Forgiveness and prayer

Yesterday, my wife and I marvelled as we listened to a woman in a radio interview talk about forgiving a man who attacked her, tied her up, and took her car.

The attacker and robber used her car in a later attempted robbery and was shot by police.  She wanted to let the man know that she forgave him; but police felt it was not wise for her to do that.  She regretted not having the chance to forgive him personally.

Though it is hard to do, forgiveness is freeing.  Often, it is an essential step to emotional, spiritual and physical healing.

It is also vital to effective prayer.

In his fine little book The Most Powerful Prayer on Earth, Peter Horrobin points to Jesus' amazing prayer for his tormentors as he was dying on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

"Not only did Jesus walk in personal forgiveness toward all of those who were the agents of his suffering, but he also asked God to forgive them," Horrobin writes.

It is only in recent years that I have spent time thinking about forgiving others.  Some time ago, I thought about the occasions when I was hurt by others over the years.

I even went back to an incident in elementary school where I was a new boy and one of the class leaders bullied me.  The picture is as clear in my mind today as if it happened yesterday.  I had hung on to this grievance all these years without surrendering it to God and forgiving the boy who ridiculed me.

Wise Christians have said that sometimes we have to forgive someone again and again before the anger and bitterness is finally released.

But we are commanded to forgive.  We need to go before God in prayer and forgive.

Jesus said in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us." (Matthew 6:12)

If we are to be free of the disease of bitterness and anger, we need to forgive those who have hurt us.

The personal benefits of forgiveness can be astonishing.

Horrobin tells the story of a young woman who had been thrown to the ice from a snowmobile in Northern Ontario.  She suffered severe spinal injuries and had spent more than 20 years in pain.  She asked Horrobin for healing prayer and he asked her if she had forgiven the driver of the snowmobile.  She hadn't.

After struggling with this, she came back to Horrobin, saying she had forgiven him.  God's power came upon her and she was healed in minutes.

Forgiveness frees us - and it releases the chains from those we hate.  It glorifies God. 

Imagination and prayer

My imagination helps me pray.

I picture Jesus with me as I ask him for something or as I share a concern.  Often, I will listen to him as I walk or as I write in my journal.  I don't hear his actual voice, but I frequently receive thoughts or promptings.

Are these thoughts from God?  The best test is whether they line up with scripture.  If not, they are not.  Of course, for major decisions, the advice of wise and godly people is vital.

When I'm struggling with fears and anxieties, I sometimes just picture him with me, saying nothing but simply being a sympathetic and loving presence.  I find this calming and restoring.

In Matthew 28, Jesus promised his followers that "I am with you always, even to the end of the age".  In John 14, he said he would not leave them alone but would live in them through the Holy Spirit.  So I know he is with me as I pray.

Some Christians suggest it is fantasy - or even idolatry - to imagine Christ.

But Jesus himself made use of human imagination when he told parables such as the parables of the good Samaritan and the prodigal son.  He told stories because he knew they would have a powerful impact on his listeners.

Organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ (now Power to Change) saw the story of Jesus as a great way to reach people with the gospel.  The Jesus Film, which depicts Jesus in his ministry, has touched millions around the world.

Our imaginations are always active - for good or bad.  My guess is that believers - consciously or unconsciously - find their imaginations active when Bible stories are told.  It is hard not to see David facing Goliath or Jesus stumbling under the cross on the way to Calvary.

We can use our imaginations to great effect in prayer.

We know that Jesus loves us and knows everything about us.  We know that he loves us in spite of our failings.  We know that he wants a close relationship with us.

Prayer is a means for exploring this close relationship.

The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."

Imagining Jesus with me is a great help in turning my mind and heart to him.

 

God's love ignites prayer and praise

It's wonderful to see a little child run and throw himself into his mother's arms.

It's the child's joyous response to the love his mother has for him.  He loves because he is loved.

It should be the same with us and God.  We need to realize that God loves us even more than our parents do.  We should respond the same way the little child does to his mother's love.

Knowing how much we are loved ignites prayer and praise.

What made me think of this was reading King David's simple opening line in Psalm 18: "I love you, O Lord, my strength."

It's not often I tell God that I love him.  I tell him he is awesome.  I ask him for things.  Those are good things - they show my admiration, respect and dependence on him.

But love brings joy to prayer.

As the apostle John said in 1 John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us."  We are only able to love others because God first loved us.

How do we know we are loved by God?  We have the testimony of his words in scripture and in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Jesus himself said in John 15:13: "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."  He did that for each one of us - each one of us individually.

David also says in Psalm 16:2 that "every good thing I have comes from you."  God is the giver of good things - family, friends, life, jobs, talents and spiritual gifts.

Meditating on God's love helps build gratitude - and love.

The more we know we are loved, the more we love the one who loves us.

There is no better foundation for praise and confident prayer.

Trouble, the route to powerful prayer

Taken the right way, trouble is a route to powerful prayer.

E.M. Bounds, a classic writer on prayer, says: "Prayer allows God to work freely with us and in us in the day of trouble."

We may not see it - or understand it - but God permits trouble to make us more like Christ.

In his book The Essentials of Prayer, Bounds says: "God's highest aim in dealing with his people is in developing Christian character. . .  He is seeking to make us like himself."

The apostle Paul says in Romans 8:29: "For God knew his children in advance and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

And in Philippians 1:6, Paul says: "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." 

So, God is at work within us all the time.  His aim is to make us like Christ.  Trouble is one means for getting us there.

Severe trouble drives many people to pray.  Take Jacob, for example.  In Genesis 32:22-30, Jacob is deeply worried about the coming encounter with his brother Esau whom he has wronged.  During the night, he wrestles with God - a picture of prayer.

Jacob emerges from this meeting with God a different man.  He is still a weak human being with many faults, but now God is at the centre of his life.

Bounds says that our troubles "can work for us only as we co-operate with God in prayer".  When we pray, we are opening ourselves to God and agreeing that he is greater than we are.

Christ gave us the greatest example of prayer in suffering.  He went to Gethsemane to pray the night before his death on the cross.  He agonized so much that he sweat blood.  But he emerged from this time of prayer with the strength of God so that he could face his trial and triumph over the enemy.

For me, I need to remember that troubles are there to make me stronger in Christ.  And God will give me the strength I need through prayer.

Delighting in God

A lover will so enjoy the woman he loves that he will want to please her.

It is a metaphor for prayer.  The more we enjoy God, the more we will want what he wants.  And our prayers will have power.

King David said it best in one of my favourite Bible verses - Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

This calls for action on my part - I am to delight myself in God.  How does that happen?

Obviously, I can't find delight in God unless I spend time with him.  I need to get to know him.

It is a worn-out cliche that you can't get to know God unless you study what he has given us - the Bible.  But it is still true.

Yet studying isn't enough.  I know a lot of things about the Bible, but I am not as strong at obeying what God asks of me in his word.

I need to do the uncomfortable things as well as the easy things he asks of me.  I need to forgive others; I need to show love in practical ways; and I need to act on what he is prompting me to do.

The Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart.  A remarkable statement.  It's particularly remarkable in that David sinned and did things that many of us would think would turn God away from him - adultery and murder, for example.

