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."