Joining Jesus at the Throne of Intercession: Reigning Through Prayer (Part 2)

Jan 26th 19 Posted by Natalie Nichols in Fasting, Prayer

Reigning Through Prayer (2): Joining Jesus at the Throne of Intercession

In Part One, we saw that Jesus is the Interceding Sovereign of the universe. Seated at the throne, ruling the universe, He lives to make intercession for us. Today we see that we join Him in this rule—that through prayer we reign with Him.

This article is based on a chapter in Mighty Prevailing Prayer by Wesley Duewel. I highly recommend you get a copy! Mine is highlighted and bookmarked throughout. It’s an invaluable resource and encouragement in prayer.

Throne Life: Kings and Priests

Jesus said,

“Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21, NLT).

We will sit with Jesus on His throne when we are in heaven, after the judgment seat of Christ, when He gives to us His rewards. But even now we are to exercise our rule with Christ.

To say that we can be co-rulers with Christ sounds presumptuous, but it’s not. We have this authority because we have been made kings and priests unto God:

“To Him [Christ] who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father…. (Revelation 1:5-6, NKJV).

“[You] have redeemed us to God by Your blood … and have made us kings and priests to our God…” (Revelation 5:9-10, NKJV).

This is the dual ministry that Christ now exercises at the Father’s right hand. As King, He rules. As Priest, He intercedes: “He ever liveth to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25).

We participate in this dual ministry of Christ. As kings, we rule with Him. As priests, we share His ministry of prayer and intercession. We cannot separate these two functions. If we are to rule as kings, we must serve as priests.

In Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting, Derek Prince writes,

“The practice of our priestly ministry is the key to the exercise of our kingly authority. It is through prayer and intercession that we administer the authority that is ours in the name of Jesus.” 1

Through God’s grace and our faith, we can appropriate and experience Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation. We can know what it is to be crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20), to be raised with Christ (Eph. 2:6), and to be seated with Christ who is on His throne.

Reigning Through Prayer: Joining Jesus at the Throne of Intercession

Embodied in Christ and Sharing His Power

Just as we are to consider ourselves “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11), we are to consider ourselves enthroned and reigning with Christ through prayer. Romans 5:17 speaks of us reigning in life through Jesus:

“Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17, HCSB)

When does our reign occur? In the present life, or the life to come?

Life in fellowship with Christ means that we share His sovereign power. Our reign will reach its fullness in heaven, but we reign with Christ now through prayer, just as Jesus is reigning by prayer.

God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3, ESV). We are members of Christ’s body, with Jesus being the head. Figuratively, we are part of His body. Therefore, whatever takes place with Jesus takes place spiritually with us. He is the vine, we are the branches (Jn. 15:5). We are in Him and He is in us (1 Jn. 4:13).

We are in Christ. Therefore, we are one with Him in His death on the cross, one with Him in His resurrection, and one with Him on His throne. Reigning on the throne with Christ is as real as our crucifixion with Him. Our position with Christ on His throne is supposed to produce as clear and life-changing of results as our crucifixion does.

We are embodied in Christ, so therefore we sit beside Him on His throne of intercessory dominion.

You and I are already exalted to the throne where Jesus reigns. We still dwell on earth, but our spirit is in the heavenly realm with Jesus. We are in the world, but not of it (Jn. 17:11,14). We have been raised in spirit above the earth and all that is temporal.

In Mighty Prevailing Prayer Wesley Duewel writes,

You are spiritually to share Christ’s exaltation now. You are to participate in a throne life and role now. You will possess in heaven visibly only what you possess now spiritually. Since all things are under Christ’s feet (Eph. 1:22) and you are “in Christ,” then all things are potentially under your feet also.

Paul assured the believers in Rome, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20). Is not this what Jesus referred to when He said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19)? This conquest must be accomplished through prevailing intercession. Then you realize the power to crush Satan. By faith, in virtue of Christ’s cross and in His name, you can even issue commands to Satan. From your position where you are seated with Christ on the throne, you look down in spiritual vision upon Satan….

