Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
The prayer of release is usually more of warfare,
warfare in the sense that you are saying NO to the enemy who is withholding
your God given blessings and resources from you. Quite significant is the fact that you are not in
direct conflict with the enemy but that through fervent intercession, plea for
mercy, acknowledgment of sins and cries for forgiveness of sins and cleansing
so that the will of God is done in your life, the establishment and
manifestation of His will in all goodness for your life, you tarry, spend
quality time in God’s Presence for the release of God’s divine blessings.
Circumstances contrary to the word of God, the plans
and purposes of God, the will of God can also precipitate the prayer of release
as recorded in Acts Chapter 12 where constant prayer was offered to God for the
release of Peter from death row. Peter was already condemned to death by Herod
and would be killed at any point in time. But the Church did not give up
praying because they trusted God to intervene and deliver Peter. God responded
to their faith and set Peter free the night before he was to be killed by
Herod. As evidenced by the constant prayer made by the Church for Peter, it is
clear that the prayer of release is not always a one off activity until the
desired result is gotten as in the case of Elijah’s prayer for rain. It is
constant prayer; pray without ceasing as stated in the Bible in 1st
Thessalonians Chapter 5 verse 17. It is akin to the prayer God requested of the
intercessors He placed in Jerusalem.
The prayer of release is also the divine assignment
for the person who pronounces a prophecy as well as the person who receives the
prophecy. The prayer of release is what happens between the prophecy and the
manifestation of the prophecy. It is diligent work.
The prayer of release is usually preceded by a word
from God, a prophecy, a promise, a desire for the manifestation of the word of
God in the life of a person, family, Church, community or nation. The word of
God had come forth that there would be rain after a period of drought and because Elijah knew that God Who does not
lie, Who does not make empty promises had spoken, Elijah called down the rain
in fervent, unceasing prayers to God after he had repaired the altar of God in
Israel. Elijah prayed until there was a cloud in the skies. He did not stop praying
until there was a manifestation. But for the mercy and grace of God, he would
have been drenched in the rain. Please read 1st Kings Chapter 18 for
details and Holy Spirit inspired understanding.
Beloved, God does not lie. He cannot lie. Please read
Numbers Chapter 23 verse 19, 1st Samuel Chapter 15 verse 29 and
Isaiah Chapter 55 verses 8 to 13. Did He speak to you clearly and you heard Him
distinctly but you are afraid of whether what He said will come to pass or not?
Did He make you a promise like He did to Abraham and Sarah as well as a number
of other Biblical characters and you are not sure that the promise God made to
you will come to pass because you are not a biblical character? Have faith in
God. God loves you as much as He loves those Biblical characters who received the
manifestation of the promises made to them by God. He will certainly bring
about the speedy manifestation of that promise in the mighty name of Jesus
Christ. Trust God and look up to Him alone to do it for you in His own way and
in His own time.
Daniel prayed the prayer of release in Daniel
Chapters 9 and 10 after he understood from Jeremiah’s prophecies the number of
years Israel should stay in captivity. On the basis of that understanding, Daniel
began to pray for the immediate release of Israel from Babylonian/Persian
captivity as well as the restoration of Jerusalem. This was when Darius the
Mede was ruling Persia and Media. Daniel fasted, prayed and interceded and God
heard and acted from the very first day that Daniel commenced his prayers.
Unknown to Daniel, God released the answer to his
prayer from day one but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood angel
Gabriel who was bringing the answer for twenty one days. Significantly and this
is quite instructive, Daniel continued praying despite the fact that he was
unaware of what was happening in the realm of the spirit. And his prayers and
fasting paid off as God released angel Michael to remove the prince of Persia
and his cohorts from the way so that there would be a manifestation of God’s
answer to Daniel’s prayer. Not quite long, that manifestation came when Cyrus
became King of Persia and responded to the prophecy spoken Isaiah in Isaiah
Chapter 45 long before Israel was taken captive by Babylon under King
Nebuchadnezzar. Please read Isaiah Chapters 44 verses 21 to 28, 45 verses 1 to
14, 2nd Chronicles Chapter 36 verses 22 to 23 and Ezra Chapters 1,
and 4 verse 3.
Beloved, Daniel’s prayer of release brought about the
manifestation of what God spoke through Isaiah and Jeremiah. And if you read
through the books of Nehemiah, Ezra and Zechariah you will discover how
Jerusalem was rebuilt amidst much opposition in the physical, a manifestation
of the spiritual opposition mounted by the prince of Persia and his cohorts. But
despite all the opposition, the word of God was fulfilled, His faithful
promises to the children of Israel came to pass because much prayer, the prayer
of release had taken place in the realm of the spirit; not only by Daniel but
also Nehemiah, Ezra and a number of other faithful kingdom minded people in
Jerusalem and in exile.
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