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."

God's secret service

S.D. Gordon has a great name for prayer warriors - God's secret service.

Gordon, who wrote Quiet Talks on Prayer more than 100 years ago, says some of the greatest pray-ers are quiet, humble people whom you don't notice.  They fly under the church radar.

But they are there to intercede for others around the world and their prayers matter.

In effect, prayer warriors are there to help carry out God's will on earth.  Their prayers are part of a pitched battle against Satan and his forces.

"The greatest thing any one can do for God and for man is to pray," writes Gordon.  "It is not the only thing.  But it is the chief thing."

That's because God works through our prayers.

Gordon notes that the powerful prayer warrior is one whose heart is committed to doing what God wants.

He quotes John 15:16 where Jesus is talking to his disciples on the last night before the crucifixion.

"You did not choose me," says Jesus.  "I chose you.  I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name."

There is a close connection between our lives with Christ and the impact of our prayers.  As we know Jesus better, we learn to know what he wants and praying for what Christ wishes is the key to powerful prayer.

"It can be said that God can do nothing for the man with shut hand and shut life.  There must be an open hand and heart and life through which God can give what he longs to."

As others have said, Gordon declares that prayer warriors can sit in their homes in North America and pray for people on the other side of the world.

"Prayer puts us in direct dynamic touch with a world," he adds.

It is hard for me and for most Westerners to truly understand the power of prayer.  Part of the reason is that we fail to understand the apostle Paul's words in Ephesians 6 where he says the Christian is not battling flesh and blood but against "evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world" - Satan and his followers.

In that combat, prayer in the name of Christ is potent.

Let us join the battle along with other members of God's secret service.

Praying for loved ones

In the movie "War Room", Miss Clara asks Elizabeth Jordan a penetrating question when Elizabeth admits she and her husband fight a lot: Do you pray about it?

Her question has stirred my thoughts in the last few days.

My wife and I pray for our children as we have ever since they were born.  We also pray regularly for our grandchildren.

We pray for their problems as well as their successes - their everyday issues and their spiritual lives.  We thank God for them.

But are there things we are missing - just as Elizabeth Jordan overlooked her battles with her husband?

Are there other ways God would like us to pray for our loved ones?

In Miss Clara's mind, Elizabeth Jordan needed to fight for her husband in prayer.  Miss Clara knew that in the apostle Paul's words in Ephesians 6, we need to put on the full armour of God to fight "the strategies of the devil".

Paul said our battle is not against flesh-and-blood enemies but "against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places".

That tells me that the evil one is actively attacking us and our children and grandchildren.  On the surface, the issues we are facing may seem obvious - and sometimes hopeless.  Yet there may be things we cannot see.

However, God knows.  And he has equipped us with the power of prayer - prayers of blessing and praise, prayers of protection.

We know that the devil hates it when we praise God and what he is doing in our lives.  We know that blessing others can be powerful.

I love the apostle Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21.  In a sense, it is a blessing he prays over the Ephesian believers.

In his prayer, Paul asks that:

• God empower us with inner strength through the Holy Spirit;
• We will deepen our trust in God;
• Our roots will grow down into the love of God;
• We will have the power to understand how great God's love is;
• We will experience the love of Christ; and
• We will be made complete with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

That's a prayer - a blessing - that God loves to grant.

It is a prayer of spiritual protection and growth for our loved ones in whatever situation they face.

Watch!

Keeping watch is important for every prayer warrior - indeed, every Christian.

I gained insight into how essential watching is when my wife and I visited modern-day Nazareth some years ago and saw a model of what the village was like in Jesus' day.

Our guide pointed out a high covered booth on a hill beside the village where a watchman stood to look for marauders and predators.  He was there to give advance warning - vital to the protection of the people.

In the same way, followers of Christ are called to keep a look-out - watching for how our God is moving around us and to be alert to the enemy's schemes.

Speaking of the Messiah, Solomon writes in Proverbs 8: "Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home."

We are to keep our minds, ears and eyes open to what Jesus is telling us through the Holy Spirit.  Are we to pray for someone who jumps into our minds?  Do we see how God is doing something good in our lives when we feel everything is going wrong?

Jesus also told us to keep watch for his return in Matthew 25 in the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids who were tasked with having oil ready for their lamps at the arrival of the bridegroom for the wedding feast.

In other words, we must walk closely with Jesus in our own lives so that we will be ready if he returns at any moment.  Prayer is key in keeping close to Jesus.

And we must stay alert in our prayers to Satan's attempts to turn us away from God.

Jesus highlighted this in his words to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane where he was praying just before his arrest on the eve of the crucifixion.

In Matthew 26, Jesus said to a sleepy Peter: "Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation."

I know that temptations of all kinds leap to my mind more quickly than do rational warnings.  I need to be alert to that and rely on the Holy Spirit to guard my mind and heart.

Of course, one of Satan's greatest successes is when he turns me away from praying.  Sadly, that happens too often.

So, I must remember to call on the Holy Spirit to fill me and guide my thoughts as I pray.  He will keep me focused on what - and who - he wants me to pray about.

Jude's comment in Jude 20 is essential to faithful, alert, and watchful prayer:

"And you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit."

You are what you meditate

Constant meditation on scripture feeds faith and strengthens prayer.

In Psalm 1, the psalmist praises the person whose "delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night".

Solomon indicates why this is important in Proverbs 4:23: "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."

When he speaks of our hearts, Solomon is thinking of our minds as well as our emotions.  The way we think, as Paul says in Romans 12:2, can change our lives.

Feeding upon the word of God is vital in influencing our thought lives.

I know that my spiritual life suffers when I focus on my injured feelings or critical thoughts or sinful desires.

It suffers, too, when I sink into doubt and disbelief.  The more I contemplate my problems and forget my God, the less likely I am to see the problems solved.

I read recently some encouraging thoughts on this by Dave Roberson in his book The Walk of the Spirit: The Walk of Power.

Roberson has made a practice of reading books of the Bible repeatedly until he assimilates them into his very being.  

He does not take verses out of context but tries to understand how they fit together and what the basic message is.  He ruminates on what he is reading and relies on the Holy Spirit to give him guidance as to the meaning while he is resting or sleeping.

The result of this constant reading and contemplation is a greater understanding of what God wants us to do and a stronger faith.

Neil Anderson gave an example of this in his book Victory over the Darkness where he talks about helping people to see themselves as God sees them.

Anderson, a Christian counsellor and psychologist, found many of the people who came to him had a very negative view of themselves and of God.  So he developed a list of Bible passages which describe who we are in Jesus Christ - everything from "I am God's child" to "I am a citizen of heaven".

People who regularly read and meditated on these Bible passages began to change their thinking about themselves and their problems.

Of course, Jesus gave the best example of all.  He used scripture to defeat Satan's attempts to tempt him in the desert right after his ministry began.

As we meditate regularly, we come to know God as he is and what he has done.  We are better prepared for the trials of life.

Breath prayers

You can weave God into your daily life with simple "breath prayers".

If you do this consistently, it can change you and draw you closer to God.

That's what Jan Johnson suggests in her book Enjoying The Presence of God.

"Our growing intimacy with God can crowd out the negative self-talk, the harping critical thoughts, the petty criticism . . .  Conversing with God becomes part of the rhythm of our lives, a backdrop to all activity, so that our heart becomes our private chapel."

How does this work?

Here are some ideas from Johnson:

• Send an arrow prayer to God for the person who annoys you when you meet him;
• Pray a phrase of trust in God like "Into Your hands" when worries surge into your mind;
• Say something like "Turn this person's heart toward You" when you face a difficult situation or person;
• Ask God "Do I need to change?" if you are faced with something that may reveal some character problems in your life; and
• Offer thanks for the person who has blessed you in some way.

Johnson recalls flying to a city where she had several business appointments in a tight schedule. On the way, she reflected on Isaiah 26:3 which says: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee."  She prayed breath prayers "Thou wilt keep, and keep, and keep" throughout that busy time.

She notes that scripture is a good place to anchor your breath prayers, especially when you don't know what to pray for someone.

For example:

• Help this person come to know Christ and the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:6);
• Help this person live a life worthy of you (Colossians 1:10);
• Strengthen this person with power so that he may have endurance and patience (Colossians 1:11); and
• Help this person's love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (Philippians 1:9).

As I think about this, one great value of breath prayers like these is that they turn us away from ourselves to God and the people we meet.  Rather than worrying or criticizing, we are taking action through prayer to God who can change things - and us.

It's time for me to put this into practice.