Practical advice and insight based on Biblical wisdom.
I have prepared a video in which I pray for all those who are suffering from Rejection.
I also give an explanation of some of the Rejection basics, to help you understand what is going on in your life and how God can set you free.
I have been a Rejection sufferer and so I know how valuable this will be for some people. May God bless you and heal you as you watch this video.
Many Christians now talk as if there is a ministry of Intercession operating today. Others, however, do not know that is meant by this. So I’m taking a moment to give you a simple explanation of what is known today as Intercession Ministry.
A young man recently called on me to help him understand the new prayer experiences he is going through. As he explained what is happening I identified his engagement in the ministry of Intercession. As I explained that ministry to him he not only identified with what I explained, but gained a clearer sense for how to flow with and develop the ministry God was leading him into.
I am sharing that same explanation here, for the benefit of others who are being called into the wonderful ministry of intercession. My explanation reflects what I understand about this ministry, as one who has observed it and had moments in which it has touched my life. I speak here as a ‘teacher’ and so I expect you to read my explanation and to check what I say, by the Word of God.
Prayer Ministry
The Ministry of Intercession is part of the ministry of prayer. Christians are expected to pray and the Bible reveals that there are various ways to pray and types of prayer. At the same time, Intercession is not just another word for prayer.
Properly understood, Intercession is a specific experience of prayer that comes to some people and which enables them to pray with divine effect. As I will explain, intercession involves the person who is praying shouldering some of the load that is weighing upon another person and resolving that burden for them in prayer.
Intercession is one means by which we may fulfil the Biblical instruction to “bear one another’s burdens”.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
Types of Prayer
There are diverse types of prayer. The Apostle Paul even goes so far as to refer to “all prayer”, to summarise the various expressions of prayer that people can enter into.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” Ephesians 6:18
Jesus spoke of us praying in secret, in our prayer closet, Matthew 6:6.
Paul spoke of men praying with their holy hands raised in the air, 2Timothy 2:8.
Paul also spoke of praying with his mind, 1Corinthians 14:15, and also praying in the heavenly prayer language which God gives through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (what Paul calls “praying with the Spirit”, 1Corinthians 14:15 and Jude calls “praying in the Holy Spirit” Jude 20)
Paul instructs us to pray for those in authority, 1Timothy 2:1,2.
James talks of the “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man”, James 5:15.
Paul talks of praying with “groans which cannot be uttered”, Romans 8:26.
Jesus talked about standing in prayer, Mark 11:25, while others knelt to pray, Psalm 95:6.
Jesus told of a sinner who bowed in repentance, Luke 18:13, and Hebrews talks of coming boldly to God’s throne of grace, Hebrews 4:16.
These and other references reveal that prayer is a multi-faceted expression of our communication with God and that we can engage in various forms of prayer from time to time, as the situation requires or our heart desires.
Groaning in Prayer
The ministry of intercession reflects Paul’s mention of a person praying under the power of the Holy Spirit with such deep burden that they groan rather than speak an intelligent prayer.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps our limitations: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groans which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26
My young friend has found over recent months that as he has been praying for his family members and for the children in the Children’s Ministry he assists in, he has felt deep emotional and physical sensations accompanying his prayers. He has felt a sense of burden or intensity rest on him as he prayed for specific people or situations. He would at times weep or just groan with the sense of burden coming upon him.
Yet, he explains, he could stop it at any time. He feels quite peaceful within and not distressed in himself, but as if he is taking on another distress, like a cloak, over top of his underlying peace and confidence in God. At times he would feel tightness in his muscles or similar physical affect as he prayed as well.
After praying for a while, that burden or sensation would lift off him. He and those praying with him would sense that there has been a breakthrough in the situation.
This description fits the connection between bearing one another’s burdens, and praying under the leading of the Holy Spirit with deep groans.
What is Going On?
Simply stated, what is happening in the prayer ministry of Intercession is that the person who is praying takes upon themself some of the load that is burdening another person. This is principally done by the Holy Spirit, not by the wilful choice of the praying person.
