Corporate Prayer

I asked our group of prayer warriors their definition of corporate prayer.  The first answer was very basic and accurate.  Roz said that corporate prayer is group prayer.

This world is getting very dark and many are giving large amounts of information of what is happening in the world, but I have not experienced anyone really showing us how to overcome the evil that is sure to come prior to the coming of Jesus Christ. 

Satan and his minions will rise up and will work through people to bring evil like we have never seen in history of the world.  The time of darkness will be greater than what Hitler and his henchmen did to the world.  Greater than what the drug cartels are currently doing to innocent men, women, and even children.  Greater than what he is doing in the world today.

We are seeing evil in our family, friends, communities, cities, states, and our nation.  We are seeing inequality even though God has created us equal.  We are seeing our children not honoring their mother and father.  We are seeing older generations being kicked to the curb, as the younger generation comes into power in our society including the church.  We now have sex, violence, greed, and selfishness permeating our lives.  We have allowed Baal into our society in the form of child sacrifices (abortions) that Believers in Christ ignore. God is not happy with us.

I have been preparing myself for years and not really knowing if I was on the right tract.  I have invested large amounts of time in reading His Word, warfare, exercising my authority in Jesus Christ and carrying out the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-18).  I have been waiting to hear form the Lord as to the what I have to do as I prepare for His coming. 

Our private prayer group has had great results recently as we gather to fellowship and pray.  Recently, the Lord has shown me the importance of corporate prayer. I was led to pray a brief corporate prayer for healing/deliverance and one for curses in a recent home group bible study.  I had immediate results from the prayer on curses.  I had been experiencing unusual aches and pain since October and my wife and I had determined that a family member was declaring curses over me.  Two days after the prayer, I realized that the aches and pains were gone.  We broke the curses and forgave the curser.  Ok, we are on to something very important for the battle at hand as it pertains to corporate prayer.

Shortly thereafter, the Lord showed me additional information for praying corporately and I would like to share with you.  The information came in three parts with intercessory prayer being the last point.

1. Call on the Helper to release the power of the Holy Spirit – There is no greater power here on earth than the Helper that was sent specifically for us, (But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you John 14:26).  We must call upon the Holy Spirit so He can answer us and shows great and mighty things that we don’t know, (Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know Jeremiah 33:3).  It perplexes me to no end why the Body of Christ refuses call on the Holy Spirit prior to every Godly function consistently and throughout the day. It is the Helper that will give us what we need to know as we battle the enemy.  God want us to walk in the Spirit throughout the day (I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, Galatians 5:16).  We can’t walk in the spirit if we are weighed down by the flesh (sin).
2. Asking for individual forgiveness from the sin of iniquities and trespasses – This includes forgiveness for the past and present generations, (Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin Psalm 51:1-2).  Sin keeps us from a closer relationship with God.  Sin will not give us the spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear what He wants for us as we battle for our lives and the lives of others.
3. Forgiveness of others – Be ready for offenses for they are sure to come, (Matthew 18:7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes).  Offenses cause hurts leading to un-forgiveness, bitterness, rage, anger, slander, (Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you 4:31-32).  Forgiveness is not a one-time occurrence.  Anytime a thought arises and it brings bad memories, we must start the process of forgiveness over again (Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven Matthew 18:21-22).  Un-forgiveness does great damage to our physical and our soul (mind/emotions).  Dr. Henry Wright with 30 years of ministry experience, says that 80% of our sickness and disease is caused by un-forgiveness.  We cannot hang onto those record of wrongs that people have done to us. We are required to forgive others and ask God to forgive us for having un-forgiveness towards those who have offended us.
4. Forgiveness of Self – Two things come to mind here. Because of offenses, we start to feel rejection, abandonment, not feeling loved, and not worthy to name a few.  First, we start to beat up on ourselves because of what people have said or done to us.  Second, we look back on our lives with regret and start to beat up on ourselves and experience guilt, shame, and self- condemnation.  These are spirits working in our lives that have to be eliminated in deliverance (Mark 16:17).  These things are fear based and won’t allow us to have a sound mind (For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind 2 Timothy 2:7).  We are required to forgive ourselves and to ask God to forgive us for having un-forgiveness towards ourselves.  
5. Breaking Curses – Curses are the result of ungodly actions or declarations by others (Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so James 3:10).   Behind every curse is a curser and if we hate the curse, we hate the curser.  Step one is to break the curse in the name of Jesus. Step two is to forgive the curser in the name of Jesus, rendering the curse and curser null and void.  We must do what God commends us to do and not allow the curses to destroy us (But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you Deuteronomy 28:15).
6. Healing and Deliverance – In the Great Commission, Jesus gave instructions to the disciples who discipled others who in turn discipled others all the way to the present. So, the Great Commission applies to all of us.  In it, we have power and authority to bring deliverance (And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons Mark 16:17) and healing (they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover Mark 16:18).  Yet, the body of Christ as a whole does not carry out the Great Commission, so we are in disobedience to what Jesus called the original disciples and for us as disciples to do.

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” Mark 16:15-18.  So, we must take our authority and declare (pray) healing and deliverance in the name of Jesus.

7. Intercessory corporate prayer – The first six bullet points denote a process of cleansing of our sin and the sin of others that are important prerequisites to allow us to be more effective in the battle against Satan and his army.   Corporate prayer is group of prayer warriors coming together to stand in the gap (So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one Ezekiel 22:30).  In the present reference, standing in the gap is a metaphor for committed intercession.  There is a gap between God and man that an intercessor tries to repair.  Corporate/intercessory prayer is about the power of agreement and knowing that it will be done by God (Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven Matthew 18:19). Power in numbers makes us and our spiritual warfare prayer stronger. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

The two most powerful weapons we have against Satan is the Holy Spirit (Helper) and prayer.  Whether it is two, three, or an entire congregation, and even the entire army of Believers, we must begin the process of using corporate prayer as a regular part of every Godly function, especially in the last days that we are in. 

These are seven points can be used in individual and corporate prayer.  There is huge power and authority in group/corporate prayer.  Throughout the Bible we see how prayer has changed even the most dire circumstances.  In the last days, prayer and especially corporate prayer is how we will be able to stand up and defeat the enemy leading up to the coming of Jesus Christ. Satan’s army will not be able to stand against God’s praying warriors.  So, we must take advantage of the gathering of God’s praying Saints.

Corporate prayer takes practice so that we can build up our faith.  The faith as small as a mustard seed can stand against Satan who is a defeated foe , (So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you Matthew 17:20).  We must have the Helper side by side with us or we will be defeated trying to battle the enemy alone.

In last days, the world will have a large population of secular people that will not pray and a large population of believers who will not know how to pray.  As is in the history of the bible, there will be a remnant.  A remnant of Believers that God will honor, protect (Revelation 12:6), and deliver from the evil sure to come.  What say you?

Blessings, Tony Sanchez, 4-13-18