Category Archives: Prayer

AN ALL-INCLUSIVE PRAYER FOR LIFE

Prayer, ,

Colossians 1:9-12 NLT
[9] “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL and to give you SPIRITUAL WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING. [10] Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. [11] We also pray that you will be STRENGTHENED WITH ALL HIS GLORIOUS POWER so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be FILLED WITH JOY, [12] ALWAYS THANKING THE FATHER. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”

In view of the Colossians’ good report, Paul characteristically pens a prayer for his readers. Although it seems a long, involved request, his prayer is short and simple and expresses his desire for these Colossian believers to experience everything it takes to be a flourishing Christian in a hostile environment.

His five requests are interspersed with the “so that’s” which are the outcome of what God provides in answer to his prayer. Paul’s written prayers are littered with expectations of what his prayers for them will produce.

Let’s examine his prayer in more detail.

  1. Complete knowledge of God’s will.

Knowledge of God’s will is top priority because it is God’s will that should always be paramount in our lives. Since God’s will is expressed in His commands, it shouldn’t be difficult to know what God requires of us.

1 John 3:23 NLT
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

Everything God wants us to do, be, and become are found in these two simple instructions.

  1. Spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Knowledge itself is helpless without understanding. Knowledge and spiritual wisdom and understanding put us on the road to knowing God better. Knowing God as in intimate knowledge of His character and ways are the essence of eternal life.

John 17:3 NLT
[3] “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”

Again, the more we get to know God and understand His ways, the more we will grow in wisdom because wisdom is the application of the knowledge we gain as we learn His ways.

How important this process is in our walk of faith. The Holy Spirit has many functions as our Helper, one of which is to be the Interpreter, making sense of our daily experiences as we traverse life.

  1. Strengthened with all His glorious power.

As much as we need the knowledge of God’s will and the wisdom and understanding to apply it to our daily lives, we need the power to carry out what we learn to do.

This is beyond us as mere mortals. Without God’s enabling, we can no more do God’s will than any unbeliever. Through grace, God’s power works in us to do w hat pleases H.

Philippians 2:12-13 NLT
[12] “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. [13] For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”

This life of faith and obedience is a partnership between God and us. Both partners are essential to pull it off. The spinoff of this partnership is the patience and endurance we need to go the course. There is no reward for those who quit before the end.

  1. Filled with joy.

This race we are called to run is no white-knuckle, nail-biting, worthess endurance exercise just to test our mettle. The prize for those who finish is literally “out of this world”! We don’t run with gritted teeth but with hearts overflowing with joy…there’s a goal so priceless that, to miss it is unthinkable, an unimaginable inheritamce for those who win.

  1. Always thanking the Father.

What better to keep us on track than the goodness of the Father? He has made this all possible; He has done everything for us and in us; He waits at the finish line to reward us for everything He has accomplished. In the end, all the glory belongs to Him.

What a prayer, reaching the heights of God’s desire for His people. Why not pray Paul’s prayer for fellow believers!

A TRUE WORSHIPPER? – 2

Prayer, ,

BECOME THE MESSAGE

However, worship is not an end in itself. Once sin has been atoned for and removed, worship happens when we “see God”. However, out of worship, something even more glorious emerges.

[8] “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” [9] And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ [10] Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.”

[11] Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?” And he replied, “Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland; [12] until the Lord has sent everyone away, and the entire land of Israel lies deserted. [13] If even a tenth—a remnant—survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”

Just as physical union in marriage produces new life, so the union of spirit with Spirit in worship produces life in God’s realm. When a seed is sown, it grows. God’s “seed” is His Word, sown into the “womb” of the worshipper as his spirit blends with the Spirit of God within. As time goes by, the new life of God’s purposes grows.

In the glow of his encounter with the Lord, God’s “seed” impregnated Isaiah’s spirit. He was to go to his people with God’s message of judgment and restoration. The hope of Israel’s destiny grew in the spiritual womb in which God’s seed was planted. So, Isaiah recorded his testimony to that hope in God’s eternal Word. We have the clearest picture of the Messiah in the second section of Isaiah’s prophecies.

