This week, I’ve brought two friends with me for a special “dia-blog” post. Jane Bromley, editor at Senior Link magazine, and Traci Payne, freelance photographer and creator of ScripTpics are intercessors who continually teach me how to pray God’s heart. Join us as we chat.
Me: “For the last several years, we have explored intercession together. Most recently, God helped us visualize that as His children of light, our prayers act as penetrating orbs into darkness. As we see and pray into a need, we invite the purifying power of His Light to descend into the situation. With our eyes looking to the Father of Lights, our hand points toward the need before us. How has this insight changed the way you pray?”
Traci: “This visual helped shift my perspective. Often in prayer, I’ve felt like David standing before a Goliath problem. When I realize the availability of His intense light, my 9-foot giant shrinks to the size and significance of a groundhog! My meek, timid prayers of “will you please, if you will, please do” are replaced by “do it according to Your power.”
Me: “Yes. We are dealing with the God Who was before the beginning of time. ‘Do we know… the wonders of One perfect in knowledge? (Job 37:16) He is far beyond our understanding (Isaiah 55:8-9). So what visual can help us understand the power of His Light?”
Jane: “God as Light has always fascinated me. The most helpful picture is that of being a uniquely shaped and colorful, glowing lantern. We can be transported to any house in my neighborhood, office in Washington DC, or corner of the planet through prayer. At other times, we are flashlights that His Spirit is using to expose a problem. And sometimes, we are blowtorches to dismantle the strongholds of the enemy.
Traci: “For me, I see the sun’s rays as enveloping and breaking through dark places. Visually, I remember photographing an eagle in flight last summer in Idaho. A dead tree stood on the left while the sun’s rays invaded all darkness from the opposite side. It reminds me of how powerfully Light overpowers the intentions of the enemy.”
Me: “These illustrations are so powerful. When I clear my thoughts to see Him, I am not so overwhelmed with need. How do you see His enlightenment increasing the power in intercession?”
Jane: “His Word does not return void, so allowing His Words to shape my communion with Him is vital. I may not know the details of His plans for an individual, a family, a city, or a nation, but I know His ultimate will – that none should perish and that each one would become a member of His family. The power is in the Treasure I carry.”
Traci: “Absolutely. It’s like putting on a unique pair of glasses with focusing lenses. We can pray into current events! When you see what’s happening from His perspective, your steps in prayer are bolder, steadier, and more confident.
Me: “Ok. So how does this look in your actual prayer life?”
Traci: “For me, catching a glimpse of God’s radical love and His invitation to join Him makes me more aware of my role and the Light that I carry. I find myself praying throughout the day as I’m prompted.”
Jane: “My actual language is less formal, and my words are simpler and to-the-point. It’s almost like the Spirit is the One who points out what my concerns should be. He turns me toward something that grieves Him. If I have specific thoughts that I sense are His will, I speak them into the situation. The prayers, equipped with the powerful force of God’s written Word, are like laser-accurate light bombs that find their target instantly. If I don’t have words, I merely stay pointed (focused), trusting Him to do the work of praying while I agree with Him in faith. A lot of it happens in my spirit while I keep my mind still and undistracted.”
Me: “As the Father of all Light (James 1:17), we zero our attention onto Him. We are now His children of Light (Ephesians 5:8-9), into whom He releases the brilliant orbs of His Spirit. Yet God’s light is not contained within us but amazingly shines out through us (Philippians 2:15). We are the empty vessel that beams spheres of heavenly light into the dark situations surrounding us (Psalm 97:11).
Jane: “I would go a step further to say that we are light too (Matthew 5:14). Last night as I prayed, I sensed Him coming to me, hooking his arm through mine and walking with me into the situation. He, the Divine Light, and me, the lesser one, shone into the location that concerned me.
Me: “I love this. As quickly as my mind shifts from one plight to another, prayer penetrates there. We invited Him there to work.
“What are other Scriptures add understanding here?”
Jane: “He came ‘to shine upon those who sit in darkness’ (Luke 1:79). Jesus is the true Expression of His Father, Who enlightens our understanding of Who God is. When we pray Spirit-led prayers, instead of praying “amiss,” our words express His nature and His will
Traci: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
Jane: “You are light in the Lord; walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
Traci: “Then the fire of the Lord fell” (1 Kings 19:38). In prayer, we are like Elijah facing the 700 prophets of Baal. The circumstance may feel as if it mocks us, but we must remember the God we serve and worship. He is more potent than a sledgehammer compared to their “Jello Pudding gods”!
Me: “Wow. I have much upon which I need to meditate. Yet another reason why praying with you ladies is so valuable in my life. Why is corporate prayer important to you?
Traci: “It’s like a shot of adrenaline to pray with other faithful believers. I learn more about God when I hear others pray for things I wouldn’t have thought of. It’s a reminder that you’re on the winning team, no matter what it looks like in the natural. There’s powerful confidence in that! If someone prays a visual (like this picture of the penetrating light orb), I see it too, giving an electric charge to my own prayers. I pray in new faith-filled ways for things that I didn’t before! We feed off of each other as we read the Word together. Corporate prayer ignites more passion than when you’re alone and overwhelmed. There is strength “where two or more gathered are together.”
Jane: “I’ve read that incandescent bulbs radiate almost all of their power. A single 100W bulb can produce more light than a 60-watt bulb. Yet, add another 60W lamp to the first and the total energy supersedes the single bulb. When two children of Light agree on a thing, the power (their wattage) doubles and the targeted thing is twice as likely to be affected. And when 100 intercessors agree, only God knows what could be accomplished!