Seek God's vision

Vision is as important in praying for the world around us as it is in everything else.

Great revivals in history began small with God planting a hope and desire in a few praying people's hearts.  As the movements grew, the visions expanded.

Now, we are at a time when the body of Christ needs a vision for the world - starting with our own small worlds.

I have been re-reading Flames of Revival: Igniting the Hearts of a Nation through Prayer by Elana Lynse.  It's a book written in 1989 about great revivals through history, beginning in the Bible and continuing to the late 1800s.

Towards the end of the book, Lynse runs through all the discouraging things that are going on in our Western society today - anti-God movements, drugs, unfaithfulness among Christians and so on.

But she is not discouraged.  She builds her faith by picturing how revival - spiritual renewal - could change the city she lives in.

I need that faith.  So do other believers.

I believe it is God who gives us the desire to see our world transformed for Christ.  And then, it is up to us to seek God's vision for our little corner of the earth.

An example is the young Christian church in Antioch in Acts 13.  The people were praying and fasting - seeking God.  God responded by telling them to commission Paul and Barnabas to carry the message of Christ to the broader world.

Always, Paul sought God's direction before moving on to his next destination.  In one case, God even stopped Paul from doing what he thought he should be doing - evangelizing in the province of Asia.  Instead, the Lord gave him a vision to enter Macedonia, taking Christ to Europe.

It is inspiring to see how the Holy Spirit has moved around the world over the years since Christ's birth, death and resurrection.

Lynse describes what happened in what she calls "The Prayer Century" - the 1700s - a time when the great French philosopher Voltaire predicted the death of Christianity in 30 years.

Many churches had become corrupt and a lot of clergymen did not believe in the power of God.  There was widespread drunkenness, robbery, violence, and oppression.

But God was at work in Europe and North America.

In Germany, Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf sheltered a persecuted Christian sect - the Moravians - on his estate and launched a 100-year daily prayer vigil for evangelizing the world.  The Moravians sent missionaries throughout the world - including the American colonies.

One of those affected by the Moravians was John Wesley who launched the Methodist revival in England in the mid-1700s along with George Whitefield.  Wesley was a strong advocate of the power of prayer.

Later in the century, a "concerts of prayer" movement began in England.  A group published a short tract, calling for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, church unity, and prayer for the worldwide advancement of God's kingdom.  One denomination after another dedicated the first Monday of every month to prayer for revival.

This led 23 ministers of New England churches to band together in prayer for outreach to the world.  Revival broke out which spread rapidly to other parts of the young United States. 

As revival sped throughout the U.S., society changed.  Drunkenness, violence and robbery declined.

Lynse's book details the impact of other revivals over the years, always at times when the outlook looked grim.

I sense that a growing desire to pray in the Western world may be a step towards another revival.

May it be so.

United, targeted, passionate prayer

James Banks tells a story that illustrates the power of united, targeted and passionate prayer.

The great American evangelist D.L. Moody launched a series of meetings at Cambridge University in the fall of 1882 and was nearly laughed out of town by the Cambridge students.

“The crowd heckled Moody’s simple speech, mimicked his down-to-earth mannerisms, and poked fun at Ira Sankey, Moody’s song leader,” writes James Banks in his book The Lost Art of Praying Together. “One Cambridge student, Gerald Lander, sneered, ‘If uneducated men will come to teach the varsity, they deserve to be snubbed.’”

The first two nights were very discouraging and Moody later said he felt like had “come up against a brick wall”.

Before the third night, he called together a group of 150 mothers to pray.  Moody said later: “Mother after mother, amidst her tears, pleaded for the young men of the university.”

That night, 52 young men gave their lives to Christ.  One of them was Gerald Lander, the scoffer.  He later became a missionary to China.

The mothers had a definite target - the salvation of the young students - and they prayed passionately together.  And God moved.

It reminds me of one of my favourite Bible passages - Acts 12:6-25 - where the young church prayed for their leader, the apostle Peter, imprisoned just after another leader, James, had been executed.

Peter was lying asleep in a jail cell, chained to his guards, while others in the church were praying fervently for him.  The apostle was to be put on trial by King Herod.

Suddenly, an angel appeared in the cell in blazing light and struck Peter on the side to wake him up. Then, he broke the chains binding Peter, led him right out of the jail through open doors and past guard posts and into the city.

