God can

In prayer, one of the biggest mountains to cross is unbelief.

Like many others, I often get caught up with how impossible a situation looks.  Surely, God can't fix that, I think.

But God can.

Bill Hybels, author of Too Busy Not to Pray and pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago area, confronted this problem in his prayer life many years ago.

He says that he was sitting in a small room overlooking Lake Michigan one summer when he realized what was wrong with his prayer life - lack of faith in God's ability to answer our prayers. 

"I decided I didn't want to stay where I was, for all practical purposes disbelieving God's omnipotence," he says in his book.  "So I launched an assault on my own lack of conviction."

He began with God's power over nature, looking at Bible passages such as God parting the waters for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea and the Jordan River, feeding the Israelites with manna and birds in the wilderness, producing water out of a rock, and Jesus stilling the great waves of the Sea of Galilee when they threatened to swamp the boat he and the disciples were in.

He read and reread these passages and others before turning to God's power to deal with impossible circumstances.  He considered Peter's miraculous delivery in prison by an angel when he was on the point of being executed (Acts 12).  Even the believers who welcomed him back were astonished at this answer to their prayers.

Finally, he looked at God's power to change lives.  He read about shy Moses becoming a powerful leader, Pharaoh relenting and letting the Israelites leave Egypt, the conversion of the persecutor Saul, and Peter's transformation into a courageous, outspoken leader after Jesus' ascension into heaven.

He recalled the words in Hebrews 13:8 that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever".  He reasoned that if God is unchanging, he can do today what he did in Bible times.

I think we all need to look back at what God has already done - in our lives as well as in the Bible.  This can give us new energy and conviction as we pray.

Waiting in silence

Great prayer warriors have found great spiritual benefits from silently waiting before the Lord.

Why?  Because they focus their minds entirely on loving God.  And the Lord builds them up and equips them for the day ahead.

In The Hour That Changes The World, author Dick Eastman says:

"To be complete, prayer needs an early, significant dose of spiritual silence.  Such silence is necessary if the believer hopes to minister effectively for Jesus."

Eastman says that we can easily get worn out by the busyness of life and the spiritual demands on our time.  We need to turn our minds to God, opening ourselves completely to him without requests.

Sometimes, I stop for a few moments and simply imagine Jesus with me.  He is saying nothing and I say nothing.  We are simply loving companions.  The thought of Jesus being present helps me put life in perspective.  I am his and nothing else really matters in the long run.

However, Eastman urges me to do more than that.  He suggests I make this waiting silence a regular part of my prayer time.

In fact, he recommends I begin my prayer time with praising God and then move into a time of silent waiting before the Lord.  Praise helps point me to God and prepares me to simply adore him in silence.

"Waiting on God is especially essential to prayer because it strengthens our knowledge and concept of God," writes Eastman. "To focus attention entirely on God places God on the throne of our praying."

Eastman suggests these steps in silent waiting before God:

• After praising God, bring your mind and spirit to complete silence;
• Think only of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
• If you must speak, whisper words such as "I love you, Lord" or "I long for your presence, O God";  and
• Concentrate fully on God's love in these minutes of silence.

This is silence that refreshes.

The desires of your heart

God-given desire is the fuel of powerful prayer, says author and missionary Wesley Duewel.

In his book Mighty Prevailing Prayer, Duewel says: "Holy desire is a holy power that energizes prayer.  It is a dynamic of the Spirit."

What does this desire look like?  Duewel points to the apostle Paul's prayer in Romans 9:1-4 where he says that "I could wish I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel".

Paul preached to the Jews and suffered persecution for doing it - but many became believers because of the apostle's deep desire to see them enter God's kingdom.  He prayed fervently and saw God answer amazingly.

Duewel says: "From one viewpoint, real desire is a gift of God.  From another viewpoint, you must deepen your own desire with the help of God."

So, what desire has God planted in your heart?  Are you nurturing that desire through consistent, regular, fervent prayer?

That's a good question for me.  I have a personal vision of everyone in our church coming together "seeking God's face" as author Daniel Henderson says - wanting more of God in prayer.  But I haven't been feeding that desire in persistent prayer.

