Then Jesus asked a second question: “But who do you say that
I am?” Simon responded immediately with the confession, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is more shocking
than God using Balaam’s donkey to deliver His message! Simon,
the fisherman with no education and even less wisdom, released
the revelation of who this Man is. Jesus declared, “Flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you.” In other words, “You didn’t hear this
at the ‘Who Do You Say I Am’ conference. You didn’t get it from a
man or woman. My Father revealed this to you.” It does not matter
how many teachings we hear, how many anointed speakers we listen
to, or how well we can parrot what we’ve heard. Only the Father
can reveal His Son to us.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that
you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever
you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
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you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew
16:17–19)
Notice that when Simon received the revelation of who Jesus
is, Jesus turned the tables on him: “Now that you know who I am,
I will tell you who you are” (paraphrase). Simon turned into Peter
at the revelation of Jesus—and so it will be for everyone who goes
on the journey of receiving the revelation of Jesus. Many believers in the Church today are obsessed with finding their identity,
but only those who find the Son will truly understand who they
were created to be.
Jesus then went on to state that He will build His Church on
this foundation: “On the rock of what you believe about Me, I will
build a Church that will prevail even against the gates of hell” (paraphrase). Here we are given an amazing glimpse of the anointing the
Church will operate in when believers are rooted in the revelation of
Christ. Notice that it is a prayer anointing. When we know who He
is and who we are before Him, we will carry an authority that will
overthrow the gates of hell because heaven will back up our voices.
What we bind will be bound and what we loose will be loosed. This
prayer anointing will move the Church from a defensive position to
an offensive position. We will cease living in our old, defeatist patterns and moving from cycle to cycle of fear, shame, and rejection.
When we receive the revelation of Jesus and discover our identity
within Him, we will rise up and storm the gates of hell.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
“Who do you think you are?” This was the question that thundered in my spirit the second morning of my stay in Basel, Switzerland. The revelation of who He is and the revelation of who
we are to Him are the pillars on which confidence and authority in prayer rest. We cannot separate the quest for our identity
from the knowledge of God. Many believers experience identity
crises because they are trying to find themselves outside of God.
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Prayer: Why Our Words to God Matter
But as Peter discovered, if we know who He is, then He will tell
us who we are.
Isaiah 62 is one of the clearest illustrations of the powerful
prayer anointing that is released when we know who we are in
God and how He feels about us. In 1995 Mike Bickle dreamed that
he was preaching in a huge arena.2 As he looked out at the crowd,
suddenly the voice of God filled the arena and the Lord said, “Call
them Hephzibah. Tell them I delight in them.” In the dream, Mike
saw a change sweep across the room as this word was released. He
clearly saw the dramatic shift in the hearts of the people as they
heard God proclaim His delight in them. The very nature of their
inner life was transformed. When he woke up, Mike decided to
share this message in his sermon that morning. He grabbed the
Bible and turned to Isaiah, knowing that the passage containing
“Hephzibah” was somewhere in the Old Testament prophets. He
skimmed through all of Isaiah, but skipped chapter 62 because he
was certain the reference wasn’t there. Isaiah 62:6 speaks of the global prayer movement. In it, God promises to raise up intercessors
and watchmen who will pray continually until Jesus establishes His
throne in Jerusalem. Mike preached on this verse more than any
other verse, and so he assumed he knew the chapter inside out. An
hour later, after fruitlessly searching through all the Old Testament
prophets, he finally broke down and pulled out his concordance.
The reference for Hephzibah was Isaiah 62:4.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name . . .
You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;
But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you . . .
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you.
I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
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They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
(Isaiah 62:2b, 4, 5b–7)
The revelation that struck Mike’s heart when he finally found
this verse was that the source of perseverance in prayer is the knowledge that God delights in us. Mike had been exhorting believers to
take their place on the wall of intercession, but he had not realized
the secret to raising up watchmen lies in proclaiming the truth that
God enjoys His people. Although the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah
62 will take place when the Lord returns and the nation of Israel
enters into the fullness of her identity, God is releasing this new
name to the Church today so that we might embody this revelation.
He is changing our paradigms concerning who He is and how He feels about
us. The power of shame, condemnation,
and guilt are being broken as we receive
this one simple truth: He delights in us.
As God begins to fill the earth with messages and songs proclaiming His love, it will awaken confidence in
our hearts.
For many of us prayer feels like drudgery. We secretly think
God is ugly, boring, and doesn’t like us, so we keep our distance
and avoid talking to Him. But the truths of Isaiah 62:4 will free us
from religion, boredom, and complacency and awaken us to the
realities of confidence, authority, and partnership. In the first verse
of Isaiah 62 God declares, “For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes
forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.” A few
verses later we read that the watchmen will give God no rest until
Jerusalem is a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:7). God wants a partner, a bride. He wants to bring His people forth in love and then
THE SOURCE OF
PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER
IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT
GOD DELIGHTS IN US.
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Prayer: Why Our Words to God Matter
fill them with the burnings of His heart. We are not going to stop
praying, because we know what He wants and we are joined to
Him in love. This is what will set one hundred million intercessors on the wall for Israel. The revelation that we are His beloved
bride will be the foundation and fuel of the prayer movement in
the last days. Isaiah 62:4 is a prophetic promise. Believers whose
identity is founded on the truth that God delights in them will not
stop praying until heaven and earth are united and Jerusalem is a
praise in the earth.
NOTES
1. A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1961), 4.
2. Mike Bickle, “Called to Song 8:6, Hephzibah, and Jesus in Red,” Session 6 in
Encountering Jesus: Visions, Revelations, Angelic Activity from IHOPKC’s Prophetic
History, http://www.mikebickle.org.edgesuite.net/MikeBickleVOD/2009/2009091
9A-T-Called_to_Song_8_6_Hephzibah_and_Jesus_in_Red_IPH06.pdf (accessed
February 3, 2013), 7–8.