At that point, the apostle realized this was not a dream - he was free!

Peter went to the home where many of his friends were praying for him.  At first, they thought he was a ghost - it was too amazing to believe.

Banks tells another story of organized, continual prayer by the Metropolitan Church in London, England under the famous Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon.

“Spurgeon’s church practiced prayer strategically, with united prayer permeating the life of the church at multiple levels,” Banks writes.

People prayed in different groups for specific needs - spiritual protection for the elders, spiritual growth for the Sunday School, for the associated Bible College.  And they had a regular prayer meeting of thanksgiving.  Each member was also asked to set aside a special day to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In addition, Spurgeon listed items for prayer and these were prayed for in different groups spread throughout London.

Finally, they met for a week of prayer at the outset of the new year.

Spiritual growth - not numerical growth - was Spurgeon’s measuring stick for his church - the largest in London.

“If we restrain prayer, we restrain the blessing,” he said. “Our true success as churches can only be had by asking it of the Lord.”

What was true in the days of Peter, D.L. Moody and C.H. Spurgeon remains true today.

Persistent Pleading

Is it right to constantly plead your case before God?  Won’t he get irritated like any earthly parent who is hounded by a persistent child?

Yes, it is right, says Jesus.  And no, he won’t get irritated.

In fact, Wesley L. Duewel says in his book Mighty Prevailing Prayer that pleading in prayer is fundamental to answered prayer - if it is according to God’s will.

Jesus touches on the importance of persistent pleading in his story about the widow who plagued an unjust judge with repeated demands for justice in her case (Luke 18:1-8). The judge eventually gives in reluctantly to her incessant petitions.

Unlike the unjust judge, Christ says that God is glad to answer his children’s requests.

Duewel says that successful pleading depends above all on your relationship with God.  

“Be sure that you are arguing for that which glorifies God, for the extension of God’s kingdom and in accordance with God’s will.”

You can be bold with your arguments before the Lord once the Holy Spirit and God’s word in the scriptures confirm that your desire is God’s will.

“Presenting your case and detailing your arguments not only pleases God, it helps you understand the need more completely, moves your compassion, strengthens your determination, and arms you with greater holy hunger,” writes Duewel.

He recommends the following ways for presenting your case before God:

• Plead the honour and glory of God’s name.  Will God’s name be glorified if he grants your request? “The glory of God should be the prime motive in all you do.”
• Plead God’s relationship to you.  You can approach God confidently, knowing that he created you; he redeemed you; he is your helper; and he is your Father.
• Plead God’s attributes.  These include God’s righteousness, his faithfulness, and his mercy and compassion.
• Plead the sorrows and needs of the people.  People like Daniel and Nehemiah in the Bible “identified with people, especially the people of God, in their sufferings”.  God feels the sufferings of his people, so this plea reaches his heart.
• Plead the past answers to prayer.  Point out how God has worked in the past, praising him for what he has done.
• Plead the word of God and the promises of God.  Duewel notes how Abraham, Jacob and Moses among others, underlined what God had already promised as they outlined their requests to the Lord.
• Plead the blood of Jesus. “There is no more prevailing argument we can bring before God than the sufferings, blood, and death of his Son.”

A great way to guide effective prayers!

Being honest with God

The Israelites were fed up with manna every day and Moses was afraid for his life.

So, Moses complained to God - and God answered supernaturally.  He sent meat - quail.

In a sense, the story in Numbers 11 is funny.  But Moses took the mini-revolt seriously.  He knew how his followers felt about the endless flow of the same-old manna God had sent from heaven to feed the several million Israelites in the barren desert.

I have been thinking about this story since our pastor highlighted it in a sermon last Sunday.  For me, it illustrates the importance of going to God with every need and being honest in prayer.

As our pastor pointed out, it wasn't possible to grow food in the desert.  So, the Lord dealt with the Israelites' hunger by sending every morning a fresh batch of manna which the Bible says looked like resin and tasted like coriander seed.

After a while, the people started angrily saying: "If only we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost!  Also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.  But we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"

The people got so riled up that they stood in the doorways of their tents and wailed.

Moses was naturally bothered by this and he knew the Lord was upset with the people and their ingratitude.  He knew how the Lord felt because he was always in close touch with God.  He spent hours in the Tent of Meeting praying and receiving guidance.

