CHAPTER SIX
The Spirit of Pisgah
Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
Deuteronomy 3:27 KJV
Waiting is something most of us are accustomed to. We wait in line at stores, gas stations and movie theaters. We wait in the doctor’s office, in the hair salon or at the airport. Waiting is a part of life.
Delay, on the other hand, is something entirely different. To delay is to postpone or defer until later, or to cause to be later or slower than expected or desired. Delay begins the moment your wait should have been over, but it is not. When delay begins, you are in position for the next thing, but the next thing does not begin. For me, there is nothing more frustrating than delay. I spend considerable time traveling, which almost always involves sitting at the airport. I often arrive early and spend time reading or writing, which I am content to do. But when the airline announces a flight delay, my attitude changes. I am usually no longer content to write or read; I am ready to leave. The fact that I am delayed temporarily interrupts my creative processes and concentration. Delay has this effect. It is not just waiting; it is a holding pattern.
As a frequent traveler I have endured my share of airline departure delays. On one such occasion, the airline boarded everyone onto the plane. After the boarding door was closed, I noticed that the engine stopped running. There we sat, ready for departure, and the plane’s engines were silent. A short time later, an announcement was made that the plane’s starter was malfunctioning and needed repair. We were positioned for movement, but delay unexpectedly reared its head. This is a picture of how the spirit of delay operates. Everything appears to be in place, you are positioned for victory—and nothing happens. Take the women’s conference I planned: We started out well, registrations were coming in, and suddenly we had come to a complete standstill. This can be frustrating.
While delay encompasses the act of waiting, the two are not the same. They may seem similar, but there are important distinctions. Waiting is defined as staying in place, with an expectation of something happening. Another dictionary defines to wait as remaining inactive, or in a state of repose, until something expected happens. Waiting includes the attitude of expectation, while delay does not. Delay implies the occurrence of an unexpected event beyond your control, which initiates the wait, but waiting implies the passage of time necessary for an event to occur.
In other words, we wait expectantly for manifestation, which does not necessarily mean delay; but when waiting is caused by delay, we are experiencing an unauthorized event. That is the spirit of Pisgah, or the spirit of delay. When you are believing and waiting for responses to your prayers, you must discern the reason your responses have not manifested.
In Numbers 20, Moses was commanded to speak to a rock to bring forth water for the people of Israel, who repeatedly complained whenever they experienced a food or water shortage. God gave Moses a specific command: “Speak to the rock in front of the people. Then water will flow from the rock” (verse 8 ERV).
Moses decided not to listen. In response to yet another season of complaining by Israel, Moses instead chided the people for their tendency to complain. “Now listen to me. I will cause water to flow from this rock” (verse 10 ERV). Moses then struck the rock twice. This is not what God had instructed him to do. In every season of your life, God will give you strategies and instructions to bring forth your provision. Like Moses, you can choose to obey or to disobey.
Jericho was a portion of Israel’s inheritance, and God gave Israel His strategy to bring the nation into possession of their portion. That is how revelation works. God communicates a clear strategy that results in victory, if we obey. God’s strategy for Israel was seven priests leading the march and blowing trumpets, with other priests carrying the Ark of God’s presence. Soldiers bearing weapons marched in front of the priests blowing the trumpets. Everyone else marched behind the priests carrying the Ark. They did this once every day for six days. They were instructed not to speak during the march; they simply marched around Jericho once each day for six days, fully armed but voices silent.
Can you imagine the ridicule they might have endured during those six days? I am sure some who were marching were wondering why they were marching rather than fighting. I imagine they wondered why they were not permitted to release a war cry. Is it possible that each day they marched around Jericho, the people inside the walls were mocking them? Maybe they were throwing rocks at the processional. No matter what distraction came from inside the walls, Israel remained focused, carrying out God’s instructions. On the seventh day, Israel prepared to march around Jericho as they had done the previous six days; today, however, they would march around seven times, with priests blowing their trumpets. On that seventh day, Joshua commanded Israel to release a war cry. When they did, the walls of Jericho fell flat. The city was delivered into Israel’s hands. Was it the simple act of marching and blowing trumpets that caused the city to be given into Israel’s hands? No. It was their obedience to the strategy God had given them, which released heaven to move on their behalf.
Moses had violated the principle of obedience when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it. The penalty Moses faced was to ascend Mount Pisgah to view the Promised Land, but to not be allowed to enter. The spirit of Pisgah is the spirit of “almost there.” You are so close to breakthrough—and then failure happens. You have applied for a job for which you are qualified. After multiple interviews, you are informed that someone else has been selected. Almost there! Your ministry starts to increase, and just as suddenly as growth begins, it stops. Almost there! You feel led to convene a conference or some other type of gathering. Registration starts off fine and suddenly stops, leaving you without a sufficient number of attendees. Almost there! Maybe you are in treatment for a medical condition. Your physician reports improvement, and then suddenly, you are worse. Almost there!
