The Prayer of Release

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 1^st 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 1^st Kings Chapter 18 for details and Holy Spirit inspired understanding.

The Creative Power in the Word of God

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

There is power in the word of God, the power to create out of nothing (Romans Chapter 4 verses 17 to 25, Genesis Chapter 1). Examples include the creation story where God created the universe out of a formless empty space covered by darkness. God created life and beauty by His Spirit through the spoken word, and God said, let there… and there was.

The word of God also has the capacity to give life to what appears dead and to make impossibilities possibilities. The prophet Ezekiel prophesied the word of God as directed by the Spirit of God and the very dry bones, long dead and forgotten in the valley of dry bones came alive as a powerful army of God. As Ezekiel prophesied, the spoken word of God that does not return to God void accomplished divine purpose by restructuring the bones and activating lives in them. Please see Ezekiel Chapter 37 verses 1 to 14, Isaiah Chapter 55 verses 8 to 11.

Beloved, God is able to restore life back to whatever appears dead in any area of your life in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Through the power of the spoken word of God, every stagnation and seeming lack of progress in any area of your life will give way to great progressive movements that will birth overflowing abundance in your life in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. This is the day which God made to put a new song of great joy and celebration in your mouth. Celebrate this day with thanksgiving and watch God unleash the floodgates of divine abundance, uncommon favor and awesome deliverance in your life in the mighty name of Jesus. God is always able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ever ask or think of in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Big Dreams, Great Visions, PROPHESY to Heal the Nations 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Isaiah’s Vision

Prior to the encounter with God after the death of King Uzziah, Isaiah’s vision of God was blurred. So also was his ministry as it centered around the court. Additionally, Isaiah was probably a self righteous person who did not realize that he was a man of unclean lips who lived among a people of unclean lips – people who had no fear of God and carried on as if the Holy God of Israel did not see their evil. But all that came to an end when Isaiah saw the Lord significantly so after the death of Uzziah.

Isaiah’s vision of the Holy God of Israel surrounded by indescribable light and angels opened Isaiah’s eyes and understanding to the dimension of the great filth he and his people were in. Isaiah was both awed and afraid – a filthy sinner like him had encountered holiness and pure light. Significantly and this is quite instructive, Isaiah acknowledged his filthiness before the Holy God. Subsequently, his unclean lips were purged and cleansed of iniquity so that those same lips; cleansed and sanctified for the Master’s use could be deployed for kingdom purposes.

Big Dreams, Great Visions, PROPHESY to Heal the Nations 1

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Dreams and visions which are born of God and based on the word of God and also rooted in God are elastic. They can be stretched to whatever dimensions God wants them stretched to. Please read Genesis Chapter 13 verses 14 to 15 (as far as you can see); Isaiah Chapter 54 verses 2 to 3; Genesis Chapter 28 verses 13 to 15; Deuteronomy Chapter 33 verse 23; Joshua Chapter 17 verses 16 to 18.

Abraham’s Vision

Visualize the scope, expand your horizon, stretch your imagination.

Abraham’s vision was occasioned by the words God spoke to him – the journey to the land of promise coupled with the blessings attached to the obedience to that move from Haran. Abram alongside his father and other family members had embarked on the journey to Canaan but stopped at Haran where Abram eventually settled. Please read Genesis Chapter 11 verses 27 to 32. But at the appointed time, God spoke to Abram concerning moving permanently to Canaan in Genesis Chapter 12 verses 1 to 8. Significant and quite instructive is that Abram obeyed God and commenced movement to Canaan immediately. But the parts of Canaan Abram arrived at were not uninhabited land.

Writing to Heal the Nations 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Books are not written in a day though it is possible to have a draft of a book in a day depending on the size or scope of the book. A book can start as a letter which graduates into a series of letters which eventually culminate in a book or books which make up a book of books, for instance the letters of Apostle Paul to some of the Churches he planted which culminated in the Pauline epistles in the New Testament in the Bible.

