Keys to Unprecedented Praying Power

By Sherri Downs

Have you ever gotten to a door only to realize that you don't have your keys? Picture yourself walking to your car, only to stop and realize that you locked the keys to the car inside your home. What are your thoughts and feelings at this moment? I'm sure you can relate in a similar experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Apr 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781647738488

Book preview

Acknowledgment

I would love to take this opportunity to acknowledge my husband, who I affectionately call Honey. Thank you for helping to push me toward purpose and allowing me the space to grow into the woman God has ordained me to be. To my two babies, Malachi and Maddisyn, I love you endlessly. Thank you for being patient with Mommy. I love you always! XOXO. Lastly, I wish to acknowledge my mother. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders, and I appreciate her love and endless support, which helps me to push even further when I know she’s cheering me on.

Prayer

Father, I pray for the readers of this book. I pray, Father, that You will entice their hearts and minds into becoming more intimate with You in their power place, prayer. I ask You, Father, to enhance their communication abilities. I pray that their voice will be activated in such a manner that Heaven will begin to manifest on earth in their lives and around them. I pray, Father, that their hearts would turn toward You continually. I pray freedom to every reader. I pray, Father, for a conscious awareness of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I pray they would be free from hurt, offense, unforgiveness, and anything that may hinder their prayers and relationship with You. I pray, Father, that as You take them deeper in their communication abilities, You would cause them to set others on fire in the place of prayer. I pray, Father, for the spirit of submission to the Holy Spirit and the burden of the Lord in their prayer times.

May our glorious Father give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.

I pray for clarity in hearing Your voice, Father, strength to always pray through, and pray in the power of the Holy Spirit to see lasting results and unprecedented breakthrough.

Amen.

Introduction

The finished work of Jesus Christ at the Cross has granted us victory in this life. With the Cross in mind, we embrace the truth of the Word as final and sovereign authority. We are seated with Christ as we have also died with Christ on that same Cross, and we are now made alive through this same finished work. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). We must hold this truth in our transformed mind that we always pray from a place of victory because of the finished work on the Cross. As we learn to abide in this truth through fellowship with the Trinity (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), we will see prayer through a different lens as we grow from faith to faith and from glory to glory. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you (Deuteronomy 20:4). The people that do know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits (Daniel 11:32). We have been given access to know our God through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Let me remind you that we are moving from faith to faith and from glory to glory. As prayer is our door of accessing victory, we are learning as children in our new life that this place of prayer, which was also demonstrated by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is a vital component to live as a victorious child of the most high God. Jesus Himself would often withdraw Himself from the crowds, and His disciples to pray and seek the Father. The finished work of Christ grants us victory that we only need to walk out as we embrace and sit in our seat of authority (which we will discuss later). The work of the cross is a faith work, and by faith we believe the work of the cross and the finished work of Christ. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

As a believer in the body of Christ, I have witnessed many fall prey to pseudo-Christian sects while being called to religions, denominations, institutions, and personalities through false allegiances rather than being called to Jesus Christ, who is the chief cornerstone and head of the church. Let me state this: I do honor and embrace fellowship among believers and the local church body. When you have a healthy balance and perspective of the position of the church assembly in your life, it is a beautiful thing. The Bible gives us great examples of healthy kingdom relationships and instructs us to forsake not the assembly of ourselves (Hebrews 10:25). I believe that many have gotten sucked into the fad and social aspect of church attendance rather than adopted into the body of Christ, the Ekklesia, as a believer and truly converted through the power of the Cross of Christ. The Ekklesia in Greek, according to Strong’s dictionary (no. 1577), is a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue or Christian community of members on earth or saints in Heaven or both), an assembly, a church. After writing my first book, Don’t Be Bullied by the Devil, I was told by the Holy Spirit to focus on teaching about prayer and to write how significant it is when sitting in authority with Christ. Prayer is powerful and aids and strengthens each believer in his or her love walk with God. The scriptures, over and over, emphasize the importance of seeking the Lord. Seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6). Seek ye Jehovah all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger (Zephaniah 2:3 asv). When you are humble, you pray and seek to rely on God. When you are prideful and lack perspective, you neglect prayer. Some do this without conscious awareness that they are even prideful in this manner. Well, after all, when you lack dependence on God, it is a form of pride because you have a posture of self-dependence.

With all the aforementioned in mind, it is not my aspiration to produce another boring, ritualistic book about prayer, by offering you habits to cultivate and steps to follow. It is my mandate and passion to incite and ignite you in your inner man to take your posture and placement in prayer as a serious component to growing in your relationship with God. We will never cover all the departments of prayer within this book, and I don’t aspire to do so, because truth be told, someone may be tempted to run in the first chapter if that was my aim. I do understand, as statistics have revealed, that most confessed Christians don’t pray. In fact, within the concept of prayer gatherings, it is the least attended among services offered at local church assemblies. Could this lack of importance, instruction, and validation of prayer being a lifeline, which will produce a strong profession of faith, cause harm to the believers? Has this failure resulted in believers that are living defeated lives while shouting, worshipping, and dancing in pews, but in reality, they go home empty, broken, financially depleted, divorced, sick, and lost? Staying free from sin and not allowing sin to abide in your heart is paramount to experiencing the power of fellowship in prayer. To get tangible results in life, prayer is a must. Have we, as a church, globally failed in discipleship teachings as a corporate church body?

