A letter to followers of Christ to offer an introductory lesson in clearing the air for an open heaven. For the Lord has said there is a need to clear the air at times to get into the spirit. By doing this, it is an aspect of preparing the way of the Lord and allowing God’s blessings to flow in greater measure to us on earth (Lk 3:4,6).

Ephesians 6:11,12 (NLT)

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 2:1,2 (AMP)

And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].

There are times when we need to clear the air so that we can receive more fully of God from an open heaven. We have authority in Christ to do this, and when we are clearing the air by putting an end to rampant demonic activity, we are actively preparing the way of the Lord for heaven’s blessings to rain down on earth.

Romans 8:9 tells us we are not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in us. We are children of God, born of the spirit as God Our Father is the Father of spirits (Heb 12:9). We are then meant to be mindful of the spirit realm that we are also alive in.

The Apostle Paul prayed that we would know this truth and walk in the reality of it. Ephesians 1:15,23 AMP tell us what he prayed:

and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength which He produced in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above] every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and world but also in the one to come. And He put all things [in every realm] in subjection under Christ’s feet, and appointed Him as [supreme and authoritative] head over all things in the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills and completes all things in all [believers].

Paul wanted us to walk in the revelation of the truth of who we are in Christ with our spiritual eyes open to the heavenly realms as God put all things in every realm in subjection to Christ.

God never intended us to be as the blind leading the blind, but He fashioned us to see both in the natural and in the spirit, our spiritual eyes and sight awakening in proportion to our knowledge of Him through His word (Mt 15:14). As it is written:

Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually] (3 John 2 AMP).

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you] (Rom 12:1,2 AMP).

Ephesians 2:6 tells us that Father God raised us up together and made us to sit together in Christ in heavenly places. How then are we seated in heavenly places and yet our bodies are occupying space on the earth? It is that we are bi-located in that our spirit can occupy a realm of the spirit beyond our natural realm into where Christ dwells.

These scriptures in Ephesians imply there is a higher heavenly place that exists above the one occupied by the prince of the power of the air. 2 Corinthians 12:2 makes a clear statement of a higher heavenly realm and confirms the existence of a third heaven where God dwells. As the Prophet Isaiah says of the Lord, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; [It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in” (Is 40:22 AMP).

All throughout scripture the Bible refers to “heavens” as plural. That means there is more than one heavenly realm, and since it is almost always the same Hebrew word for “heavens” used in the Old Testament, it must be interpreted in context to know which heaven is being referred to.

We can see God dwells in a higher heaven because we see this implied in scripture. We know every good and perfect gift comes from above and comes down from the Father of lights who is in heaven (Jm 1:17). We see that the angels of God ascended and descended from heaven on what appeared to Jacob to be a ladder or stairway (Gen 28:12). We hear in Paul’s prayer for believers in Ephesians that Christ is seated in heavenly places far above all the enemy, and we are seated far above the enemy with Christ at the right hand of the Father (Eph 1:20,21; 2:6). We see the Holy Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and coming upon Jesus when He was baptized in water by John the Baptist (Mt 3:16). Jesus Himself sometime after His resurrection ascended into heaven while His disciples stood there and watched Him going up before their very eyes (Acts 1:9,11). Jesus told His disciples to wait for the promise of the Father, and on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them from out of heaven (Acts1:4,5; 2:1,2). We have a High Priest who has passed through the heavens and sympathizes with our weaknesses, and thus we are invited to come boldly in the spirit to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and help in time of need (Heb 4:14,16).

Wonderful things from God come to us from His heaven! Scripture has a lot to say about God’s blessings coming from heaven. He tells us to bring our tithes to our churches, “so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of host, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it” (Mal 3:10).

As a side note, if things of the Old Covenant are not explicitly ended in the New Covenant, then they are still to be continued today. Tithing is still part of the New Covenant. If this is an uncomfortable truth, consider then giving all your possessions as the early church did instead. Since that was most certainly practiced and sited in the New Testament (Acts 4:32,36).

Speaking as God’s voice the Prophet Isaiah said, “Rain down, O heavens, from above, let the clouds pour down righteousness [all the blessings of God]; Let the earth open up, let salvation bear fruit, and righteousness spring up with it; I, the Lord, have created it” (Is 45:8 AMP).

What wonderful blessings of God await us when we are experiencing an open heaven! It is in this realm that we find what we need from God’s supply in heaven and bring it down to manifestation on earth. As such, God calls us up higher to this realm if we would prepare ourselves to ascend. We must purify our hearts and live with clean hands to ascend into this place of reigning and privilege (Ps 24:3,5).

At times it is a fight to keep before us an open heaven from God because our adversary the devil seeks to thwart the will of God on the earth. He means to prevent all the blessings of God from the third heaven manifesting on earth, but an open heaven is worth contending for!

Doctrinally, Jesus is the only door into the spirit realm or into His heavenly realm (Jn 14:6; Jn 10:7,10). The third heaven is void of demonic activity, and not all things in the heavenlies are from the Lord. We must learn to discern. The prince of the power of the air exists in a different heavenly realm, one we would refer to as the first heaven. The second heaven is referred to on the fourth day of creation which exists out in space beyond earth’s atmosphere where the sun and stars are (Gen 1:14,19).

