From the desk of Steve Shultz:
This is a great word and teaching from Tiffany Ann Lewis. As the Passover holiday just ended, this is a good reminder of who the Passover Lamb is AND what we have in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
I like what Tiffany Ann shares here: We have been called and created for such a time as this: to pray and ask God for what we desire and to demand that righteousness would rain down on our lives. Let's step into our royal position and pray with Biblical boldness. The Lord desperately wants to establish His Kingdom on earth, that's why He taught us to pray that way. It has already been transferred to us. Let's not back down.
Yes, we can boldly come to the Throne of Grace and boldly ask in His name. If you've been seeking and asking, this word by Tiffany Ann will encourage you to NOT back down!
Tiffany Ann Lewis:
Ask Me... Saith the Lord
...the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.—Proverbs 13:22
There are things stored up for the righteous that are in the hands of the wicked. I believe these "things" will be released to us through prayer. Beloved, we are called and created for just a time as this, to speak out the desires that are on our heart and ask the King for His Kingdom to come. Let me show you what I mean.
There are several different words in Hebrew that are translated as prayer. One of them is sha'al—pronounced shaw-al' (Strong's #7592). Sha'al is not the usual word for prayer; nevertheless, it is one that was specifically selected by the Spirit of God.
The most common word for prayer which I spoke about in last month's manna (read on The ElijahList) is palal. Palal means to intervene, intercede, entreat, and make supplication. Sha'al, however, is significantly different. Sha'al has the typical meanings you would think of regarding prayer: to ask, inquire, request, and wish for; yet it also has a very interesting quality that is lost in the English translation, which is to borrow and/or demand.
We see this root (sha'al) in a pinnacle portion of Scripture, as God brought the children of Israel out of bondage through the shed blood of the lamb, thus instituting the first Passover. But it doesn't stop at freedom, there's more...there is a promise too.
We Are Not to Come Out Empty-Handed
God told the children of Israel that they would not leave Egypt empty-handed. They were held in captivity for 400+ years, serving as slaves to Pharaoh. So what did they have? Probably little to nothing, however, their "wealth" was literally being stored up in the hands of their captors.
The women received very specific instructions which they were responsible to carry out in order for this promise to be fulfilled. "... Every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians" (Exodus 3:22).
The word "ask" in the above passage is our Hebrew word that is used for prayer—sha'al. Imagine for a moment going to the one that is holding you captive and demanding they give you their silver, gold, and clothing so that when you run out of captivity you run out wealthy. Unbelievable! Nevertheless, this promise was fulfilled and we see Israel leaving bondage with the Egyptians' wealth in their hands (see Exodus 12:35-36).
Halleluyah!
Please catch this, beloved: Jesus, our Passover Lamb, has redeemed us and we are not to come out of bondage empty-handed. We are to ask, pray, even demand that what the wicked one has taken and stored up would be manifested to all who are in covenant with the King.
It's already done. We are redeemed from sin and the grave, but there is so much more—life abundantly, which Jesus spoke of in John 10. Abundantly means exceedingly over and above measure or need. This is not just regarding our finances; Jesus came to give us peace beyond measure, more meaningful relationships, joy and happiness that are run over the top.
'Tis the season of our redemption and the enemy has been storing up our wealth. Our righteousness has been obtained by one thing and one thing only—the shed Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. He set us free from the grave and transferred the wealth to us.
Glory be unto the Lamb—the King of Kings!
Invited to Seek to Secure Our Requests
Our root also appears in a very notable place—the book of Esther. King Ahasuerus called Esther's name, inviting her to come forward, and said to her, "What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!" (Esther 5:6)
It's interesting to note that the king asked two things. First, he asked what her petition was. Secondly, he asked what her request was. "Petition" (Strong's #7596) comes from our word key root word sha'al, and "request" is baqqashah pronounced bak-kaw-shaw' (Strong's #1246).
Baqqashah is a petition, a request, and comes from the root meaning: to seek, require, desire, exact, request. But also, to seek to find, to seek to secure, to seek the face, desire, demand, to ask, request, as well as to be sought. This word paints a picture of one who is seeking, expecting to find, and secure in what he/she is asking for. It's not a passive word but an active, forceful, positive action. That's baqqashah.
It blows my mind, but King Ahasuerus was inviting Esther to demand something from him when he invited her to make a request. Apparently there was a desire in the heart of the king that Esther would seek to secure what she was asking for. This reveals the invitation King Jesus has extended to us, too. "...the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." (Matthew 11:12b)
Beloved, we have a royal position before the King of the universe that was given to us through the sacrifice of the Lamb. He has called us by name. We have been called and created for such a time as this: to pray and ask God for what we desire and to demand that righteousness would rain down on our lives.
Let's step into our royal position and pray with Biblical boldness. The Lord desperately wants to establish His Kingdom on earth, that's why He taught us to pray that way. It has already been transferred to us. Let's not back down.
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Let's ask boldly, let's ask for more than half the Kingdom...let's ask for God's full Kingdom to be established on earth.
Let's sha'al (pray): We thank You, God, for Your never-ending love and faithfulness. We thank You, Jesus, for Your sacrifice. We thank You, Holy Spirit, for Your infilling presence. Empowered from on High, devil, we demand it back. We demand our children back. We demand our peace back. We demand our joy back. We demand our health back. We demand our finances back. We believe and declare that we will see the Kingdom of God manifested on earth. In the name of our Passover Lamb, Yeshua/Jesus. Amen and amen.
Tiffany Ann Lewis
Dancing with the Flame of the Lord Ministries
Email: tiffanyann@tiffanyannlewis.com