However, I want to share my perspectives and experiences in prayer that will validate its effectiveness and powerful results. I want to release vital keys and concepts that will unlock your desire and potential in prayer. Without this vital building block of prayer, it is hard to scaffold a transformed life in Christ. To see real, tangible victory, you must pray! If you are reading this book, it is proof that God has been tugging at your heart to lean in more through encounter, and to journey with Him through a powerful relationship, with shared and mutual adoration, as you grow in hearing and receiving from Him. In growing spiritually in prayer, you come to know God’s voice, and you will learn how to respond to the Godhead. Prayer is truly your place of divine assistance and strength. After reading this book, you will know how to position yourself in the power place.

Prayer and Keys

The Bible mentions the word pray 313 times, and prayer 114 times in the KJV (King James Version). Prayer is a vital component in the life of a believer, as air is for the physical body, which it is an essential part of survival and sustainability. I believe that prayer is a part of our weapon arsenal as a soldier in the army of the Lord, and with this understanding, prayer should be one of the first things we are taught how to be successful in, as a new convert and foot soldier of Christ. If all men should pray and not faint (Luke 18:1), each believer needs to be taught how to use this vital piece of weaponry effectively and efficiently. Prayer is not just a source of weaponry but is so much more. Prayer can be a vehicle whereby the technology of the kingdom communicates and operates through. Jesus instructs the disciples in a model of prayer to pray like this: "After these manners therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom Come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:9–10). The way to get Heaven’s will on earth is through the vehicle" of prayer. I believe prayer should be the first thing that we, as leaders in the body of Christ, should arm believers with. Just as in the armed forces, new recruits are taught how to use their new weapons (guns) after enlisting. The new recruits are taught how to clean, take apart, and put together their service revolvers. They eat, sleep, and are not caught without their weapon. We must teach new converts this vital, intrinsic ability they have been regenerated with through the work of Holy Spirit living in them. Prayer is always our first line of defense. We access this weaponry when our spirits come alive to God through Christ and conversion at salvation. As we are born again and babes in Christ, we must now learn how to communicate as such! Prayer must also be seen as a communication aspect of God’s kingdom and not just a religious exercise. We must learn how to properly use it to its full power and maximize our growth in the depths of prayer, by producing God’s will in the earthly realm.

Communication can involve verbal, non-verbal, active listening, and physical attending—all of these are skills we can develop in prayer as we learn to communicate with Father God.

I have found prayer to truly be my place of fulfillment, strength, safety, direction, recovery, and help in time of need. Prayer is where I’ve encountered God. Prayer has allowed me to encounter God in the most difficult of times. It has been during times of great pain that I have experienced God’s divine hand of comfort, protection, affirmation, and love. I have been able to stand and face many trials and overcome as I prayed. As I pray, I have literally seen the world around me transform. I can remember praying and being corrected by Holy Spirit. I was complaining in prayer, and Holy Spirit stopped me in the middle of my complaining session. He spoke these words to me: Don’t tell me what is happening. I know what’s happening. He said, After all, wasn’t it I that opened your eyes to see? Holy Spirit said, Take on a posture of authority and enact change and call the things into earth that Heaven has declared. Holy Spirit said, Tell me what I say about it. My posture changed, and I began to pray the will of God into the earth.

Prayer is a place of power, and when we use it effectively, we can see the will of God manifest on earth with power and demonstration. Friend, when you go into prayer, God wants you to cause Heaven to manifest on earth. It is with this burden that I write. I write to implore you to learn your authority. I write to help you understand how to WIN (walk in newness) in life. Friend, sister, brother, when you lay down culture and the dictates of this world and truly desire God’s Kingdom to manifest in your life, you will have to die to the carnal nature. The carnal nature is always sacrificed on the altar before the Lord. Does the ability to sacrifice your carnal nature come easily? For some, yes, and for others, not so much. You must, however, intentionally place your carnal nature on the altar of sacrifice intently as you long for the manifestation of the Spirit of God, which this sacrifice yields. You will sacrifice no matter how long it takes, and you will always pray through.

I myself have grown in my prayer encounters as I communicate with God and yield to the work of the Holy Spirit. Has it been easy to cultivate this time? No. It kills my flesh to get up at 4:30 a.m. daily to get into prayer. However, friend, I have come to know that my life and victory depend on intimacy with God. The success of my family depends on my voice in prayer. My voice in prayer is how Heaven manifests in the earth. How dare I deprive the earth of change when it is within my ability to enact change in my world and the world around me. Don’t shrink back and don’t give up on what God says is yours! Take it all by force. As you engage in the place of power, know that I have prayed for your victory. There is a great cloud of witnesses that’s gone ahead of you, cheering you on.

