This series on Robert Henderson’s teachings is based off my notes, which I took as I read his book: Father, Friend, and Judge: Three Dimensions of Prayer that Receive Answers from Heaven, in Jan 2025.

Being a friend of God:

• We now look at our second dimension in effective prayer; approaching God as a Friend
• Luke 11:5-8: Which of you has a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey’, and will answer saying, do not trouble me. I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs
• Jesus in response to teaching His disciples how to pray, introduced this spiritual realm to them
• In this story, we see Jesus wants to be our friend
• John 15:15: No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things I heard from my Father I have made known to you
• As a result of their friendship, Jesus promises to them secrets from the Father
• Abraham was a friend of God, and this caused God to give his descendants the land and inheritance (2 Chron 20:7, Isa 41:8-10)
• God’s friendship with Abraham, stirred His passion toward Israel
• When we are friends of God, He will operate in a covenant posture towards us and our lineage

Position of intercession:

• In the Luke parable, Jesus speaks of a friend who came on his journey to another friend
• Because this friend does not have the ability to help him on his journey, he goes to one of his friends who is wealthy and asks him for help
• Even though this wealthy friend wouldn’t rise and help him because he was his friend, he would do it because of his persistence at midnight hour
• In other words, he (wealthy friend) would get up and give him what he wanted and needed for his other friend, so he would go away and let him go back to bed
• The wealthy friend represents Jesus, and the friend seeking to get help for his needy friend, represents the intercessor standing between two friends
• So when we approach God as Friend, it is a place of intercession on behalf of others
• Just like how we are helping the needy friend get to his destination, we as friends of God stand in intercession to help people in the spirit realm get to the destiny God has for them

Example of Abraham:

• Recall Abraham was a friend of God
• And he interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, bargaining with God not to destroy the city when 10 righteous were found, down from 50 people which God originally said (Gen 18:16-33)
• Gen 18:17-18: And God said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since he will become a great nation, blessing all nations. For I know he will command his household to keep my ways, that I may bring to him what I promised
• God seems to be asking Himself a question, if He should tell Abraham His friend what He is about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah
• Clearly God decided that it is something Abraham should know
• There was a hidden agenda God had in telling His friend Abraham, the Lord knew that Abraham His friend would know the heart of God was to show mercy
• It is interesting that God doesn’t tell Abraham to ask Him for mercy for Sodom and Gomorrah
• God knows what Abraham His friend will know what is the passion of God
• Abraham was able to read between the lines and discern God’s heart was for someone to give Him to right He needed to be merciful to this city’s wickedness

Standing in the gap:

• Ezek 22:39-31: The people of the land have sinned against me, so I sought for a man who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me, but I found none. So I have poured out my indignation on them
• God did not want to destroy and judge, but because no one gave him a reason to be merciful, His indignation was poured out
• So there must be friends of God who can sense His heart, and give Him the reason to show His mercy and kindness, instead of judgement and destruction
• And as in the story of Abraham, only the friends of God knows secrets He reveals to them
• No one knew Sodom and Gomorrah, only Abraham
• And recall we saw earlier Jesus said, ‘all things I heard from my Father I have made known to you’
• Psa 25:14: The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant
• So when we walk in the fear of the Lord, He will share His secrets with us
• He is looking for those on earth, whom He can reveal what is happening, so they can partner with Him for His will do be done on the earth
• So sometimes when He shares secrets with us, it’s not so we can prophesy it in public to everyone
• But it’s so we can stand in the gap, and pray for them, to alter and even prevent some things from happening

Council of the Lord:

