Your Heavenly Bank Account: Accessing God’s Currency for Answered Prayers
In Genesis 14:14-23, there is a powerful dialogue between God and Abram right after Abram took trained servants of his household and rescued Lot, his brother’s son, from ten kings who had raided Sodom and had taken his nephew captive.
Melchizedek was the king of Salem and who most scholars tell us was actually a temporary, pre-Christ incarnation of God known as a Theophany or a Christophany. Melchizedek meets Abram with bread and wine which are great symbols for the Word and Spirit.
It’s exciting to see all the Trinity represented here in this Scripture passage, as not only agreeing in Heaven but also giving agreement on earth (see 1 John 5:7-8). The agreement of the Three on earth is related to us allowing the Three on earth—Word, Spirit, blood—to work through us and with us. As you will discover further into this book, these Three on earth finding agreement with those of faith on earth causes a response from the Three in Heaven. Knowing how to apply the agreement on earth causes action on earth.
Hebrews 7:15 makes the connection between Jesus and Melchizedek as a priesthood without beginning or ending and as the king of Salem. This leads me to conclude that the same blessing that was conferred by Melchizedek carries over into the New Covenant of today and becomes part of the blessing passed on to us. Melchizedek blesses Abram by saying, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19 NKJV). Notice the language used, “Abram of God,” not God of Abram. This is confirming to us this is God declaring the blessing. The declaration of possessor of Heaven and earth makes way for Abram to have authority not only on his earthen territory but has gained access into the heavenly realm as well.
On top of that, Melchizedek gives a tithe to Abram. Tithe, or tenth, is the number of testing. There is an unusual sharing of authority by confirming it with testing of a tithe. The tithe was the sacred portion; not just any tenth, it was the first of the harvest. Prophetically God is confirming His will to Abram through giving the sacred, ratifying His promise of throne room access. In Genesis 15:1, the blessing continues by admonishing Abram that God would be his shield and great reward. Not only is God confirming his wealth and influence, He would also protect what God had given Abram.
He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5 NIV).
Hang on; right when you thought it couldn’t get any better, God brings Abram outside in verse 15:5 (NIV) and says to him, “Look up at the sky and count the stars.” Note the emphasis on counting. Stars usually represent family and legacy, and God said, “If you can number the stars, that’s how numerous your descendants will be.” God is expanding more than Abram could imagine since he had no children at the time. It is worth noting that God took Abram outside of where he was seeing and said, “Look up.” The point being we become narrow in scope and thinking when we can only see what has always been familiar to us. God was multiplying Abram not only on earth, but also multiplying his influence in Heaven. Please don’t miss this nuance in this verse.
Melchizedek said to Abram that he is a possessor of Heaven before referring to earth. This is of great importance because we can have no significant influence unless we first take hold of Heaven. Jesus gave His disciples a very specific prayer in Matthew 6:10 (NKJV) by praying, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Earth is to follow the direction and leadership of Heaven. It is important to understanding what Heaven is looking for on earth, to partner with earthen vessels. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV).
In Genesis 15:6 is the knot that ties all this together. Abram believed in the Lord and He, God, accounted it to him for righteousness. God used the term of accounting. The apostle Paul picks up on the same rev- elation in Galatians 3:5-6. The Greek usage of the word accounting is made up of two words logizomai, meaning to count and do inventory (Strong’s #3049). Inventory is very important from a business perspective. Your inventory is what you use to multiply and increase influence. Your inventory is what you plant to grow more inventory or seed.
From a military perspective, inventory is the assets and weapons you want to keep track of before going to war. God is showing Abram that He has made a deposit into His account in Heaven to be used to bring Heaven to earth. His influence on earth is connected to his deposits in Heaven. As a person sows, so will that person reap (2 Corinthians 9:6). Sowing into the Heaven releases fruit on earth.
We must understand that we have an account in Heaven—not just rewards given to us at the end of the age—assets we can acquire for use now on earth for the war we fight daily. To be spiritually bankrupt in Heaven leaves us vulnerable to the principalities that have dominion over certain regions of the earth.
Jesus gives us an example of various levels of authority in Mark 9:17-29. There was a man whose son was demon possessed with a mute spirit. The father cried out to Jesus for help saying that he brought his son to Him and spoke to His disciples, but they could not cast out the demon. As soon as the father brought his son to Jesus, the demons began to make the son convulse. Jesus rebuked the demon, and the spirit that afflicted the boy came out. Later Jesus was asked by His disciples why they could not cast the demon out of the boy. The disciples had been sent out by Jesus before this time with authority to cast our spirits and heal the sick so they must have had some success previously. So, they were perplexed as to why they could not free the young boy.
Jesus said to them, “This kind [or level of authority] can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29 NKJV). Fasting is a discipline that we all should use to keep our flesh submitted to God. Demons are not afraid of us fasting, nor is God impressed by our discipline of fasting. But, fasting weakens the flesh so the Holy Spirit has greater influence over us.
My sense is that the disciples had yet to gain enough in their spiritual accounts to drive out a demon of such spiritual authority. The disciples had yet to gain the bandwidth to tackle one that been enrooted for years since the boy’s childhood. The disciples would prove later to carry greater faith and authority as they overcame other obstacles. In times past kings would rule their dynasties with military might and power, and the more they conquered other kingdoms, the more powerful they became. When a king conquered the domain of another kingdom, he would take the crown from the destroyed king and place it on his own head and ride through the streets declaring a new king was now in control. Each victory would increase the influence and dominion of his kingdom.
