Courts of Heaven Prayer - Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Shalom, friends. My name is Chadwick Harvey. Thank you so much for joining us today as we enter into the Courts of Heaven on the final day of the Ten Days of Awe — the Feast of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This feast concludes the season that runs from Passover to Yom Kippur, from individual salvation to national salvation. As we enter into the Courts of Heaven, the books will be sealed today, and then we will move into the Feast of Tabernacles five days from now.

Thank you very much, everybody, for being with us. I know it is early for most of us — we normally come on at night — and I appreciate everyone for choosing to gather today rather than last night. It was a powerful time last night, and I am grateful for everyone who joined us. We continue now through sundown tonight.

We are going to enter into the Courts of Heaven right now for those who want to join us. Today's session will be approximately an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes of prayer, and then we will adjourn to enjoy the rest of the day individually. We will also be taking the bread and the wine during the prayer. If you have your elements, go ahead and get those ready. We will take the bread and the wine at the point in the prayer when we are repenting.

We will begin with a shofar blast, and then we will enter into a very intimate time with the Lord.

For those who are not familiar with the Courts of Heaven, let me explain it briefly, as we find this concept throughout the Bible. We know the story of Job, where Satan was in the throne room with Yah and there was a court session in which Yahweh permitted Satan to test Job. That is a Courts of Heaven scene. We also see it when Yeshua told Peter, "Satan has desired to have you and to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you." This gives us a great understanding of the Courts of Heaven, because Yeshua was interceding for Peter even while He was on this earth. There are many such examples in Scripture that illuminate both the reality of the Courts of Heaven and the importance of intimacy with Him.

What we are going to do today is simple: we are going to pray the Scriptures. That is all. We will set ourselves in the Courts of Heaven scripturally, and you will see the magnitude of the prayer session once we open the Word and place ourselves within it. I believe this is something important to do year-round, but it is especially vital during the Ten Days of Awe, during Passover, and during all the feast days — to enter into His courts, to praise His holy name, to cleanse and purify ourselves, to ask for forgiveness, and then to ask for those righteous rendered verdicts.

Yeshua gives us a perfect example of this. During the forty days and forty nights of temptation in the wilderness, when Satan came against Him, Yeshua responded every time by quoting the Word of God: "It is written. It is written. It is written." And Satan left. He gives us the perfect pattern for how to defeat the enemy — by quoting the Word of God. The Father hears all of our prayers regardless, but to put power behind our prayers, we must have the Word of God alongside the Holy Spirit. Those are the two great witnesses, and there is no greater witness than that. Sometimes we forget to place the Scriptures behind our petitions, and that is precisely what gives us the power in the Courts of Heaven to receive those righteous rendered verdicts. He loves it when we quote His Word back to Him, just as He was pleased when Yeshua quoted the Word during the temptation. Every single time, Yeshua said, "It is written," and the enemy left.

So we will enter into the Courts of Heaven and begin to pray. We will take the bread and the wine during the repentance portion of the prayer session. There will also be a period of about fifteen minutes in which I will step out of the way and let you intercede for yourselves, your families, whoever is on your heart, and the nation in which you live — because all nations need prayer at this time.

Let us enter into this time with an open heart, a pure heart, and a clean heart. Let us place ourselves before the altar with Yeshua, before the Father, and ask for those righteous rendered verdicts. Once we repent, the bondage of whatever may be upon us can be broken off by the power of the Word of God. I want to encourage you: when we get to the individual prayer portion, have your specific points ready to pray, and have two or three scriptures with each one to back up and complete the petition.

Thank you so much for joining us today. I know this is sometimes a workday, as most companies and corporations do not observe Yom Kippur. If you are watching this later, that is perfectly fine — go through it at the time you are watching, and it is still valid. If you do not have your bread and wine elements, no worries; simply be with us in spirit.

Now, let us begin. First, we will say the Shema and position ourselves to enter into the Courts of Heaven, and then we will move into the Amidah. If you are not familiar with the Amidah, it is in the New Testament — in Acts chapter three. What we are doing is essentially what the disciples did. It is approximately a seven-minute prayer on its own. We will enter into this time with prayer, with Scriptures, with the Amidah, with the Lord's Prayer, and we will enter into the Courts of Heaven and let it flow — stepping out of the way, letting the Scriptures lead, and receiving from Yah rather than from man.

As we enter, here is the calling — the creed for all of us:

*Hear, O Israel: Yah is our God. Yah is Echad. You shall love Yahweh with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might. These words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as a sign between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.*

This is the creed. It is sung and recited every Shabbat in Messianic congregations and synagogues. This is the heart position He wants us to have: to hear Him, to acknowledge that He is our Lord, our Elohim, that He is Echad — He is one — and to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and might. These words commanded today are to be right on our hearts, which is the new covenant. We are to teach them diligently to our children and speak of them in every setting of our daily lives — when we sit in our house, when we walk along the way, when we lie down and when we rise up. We are to bind them as a sign on our hands and between our eyes, and write them on the doorposts of our houses and on our gates.

This is a very important time to hold that creed and to understand that He wants us to be in alignment with Him. He wants us to be one with Him. He wants us to enter into His courts, praise His holy name, cleanse ourselves, and simply be with Him in fellowship. The Feast of Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year, and this is why we go through this every year — to come into alignment with Him.

Now we will sing the Amidah, the Standing Prayer. If you are not familiar with it, it is in Acts chapter three. Most people do not realize it is there because of mistranslations. The disciples had received the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two — after the crucifixion and the resurrection, the Holy Spirit was poured out. Many people believe that the Jewish prayers and practices were done away with at that point, but the very next chapter, Acts three, records that the disciples went to the temple and prayed the Amidah.

In most English translations, verse one reads, "One afternoon at three o'clock they went for the hour of prayer." But if we do not know that this refers to the Mincha prayers — the Amidah — we will miss the meaning. The fuller and more accurate rendering is as follows:

*One afternoon at three o'clock, the hour of the Mincha prayers, as Kefa and Yochanan — Peter and John — were going up to the temple, a man crippled since birth was being carried in. Every day they used to put him at the Beautiful Gate of the temple so that he could beg from those going into the temple court. When he saw Kefa and Yochanan about to enter, he asked them for money. But they looked intently at him, and Kefa said, "Look at us." The crippled man fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. And Kefa said, "I don't have silver, and I don't have gold, but what I do have, I will give to you. In the name of Messiah Yeshua of Nazareth — walk." And taking hold of him by his right hand, Kefa pulled him up. Instantly his feet and ankles became strong, so that he sprang up, stood a moment, and began walking. Then he entered the temple court with them, leaping and walking.*