But a careful reading of David's life and his psalms shows us that he put God first in his life.  He was constantly in God's presence in praise and prayer.  He consulted God before taking major steps in his life - and then he did what God told him to do.  And when he was wrong, he admitted it.

I am learning, too, about sitting at Jesus' feet the way Mary did in Luke 10:38-42.  Contemplating Jesus in quietness, listening to the Holy Spirit speak into my heart and mind - these are important steps to knowing God.

I find I am blessed, as well, when I praise God for who he is and what he has done - in the Bible, in my life and in the lives of the people I love.  My faith soars and I rejoice in God.

So I am learning to delight in God in all these ways - finding out more about him, obeying him, listening to him, praising him.

If we truly delight in the Lord, as David says in Psalm 37:4, we can expect to receive the desires of our hearts because his desires are now our desires.

Be specific

Most parents know what their children want for Christmas - their kids tell them exactly what they want.

It stands to reason that God delights in hearing exactly what we want, too.

I am taking this to heart because my prayers have too often been general.

Will Davis Junior, author of Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers, says:

"God wants us to be strategic and focused about what we're asking him to do.  We need to pray for things - very specific things, gritty things, personal things, important things, kingdom things - with the pinpoint precision that Jesus modeled in the Lord's Prayer."

In his book, he mentions praying about a specific plot of land which he believed God wanted for his church in the Austin, Texas area.  God answered - with a better piece of land close by.

I am praying now with specific ministry goals in the area of group prayer in our church.  I believe that God will glorify his name as he answers those prayers - and I will know that he is answering.  It will strengthen my faith and give me boldness to pray for even bigger things.

I often turn to Acts 4 which tells of the small group of believers praying in the face of persecution.  Instead of fearfully asking for protection, they prayed for boldness in preaching the gospel and for God to perform signs and wonders.  God was pleased and the church exploded in growth.

That prayer was both specific and God-honouring.

When we pray like that, we can expect great things.

Pray big!

Will Davis Jr. says we should "pray big", praying for things that are bigger than we can accomplish on our own.  I think he's right.

The Austin, Texas pastor says in his book Pray Big:

"Prayer should be as big as God's promises and as full as God's resources.  Your requests should require the full power and provision of God."

He makes a convincing case that God is asking us to "pray big".  He refers to Jesus' many promises of answered prayer, including John 15:7: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

That's a huge commitment by God.  If we remain on God's wavelength, we can count on him giving us whatever we ask, no matter how big.

I have been thinking about that in my own prayer life, realizing my prayers have been pretty small.  So I have started praying more boldly.

Davis refers to the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah in Luke 1.  An angel comes to elderly Zechariah and tells him that a child will be born to them even though they are both very old.  The interesting thing is that he says God is answering their prayers.  Evidently, they had been praying for a long time for this.

John the Baptist's birth to Zechariah and Elizabeth was a miracle.  Zechariah was dumbfounded by the news and because of his surprise and unbelief he was struck dumb until the child's birth.

But Davis uses this example to illustrate his point about praying for something even when it seemed impossible.

Our prayers matter.  God chose Zechariah and Elizabeth to receive this great gift because they had asked him for it.

I take some comfort from this story because Zechariah initially doubted the angel Gabriel when informed that his prayers had been answered.  It does take some faith to pray big - but God is patient with us if our faith is still weak.  I am always encouraged by the story of Gideon in Judges 6-8 where he began as a timid man and wound up as a great warrior of God as the Lord helped his faith to grow.

Our job is to keep praying according to God's promises.

What are big prayers?  They're prayers for people or things that seem impossible to you right now.  Perhaps you are concerned about a friend who resists any talk about Jesus.  Or, another friend has just been diagnosed with cancer.  Or, your church is struggling financially and looks as if it might have to close its doors.

Such prayers teach you to depend on God, says Davis.  They drive you to the Bible to see whether you are on solid biblical ground.  And they increase your faith as God answers.

As I said earlier, I am starting to pray big.  I am learning to ask for things that I considered impossible a while ago.

I'm looking forward to what he is going to do.

The joyful intercessor

As believers, we are called to be joyful - filled with the joy of God.

The author and prayer pastor Beni Johnson says that's how we are to pray, too.  She makes that point in her book The Happy Intercessor.

"While Jesus lived on this earth," she writes, "I believe that he knew how to live out of joy, even in the midst of suffering."

The author points to Jesus' miracles, especially the story of the dying daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader, in Mark 5.  While they were talking, Jairus' servants came to tell him not to bother Jesus because his daughter had just died.  But Jesus brought her back to life and the family was overwhelmed with joy.

She notes that in Hebrews 12:2, the writer says that Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before him" - or awaiting him - in heaven.  He knew he was going to win the victory over Satan and that he would bring many into the kingdom of God.

Knowing that Jesus defeated Satan on the cross is the foundation of confident, joyful prayer.  As Nehemiah told the Israelites in Nehemiah 8: "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

Johnson says that we are to get on the same wavelength with God when we pray for others.  We are to ask the Spirit what he wants us to pray for and then pray as he leads.  We develop that understanding as we meditate on God's word and spend time with him in listening prayer.

I know that I tend to rush in with prayers for friends and family without asking God how he wants me to pray. The same is true of any plans I may have for my church activities.

Believing that Jesus is victorious whatever the circumstances should fill me with confidence and joy.  He will bring good out of even the most horrible circumstances as the apostle Paul said in Romans 8:28.

Of course, joy is not the same as happiness.  People may grieve the loss of a father or daughter but be joyful that this parent or child is now with God.

I come back frequently to the apostle Paul's injunction: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Here he links joy and thanksgiving with continual prayer.

Clearly, Paul is saying: "Don't pray with a gloomy face.  Pray with a heart filled with godly joy and thanksgiving, knowing that you are approaching the God who loves you enough that he sent his son to rescue you from the hands of Satan."

That's enough to make us joyful intercessors.

Shhh! I'm listening to God

When I'm frantic, upset, or preoccupied, I sometimes tell myself to take a break and listen to God.

I don't do that often enough, I'm afraid.  But I did that this week and I had a joyful conversation with him.

For the last several years, I have often sat down at my computer and typed in a journal the questions I have of God.  I have listened spiritually and written down the responses.  The questions are usually about my own life and my walk with God.  And the answers I get are always in accordance with scripture.

Without fail, I rise from the computer feeling the peace of God.

But I feel I should go beyond this and make it an hour-by-hour habit.  I need to do this especially when I'm all worked up and filled with negative thoughts.

God's answers to my written questions are not always what I want to hear.  But they help to put me on the right path.  And they help to give me a broader perspective - God's perspective - on my problems.

Someone I know spends an hour every morning in silent, contemplative prayer.  He tells me that often God will drop a thought in his mind during the day that answers a question in his mind.

King David was a listener.  He frequently took his questions to God and God guided him.

In Psalm 139:17, he said: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them."

I believe God is talking to us all the time and we hear only a small fraction of what he is saying.  That's because we aren't listening.

