Are there people you know who need to be saved?
Many of us have loved ones who have not yet accepted Jesus. You may have prayed for your family members & friends a long time without seeing your prayers answered because sin has given the enemy a legal right to hold them in bondage.
This teaching can equip you to enter the courts of heaven on behalf of others, to plead their case directly before the Lord.
Isaiah 49:24-25 “Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the Lord: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.’”
Isaiah 43:26 (AMP) “Put Me in remembrance [remind me of your merits]; Let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case that you might be justified (proved right).”
Jeremiah 12:1a (AMP) “Uncompromisingly righteous and rigidly just are You, O Lord, when I complain against and contend with you. Yet let me plead (conduct a case) and reason the case (legal dispute) with You.” (p.5 Hanselman)
The people around you need your prayers!
People who are lawful captives cannot pray for themselves because their minds are veiled from understanding their value and their vulnerability and their way to freedom.
2 Corinthians 2:3-4 “…if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Ephesians 4:18-19 “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
Jesus came to set the captives free and He commissions us to do this too. (Luke 4:18-19)
Acts 26:17-18 Jesus said, “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.”
Luke 10:3,23 Jesus said, “Go! I am sending you…Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.”
To intercede for others, you need to see clearly!
Luke 6:42 “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
If our prayers heap judgement and condemnation on others, we have joined the accuser in his work.
Matthew 7:2 “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
The “Lord’s Prayer” says, Matthew 6:12-14 (TPT) “Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.”
James 4:7-9 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Ask the Holy Spirit to alert you when your perspective is veiled – when you are being deceived into being judgmental or holding onto anger, hatred and unforgiveness. (John 16:13, Matthew 6:15) Confess this immediately so your doublemindedness is cleansed. Once our veil of judgement is removed, we can see the distortions in our understanding and why we have been praying fruitless prayers.
Psalm 24:3-5 “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
Now you can enter the courts to intercede for these precious ones and receive the righteousness of the God of our salvation!
Court Room intercession is based on Jesus’ call to repent and deeply confess our sins. We come to the Lord to ask for His grace and mercy, and for the power of the blood of Jesus to wash us clean. We humbly acknowledge the sins of those we pray for and petition Jesus and the Holy Spirit to intercede for their conviction, salvation and restoration, so the enemy can no longer use their sin as legal grounds to deceive, accuse, kill, steal and destroy. Through Jesus we want to see them restored to relationship with our Father and God’s Word, promises and blessings activated and fruitful.
How to present a case in the Courts of Heaven.
1.Enter God’s courts with praise! (Psalm 100:4) Praise fixes your eyes on Him! Be captivated by God’s goodness and loving kindness and His power to lift us into His peace.
2. Enter God’s Courts through the Way Jesus has made the way for us!
Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 7:24-25 “But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”
Hebrews 10:19-22 “And since we now have a magnificent King-Priest to welcome us into God’s house, we come closer to God and approach him with an open heart, fully convinced by faith that nothing will keep us at a distance from him. For our hearts have been sprinkled with blood to remove impurity and we have been freed from an accusing conscience and now we are clean, unstained, and presentable to God inside and out!”
3. You can ask the Holy Spirit to be your Court Counsel, your Advocate, and to lead in what to say. (Isaiah 11:1-2, John 14:16, 14:26; 15:26; 16:7)
Matthew 10:15 “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
Romans 8:26 -27 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
You can ask for the books to be opened and for the cloud of witnesses to appear on your behalf. [Guide to Court Procedures: see Hansson pg 27-30]
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
4. By faith, simply close your eyes and ask permission to enter the courts of heaven. This is a simple example of how you might plead a case on behalf of others:
“Father, forgive their sin and wash them with the blood of Jesus. Please move their case from the place of judgement to Your throne of grace and mercy. Please remove the veil from their understanding so they can see the truth about their sin and all You are offering them. May they be led to conviction and repentance; and receive Jesus as their Saviour and walk in the way, the truth and the life You have purposed for them.
[Jeanette Strauss]
How to be set free from accusation.
If the enemy has a legitimate accusation against a person or the generations of a family or a region or nation, this gives him legal access to kill, steal and destroy and hold them in bondage. (John 10:10, Matthew 5:25-26, Psalm 64:2-50) Accurate accusations become a default judgment that stands until we respond to these charges in the Court of Heaven. (Psalm 143:2, Daniel 7:10 AMP)
Sometimes in the court, we are confronted by the enemy who accuses us day and night of our sins. (Revelation 12:10) If a legitimate accusation is brought against you, confess it immediately. Sometimes, the enemy accurately identifies what the judgement is against us, or others, but the enemy is also a liar – and some of us are quick to wrongly accuse ourselves – so identify false accusations by asking Jesus for the truth.