King Solomon for instance commenced his writing career by speaking – the Bible records that he spoke three thousand proverbs while his songs were one thousand and five. Everything he spoke was documented, some by himself, and others by court scribes and they were handed down to succeeding generations as the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Songs. Please read 1^st Kings Chapter 4 verses 31 to 34, Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 verses 9 to 10. The Bible records that he chose his words carefully while speaking and writing. He chose words that would point people in the right direction in life. The fact that some of the writings of King Solomon were done by court scribes implies that the author of  a book may not necessarily be the writer of the book as the writer may be a conduit or channel for documenting the person’s ideas, thought processes, speeches, prophecies, messages etc. Baruch also wrote for the prophet Jeremiah.

Writing to Heal the Nations

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Writers are divinely designed to bring God’s love, healing and transformation to nations and peoples. The place of writers in healing the nations is significant as writers ordained by God to heal the nations with their writings are divinely tasked to write to impact humanity positively. The prophet Jeremiah wrote to instruct the Israelites to obey God, ignore the false prophets and the lies they told. Jeremiah encouraged the people to go to exile in Babylon and be fruitful while in exile. He also told them that exile in Babylon was not permanent as God would set them free and bring them back to Jerusalem after seventy years. The basis of Jeremiah’s prophecy, documented informed Daniel’s intercession for the release of Israel from Babylonian captivity. Please read Daniel Chapter 9 verses 1 to 5, and Jeremiah Chapter 29.  The Apostle Paul, John the Beloved, Moses and Habakkuk wrote to instruct believers and nations on how to live holy lives that would ensure peace and development in the nations. John the Beloved was instructed to write his visions in book for onward transmission to the seven Churches in Asia. Please read,  Revelation Chapter  1 verses 10 to 20, please note verses 11 and 19; Habakkuk Chapter 2 verses 1 to 3, Luke Chapter 1 verses 1 to 4, Acts Chapter 1 verses 1 to 20, Jude 3, 1^st Corinthians Chapter 10 verses 1 to 11.

This implies that God uses writing as a tool to fulfill divine purpose and impact lives. Therefore, writing to impact lives positively in order to improve and enhance the quality of lives of people to bring about positive transformation in their lives as well as be a blessing to humanity is great writing that should be hugely encouraged. This is because the benefits of such writing are immense. To start with, your writing enriches the mental processes of your constituency as they engage with the life transforming words, issues and subjects written about. Their enriched mental processes birth divine ideas which are again filtered through other quality life transforming books they mentally engage with or even produce.

Beloved, does your writing inspire, motivate people to rise up to their divine potentials and heights in life? Does your writing encourage people out of depression, stir them to challenge whatever limits them or is trying to put limits on them so that they can be who God created them to be? Does your writing provide guidance, direction, to guide people in the paths of righteousness and holy living? Does your writing inspire confidence and faith in God so that people believe and trust in God and subsequently have confidence in themselves based on their understanding of God’s love to them; God’s divine deposits in them to excel and soar?

The Gift of Faith for Healing the Nations

                                        Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

A number of nations are experiencing different types of challenges and problems that range from spiritual, political, economic, environmental, health, social malaise, food insecurity bordering on hunger and famine. All forms of tensions threaten peace and development. Governments, citizens and religious leaders seek solutions and experiment with proffered solutions. Unfortunately, some of these supposed solutions fail in the face of teeming challenges that show up with different faces almost on a daily basis. They include economic recessions, political instability, threats of war as nations try and test the military prowess of each other and even take steps further to try each other’s patience; terrorism, natural disasters destroying lives and property, youth restiveness, trafficking in persons, drug addiction, escalating poverty particularly the huge walls growing between the haves and have nots; and who knows what next.