When the burden rests on the intercessor they will pray with intensity and with the Holy Spirit praying through them, to the point of groans, tears and non-verbal process. That time of prayer brings benefit to the person being prayed for, without them having prayed for their own situation.
This is a spiritual ministry, not a matter of mind or emotion. The person being prayed for usually has no idea that someone is bringing their burden before the Lord on their behalf. They may never credit the improvement in their situation to the one who gave intercessory prayer on their behalf.
So, What is Intercession?
What I have described here is the practical expression of intercession. I’d like you to also have an understanding of what is happening in the unseen realm that makes intercession work.
The next lesson on Intercession will provide that explanation of What is Intercession, and show you some examples, including that of Christ, to clarify the process of Intercession for you and your ministry.
We come now to a tragic result of severe rejection, which haunts the lives of many rejection sufferers. It is what I call the “Curse of Rejection”. I also refer to it as the “Cloud of Rejection”, because of how it seems to function in the life of the rejection victim.
You may well identify people in your mind who became the classic “Reject” and who live with a curse of rejection on everything they do. I can think of several examples, and I was able to describe this terrible result of rejection from my knowledge of what life was like for them.
Deep Rejection
We all probably suffer some form of rejection or rebuttal, neglect or similar negative experiences from time to time. However some people suffer what we could describe as “deep rejection”. This is where they may be raised by someone with serious rejection issues, or have been so cruelly abandoned and despised, that the rejection wounds in their life are much deeper and stronger than for most people.
When this intense rejection impacts a life it often results in a spirit of rejection becoming attached to the person’s life. So now the problem is more than just their emotional pain and mental torment, but has a powerful spiritual dimension as well.
A Curse
The spiritual curse of rejection, for want of a better way to term it, is the case where a person is dogged continually with their rejection. Rather than simply suffering with the pain of past experience, it is as if a demon is assigned to their life to ensure that they encounter fresh experiences of rejection on a daily basis.
Usually people who suffer this deep rejection and curse of rejection have become distorted by their past experiences and are so uncomfortable with life and people that they just don’t fit anywhere very well.
Their own feelings contribute to the problem, but it goes beyond that. Even if they clean themselves up and try to fool a completely new group of people that they are “normal”, it won’t work. It is as if a spirit (or demon) of rejection advertises that the person is a “reject”, like a really bad smell hanging in the air.
The Cloud of Rejection
To my way of seeing it, it is as if the deeply rejected person, with their curse of rejection, is carrying around a neon cloud everywhere they go. The cloud keeps flashing the word “Reject! Reject!” over their head. This ensures that everyone who meets them feels uncomfortable with them, wants to get away, has little time for them and adds to their experience of rejection.
I use the cloud in my simple image of this Curse of Rejection. The cloud, although not seen in reality, is sensed by others and causes them to feel like rejecting the person carrying the cloud.
No Escape
The tragedy for the rejected person is that there is no escape from their on-going experience of rejection. Changing city, changing job, changing their image and changing their friends, all prove fruitless efforts. That’s because they take their problem with them.
The problem is spiritual, not material. It cannot be put off, like a change of clothes. It becomes a part of who they are as a person.
They end up with unhappy experiences at school, work, social events, their home town, and so on. Their family and associates fit in with those same places with happy experiences, yet the reject is dogged by continual unpleasant encounters, and the feeling that they never really fit in or make it in those settings.
Dogged Survivors
Several of those I think of as fitting this description have gained my admiration for their dogged determination to survive, despite the continued current pulling against their lives. I cannot but admire the resilience and determination, and even determined optimism, of some who have been kicked at every corner, and yet are determined to make life work as best they can.
It may even be true that some of life’s most determined survivors have not come from comfortable and loving backgrounds, but from challenging up-hill battles with the very basic experiences of life.
