Changing New York City

This week, Suzanne and I are in Clinton, NJ, where she is on business for her company. It is about a ten-mile bus ride from New York City. Yesterday, she finished early, so we decided to pop over to see a few sites and soak up a bit of ambiance. We took the bus out to the Port Authority terminal, got our bearings and walked down a few blocks to see the Empire State Building. Along the way we learned that all the traffic signals are merely suggestive for both vehicles and pedestrians.

It has become my habit now that wherever I go, I pray. Usually it is in my prayer language (a.k.a. “speaking in tongues”). If there is music in the air, I often sing along rhythmically in tongues, blending it in with the atmosphere. I expect that if anybody hears me, they think I am just singing along. And in NYC, I doubt that anybody will be surprised to hear someone carrying a tune in a foreign language — which, of course, is exactly what I was doing yesterday as we walked along.

New York City is an interesting place, to say the least, but what it needs more than anything is a revelation of heaven, a revelation of Jesus Christ. As a child of God, I am a fully-authorized agent of Jesus Christ and a distributor of heaven. So as we walked, I prayed as Jesus taught us and called for the kingdom of God to come and the will of God to be done in New York City just as it is being done in heaven.

We came to the Empire State Building and joined the tour up to the observation deck on the 86th floor. The view was, as you can imagine, spectacular. We circled the deck, taking in all the angles. I was prayer-walking, filled with a deep sense that God really loves that city and greatly desires to bring it into His wonderful destiny. So what else could I do but get into agreement with the heart of God? When we get into agreement on earth with the will of our Father in heaven, it is indeed a powerful thing.

As the day began to wane, we came back down and ate at the Chipotle Mexican Grill on the ground floor, facing out on 34th Street, and watched the passersby. God love ‘em, I couldn’t help but to pray some more, blending my song in with the music playing in the restaurant.

After dinner, we headed back to the Port Authority, crossing the streets now like New Yorkers. We walked past peep-show storefronts, praying for the glory of God and the superior pleasures of knowing Him to displace the weak and watery imitation of life that passes for pleasure inside those dingy doorways. Before we reached the terminal, we detoured, just a bit, into the middle of Times Square, where we found ourselves surrounded in a canyon of huge video screens rising high up the sides of the buildings. We were exhilarated by their colorful display. And, of course, I could not help but to stand there praying, in wonder.

We made our way up West 44th Street, passing the Shubert, where Spamalot is playing, and Les Miserables at the Broadhurst, and reached the bus terminal. As we rode the 192 back to Clifton, Suz turned to me and said, “You changed New York City today.” I thought a moment about how prayer truly does change things, and I remembered the parable Jesus told, about how the kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed. He sleeps by night and rises by day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though the man does not know how; he only knows that there will be a harvest. And I realized that Suzanne was right: we changed New York City that day by our prayers. We scattered our seed, and we know that there will be a harvest — that’s how the kingdom of God works.

Prayer Walking at Westfield

For this Thanksgiving and Christmas season, I have taken up a special project of prayer — actually of prayer walking. Four or five days a week, I am going up to the local shopping mall, Westfield Shoppingtown, for some onsite prayer.

Jesus told a parable of some different soils — some hard and compacted, some rocky, some full of thorns and thistles, and some very good soil. The seed that was scattered was very good seed—the best, in fact — but the differences in the soil made all the difference in the world in regard to the harvest.

In another parable, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a man who planted a seed, and then when about his business. The seed grew, though the man did not know how. He simply prepared good soil, planted good seed and then had full confidence that there would be a wonderful harvest — and there was.

So my project is to prepare the soil for a good and fruitful planting. During this next month, there is going to be a special opportunity for the seed of the Gospel to be presented as people go about their holiday preparations. It will be a witness of the coming of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, and also a consideration of why He came.

Yes, there is a lot of commercialization that has grown up around it, and for many or most people, the commercial tends to choke out the spiritual. That’s why I’m praying. I’m preparing the soil at Westfield to set an atmosphere where that will be receptive to the Gospel message inherent in the Christmas story. As I go up and down the mall (I probably look like I’m just walking the mall for my health), I am praying. Things like:

• Father, show how remarkable you are at Westfield.
• Show Your glory and reveal Who You are in this place (sometimes I actually sing this to a little blues riff).
• Kingdom of God, come to Westfield.
• Will of God, be done at Westfield just as it is being done in heaven.
• Sometimes I pray a particular Scripture that comes to mind.
• Sometimes I pray in tongues.
• Often I sing in tongues.
• And I release praise and thanksgiving as I go.
  

When I finish, I go to one of the sitting areas and have a little personal devotional time God. I have a handy little New Testament with Psalms. My habit is to open up the Psalms and beginning praying them to the Lord.

The Christmas story is good seed, and as it begins to be sown into the soil prepared at Westfield this season, I am watching for a harvest of joy and salvation for many who frequent the shops and kiosks of this place.

I have taken on this project because it is my conviction that things and places are sanctified (made holy, set apart for God) by prayer and thanksgiving. I invite you to join me in this, wherever you go this Christmas season.

See also:

• Father, Reveal Who You Are
• The Glory of God at Walmart
• Releasing the Glory

Releasing the Glory

If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been born from above by the Spirit of God (John 3:3). You are an authorized agent of heaven, where you are seated with Christ at the right hand of God the Father (Ephesians 2:6). Not only are you a possessor of the glory of God, but you are also fully qualified to be a releaser of the glory of God.