Beloved, in the midst of all these, one is tempted to ask if solutions exist anywhere and if these problems can ever be resolved. Sure, they can but certainly not by physical, military, economic or intellectual prowess. They can only be resolved by the Spirit of God and that is where the gift of faith, one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit comes in. The gift of faith can bring about great and rapid as well as lasting healings to nations if utilized as directed by the Holy Spirit.

Great apostles of faith such as Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Nehemiah, Ezra, Haggai, Deborah, Paul, Peter, Smith Wigglesworth and Kathryn Kuhlman and numerous others exercised the gift of faith to bring about multidimensional healings in different nations of the world. Modern day apostles of faith include but are not limited to Billy Graham, Benny Hinn and many others.

The Essence of Judgmental Prophecies

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Judgmental prophecies are prophecies that pronounce judgment and doom as a result of the disobedience of an individual, family, community, Church, institutions and nations. They are however not a regular occurrence. God does not delight in pronouncing judgment on His people. Rather He blesses His people on a daily basis.  The essence of judgmental prophecies is to cause the people of God to repent and to turn away from their sins back to God. God does this because of His love and compassion for the people. Please see 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 36 verse 15, Jonah Chapter 4 verses 2 to 3, 11.

Most often, God averts judgment especially when people repent as the Word of God comes forth. Ahab repented when he received a judgmental prophecy after killing Naboth to take over his vineyard (1^st Kings Chapter 21). Though Ahab eventually died on account of other sins, it is significant to note that as much as possible, God always wants to avert judgment which explains why He uses His prophets to warn His people and nations of the impending consequences of their sinful actions. It is sad that most often, people and nations do not pay attention to God but choose to walk in their own ways. The case of the city of Nineveh is significant. As the Prophet Jonah spoke of the impending doom that would befall Nineveh on account of their sins, the Bible records that the nation led by the King repented in dust and ashes. God rescinded judgment and the people were spared.

The people of Israel and Judah as well as the land suffered the consequences of their sins and persistent refusal to turn away from their sinful ways back to God. Consequently, Nebuchadnezzar humiliated them and burnt the beautiful temple built by Solomon, carted away the precious articles of gold and silver. God allowed this because He had warned them severally. Additionally, the leadership of the people including priests and prophets were defiling the temple with the abominable idolatrous practices of the nations around them (2^nd Chronicles Chapter 36 verse 14, Ezekiel Chapter 8) and had hardened their hearts against any rebuke from the LORD. Rather than be convicted and repent, they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets (2^nd Chronicles Chapter 36 verse 16).

The Role of Prophets in the Healing of the Nations 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

A prophet must prophesy; for any prophet to be used of God in bringing healing to the nation/s, the prophet must prophesy. The prophecy is what moves people, the nations to repentance if they are already prepared for repentance; or moves the people of God in the nations to fervent intercession for repentance in the land so that ultimately, there is forgiveness of sins and restoration.

Daniel interceded for Israel after studying the prophecy concerning restoration for Israel in the book of Jeremiah. Please see Daniel Chapter 9. Not quite long, the Israelites left Babylonian captivity and Jerusalem was rebuilt.

The Prophet Ezekiel was used by God to bring healing to the despondent people of Israel through the prophecy he gave in Ezekiel Chapter 37 verses 1 to 14. A people who had confessed that their bones were dry and their hope was lost stood on their feet as an exceedingly great army after they received the word of God prophesied by Ezekiel into their lives.

The prophecy can also be to energize and mobilize the people of God to action against their oppressors as in the case of Barak and the army of Israel when God used Deborah to prophesy to Barak. Barak responded positively to the prophecy by Deborah, mobilized the army of Israel and defeated General Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army. The nation of Israel was free and healed of the military oppression by Jabin, King of Cannan through Sisera. Please see Judges Chapters 4 and 5.