Isaiah’s encounter with Lord in the temple had some amazing outcomes. God did not reveal Himself to him to inflate his ego or to satisfy his curiosity. He had a purpose and He chose Isaiah to be a part of His purpose.

God needed a clean vessel. The revelation of His holy Person in the vision Isaiah saw brought the prophet to reality with a bump. He had to realise the costly nature of God’s provision for sin, a sacrifice made with blood. He clearly saw that sacrifice made by God’s Servant, the five “Ebed Yahweh” songs in chapters 40 to 66, culminating in the Servant’s sacrificial death.

Only a “womb” cleansed by a bloody sacrifice would be eligible to receive the seed that would conceive and carry God’s plan to birth in his inner being. So, Isaiah yielded to the purposes of God to become that “womb”.

Isaiah 6:8 NLT
[8] Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Is there a pattern in Scripture for true worship in Isaiah’s experience recorded in Isaiah 6?

There is a similar but less detailed event in Acts 13.

Acts of the Apostles 13:1-3 NLT
[1] “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.
[2] “One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” [3] So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.”

I don’t think God wants us to worship Him to inflate His ego either. He knows who He is. He wants us to “see Him” for one great purpose…to get to know and trust Him implicitly so that we can carry out His will on earth. Why is this so important? God has only one plan, plan A, no plan B…that is, to reveal Jesus to the world through us. He sent Jesus to show the world who He is. Now He is transforming us into the likeness of Jesus to show the world who Jesus is. Only as we trust Him through thick and thin can He perfect His work in us.

1 Peter 1:6-7 NIV
[6] “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

So, Peter affirms that God is restoring His own image in us even through fiery trials.

2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
[3]” His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

God’s plants His “seed” in us, His promises that direct us into what He desires for us.

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
[20]”For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

So, as we encounter the temptations that appeal to our fleshly nature, we have His “seed” in us, His promises, already tested and proved by Jesus, to steady and steer us on the path to holiness.

The entire universe awaits the day when God’s family is revealed, all perfect replicas of His Son.

Romans 8:19-22 NLT
[19] “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. [20] Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, [21] the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. [22] For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

Romans 8:28-30 NLT
[28″And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
[29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

Let’s look at some Scriptures to confirm this purpose.

John 13:34-35 NLT
[34]”So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. [35] Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

This supernatural love for one another, poured into us by the Holy Spirit, is the opposite of the world’s ways. People in the world can’t help noticing the difference.

John 17:23 NLT
[23] “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

Again, unity is so foreign to the world that ungodly people are attracted by this amazing difference in Jesus’ disciples.

How is this possible in ordinary humans?

Acts 1:8 NIV
[8]”But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Being a witness is more than preaching the gospel. It’s through the power of the Spirit in us that we are being transformed into His image. John makes this startling statement…

1 John 4:17 NIV
[17] “This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.”

God’s plan A is to reveal Jesus to the world through His people being Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 NIV
[1] “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? [2] You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. [3] You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

This is powerful stuff! Can you see then, why our faith, honed by discipline and suffering, and purified through worship, is paramount in God’s plan.

Hebrews 12:10-11 NIV
[10]”They (our earthly fathers) disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. [11] No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Hebrews 12:14 NIV
[14] “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

There is something cyclical in God’s way. He works to perfect holiness in us so that we can “see” Him. The more we “see Him”, the more He cleanses us from sin to perfect holiness by planting His seed in us.

Paul agonised over his spiritual children who were in danger of falling away from God’s grace by trying to be righteous through their own efforts. His goal for them, as for us, God’s goal for all believers, is to become the message they were to proclaim, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Galatians 4:19 NLT
[19] “Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.”

So, worship, as glorious as it is, takes us deeper into God’s purpose, to plant His “seed” in us to make us holy so that He can, eventually, put His saints on display for the world to see His Son. This will be the final proof of the validity and efficacy of Jesus’ work.

1 Peter 1:23 NIV
[23] “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

1 John 3:9-10 NIV
[9] “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. [10] This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”

1 Peter 2:9 NIV
[9] “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

In the end, God is vindicated in everything He has ever said and done so that He, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are on display through us.

Isaiah vision leads him to see Messiah’s work…to make people whole and to put God’s glory on display through them.

Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV
[1]” The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, [2] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, [3] and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

Worship prepares us for action but it’s not the action we decide on. It’s the action that follows the instruction of God’s Word because He is moving His plans for the earth towards the consummation of history.

A TRUE WORSHIPPER?

Prayer, ,

WORSHIP HAPPENS

We have been exploring some of the deeper aspects of prayer, culminating in what is called, in the Hebrew language, “tefillah”, translated as “prayer” or even “worship”.

What is worship? Worship is difficult to define or explain. Worship is the attitude of awe and reverence that overcomes us when we contemplate God’s majesty and greatness. Worship is not something we do. Worship happens when we see God in the spirit. “Tefillah” is the essence of prayer, lifting prayer far above our focus on needs and wants to the person of God Himself. “Tefillah” happens when God overwhelms us with His goodness in times of great need.

Isaiah experienced worship in his encounter with the Lord in the temple.

Why did Isaiah go into the temple…to seek the Lord in a time of crisis and uncertainty? Uzziah, the king, was dead. What would happen in God’s land after Uzziah’s death? Was Isaiah afraid that another wicked king would ruin what Uzziah had achieved? What next, Lord?

2 Chronicles 26:3-5 NLT
[3] “Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. [4] He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. [5] Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.”

Uzziah was a good king. He sought the Lord and followed His ways until, as so often happened with godly kings in Judah, pride caused his downfall.

2 Chronicles 26:16-19, 21 NLT
[16]” But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar. [17] Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all brave men. [18] They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will not honor you for this!” [19] Uzziah, who was holding an incense burner, became furious. But as he was standing there raging at the priests before the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead…
[21] So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the Lord. His son, Jotham, was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land.”

With this tragedy in his heart, Isaiah turned to the Lord. What did he want? Reassurance of God’s control? Direction for the future? Answers to his multiple questions? Perhaps he just wanted to be close to the Lord for comfort and security.

Isaiah was not permitted in the Most Holy Place where God’s presence was represented by the supernatural light over the Mercy Seat. That was reserved for the high priest alone and that only once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Where did Isaiah go in the temple? It doesn’t matter because he was instantaneously transported into God’s presence in the unseen realm. What he saw shattered him.

Isaiah 6:1-13 NIV
[1″In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
[2] Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. [3] They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” [4] Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.”

In human words, Isaiah tried to describe his experience, a scene of glory so indescribable that he literally “fell apart”. He saw the Lord, in the temple, but exalted above all and everything else, surrounded by beings of beauty and splendour who chanted endless words of adoration and praise.

The entire scene was of ceaseless sound and movement, all around the Lord, engaged and focused on Him and His glory.

Isaiah felt himself disintegrating into a heap of dirt. He, this distinguished prophet of God, who spoke on His behalf to the nation, was nothing but a filthy sinner. He was helpless and exposed.

This is what the real insight into the Lord does. Peter experienced this revelation of himself when he , “saw” Jesus, the Son of God.

Luke 5:8 NLT
[8] “When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”

Why did Isaiah concentrate his guilt on his lips? Was it because he understood that his lips were the fountainhead of what was in his heart? What came from his mouth issued from deep inside, just as Jesus had said. The entire nation he represented was guilty of having polluted hearts.

[5] Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Despite his guilt, he had seen the Lord. How could he stand in the presence of such majesty? God had a solution…the altar! The burning coal represented a sacrifice consumed, accepted, and effective to deal with sin…a picture of the most powerful and effective sacrifice ever offered, the blood of Jesus!

[6] “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. [7] He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Worship, tephillah, had happened in Isaiah’s experience, perhaps for the first time. He had “seen the Lord” in a vision so glorious that it had overwhelmed and broken him…and changed the course of his life. He was ready to face his destiny with courage and faithfulness because he was convinced of the glory and power of Yahweh to fulfil His Word.

To be continued…

INTERCESSION, FUNCTION OR OFFICE?

Prayer, ,

Let’s chat a little bit about intercession.

Some parts of the church have been taught and have begun to believe that intercession is a specialised part of prayer. They believe that intercessors are people who have been called to a special ministry; they are anointed to be “intercessors” in an office called “intercession”. They are the specialists who dig into the unseen realm to find out what’s going on there.