Trust the conviction and leading of the Holy Spirit. John 16:8 “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…”
You don’t need to live or let others live under accusation and judgement. Simply agree with legitimate accusations, confess the sin, and ask for the mercy of the blood of Jesus to wash away the sin – so the court can apply God’s grace and mercy.
2 Corinthians 7:1,10 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
Declare the power of the blood of Jesus!
The good news is the accuser has no power over sins that are covered by the life giving blood of Jesus! The Blood declares us justified, just as if we’d never sinned. Once the default judgment is nullified, the Just Judge can release blessings, favour, and prosperity into our lives. (Based on quotes from pg 3-4 Hanselman.)
Commemorate and celebrate what Jesus has done by taking the Lord’s Supper to seal the prayers prayed in the courts of heaven.
John 14:30 AMP, states that “the prince of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me (He has nothing in common with Me); there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.” Now read it in The Passion Translation, “the ruler of this dark world is coming. But he has no power over me, for he has nothing to use against me. I am doing exactly what the Father destined for me to accomplish.”
Ephesians 1:7-8 “Since we are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of his grace.”
Titus 3:3-7 “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Help each other remain alert!
When you recognise you (or someone else) is under spiritual attack, ask the Holy Spirit if there is something you need to confess so you are free again from what has given the enemy legal access to torment you. And alert others to pray with you for breakthrough.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
1 Corinthians 1:10b-11 “And now we fasten our hopes on him to continue to deliver us from death yet again, as you labor together with us through prayer. Because there are so many interceding for us, our deliverance will cause even more people to give thanks to God. What a gracious gift of mercy surrounds us because of your prayers!”
Give thanks and testify to your freedom!
Our Beloved has set us free and cleansed us! Pour upon the worthy One the praise and thanksgiving due His name! Shine with God’s glory! Reflect His image and testify to His goodness! Let your joy be transparent!
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 “…when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
John 8:36 TPT “So if the Son sets you free from sin, then become a true son and be unquestionably free!”
Psalm 40:3 TPT “A new song for a new day rises up in me every time I think about how he breaks through for me! Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until everyone hears how God has set me free. Many will see his miracles; they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!”
Colossians 1: 2b-6 TPT “May God, our true Father, release upon your lives the riches of his kind favor and heavenly peace through the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 3 Every time we pray for you our hearts overflow with thanksgiving to Father God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your devoted lives of faith in Christ Jesus and your tender love toward all his holy believers. 5 Your faith and love rise within you as you access all the treasures of your inheritance stored up in the heavenly realm. For the revelation of the true gospel is as real today as the day you first heard of our glorious hope, now that you have believed in the truth of the gospel.6 This is the wonderful message that is being spread everywhere, powerfully changing hearts throughout the earth, just like it has changed you! Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God’s grace.”
When you have stories of what Jesus has done please share them with us. You can send them to sue@partnersinprayer.org.au
Resources:
- See some of the many Biblical precedents for interceding before God on behalf of others: Genesis 19:22 -Abraham, Numbers 14:13-20 – Moses, 1 Samuel 7:5, 1 Kings 13:6, Daniel 9:20, Nehemiah 1:6, Psalm 99:6, Psalm 122:8, Proverbs 31:9, Isaiah 62:1, Isaiah 53:12 and Hebrews 7:26 – Jesus, Romans 8:26-27- Holy Spirit.
- See the simple court procedure taught by Jeanette Strauss, Courtroom of Heaven Training.
- See specific prayers for identificational repentance in Silencing the Accuser: Restoration of your Birthright. 3rd By Jacquelin & Daniel Hanselman. www.silencingtheaccuser.com]
- PIPES article from October 2014 http://partnersinprayer.org.au/the-power-of-prayer-in-the-courts-of-heaven/
- Worship can help this soak into our spirits: Kristene DiMarco Take Courage Jonathan Stockstill Trust in Our God. We will Lift our eyes to heaven.
- Lana Vawser A WAVE OF TRAVAIL IS ABOUT TO CRASH INTO THE CHURCH TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE FEAR OF THE LORD!
- Paul Cox, Aslan Place, Prayer to Repent for Ungodly Intercession