You sit beside Christ on His throne, triumphant in Him, triumphant through Him.”2

This truth is so incredible that Paul was concerned we would not grasp it. So before he explained it to the Ephesians, he continually asked God the Father to give them “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” enlightening the eyes of their heart so they could understand and grasp the wealth of riches they (and we) have in Christ.

This wealth we have is His “incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:19). Paul describes how that same power—the power in which we share—raised Christ to the throne in heaven and put everything under His feet. Paul then says that we are there seated there with Christ (Eph. 1:17-2:6).

May God help us comprehend the power and authority that have been given to us through prayer! This truth is the basis for prevailing prayer. And it explains why, through prayer, we can chase, attack and defeat Satan.

In our flesh, we are weak. We can do nothing. But in the Spirit, we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. There, He has delegated to us the privilege of praying in His name, resisting Satan, our already-defeated foe, and crushing Satan under our feet because Satan is under Jesus’ feet.

It’s a Gift of Grace

We must remember that throne life is not something we achieve by our own efforts or merits. It has been given to us by God’s grace. If we wrestle and feel effort in prayer, it’s not because we are struggling to attain a position at the throne. It’s because it is a consequence of exerting our authority in prayer, not the way by which we attain it.

Duewel writes,

You do not work up to this throne life little by little. it is not by your struggling, praying, and fasting that you finally attain throne life. Throne life is God’s gift of grace to you in Christ. Having realized God’s gift of throne life, you may at times wrestle and fast as you prevail in prayer. But it is the expression of throne life, not a means to enter into it….

The cross is the door to the Christian life, to the Spirit-filled life, and to the enthroned life. You have no power, victory, or authority of your own. All is by grace; all is because of the cross.3

Prayer: The Highest Proof that We Bear Christ’s Likeness

Prayer is the highest proof that we are created in the likeness of Christ.

Andrew Murray states that through prayer, we can “enter into the mind of God…assert the royal power of a renewed will and bring down to earth what, without prayer, would not have been given.”

He continues,

Prayer…is the highest proof of man’s having been made in the likeness of God’s Son. He [man] is found worthy of entering into fellowship with Him, not only in adoration and worship, but in having his will actually taken up into the rule of the world and becoming the intelligent channel through which God can fulfill His eternal purpose.4

Let those words sink in. You and I can actually enter the mind of the God of the universe, assert His power, and bring down to earth what would not have otherwise been given, if not for prayer—provided, of course, that our wills are subject to His.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice, you and I have been found worthy of entering into communion with Him. The activity of this communion includes becoming the means through which God fulfills His eternal purpose. In other words, God can achieve His will for the universe through us. He has chosen to exert His rule through us lowly, fallen, redeemed human beings.

This is mind-blowing! God has chosen to exert His rule through us! Oh the riches that we squander daily!

There are:

strongholds God desires to demolish…
Satanic plots He wants cancelled…
weights of oppression He longs to remove…
chains He wants to break…
souls He wants open to receiving Christ…
families He longs to reunite…
miracles He is waiting to perform…
blessings He longs to give…
depths of holiness He wants us to actualize…
waves of revival He longs to send…

… and we throw it all away because we refuse to pray! We refuse to take up our role on the throne with Christ and exert His authority through prayer!

As we saw in Part One, intercession is God’s only channel of blessing. Whether in heaven or on earth, every blessing God gives is the result of intercession.

Sadly, we deny ourselves and the world the benefit of these blessings because we’re too lazy … too busy … too preoccupied … too idolatrous to pray! We fail to exercise our kingly dominion through our priestly ministry of prayer.

Daily Exercising This Authority: Praying Flaming Lightning Bolts from the Throne

Exercising our “throne authority” should be a part of our every day life. It’s not something we utilize on rare occasions.

