Prayer Our Jacobs Stairway to Heaven
When we are born into the family of God, we are seated with Christ and share in His blessings.
Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
There will be a time in the future when we receive our glorified bodies- and praying for sickness and health will be a thing of the past
Until that time however, we walk in faith…and at times we actually battle in faith-fighting doubt, trials and hardships.
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Old Testament Blessings
In the Old Testament, when Jacob was leaving his father Isaac, Isaac blessed him so that he could receive the goodness that was promised to Abraham and his descendants. In Gen. 17 the Lords blessings (or covenant) was given to Abraham, that his descendants will cover the nations upon the earth.
Genesis 17:5-7 for I have made you a father of many nations. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
In Gen. 28:10-17, Jacob received his blessing from Isaac and went on his journey to find his wife.
Genesis 28:3-4 “May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; 4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.”
On Jacobs journey, he received a dream that confirmed he was indeed going to receive the ongoing promises that were found in the covenant that was given to his grandfather Abraham.
Genesis 28:10-17 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth;… and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
The Lord verified to Jacob the blessings given to Abraham were now going to be continued with him. This was more than a dream however, it was a ‘Holy Place’ with God..it was being in the presence of God Himself!
Vs. 16 “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!“
New Testament Covenant
For the children of God today, not only do we share in the promises of Abraham…Gal. 3:14-29
Galatians 3:14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
We also have received an new covenant, a better covenant than the Old Testament
Hebrews 8:6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
This new covenant is an everlasting covenant…not with blessing of nations upon the earth, but with blessings of glory in our Kingdom with God that will last forever.
Jeremiah 50:5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
2 Corinthians 3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life…8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
In other words, we have gone from a covenant of blessings with the promise of an earthly national heritage-to one that gives eternal life in the glory of God-an eternal heavenly kingdom heritage (The covenant that brings the Spirit of life in the eternal glory of God-above verses).
Our Jacobs stairway is now open to all the sons of God…the moment we are born again into the Kingdom of God.
The children of God are now priest-and we have direct access to Jehovah God.
We, through the blood of Jesus, and now enter the holy of holies inner chamber and in confidence proclaim our blessings.
Ephesians 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
These verses are telling us our prayers and petitions are holy, they enter with us into the throne room of God (Heb. 10:19 above). They are explaining to us…that the new covenant is better than Abraham’s covenant, for all believers can now enter into His glorious throne as a priest…we do not need a mediator or Jewish priest to have direct contact with God. Ep. 3:12, 2 Cor. 3, 1 Pet. 2:5 & 9, Rev. 1:5-6, Heb. 4:14-16.
Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Jacob describes the place that he slept…although at first unaware of the heavenly stairway…was extremely holy…it was a gateway to heaven and confirmed the great promises of the Almighty Lord. The presence of God and His angels were ascending and descending from heaven and earth…thus he declared, this is the house of God, how awesome is this place!!
Our covenant however is even better…it takes us DIRECTLY into the eternal throne room of God as everlasting priest…sons of God Gal. 3:26, Gal. 4:6.
Romans 8:14-16 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Our Jacobs ladder, the stairway that splits the heavens and brings down the kingdom of God is now in our hearts.
Luke 17:21 for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Our holy passageway to heaven is now wherever a believer stops…focuses on the Lord…speaks out our request and petitions…and applies their faith as we walk in Him.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Praying…Our Stairway to Heaven
As with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob however, we have to ‘set up our prayer’ in order to ‘receive’ our prayer. If these saints in the Old Testament never walked with God, sought His ways or sought after His blessings…how could they have received them? Gen. 15:6
Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Entering in to Our Stairway to Heaven
As always, we enter into our relationship to our Father in heaven by believing in His Son’s sacrifice on the cross for us. Please take the time to know the Lord personally and enter into the joy of becoming a son and daughter of God. See Understanding God, Receiving Your Gift of Eternal life.
As His children…we know we have access to the Father…and as mentioned above, we are ‘in the Spirit’ actually with Him-present tense
Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
The connection with Christ is already there, within our hearts and we are in communion with Him-directly beside Him. Lk. 17:21, Eph. 1:3, Eph. 2:6.
Jacob however…had to ‘experience’ his visitation from heaven in order to see that he was in a holy place…and receive his blessings and confirmation.
