By Kathi Pelton
Operation Prayer Watch

"It is by the grace given to us by His Spirit that all things are accomplished."

A Vision of a Gold Ring

For the past couple of years, I've been on a journey that began when a group of intercessory leaders that I was praying with saw Jesus handing His bride a gold ring. This ring had an inscription on the inside of it quoting the verse of Zechariah 4:6,

"Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit."

It was as if this inscription that we saw upon this golden ring was burned into my heart at the time, and it launched me upon a journey to know how to walk "By His Spirit." It had always been my desire to walk by His Spirit, but I often found myself working in my own strength at the end of a day. So often I would understand what the Lord was wanting to do in a particular setting or season, but didn't understand His ways, and at times I would become frustrated with the amount of work that only a few carried.

Not By Force!

One day as I was meditating upon this same verse in Zechariah, I picked up my New Living Translation Bible. The wording of this version were like words of freedom and revelation to me. They read,

"'It is not by force, nor by strength, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

It is not by my human force and not by my human strength that will sustain what is needed to accomplish His will! It is "By His Spirit!" It is by the grace given to us by His Spirit that all things are accomplished. I keep hearing in my spirit that God is putting a capstone of grace upon His church. Immediately following Zechariah 4:6, we read in verse 7,

"What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel (you will become) a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"

Grace, Grace Be To You!"

"When we allow His righteousness and peace to 'kiss' in our lives, we enter into a place of breakthrough 'by His Spirit.'"

I hear the Spirit shouting over His church, "Grace, grace to you!" What is it that causes us to move from Spirit to flesh, from rest to force, or from dependency on God to human strength? It is most often a religious spirit that wants to put a heavy burden upon us, so that it steals from us the gift of grace and intimacy.

We can work hard in a place of rest! When we are allowing the work of the Spirit to lead us and open the way for accomplishing what He desires, then we are not driven by our own will or force.

"Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!" Psalm 85:10

When we allow His righteousness and peace to "kiss" in our lives, we enter into a place of breakthrough "by His Spirit." Psalm 85:11-12 says,

"Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from Heaven. Yes, the Lord pours down His blessing. Our land will yield its bountiful crops."

It is so beautiful when those who have become the "righteousness of Christ," allow the "peace of Christ" to join and kiss in their lives. It truly releases truth and blessings. We long to bring pleasure to the heart of God by allowing Him to fulfill His desire through our lives.

But He is not looking for a people who are independent, but who have become dependent upon His Spirit. He is not looking for those who will initiate programs and events for Him, but who will wait for Him to initiate what is in His heart and then follow Him. And He is not looking for a people who have mastered human strength, but a people who have recognized that it is in our weaknesses that His strength is made manifest.

Don't Violate Intimacy...Remain in Oneness!

"When we move outside of His Spirit, we leave the protection, the power, and the authority of oneness."

During the life of Jesus, He made it clear--He only did what He saw His Father doing. This is still true today! Jesus does nothing apart from His Father, and the Spirit does nothing apart from Jesus. This is also God's desire for His church. In John 17, Jesus says,

"I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one, Father--that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are--I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one."

When we move into our human strength or force, then we leave the place of oneness and violate the intimacy between the Godhead and His Church.

At a conference I was speaking at, the host asked me to prophesy over the people. I was not feeling any sense from God to do this at the time, but I went ahead and did so anyway. After the meeting, the Lord began to talk to me about the "violation of intimacy." I asked Him if the words that I released were inaccurate (so that I could correct them if that was the case). He said, "No."

I didn't quite understand until He began to explain that it was His desire to speak intimately and directly to many of the people, because they were not confident in their ability to hear His voice. Many were only listening to the voices of prophetic people for their comfort and direction. Though the words I released were accurate, they stole from the people what they truly needed--"The voice of their Bridegroom speaking privately and intimately to them."

When we move outside of His Spirit, we leave the protection, the power, and the authority of oneness. It is only this oneness and unity with the Godhead that will allow the world to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Remember the words from John 17,

"...that they will be one, just as You and I are one, Father--that just as You are in Me and I am in You, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent Me."

As we enjoy the holiday season and prepare to enter the new year, let us enter 2007 by grace and by His Spirit. This is His gift to us!

Grace, grace be to you!

By Kathi Pelton
Operation Prayer Watch
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net