In this book, I will adamantly highlight prayer in such a way that you will be seduced into deeper depths of prayer that will produce powerful results in your life that Heaven responds in earth, and you will see the glory of God in full measure operating in your life! It is my attempt to express and validate true key principles that will unlock deeper realms of praying power that will transform your life. Friend, God has given you the power inside of you through Holy Spirit to transform towns, families, cities, nations, bloodlines, and governments as you yield to Him in prayer. It is my desire that my voice would be heard to help new converts and anyone else that desires to advance in prayer. I want all that are hungry to embrace prayer as their place of power, to experience God in more intimate, tangible, natural, and instinctive encounters. I believe that a believer that truly loves God should see success in every area of life and that success is birthed through intimacy with the Godhead, which only comes through prayer.

I just didn’t know how important it was. I didn’t realize how vital prayer was, and there was no road map for me. Now, as I look back over life, I didn’t feel as though I was discipled properly to truly see tangible results. It was not that I didn’t pray; I did pray, and I was a genuine believer and sincere follower of Christ. I didn’t grow up seeing the Godhead become a regular part of life. Sure, there were people around me that sincerely loved the Lord. Sure, I had church family members around me that were genuine believers that I believe had sincerity in their Christian walk. I genuinely loved God with my all and lived a life growing and maturing in Him. What would have happened if I knew my purpose earlier? How would I have responded to what was around me and the attempts of the enemy to keep me detoured and derailed from my destiny? What if I had tangible victories and a life truly abiding in Christ? You may have asked yourself these questions on occasion as well. Then again, if we were predestined to walk in that revelation earlier, I believe and trust that our Father would have opened our eyes to that truth and revelation. I do believe that my journey is one full of purpose, and I am where God wants me to be right now. I can’t recall discussions at the dinner table about what we sensed God was saying to us or what He has said about our family. I can’t recollect having discussions with my family about what the will of God was for me, let alone understanding that God was interested in every aspect of who I was, and who I was to become. At fourteen years old, I surrendered my life to Christ. Then I started a journey of discovery that has rendered many exploits, trials, tribulations, tests, adventures, and unlocking a trajectory of identity and fellowship with God. This journey has taught me who I am and who I am to be on earth which has become very advantageous. I couldn’t begin to comprehend the path of my life and how I got here. I do know, however, that His hands have always been on me. No matter what I have faced in this life, or how long it has taken me to truly abide in Him, to the degree that the Godhead would delight to make His home in me. When we really engaged with intent to know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His sufferings, there begins to manifest a life-transforming power that is released to transform every area of our lives. I have seen sincere believers with little to no power to transform their lives, let alone the lives of those around them. I’ve witnessed believers around me spiritual ignorance, laziness, and slumber, with little to no fruit in their lives. I knew I did not want that type of life, so I began to lean into God’s presence more and more.

I grew up a part of the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ, and we are the hand-clapping, foot-stomping, and tongue-talking ones. I was, as a young teen, very sensitive to the presence of God, and I truly desired to live for Christ, and I still do. I can remember being a part of the choir at church, and as the choir director (who was my aunt, by the way) discovered that I could exhort people through song, I was given my first lead to a song. Now, I am not by any means a great singer. I do, however, know how to make a joyful noise; after all, isn’t that all God requires (Psalm 100:1)? Well, I didn’t recognize then that the gift of exhortation and encouragement was on my life. I can remember many times singing with the choir, and the power and presence of Holy Spirit would manifest in a tangible way. The church body would be exhorted, and Holy Spirit would come in and manifest God’s presence in the midst of the people. I can recall a particular Sunday when I sang a lead to a song, and the presence of God manifested which resulted in people praising, dancing, being exhorted, and edified. The tangible presence of God was there, which had results as the people were blessed. I, on the other hand, at the end of service, felt such a conviction in my heart. This conviction led me to the altar. I was on my knees, repenting and asking God for forgiveness. I didn’t have a sense that it was truly God that blessed the people, or was it my gift alone?

I felt He wasn’t with me in all the works and gifts I offered up and expressed that Sunday. I’m not sure if you have ever been there. Gifts alone can’t please God and represent His power and manufacture His presence. I have come to realize that it is out of genuine relationship with the Father in which our gifts are to flow. Yes, we are all on a journey, and with that journey we are all in different places with our Father. I have come to realize this as well. When the real presence of God shows up, His light will shine and truth will be revealed in your soul. The authentic presence of God exposes any area of our lives that God wants to upgrade. In this moment, I truly knew God wanted to upgrade my understanding and me. I felt inadequate to speak for Him and be used by Him. I knew I had to come closer. I did not want to be a fake. Our righteousness is as filthy rags before a holy, righteous God. The scripture would define it like this: "Having a