February 26, 2025

The Matrix, Part 2

Yesterday we spoke of prayer that “births” or brings forth God’s will and purposes. This prayer is sometimes referred to in Scripture as travail, not just because it can be hard work, but also because of the birthing aspect. We mentioned Isaiah 66:8, which speaks of travail that produces sons and daughters, and Galatians 4:19, which refers to it in the context of birthing maturity in believers. Today, I want to address another fascinating word that connects our prayers to birthing God’s will on the earth. It is first used in Genesis one.

“And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) 

The Hebrew word used for “moved,” rachaph, is very interesting. One of its primary meanings is “to brood over.”(1) The Amplified translation actually uses the phrase “was moving, hovering, brooding over.” The margin of the New American Standard Bible also uses the word “hovering.” Rachaph is hovering or brooding over something. 

But there is more to this word’s meaning. Webster’s Dictionary defines “brood” as “offspring; progeny; that which is bred or produced.”(2) It comes from the root word “breed,” which we know means to procreate. In using this term to describe Holy Spirit’s work at creation, God uses the analogy of procreating and birthing. He was creating or bringing forth life. A Hebrew scholar once confirmed this to me, stating that rachaph is indeed a reproductive term that can refer to the literal act of procreating. Pretty graphic, but it confirms that rachaph is literally a reproductive term. One lexicon defined the word as “brooding and fertilizing.”(3)

We know from the New Testament that it was Jesus who called forth life in this Genesis setting. We are told that all things were created by His words (see John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16). But Holy Spirit was working with Him, brooding or hovering over the earth, releasing His creative power at the words of Jesus, “giving birth to” what Christ spoke. 

Psalm 90:2 confirms this analogy, referring to what Holy Spirit did at Creation as a birthing. “Before the mountains were born [yalad], or Thou didst give birth to [chuwl] the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.” Although the words are not translated as such in this verse, yalad and chuwl are also the primary Hebrew words for travail. They are translated with various synonymous words or phrases: “bring forth,” “born,” “give birth to,” “travail,”(4-5) and others (see Deuteronomy 32:18; Job 15:7; 39:1 for examples). Regardless of how they are translated, it is easy to see that the concept is giving birth to something. And, of course, as with Psalm 90:2, they are not always referring to a literal, physical birth but simply to creating something, just as we do when saying an idea, vision, or nation was “born” or “conceived.”

Now, let’s make the prayer connection. These are the same two words used in Isaiah 66:8: “As soon as Zion travailed [chuwl] she also brought forth [yalad] her sons.” What Holy Spirit did in Genesis when He “brought forth” or “gave birth to” the earth is what He wants to do through our prayers: “birth” God’s will in situations. As I said in yesterday‘s post, we do not have the inherent power to produce the will of God in situations. We do, however, have within us He who does possess this power, the Holy Spirit. And He is released through our prayers.

The New Testament also uses a word that speaks of Holy Spirit hovering around or overshadowing individuals (episkiazo) to release His power and life.(6) The word is used in Luke 1:35 to describe Him doing so over Mary to conceive Christ in her. It is also used in Acts 5:15 to describe what was happening when Peter was ministering God’s healing power. We often interpret the passage as meaning that Peter’s shadow healed people (see Acts 5:15). What it is actually saying, however, is that Holy Spirit was hovering around or overshadowing individuals in order to heal them, as Peter ministered.

This concept need not be overly mystical or ethereal. The point is simply that the Holy Spirit’s power is released through our prayers to bring forth the will of God in situations. No, He is not our errand boy or puppet, and we do not command Him. However, He does perform and release God’s will, and one of the ways this occurs is through our prayers.

Allow this truth to generate faith in you. Allow it to strengthen your heart and resolve. Be conscious of the fact that Holy Spirit has been sent to help you produce God’s will in situations. You are not helpless; you have a powerful Helper (John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7). What an amazing promise!

In my prayers, I frequently ask Holy Spirit to hover around people or places and bring forth God’s plan. Where nations are concerned, Holy Spirit hovers over them to bring revival. He releases His power to convict, lift the veil of deception, and reveal Jesus to people. This is what it means for Him to “rend the heavens…and come down” (Isaiah 64:1). When we ask Him for revival, we are asking Him to hover over cities, regions, and nations to bring forth life. 

We ask Him to hover over or overshadow diseased people and release miracles. When we ask God to shift those in government, we are asking Holy Spirit to hover around them and transform their thinking. Ask Him to do this. 

Ask Him to hover in our schools, on our campuses, in dorms and classrooms. And yes, ask Holy Spirit to hover in our churches, bringing forth a great awakening to believers. Let’s do so now. 

Pray with me:

Father, thank You for our wonderful and all-powerful Helper, Holy Spirit; He whose infinite power created the heavens and the earth with its intricate detail and beauty. We are amazed at this title and role of Holy Spirit: our “Helper.” Cause this role of His to be a much stronger revelation to us. Remind us that we do not have to operate in our own strength and power as we pray and deal with life’s issues. We actually have the Creator within us!

Today, we ask that He be sent to hover over America and other nations of the earth. Send Holy Spirit to release revelation, conviction, enlightenment, and power to save millions. Fill the atmospheres of nations with His reviving power. Release Him to hover over cities and regions, over schools and campuses. We know that Holy Spirit’s overshadowing releases revival. Please do this.

We here in America ask for Holy Spirit to hover over the White House, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court. Change people’s thinking in these government positions to align with Your will and ways; cause many of them to be born again. Send a true revival to the government of America.

And Father, we ask that Holy Spirit would move, hovering in our churches to release power and birth life. Release His fire, conviction, and first-love passion. Release signs, wonders, and miracles. Send a third great awakening to America, starting with our churches. We believe You will do this, and we thank You for it, in the name of Jesus.

Our decree: 

We decree that the power of Holy Spirit is birthing the greatest revival earth has ever seen, and He is using the prayers of the Ekklesia to do so.

Today’s post is based on a teaching in my book Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. William Wilson, Old Testament Word Studies (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1978), p. 175.

2. The Consolidated Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary (Chicago: Consolidated Book Publishers, 1954), p. 89.

3. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, The New Brown-Driver, Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979), p. 934).

4. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3205.

5. Ibid. ref. no. 2449.

6. Ibid. ref. no. 1982.