There are many people over the ages who have written about listening prayer - among them Frank Laubach, Madame Guyon, and Brother Lawrence.  As our world turns faster and faster, more and more Christians are discovering the value of seeking God and listening to him.

The following is a video by pastor and author Charles Stanley talking about listening prayer.

Why the devil hates prayer

The devil hates prayer because God works through prayer.

C.S. Lewis, the great British writer and professor, described Satan's problem with prayer in a dialogue between a senior and a junior devil called The Screwtape Letters, first published in 1942.

In it, Screwtape tells his nephew Wormwood "whenever there is prayer, there is a danger of His (God's) own immediate action."  So, he urges his nephew to do everything he can to keep the new young Christian he is dealing with from praying - and, if he prays, from praying to God from his heart.

When Christians pray to God in faith, Screwtape says "our (the devils') situation is desperate."

Lewis was not exaggerating.

Talking about prayer, Jesus said that "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  And he went on to say that "if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 18:18-19)

Those are powerful promises.  They are a call to fervent prayer.

Jesus lived what he preached.  He prayed before speaking to great crowds.  He prayed before making key decisions.  It was his way of determining what God wanted and then carrying it out.

Perhaps Jesus' most critical prayers came on the Mount of Olives, the night before he died on the cross.  While his disciples slept, he prayed so hard that he sweat drops of blood, fighting Satan's effort to keep him from going to the cross.  The Father answered by sending an angel to strengthen him in his resolve (Luke 22:39-46).

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

When we pray to our Lord, we are destroying the devil's work.

"Welcome back!"

God never turns his back on you.  He's waiting for you.

Sometimes, I feel that I have let God down and he won't listen to my prayers.  That is a serious mistake.

Satan rejoices when I give up and stop talking with God.  He's good at tossing condemning thoughts into my mind.  He knows the power of prayer and he does his best to pull the plug on people who pray.

There is, of course, the great story of the Prodigal Son that Jesus tells (Luke 15:11-32).  I often come back to that because it shows God the Father's heart.  He never stops loving and he always welcomes us home.

As you know, the younger son in the story asks for his inheritance, leaves home, and wastes it in living the high life.  It's while working with pigs for a little money that he decides it would be worthwhile returning home and asking his father if he could work as a servant.

When the father, who has been waiting for him, sees his son, he rushes out and embraces him BEFORE the young man blurts out his apology and his request to be a servant.  And the old man rejoices at his son's return, showers good things upon him and welcomes him back into the family.

The father didn't condone his son's wild living.  But he knew his son was sorry and wanted to return home.

In her wonderful little book Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, Jeanne Guyon talks about sins and distractions from prayer.  She says: "Once you have departed from God, you must return to him as quickly as possible."

Don't beat yourself up, she says.  Confess whatever sins you may have committed.  Go back to God.  He'll welcome you.

I am reminded, as well, of the words in Revelation 3:20 - words that inspired the name of this blog.  In this passage, God is speaking to the lukewarm church of Laodicea:

"Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me."

Here I see Jesus knocking on my door, asking to speak with me.  My job is to open the door and listen to him and talk with him.

He's always there.

Giving thanks

I realized this morning that I was grumping on Canadian Thanksgiving Day.  Not good.

I find it easy to groan, complain and criticize.  But I have learned, too, that I feel much better when I praise God and give thanks.  And, as one writer said, God is worthy of our worship.

It's something I keep coming back to - praise and worship and thanksgiving.  I come back to it to remind myself how important it is.

I have been thinking recently that I must live my life every day in a cloud of thanks and praise and worship.  That's why I caught myself grumping this morning - I was out of tune with my Lord.

This being Thanksgiving Day, I will concentrate on thanks to God.  Dick Eastman, author of The Hour than Changes the World,  says:

"Thanksgiving differs from praise in that praise focuses on who God is, whereas thanksgiving focuses on what God has specifically done for us."

Eastman says thanksgiving might be called a "confession of blessings" where we recognize specifics of what God has done for us and voice them to the Lord.  He stresses being specific, mentioning even the little things in life.  It won't be long before we see how good God is.

Eastman suggests we let our minds wander over the activities of the day and thank the Lord for the good things he has given us - often through others.

He recommends that we:

• Give thanks for spiritual blessings.  Have you met God in a special way in your prayer or study time?  Has he worked profoundly in the lives of friends or family?
• Give thanks for material blessings. Thank him for small things - the warm house you live in or the car that takes you easily to grocery stores.  Not everyone has these blessings.
• Give thanks for physical blessings. Thank the Lord for being able to walk, or hear, or speak, or see.  Put aside whatever pain you may have at the moment and thank him for what is physically good in your life.
• Give thanks for outside blessings.  Thank God for what he is doing in the world around you.  Perhaps it might be for someone who has come to know God as Saviour.  Or, you could thank him for services of Christian compassion around the globe.

David put it best in Psalm 103:2: "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

Believing what God says

Author E.W. Kenyon says your prayer life will be strong if you believe what God says.  And it will be weak if you doubt him.

It seems obvious.  But I find myself constantly second-guessing God.  I question God and what he says about prayer if I don't get an immediate answer along the lines I desire.

But Kenyon, author of In His Presence, says that believers must take God's words in scripture as truth.

For example, the Bible says I am a "new creation" - a new person - and that the old way of life has gone (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Do I believe that?  Or do I listen to Satan who tells me I am worthless?

In essence, Kenyon is saying I must accept the way of seeing myself and the world through God's eyes and not of others around me.

Kenyon declares that I must speak the words of God to myself frequently, anchor them in my mind.  After all, Satan is busy getting me to say negative things about myself and others in my thoughts.

Of course, Jesus is the great example of using scripture to refute attacks and temptations, especially by Satan in the wilderness.  Jesus stood in faith on those words of God.

It is a practice that Christian psychologist and former seminary professor Neil Anderson has used.  In his book Victory over the Darkness, Anderson lists scriptures describing who we are in Jesus Christ.  He has helped many change their way of thinking and leave behind crippling fears and addictions by constantly re-reading these scriptures until they sink into their minds and hearts.

Having a truly biblical understanding of ourselves and of God's love for us is one step to more effective prayer.  If we don't believe God loves us, we won't expect him to answer our prayers.  And without faith, our prayer lives are bound to be weak.

Kenyon has much more to say about prayer.  But his basic message is always the same: Take God's words, make them part of yourself, and act on them in prayer.

Your prayer partner

Suppose you were asked to play tennis doubles with some friends and a world champion tennis player offered to be your partner.

I’m sure you’d be excited.  You would be filled with confidence.  You would know that you and your partner had an excellent chance of winning.

Shouldn’t we be filled with excitement to know that Jesus is our prayer partner?

Wesley L. Duewel, a missionary and author, makes that point in different words in his book Touch the World through Prayer.

He notes that Jesus is interceding on our behalf – praying for us – in heaven.  The apostle Paul says so explicitly in Romans 8:34:

“Christ Jesus who died . . . is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

But that is not all.  God considers us “fellow workers” (2 Corinthians 6:1).  We are to work with God to bring about his purposes in the world – and prayer is one of the most important ways to do this.

Jesus says in Matthew 18:18 that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”.  He goes on to say that “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”.