"Do not let other things divert you or distract you," Duewel says.  "Let the Holy Spirit deepen your prayer more and more as you cherish these holy longings and hunger for them ever more deeply."

As well, we must surrender our own desires, he says.

"The Holy Spirit will faithfully teach you God's perspective, God's priorities, and God's process if you remain filled with the Spirit and selflessly committed to God's will."

Finally, he says, "trust God for what you desire and praise him".  Our faith grows as we praise and thank God for what he is doing and will do.

God drops the seeds of holy desire in our hearts and we fertilize them with our prayers.  God moves in response to these prayers and the world changes.

Prayer and prophecy

Mark Batterson, a pastor and author, says we can have a major influence on the lives of others through prayer and prophecy.

In his book Draw the Circle, Batterson says that as we draw closer to God, he gives us prophetic insight into other people.  "Prophecy", in this sense, means seeing someone's potential in God's eyes.

In 1 Corinthians 14:3, the apostle Paul says: "One who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them."

"Like Paul, who saw gifts in Timothy that Timothy couldn't see in himself, we, through prayer, are enabled to see with prophetic eyes," Batterson writes.

"We are given supernatural insight.  Then we are prepared to speak with prophetic boldness into the lives God has positioned in our path."

This prophetic insight grows as we become closer to God.  And prayer is vital to loving God and becoming more like Jesus.

"Prayer is the way we write the future," Batterson says.  "It's the difference between letting things happen and making things happen.

"And when we speak prophetic words into someone's life, it gives them a new lease on life."

He tells the story of a boy who grew up in an abusive home.  The boy would stop by a dry cleaner's on the way home because he had candy on his counter.

As they got to know each other, the dry cleaner told the boy that he was very smart and would run a very big business some day.  The boy grew up and became chief executive of a multimillion-dollar health care organization.

Batterson writes: "Your words have the potential to change lives by helping people discover their identity and destiny in Jesus Christ."

He advises parents to lovingly remind a child who has done something wrong that "that's not who you are" and to celebrate when they do something right.

Some years ago, a praying friend prophesied that I would play a role in building a ministry of prayer.  Those words have influenced me ever since.

When God says "Yes"

Sometimes God gives such a clear answer to prayer that your heart leaps with joy.

It may be a miraculous healing.  Or, an unexpected cheque in the mail that is just enough to cover a crippling debt.  Or, a loved one turns away from a destructive life-style to find Jesus.

I believe God drops these wonderful moments in our lives to boost our faith when we need it.

Occasionally, he answers "Yes" after years of praying.

George Muller, who lived by faith in caring for many thousands of orphans in Britain in the 1800s, prayed for one friend to come to Christ for many decades.  He gave his life to Jesus at Muller's graveside.

My wife and I are confident that the Lord will answer "Yes" to our years of praying for an elderly friend who turned sour on God years ago for various reasons.

Yesterday, I prayed in the morning that God would give us an opportunity soon to talk about Jesus with him.  At dinner in the evening, he opened a discussion about God, telling us he was reading a Bible we gave him years ago and asking us questions about faith in Christ.

I believe that was a downpayment on a "Yes" answer.

Why is the Lord answering that prayer now and not earlier?  I don't know.  I just believe that God knows when the time is right.

I am convinced that he is saying "Yes" to our prayers all the time - but we don't see them.

But when he gives an obvious answer to prayer, it can have a great impact on us and those around us.

Think of King Hezekiah who was told by the prophet Isaiah that he would shortly die.  Hezekiah wept and prayed to God for more life and God answered "Yes".  He gave him a physical sign and told the prophet Isaiah that the king would live 15 more years and prevent the Assyrians from taking Jerusalem.

The king rejoiced and Jerusalem was spared during his lifetime.

Jesus prayed before venturing out to the crowds in Judea.  And then he performed miracles, lending power to his words. The combination of Jesus' miracles and his words touched the minds and hearts of multitudes.

Store these obvious answers to prayer in your heart.  Feed on them when you feel low.  God hears you and is at work in your life.

