Paving Streets of Gold

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

Revelation 21:21

In the months following Hurricane Harvey that hit us in Houston, Texas, I couldn’t shake thoughts of how that storm changed our lives. I remembered watching The Wizard of Oz as a kid and how that monster twister zigzagged across the Kansas landscape, kicking up dust and turning Dorothy’s world upside-down. A passing thought. No big deal, right?

But one morning as I prayed in the quiet of my office preparing the Sunday message, The Wizard of Oz kept tugging at my spirit, but I didn’t know why. It was an old movie, and it had nothing to do with that Sunday’s message. Still, I sat and lingered in prayer. Suddenly, God said, “When you pray, you’re releasing heaven into the earth.” 

His Word dropped into my spirit and settled there. I knew there was more coming, so I pressed in. Yet, nothing. I was like, what else have you got for me, Father? But there was only the seed He’d planted: You’re releasing earthly cares for a heavenly reality.

As I preached my originally planned sermon, the entire vision of the yellow brick road came spilling out faster than I could contain it. I rolled with it as people began to clap, laugh, and shout, “Amen.” I was so excited about what was coming out of my mouth that I was doing the same as the congregation. 

God showed me that when we pray, we release heaven—we essentially “pave” the earth with heaven’s streets of gold. In my mind’s eye, I saw the yellow brick road, and suddenly, everything clicked. As believers, we’re called to “speak life” or to bring heaven down to earth through the Word of God. We bring heaven into the earthly realm by the words we say and the words we pray. It’s an exchange of wishes; our desire for his. 

Remember the words of the Lord’s Prayer? “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus intended those words to be so much more than a nice prayer we rattle off before communion. The Word of God is all-powerful and living, sharper than a two-edged sword. It changes the course of history. It transforms lives. It can even change a wretch like me. The question is, “Have you allowed it to do for you what it has done for me?”

Call to action

What powerful words are you using? Are you calling down heaven or raising up curses with your speech?