Dick Leggatt, President of Derek Prince Ministries — USA and comprises his October 2012 Newsletter. Click here to receive the Derek Prince Ministries emailed E-devotional.

 

Are you sensing a growing burden to pray and intercede for your nation these days? Maybe you’ve been praying faithfully for years, but the intensity is growing? Looking at the world situation, it’s no wonder God is calling us to deeper prayer. The need is clearly severe, and serious circumstances call for a serious response.

Lately, my sense has been that I need regularly to be flat on my face before the Lord, a posture Derek Prince frequently recommended (and assumed himself) in his prayer life. It is a common posture in prayer for an intercessor, and if ever there were a time for falling on our faces in prayer, it is now.

On Their Faces

As you will see clearly from this letter, Derek was not the only one to exemplify being flat on his face before the Lord. He took his cue from many in the Bible who took that position of absolute humility and intercession.

Just to name a few, Daniel took that posture in the presence of the angel Gabriel (Daniel 8:17) when he was receiving revelation about the future of Israel. Abigail, when trying to expiate the offence her husband had committed against David, rushed to meet him, dismounted quickly from the donkey she was riding, and “…fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground” (1 Samuel 25:23). Verse 24, however, is even more telling of Abigail’s attitude and motivation: “So she fell at his [David’s] feet and said: ‘On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be!’” What an act of humility and intercession! There are probably a number of other Old Testament examples of people in desperate situations taking this position of humility, but let’s turn now to the New Testament.

In the last book of the New Testament, we see John the Revelator falling on his face numerous times as he was confronted with the heavenly vision that overpowered him. But as always, our greatest example is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In His time of intense agony prior to His crucifixion, the Gospels describe His time in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In Matthew and Mark’s accounts, however, is the most poignant description of the intensity of Jesus’ prayer. Matthew 26:39 (NKJV) says: “He [Jesus] went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed….” Mark 14:35 (NKJV) says: “He [Jesus] went a little farther and fell on the ground, and prayed….”

Are you sensing that the Lord Jesus may be calling you to follow His same example of intensity in prayer? I certainly am. And I know for certain that Derek would encourage all of us in that direction at this critical time in history.

Encouragement from Derek’s Teaching

I can recall many times hearing Derek refer to his practice of praying on his face before the Lord — certainly not in a boastful way, but just as a practical matter of encouragement. He probably had little idea how many people like me he had influenced in that area. As for me, Derek’s example is one I am striving to follow. How about you? Do you have that same desire for increasing intensity, humility and intercession? Is that impulse moving you to put your face on the floor?

If you sense a stirring as you consider those questions, let’s take some further encouragement from a few segments of teaching by Derek Prince that speak about the need for taking this posture in prayer.

From “When You Fast”:

I don’t know whether you know the following prayer by John Bunyan. (This has been with me for years.)
He that is down need fear no fall.
He that is low, no pride.
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
See, when you’re on the floor, you’re safe. There’s no lower you can go. Very rarely do I minister in a large public gathering like this without first taking my place on the floor on my face before God. And I can tell you, before these meetings Ruth and I were there for quite a long while. That’s where I feel really safe is on the floor….

From “A Vision of Holiness”:

I’ve examined — both in the Old Testament and in the New — every major word for worship. And they all describe a posture of the body…. The Hebrew word for worship means prostrating yourselves on your face on the ground.

Wherever Ruth and I go to minister before I come out in public, we spend time on our face on the floor. We did it the day before this conference opened. We said, “Here we are, Lord. We’ve got nothing to give except what You give . We have no strength. We have no power. We belong on the floor and we won’t get up until we’ve made that clear to You. We’re depending on You.”

You know that famous hymn, “All hail the power of Jesus’ name, let angels prostrate fall.” What are they doing? Worshiping. Respectable church members will sing this song with gusto, yet it wouldn’t enter their heads to fall prostrate. That’s good enough for angels; not for us respectable church members. Worship is the response to God’s holiness. It’s the response to God’s presence.

From “Down Is Up”:

Where it [the Bible] says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord,” this is a matter of personal relationship with the Lord. But I find that one of the best things I ever do is get on the floor before the Lord and lie there on my face. And I say to the Lord, “Lord, I want You to know that I know that this is where I belong.” And you wait there until you feel a release in your spirit from the Lord.

From “Intervening by Prayer in National Affairs”:

God says the first thing you have to do is humble yourself. This is not an emotion; it is a decision.

From time to time I explicitly decide to humble myself. I say, “God, I humble myself before You now. I am dust and ashes, I came from the dust, I’m going to the dust.” And if opportunity provides I will cast myself down on my face on the ground or the floor and lie there before God and say, “That’s where I belong.” You know what? It does me a lot of good. And I need to do it at least once a month, because otherwise I begin to forget what I am and where I came from.

Assuming the Position

Are you convinced about the need to put your face to the floor? Why don’t we just make a commitment to the Lord that we will follow the example that Derek has just laid out for us?

Dear Lord, I pledge today that I will spend time on my face before You. I’ll do it to express my deep concern and my utter dependence upon You. And I’ll do it as a way of humbling myself before You as I intercede for the situation in my nation.

With my face on the floor, I will cry out to You on behalf of my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ, myself and my nation. I make this commitment to You in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Who Knows What Might Happen?

We have no idea what may be set in motion as we take this step toward the Lord. It may spark revival and renewal far beyond what we might ever imagine.

As always, we want to partner with you in this step that we are taking together. One life-changing resource that we want to offer is a dynamic message by Derek entitled “God’s Heart for America.” This message, a free download when you click here, will add fuel to the fire you have already kindled with the step you have taken today.

As we end this letter, we want to thank you for your willingness to walk in partnership with us in the work the Lord is doing in all of our lives. You have stood with us in your prayers and financial support, and we want you to know that we are standing with you in prayer and encouragement as you go deeper in your relationship with the Lord.

What we have talked about in this letter is really just a warm-up. One day, we will all be united before Him, with all the saints in glory, falling again on our faces as we declare His Lordship and majesty. In preparation for that marvelous time, let’s begin in the here and now to fall on our faces before Him!

 

All the best,
Dick Leggatt
President, DPM–USA

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Materials used by kind permission of Derek Prince Ministries.

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