• We saw in Robert Henderson Three Dimensions of Prayer: Approaching God as a Father article, how approaching God as a Father opens up the “secret place”
• Similarly, approaching God as a Friend opens up another spiritual place we can stand in
• It is called the Council of the Lord
• Jer 23:18: Who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?
• The Council of the Lord, is a place in the spirit world
• And the friends of God are those who have access into this realm
• In the Old Testament, primarily the prophets could access this place
• It was in this place, that why heard the word of the Lord, which is what Jeremiah was referring to
• He is combatting false prophets of his day, saying if you are a real prophet you would have stood in the Council of the Lord, where only prophets in OT had access
• Prophets were friends of God, who were invited to this place of the spirit dimension
• Jeremiah was challenging the false prophets, with the fact that they know nothing of the Council of the Lord (Jer 23:16-18)
• They have not been in the Council of the Lord, where the real word of God is head and marked
• As a result, they are giving people false hope and promises, and just speaking from their hearts, not listening from God
• Gen 18:22: Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the Lord
• Abraham as God’s friend and prophet stood before the Lord
• And anytime we see the word “stood”, we should consider that it is speaking of someone standing in the Council of the Lord
• Elijah, Isaiah, Moses, Micaiah all stood there, as OT prophets who were allowed by God to stand in His council
• But in the NT, we as believers are all been granted access into this dimension
• Acts 2:14-18: But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice saying to them, we are not drunk, but this is the pouring out of God’s spirit on all flesh (please refer to Joel 2:28-29 article)
• Peter was declaring something magnificent that just occured, a transition from OT to NT occurred
• The moment the Holy Spirit came into the upper room, God’s desire for all His people to be prophetic was enacted
• The Holy Spirit, who produced the prophetic, was now coming in all people of God
• So as NT believers being filled with the Holy Spirit, we have a prophetic nature and abilities, that allows us as friends of God to stand in the Council of God
• There are at least five things we can do, when we stand in the Council of the Lord
• Before going into these five things, let’s look more on who is in this dimension of the Council of God
• 1 Kings 22:19-22: Therefore I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and left. And God said, who will persuade Ahab to go up, then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord saying, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets
• The Lord made His decision about how Ahab would fall and the change of leadership of a nation
• This was done in the Council of the Lord
• Micaiah as a prophet was given entrance into this place of the spirit realm, and allowed perhaps even input
• He saw what was going to happen, as determined from the Council of God
• Heb 12:22-24: But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven. To God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel
• Even this is also speaking of the Courts of Heaven, which is another spiritual dimension, it is closely related to Council of the Lord
• And this scripture shows, how NT believers have access into the Council of the Lord too, by the blood of Jesus to stand in these place of the Spirit and see things shift in the natural world
• We have been granted access into these places, and should know how to function there
• In the Council of the Lord, there are angel, the general assembly of worshipers, the Judge Himself, the Cloud of Witnesses, the Mediator Jesus, and even the blood speaking in these places

Five things we can do in the Council of the Lord:

1. Receive counsel or wisdom
2. Give counsel to God
3. Make decisions with God concerning things on the earth
4. Decrees can be made
5. Assignments are given

Receive counsel or wisdom:

• Many times we believers, need to have understanding and wisdom from the Lord
• James 1:5: If anyone lacks wisdom, let him as of God, who gives liberally and without reproach
• God desires to give us insight into situations and answers for them, from His Council
• He loves to grant wisdom to those who ask Him
• Prov 2:6: For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding
• When we approach Him in faith, focussed and sincere in our asking in His Council, God’s wisdom and secrets concerning a matter can be revealed
• This wisdom will actually solve problems, bring success, and give direction for us to walk in

Give counsel to God:

