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I believe there is a subtle mind-set from which we must guard ourselves. I say subtle, yet, over centuries it is a mind-set that has developed into a stronghold of religious tradition.

The mind-set I'm referring to is the one that says, "Oh, sure, it's nice to think we can partake of each others' grace. But, let's face it, back then, that was the Apostle Paul, hand-picked by Jesus Himself."

In other words, we must guard ourselves from putting Paul—or any other Church leader, for that matter—up on a spiritual pedestal and labeling his life and ministry as "Unrealistic for Me Today."

In Paul's letter to his Partners in Philippians 1:19-20 it says, "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ, the Anointed One and His Anointing; shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death."

Here, it's obvious to us that Paul earnestly expected his Partners to pray and stand with him, so he could do what he had been called by God to do. He expected his Partners to covenant with him, to join with him and under gird him with prayer. It was those prayers that were so vital to Paul's ministry because they were his connection to an even greater supply of the Spirit - a greater supply of anointing which was necessary to get the job done. The prayers of all those believers who were Paul's Partners were his connection to their corporate anointing.

Consequently, if Paul's Partners did not pray and daily hold him up the way he was holding them up daily, then there was a definite possibility that failure could be at his doorstep. The exchange, or flow, of prayer and anointing would be hindered. You mean to say that Paul could have failed? That's right. Paul could have failed.

By writing what he did to the church at Philippi, he was acknowledging that, without the prayers and support of his Partners, "I will be ashamed before God, because I won't be able to complete all that I am supposed to do. By myself I will fall short."

Now, to prove even further this point of Paul's reliance upon the prayers and support of his Partners, let's take one aspect of Paul's ministry to see how this partnership exchange applies. Let's look at his boldness.

When we think of the Apostle Paul, we might often think of the boldness demonstrated throughout his life and ministry. After all, we see in the New Testament that he was a very bold man. There were times when he would get right up in the faces of kings and high officials, point his finger at them and say, "You will not get away with this!" And they didn't.

Paul makes a connection between prayer and boldness. He tells his Partners to put on the whole armor of God and assume a position of offensive attack through prayer. Then he tells them, "And while you're praying, pray that I might have boldness and utterance."

As with his Partners in Philippi, Paul not only asked his Partners in Ephesus to pray, he expected them to pray. And by their prayers, he fully expected the Holy Spirit to supply him with all the boldness he needed. It was no different than his fully expecting to be supplied with all the finances he needed. It was no different than his fully expecting to be supplied with all the anointing he needed.

For Paul's boldness to be at the level he needed it to be in order to declare the mystery of the gospel in any situation, at any time, he needed his Partners' prayers. Of course, the actual boldness came from the Spirit of God, but it was his Partners' prayers of agreement that helped magnify that boldness to a higher level. Paul knew that his Partners' prayers were the key to his success.

In all my years as a believer and as a minister of the gospel, I have observed how the Church has had a tendency to stand back and let the anointed ministers of God bear most of the weight of responsibility in carrying out the commandments of Jesus. Too often we've sat back like an audience, or room full of spectators, and watched as the pastors, evangelists, and so on, did the work.

Even when Jesus came to this earth to minister, He came needing help. He came looking for assistance and assistants. When Jesus of Nazareth came up from the waters of the Jordan River, having been baptized by John the Baptist, in that moment the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him and baptized Him for public ministry (John 1:29-34; Luke 4:18-19).

Jesus walked this earth bearing all the Anointing of God, being the fullness of God manifested in the flesh. Yet, when He went up from the banks of the Jordan and began His earthly ministry, He chose 12 Partners with whom to get started.

Have you ever noticed that every one of Jesus' Partners in ministry was a businessman? Every one of them. They knew nothing about ministry, but Jesus needed partners and they were willing to leave the business world to serve Him.

But now let's take that thought a step further. Not only did Jesus need their partnership, but He also needed their prayers, just as we saw with the Apostle Paul's ministry. In Matthew 26 and Mark 14, it is recorded that Jesus went to the garden in Gethsemane, along with His disciples - His Partners - to pray.

In perhaps His greatest hour of need, Jesus looked to His Partners for their support. He needed their presence. He needed their prayers. Three different times during that spiritual night watch, He indicated that He needed their help. As it turned out, it also happened to be one of the disciples' greatest hours of need, but they gave in to their flesh. They slept.

Today is no different. You and I are in the middle of a night watch, waiting for the return of Jesus, and the Church is in perhaps its greatest hour of need. If Jesus needed the prayers and support of His Partners, if the Apostle Paul needed the prayers and support of his Partners, Gloria and I certainly need the prayers and support of our Partners to complete what God has called us to do.

My friend, the Bible says one of us can put a thousand to flight, and two of us, 10,000 to flight. Just imagine what 200,000 KCM Partners are doing right at this moment. Better yet, imagine what one million can do.

Author Biography

Kenneth Copeland
Web site: Kenneth Copeland Ministries
 
For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God’s WORD to their lives.
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The online ministry of cfaith has been helping people discover faith, friends and freedom in the Word since 2000. Cfaith provides a unique and comprehensive collection of faith-building resources for the worldwide faith community.

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