You see, the whole earth is full of the glory of God (Isaiah 6:3). It is not absent, only veiled (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). But you and I have the privilege of loosing the glory and changing the spiritual temperature of a place, wherever we go, to set an atmosphere that is conducive to the revealing of God’s love, mercy and power.

Here are some simple prayers and faith declarations you can use to begin changing the world by releasing God’s glory. These can be effective in prayer walks through neighborhoods, shopping malls, hospitals, and everywhere else you go:

Rivers of living water. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). The next verse adds, “This He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.” Wherever you go, you can begin to release the glory by saying: “In the name of Jesus, I release rivers of living water from out of my innermost being.”

Let God arise. Wherever you go, declare as the psalm writer declared: “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered. Let those also who hate His name flee from before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. But let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly” (Psalm 68:2-3). That will help bind the enemies of God and loose an atmosphere of rejoicing.

Kingdom come. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus has given us the authority to call forth the kingdom of God and command the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven. You can call for those things to manifest wherever you go: “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth (at Walmart, McDonald’s, school, work—wherever) as it is in heaven!”

The healing hand of God. The early Church set a powerful atmosphere for witness by praying, “Lord, grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30). The result is that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the Word of God with boldness. Signs, wonders and healing miracles began to show up.

Unfolding the Word. The psalm writer said, “The unfolding of Your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:30 NASB). Whenever the Word of God is opened up, it brings light into dark places. So wherever you go, watch for the Lord to show you a Scripture, then simply start declaring it. It may be something as simple as “Jesus wept” (John 11:35, very simple but very powerful). Declare it in faith, even if it is only under your breath, trusting that the Word of God will not return empty-handed (Isaiah 55:11).

As you go, releasing the glory of God, recognize that you are preparing the soil for gospel (the good news of Jesus Christ) to penetrate. Watch for opportunities to manifest God’s glory. Ask God to lead you to someone who needs His touch through you. Ask Him also to give you words you can say to them.

• To share the good news of Jesus Christ — the forgiveness of sins and restoration of fellowship with God through Him.
• To pray for someone in distress of who needs healing.
• To speak a word of blessing over someone.
• To give a word of wisdom to someone needing direction.
• To encourage someone with a kind word or action.

This list certainly isn’t exhaustive. Just some things to help you get started. As you go, ask the Lord to show you more. Then watch for His glory to appear.

You were made to release the glory of God, by your life, by your words, even by your presence.

The Glory of God at Walmart

Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!

(Isaiah 6:3)

The whole earth is full of the glory of the Lord. That is what the angels cried out in Isaiah’s great vision. Not selected parts of the earth, not merely the temple of the LORD — the whole earth is full of His glory. Not used to be, not will be, but is—the whole earth is full of His glory. Wherever you may be right now, whether you recognize it or not, it is filled with God’s glory. This is true of every place you can think of:

• The public school
• The office building
• The warehouse
• The corner drugstore
• The fine dining establishment
• The fast-food eatery and drive-through
• The local Walmart
• The neighborhood pub
• The strip club in the seedy part of town
• The county jail and state prison

All these places are filled with the glory of God — everyone of them. It cannot be otherwise.

So the problem is not a lack of God’s glory being present in the earth. The real problem is the inability of people in those places to experience it. There is a blindedness that keeps them from seeing it and believing. The apostle Paul said,

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age had blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

These folks have been blinded by the god of this age (the devil). But God has provided a solution:

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:5-6)

From the very beginning, God has been in the business of shining light in the darkness. At the Creation, when the earth was shrouded in darkness, God said, “Light, be” and there was light. The apostle John called Jesus “the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9) and said, “This the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

When God commands the light to shine, there is no darkness, no blindness of the heart or mind that can stand up against it.

If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have authority from God to speak the Light into dark places. Heaven is full of the light of God, and we have the authority to command the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus, the Light come into the world to give light to every human being, has given us the authority of His name to pray and speak and act on behalf of the Light.

As believers, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. The glory of God is resident within us, and we have the authority from Him to release it everywhere we go — to leave a trail of glory. To carry the powerful overshadowing glory of God throughout our world (see The Shadow of Glory).

In our neighborhood, there is a building on the corner of the main thoroughfare, and the owners want to open up a “bikini bar.” This building has seen a series of night clubs and bars, probably since it was built. Ugly words have been exchanged between the owners, local residents and businesses, and county commissioners over this matter. Now, a bikini bar is not a good thing. It is a degrading business that exploits the weaknesses of human beings. It does nothing to reveal the glory of God and quite a lot that obscures His glory.

But the glory of God fills that place nonetheless, and will continue to even if the bikini bar successfully opens — only who will know it?

What the Lord has been showing me is that we need to pray for the blinders of the evil one to be removed from their eyes, and for the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ be revealed there. In other words, don’t curse the darkness, turn on the light. And so I have been praying for a revelation of Jesus Christ to come forth in that place, that His name be lifted high there, and that the glory and goodness of God be made manifest in that place. The glory is already there, it just needs to be revealed — so that battle is already half-won.

God is looking for believers who will get into agreement with His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. So wherever you go, pray for His glory to be made manifest and the name of Jesus to be lifted up. Pray for God to cause the blinders to fall from the eyes of all those around you. The atmosphere will begin to change and those places will begin to emerge as fertile fields for the seed of the Gospel to grow and bring many to forgiveness and freedom in Jesus Christ.