It is not presumption to act on God’s Word. You are not to tremble before Satan but are to confront him from the throne. You are not to cower in the dust before him. You are to initiate prayer attacks on Satan’s strongholds, force his retreat, and release his captive. Nothing but throne life and your exercising your delegated throne authority befits you as a priest and king of God through Christ (1 Peter 2:9). Prevailing prayer alone is adequate and befitting for you as one enthroned with Christ.5

You and I are supposed to confront Satan from Christ’s throne. If we only we understood the power and authority we’ve been given. If only we realized that Satan is under our feet—that through Christ we have authority on the throne to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). If only we fully grasped the power we have—that Christ is the head of every power and authority, and in Christ, we share that power—we would stop cowering in the dust before the devil!

It is those who humble themselves under God’s mighty hand that the Spirit empowers to pray flaming lightning bolts from the throne.6

You and I can “pray flaming lightning bolts from the throne” … if we’re filled with God-given humility. (How interesting that fasting is a scriptural means of self-humbling, and we’re fasting right now.)

Characteristics of an Enthroned Prayer Warrior

In order to actualize our reign with Jesus on His throne, we must live surrendered, consecrated, and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Enthroned prayer warriors have power with God in the secret place of prayer. They exercise their authority humbly, but readily. They are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. They feel His heart, share His concerns, and wield their authority for His ends and purposes. Because of their quiet submission and consecration and their committed life of prayer, God’s presence rests on them. They exude His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faith.

Enthroned intercessors manifest no proud, superior authority. It is only because of their Spirit-imparted pervasive humility that God is able to use them so mightily…. Enthroned prayer warriors do not go on tours demonstrating their prayer power. They are often hidden saints mighty only in God.7

Enthroned prayer warriors take God at His Word. They glorify God, rejoice in Christ’s victories, and are in sync with His holy pulse. They’ve been given the Spirit’s vision and are able to perceive the hidden actions and accomplishments of God that others miss. Their vision is not limited to the veneer of the temporal. God gives them the ability see deeper into His heart and mind than others. They let God be God in all His authority and majesty and glory, and they give Him the opportunity to do what He longs to do through them.8

Reigning with Christ includes:

being free from the dominion of sin (Rom. 6:14)
being more than conquerors through Christ (Rom. 8:37)
being equipped with “all that is good for doing His will” (Heb. 13;21)
overcoming evil with good (Rom. 12:21)
having a faith that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4)
sharing Christ’s throne as a priest unto God (1 Peter 2:9).

Praying Confidently in Jesus’ Name

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matt. 28:18). Because of Jesus’ authority, we can pray in His name and are assured of God’s answer.

Praying in Jesus’ name means that we pray in His stead. We pray as He would pray if He were in our shoes. As we abide in Christ and let His words abide in us (Jn. 15:7), we come to know His will, and we can pray as He would. We declare what He would declare, bind what He would bind, and loose what He would loose if He were in our position.

We have no authority on our own; it’s all through Christ. Through His authority we can pray with confidence and prevail. Because we wield Christ’s power, we can dare to attack Satan and shake the foundations of hell through prayer. Because we sit on the throne with Jesus, through prayer we can:

demolish strongholds with His mighty weapons of warfare (2 Cor. 10:4-5)…
cancel Satanic plots…
remove weights of oppression…
break chains of spiritual and emotional bondage…
lift the veil over the gospel for the one who is perishing (2 Cor. 4:3-4)…
see broken families reunited ..
usher in the miracles Jesus is waiting to perform …
release the blessings He longs to give…
live holy and consecrated in our daily lives…
bring revival to our family, our church, our city, our nation…
and so much more!

Are you ready to do all this and more through prayer?! Will you take up your role on the throne with Christ and exert His authority through intercession?!

