Things that Grieve

Things that GrieveFellowship with the Holy Spirit in PrayerBy Lars WiderbergReading: Jeremiah 9 and 10, 2 Corinthians 2:16Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!A man’s voice verbalising anguish unspeakable.A man’s voice articulating grief darker than night. A man’s voice punctuating the heart of the Eternal.A prophet’s cry amidst men who do not care to lend their ears to decency, preferring their own discipline of delusion.Who is adequate for these things? Who is sufficient for this? Who is able to pray as one ought in times of great delusion, when everyone deceives his neighbour and when they bend and teach their tongues to speak lies. Who is adequate for these things? Who is willing to carry the burden of the Lord amidst nations and peoples whose customs are but vanity. Where does one find a priest like Phinehas ready to cut sharply into contemporary approach of the Church or a Jeremiah to break away from the common culturally framed and fitted style.Prayer means obtaining communion. Prayer means being changed and shaped into likeness with Him who lives always to make intercession. Prayer means to be saturated by the Life of the One who alone is Holy. The things which please Him will please the intercessor. The things which glorify Him become the sole interest of the praying man. The things which grieve the Holy Spirit will grieve you. The intercessor will accompany Jeremiah in verbalising anguish unspeakable.

2. The dispensation of the Spirit is the dispensation of the inner life. Prayer means obtaining communion. The dispensation of the Holy Spirit is meant for the cultivation of the inner life. A praying man is a saint in progression. A life in prayer, the inner life, is life habitually maturing. The Father offers the absolute lordship of the Holy Spirit for the sake of insight into the ways and measures of Heaven. God offers the absolute lordship of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the establishing of a fellowship whose aim and purpose is aligned to the one set intention determined and stated by Heaven. Life lived and disciplined under the lordship of the Holy Spirit sets the stage for mature intercession.Men of old were known and recognized among men and in the heavenly realms because they were heard in that they feared God. They acknowledged, submitted to and gave themselves to the throne where the art of the inner life begins, is learned and finds its purpose. The things of Heaven consume the intercessor. The things brought forth from the fellowship before the throne endures. These things prevail. These things cannot be shaken, cannot be brought to nought.Item one: Intercession is an outpouring of God’s heart through a man’s heart. This is priestly ministry.

3. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh. The weapon of our warfare is an outpouring of God’s heart through our lives. The weapon of our warfare is the sanctifying presence of the Spirit of life. The covenant with the Levitical priesthood was one of life and peace; how much more. . . The Levitical priesthood was installed for the sake of service, for the sake of the presence of God among his own people, for the sake of a testimony – how much more. . .Priestly ministry takes priestly compassion. Priestly ministry takes the heart of God explicitly expressed. Priestly ministry requires sacrificial compassion. Intercession according to God’s heart, according to God’s standards insists upon priestliness beyond human capacity. Who is sufficient for this?One of the Old Men said: “No man is greater than his prayer life”. He also said: “We mistake action for unction, rattle for revival, and commotion for creation”. Priestliness brings the heart of the Lord to be seen among men. Prayer carries the burden of the Lord. The things that grieve the Spirit grieve praying men. The things that contradict the holiness of Heaven perplex and bring maturing saints on their knees. A prayer session before the throne opens time for God to share His burden with His confidents. Priestliness brings heavenliness to the Earth. Praying men are conformed into the likeness of the One with whom they commune.God can use your tears. The Father gathers tears in bottles, He lists them in a scroll – Ps 56:8. Tears are a priestly tool to bring forth the Kingdom. These precious vaporizing pearls establish His Throne. Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!Item two: Intercession is an outpouring of God’s heart through a man’s heart. This is prophetic ministry.

4. Concern and perplexity regarding effective intercession should bring the modern Church, even the modern prayer movement to its knees. Prayer is a matter of securing an operative testimony of Heaven on earth. Are our prayers heard before the Throne? Are we in any substantial measure recovering ground as to the cause of the Kingdom? Are we honest about exploits and accomplishments? Does our intercession have relevant repercussions in heavenly realms and earthly affairs? Does our intercession reflect the will of God? The inner way, the ministry of the interior is, first of all, communion before and with God. But the inner way is indeed the way instituted by the Lord to conduct the affairs of Heaven amidst the rebellion and confusion of modern men. What grieves the Holy Spirit perplexes and grieves the people of God. “Do not learn the way of the nations. . . for the customs of the peoples are delusion. . . Who would not fear Thee, O King of the nations? This is the setting in which the prophet cries out, Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears. This is the setting in which the praying community breaks down in tears, in an apostolic “Who is sufficient for this”. Prayer is the language of the poor, of the ones who have no earthly resources. Tears constitute the language of the ones who see the need of utter correction and judgment. Tears are the language of the Cross in operation. It is a language which is perfectly understood before the throne. It is a language which in a perfect manner opens for the throne, for the lordship of the Holy Spirit.Item three: Intercession is an outpouring of God’s heart through a man’s heart. This is royal ministry.

In all our praying, are we willing to consider to what degree the heart of the Lord is pouring forth through our labouring? To what degree are our houses of prayer, our conferences and prayer vigils reflecting the House of Prayer which alone is the dwelling place of the Father?Are the things that grieve the Holy Spirit producing grief in our inner beings and tears in our eyes? Are we gathering to impress the Lord concerning the validity of our agenda? Is prayer pressing petitions or the means of obtaining communion?The House of the Father is companionship, communion, common spirit, common objectives. The House represents the lordship of the Holy Spirit. The House represents those eternal values which Heaven alone can produce, a production instigated by man’s perplexity and his tears. The House is a place for men, and women, who give themselves to fellowshipping for the sake of entering into the council of the Lord, for the sake of priestly ministry expressed in terms of a burden designed by the Lord.Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!A man’s voice verbalising anguish unspeakable.A man’s voice articulating grief darker than night. A man’s voice punctuating the heart of the Eternal.A prophet’s cry amidst modern men who do not care to lend their ears to decency, preferring their own discipline of delusion.The common cry of a fellowship before the Lord to produce a recovery of a radical testimony of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.