Flesh is helpless in all of the Christian life. Jesus said it best of all when He uttered, “…the flesh profiteth nothing…” (John 6:36b). There is probably no place in our life where we are more helpless than in our prayer life. When you search back through the prayer life of God’s greats, “Holy Ghost empowered prayer” was at the root of that greatness. They learned to pray, waited on God to anoint them, and then shook Heaven to respond.

You have not prayed in the New Covenant sense until you go beyond the flesh and move into the Spirit realm. The Holy Ghost alone is our link with Heaven. The apostle, Paul, said it well to the church at Corinth. “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Corinthians 10:4-5). No weapon of our enemy can stand when we tarry until the Spirit acts.

We know that preaching or witnessing is helpless without the anointing but most Christians have not learned that prayer is even more helpless. The Bible said, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (II Corinthians 4:7). There is no place of power like prayer power. We wrestle against the darkness of hell and the multitudes of demon spirits and there is absolutely no victory except by mighty prayer.

Mighty prayer is not how long we pray or how loud we pray. It is when the mighty Intercessor moves within our spirit to bridge the impasse between Heaven and earth. The Lord Jesus Christ is the advocate at the FatherÂ’s right hand. The Spirit of Christ is His Spirit within the saint that bears his/her burdens and needs up to the throne. When He has complete mastery of the SaintÂ’s life, He will make known the perfect will of God in us and to the Father.

Listen as the Apostle makes this subject plain to hear, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).

This is one of the BibleÂ’s most wonderful truths. When the Father has a plan for revival or renewal in His church, He will first enlist prayer warriors to join in the fight. We are His in-displaceable fellow workers. Nothing of the kingdom moves without His saints. That is one of the New TestamentÂ’s greatest mysteries and we must learn to wait at His altar for instruction. Do not let your prayers become a selfish list of wants. He already knows what you need. Your prayers should be kingdom business and not selfish business.

Our Lord’s Prayer begins, “…Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). I feel like the Father has taught me more about prayer in the last few weeks than in all my life put together.

It is all summed up in the letter to Ephesus, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:12; 18). What a lesson and how beautifully the Holy Ghost said it. We are in the war with hell’s best and they have thousands of years of experience. The Word plainly said, “Praying…in the Spirit.” Jude finished it by saying, “…praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 1:20b). It’s war; but by anointed prayer, we will always win.

The greatest mystery in the entire universe and in all of time is the body of Jesus Christ. How an eternal God stepped into limited space cannot be explained. How His blood was divine and without the sin nature, yet it dwelt in a body subject to temptation, is beyond our minds. When this “Holy Thing” was born, He had no earthly father and was born of a virgin. His life was totally beyond our understanding, yet He bled and died just like an ordinary man.

In the tomb His dead body was not subject to decay. For three days His body laid in a borrowed sepulchre awaiting His own return from Upper Sheol. The beating and crucifixion did not kill Him, because He was not subject to death. He gave up His own spirit temporarily to complete the sacrifice of death and three days later He arose. When He arose, He totally transformed His body into a glorified body that was no longer limited to space and time. While He traveled around Jerusalem, no one saw Him except those to whom He revealed Himself. His glorified body was both divine and human – the first fruits of our future eternal body. This beautiful new creation could reveal the marks of death and then ascend where there is no death.

Now, we are told to eat this Body and drink this Blood so that we may live. Just as His glorified body was physical and spiritual, our communion supper is physical and spiritual. We physically eat the bread and drink from the cup. Then, by the ministry of His Holy Spirit, He manifests Himself spiritually to us. The life is not in the bread or the cup; it is in the death and resurrection of Christ. Just as His body was supernatural as He walked among men. His body is still supernatural in His intercession at the FatherÂ’s right hand.

To suggest that the bread and wine need to be transformed into His body and blood is unthinkable. His very hands – even His words – could touch or speak and the sick were healed. The great miracles He performed did not require the conversion of His flesh into bread or His blood into drink. Why should His communion supper require any such paganistic thought or action? That changes the beautiful gift of a Holy body that is filled with Holy life into a Babylonian sacrifice conducted by a priest of Marduk, who was their chief god.

Spiritual life is never ministered by flesh and blood. The theme of all Scripture is, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Jesus Christ added to that great Word with the following, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

Our life is in our utter abandonment to His bodily sacrifice and the Spirit of the Resurrection that was out of His willing surrender unto death. To be as cannibals – eating flesh and drinking blood – is blasphemy against the perfect Holy One, Who is seated at the Father’s right hand.