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More Tweetables

“The practice of our priestly ministry is the key to the exercise of our kingly authority. It is through prayer and intercession that we administer the authority that is ours in the name of Jesus.” — Derek Prince Tweet

“Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.” — Revelation 3:21 We will sit with Jesus on His throne in heaven, but even now we are to exercise our rule with Christ. Tweet

“We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. And there, He has delegated to us the privilege of praying in His name, resisting Satan, our already-defeated foe, and crushing Satan under our feet because he is under Jesus’ feet. Tweet

If only we fully grasped the power we have—that Christ is the head of every power and authority, and in Christ, we share that power—we would stop cowering in the dust before the devil! Tweet

“It is those who humble themselves under God’s mighty hand that the Spirit empowers to pray flaming lightning bolts from the throne.” — Wesley Duewel Tweet

Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we’ve been found worthy of entering into communion with Him. The activity of communion includes becoming the means through which God fulfills His eternal purpose. He does this through our prayers. Tweet

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matthew 28:18). Because of Jesus’ authority, we can pray in His name and are assured of God’s answer. Tweet

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A Note About the Moment of Worship

The video below is live from People & Songs. It’s not professionally produced, so you may have to crank the volume up to hear all the words clearly, but it’s worth it. I can’t believe how perfectly it ‘echoes’ this post! I only heard it for the first time yesterday… loved it and thought it would be great to use at some point. It was still open on my computer today when I began looking for a music video—and I about hit the floor when I heard it in today’s context. It’s perfect for the message the Holy Spirit is conveying to us today. I love how He works!

Jesus, You have given us power and the keys of the kingdom to do the same as You. You’ve seated us on the throne with You and made royalty out of us slaves. You’ve crushed the darkness and You’ll continue to crush it through us—even today through our prayers and our worship. We proclaim in Your name that walls are falling down! Strongholds are breaking! Breakthroughs are coming! Miracles are occurring! In Your mighty, chain-breaking name, we echo your authority! We echo your victory!

A Moment of Worship: Echo (In Jesus Name)

Echo (In Jesus Name) feat. Charity Gayle Live at The Emerging Sound

Bible Reading: Revelation 3:21; 1:5-6; 5:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 5:17; 16:20; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:3; 17-2:6, John 15:5, 17:11, 14; 1 John 4:13; Romans 16:20; Luke 10:19; 1 Peter 2:9

Application Questions:

Have you ever given much thought to your position with Christ—that you are embodied in Him and sit beside Him on His throne of intercessory dominion? Is this a fact that has influenced your daily life and your priorities?
Will you daily, continually, exercise your kingly authority through your priestly ministry of prayer? Will you commit to pray—to enter the mind of God, assert His power, and bring down to earth what He otherwise would have not given?
Are you willing to do what it takes in prayer to become the channel through which God can fulfill His eternal purpose?
Do you realize that in Christ’s name you can issue commands to Satan? Are you exercising the power you have in Christ to crush Satan?
Most days do you feel like you’re cowering in the dust before Satan and his demons? Christ is the head of every power and authority, and in Christ, you share that power! All things are under Christ’s feet. You are “in Christ,” so all things, even Satan and his demons, are potentially under your feet also.
Will you make prayer your priority, and let the Spirit empower you to pray flaming lightning bolts from the throne?

OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES:

Reigning Through Prayer, Part One: Jesus, the Interceding Ruler

RELATED ARTICLES ON PRAYER:

FASTING DAY 21 FROM THE ARCHIVES:

___________________

Derek Prince, Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2002), p. 44.
Wesley Duewel, Mighty Prevailing Prayer: Experiencing the Power of Answered Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990), p. 47-48. Kindle edition.
Ibid., p. 49-50.
Andrew Murray, The Ministry of Intercession. In Andrew Murray on Prayer (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1998), p. 465.
Mighty Prevailing Prayer, p. 55.
Ibid., p. 55.
Ibid., p. 55.
Ibid., p. 55.

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One Response to “Joining Jesus at the Throne of Intercession: Reigning Through Prayer (Part 2)”

The Mind-Blowing Mystery and Privilege of Prayer: Francis Chan Sermon – Shades of Grace | Natalie Nichols- Shades of Grace | Natalie Nichols says:

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