Removing the veil

I have sensed for several years that the prince of this world has dropped a veil over the eyes of an elderly friend of mine, preventing him from seeing Jesus as he is.

So I am praying that Jesus will reveal himself in some way to this man who has attended several of the Alpha courses on Christ, but still does not understand and accept the good news.  He hangs on to the forlorn hope that God will judge that he has been good enough to enter the kingdom of heaven.

I know of others, too, who have had difficulty grasping the gospel even when it is explained plainly and graphically.  One woman I know belonged to a women's Bible study group and had heard the gospel many times, but it was only as she was listening to the radio as she was driving one day that everything clicked and she rejoiced in what Christ had done for her.

In my mind, this reinforces the truth that it is the Holy Spirit who brings people into the family of God.  We are called to speak of Jesus and to show God's love to others; but it is the Spirit who changes hearts.  And this may happen in unpredictable ways.

Colin Dye, author of Prayer Explosion: Power for Christian Living, says that Satan is actively trying to subvert Christian efforts to reach those who do not know Christ.

Dye, pastor of Kensington Temple in London, England, speaks from experience.  His church has a vast prayer ministry that has been praying and sharing the gospel in London and Africa with striking results.

"The main reason people reject [the gospel] is because they're not ready," says Dye.  "The ground isn't prepared and there are spiritual forces that are blinding them."

He quotes the apostle Paul who wrote: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)

So the prayer warriors in his church - and there are many of them - include prayer against Satan along with prayers for those who don't know Christ as they evangelize.

As Dye notes, Jesus has given us authority to trample over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19)  But he advises us to pray together - in support of each other - as we pray against Satan's activities in our cities.  We need to uphold each other as Satan can seriously impede us - and hurt us - if we operate alone.

As most of us do, Dye says that he prays for God's mercy on people because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross; for the Holy Spirit to convict people of their need for Christ; and for the Spirit's insight into what to say and do.  And he brings before God the Lord's promises from the Bible.

But he also prays against "strongholds" that may be binding people - the thoughts that dominate the minds of people.  These thought-lives may be so strong that they may affect large numbers of people and be difficult to dislodge in ordinary conversation.

He mentions an evangelistic mission to the African country of Benin some years ago which was plagued with the dark forces of Voodoo.  His church had gone there to help local people present the gospel and found resistance to the message of Christ among non-believers.

The church team spent a lot of time in prayer to break the hold of these evil forces on the people. And, in subsequent trips to that country, hundreds became Christians.

He reports similar prayer stories in London.

Dye notes that if I am to pray effectively for my friend,  I must draw close to God in my own life. If the enemy finds a chink in my armour, he will exploit it to my detriment.  And I need to seek the Spirit's guidance as I pray.

But, above all, I must pray convinced that God is all-powerful and everything is possible with him.

Knowing what to pray

What do you do when you want to pray what God wants?  You ask him.

Sounds simple, doesn't it?  But it often isn't.  We either pray what we want.  Or, we blunder along, forgetting the power of praying according to God's will.

But for John Eldredge, asking God what he should pray about has become second-nature.  And he sees results.

In his book Moving Mountains, Eldredge says he and others were praying for a chronically-ill friend when he realized nothing was going to happen.

"I paused, and quietly in my heart I asked Jesus, What is going on here, Lord? What are we doing wrong?  How do we change the way we are praying? Jesus replied, Ask him how he feels about his body."

So Eldredge asked his friend that question and he answered: "I hate my body."

That was the key to opening the door to healing his friend's body.  As Eldredge writes: "You can't bring blessing into a body while the owner of that body is cursing it."

The next step was working with this man to "break those agreements with self-hatred".  Having done that, the group of friends prayed again for healing and soon the man was feeling well.

Eldredge says that asking Jesus what to pray in any situation is "the step that has brought greater results than all others combined" in his experience.

"If prayer is in fact a partnership, I want to be in alignment with God," he writes.

