This Thursday the 25th of May 2017 we celebrate Ascension Day here in the Netherlands. It is a public holiday here that marks the 40th day after Jesus Christ’s resurection when He ascended back to the Father in Heaven.
A few weeks ago I already had it on my heart to write something about praying in heaven and this week I thought “why not combine it with Ascension Day?” So in this blog post I’m gonna share some of my experiences of how I learned to pray in heaven and how you can do that too! It’s a way of prayer that I have found very helpful and effective.

Heaven is accessible

When I first became a christian I did not know about all this stuff about going into heaven. I just had my waterbaptism which represented being baptised into Jesus’ death and being raised with Him from the grave in His resurrection as a new kainos creation. It was all about the cross and even now it still is.

Yet there was also something about His ascension into Heaven! Sometimes I would hear christians pray like this “Father I come before the Throne of Grace and I ask…”, but they would speak those words sometimes almost like a formula without actually going somewhere. Also there was something about the veil that was torn after Jesus’ crucifixion and was often explained that we now have access to come before the Father.

I remember how I somehow heard from someone that we need to step through the veil and pray there towards God. Also when I started reading the book of Hebrews I had an interesting conclusion! I found out that the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle represented Heaven and that if Jesus tore the veil for us we can enter Heaven right now!

They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown to you on mountain.” – Hebrews 8:5

The old tabernacle was a shadow of what is in heaven. Within the tabernacle there was a veil that separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was a place only the High Priest would enter once a year to come before Gods presence. It was known as a place of Gods presence, but it also represented Heaven where we would appear before Gods throne.

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. – Hebrews 9:24

Here we see that Jesus went into Heaven itself. So when I read this when I first became a christian I started practising this too. I remember how I would get up early in the morning to pray and would thank Jesus for giving me access to heaven when the veil was torn. I would thank Jesus and take a physical step forward by faith “through the torn veil” into heaven. And I would imagine myself standing before the throne of God described in the Bible with all the angels, the 24 elders, the four living creatures etc. Standing before His throne I would go on my knees and pray before Him.




Stepping in

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come IN and go OUT, and find pasture. – John 10:9

When I started praying like this when I first became a christian I began to notice something! God answered my prayers really really quickly! I remember how I would pray for an unbeliever that God would reveal Himself and the next Sunday service in church the  unbeliever suddenly was there. Somehow something had happened and he wanted to know more about God and decided to go to a church service! God would answer my prayers really quickly!

For quite some time I prayed this way by stepping into heaven before talking to God, but there came a point when I stopped praying in the morning and so I forgot about this. Then three or four years later I was at a christian conference where a preacher introduced the same way of prayer explaining that heaven really is accessible for us! I mean if the Bible talks about going to the Throne of Grace, where do you think that throne actually is?!

So I began to pray like this again many times when I needed to pray and ask things at the Throne of Grace. And I began to notice again how quickly God would answer my prayers. Sometimes God would answer my prayers instant and sometimes even before I finished my prayer He’d already answered it!

traditional prayer

There is this theory where people talk about prayers being answered only when there is an open heaven. They talk about our prayers rising up to heaven before they are being answered. They say our prayers first need to go through first heaven, second heaven and then God can hear us, but this is old testament style. Here in the new covenant we can communicate with God directly in our hearts where Christ dwells and in heaven before the throne where His government is being exercised! God has a throne for a reason to exercise His rule and reign, but if you seek intimacy with God I encourage you to read first my other blog post The Journey of Intimacy.

One time I was praying for a friend while standing in heaven before the Throne of Grace and when I finished praying I noticed she had sent me a message on Whatsapp. She told me that suddenly oil manifested on her hands supernaturally! I asked her at what time this happened and it was exactly when I was praying in Heaven for her!!! An other time she had asked me to pray for her because she was ill. I started praying in Heaven and God hath put it on my heart to declare that within three days she would be better. And already after two day she told me how much better she felt and that it was almost gone! And guess what happened on the third day, she was fully better and healthy!! Amazing!

And so I have many more testimonies about prayers I have brought before the throne of grace in heaven that God answered really quickly. We can ask God anything we want as long as we come before Him with a sincere and honest heart.

Practice!

praying in heaven

So I encourage you to practice to physically step through the veil that was torn and pray with your whole being (spirit, soul AND body) in heaven instead of on earth. When doing this a lot frequently by faith you will notice how easy it will become to go into heaven.

I for example noticed after a while that I didn’t need to take a physical step anymore into heaven, but could just do it with my soul and spirit. It’s because we have Christ as an anchor for the soul that reaches beyond the veil. And when I would enter heaven I would litterally feel like I went into His glory, His presence and the atmosphere of Heaven. Then I would leave heaven fully soaked with the fragrance of His presence and clothed with His favor and goodness.

Now when I pray I still often do the stepping in, because I really like bringing my body into the atmosphere of heaven!

So go give it a try and see if this is a way of prayer that works for you too! Ask Holy Spirit to help you and bring you there.

Blessings!

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More scriptures

Hebrews 4:14-16
Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need.

Hebrews 6:19-20
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
Where our forerunner, Jesus Christ, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 10:19-20
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

Colossions 3:1
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Ephesians 2:18
For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.