A LESSON FROM THE EAGLE.
One day as I was wondering what to share at the prophetic group, I looked out of my window towards the lake and
saw two magificent eagles souring in the sky. Eagles are amazing birds! They are so majestic and awesome!
They are also symbolic of the prophetic ministry as they have incredible sight; 5-6 times better than a humans.
We as prophetic people have been given incredible forsight as a gift from the Lord. We really have been gifted
with amazing spiritual sight. As I watched those awesome bald eagles, the Lord began to speak to me about prophecy
and prayer, and how they relate to one another.
BIRDS OF 'PRAY'.
Eagles are birds of 'prey', and we as prophetic people are called to be birds of 'pray' (with an 'a' rather than
an 'e'). God's looking for prophetic people who will pray. There is a saying in the church that I have heard many
times; 'All prophets are intercessors, but not all intercessors are prophets'. There is some truth to this saying,
as all of the prophets in scripture certainly had a very strong and powerful ministry of prayer.
Prophecy and prayer go hand in hand. They really are inseperable. A call to the prophetic ministry is a call to
a life of prayer and intercession. I always tell people that 'Prophecy is 90% seeking and 10% speaking'. Most people
in the church just see a prophetic person prophesying, and it looks easy; just go and speak a few words here, and
a few words there. But they don't see the other side of the ministry, that the prophetic person had spent many hours
before the Lord seeking His heart for the people, and praying for His words to flow to them.
THE EAGLES TALONS.
Eagles talons really are amazing things. They might not be the most glamorous part of the eagles anatomy, but
they are certainly at the business end of the birds life and it's ability to catch prey. Talons are amazingly
strong, and they are designed for two main purposes:
1. TALONS ARE USED FOR GRASPING PREY.
An eagles talons are designed to not let go once they have grasped onto their prey. An eagle who takes hold of
a fish that is too big for it is in real danger of drowning, as it is just so hard for the eagle to let go. When
you see something in the spirit, are you grasping hold of it in prayer? Are you holding onto the prophecy in
prayer until it comes to pass; holding on in faith until the Lord accomplishes His will? You're called to hold
on in faith, even if others loose faith and things look impossible.
There is a connection in scripture between prophecy and faith. In Romans 12:6 we learn that 'we prophesy in
proportion to our faith'. The more faith that you have, the more you will be able to grasp hold of in the spirit.
There should be a resolve in prophetic people, it's a character strength that the Lord has given us. Taken to an
extreme and used out of the Lords will it is called stubborness. But when used properly our resolve, our ability to hold
on until the end and keep faith in what God has declared, is vital in our life as intercessors.
We should grasp hold of the revelation that the Lord has given us, take a hold of the word, and pray it through. I
love the message to the watchmen of Jerusalem in Isaiah 62:6. The Lord tells them to have resolve. He tells them
'to not be silent' - to keep on praying! He tells them to 'take no rest' and to 'give Him no rest'. The Lord
wants us to keep on bugging Him in our prayer closets! This speaks to me of persistance, too, like the parable
of the persistant widow in Luke 18:1-8, and the story of borrowing bread at midnight in Luke 11:5-10. Pesistance
and resolve are so important in our prayer lives as we pray our prophecies into being. I love the phrase in Isaiah
62 when He tells the watchmen to keep on praying 'until He establishes'. This is our goal; we continue on in prayer
until He establishes the word that He has spoken through us.
SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS.
The Old Testament prophets really understood the imortance of prayer and intercession. In Daniel 9 we see the
prophet Daniel crying out to the Lord. Why? He had discovered the prophecy of Jeremiah about the restoration
of Jerusalem. Jeremiah had long since died, so Daniel interceded for the prophecy that Jeremiah had spoken. Here
we clearly see that Jeremiah's prophecy was not complete, was not going to be fulfilled, without the intercession
taking place through the ministry of Daniel.
Elijah also knew the value of a persistant prayer life. In 1 Kings 17:1 we read how there will be a famine in the
land until Elijah ends it. However, despite this prophecy, Elijah still had to be persistant and cry out to the Lord
for the rain to come in 1 Kings 18:41-42. Even though he had prophesied the rain, he still had to pray for it to
happen. In James 5:16-18 it's written
'The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much'...and...'Elijah was a man just like us' (except
he was perhaps a little more hairy than most of us!).