Before the Creator acted to create this earth, He chose to create a family – a new class of living persons. He had already created the angels in their many different offices. By Scripture, we know that there were Archangels, Seraphims, Cherubims, and priestly angels for the Heavenly Temple, along with the great servant angels. The Cherubims appear to protect the Holiness of God in the Heavenly realm. Since the creation of the physical earth, the Seraphims appear to do the same throughout the world. We would not want to be on this earth without the angels of God performing their duties.

The Epistle to the Ephesians states, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world… Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself” (Ephesians 1:4a and 5a). He created us for himself and chose each one of us to be His saints and to bring Him praise. The entire matter of sin is an abrasion to destroy God’s created family. An enemy invaded our world after rebelling in Heaven and leading an uprising among the angels. It has been war ever since.

His Son came to purchase back that which was lost. No man or woman has ever been less than loved by the Creator. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The love of the Father and His Son for us is a miracle. Apostle Peter said, “To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious” (I Peter 2:4).

Those words about Jesus Christ show how He was disallowed or rejected of men, but still the chosen of God. The Apostle then puts us in a similar state, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5).

We are a chosen generation. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9).

Jesus said to His disciples, “…Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” (John 6:70). It’s extremely sad to see people that no one can doubt were chosen of Christ turn to the devils. Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14). He has chosen every soul in His work of grace and His Spirit issues the call to them. Those that surrender to that call become the chosen of His Spiritual kingdom. It is one thing to be part pf the chosen family of creation and another to be part of the chosen family of God in redemption.

Our great God desires nothing less than to make us His chosen. The greatest life on earth is to live within the family of His chosen saints. He “…predestinated us unto the adoption of children…” (Ephesians 1:5). He desires to care for us as a Father does His children. The Bible describes the many provisions for the chosen family.

He wants to be our Shepherd and watch over our soul. He wants to be our counselor and guide our steps. He wants to be our healer and release the healing virtue upon our bodies. He will feed us with the Bread of Life and quench our thirst with the Water of Life. His Word is living truth that sanctifies the hungry soul. He walks in the shadow to meet you on dark days. Remember when the three Hebrew boys walked out of the furnace, no one saw the Fourth man leave. He still walks in the furnace with the faithful. He is everything His chosen saints need.

Your faith coupled with your obedience, will decide the size of God’s windows opened into your life. God’s great book, the Bible, is filled with principles of truth and blessings. Abraham was the first man of faith, but that does not mean that others had not believed. Abraham became God’s showcase of faith and is called “The Father of Faith.”

Biblical principles totally dominated his life, and he became the Father of Israel and of the Lord Jesus Christ. When he met Melchidezek, he gave him tithes of all his possessions and was in turn blessed by this priest of the Most High God. Abraham was served communion by him and became the first man to partake of the LordÂ’s Table far in advance of ChristÂ’s death but as a prophecy of that death. This was long before the Mosaic laws were given to Moses.

These tithing principles of GodÂ’s ordinances preceded the laws of Moses, but were incorporated in those laws. If someone says to you that tithing is part of the law and no longer required, tell them the truth about AbrahamÂ’s obedience before MosesÂ’ days. Tithing is intrinsic to the whole revelation of God and will be obeyed by true saints of God.

The great prophecy of Malachi was the transition from the law to grace. In chapter three of this book, Malachi prophesied of John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ, and he proclaimed that Christ was coming to purify the children of God. He said Jesus Christ would purge his people of wickedness that they may offer to God an “offering of righteousness.” Malachi proceeded to identify a major sin that Christ would purge.

It was called disobedience or “robbing God” and then identified as “tithes and offerings.” He said, “Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” After clearly speaking of the tithes (10% off the top of everything) and offerings, he promised God’s full blessings.

“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:11-12).

Jesus was careful to add His absolute final word to this subject. Here are His words as He rebuked the Pharisees, “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Luke 11:42). Note His words as He addressed the tithes, “…and not to leave the other undone.”

Our God in Heaven is helpless to bless a disobedient life or home. He cannot bypass His WordÂ’s. He wants to open the windows of Heaven, spiritually and physically, but you have tied His hand. Repent, redeem your tithes that you have robbed, return to God, and He will return to you.