I find that my prayer time is so much more effective when I begin it by first reading Scripture. The Word of God clears my mind and seems to open the channel from my spirit to my intellect. After this time of reading, I am much more connected with the Holy Spirit, and my time of prayer is enriched by His manifest presence.

I have also learned that God is quick to reveal Himself when I intentionally honor His presence in my life. When I start meditating on His greatness and goodness, all of a sudden the Holy Spirit reveals Himself. Why? The psalmist gives us the answer: “God is...to be held in reverence by all those around Him” (Psalm 89:7). If you want to experience God’s presence, you must approach Him with reverence. The quickest way to squelch the presence of God is to dishonor Him by taking His Spirit for granted.

When Jesus modeled prayer for His disciples (including us), He began by saying, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9). In other words, when we approach our Father, we must first enter His presence with holy reverence. When we do, the Holy Spirit will manifest His presence, for He knows that He is being held in reverence. His presence will give us perspective, wisdom, knowledge, and power. He truly is our life source! Why would we ever want to separate ourselves from Him?

Interceding in the Spirit

I used to regularly pray with a particular pastor friend of mine. During our times of prayer, we would often intercede in tongues. One time we knew we were speaking and giving directives to some area in the Middle East. The next day we found out that there had been a massive earthquake in Turkey. I believe my friend and I were interceding for that nation. We were connected with them through the Spirit, because the same Spirit resides in all of us. God was speaking His will for those in Turkey through us.

This act of spiritual intercession is extremely significant in the advancement of God’s kingdom on the earth. The enemy hates that we can declare the will of God over our distant brothers and sisters. His goal is to divide and separate the Church, and he would love to limit our intercession to what we know by our own understanding.

Perhaps you have never realized how closely connected you are to other believers worldwide. It is entirely possible for you to accurately intercede for believers in other lands, even if you have no natural contact with them.