The Israelite leader then emptied his feelings to God.

He asked the Lord: "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?  What have I done to displease you that you have put the burden of these people on me?"

He asks God where he can get meat for the people.  He declares he can't do it on his own.  And he goes so far as to say to the Lord: "Please go ahead and kill me . . . and do not let me face my own ruin!"

God answers immediately with a divine solution.  He tells Moses to gather 70 elders in the Tent of Meeting so that he can bestow the power of the Spirit so that they can help him bear the burden of leadership.

And, amazingly, he arranges a giant wind to blow in quail so they lie in heaps about three feet high.  The people have their meat but there are later consequences for their ingratitude.

What do I take away from this prayer story?

Jan Johnson, author of Enjoying The Presence of God, writes:

"If we believe that God is grand enough to love our flawed self, we can speak the truth to him about what we feel - anger at others, disappointment with ourselves, resentment toward him."

God wants the "real" me in prayer - not the "pretend" me.  He is my father and he understands me better than I understand myself.

This story also tells me that he wants me to bring everything that bothers me to him.  Maybe he is disappointed by my lack of faith or trust that he will bring me through.  But he is patient and ready to help.

I love the apostle Paul's advice in Philippians 4:6: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

When Paul says we are to bring "everything" to God in prayer, he means "everything".

What a loving God!

Praying like Jesus

How do I pray like Jesus?

That's a question I am asking as I search the gospels.

As we know, Jesus was constantly praying to the Father.  He would withdraw to a quiet place and pray - sometimes all night.  He would prepare himself for the next day's huge and needy crowds by seeking his Father's face.

Of course, he left us a model for prayer - the Lord's prayer - in Matthew 6:19-31.  That tells us what Jesus saw as important in prayer - worshiping God, seeking God's will to be carried out on earth, pleading for forgiveness for our sins, and asking God to supply our needs.

But what about Jesus' prayers in the nitty-gritty of messy life?

I believe they illustrate well the priorities he laid out in the Lord's prayer.

Take Jesus' long prayer in John 17, a prayer he offered to the Father in front of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion.  In a sense, it is a summary report of his work on earth accompanied by a heart-felt plea for his followers.

The prayer begins with God and his glory and how Christ has given glory to the Father through what he has done on earth.  And, in a personal note, he asks the Father to glorify him.

Then, Jesus turns his gaze to his disciples and reveals how much he loves them.  He calls on the Father to protect them from the evil one.  

Next, he prays for believers.  His desire is for them to be one in spirit and heart - a great witness to the world.

He concludes by saying that he will continue making the Father known to the world so that God's love for Jesus will be in them.

That prayer shows me Jesus' passionate commitment to the Father and to the spiritual welfare of his followers.  In those words, Jesus is showing me how to pray for other believers and for those who don't know God.

I ask myself: Am I passionate about God and others?

Another prayer that pops into my mind is Jesus' prayer at the tomb of his close friend Lazarus (John 11:1-44).  It comes with Lazarus already dead for four days.  Jesus has delayed going to see his friend so that the power of God could be displayed and people come to faith.

Lazarus' sisters Mary and Martha and their friends are mourning.  The sisters clearly wonder why Jesus did not come earlier to heal their brother before he died.  Their faith in Christ is being tested.

Jesus is deeply moved by their tears and weeps himself.

He goes to the tomb and asks for the stone to be rolled away from the entrance.  Then, he calls out to the Father:  "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

Next, Jesus shouts: "Lazarus, come out!" and the dead man emerges alive from the tomb, still wrapped in his grave clothes.  And many onlookers become believers in Christ.

From this account, I see Jesus' love for people, his tender heart.

My question: Is my heart breaking for others?

Finally, I think of another prayer of Jesus - this time for himself in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his death (Matthew 26:36-46).  Jesus is in agony - the parallel passage in Luke 22 says drops of blood are falling as he prays.

He asks the Father if God can spare him the catastrophe that looms just ahead - slow death on the cross, the terrible burden of the world's sin on his shoulders, and - worst of all - a brief separation from his beloved Father.  Three times he asks, and then he submits to the Father's will and goes obediently to his death.

My question: Am I prepared to obey God no matter what?

I realize my answer to these questions is "No" if I depend on myself.

But there is hope for me if I depend on Jesus who is within me.