He is clearly telling us that when we are in tune with Jesus, our prayers are powerful.

We are working in tandem with Jesus to change the world.

Prayer is where the action is

Author Paul Billheimer makes the provocative statement: “Prayer is where the action is.”

Other Christians might say evangelism or Bible study or good works are most important.

But in his book Destined For The Throne, Billheimer says: “Unless a church is satisfied to merely operate an ecclesiastical treadmill, prayer will become her main occupation.”

That’s strong stuff.  It’s not what we’re used to hearing in the Western Christian church.

Does this mean praying should be the only thing Christians do?

No, but it should be the first thing.  We have many examples in the Bible of prayer’s importance.

There is Jesus’ example. Often, the gospel writers mention that Jesus spent time in prayer before preaching to thousands and performing miracles.  He prayed to the Father before the resurrection of Lazarus.  He prayed before the pivotal event in history, his crucifixion.

Cornelius, a Roman centurion, was praying when he received a vision about sending his servants to fetch Peter.  It was while praying that Peter received a vision about reaching out to non-Jews with the gospel.  This paved the way to a ground-breaking event in Christian history – the conversion of Cornelius and outreach to non-Jews.

The apostle James says in James 4:2: “You do not have because you do not ask.”  That’s as direct a reason to pray as you will find anywhere.

Prayer came before great revivals in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.  Hundreds of thousands came to faith in Christ during those times.

I seem to find time for many things – and not nearly enough for prayer.

So Billheimer’s statement is a challenge for me – and for all believers.

Jesus' Promise

More and more, I have been thinking of Jesus’ words in John 15: “Remain in me and I will remain in you.”

These words contain a promise and a warning.  As long as my mind and heart are wrapped up in Christ, I can enjoy his active presence in my life. I can count on God working through me producing fruit – loving God and loving others.

But if I decide like the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable to go my own way and do my own thing, I can hardly expect to see God’s fingerprints on my life. It’s like me expecting to win an Olympic competition without training.

It’s strange that we Christians – myself included – think we can ignore Jesus most of the time and yet expect him to dance to our tune.

Increasingly, I realize the truth – and the joy – contained in Jesus’ words that I quoted above.  God just wants me to spend time with him.  And he promises that I will learn more of him.

Think about this for a moment: Jesus tells me I am his friend.  If I treat him as a casual acquaintance, I will not get to know him well and to enjoy him.  If I take his words at face value, I have a chance to get to know the God of the universe like the most intimate of friends.

So how do I do this?  How do I remain in Christ?

The apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

In other words, I am to be in constant conversation with Jesus.  I must walk through my day knowing that Jesus is walking with me.

I am to share my thoughts, my needs, my concerns with him.  I am to rejoice that I belong to him.  I am to thank him for the great spiritual riches he has bestowed on me – and the many other good things he has given me.

This prayer- and praise-filled life will change me and the little world around me.

TRAINING FOR ETERNITY

Paul Billheimer has an interesting view of prayer: It’s really on-the-job training to rule the universe with God.

In his book Destined for the Throne, Billheimer says God is preparing Christians to be the “bride of Christ” (Revelation 19:7) when Christ returns.  Our life on earth is our preparation time.

Jesus’ many references to prayer show how important it is that we work with God to bring about his purposes on earth, Billheimer says.

But Billheimer goes further. 

We are, in fact, united with Christ (Romans 6:5) and are already seated with him in a spiritual sense in heaven (Ephesians 2:6).  We are “destined for the throne” as Billheimer says. We have been given authority to enforce in the world around us Christ’s victory on the cross (Matthew 16:19). Prayer is the means for doing this.

In 1John 3:8, the apostle John writes: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”  Billheimer says it is our work, too.

“This world is a laboratory in which those destined for the throne are learning, by actual practice in the prayer closet, how to overcome Satan and his hierarchy,” the author says.

“God designed the program of prayer as an apprenticeship for eternal sovereignty with Christ.”

Billheimer’s book has become a modern classic, endorsed by such people as Billy Graham.

His book offers yet another powerful reason to pray.

Spirits, angels and prayer

I have long been fascinated by the story of Daniel and the angel in Daniel 10.

As you may remember, Daniel was standing by the Tigris River in Babylon with some others when a man in white, with flashing eyes and a voice that "roared like a vast multitude of people" spoke to him.  The others saw nothing but they were terrified and ran away - probably because they heard the angel's voice.

The angel - probably Gabriel who had visited Daniel before - had come in answer to Daniel's prayer for understanding about what was to happen to God's captive people.

He told Daniel that he had been held up on the way to Daniel for 21 days by the "spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia".  He was only able to finish his journey because the archangel Michael came to his aid and fought the "prince of Persia".

I have always believed in the existence of angels, but have not paid much attention to them until recently.

But, clearly, angels are very important in God's plan for the world.  As Billy Graham notes in his book Angels, angels play many different roles in carrying out God's wishes.  One of these is making war on Satan's demon spirits.

In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul says that believers are fighting against "evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

What is our task in this great war?  Among other things, we are to pray.

It is prayer that led to the angel Gabriel visiting Daniel with an answer to his concerns.

John Piper, author of Desiring God and many other books, notes that the "prince of Persia" in Daniel 10 is clearly a "territorial spirit" who exercised control over the kingdom of Persia.  It took the archangel Michael to defeat him and free Gabriel to deliver the answer to Daniel's prayer.

In a sermon, Piper mentions a miraculous modern story of prayer breaking the power of such a territorial spirit in Cordoba, Argentina about 20 years ago.  You can find it here: http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper92/01-12-92.htm

God has given us the privilege of joining him - and his angels - through prayer in defeating the unseen enemy.

Thought-bombs and launching rockets

Every believer confronts temptation.  How do we fight it?

Our pastor mentioned in a sermon last Sunday one very important way of battling Satan's seductive whisperings - praying the whole armour of God.

He had been discussing Satan's attempt to undermine Jesus in the wilderness, shortly after the Spirit of God descended on Christ (Matthew 4).

Our pastor noted that Jesus used scripture to resist Satan's blandishments.  To do that successfully, we must know scripture - memorize it and meditate on it.

He turned, as well, to Ephesians 6 and the apostle Paul's description of the spiritual armour we need for our struggle with Satan.  He pointed out that Paul concluded the passage by urging his readers to pray with these weapons in mind.

Coincidentally, I have been re-reading Terry Law's book The Power of Praise and Worship where he talks about Satan's "thought bombs" and the "launching rockets" that God has given us to destroy these Satanic attacks.

As most of us know, Satan is adept at dropping thoughts into our minds that entice us to do something hurtful to ourselves, to others, or to our relationship with God.  He knows the buttons to push.

In certain areas, I am very weak.  Without Jesus' help, I am easy prey to these thought-bombs.

Like our pastor, Laws says one weapon which destroys Satanic thought-bombs is the word of God. Another is speaking the name of Jesus Christ, meaning that we are delegated by Jesus to use his authority.  We are told frequently that, as believers, we are "in Christ" - Christ's spirit is in us.

And, finally, scripture says that the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed believers from sin and that it is powerful in battling Satan's condemnations.