The tragedy is the pain which those people live with, that is never resolved, despite their achievements and successes along the way. Some are buried in a life-long fight with reality, unable to enjoy the taste of their success, because of the bitter taste of their rejection overriding it all.
Scabbo
The first person I ever knew who carried this cloud of rejection is a fellow school-mate whom I know only as “Scabbo”. He was a few years younger than me at high school and he came from a hard-luck background. It seems he had no friends and little to commend him socially.
What he did have was a determination to survive, and he did so by collecting empty glass soft-drink bottles around the school-yard. Thus he was a scavenger, from which his derogatory nickname, Scabbo, was derived by the students.
When the boys had finished their drinks at lunch they would start to chant, “Scabbo! Scabbo!” and when the boy came into sight they would throw their bottles in different directions. The lad would hurriedly go after them, so he could get the refund coin for each bottle. As he did so there would be a loud chorus of “Scabbo!” chanted by all who watched.
Amazingly the young man just took all that in his stride. He was hardened to the harsh treatment and didn’t seem to expect anything better. He was one of life’s losers, so he was determined to at least get what he could, which was the cash for the bottles.
I found myself deeply hurt on his behalf. But, like all the others, I dared not associate with the boy, as that would have brought me under his shame as well.
Impossible Situation
Parents of a child who is constantly rejected and victimised may well take the child out of school and place him in a “better” school. Yet, where ever the child goes next, they will be rejected all over again. If the parents believe it is just the school environment, or the local situation, they will be discouraged to find that the next school and situation turns out remarkably similar.
Some parents may even send their child to a “Christian” school, where the “good” children are, so their child will not be badly treated. But even there, people are people, and they fall prey to the message from the Cloud of Rejection, and despise the new kid on the playground.
The situation is impossible to remedy, without dealing with the spiritual context in which the child is trapped. The curse must be broken and the spirit of rejection removed from the life that is oppressed.
Spiritual Solution
While the fuller picture of remedy will be presented later, allow me to shine the light of hope for those who can identify with what is described here.
Jesus Christ was made a ‘curse’ for us. The anointing of the Holy Spirit turns our mourning into dancing and opens the prison doors with which we are trapped.
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for our benefit: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree” Galatians 3:13
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing: you have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness” Psalm 30:11
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to them that are bound; ….. to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3
Look to the Lord in hope, for it is He who is ready and keen to deliver you from the curse of rejection, filling you with His perfect love, and turning all of your burdened life into a lifestyle of rejoicing.
A key part of who we are is our will. And our will can be damaged, just as our mind and emotions are damaged, by such things as rejection.
In this video Pastor Chris Field teaches about our will and shows the power of “Resolve” as a lost key to reclaiming our will.
If your will has been compromised in any way, you need to watch this video and learn how Resolve will Solve problems, in advance !! Yes, resolve gives you the power to solve your problems before they even happen.
We all need to learn things at times. Students, employees, actors, business people and Bible readers all need to learn and memorise things at times. While there are various memory tricks which can be used, I will help you here with some really sound wisdom to help you study and learn whatever you need to. The study skills I share with you are quite universally applicable and don’t need you to apply gimmicks to advance your studies.
Three Simple Keys
As I reflect on my own study career and my ability to learn and retain important information, in school, work, as a professional presenter and preacher, and so on, I come back to three simple keys which I teach to my own children.
I recently reviewed these three simple keys with my youngest son, as he addressed himself to some new study challenges. That has prompted me to put them in text for other students, parents and families to benefit from. I trust you find this series of articles helpful.
Pay Attention
When I started secondary schooling my older brother, Lawrence, one year ahead of me, told me something really important that helped me cruise through my high school years. He told me that if I paid close attention in class, and did not let my mind wander, but hung off everything the teacher told me, I would not need to do much review or study at home.
A teacher had told Lawrence that the homework and home-study which teachers required their students to do, at least in the early years of High School, were simply to make up for the fact that the students weren’t paying attention to or properly understanding what the teacher was explaining in class. If students became disciplined at paying attention they could save themselves much home study time.