That would mean then Satan and the demonic are limited to where they are permitted to roam (Mt 12:43; Lk 11:24; 1 Pt 5:8). We can recall the “I wills” of Lucifer. This portion of scripture shows Lucifer aspiring to enter into the third heaven as he was clearly underneath the clouds desiring upwards.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shall be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit (Is 14:12,15 KJV).

Jesus recalled this account to His disciples in Luke 10:17,20 NKJV:

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Satan was already here on earth when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden where He commanded him to tend, guard and keep it (Gen 2:15 AMPC). Failure to adequately guard against this enemy resulted in the serpent entering the garden, which led to Adam and Eve sinning against God.          

Satan is the prince of the power of the air, and he has access as the god of this world to the heavenly realm around earth. We know that the atmosphere around earth is comprised of air in this first heaven. From here demons can congregate and cause havoc if they are permitted to. This was the case when the enemy held back the Prophet Daniel’s answer when an angel was sent to him from the third heaven. Daniel chapter 10 is where we find this account in scripture, and verses 12,14 tell us:

Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

The enemy was trying to hold back the blessings of God from heaven. The enemy failed but did succeed in hindering its arrival. The archangel Michael had to clear the way for God’s answer to arrive. By this we also see that upon Daniel’s initial prayer, his fasting pleasant foods, meats and wine for 21 days brought forth the angel Michael who freed up the angel on assignment to deliver this message to Daniel (Dan 10:2,3). Fasting and prayer will clear the way and can be especially useful when we are standing alone and needing breakthrough. Some things simply will not move apart from prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21).   

Another way we can clear the air is by using our authority in Christ. Jesus gave us the keys of the kingdom that whatsoever we bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatsoever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven (Mt 16:19). As we take dominion on earth from the authority we have in Christ as humans who are created in God’s image and likeness, we can bind and forbid demonic activity in the first heaven or air around us (Gen 1:26). We can restrict demonic activity in Jesus’ name.

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn 14:13,14 NKJV).

The Greek word “ask” that is used in these scriptures quite literally means “demand.” The Lord intends that we exercise authority over the enemy. For even the seventy rejoiced that the demons were subject to them in Jesus’ name (Lk 10:17).

We can also clear the air on the authority of God’s Word. We can take scriptures such as Psalm 97:3 and declare that His “fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries on all sides” in the heavens around us. Declaring God’s word will loose ministering spirits of fire to go out and consume the Lord’s enemies in the spirit around us. As Hebrews 1:7 tells us God’s angels are winds and flames of fire who can clear the air and consume God’s enemies. “Are not all the angels ministering spirits sent out [by God] to serve (accompany, protect) those who will inherit salvation? [Of course they are!]” (Heb 1:14 AMP). We have inherited salvation in Christ, and the angels will respond to the word of the Lord we release from out of our mouths (Ps 103:20).

Another way we can clear the air is when we fix our eyes on the Lord to minister to Him. As we fix our hearts on the Lord and engage in praise and worship, His presence will fill the atmosphere around us and His enemies will melt like wax in His presence. “The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord” (Ps 97:5a). Jesus taught us mountains are obstacles that are meant to be removed and if we have faith we can cast them into the sea and the obstacles would disappear (Mk 11:23). When we remove mountains it is one way that we prepare the way of the Lord that He might have a clear pathway to get to us.

A voice of one is calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles]; Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised, and every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged places a broad valley. And the glory and majesty and splendor of the Lord will be revealed, and all humanity shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it” (Is 40:3,5 AMP).

We can also contend in prayer to clear the air until we get the note of victory that heaven has broken through. “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage” (Acts 4:31 AMPC). It was clear when heaven broke through for them in prayer, and the Holy Spirit will bear witness with us when we have cleared the way and have broken through as well.

Finally, it’s important to point out that His heaven above is not the only open heaven God desires. We understand that no demonic being can enter in God’s heavenly realm through Christ (Jn 10:7,10). We are in Christ and as the temple of the Holy Spirit we too are His doorway into manifesting His blessings on the earth as it is in heaven (1 Cor 6:19). Jesus said rivers of living water will flow from our innermost being if we thirst for Him (Jn 7:37,39 AMP). In this way heaven does not just come down, but it comes through us when we are yielded vessels as Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Mt. 10:7,8 AMP). He said that those who believe in Him the works that He did we will do also and even greater works because He was going to God Our Father who is in heaven (Jn 14:12). This is a way we manifest heaven on earth. From this aspect, we are directly responsible for how much of heaven, or God, is able to flow through us into the earth. No one can forcefully prepare us to manifest heaven everywhere that we go. We are to offer ourselves up for His works.

A Prayer for Us All

Father God,

I pray that You would be glorified in us. That Jesus Christ would be exalted and lifted up in our lives. I pray that we would be fully yielded to the Holy Spirit, and that we would take dominion and be as Joshua’s in the earth. That we would claim every place the soles of our feet tread as given to us for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Josh 1:3). Help us to successfully live under an open heaven, ever mindful of when opposition comes. That we would rise up and clear the air of all demonic activity nullifying it and rendering it void and inactive on the authority of Jesus’ name. Help us to take our place in Christ and help us to go into the spirit to encounter You, as You so graciously desire us to. Let us never miss out on any door in the spirit realm that You have opened to us, or any blessing You’ve intended to be poured out from heaven upon us so that we may walk in the fullness of fellowship with You every day.

In Jesus name. Amen.