Of course, this is consistent with scripture.  The apostle John writes in his letter 1 John 5:14-15:

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him."

Still, it is hard to shake myself of the habit of praying for what I want in a situation.  I have to be ready to accept that God knows best - even if the answer is bitter tasting at the time.

Eldredge offers the illustration of someone asking for prayer that his mother and father be reconciled.  That may be what God wants right then - or it may be that the Lord wants something else done first.  Perhaps there are character issues to be dealt with before reconciliation.

We need to remember that Jesus wants to talk with us as he says in Revelation 3:20.  He is knocking on the door of our hearts, waiting to be invited in.

Eldredge always begins his prayer time, asking for God's guidance.  He suggests we begin with simple, specific questions like "Should we invite our neighbours for dinner this weekend" rather than big life-changing ones like "Whom should I marry?" or "Should I quit my job tomorrow?"

Then, he urges us to find a quiet place where we can relax in God's presence without distractions.  He will ask a small question and then repeat it so his mind stays focused.  He does not demand "Yes" or "No" answers, but opens his mind to the still, small voice of God.

When he can, Eldredge begins his prayer time by consciously consecrating himself to God - spirit, emotions, heart, mind, will and body - and asks the Holy Spirit to fill him.  Then, he seeks God's guidance for his prayers and looks for breakthrough - a sign that God is answering the prayer.

This makes a lot of sense to me.  I can think of two friends I have been praying about for several years without outward results.  Have I been praying stubbornly the wrong way?  Does God have something else in mind for them?

I will ask God and start listening to what he says.

Mind games

How our minds think plays a big role in how we connect with God in prayer.

And Peter Lord, author of Hearing God, says that we can change the way we think to better hear our Lord.

Lord declares that "we will inevitably become what we think about all day".  That can be a problem if our thinking is wrong.  It is especially a problem if we base our prayers on wrong thinking.

"My attitude at any given time is determined by my thoughts," he writes.  "Whether I am afraid, loving, anxious, peaceful or filled by any other such feeling, it is all dependent on my thoughts."

The solution, Lord says, is to fill our thoughts with truth - truth about God and from God.

The writer of Hebrews said long ago that we believers should be "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith". (Hebrews 12:2)

And, in his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul said: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

Lord says that we often draw our thoughts from our subconscious where we bury our experiences of life.  Frequently, we interpret our experiences wrongly so that when we turn to our past to base current decisions, we make mistakes - sometimes serious mistakes.  If our reasoning is founded on bad thinking, we will come to faulty conclusions.

But the author offers hope.

"How do you get the air out of a glass? By filling it with water.  How do you get rid of wrong and untrue thoughts? By filling your mind with true and right thoughts from God."

The mind is able to receive new information - sometimes changing long-held opinions, writes Lord.

"When we recognize and accept the appropriate thoughts as truth from God, we repent.  We change our minds."

But if we are to get God's input, we have to spend time with God - reading his word, meditating and conversing with him.

That is the big issue with me and with other Christians, too.  Lord is calling us to spend every waking hour in talking with God and listening to him.

That may seem impossible, but Christians have done it through the ages.  One great example is Brother Lawrence, a 17th century French monk whose prayer life is described in a little book called The Practice of the Presence of God.

Brother Lawrence knew from the Bible that Jesus was always with him.  So, in the ordinary course of daily chores, he spoke with Christ, sharing his needs and worshiping the Lord.  He did everything - even the jobs he disliked - out of love for Christ.

It took discipline for him to make this a daily habit.  But eventually it became second-nature to him and this humble monk had a profound impact on the people around him.  People came to him for spiritual counsel.

Frank Laubach, an American educator and missionary, developed what he called "The Game With Minutes" after reading The Practice of the Presence of God.  The game suggests practical ways we can be in God's presence for at least one minute every hour - either imagining Christ with us or sharing thoughts with him or praying for others.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-26, Paul says we are to train hard as we run the race of life to win a reward from Christ in heaven.