If our focus is on the things of this world…and we never or seldom stop to ‘enter into’ His Holy place…how can we receive our blessings and confirmation? We have to abide in Him and follow His commandments to complete His passage of blessing
John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
This ‘duo’ of scripture…abiding in Jesus-following His ways…will allow us to begin to see the confirmation of our blessings (prayers and petitions), our gateway to heaven as the Lord ‘shows Myself to them’ (above verse) as with Jacobs stairway to heaven.
Uniting with the Lord in Prayer to Receive Our Blessing
Following the Word and our past patriarchs example to receive answer to prayer.
1) Start the day committing to walking with the Lord. Thinking on spiritual things, trying to avoid negative or vengeful thoughts
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
2) Prepare a time to pray…plan it or it may pass you by with the ‘business’ of the day
3) Get quiet with the Lord. Jacob was meant to rest before he saw his angelic passage way to heaven. If possible, play some quiet…non distracting worship music.
4) Enter into the passage way…the stairway. For some reason, the Lord is showing me how important this is. It could possibly mean…I have to leave the hustle and bustle of the world..and enter ‘into’ His narrow road and see in the Spirit. We have direct access into the ‘inner chamber‘ the ‘holy of holies‘. Enter into the light, the holy place, the foot of the stairway…and now know-through the blood of Christ-you are currently in the direct presence of our Holy Father. You have chosen to leave behind the worries and bondage’s of the world, and now…with confidence…are in direct contact with God. Mark 4:1-32, Eph. 3:12
As we enter into this light of passage, expect and believe you now have contact with the Heavenly Father…as all the prior scriptures tells us we do Eph. 1:3, 2:6.
5) This place you are now in…will be your place of rest and revelation. It will also be your place of confirmation –as Jacobs stairway- that your prayers will be answered…and many times He will show us how He will direct these answers. Eph. 3:12, Heb. 4:16, Heb. 10:9 . Have your promises from the Word before you. Select a few healing scriptures to claim your covenant from the Lord. See link.
As we unite is prayer, our covenant with the Lord is even more glorious than Jacobs ladder. We will begin to see His great and precious promises being revealed 2 Pet. 1:4, and confirmation from the Lord will be shared with all those who are truly seeking the face of God, a Holy Spirit Unity of blessings among believers. See Fellowship or Friendship.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face (greater glory than the veiled face of Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai) , beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
This unity in prayer is the foundation for bringing His kingdom of Gods blessings down to earth. See 1st 4 articles on the Kingdom of God.
Note: For those who would like to pray in the Spirit for your prayer request, please see link. Eph. 6:18 Link 1, Link 2, Link 3 After we pray in the Spirit, I personally believe it is important to wait for an interpretation from the Spirit. This helps brings about more revelation from the ‘greater covenant’ given to us by the Lord.
Our Unity with the Lord- Summary
-Simply, plan a time to pray…don’t let the business of the day steal your blessing. Ps. 90:12
-Walk through out the day…keeping our actions and thoughts pleasing to Him…as we abide in Him. Jn. 15:7, James 5:16, Phil. 4:8
-When we pray…actually enter into His Holy Place…His stairway to heaven-His shroud of light Heb. 4:16, Heb. 10:19
-Know we are at the throne room of God. Commune with Him, petition with Him, thank Him for His answered prayer. Believe and start to receive all of His intended revelations and answers to prayer. Ep. 1:4, Ep. 2:10. Present your case before the Lord with His testimony of healing scriptures from the Word Link.
-Once we speak the prayer…know in faith that the Lords covering has reached down to earth with your prayer. Speak words of thanksgiving, restoration and healing on wounded hearts and bodies. Phil. 4:6. Speak healing or thanksgiving to answered prayer…instead of continually asking time and time again for the Lord to move. The latter can actually cancel out our answered prayer…in essence declaring that the Lord never heard us or moved in the first place. Mk. 11:22-24 Notice, we have to have faith and speak to the mountain…’before’ the mountain moves.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Having believers unite in one accord…led by the Spirit…is the most powerful force in the universe. When directed at those in need…we can truly see the heavens move on us. Acts 2:1-47
Thank you for taking the time to review these prayer scriptures and to pray for those who need His touch. May the Lord bless you as you work to have His grace fall on all those in need. God bless, Bill 🙂
For more information on faith, prayer and gifts of the Spirit, please see link to Kenneth E Hagin.
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