Laws brings all these things together in the "launching rockets" of prayer, praise and worship.  We fight Satan's thoughts successfully as we pray and worship the Lord with the weapons of the word, the name of Jesus and the blood.

In the end, though, all this is useless if we don't use these weapons and launching rockets.

The message for me is that I have a choice: I listen to Satan and fall; or, I listen to God and overcome Satan.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says in chapter 13, verse 15 that I am to "offer to God a sacrifice of praise".  In this case, praise is a gift to God that costs me something.  I am to praise God because he is worthy to be praised, not because I get something out of it.

But as Terry Laws says, praise routs Satan.  And, in the end, it brings me great joy because I am pleasing my Lord.

Prayer: War-time walkie-talkie

John Piper uses an interesting analogy to describe prayer - war-time "walkie-talkie".

In his view, the purpose of prayer is to stay in contact with God so that he can direct us in a spiritual war. Of course, a walkie-talkie is a kind of two-way radio where a soldier talks to his commander and the commander gives direction or sends help.

In his great book Desiring God, Piper says that many Christians are more likely to see prayer as an intercom where the believer calls on God to provide blankets and pillows to make life more comfortable.

Is Piper's view correct?

There is no doubt that God is concerned about our personal needs.  The Bible tells us that God knows every hair on our heads (Matthew 10:30) and our very thoughts (Psalm 139:2).  He wants to hear from us and to meet our needs.

But Jesus urges us not to get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget God's great mission for believers.  After telling his listeners that God will look after their needs, he says in Matthew 6:33:

"Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."

So, our priority is God and what God wants.  We can be sure that what God wants is good for us.

I find myself turning naturally to my needs and wants when I pray.  There is nothing wrong with that.  It is an initial step for all believers as they learn to pray.

But I am gradually learning to look at the world through God's eyes.  Who does he want to see touched by the Spirit of God?  Who does he want me to help with God's love?  Who needs God's healing? How does God want me to change?  What is he calling our church to do?

The apostle Paul's prayers in his letters are instructive.  Repeatedly, he says he prays specifically for the spiritual welfare of his readers.  And he asks them to pray that he will be bold in preaching the gospel.

That is "walkie-talkie" praying.

Whose glory?

Like hundreds of millions of others around the world, I'm filled with national pride as I watch the Olympics.  I'm delighted when a Canadian athlete wins a medal.

I'm sure the athletes want to bring glory to their country as well as to themselves.  It's great to see athletes cheer on their compatriots.

It's easy to understand national glory.  Is it as easy to understand giving God glory?

We Christians give lip-service to glorifying God.  But, in practice, I believe most of us are more interested in our glory than God's.

This is a critical issue in prayer.  Daniel Henderson says in his book Transforming Prayer: "God's glory should be our sole - and soul - motivation that frames and filters everything we pray."

In other words, we should be praying to bring glory to God.  But what does this mean?

I believe it means praying to see God's will done in our circumstances.  It means praying that God gets the credit - not us.  Sometimes, that means praising God in the midst of suffering - praising him instead of cursing him.

If we pray this way, our prayers may well change.  Instead of asking for comfort, we ask that God work things out to his glory in our own small world.

It's the way the young Christian church in Jerusalem prayed in Acts 4 in the midst of persecution. These believers did not ask for God's protection.  They asked that he enable them to preach the gospel boldly and that God perform miracles to bring glory to his name.  Those prayers were answered powerfully.

"Praying for God's glory is a struggle," writes Henderson. "But it is the struggle that can and must be won every day."

Conversational prayer

Years ago, my wife and I learned a technique called "conversational prayer" which radically changed the way we prayed together.

The ideas behind conversational prayer came from a book by Rosalind Rinker, then a staff person with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in the U.S.  These simple ideas were widely adopted in the church we attended at the time and we used them in our own prayer times as husband and wife.

In her book Prayer: Conversing with God, Rinker suggested that when people prayed in a group, they should allow the Holy Spirit to guide their prayers.

An easy way to do this is that when one person prays about a concern, he should pray briefly about one aspect of the problem and others should follow with their own brief prayers on other aspects of the same issue.  Only when that concern had been prayed about should members of the group move on in prayer to something else.

This is different than the traditional approach of one person praying at length about a whole list of things.  Often that method chokes group prayer.  Since one person has prayed about everything on a list, there is no incentive for anyone else to pray - other than going through the same list a second or third time.

My wife and I have found this a liberating way of praying together.  The Spirit brings something to our minds and we pray about it right away.  My wife may pray about one aspect and the Spirit prompts me to pray about another facet of the same prayer need.

We have participated in prayer meetings which have gone on for a long time with people praying in this way.  And at the end, we feel we have been with God - which, indeed, we have.

Now that I reflect on this, I would like to add another wrinkle - an important one.  What would our prayer meetings be like if we included moments of silence to allow God to speak to us?  That would be a true conversation.

After all, it is the way God spoke to Moses and how God had his great dialogue with Job at the end of the Book of Job.  I would like to try that.  I believe we would have an even greater sense of the presence of God.

Intimate with God

I want to know Jesus the way Moses and David and Paul knew God.

I know it sounds egotistical.  But that is the kind of relationship God wants with everyone.

I used to want God's power so that I could do things that I wasn't strong enough to do myself.  There is still that lingering feeling within me.

But, over the many years of my Christian life, I have been learning that God comes first before anything else.  Now, our church is studying Transforming Prayer by Daniel Henderson which makes that point in spades.

Henderson declares that worshiping God is a major step to growing intimacy with God.  As we begin by worshiping God in prayer, we grow closer to God and we are more open to what he is telling us.

"Worship-based prayer ignites a desire for spiritual intimacy and personal transformation," Henderson says.  "In the discovery of these realities, a Christian is then empowered and enlightened to pray about issues and needs in a whole new way."

Henderson knows what he is talking about.  For many years, he has conducted free-wheeling prayer gatherings where people share scriptures that are meaningful to them, sing songs and choruses, and pray.  While worshiping God, people are healed emotionally and often changed.

Henderson is not alone.  There is a growing movement in the church for intimacy with God.  It is as old as the Bible, but it is spreading in our day.

Here is a brief video where Francis Chan, the well-known author and preacher, shares his passion for intimacy with Jesus:

Beyond ourselves

When you get right down to it, I'm selfish.  I think of myself first.

I don't think I'm unusual.  But I'm fortunate that Christ is not like that.  He was willing to give his life for me.  And he's calling me to look beyond myself.

The question I need to ask is not "What do I want" but "What does God want"?

This is a fundamental question for prayer as it is in every other aspect of life.

Dick Eastman, long-time head of Every Home for Christ, says in his book No Easy Road:

"Only when he denies himself and lives close to God does man learn his beautiful will.  When one really understands God's perfect will, the effectiveness of prayer is staggering."

As Andy Stanley pointed out in a recent sermon, Jesus began his model prayer - usually known as "The Lord's Prayer" - with God.  That prayer begins with worshiping God in his holiness and asking that the Father's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In his challenging sermon, Andy Stanley said we must be ready to accept God's will whatever it is, even though we may not like it right now.  We can be sure that what God wants for us is best.  You can hear more of his thoughts here: http://www.northpoint.org/messages/red-letter-prayers

The best way to know what God wants is to spend time worshiping him, seeking more of him.  As we worship him, we draw closer to him.  That is the route taken by the 16th century French monk Brother Lawrence.

Writing about Brother Lawrence, a friend said the monk spent his time continually "praising and blessing [God] with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy".  The title of that book, The Practice of the Presence of God, catches the essence of Brother Lawrence's life - he lived as if Christ was present, talking with him.

If my mind and heart are enjoying Christ, I can be sure he is leading me along the path he has prepared for me.

The power of blessing

The Bible tells us to bless God and bless others.  Why?

In some way, blessing seems to release God's power in our lives.

Let's take the apostle Paul's words: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14)."

If we follow that command literally, we will stop complaining about others.  We will pray that God's goodness will be poured out on them.

Over time, we will change.  And, quite often, the people we bless will be blessed.  That may well change our relationships with them.

When we do what God wants, God works in us.

Maurice Berquist has a basketful of modern stories of the power of blessing in his delightful book The Miracle and Power of Blessing (you can find the on-line version at http://www.twolisteners.org/Blessings1.htm).

Berquist, a pastor, first experienced this power by accident when a woman with emotional and mental problems was brought to him.  Not knowing what to do, he felt impelled to read with her Psalm 103:1-6 which speaks of blessing or praising God who forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us and satisfies our desires with good things.

He asked her then to read through these verses with him and she did this, slowly and hesitantly.  Amazingly, she was instantly healed and filled with joy.  She had been scheduled to go to a mental institution for treatment the following week, but no longer needed to.

Berquist suggests we should begin by blessing or praising God for who he is and what he has done; then, bless ourselves (that is, be thankful for how we have been created for we have been made that way by God); and finally bless others in specific ways.

There are certain things about this book that I struggle with theologically.  For example, he talks about blessing inanimate objects.  Yet, I realize that Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes and they were miraculously multiplied.

But, the Bible does tell us to praise God, bless others, and be thankful in all circumstances.

Living that way will certainly please God and change us.

The throne of God

A key to confident prayer is the fact that our all-powerful God is seated on his throne, listening lovingly and mercifully to our prayers and praises.

The author of Hebrews says in chapter 4, verse 16: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need."

Indeed, the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:6 (New Living Translation): "For he raised us up from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus."

This is a wonderful and yet mysterious verse which seems to say that we are already seated with Christ in spirit in heaven because we are united now with Christ. We are not with Christ bodily, but we are in spirit.

Over the centuries, great Christian thinkers have said that, in effect, Christians have Christ's authority in prayer.  In some cases, believers can be so certain that God has answered their prayers that they will declare God's answer and step out in faith, just as Elijah did in 2 Kings 18 when he told Ahab rain was coming after years of drought.

In Luke 10:19, Jesus told his disciples: "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy . . ."

Of course, there are conditions.  We must pray as if Christ were praying.  We must be filled with the Holy Spirit, confessing any conscious sin, and seeking what God wants.  The Bible and the Spirit can be our guides on what the Lord desires.

Wesley L. Duewel, author of Mighty Prevailing Prayer, writes:

"In yourself, you are a weak human being.  But in Christ you are seated beside Him on His sovereign throne and he delegates to you the privilege of praying in his name, resisting Satan, your already defeated foe, and crushing Satan under your feet because Satan is under Jesus' feet."

Faith and prayer

The Bible clearly teaches that there is a strong link between faith and answers to prayer.

That doesn't mean that God will give us what he doesn't want to give.  The apostle John declares that our prayers must be in tune with God's will (1 John 5:14-15).

But the scriptures are littered with stories showing the importance of faith in answers to prayer.

This is both inspiring and discouraging.  It is inspiring that God loves us enough to answer our heart cries.  It is discouraging because we may wonder: "Do I have enough faith to see answers to my prayers?"

That question forces us to think about what faith really is.

I like Andy Stanley's definition of faith.  It goes something like this: "Faith is believing that God is who he says he is and that he will do what he has promised to do."

If we believe God is who he says he is, we will know that he has the power to do more than we can ask or imagine.  And if we believe he will carry out the promises he makes in the scriptures, we will see all kinds of promises that relate to our needs.

Still, there are questions about how much faith depends on me and how much on God.  Christians have debated this for years.

Personally, I lean to the view of Charles S. Price, author of The Real Faith for Healing, who had a great healing ministry years ago in Canada and the U.S.

He notes that saving faith is a gift we receive when we yield ourselves to God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  He then points out Paul's words in Romans 12:3 that "God has allotted to each a measure of faith".  And he quotes the statement in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus is the "author and perfecter of our faith".

In other words, Price says that our faith comes from God and we must ask for the faith which comes through the Holy Spirit.  As the father of the boy possessed by an evil spirit said to Jesus: "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief." (Mark 9:24)

That doesn't mean we are passive.  We act on the faith we receive from God.

Price says: "Faith acts - but the act comes from faith and not faith from the act."

Holy Spirit prayer

More and more, I am learning to submit to the Holy Spirit's leading in prayer.

I find it hard.  I know how things should turn out - at least, the way I would like things to turn out.

But, I have been missing for many years the greatest power available to every believer in prayer.  The Holy Spirit knows my needs and he is constantly presenting them to the Father and the Son (Romans 8:26-27).  Rather than going off on my own, I need to get in tune with the Spirit.

Many great pray-ers and writers about prayer speak about how essential it is to yield yourself to the Spirit and seek his guidance in prayer.

O. Hallesby, author of Prayer, writes:

"If you find the difficulties in prayer so insurmountably great that you become disheartened then pray for the Spirit of Prayer.  He will help you in your weakness and show you in what ways you misunderstand prayer, and will make it simple and easy for you to pray."

In his book Praying by the Power of the Spirit, Neil Anderson tells about his own experience bringing every thought - good or bad - to God in prayer, allowing his prayers to be prompted by the Spirit.

Fred Hartley III says in Prayer on Fire that we must begin by inviting the Spirit to fill us, confessing our sins and receiving God's forgiveness.  Then, we know from scripture that he will come and move within us and in the world around us.  We will pray with power - praying for what God wants.

Hartley also says that inviting the Holy Spirit into our church meetings and prayer gatherings is essential if we are to see God move with power in our midst.  There are plenty of instances in the New Testament of that kind of praying. And great revivals, such as the Welsh revival, began when people asked the Holy Spirit to come.

It's a no-brainer.  The Spirit knows everything about us.  He loves us and wants to help us fulfill our destinies as children of God.  He is God and exercises all the power of God.  Why not turn to him as our guide and helper?

God's healing touch

I believe God heals people supernaturally today.

I believe this is supported by scripture and I believe there is overwhelming evidence from everyday life today.

Jesus made an astounding claim towards the end of his earthly life.  In John 14:11-12, Jesus tells his disciples:

"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.  I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father."

This passage tells me that believers today will be able to do what Jesus did - empowered by the Holy Spirit.  In effect, God heals people and we are the channel.