Moses had led Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness for forty years. He had watched a generation die in the wilderness, and finally their descendants were preparing to cross over into the Promised Land. Moses was almost there! When failure happens in our lives at the point of “almost there,” the enemy uses these events to taunt us. “Has God really said?” Rather than coming into agreement with hell, keep yourself in agreement with God. Keep walking around the situation in prayer. Keep decreeing the Word of God. Keep worshiping. If God has said yes, hell has to let go of your portion.
APPLICATION
How do you see the spirit of delay operating in your life? What has not manifested yet?
Purposed Waiting
There are times that God responds, “Not yet,” to something you request in prayer. This indicates a time of waiting that God can use to develop patience in you. The usual Hebrew expression for patience is related to the verb meaning “to be long,” and it involves the idea of “being long” to become riled, or slow to become angry. Two different Greek words are translated with the word patience: One has the idea of remaining firm under tests and trials and is better translated as “endurance” or “steadfastness.” The other Greek word is related to the above Hebrew meaning and defines patience as “long-spiritedness” or “calmness of spirit,” even under severe provocation to lose one’s temper.1 Patience is a fruit of the Spirit developed in you. We say things like, “You need to learn patience.” It is God, however, who develops the capacity to wait patiently by allowing us to be in situations in which waiting is required. This is a legal time of waiting; God is working something in you. He is creating capacity within you.
The Finishing Anointing
The ultimate goal of the enemy is not simply to stop your progress, but for you to experience failure when you are at the point of success. This happens to damage not only your credibility but the credibility of God. Maybe you are locked into a cycle in which failure at this point is normal. You see the goal, you are right on the edge of success in your endeavor, and suddenly, failure happens. When this occurs, a supernatural response is needed to break the cycle. Our prayer needs to be engaged in a way that allows success to manifest. Jesus operated in the “finishing” anointing, and we see the same anointing upon the apostle Paul: “I have fought an excellent fight. I have finished my full course and I’ve kept my heart full of faith” (2 Timothy 4:7 TPT).
God’s plan for you is to finish your race. Each of us has been assigned a course of life. Just as God spoke to Jeremiah concerning His plan for Jeremiah’s life, your life was planned before you were born.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1:5 AMP
God told Jeremiah that He knew him before he was born and planned a course of life for him as a prophet. Then He reiterated His plan to Jeremiah later in life when things were difficult. The nation of Israel was in the midst of God’s judgment, as evidenced by war and Babylonian captivity. God wanted Israel to know their captivity would end after seventy years, for He did not want Israel to lose hope for their future. “‘I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11 AMP).
Before Jeremiah was born, God planned a good future for him. It was the plan of God that Jeremiah would be successful in his ministry assignment. It is God’s desire that you will be successful in the ministry assignment He has given you. When I speak of ministry, I am including all types of ministry, whether you are called to church leadership, outreach, business or your family. God desires for you to be successful. To be successful means you are fulfilling the purpose assigned to your life, and you are living out your destiny.
We are all drawn to successful people. No one wants to hear the story of how someone became a failure; what we really want to know is how someone became successful. We want to know what they did. What steps did they take that culminated in their success? How were they able to grow their businesses into Fortune 500 companies? While it is good to hear the testimonies of successful people because we can be inspired and learn from them, God’s plan for you is found in His Word. “The LORD will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] loving kindness, O LORD, endures forever” (Psalm 138:8 AMP).
God is committed to accomplishing His will on earth. As Kingdom citizens, we are called to carry out God’s agenda on earth. God has not planned failure for you. He positions you to win. God desires that you finish your race and not just finish—He wants you to finish strong. Take a moment to pray this simple prayer.
Lord, I thank You that I am anointed to finish. I dismiss every assignment of delay that is attempting to hinder my prayers. Lord, I thank You that heaven is warring with me. The angelic host has been released to bring me to the place of finishing. Not only will I finish, I will finish strong, in Jesus’ name.
The Matter of Focus
As you align with God’s plan for your life and move through the time of waiting, focus is a vital key. Do not allow yourself to become distracted. Whenever I have approached a season of transition, distraction is a weapon the enemy attempts to use against me. Focus on God’s assignment for me at that time has proven to be the weapon to overcome spirits of distraction. During this time, as you refuse to accept anything other than God’s plan for your life, you will experience more answers to your prayers.
He came to Bethsaida, and they brought a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men as trees, walking.” After that He put His hands again upon his eyes and made him look up; and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Mark 8:22–25
Loss of focus is directly connected to our ability to see and comprehend. Jesus was traveling through a town when a blind man was brought before Him. In his original state, this man totally lacked sight; he was blind. He had no capacity to see. What is interesting in this passage is the fact that the blind man did not ask for healing himself. Those who led him to Jesus asked Jesus to heal him. Having friends who are discerning and who can encourage us forward in life is important. It is how we move in the law of agreement.
