God's army

Prayer warriors are God's army in the battle to advance the kingdom of God.

The current movie, War Room, is a reminder that prayer is vital in the battle against the evil one.  The "war room" is the name attached to her prayer closet by Miss Clara, an elderly prayer warrior, who encourages Elizabeth Jordan to fight for her marriage through prayer.

As I picture it, prayer warriors play a role in every aspect of God's plan to advance his kingdom and to defeat satan.  God is our commander and we are the soldiers, the recruiters, the medics.

Of course, there are good Biblical grounds for seeing the mission to spread the gospel as a war against satan and his kingdom.

The apostle Paul tells us as much in that great passage Ephesians 6:10-18.  There, the apostle says:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

In other words, the real battle is against unseen forces - forces we do not see with our physical eyes.

The apostle John also wrote in 1 John 3:8: "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."

Of course, as believers, we know that Christ won the victory over satan when he died for us on the cross and rose again, defeating death.  But believers are part of the mopping up action that will climax with Christ's return.

In the Ephesians passage, Paul describes the spiritual armour and weapons with which we are to defend ourselves against satan's attacks.  And he finishes with prayer, calling on us to pray on all occasions.

Here is how I see God's army operating in prayer:

• We seek our marching orders from our commander - God - through reading the word, meditating on it, and listening to the Holy Spirit in prayer;
• We equip ourselves with the spiritual armour described by Paul, including prayer;
• We support our "buddies" on the battlefield with the love of God, praying with them when they face trials;
• We invade satan's territory, praying for loved ones, neighbours and friends that they, too, may enter God's kingdom and escape the devil's grasp;
• We care for the wounded through healing prayer, just as medics do on the battlefield; and
• We seek recruits (through prayer) for God's army among those believers who are on the sidelines.  As Jesus said, we need more labourers for the rich harvest around us.

I have been captivated by this image.  For me, God's prayer warriors are esssential to God's work in our world.

Seeing the invisible

The prophet Elisha was so in tune with God’s heart that he could see what was invisible.

That is clear from the great story in 2 Kings 6 where Elisha asked God to reveal to the prophet’s fearful servant the armies of angels ready to defend Israel from invaders from neighbouring lands.  God did as he was asked and the servant’s eyes were opened to the armies of angels ready to act at the Lord’s command.

In his book Forever, Paul David Tripp calls on us to see with “eyes of our heart” - a heart committed to God - rather than relying on our earthly eyes.  If we do, he says the way we look at the world and at eternity will change radically.

Tripp quotes the apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:18:

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

“If you are ever going to be what God created you to be and do what God designed you to do, you must be constantly alert to the world of spiritual realities,” Tripp writes.

We must be “see” God’s presence, the resources of his grace, the truths he has revealed in scripture, and the reality of everlasting life.

Tripp acknowledges that we may feel this is impractical in our busy lives.

So he suggests that we “begin each day by praying that God would give you the eyes to see the spiritual realities that are beneath the physical things that keep you so busy”.

Then, we are to commit ourselves to open our spiritual eyes to what is going on in our lives.  We must believe that God is at work all the time in our lives - and so is the evil one.

For example, we can see that there is a spiritual battle behind parent-child struggles.  As we see this, we are better able to “parent with endurance and grace”.

Or, if we are disappointed with our friends, we need to see that always we have a relationship with a Saviour who “will never be disloyal or turn his back on us”.

“If our eyes are not focused on the physical, and by grace we are able to see what is spiritual, then we can live for things that are eternal.”

In effect, we realize that our lives at work and at home are not for our immediate pleasure and satisfaction but for something greater - for God and our eternal relationship with him.

To get to this point, we must get to know God through prayer and his word.  We must learn to “see” through his eyes. 

Praying Paul's prayers

The apostle Paul’s prayers are great models for praying prayers that please God.

And, if we pray according to God’s will, we can be sure that God will work with power in our lives.

Joyce Meyer discusses her approach to praying Paul’s prayers in her book The Power of Simple Prayer.

Meyer says she is convinced that scripture combined with the power of the Holy Spirit are vital to effective prayer.  As we read and meditate on scripture, God can use the Bible to direct and animate our prayers.

She uses the words of Paul’s prayers for himself and for believers to illustrate what she means.

For example, Paul says in Ephesians 1:17 that he prays his readers will receive “the spirit of wisdom and revelation” from God.

“I believe that asking God for revelation - spiritual insight and understanding - is one of the most important prayers we can pray. . . We need him to reveal and uncover the truths of the Word revealed to us so that we will understand how to pray for ourselves and for others.”

In Ephesians 1:18, Paul says that he prays that the “eyes of your heart” would be “flooded with light so that you can know and understand the hope to which he has called you”.

Meyer turns to these words often as she prays: “God, show me the great hope that I have in you, so that I don’t become discouraged in my life.”

In Ephesians 3:16, Paul says: “I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

Meyer comments: “We need to be saying ‘God, grant me strength and power in my inner man, and let the Holy Spirit indwell me and flow through my personality.’  That kind of prayer will transform us.”

She urges us to look at Paul’s prayers in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians and write them out and study them and let them sink into our spirits.

She suggests that we take the apostle’s prayers and “praying them in a way that makes them personal or applies them to someone else”.

She even gives examples in her book about applying God’s word to specific situations in life.

Very good - and life-transforming - advice.

A boost for our spirits

I got a spiritual boost this morning, reading how people praying together can make a big difference.

Wesley Duewel devoted an entire chapter in his great book Mighty Prevailing Prayer to the power of praying miners in Wales and others in other parts of the world who prayed in groups.

At the request of a Welsh missionary in India, a group of Welsh miners, who had just been swept up by the great Welsh revival of 1904, began praying for revival in India. They met every day just before dawn near the mine pit opening to pray for India.

After some weeks of prayer, they received the message: "Revival has come to India."

Duewel described revival breaking out in an Indian school run by a Christian woman.  The girls went out into the streets to share the good news of Christ and many became believers.

There was a chain reaction as hundreds became believers in other parts of India, too.

Of course, Jesus promised in Matthew 18: 19-20:

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

But sometimes we need a true story to encourage us to pray.

Needless to say, we can find such stories in the Bible.  Moses prayed with Aaron and others and God moved in response to their prayers.

And the early Christians prayed together in the Book of Acts and many put their faith in Jesus and God moved miraculously among them.

I realize that God is calling me to trust his promises even if there is no immediate evidence of answers to prayer.

My part is to trust and the Holy Spirit's part is to act in power.