Ministers With God

Ministers with God

You will be called priests of the LORD, ministers of our God. Isaiah 61:6

WHEN JESUS RETURNED TO HIS HOME SYNAGOGUE in Nazareth, he declared his messianic manifesto—a quote from Isaiah about his mission (Luke 4:16-21). In the original passage, Isaiah calls his hearers, the people of God, priests of the Lord. That means we can continue whatever our great High Priest did through his power working within us. We, too, are called to bring good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for captives, and declare the Lord’s favor (Isaiah 61:1-2). We, too, can offer beauty instead of ashes, blessing and gladness in the place of mourning, and “festive praise instead of despair” (verse 3). By faith, we build up ancient ruins, repair destroyed cities, and revive lives and societies (verse 4). We are not just nominal priests. We actually do things that matter.

But all the priestly things we do must be backed by priestly prayers of faith. In the realm of the spirit, we join in partnership with God at any moment for any need anywhere in the world through such prayers. There is no limit to our ministry. We pray especially powerfully in areas of our particular knowledge and relationships, but the entire world is our field. Why? Because the entire world is Jesus’ field, and we are in him and he in us. We are priests because we are as one with the great High Priest (John 17:22, 26; Galatians 2:20). We haven’t just believed in him as our Savior. We’ve joined with him in his mission.

If your prayers have focused on your own needs or circles of relationships, lift up your eyes to the horizons of the world and see fields that are white for harvest. Recognize your astonishing position to shape history, influence cultures, and bless individual lives by praying with him, not just to him. Learn to see the news as your cues to pray God’s purposes into this world. Learn to see people’s frailties and foibles as opportunities to pray God’s presence and power into their redemption and restoration. Become a missionary in the spirit through prayers that are prompted by, filled with, and answered in faith. You are a priest, a minister of your God.

Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer.