Prayer Pastoring - Chapter 3 - Righteousness

Chapter three

Righteousness

In our first two chapters of prayer pastor-ing we talked about praying mercy and grace over peoples live now our third step is praying righteousness.

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

The kingdom of God is the Spirit of God. Matt 12:28 says “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you”. The coming of the Spirit is the coming of the kingdom. When we declare, “thy kingdom come,” it is a release of the kingdom, a release of the power of God. God’s Spirit encompasses all things and it is the kingdom. Within His kingdom are righteousness, peace and joy.

Often in our Christian understanding, we believe that Christ is our righteousness and God no longer sees us, but He sees Christ. When he looks at you, He doesn’t see you, He sees Jesus. This is not true in scripture. The first thing God says to every church is “I see your works”. When He looks at us He sees our life. He sees our sin. He knows everything about us. He says in Revelation “I know you”. Then He brings correction to individuals and to churches. He does not say “I see the righteousness of Christ.”

You have the nature of righteousness and the evidence of that naturet in your life is the fruit that you produce. A tree is known by its fruit. Righteousness is a not a state of being because you have said a prayer and have been born again and now you can now live any way you please.

We are righteous in Christ and that is absolutely true. Righteousness is a spiritual substance, a part of the very essence of God that you receive not just when you are born again, but continually. If the kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy, then every Christian would have joy because he is in the kingdom. We know that not every Christian walks in joy. Joy is not a theoretical state of being but something you must continually acquire. Joy comes by continually seeking the joy of the Lord in the kingdom.

We can obtain peace through prayer. Phil 4:6 says “be anxious for nothing, but in all things by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God will come and guard your heart and mind.” It is through prayer you obtain it. It is a spiritual substance. It flows from Gods kingdom to us. It is not a theoretical state. It is acquired like every other promise of God, through faith, on a regular basis.

Joy and peace are a substance to be acquired and righteousness is the same. When you receive Christ, you receive righteousness. His righteousness is in you. You have to partake of the very thing that you were made from to grow in righteousness. You have been born again of the Word of God, now you must feed on the Word of God. It is His food for you. The righteousness of Christ that formed the new creation is the very thing you must continually let flow into your life. Righteousness is something that you can seek after. You can ask for. There is a specific function of righteousness that works in your life. You either have it, or you do not have it. Righteousness is either working in your life or not. Paul writes in 11 Cor 9:10 “through the work of giving (finance), we increase in the fruit of our righteousness.” Righteousness had increased in the Corinthian believers’ lives and now it was producing fruit which was their giving to the poor. Their giving was a righteous act, and it increased their righteousness.

Rev. 19:7-8

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

In this verse the bride made herself ready. There was an outworking of righteousness, not just a state of being. You cannot outwork something that is not working inside of you. Whatever is in you “for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” you speak. You speak what you live. If righteousness was not a substance to be acquired then why would the beatitudes in Matthew five declare “blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” With what? Righteousness! You come to God to seek righteousness, the substance of righteousness, to be filled with righteousness.

Why is it that we need to be filled with righteousness? The word righteousness means straightness, equity, straight up and down. It means unbending and unyielding, uncompromising, completely integral in the fibre of the manufacture of the person who has it. When you look at righteousness, righteousness is the very moral fibre, the moral character, the very fibre of God’s character. It is the unbending, uncompromising truth, and integrity of God Himself.

A person who is weak in character will do great things, but they fail continually and fall into areas of deceit and weakness and cannot get it right. God takes of Himself, His very person and He plants it to us. He imputes it to us. He puts it in us. The power of the greater one overcomes the corruption of the lesser. The righteous character comes into you and brings that same straightness, equity, justice. The same uncompromising, integrity of His character moulds and fashions you.

When you come to God seeking His righteousness, He gives you what you ask. There comes a release of a greater power that goes into your character. Where you were dishonest He changes you into integrity.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” You are told to seek righteousness. Seek after it for your lives. God imparts it to us. He He plants it in us like a seed. It is not something of yourself where your old life changes of itself. It is something of God. It is the planting the new birth , the seed. It is a continual supply of the very thing you were birthed from that makes that righteous life grow up and produce fruit.

Isaiah 45:8

"Rain down, you heavens, from above,

And let the skies pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,

And let righteousness spring up together.

I, the Lord, have created it.

The Scripture is about righteousness raining down from heaven into humanity. As it comes down and touches humanity, salvation springs up. People are saved in it. God pours out righteousness in mass, across people, nations, churches, when they seek it. As you open your hearts to salvation, Christ, the righteous One springs up out of people.

Hosea 10:12

Sow for yourselves righteousness;

Reap in mercy;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the Lord,

Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.

Man was made from the dust of the earth, and fallow ground speaks of the hardness of people’s hearts. Breaking your fallow ground is your labour, travail in prayer, sowing in mercy, sowing it in and releasing the mercy of God over people breaking up the work of sin. “For it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” Plough, labour in prayer and call on God to rain righteousness down as a substance over your town.

Isaiah 45:8 says that righteousness as it comes down, the earth opens up. Why does the earth open up to us? Because! You have ploughed your ground. When the labour of prayer is done, the earth is softer and salvation springs forth.

James 5:7 “therefore be patient brethren until the coming of the Lord and see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth (humanity), until he receives the early and the latter rain”

Often we want to see the harvest but not the rain. The farmer waits patiently for the early and the latter rain to bring forth the precious fruit of the earth. The only fruit that God is interested in on the earth is not apples and oranges, but the lives of families in our communities. The rain is the coming of the Holy Spirit. When the rain comes, only when God comes can lives be saved. “No man comes to the Father, unless the Spirit draws him.” It’s not a philosophy or change of life that will bring a flood of salvation of souls but the miraculous working of the Spirit.

One of the greatest prayers that you can pray over people is to pray down righteousness. God revealed this to me (David). God also confirmed this to me when I was reading a book on Billy Graham. Graham said from the very outset of the beginning of his ministry, he realized that nothing had ever happened in any great work of God without prayer. He gathered some of the best prayer-ers together, and they started praying in Ohio. They prayed for weeks and weeks. When he had his first meetings, he said they were praying down righteousness and Graham quoted Isaiah 10:12

Sow for yourselves righteousness;

Reap in mercy;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the Lord,

Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.

When he gave a straight, simple altar call, without any eloquence the presence of righteousness came and multitudes of people were born again. Billy Graham always acknowledged it was the work of the Spirit bringing righteousness that brought people to salvation.

Righteousness is not a state of being when you are saved, righteousness is something that you can seek, pray for it, call it down and cry out to God for it. You need to seek Him on your knees until He sends it as rain flooding us. If your character is letting you down, cry out to God, “Father in mercy, send righteousness. I open my heart for your righteousness to come into my character. Lord let it permeate my heart, my will, my mind, every part of me. Lift your hands right now”. God will send it to you because you ask. Father, release Your righteousness into lives now. Release into our character, straightness and integrity and it will come to us.

David had never believed that people with poor character could make good Christians. I no longer believe that. I believe any labour of prayer to bring righteousness down to their lives will convert them and change them. Righteousness will come down and what is in God’s heart will come into them. It will release them and change them, so they become God-like, just like Him.”