A fight to the finish

Jesus came into this world on a mission - to "destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8).

And believers play key roles in God's army.

Prayer is our main weapon in this war.

It was with prayer that Jesus fought off Satan's attempt in the Garden of Gethsemane to turn Christ away from completing his mission.

It was with prayer that Jesus sought the Father's guidance in his efforts to bring healing and to cast out demons from hurting people - victims of Satan.

And the apostle Paul says we are to use prayer with the spiritual armour of God to defeat the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6).

"In its simplest meaning, prayer has to do with a conflict," wrote S.D. Gordon in his book Quiet Talks on Prayer about a century ago.  "Rightly understood, it is the deciding factor in a spirit conflict."

The conflict is between Satan and God.  Satan is the "pretender prince who once was the rightful prince" of our world.  Jesus is the "rightful prince" who is seeking to "win the world back to its first allegiance" to God.

Satan uses any means including force to defend his territory while Jesus uses persuasion to bring the world back to God.

Jesus won the ultimate victory on the cross.  But Satan is fighting a rearguard action until Jesus' return when the devil and his followers will be cast into the lake of fire.

Prayer enables prayer warriors to fight these spiritual battles anywhere in the world.  God works with us as we pray.  So we can pray effectively for people on the other side of the world - people we could reach in no other way.

Gordon said it gave him joy to know that, "in effect, I am standing in Shanghai, and Calcutta and Tokyo in turn and pleading the power of Jesus' victory over the evil one there, and on behalf of those faithful ones standing there for God".

In battling the enemy, the prayer warrior must be definite and persistent because Satan does not yield territory easily.

"Every such man who freely gives himself up to prayer is giving God a new spot on the contested territory on which to erect his banner of victory."

These words from Gordon inspire me to pray with faith and persistence.

Chewing your cud

Chewing your cud is good for cows - and for people who pray.

Stefan Smart, author of Deeper: Contemplative Prayer for Charismatic Christians, says he found his Bible reading and prayer time was turning into a desperate attempt to meet self-imposed goals.

He was galloping through a certain number of chapters of the Bible every day and finding he wasn't retaining much.  Still a young Christian, he was losing his enthusiasm for Bible study.

Then, he decided to read the Bible in smaller chunks and meditate on what he read.  He used this as a springboard to prayer.  He discovered this was an ancient Christian practice called "lectio divina".

Smart says one meaning of the word "meditate" is "to 'masticate" or 'chew' on a passage".

"Rather as a cow will chew the cud in order to extract all its goodness, so we are encouraged to feed on Scripture," he says.

The psalmist David made a practice of meditating: "His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:2)

The suggestion here is that David spent time thinking about what he had read, reflecting in depth on God's words.

"We must be patient when we meditate on the Bible and let the meaning of the word of God dawn on us gradually," Smart writes.

Smart dedicates about a half hour daily to engage in "lectio divina".  Here is his approach:

• He asks the Holy Spirit to speak to him through the Bible reading;
• He reads a Bible passage several times slowly, preferably out loud;
• As he reads, he finds that certain phrases or words stand out for him with particular force;
• He stops and focuses on these phrases or words, aware that God may be using them to speak to his circumstances;
• He resists the impulse to analyze what he has read, but lets the word or words sink in, perhaps whispering them repeatedly to himself;
• If it feels right, he may ask the Lord directly what he wants to say to him through the word or words;
• At this point, he usually wants to respond to God - he speaks to the Lord honestly; and
• He finishes by resting in the presence of the Lord in silence.

Personally, I have found meditating on God's word very rewarding.  Again and again, I have settled on David's words in Psalm 23 - "The Lord is my shepherd" - and chewed on them and prayed them back to God.

It is certainly good to read a book of the Bible to get an overview.  But we can get so wrapped up about reaching a reading target that we forget that God simply wants us to enjoy him.

Chewing is good for us.

Declaring the truth

I remember reading about a boy who dealt with a bully by warning him that if the bully attacked him, he would send his big brother to deal with him.

That was enough to stop the bullying because the bully knew the big brother could beat him up.

In the same way, declaring the truth can stop Satan in his tracks.

Indeed, turning to scripture for God's truth can ignite our prayer lives.  God makes his will known in the Bible.  And we know that when we pray according to God's will, the Lord acts.

