Severing the Spirit of Delay Trying to Hinder Your Progress

Getting unstuck, escaping delay, and coming into the promises of God requires operation in the Courts of Heaven.

At least it did for me. It seems that I experienced delay for a good two decades. I was very frustrated and had even become a skeptic. Not seeing the prophetic promises of God happen caused anger, bitterness, and unbelief to develop in my heart. I am not justifying this. This was just the true fact of things. Then I discovered the Courts of Heaven and its reality.

I would point out that the Courts of Heaven is a spiritual dimension. What I mean by this is it is a real place in the unseen world. We as Christian believers understand that the unseen world influences the natural realm we live in. If we want to change things in this natural world, then things must shift in the unseen world first. Second Corinthians 4:17-18 makes a statement about the unseen world.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The apostle Paul declares strength for getting through trials, testing, and difficult times is found in a belief in the unseen realm. He declares that this natural world is temporary but that which is unseen in eternal. Any suffering we go through in this present world will result in a higher realm of function and glory in the spiritual dimension. Of course, Jesus alluded to this unseen world. In John 3:13, Jesus spoke of His function and life in this unseen realm while He lived a natural life on earth. In other words, He spoke of living in two worlds at one time—the seen and the unseen.

No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

Jesus, speaking of Himself as the Son of Man, said He came down from heaven, ascended to heaven, and even as He spoke was in heaven. In referring to heaven, Jesus was speaking of the heavenly realm or the unseen dimension. This statement can be seen as declaring that Jesus had learned to live in a heavenly realm while alive on earth. This is why Jesus spoke of seeing what the Father was doing in John 5:19-20. He proclaimed that this was the key to the miracles He did.

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.”

Jesus was in such union with the Father that He saw into the spiritual dimension and mimicked what He saw there. The result was the supernatural demonstration of heaven revealed on earth. We too should desire to operate in the unseen world by faith. In fact, this is what faith is. Faith is believing in and operating in the unseen realm according to Hebrews 11:1.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Notice faith is the evidence of what we can’t see. When we look through Hebrews 11, we see this echoed over and over. Hebrews 11:3 shows us the worlds were not created out of nothing. They were created by what was in the unseen world.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

In Christian circles, it is commonly taught that God made the world from nothing. This is not true. The worlds were fashioned by things not visible yet very real! The spoken word of God unleashed that which was invisible to create the visible. This is still how things work. We must realize how to unlock the unseen world to fashion the world we desire today! Hebrews 11:27 tells us that Moses endured and functioned by seeing into the unseen realm.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

Faith is functioning in the unseen realm. This is what empowered Moses to do what he did. He learned to come into agreement with the heavenly realm. The result was a nation delivered from Egypt. He discovered how to live in this dimension while living a natural life on earth. This is what we are called to as well. The Court of Heaven is a spiritual dimension we step into by faith. This is why it is declared in Daniel 7:9-10 that Daniel watched.

I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

Daniel as a seer watched as the Court of Heaven was set into place and began to operate. He was seeing into the unseen realm. If we are to function in the Courts of Heaven, we must move in faith. The Court of Heaven isn’t a new method of praying; it is a dimension of the spirit realm. If we can understand this and simply operate in faith, we can see huge breakthrough ensue.

Jesus actually grants us insight into operating in this unseen realm of the Courts in Luke 18:1-8. He unveils some principles that can empower us to move in this dimension.

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”

Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Jesus places prayer in a judicial setting in this story. He is seeking to empower us to get answers to previously unanswered prayer. This is why it is said that the purpose of this teaching was so the disciples wouldn’t become weary and quit praying. The only reason people quit praying is because it doesn’t seem to be working. The temptation to stop praying is because there seem to be no results. Jesus is not just encouraging His disciples to keep praying through this parable; He is telling them “why” they should keep praying. He is unveiling through this teaching an awareness of what is happening in the unseen world.

There are five principles for functioning in the spiritual dimension of the Courts of Heaven revealed in Jesus’ story. First of all, we see we have an adversary. The word adversary in these verses is the Greek word antidikos. This word means “one who brings a lawsuit.” We see it used many places in scripture. One of the most powerful places it is used is in 1 Peter 5:8. We can see clearly who our adversary is from this scripture.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The devil and his forces, or our adversary, is the one bringing a lawsuit against us. His power to devour us is found in his legal action against us. Satan cannot devour or consume us unless he discovers and makes a case against us from a legal perspective. The widow in the story is being harassed and devoured because of her adversary’s activities. One of the clearest places we see this happening is in the story of Job. An accusation is leveled against Job by satan in Job 1:6-12. This is a judicial setting in the unseen realm. As a result of satan bringing this case against Job, Job was thrown into unbelievable trouble and tribulation.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blame- less and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Notice that God asked satan where he had been. His answer was, “Going to and from on the earth, and walking back and forth on it.” This is consistent with what the Bible declares in other places. As we saw in 1 Peter 5:8, the devil is walking about. This means he is searching for any legal reason he can find to bring a case against the people of God.

This is what happened to me and I didn’t know it. Just like I’m sure Job was at a loss to explain why his life suddenly was brought to destruction. I’m sure initially he had no awareness of what had transpired in the unseen world that was allowing this. He would later at least have an idea of what was happening. He would long to approach God in His throne and answer for himself in the Courts of Heaven. He would realize that the answer to his dilemma was to make his case in the Courts of Heaven. This too is our solution. If we can make our case before the Courts of Heaven, we can see victory and the removing of the old and the moving into the new seasons of life!

As I stand in Your Courts, Lord, I decree I believe in their existence. I desire to operate in this unseen world of Your judicial place. I declare that You, Lord, are the Judge of all. I desire to be freed by this Court to move out of the old and into the new that You have for me. Free me from every stress and distress. Move me into the fullness of what You have promised, in Jesus’ Name, amen.