Effective Prayer: Accessing the Spirit Realm to Work with God

When it comes to prayer, we obviously want to get into the most effective location to work together with God, which we know to be the realm of the spirit.

Is it hard to do that? No, it’s easier than you’d imagine. How do you get in your house? Typically, you go through the door. That’s what a door is for. Does your house only have one place of entry? Usually there are a number of places of access in most homes, and the vast spirit realm has many ways to enter as well.

[Jesus said,] “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!” (John 10:1 NLT)

It is important to know that these other ways to access the realm of the spirit are not God’s way. It is not uncommon for people from many indigenous cultures, some religions, and the occult to be going in and out of the spirit. They use a number of ways, such as horoscopes, tarot cards, Ouija boards, plant and animal parts, blood, fortune telling, crystals, natural and synthetic drugs, alcohol, and meditation for the purpose of helping them get into that realm and interact with spirits there. All of these fall in the category of thieves and robbers because they are different means of entry than the gate provided by God.

Jesus Himself spoke about a specially designated access to the spirit realm. Getting the entrance straight is vital for a solid prayer life that doesn’t misrepresent God and His will due to using a wrong access.

All of Jesus’ titles describe functions of His person and ways for us to interact with Him. For example, the title Lamb of God is not just one of Jesus’ names but also shows us an aspect of His mission, His function.

Good Shepherd is a beautiful name for Jesus but also shows us that He cares and provides for and protects us like a shepherd does his beloved sheep. One of my favorite titles of Jesus is Prince of Peace. I know by that name that peace is a particular characteristic and effect of His presence.

Some of the names that Jesus gave Himself were intentionally to identify means of spirit realm access. These titles are not to be to us just beautiful Bible names of our Lord. They are actually to provide a practical way to get in the spirit and interact with Jesus there. Let’s have a look.

Gate

So he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them” (John 10:7-8 NLT).

Jesus said, “I’m the gate for the sheep.” He didn’t say that he was a fence. A fence makes a barrier that is not to be crossed. No, Jesus said, “I’m the gate.” That means there is access through Him.

Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures (John 10:9 NLT).

“Come and go freely.” Come and go where? One way to look at this verse that says we will come and go freely is that through Him, the Gate, we have free access to His throne and the realm of the spirit where He leads His sheep and they go in and out and find pasture.

We have an invitation to come and go freely, but only through the Gate.

It’s important to not be lured or enticed toward the spirit realm using any other entrance. For us, the only way we enter the spirit and engage the supernatural is through Jesus. He alone is our Gate!

I have found that the Holy Spirit is a faithful guide to help me find the Gate. What do I mean by that? Well, true to what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, He is always drawing my attention to Jesus and reminding me of something Jesus has said and of who He is. Often He will highlight one of Jesus’ titles or names, and as I mentioned, these titles and names help me to interact with Him.

Here’s an example. Today as I looked for the Holy Spirit’s help in “locating the gate,” the title Author and Finisher came up in my heart. I know to simply follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and not try to work up some other kind of approach that I perhaps did before or that someone else did. As I started worshiping Him for being the Author and Finisher, I drew near to Him and saw this function of authoring and finishing in a fresh way. Of course, praising Him in the truth of this function came easily and spontaneously.

I stepped through the Gate by praising Jesus for something the Holy Spirit highlighted to me about Him. Moments before doing this, I was aware of a list of things that had to get done as well as some challenges. However, as I drew near the Gate (Jesus) and stepped through it by doing what I described, I became aware of other things as well. Direction about a matter was right there. Because I was fellowshipping with Jesus, what flows from Him flowed into me. I sensed a reassurance about my life and family, and I hadn’t even been praying about them. The peace that I experienced inside the Gate stayed with me all through the day and I was able to pass it on to the people I talked to. I was aware that God was giving me the words to say to a person on the phone.

Tomorrow, again the Holy Spirit will help me locate the Gate. I don’t expect it to be the same focus tomorrow, but what I do expect is the Holy Spirit’s help to identify Jesus the Gate and that on the other side of that Gate, I will be aware of other realities, those in the realm of the spirit, beginning with the reality of my precious Jesus.

There are times I have gone through the Gate and I heard words about the future or got a word of knowledge about someone. The possibilities are endless and wonderful.

You will never get so spiritual that you don’t need Jesus. You always need Him. I’m pretty strong about that. Some feel that you can get to a place where you can carry on spiritual activity without hearing and saying what you hear and see from Him. I shy away from anything that makes you less dependent on Him. From that place of independence it is easy to slip into working for God rather than the privilege of working with Him. True, you can carry on spiritual works, but would you want to act independently from Jesus? He’s our great example for interaction with the Father, and if Jesus didn’t work independently from the Father, then don’t do it. You may find that you’ve entered into some spiritual activity that is separate from His direction and that doesn’t truly represent Him.

When you access the spirit realm through Jesus, you never have to be afraid because He will guide what you see, hear, and experience. Trust Him.