Our church approved a statement on divine healing prayer a little over four years ago.  This statement dealt with spiritual, emotional and physical healing.  It took the view that God heals supernaturally in all these areas today, although he may choose to work often through medical science and the healing powers of the body.

After church approval, we introduced an after-service prayer ministry.

As a team member, I am convinced this has met a real need in our church.  There have been deep moments of prayer with people coming to us with a whole range of issues that matter profoundly to them.  Our job as prayer team members has been to bring these people into the presence of Jesus Christ where he can embrace them with his love.

Most prayer requests have been about family or relationship issues.  It is difficult to measure how God moves in emotional issues - these often take many years to resolve.

I am not aware that there have been any direct physical healings through divine healing prayer in our church.  Why is that?

I don't know.  I read of amazing miracles - miracles like those in Jesus' day - in many parts of the world in our own time.  For example, Rolland and Heidi Baker tell stories of people being healed of blindness and deafness and of others being raised from the dead in their ministry among orphans and the poor in Mozambique.  Their book Always Enough is inspiring.

Similar things are happening in some places in North America.

One book that I read early on in my own quest to know more about divine healing was Power Healing by John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement.  I found it to be a reasoned discussion of
divine healing and his own struggles in this area.

He, too, was frustrated in the early stages of his healing prayer ministry.  No one was physically healed directly by God in the first 10 months that his church conducted healing sessions.  And then one person was healed miraculously.  And things changed after that.

What brought about the change?  Only God knows for sure.  But, looking back, Wimber said:

"This period of failure was a learning experience, a time in which I was purged of my pride and self-sufficiency.  I was humiliated and I was humbled.  God had first to cleanse a vessel before it was fit to fill with his precious oil of healing."

As I think about that, I realize it is not for me to tell God what to do or to try to force his hand.  My job is simply to be there in Christ's presence as he works in the lives of those who come for prayer.

The Bible says that Jesus' heart went out to those who were sick or broken in spirit.  As Heidi Baker says, he "loved on them."

That is what we are to do as we minister to others in healing prayer.

Thanks-living

Charles Spurgeon, a wonderful preacher in London, England, coined a phrase in a sermon 150 years ago that has stuck with me - "thanks-living".

In his view, we believers should be constantly living a life of thanks to God.  We are to do this in prayer, in obedience, in our thoughts.  This will be reflected in our character.

Praising God was very much on Charles Spurgeon's mind.  So much so that a number of his sermons were collected in a book put out a few years ago called The Power in Praising God.

As I have said before, I tend to worry.  Some of these worries are justified, most are not.  But, no matter what the situation, I can still offer thanks and praise to God.

I am doing that more often now.  I am following David's advice in Psalm 103:1-2: "Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his name.  Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me (NLT)."

There is a great deal I can thank him for as I look at the good things he does for me.

Spurgeon points out Paul's comment in Philippians 4:6: "In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

Commenting on this, Spurgeon says: "We are to pray about everything and every prayer should be blended with praise."

He adds: "The constant tenor and spirit of our lives should be adoring gratitude, love, reverence and thanksgiving to the Most High."

In my heart, I know Spurgeon is right.

Prayer walking

I was introduced to prayer walking more than 30 years ago when a friend told me he walked almost daily around the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, praying for the Members of Parliament and others working inside.

I was impressed, but I felt it was easier to pray in the comfort of home.  Yet I now know I was missing something important.

I am called to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and what better way to pray than to bring the people I meet in everyday life before the Lord?

Our church is having its annual prayer walk this week with teams of two strolling the streets around the church, praying for people in nearby homes, for shop owners, and for schools and institutions.  It is organized by a keen prayer walker who has done this for years in her neighborhood and elsewhere.

In a brochure she prepared, she says that the value of prayer walking is that we can see what we are praying for - such as a troubled home or a school that we are concerned about.  As we see, we are prompted to pray about specific things that come to mind.

Most of all, of course, we can pray that the Spirit of God will work in the minds and hearts of the people we see, drawing them to Jesus if they don't already know him.  Such prayers may come at just the right moment in the spiritual journeys of the people we meet.

If you're interested in making prayer walking a regular part of your life, Steve Hawthorne and Graham Kendrick have written a book called Prayer-walking: Praying on Site with Insight.

And here is a brief video which offers insights into prayer walking:

Why praying for the nation is a big deal

Praying for my country has been low on my priority list.  It shouldn't be.

There are good biblical reasons for praying for our nation.  One verse that leaps immediately to mind is Paul's command in 1 Timothy 2:2: "Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity."

But there are other reasons, too.  Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that we are fighting against dark powers in the unseen world, powers that certainly affect our nation.  He tells us we need to pray as well as put on the armour of God in standing against these powers.

There is a graphic example of prayer affecting the outcome of a crucial battle in 2 Kings 6.  There, Elisha reveals to his servant that an angelic army is ready to battle the invading Arameans.  He then prays that God will strike the invaders with blindness.  After they are blinded, he leads them into the city of Samaria where their eyes are opened and they realize they are virtual prisoners - although, the king is merciful and sends them back to their country.

That tells me that God is fighting battles against evil forces that are hidden from our sight.  Our duty is to pray.

So, how are we to pray for our leaders and our country?

The simple answer is we pray God's will.  His will is clear in scripture.  There is nothing there about praying for the Conservatives or the Liberals.  But there is plenty about obeying God, about being just, about looking after the needy, about spreading the gospel, about fighting against the forces of evil.  There is a lot about living holy lives, dedicated to the Lord.

Through prayer, we can see nations change.  We can see events turned to God's glory.

In his book Rees Howells Intercessor, Norman Grubb notes that this great Welsh revivalist and prayer warrior said in the years leading up to the Second World War that "the world became our parish" as he and a band of fellow pray-ers prayed against the evils of Naziism and Fascism.  They and others prayed intensely and battles miraculously turned against Germany when Britain seemed on the edge of disaster.

Some will say this was coincidence.  No doubt many Israelites said the same in Elisha's time.

The most-wanted list

Terry Teykl, a "prayer evangelist", tells about meeting a woman with a "most-wanted" list.

Curious, he asked her about the list - titled "Most Wanted" - which had 10 names on it.  She said they were 10 people she was praying would become believers.  She prayed for them persistently, believing God would bring them to himself.

Teykl uses this story to urge listeners to follow her example.  God works with us in prayer to achieve his purposes - and one of the greatest of these is to bring unbelievers into his kingdom.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has a similar idea where pray-ers can keep a list of the people they wish to see become followers of Christ.

What is the value of a list?  If you keep the list close at hand, it is a reminder that you should bring your friends, family, neighbours, and colleagues before the Lord regularly.

I realize that my own list of neighbours and family is too small - just a handful.  I need to think big.

Will Davis, author of Pray Big, recommends:

• Never stop praying;
• Pray that Jesus will have compassion on your lost friends;
• Pray that Jesus will meet the unbelievers where they are - in their homes, places of work, or wherever - because many will never go near a church;
• Pray that Jesus will call them by name - speaking into their hearts to show his love for them as individuals; and
• Pray that Jesus will remove what binds them - whatever is holding them back from putting their faith in him.

