“God … raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places

in Christ Jesus”  (Ephesians 2:6)

The first explicit reference to our being positioned in the “heavenly realm” is found in the verse above. However, in John’s Gospel, Jesus Christ Himself also refers to that realm – in all but name – when He urges us to “Abide in Me” and to let His words abide in us:

^“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me... He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ….  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:4,5&7)

Clearly, He is not asking us to abide in His physical body. Rather, He is speaking here of His spiritual body. It must have been very perplexing for Jesus’s disciples to hear these words because their attention was, understandably, focused mainly on the physical realm. 

However, as post-Resurrection and Ascension believers, we are deeply privileged to have access to the profound insights of Ephesians 2:4-6. The Passion Translation expresses these verses especially beautifully and informatively:

“God … united us into the very life of Christ and … raised us up with Christ the exalted One, and we ascended with him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, for we are now co-seated as one with Christ!” 

So what does “heavenly realm” mean? Usually, we think of heavenly places as being “up there” – far above planet Earth and the entire cosmos. That is true but it is only partially true, because the “heavenly realm” is actually wherever Christ is – and Christ is absolutely everywhere! … “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe” (Eph. 4:10, NIV).

Using metaphors and pictures

Praying from being seated in the heavenly realm starts with simple faith in the Word of God, actively trusting that the Spirit of Christ Himself is articulating and praying through us. 

To do this, each of us needs to find meaningful metaphors, or pictures, to help us pray in a way that is less “earthbound”. The Holy Spirit will help us to choose metaphors and pictures to aid our prayers, if we ask Him. 

In case it helps, a few of the metaphors/pictures that have helped me to pray in the Spirit over the years are: 

·      To imagine myself dying with Jesus on the Cross, literally slumped at the bottom of the Cross. Then I imagine myself reborn in Him – in His Resurrection – as a cell in His Body, receiving a constant supply of all the nutrients and qualities that Christ has.

·      When I take Communion, I pray and lay upon the Lord everything that is not of Him, also bringing names and situations before Him in intercession. Then, as I consume the Body and the Blood, I truly believe that I am receiving His DNA and His Life-Blood into me and into every other cell who is connected to me in the Body of Christ (which means billions of people). I believe, generally, that those people who are closest to our awareness will benefit the most.



·      I tell myself that I’m light (and stand there, imagining that I am light, literally) because Jesus said, “You are the light of the world …. Let your light so shine …” (Matt. 5:14&16). In faith, I impart that light (ie God’s power, because light is power) to people for whom I pray, and to specific parts of their bodies if they are sick.

·      In my imagination, I see myself going to someone’s house or bedside, laying hands on them and praying for them – performing the physical motions in line with my prayers (that’s not essential, but for me it helps to increase the conviction that the Spirit is at work).

Sanctified imagination

Metaphors and pictures require imagination, of course. Sanctified imagination (also called visualisation) is powerful! (By “sanctified imagination”, I mean submitting our imagination to God and asking and trusting Him to work through our imagination and our thoughts).

I wish I had realised the power of imagination many years ago! I used to dismiss imagination as unreality and as “playing”. How ignorant of me! It was God who gave us imagination in the first place – to be used in a good and powerfully creative way. It is virtually impossible to think of anything without using the imagination. Thinking and imagination cannot be separated. They are a powerful bridge over which to rise from the natural into the spiritual. An important scripture on this theme is: “For as he thinks [imagines] in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

Many of the instructions given to us in Bible require our imagination, or else they make no sense. For example: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus” (Heb. 12:2) and “Set your mind on things above” (Col. 3:2). If God requires our imagination – which He evidently does – then we can have faith that He will work it in and through us! 

All praise be to our God!

“He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,

Like showers that water the earth.” (Ps. 72:6)

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com and Unsplash.com

By Ann Shakespeare  22 May 2024