Chewing God's words

I like to chew on the words of God.

The more I chew, the more I get out of a Bible passage that catches my eye.  These thoughts help fuel my prayer life.

I was led to this approach some years ago by someone speaking in a video about meditative prayer.  I have since forgotten his name.  But it is a practice that goes back centuries.

I tend to move slowly through the scriptures, stopping at a verse that I wish to explore further.  Recently, I have been going through the gospels this way and have reached Luke 21 where Jesus is speaking of the end times.

My method is very minimal.  I read the passage just before bedtime and choose a verse to memorize.  As I read it, I imagine Jesus speaking the words and the people listening.  And I think in pictures of the words he is saying.

Last night, I settled on Luke 21: 12-13 where Jesus is speaking of coming persecution for those who follow him.  Not the happiest portion to contemplate before sleeping.

But these verses made me think about Jesus' honesty, the cost of following him, and God's great plan for the world.  Jesus did not sugar-coat the future for his disciples.  But he prepared them for what was to come.

What struck me was how the plan of God would unfold as the disciples were hauled before the authorities, accused of being followers of the hated Christ.  This, Jesus said, would give the disciples the opportunity to witness to kings and governors.

Persecution would be an opening to spread the message of hope - the good news of salvation through Christ.

These verses can lead to personal prayer.  Prayer for courage in the face of opposition to Jesus.  Prayer of thanks that the Spirit is there to guide us when we are attacked (see Luke 21:14-15).  Prayers of praise that God is working out his plan in times of trouble.

This passage left me with the feeling that I am not alone when I stand up for Jesus.  God is with me.  And any troubles I face by following Jesus are for a purpose that God has already determined.

There are many ways of meditating on scripture.  Paul Covert touches on quite a number in his book Threshold: Transformational Prayer, Transformational Prayer Ministry.  Covert's book is filled with great ideas on prayer.

Meditative prayer is nourishing - deepening our understanding of God.

Fighting the enemy

How do we fight Satan, our great enemy - the enemy of God?

As believers, we can make two big mistakes - overlooking the power of Satan altogether or giving him too much attention.

If we forget Satan, he can insinuate himself into our lives and destroy churches and render believers impotent.

If we give him too much credit, we can spend all our time fighting the enemy without paying attention to our great Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.

I really like the approach taken by Guy Chevreau in his book Spiritual Warfare Sideways: Keeping the Focus on Jesus.

As the title suggests, Chevreau says we should concentrate on our victorious God in praise and worship.  Satan can't stand worship of the Lord.

Many of David's psalms are prayers of worship to God.  They have the power to strengthen us and to force the Evil One to flee.

Chevreau tells a story of missionaries Nev and Mo in Malawi praying for sick people in a village.  One of them was a young teenager, drooling at the mouth and evidently afflicted by epilepsy.

It turned out the boy was wearing a witch doctor's charm.  So Nev and Mo insisted that he remove the charm and, reluctantly, his family agreed.

"Nev declared the victory of Christ over the destroyer," Chevreau says, "and spoke freedom from all that was cursed in [the teenager's] life, blessing him in the name of Jesus."

The boy's eyes came into focus, he smiled, and he said: "Jesus loves me."

The family was overjoyed.  The local village pastor later reported to the missionaries that the teenager remained in good health.

Chevreau's book is sprinkled with other stories of the power of praise and worship in combating satanic attacks.

The apostle John says in 1 John 4:4 that "the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world".  The Spirit of God is within us and Jesus triumphed over Satan on the cross.

People often talk today about "our identity in Christ", the privileges of being a child of God.  We are justified, united with God, forgiven of our sins, citizens of heaven, God's co-workers.

We can spend time reflecting on these truths daily, praising the Lord and worshiping him.

And, as Chevreau suggests, we can declare God's victory when we face satanic attack.

I am aware that I need to use these weapons in times of trouble - trouble seemingly created by Satan.  It is even better when I can band together with others in this fight.

After all, I am "more than conqueror" (Romans 8:37) because God is on my side.