When crises arise in the family, church, or country, we must call in the “intercessors” to deal with the situation. They will discern and “pray against” the evil spirits causing the problem. They will “take authority” over principalities and powers and command them to leave “in Jesus’ name”. They will pull down their strongholds and and take them captive to obey Jesus!

How Biblical is this teaching and practice? Is intercession a separate office or function in the church, together with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers?

First, nowhere in the New Testament, not even in Paul’s masterful description of the way the church functions, in Ephesians 4, are intercessors part of Jesus’ gifts to the church.

Ephesians 4:11 NLT
[11] “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.”

This group of people Jesus “gifted” to the church are to train the members of the church to use their spiritual gifts for the good of all.
They all work together to move the church as a whole towards spiritual maturity.

Ephesians 4:12-13 NLT
[12] “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. [13] This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

Instead of an office or spiritual gift, intercession is listed as an integral part of the “all kinds of prayer” that Paul urges all believers to pray.

Ephesians 6:18 NIV
[18] “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Paul specifies to Timothy some of the “all kinds of prayer” he is to pray for all people…

1 Timothy 2:1 NIV
[1]” I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people… “

It seems, then, that prayer is the general description of our interaction with God, and “all kinds of prayer” the various ways and purposes for which we engage with the Father.

What is intercession, and who are the intercessors?

An intercessor is one whose specific function is to act as a mediator or go-between, between God and people, to stand in the gap and represent people to God.

A true intercessor must have access to the Father as well as to those he represents. He must understand both parties he represents. He must make a valid case for the one he represents. He must seek God’s favour on behalf of those he represents.

There are examples in Scripture of people standing in the gap for others before God. In fact God is looking for those who will comply but…in Israel’s case,

Ezekiel 22:30 NLT
[30] “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”

Sadly, God was obliged to judge Israel because there was no one fit for the task of interceding for them.

Who, then, are the intercessors God has appointed to represent us before Him?

Only two in all of Scripture qualify, Jesus for us and the Holy Spirit in us.

Jesus qualifies to intercede for us because He will never die again. Unlike the earthly high priests in Israel’s religious syistem, Jesus is our eternal intercessor.

Hebrews 7:23-25 NLT
[23]” There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. [24] But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. [25] Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

Jesus qualifies to represent us to the Father because He is one of us.
He came to earth as a true human, born of a woman and born to live and die under God’s law to free us from its curse.

Galatians 3:10 NIV
[10]” For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

Galatians 3:13 NIV
[13]”Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

Jesus experienced life just as we do.

Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV
[14]”Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. [16] Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Jesus qualifies as our intercessor because He shed His blood for us.

Jesus is qualified to intercede for us because He presents His own blood to the Father as an atoning sacrifice for sin.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT
[5] “For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. [6] He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.”

The Holy Spirit intercedes in us because He takes our bungled prayers and reinterprets them to the Father. He helps to us understand and regulate our walk in righteousness on earth.

Romans 8:26-27 NIV
[26″In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. [27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Can you see, then, that Jesus and the Spirit are the only ones who hold the office of intercessor. This is their ministry on behalf of humans who would otherwise have no right to approach the Father. Jesus stands before God for us; the Holy Spirit represents us to God because He is in us.

All of our “intercession” is part of the “all kinds of prayer” we are to pray as partners with God in His work of perfecting His saints for their role in glory.

How important it is for all God’s people to play our part according the Word and not, first, addiing to Scripture what is not there and, second, wasting time and energy in useless rituals that achieve nothing instead of encouraging all God’s children to partner with Him in managing the earth as He decreed.

Through prayer, we commune with the Father, we speak, He speaks, we learn to discern His will, and we partner with Him, again, through prayer, in His, work of administering His kingdom on earth.

PRAYER WORRIER, PRAYER WARRIOR, OR TRUE WORSHIPPER?

Prayer,

There is a movement in the world-wide church that has inadvertantly divided prayer into what I call “prayer worriers”,
“prayer warriors”, and the rest of us.