Healing also came to the nation of Israel as Prophets Zechariah and Haggai prophesied to the returnee exiles to complete the rebuilding of the temple that was abandoned on account of the fierce opposition from the people who hated Jerusalem. The people of Israel were experiencing lack, miserable harvests and nothing to really show for so much labor. But as they responded positively to the prophecies of Zechariah and Haggai; the recommenced work and completed the temple, God blessed them and the works of their hands immensely. Please see Ezra Chapter 5 verses 1 to 2, 6 verse 14; Haggai Chapters 1 and 2 and Zechariah Chapter 8 verses 9 to 15.

The Place of Fasting and Prayer in the Healing of the Nations 1

 Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Fasting and prayer are major components of healing the nations. Fasting and prayer should always be accompanied with genuine repentance.

The prophet Jonah was asked by God to deliver a judgmental prophecy of God’s intended destruction of Nineveh on account of their wickedness. Initially, Jonah disobeyed God but as Jonah obeyed God and proclaimed the message, the people of Nineveh were convicted of sin, turned to God in repentance through fasting and prayers for forgiveness of sins. The Bible   records that God pitied them and relented. It is significant to note that it was not the mere act of fasting that made God pardon them. It was the state of their hearts – they turned from their evil ways. Additionally, they humbled themselves through the fast. That explains why the Bible instructs believers not to rend their garments but their hearts and return to the Lord. This was exactly what the people of Nineveh did. Please see Joel Chapters 2 verses 12 to 13, 1 verse 14 as well as Jonah Chapter 3 verses 5 to 10.

It is also instructive to note that this was what Daniel did. Daniel accompanied his intercession for the restoration of Israel with prayer and fasting. Please see Daniel Chapter 9 verses 1 to 3. Nehemiah also fasted and prayed when he learnt about what had befallen Jerusalem – the distressing state of the survivors coupled with the broken down walls and burnt gates (Nehemiah Chapter 1 verses 1 to 4). The Old Testament prophet Samuel also led the people of Israel fasting and prayer as they returned to the Lord after practicing idolatry. Please see 1^st Samuel Chapter 7 verses 1 to 17. Quite instructive is the fact that as they fasted and prayed, the Philistines attacked them but God gave them overwhelming victory.

Healing the Nations Through Prophesying 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Bible records that the elders of the Jews built and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built the temple and finished it. Please see Ezra Chapters 5 verses 1 to 2; 6 verse 14, Haggai Chapters 1 and 2, Zechariah Chapter 1 verses 12 to 21, What is pertinent is what Haggai and Zechariah prophesied (the content of their prophecies and the Spirit by whom they prophesied). They prophesied by the Spirit of God; and the words which they spoke by the Holy Spirit were life to the people, the words quickened the people and helped them to prosper in the rebuilding of the temple and the temple was completed despite the severe opposition by the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin.

The forms of opposition include false assistance designed to frustrate the work; discouragement; use of counselors to frustrate the work, accusation and force of arms (Ezra Chapter 4 verses 1 to 23). Eventually the work ceased. But because God had spoken His word and His word does not return unto Him without accomplishing what the word was sent to do (Isaiah Chapter 55 verses 8 to 13), He raised the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to speak hope, strength, confidence and restoration to His people. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah continued prophesying to the people in the name of God and the people were strengthened and encouraged to continue rebuilding the Temple (Ezra Chapter 5). As they spoke, the people rose up and began to build the house of God, hugely supported by King Cyrus whom God had purposed to use (Isaiah Chapters 44 verses 26 to 28, 45 verse 13). The fierce opposition to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem by the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin was quashed by prophesying. Additionally, the Bible records that the completion of the temple brought healing and restoration of dignity, true worship of God as well as restoration of all things to Judah.

Prophesying the Word of God into the situation, the people and the land as evidenced in the valley of dry bones when Ezekiel prophesied the Word of God into the very dry bones in the valley certainly brings God’s healing to the nations. The very dry bones represent utter hopelessness – a situation that was probably beyond redemption because the people had lost all hope and believed that nothing could be done to redeem the situation. Apart from being very dry, the bones were also very many. This is symbolic of the mindsets of many people, utter hopelessness for them as a people and a nation.