Obviously, we must be ready to speak about Jesus when the opportunity comes.

Of course, persistence is key. A prayer list is no good unless we hang in there, convinced that God will act when the time is right.

Prayer and the powerful word of God

Some years ago, I read a story that opened my eyes to the power of praying the scriptures.

D.L. Moody, the Billy Graham of the late 1800s, noticed an elderly man who prayed with real power.  Moody, who was a young pastor at the time, wanted to know this man's secret.  So he asked him and the man took him up to a loft in his barn where there were two Bibles, one of them open.

There he prayed and Moody realized his secret - he prayed back the words of scripture to God.  He was sure God would hear and answer because they were God's promises to his children.  That transformed Moody's praying - from then on, he prayed from the Bible.  Here is a link to that story: http://www.praywithchrist.org/prayer/plead.php.

Others have followed the same path - such great pray-ers as George Muller and Andrew Murray.

Why is this approach so effective?  One reason is that it builds faith because if God says it, it must be according to his will.  We can be sure he will hear and answer prayers like that.  We know that faith is vital in seeing God work in our lives.

In his book The Hour that Changes the World, Dick Eastman suggests three steps to praying God's word:

• Read a portion of scripture until you reach a verse or passage that catches your attention;
• Meditate on what that verse is telling you; and
• Pray it back to God whether it is a prayer of confession, or praise, or request.

A personal example:  A few days ago, I read Romans 15:7 where Paul tells us to accept each other just as Christ accepted us.  I realized that I did not accept others the way Christ has accepted me.  Today, I started praying that Jesus would help me accept others the way he accepts them.

Here is a YouTube video which spells out very well the value of praying the scriptures:

Where does God fit?

Who should come first, God or me?

The believer in me says, "God, of course!"  But the human being in me says, "Well, . . . "

This unspoken conflict reaches into prayer.  To be honest, most of my life, I have focused on my own needs and desires when I pray.  When I broaden my horizons, I include family and friends.  And, in recent years, I have thrown in ministries and churches that I am involved in.

Of course, God is pleased to hear my concerns, whatever they are.  He is as interested in my needs as any father is in his child's desires - in fact, infinitely more so.

But what about God? What about his plans?  What about his thoughts on what would be best for me?

Increasingly, I have become aware that God should be sought for his own sake, not just for what he can do for me.

Daniel Henderson, author of Fresh Encounters and Transforming Prayer, says that we should first seek God's face, not his hand.  By that he means we should pursue a deeper relationship with God in worshiping him above all.

In Transforming Prayer, Henderson writes: "It is not about rehearsing a quick list of needs with God, but seeking him because of who he is, with a passion for a deeper intimacy and experience of his presence."

What he says is firmly based in scripture.  The Psalmist David is a great example of someone who yearned for an ever-closer relationship with God.  Moses is another - he wouldn't go forward without God's presence in his life.

That didn't mean that they didn't pray about their needs.  They did.  But, they wanted above all to do what God wanted because they knew God intimately.  And God spoke to them.

So, is there a real conflict between the believer in me and the human being in me?  I don't think so.  As I worship God and listen to him, he guides me in my thoughts and prayers.

David put it best in these great words in Psalm 37:5:  "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Be still

I find it hard to stop and listen to God.  But I'm working on it and I find it rewarding.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 46:10:  "Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth."

Here God is demanding that we stop our frantic activities and "know" that God is God.  For a moment at least, we are to forget ourselves and step into the presence of God.

What does "knowing God" mean?  Much the same as knowing anyone else.  You can't know your friend unless you spend time with him or her.  You have to dive below the surface and understand how your friend feels and thinks about the deep things of life.

Of course, there is much to tell us about how God thinks and feels.  It is all there in scripture if we take the time to read and reflect on it. Meditate on it.  Turn it over in our minds.  Allow God's words to sink into our hearts.

Every night, for the last year and a half, I  have memorized a verse of scripture and, just before going to sleep, I have turned it over in my mind and allowed God to take these words and speak to me.

And, a few days ago, I read something in Frank C. Laubach's book Letters by a Modern Mystic which I put into practice during a walk through our neighbourhood.  In a June 22, 1930 letter, he wrote about taking a walk near his mission post in the Philippines. While walking, he spoke with God and imagined God speaking back to him.

He wrote: "It was as simple as opening and closing a swinging door.  And without any of the old strain, the whole day passed beautifully with God saying wonderful things to me."

When our minds are on God, we are exalting him.  And we are raised up, too.

Why we must pray together

Praying together is vital.

Jesus tells us that where two or three believers agree together about anything in his name, God will grant their requests (Matthew 18:19-20). Indeed, he is there with them as they pray.  That is powerful.

We Canadian Christians say we believe in prayer. But, most of the time, what we mean is that we believe in praying alone.

Praying alone is important, but author John Franklin says in his book And the Place was Shaken that most of Jesus' comments about prayer in the original Greek are about praying together - not individually.  The early church also emphasized praying together (see, for example, Acts 1:41, 2:42, 4:23-31, 13:1-3).

The history of great moves of God testifies to the power of united prayer.  Sometimes, as in the case of the revival in the Isle of Lewis in Scotland in the 1940s, God can bring about massive spiritual and social transformation with only a few people praying together over many years.

Indian evangelist K.P. Yohanan wrote in a Christianity Today article some years ago about how surprised he was to visit major American churches and find how few people participated in group prayer.  In India, he said, most Christians turned out for prayer meetings.  And the result is that the church is growing rapidly there and elsewhere where people pray in Asia.

After describing a revival he saw in the Kenyan city of Mombasa, John Franklin wrote:

"The greatest works of God come by corporate prayer, and we will not see the power of God in sufficient measure to transform the world around us until we pray together."

God with you

One of my favourite books on prayer is The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence, a French Carmelite monk who lived in the 1600s.

I first read this little book in the 1960s after finding it in the library of my great-aunt who had died just before then.  I have come back to it many times since.

It is a book filled with the joy of talking with God.  The first part is a series of interviews by a friend and the latter half includes several letters he wrote to some friends who asked the secret of his prayer life.

In spite of the somewhat stilted English of the translation, the book glows with hope and the pleasures of conversing continually with God.  His prayer life clearly changed Brother Lawrence and attracted people to him.

The key point in the book is that you can talk with God continually - even in your daily activities - just as the apostle Paul calls on us to do in 1Thessalonians 5:17.

"The time of business," said he, "does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament."

It took time for him to "practice" the presence of God.  Brother Lawrence knew that Jesus' promise that he would always be with us was true.  He pictured Jesus being with him and fixed his mind and heart on him as he spoke to him and listened to him in his spirit.

When his mind wandered away from God, Brother Lawrence didn't get frustrated, but simply turned back to worshiping him and enjoying him.  Over time, this way of praying became second nature.

There is spiritual wisdom on almost every page of this short book. It has inspired many generations of people including evangelicals such as John Wesley and A.W. Tozer.

If you're interested in reading it yourself, you can go to this link for a PDF version:

http://www.tochrist.org/Doc/Books/Lawrence/The%20Practice%20of%20the%20Presence%20of%20God.pdf