• We can also give counsel to God, where the Lord actually allows us to counsel Him
• In Gen 18:24-25, Abraham through a question reminds God of who He is, if He would slay the righteous with the wicked, and that He is the Judge of all the earth
• In this, he gave God counsel
• Abraham counsels God concerning His activities with this wicked place
• He reminds God that as “Judge of all the earth”, he shouldn’t destroy the righteous with the wicked
• Abraham is indeed counselling the Lord in prayer, and he did it with great reverence, honour, and fear, but he brought to attention of God this awareness
• Likewise, we can with great humility yet boldness plead for the case of others
• Abraham knew God’s heart, and was aware that God never wanted the punishment of the wicked to land on the righteous
• Psa 125:3: For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest, on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity
• God is declaring that He will not allow the righteous to come under the abusive rulership of the wicked, but also that the righteous would not suffer the punishment of the wicked
• Because if they did, the righteous would become discouraged and disillusioned, and begin the sin and put their hands to unrighteousness
• From this perspective, Abraham counseled and reminded God, about the righteous in the land
• He is being jealous for the Name and reputation of God, and showing passion concerning what people will think of the Lord for generations to come
• From this place, God is willing to receive his counsel, about His intent in Sodom and Gomorrah, and agrees with him
• We too can and in this lace with God, on behalf of issues in the earth
• Moses also stood in the Council of the Lord (Num 14:11-23)
• We see Moses convincing God to spare the nation of Israel, and not wipe them out
• God was very upset with the Israelites, who have perpetually resisted His goodness and desire, and they have habitually turned back their hearts on Him
• He tells Moses to get away from them, because He is going to destroy the whole lot of them, and raise up from Moses another nation
• Moses instead comes and stands in the Council of the Lord, reminding Him that this isn’t a good idea
• As it would bring blemish on the Name of the Lord for generations to come, as all might say God was strong enough to bring them out of Egypt but not strong enough to bring them to Canaan
• On the basis of God’s reputation on earth, Moses appeals to God
• God relents in what He has said to do, and shows Israel mercy instead
• Moses had become so pregnant with a passion to see God glorified, and His will fulfilled
• Even when God offered to make Moses a great nation, Moses declined
• When God’s passion posses us more than any desire  of our own, this equips us to stand in the Council of the Lord

Make decisions with God concerning things on the earth:

• Abraham starts asking God if He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah if 50 righteous could be found (Gen 18:24-26)
• After their dialogue, he ended with God agreeing that only ten would be sufficient for this people, to be shown mercy (Gen 18:32)
• In the beginning, God created us in his “image”, to be a reflection of Him, that we may rule in earth together with the Lord (Gen 1:26-28)
• As we stand in the Council of the Lord, we are allowed the privilege of being part of this process

Decrees can be made:

• 1 Kings 17:1: Elijah said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years, except at my word.”
• Previously, we saw how the present tense “stand” is being used, to describe Elijah standing simultaneously in the presence of God, and before king Ahab on earth
• Elijah was actually standing in the Council of the Lord
• And what he decrees from this place in the spiritual realm, alters what will be in the earth
• Prayers are not just petitions we offer, there is a place of authority in God, where we can make decrees that cause events to change
• In other words, we utter words of faith into a spiritual realm, that will change things in the natural dimensions
• Matt 17:20: So Jesus said to them, if you have faith as a mustard seed and speak to this mountain move, it will move, and nothing shall be impossible for you
• The mountain is symbolic of anything standing in our way of success, God’s purposes, or anything resisting our call in God
• Jesus said we would “speak”, and the mountain would “move”
• Many of us have done the speaking or decreeing, but the mountains haven’t budged
• What is the problem?
• I believe it’s where we are doing it from in the spiritual realm, we have spoken to the mountains but not from the Council of the Lord
• Where we speak and decree from is very important to the process, when Elijah spoke from the Council of the Lord, what he said happened
• Job tells us also the power of living righteously before the Lord (Job 22:27-28)

Assignments are given:

• Isaiah was standing in the Council of the Lord as the prophet / friend of God (Isa 6:1-9)
• He is cleansed by the Lord to another level, and in this holy place Isaiah is aware of an uncleanness clinging to him, and he cries out in repentance
• We must be aware that in the Council of God, things become manifest for the purpose of cleansing, this is one of the signs that we are standing in this place of the Spirit
• After his cleansing, Isaiah heard the Lord asking, “Who will go for Us”
• The Lord is asking the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and other beings in this scenario, who can take on this assignment
• Isaiah standing in this holy place, volunteers for the assignment
• He is chosen, and given the message he is to run with
• We can similarly volunteer, or be moved to volunteer for things, that outside of the Council of the Lord, you will never wanted to agree to
• This is because in this place, there is grace on you, for the assignment heaven desires you to carry
• And under this grace, you will do things you might never agree to outside it
• And when we agree and say yes to the passion of God in the Council of God, grace will be in us for that assignment