“Prayer worriers” make up the bulk of Christians who treat prayer either as a kind of spiritual 911, a 60-minute delivery service, or a repair and maintenance workshop! Prayer is the way to save the situation, get what we want, or fix or get things done. Crises, needs, or concerns drive us to ask God for help. Once the crisis is over and the situation back to normal, we settle down to continue living until…we need God again.

“Prayer warriors,” on the other hand, are those people who have a special calling to engage in spiritual warfare against the devil and his works. They are highly esteemed in the church. They are the intercessors who do the work of prayer for the rest of us so that we can live in relative peace and comfort. They identify and “come against” the powerful spirit beings who rule on earth and mess with God’s people. They do “prayer walks” and “Jericho marches” to “pull down strongholds” which loose the Holy Spirit to do His work! When trouble arises anywhere, we must call in the intercessors! There are even international organisations and prayer houses set up to teach people how to be “intercessors”.

How ridiculous this sounds and what an insult to the Lord and His Word!

What does the Bible teach us about prayer in contrast to this imposition of human nonsense?

First, the church is primarily God’s family on earth. They are sons and daughters of God who have been born again into His family through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. They have been made alive and are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit in them.

Hebrews 2:10-14 NLT
[10] “God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. [11] So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. [12] For he said to God, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.” [13] He also said, “I will put my trust in him,” that is, “I and the children God has given me.” [14] Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.”

There is no hierarchy in God’s family. Jesus is our elder brother and we are all one in Him. There are functions in this family for the benefit of one another, not for anyone to lord it over the rest. Its leaders are servants, not overlords, sacrificially serving its members for the good of all.

Second, God is our heavenly Father who has given us all equal access to Him through Jesus. There are no superior pray-ers in His family.

Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT
[19] “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. [20] By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. [21] And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, [22] let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

From the lips of our supreme model and mentor,
Jesus, came this instruction…

Matthew 6:9 NLT
[9]”Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.”

No earthly father restricts access to himself except to special family members. All God’s children are privileged to approach Him personally and individually. He calls us all to draw near to Him. The only qualification is through Jesus.

John 14:6 NLT
[6] “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

James 4:8 NLT
[8] “Come close to God, and God will come close to you….”

Third, prayer has a much higher purpose than dealing with the devil, which Jesus did at the cross…

Colossians 2:13-15 NLT
[13] “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. [14] He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

… or meeting needs, which the Father does for us because He knows…

Matthew 6:8 NLT
[8]… Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

Matthew 6:31-33 NLT
[31]“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ [32] These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. [33] Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

God is a good Father. He takes care of all our needs without our nagging and pleading.

What is God’s deepest desire for His children?

1 John 1:3 NLT
[3]”We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

Fellowship!

John 4:23-24 NLT
[23]”But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. [24] For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Worship!

Through His plan of redemption, God has opened the circle of His divine family, the Godhead… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…to allow us to participate with them in their love and unity. Through His mercy and by His grace, He calls us to come in.

Needs are only triggers to the greater purpose of fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which leads us to worship God in all the wonder and beauty of His person.

Consider these profound expressions of God’s way.

2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT
[3] “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. [4] And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
[20]” For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

This is the way of the true “prayer warrior”, putting everything that happens in this life into its true perspective.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT
[16] “But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
[17] For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. [18] So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

This is the goal of prayer…not getting things done, or meeting needs, or defeating the devil, or even establishing God’s kingdom on earth. These are all stepping stones and peripheral to God’s one great goal. Worship! God accomplishes everything He plans in the universe and takes care of all our concerns by His sovereign power and wisdom as we worship Him.

Why is worship paramount in every detail of our lives, even to the simple things like eating and drinking?

1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT
[31] “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Worship is not something we do. Worship happens when we do something! Worship happens when we honour God in everything we say and do.

Colossians 3:17 NLT
[17]”And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

Paul stated this truth simply and clearly to the pagans in Athens…

Acts of the Apostles 17:28 NLT
[28] “For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

The more we recognise this truth, as Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing,” the more we acknowledge God in all our ways, the closer we come to true worship.

And the outcome? Moving in harmony and oneness with the Lord, He lives His life and accomplishes His will through us. As Jesus did on earth, our lives become prayer and worship happens!!!

Matthew 4:4, 7, 10 NLT
[4] But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
[7] Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
[10] “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”