Ask Questions
Further to paying attention Lawrence’s teacher told him to ask questions. The key is to be attentive to and understand the information being taught. If, while paying attention, you cannot understand what is being explained, then ask the teacher to go over it again, or clarify the thing that does not click for you.
Many students shy away from asking questions, as it signals their ignorance to other students who might understand perfectly well. No one wants to look stupid if they can help it. So, in order to gain clarification we may have to push past our pride. Or even approach the teacher during class break time, to get an explanation when others are not aware what you are doing.
However it is done, be sure you understand and take cognition of what has to be absorbed.
Engage the Brain
A poster I recall for years ago advised, “Please engage brain before engaging jaw!” That advice is not as funny as it might first sound. Many people operate at a level of semi-mindlessness. They don’t switch off altogether, but they try to operate their brain on ‘idle’ instead of ‘full speed’.
Our attention can be fuzzy and our thoughts distracted while we are doing other things. We adjust to this minimal level of concentration and can cruise through our day with little mental discipline and focus. So I am serious when I challenge you to engage the Brain.
Make a point of paying attention. Discipline yourself to be able to do so.
Take Out the Garbage
Some years ago I attended a conference where home-schooling fathers met to discuss their various challenges. Two teachers addressed the conference, reflecting on a course which they had run just before the conference for a group of male high-school age students.
The men, from an engineering background, taught a large group of young men about electrical and mechanical motor systems and who they operate and can be repaired. These men normally taught their subject to tertiary level students in a technical college.
The instructors had glowing reports of their experience teaching the high-school age home-schoolers. The course which they normally took a year to teach at Tech, was able to be taught in just 2 weeks. And what really impressed the teachers was that the young men asked intelligent questions which no other students had ever asked before. The young students were paying such attention and gaining such understanding that they not only covered the material in record time, they also understood it at a deeper level.
Obviously the advantage of being home-schooled was a factor in this, but the teachers pointed to another important issue. The young men were completely uncluttered from garbage. They did not have music playing in their ears, messaging going on to their friends, smutty thoughts going through their minds, competitive ego issues at play in the class, and so on. They had taken out the garbage from their lives, which normal class environments are full of.
The fathers of these young students had protected them from becoming garbage bins, and had trained their sons to keep their hearts and minds clean and clear. While each child would have been at a different level on this issue, the overwhelming reality was that the students were able to process work at an exceptional rate.
That points to the fact that most of us could be much better students and speed ahead of those around us, if only we could learn to pay attention with a life that is free from distractions.
Monster Distractions
In my late teens I became friends with a young man named Tony. Tony had performed poorly at school, yet I realised he was quite intelligent. In the areas which took his interest, including history and nature, he could tell me all sorts of things about events, people, migratory patterns of various birds and so on.
I later discovered why Tony had done poorly at school. As a lad he had been taken into a hospital room to see his mum before she died. The woman was desperately ill and looked close to death. Tony ran out of the room screaming, “My mummy’s going to die!” The trauma and torment of that experience totally swamped just about everything else in his life, including his studies.
Tony’s mother had a vision of Jesus walking into her hospital room a few days after Tony’s visit. She was totally and miraculously restored to health. The home returned to normal, but Tony never recovered. A monster distraction had so impacted his emotions and mind that it disabled his class-room performance from then on.
Tony’s private reading and personal study was strong and effective, but he failed in the schooling system and struggled with the stigma of being unintelligent.
So, it is possible to be hit by monster distractions which totally derail your ability to pay attention. If you have experienced that then I encourage you to get sound Christian help and pastoral care to become free, through the power of Jesus.
Pay Attention to Paying Attention
There’s more I need to say about this foundational key to study and learning. Meanwhile, I want you to pay attention to paying attention. Take note of how easily you switch off, get distracted, or operate without your brain in gear.
In the next instalment I’ll give you more insight into the whole process of being attentive, so you can get your learning and study off to a strong start.