I want to have a close relationship with God.  My challenge is to be disciplined and open my mind and thoughts to the Lord throughout the day.

Finding God's path

Peter Lord, a young pastor of a thriving Florida church, was certain God wanted him to move with his young family to New Orleans to go to theological seminary.

The deacons in his church tried to discourage him.  They pointed out that the church was going through a revival and he had no savings, no job and a young family to care for.  He would have to find a job in New Orleans to pay his way through seminary.

But he and his wife were convinced that, after months of prayer, God was directing Lord to attend seminary.  So, filled with faith, he left for New Orleans to find a job and a place to stay for his family.

Decades later, Lord described in his book Hearing God what happened the day he arrived in New Orleans. He landed a job, registered for school, and found a place to live.

He telephoned his wife and she told him that a church from Mississippi had called to say they wanted him as pastor.  What a day!

In his book, Lord says that "when God speaks, you have faith".

"It's a faith you cannot explain to others. It's just there.  As long as you reflect on [God's] words, the faith remains."

Lord used this example as an illustration of how the results of our conversations with God are vital to understanding what God wants in our lives.  Faith is one of the results.

As I mentioned in a blog post "Two voices" a few weeks ago, Lord notes that it is often hard to sort out what God wants amid the thoughts that whirl through our minds.

He points out that Satan is trying to discourage us by pointing out our unworthiness or exploiting our weaknesses.  But God's voice is loving and encouraging.  When the Holy Spirit points out sins, God also extends mercy when he turn back to him.

Of course, whatever we feel God saying must be checked with the scriptures - God's written words.  It is the Spirit who applies God's words to our particular situations.

Lord lists several things that can confirm God's direction for our lives:

• God's voice brings peace: There is an internal peace that surpasses understanding;
• God's voice brings sympathetic understanding: We can deal with difficult people with understanding and sympathy;
• God's voice brings hope: Hope is confidence in God even when the times are tough;
• God's voice creates and sustains faith: When we hear from God, faith rises in our hearts - we believe; and
• God's voice produces gratitude: We are filled with gratitude and praise to our God for what he has done and is doing.

I need to remember this when I seek God's guidance in my own life.

Consecration and prayer

John Eldredge begins his workday by consecrating himself and his workplace and every minute of his day to the Lord.

And that is the way we should begin our prayer time, says the author of Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence and Authority.

"It is the fresh act of dedicating yourself - or your home, a relationship, a job, your sexuality, whatever needs God's grace - deliberately and intentionally to Jesus, bringing it fully into his kingdom and under his rule."

The idea of consecration or dedication is not new.

As Eldredge points out, there are instances in the Bible where God called on his people to consecrate themselves before a great event such as the Lord coming down on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:9-11)

He illustrates the importance of consecration by referring to Acts 13 where the young church at Antioch spent time in prayer and fasting before dedicating Barnabas and Saul as missionaries.

He suggests Barnabas and Saul "dedicated themselves afresh to God; they renounced every way they had wandered from him; they presented their lives, their gifting, and their calling completely to Jesus, to be filled again with his Spirit, to be his and his alone".

In a sense, that is what the apostle Paul commands us to do in Romans 12:2: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is your spiritual worship."

Why is it important to do this in prayer?

As I think about it, I cannot enter God's throne room with a mind and heart determined to disobey him.  God wants me to have a willing heart.

I'm unlikely to hear God if my mind is focused on other things - some good, some bad.

If I consecrate myself to God every day, I have a better chance of knowing how to pray according to God's will.  And that is the key to answered prayer. (1 John 5:14-15)

Consecration certainly leads to effective followers of God.  The apostle Paul is a great example, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to Europe while overcoming great obstacles, beatings, and imprisonment.

And I am sure the disciples of Jesus were consecrating their lives to God while praying in the days leading up to the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Lots for me to think about and pray about.