When a prophecy is given we shouldn't just sit back and expect it to happen. There is always a place and a need for
us to pray. Sitting back and simply waiting for the word to come to pass could be a big mistake! 'Que sera, sera,
whatever will be, will be' is not a Biblical stance.
PROPHECY PROVIDES A PRAYER AGENDA.
Through prophecy the spirit may be highlighting some areas for us to pray into. Often He is stirring up our faith
so that we will pray confidently for those things to come to pass. Other times the Lord speaks to 'offend our minds
to reveal our hearts'. We see this in the story of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20. The King was told that he was to die,
and so he was to get his affairs in order. Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Isaiah back, answering the
cry of Hezekiah's heart, giving him an extra 15 years of life.
Let's be ones who grasp tightly to what is revealed to us by the Lord, and pray it through until He establishes
His purposes.
2. TALONS ARE USED FOR CARRYING PREY.
An eagle has amazing strength in it's talons. Bald eagles have been seen to carry mule deer fawns that weigh
upto 15lbs.
There is a real need for prophetic people to carry things in the spirit, to be burdened with the things that the
Lord would lay on our hearts. This truly is the ministry of the intercessor; to touch God's heart and to carry
His love and compassion to a dying world. The prophetic ministry isn't just about speaking His words, it's also
about displaying His heart for those around us.
BURDENS.
One of the Hebrew words for burden is 'massaw'. Many of the Old Testament prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, and others, used the word 'massaw' to describe their prophecies. In most English Bibles the word
'massaw' is translated as 'prophecy'. The fact that these Old Testament prophets used the word 'massaw' to
describe their prophecies shows me that they didn't just speak the word, they also carried it deep within their
hearts. It moved them deeply, and burdened them, which in turn, encouraged them to pray all the more.
THE HEART MOTIVATES.
Your heart is what motivates you. When you are burdened by the Lord, when you have deep compassion, or love,
it motivates you into action. When your heart is stirred towards something you're more likely to act. This is
why TV adverts for charity groups show little boys and girls with needs. They are trying to move you, to stir
up some compassion so that you will give. Why do the little boys and girls always have a snotty nose in those
adverts? It's to stir up the mothers heart in women, to make them think 'If only I could reach out and care
for him or her and wipe their little nose'. Your heart really does motivate you.
EXAMPLES OF HEARTS STIRRED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
Nehemiah was a man who was deeply burdened for Jerusalem and his people. In Nehemiah 1:4 we read that he was
motivated to pray out his heart of love for his people. It says that 'he wept' - it touched him deeply, so
'he mourned, fasted and prayed'. He did this for a number of days before appearing before King Artaxerxes with
'a sad heart'. His heart so moved the heathen King that he helped Nehemiah and his people.
Jeremiah's love, his burden for God's people, caused his heart to be so broken that he is known as 'The Weeping
Prophet'.
Jesus, the ultimate prophet, had a heart that was so burdened for Jerusalem that He grieved over it in Matthew
23:37-39. The shortest verse in the Bible is 'Jesus wept'. Also, Jesus often showed His heart for people before
He ministered to them. Many times His heart was stirred in compassion, and then He would move in healing. His
heart of compassion motivated Him to move in the gifts of the Spirit.
May the Lord save us from prophetic people who don't have a heart for His people!
Let's not just be ones who carry His words, but also ones who carry His heart to those around us.
A PROPHETIC BIRD OF PRAY.
So what does the Lord ask of us in regards to prophecy and prayer? He wants us to become 'Prophetic Birds of
Pray'. He wants us to be:
1. Ones who see things in the spirit using the gift of prophecy.
2. Ones who grasp hold of what the Spirit has revealed to us, holding on in faith through prayer.
3. Ones who carry God's heart for the situation or people, allowing ourselves to be burdened by the things that
burden Him.
4. Ones who rejoice when they see His purposes come to pass.
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