Many great Christians and many writers on prayer have underlined the value of praying God's word.  The renowned American evangelist D.L. Moody said his prayer life changed dramatically when he learned to pray the scriptures.  George Muller sought the promises of God in scripture as he prayed for the many orphans in his care in 19th century England.

Of course, Jesus is our best example.

In Luke 4, we read that Satan tried to destroy Jesus' mission even before it began by offering power and glory to the Son of God as long as he gave in to the Devil's temptations.  The evil one even quoted scripture in his attempt to trip up Christ.

But, filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus fended off Satan's attacks by noting that scripture says "you must not test the Lord your God".  Those words stopped Satan and sent him away.

The recent film "War Room" includes a scene where real estate agent Elizabeth Jordan is praying in her prayer room for her marriage.  She has received a message from a friend who saw her husband with another woman.

She begins pleading with God, weeping as she prays.  Then, she sees some scriptures on her prayer room wall, including James 4:7 where the apostle says: "So humble yourselves before God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

So she starts praying with confidence, ordering Satan to leave and telling  him that he has no authority over her home and her marriage.  The reason?  Jesus defeated the devil on the cross.

Knowing the word of God builds faith as the apostle Paul notes in Romans 10:17: "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the good news about Christ."

Neil T. Anderson also pointed out in his book Victory Over the Darkness that declaring God's truth is a potent way of fighting Satan's lies about believers.  We know that one of Satan's greatest weapons is lying about who we are in Jesus Christ.

The devil is the great accuser - trying to undermine our faith in Christ by declaring that we are not good enough for God.

It is true that we are not good enough as human beings - but Jesus is.  His sacrifice for us is what opens the way for us to step into the kingdom of God.

Anderson listed a series of scriptures which speak about who we are in Christ.  These scriptures have played a major role in helping many people who came to Anderson feeling defeated and condemned by Satan.

I turn to these scriptures when Satan accuses me and I find hope and strength.

So, I am joining many others in Christian history in declaring God's truth.

Intimacy before business

Stefan Smart makes a strong case that how we approach God in prayer is as important as our list of requests.

Smart writes in his book Deeper: Contemplative Prayer for Charismatic Christians that we need to prepare ourselves before we pray.  He says we need to "slow down" and open ourselves to God before we rattle off our needs.

I think that makes very good sense.

Often, I come to God with a thousand things on my mind.  That can make me feel hurried and pressured rather than being thankful and restful before the Lord.

But really, what is more important - my prayer list or my relationship with God?

Many believers are sceptical about contemplative prayer, worrying about cultic practices.  As Smart says, Christians must always be watchful about practices that turn our eyes away from Jesus.   But spending time in worship and peace before God is in tune with scripture.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God."  And in Psalm 27, David says that all he wants to do is "to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple".

Jesus places the emphasis on coming to him in our busy lives, learning of him, and finding rest (Matthew 11:28-30).  We can't find rest if we jump into our prayers and fret about all the things we have to do.

I have learned to stop and picture Christ with me as he promised in Matthew 28:20.  I sit quietly in his presence, not speaking to him.  I simply enjoy him in silence.  That alone can calm me down and turn my thoughts to him and away from my concerns.

Smart also talks of this and offers other suggestions for enjoying God's presence such as:

• Simply loosening yourself up by breathing in and breathing out the word "Jesus";
• Listening to quiet music while you think about God;
• Going for a walk in nature.  I sometimes look at the trees and bushes and birds and use them as a prompt to praise God;
• Lighting a candle and thinking about Jesus as the light of the world - I have a friend who does this; 
• Using a technique recommended by Richard Foster - sitting in a relaxed position and turning your palms down to indicate that you are releasing your worries and your palms up "as a symbol of your desire to receive from the Lord";
• Reading a few verses from the Bible out of enjoyment - not for deep study; and
• Meditating upon God's love.

Smart says we should be prepared simply to spend time with God alone even if it means we haven't prayed through our list of needs.  We should ask the Holy Spirit to make us aware of his presence.

"God wants us to get to know him and enjoy his company," he says. "Actually, God wants to enjoy ours, too.  That is the main reason we pray.  Everything else is incidental."