Again, I give you an eternal truth: If two of you agree to ask God for something in a symphony of prayer, my heavenly Father will do it for you. For wherever two or three come together in honor of my name, I am right there with them!
Matthew 18:19–20 TPT
Biblical prayer with other believers brings a response from God.
This man did not ask to be taken to Jesus; neither did he ask for healing. His friends asked on his behalf. The blind man also did not refuse to go to Jesus for his healing, which means he was in agreement. When we stand in prayer with other believers, God responds. This is the law of agreement. Do you have friends to encourage you in prayer and help you connect to the Lord? Do you have friends who are able to join you in contending against demonic forces intent on frustrating your prayer efforts? If not, ask the Lord to bring friends into your life who can provide prayer support to you, especially when you are contending with the spirit of delay.
We can see several other key factors in the account of the blind man of Bethsaida:
- Jesus removed the man from his familiar environment, leading him by the hand out of town. Sometimes you need to change your prayer strategy. We often fall into a routinized way of prayer. While consistency and routine can be good, when you are overcoming the spirit of Pisgah, you need to break out of routine.
- Jesus used an unusual method to bring healing to this man; He spit on his eyes. When you are experiencing delay, you must gain sight. God will allow you to see the reason your prayers have not manifested. If you are waiting, God may be developing patience in you. Remember, patience is a fruit of the Spirit. If you are dealing with delay, God will give you revelation, or discernment, concerning what is happening in the spiritual realm.
- Focus matters. It seems the man’s friends understood more than the blind man how badly he needed his sight. Jesus responded by spitting on the man’s eyes and asking him if he could see anything. After Jesus spit on the man’s eyes, he had sight, but he did not have clarity—he lacked focus. Focus is the ability not just to see but to see clearly, to have clear visual definition. In prayer, you need clear visual definition.
- Clarity can be progressive. The level of clarity needed did not come after Jesus spit on the man’s eyes. The man reported he saw men as trees walking. This means he could see but lacked clarity. After the second touch, not only was the man no longer blind, he had the clarity of sight he needed. The more time you spend in prayer, the more visual definition you will have. In other words, your clarity will become clearer.
The spirit of Pisgah is designed to keep you on the verge of breakthrough. It is the place of “almost there.” It is also movement without manifestation. Recently, God spoke this prophetic word to me.
This is the season that I am breaking the cycle of movement with no manifestation; it is a revolving door cycle. My Church keeps moving, but they are only going in circles. My Church has now come into the season of manifestation! The Church will now begin experiencing rapid responses to their prayers.
When you spend time praying but do not see manifestation, it could be that you are being opposed by the spirit of delay. This is what happened to Daniel, who prayed 21 days before he received a response. He did not get discouraged after a few days; he kept praying until a response came. This is what you must do—keep praying and believing.
APPLICATION
Find other believers to stand with you in prayer. Let the Lord give you revelation as to why you have not received a response. Waiting works to your benefit, but delay comes to frustrate you. It is important to know the difference.
Lack of focus prevents you from having a clear sense of direction. Another way to see this issue is understanding time wasters. You can expend your efforts in prayer in ways that are not productive because you lack focus. You do not see the prayer strategy that will bring you into victory. Through prayer, worship and meditation on God’s Word, your focus is sharpened, and time wasters are eliminated. Only intentional prayer sharpens our focus and eliminates time wasters. Through prayer and worship, we not only receive revelation, but our focus is renewed to see what is hindering us and strategies to move forward. Lack of focus is a measure of diminished visual capacity. As you press into God’s presence, your focus is sharpened, allowing you to see clearly.
LAW OF FOCUS
A lack of focus opens the door for time wasters to operate in your life. Focus eliminates time wasters.
These prayers and prophetic decrees can help you dismantle demon forces trying to limit you and keep you in the place of “almost there.”
Lord, I ask that just as the eyes of the blind man were healed and his focus sharpened, let my focus be restored today, resulting in a renewed perspective. Let me see what I have not been able to see, in Jesus’ name.
All spiritual wickedness in the second heavens fortified against me and my destiny today is put to shame, in the name of Jesus.
I decree the blood of Jesus over my life and over my destiny, in the name of Jesus.
I bind every power cursing my destiny into ineffectiveness and frustrating my purpose, in the name of Jesus.
Let chaos and confusion be released against every evil power trying to capture my blessing, in the name of Jesus.
I decree the blood of Jesus against every assignment of “almost there” operating in my life and my ministry. I will not have movement without manifestation. This year, God’s promises manifest in my life, in my family and in my ministry.
Key Scriptures: Deuteronomy 3:27; Jeremiah 1:5; Mark 8:22–25; Matthew 18:19–20
Key Points:
- Law of agreement: Biblical prayer with other believers brings a response from God.
- Law of focus: Only focused prayer will increase your capacity to see and eliminate time wasters.
Reflection: What are some areas where you can see the spirit of Pisgah (delay) operating in your life? Are there any areas of your life where God is asking for obedience and you have not submitted to Him yet?