We Are Seated in Heavenly Places—What does that mean?
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Eph 2:6
What are the implications of being seated in heavenly realms, or heavenly places? For one, it changes how we pray. Here’s a story from Franklyn Spence in his book, The Point of the Spear.
Let me tell you a story. Years ago, when we were pastoring our house church in the Montreal area, one couple in our church was having marital problems. We assembled an intercession prayer group to meet at my house. Before long, we were all praying out loud and pacing intensely around the room. We were really getting into it!
When it was my turn to pray, I was charged up like a freight train. I put everything into that prayer. I distinctly remember God interrupting me right in the middle of what I thought was a pretty great prayer and he said, “You’re praying in the wrong direction.”
I was shocked and confused. ‘What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’re praying from earth towards heaven but you should be praying from heaven towards earth,” the Lord answered.
I remember being so shocked by the truth of this statement that I couldn’t continue. I shared what I had heard with the rest of our group and we all sat in stunned silence for a moment. Then this euphoria hit us – we had just been given a key to a beautiful kingdom! It was a correction from the Lord which elevated us to a whole new level of understanding regarding prayer and intercession and our role in it.
There are many ways to pray. When we know we are seated with Him in heaven, our prayers change. We are instructed to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is heaven.” But how can we pray His will be done unless we know His will? Knowing His will comes from knowing His word and also by being in His presence, looking and listening. I will often take the time to see myself seated in heaven, being aware of the Lord’s presence. Many times I will get revelations that are completely different than what I could possibly think up. A good prayer is simply, “Lord what’s on Your heart for me to pray about?” From that place comes revelation about what is on His heart, and what His will is. My prayers then are different. My “from heaven towards earth” prayers, as the Lord told Franklyn, are then very different from petition prayers. Both are good. Both are necessary.
We invite you to join us Wednesdays at 7:30 at Jeff and Cheryl’s home, for intercession. Most weeks we offer both an in-person option and also a ZOOM option. Some weeks we zoom only. We also meet on Parliament Hill from time to time. Whatever location and whatever mode, consider joining us as we look to intercede from heaven to earth. If you would like weekly reminders with Wednesday Intercession details, please contact sharon.remmerswaal@catchthefire.com, and ask her to add you to the Wednesday Intercession email list.