We gain authority through what we overcome, not what we undergo. Abram had a name change after his encounter with God—from Abram meaning father, to Abraham meaning a father of many. Many believers have a position of authority, but they have not increased their accounts to the level needed to deal with principalities of this age.
Cornelius’ Heavenly Account
Acts 10 tells us the story of Cornelius, and sets my point even deeper relating to having a depository in Heaven. Cornelius was part of the Roman occupation of the Jews. He was a centurion who showed his rank was worthy of commanding at least a hundred soldiers. The Bible describes Cornelius as a devout man, one who feared God. He also was known for directing his household with the same principles. He had the reputation of giving to the poor. Cornelius had an encounter with an angel of the Lord. When Cornelius inquired of the Lord, the angel said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God” (Acts 10:4 NIV). Memorial in the Greek is very specific: mnémosunon, meaning to mark for remembrance (Strong’s #3422).
The three things mentioned in connection with Cornelius was for more than a passing moment. God wanted him to know there was a marked receipt in Heaven with his name on the account. The next day an angel was sent to Peter who was known to have prejudice against the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). While Peter was on the rooftop waiting for dinner, he had a vision of animals coming down that he knew were not kosher or permitted to be eaten by Jews. Each time the Lord said to him, “Kill and eat” (Acts 10:13-16 NIV).
Each time Peter responded as any Jew would do, by saying, “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The Lord responded in this vision saying, “Do not call anything impure that God as made clean” (Acts 10:15 NIV). The vision occurred three times. By this time, the men Cornelius sent to find Peter were at Peter’s house telling him he should come to Cornelius. This interaction between the angel and Cornelius drew out of his memorial or account in Heaven and brought God’s response to change Peter’s mindset about Gentiles—which opened the door for the Gospel to be preached among the Gentiles. It was Cornelius’ account that was enlarged by his obedience to the angel of the Lord and his giving to the poor.
Many of us pray large prayers that are good, but then offer the Lord teacups to put the answers in. Perhaps the reason we don’t see answers is because we have yet to enlarge our capacity to receive what we are asking for. So for many of us, the answer has yet to come until we have grown into the stature to steward that level of authority.
I hope we can see that our actions and responses to God’s Word are being passed through the accounting of Heaven. The Lord keeps better books than we can. The simplest of obedience may result in greater deposits in Heaven than what we can even imagine. Just know you are known in Heaven, and you are wealthier than what you realize.
Acts 19:11-20 (NIV) is the account of some unusual miracles per- formed by the apostle Paul, including how his handkerchiefs or aprons healed the sick, diseases were cured, and evil spirits were expelled. There were some itinerant exorcists who took it upon themselves to call on the name of the Lord Jesus for people who had evil spirits, saying, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” The seven sons of a chief priest named Sceva also tried to drive out an evil spirit. But the evil spirit said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (Acts 19:15-16 NIV). Obviously, the sons of Sceva and others were bankrupt when it came to exercising the heavenly currency. Heaven knows those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and only those who know Him can use His name with power and authority. It takes more than attending a deliverance seminar and getting a certificate to see the release of God’s power.
The account you have in Heaven is directly connected to knowing Him intimately, not just knowing about Him. Does Jesus know you? Because the demons certainly know Him and those who are covered with His name. John 20:22 (NKJV) says, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” This was certainly before the baptism of the Holy Spirit, yet there was a sort of commissioning of them when Jesus says, “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you” (John 20:21 NKJV). Even today some take this as Jesus giving them the name of His Father by breathing on them or transferring the name of the Father into them. It would be similar to an ambassador sent from his or her country to represent the will and messaging of their government to another country.
Soon after this, the disciples not only received the authority to be sent, but with the Acts 2 encounter with the Holy Spirit baptism, they were empowered. The sons of Sceva went to cast out demons, but they were representing their own interests, not the Kingdom of God. The baptism of the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the power to do what they were being sent to do. Along with this new baptism was the boldness and confidence to do the work of the Kingdom of God.
We can see the transformation from authority to power in Acts 3:2-7 when Peter and John were going to the temple to pray. A lame man was at the gate called Beautiful. Interesting to note is that Beautiful is translated as the “Gate of right timing.” No doubt this lame man was there regularly at his personal spot to beg for money and food. There is a good probability that this was not Peter’s first time to see the infirmed man. But since receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, everything had changed. The apostles no longer saw the poor man as an impossibility or just felt empathy for him. They now saw him through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. With great boldness Peter commanded him to rise and walk. He was now so convinced of the power of the Holy Spirit that Peter took the man by the hand and lifted him up.
Those who were baptized with the Holy Spirit were no longer willing to just wait and see what would happen if they tried out some new teaching. No. Now they were carriers of the name Jesus imparted to them with the authority power to carry out their mission. The apostles began to draw on the currency that had been deposited for them to serve on earth as it was in Heaven. Acts 4:33 (NKJV) says, “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” The baptism of the Holy Spirt gave them access to the currency deposited on their behalf.
