Praying for change

It's tempting to give up on people and circumstances that seem too hard to handle.

But things are possible with God which seem impossible to us.

If we run up against a brick wall, we can do no better than pray.  And God may surprise us.

I think of the apostle Peter in jail in Jerusalem, chained between two soldiers.  He was to go on trial the next day. 

In Acts 12, we read that an angel appeared before Peter as he was sleeping and poked him to wake him up.  The chains fell off and Peter, still half-asleep, followed the angel out of the cell and past guard posts.  The iron gate leading to the city opened by itself and Peter walked with the angel until the angel suddenly disappeared. Peter was free.

And what was going on among the believers while Peter was in jail?  They were praying together fervently for their leader and friend.

I need to remind myself of this before throwing up my hands when a person or a situation seems impossible to deal with.  God works as we pray.

Paul Miller, author of A Praying Life, hammers the point home that we must always ask.  Jesus made the same point in Luke 18 that we must "always pray and never give up".

Miller suggests we pray for change in others, change in ourselves, and change in things we don't like.  We can pray that God will:

• Bring his grace to bear on people we find difficult, softening them and making them more like Christ;
• Change us - a scary prayer - so that we become more like Christ; and
• Change our surrounding culture, rolling back evil.

The Bible is filled with stories of how God invaded hopeless situations and brought change.

God wants us to ask - and keep on asking.

The value of super-slow reading

I am a slow reader by nature - but for years I have been reading the Bible even slower than normal.

This is meditative reading - British author Joyce Huggett calls it "super-slow reading" in her book Listening to God.  Christians through the ages have practiced this method and have developed different ways of doing it.

They find - and I find - it draws you closer to God.  God speaks to you as you reflect on what you are reading.

Huggett's book on listening prayer charts her search for more of God.  Her very personal story describes how she discovered different ways of hearing God.

"In all our listening," writes Huggett, "the most penetrating word we shall ever hear is God's written Word, the Bible, that sword which slips into the inner recesses of our being, challenging us, changing us, and renewing our minds."

She says she remembers reading the account of Jesus' crucifixion in Mark 15:33-34 and being overwhelmed as she pictured him on the cross, crying out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

"When you see Jesus writhing on the cross before your very eyes in the way I did that day, you have to make a personal response of humble, grateful surrender to such depths of loving."

She also learned the method used by the Jesuit St. Ignatius Loyola which involves entering with your imagination a scene in the Bible such as the woman seeking healing by touching the hem of Jesus' garment.

Huggett imagined herself as the woman reaching out for Jesus, risking touching him.  She tried to use her senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch to gain a deeper impression of this and other scenes in the gospel - and a more intimate understanding of Christ.

She also moved into another kind of meditative reading of the scriptures called "lectio divina".  Many Christians have enjoyed and practiced this kind of reading for hundreds of years.

In essence, this is inviting the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read.  Jeanne Guyon, the 17th century author of Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, says you read until a particular passage or verse touches your heart and spirit.  And then you move beyond yourself into God's presence.

For example, you can take the first words of the beloved psalm 23 - "the Lord is my shepherd" - and spend a long time in reflection.  You can dwell on each word.

The word "Lord" causes you to think about who God is - all his qualities - his might, his passionate love for us, his holiness.  The word "is" tells you that he is your Lord right now - you belong to him.  The word "my" underlines this truth.

And the word "shepherd" speaks of someone who guides, protects, rescues and leads us where we can find nourishment.

This kind of reflective reading leads easily to prayer and praise.

You're helpless? Good!

God loves it when you realize you're helpless.

Then, you have no where to go but him.  And that's when you find yourself giving up and letting him take over.  At least, you're wise if you do.

Catherine Marshall, author of Adventures in Prayer, calls this "the prayer of helplessness".

She points to times in her life when she felt helpless, her plans going nowhere.  I have gone through times like that, too.  And I'm sure everyone has.

"My most spectacular answers to prayers have come when I was so helpless, so out of control as to be able to do nothing at all for myself," writes Marshall.

As a young widow, she wrote a book about her husband - Peter Marshall - who had been pastor of a major church in Washington and chaplain to the U.S. Senate.  Someone who knew Catherine and her husband was highly critical of her manuscript and said she missed the real Peter Marshall entirely.

She was devastated and wept.  She knew he was right. 

"In my helplessness, there was no alternative but to put the project in God's hands.  I prayed that A Man Called Peter be His book, and that the results be all His, too."

That book touched my life as a young believer and the lives of millions more.  Many told her that the book about the humble young Scot influenced them to enter the Christian ministry.  It was eventually made into a film.

As Marshall notes, Jesus told us long ago why it is so important for us to recognize that we are helpless without God.  In John 15:5, Jesus says: "Apart from me you can do nothing."

We may think we are doing great things, but our work is worthless in God's eyes if we are doing it without him.

But when we do give up trying to get our own way, says Marshall, we are ready to rely on a power that is far greater, far wiser than we are.  As Jesus said: "With God, all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) 

Marshall recommends three steps to the "prayer of helplessness":

• Be honest with God and admit that you are helpless.  Ask him to make you feel that truth at an emotional level if that's what he wishes.  Your emotions need to be touched if your surrender is to be real;
• Take your heart's desire to God.  Believe that he can do what you cannot do.  Thank him for what he is doing; and
• Watch for doors opening.  When the right door opens, you will have quiet assurance that it is God's work.

As I think about this, I realize how much time I waste trying to do things my way and fretting about it when things don't go as I believe they should.

I can almost hear the Lord say: "I have good things for you.  Just let me take over."

It's good when I know I'm helpless.

He's my friend

It seems ridiculous to call God a friend.  He is so awesome and powerful and we are so puny.

But Jesus told his followers in John 15: "I no longer call you slaves because a master doesn't confide in his slaves.  Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me."

That is deep sharing - the hallmark of a close friendship.  Jesus shared his life and his love with his followers.  He even gave his life for them.

And this friendship is the basis for bold, effective prayer.

In her book Simple Prayer, Joyce Meyer writes: "If I had to identify the most important key to effective prayer, it is approaching God as his friend."

If Jesus tells me I am his friend, why should I be afraid to talk to him?  I should go to him eagerly, telling him about my joys, thanking him for his gifts, asking him to meet my needs.  And listening attentively to what he tells me.

Meyer says that "if we go to Him as our friend, without losing our awe of him, our prayers will stay fresh, exciting and intimate."

"A natural friendship involves loving and being loved.  It means knowing that someone is on your side, wanting to help you, cheering you on, and always keeping your best interest in mind."

Of course, friendship with God is more than a natural friendship.  God never stops loving me and caring for me even though natural friends sometimes do.

 But friendship grows only as I spend time with my friends.  And that is true of my relationship with God.  If I stop meeting him and talking with him, my relationship stagnates.

"Don't just run to Him when you're desperate," says Meyer, "talk to Him in the grocery store, while you are driving your car, combing your hair, walking the dog, or cooking dinner.  Approach Him as your partner and your friend and simply refuse to do anything without Him."

We should seek his advice and guidance as we would of a close friend.  We should delight in pleasing him.  And, as the psalmist wrote: "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires."

Meyer offers Abraham as an example of a man who counted on God as his friend.  She writes of the exchange Abraham had with God in Genesis 17 about what the judgement he planned for Sodom and Gomorrah, by-words for sin and wickedness.

God said he would share his plans with Abraham, his friend.  And Abraham pleaded with him to withhold destruction of these cities.  Ultimately, not enough good men could be found in that place to save Sodom and Gomorrah.

But the point Meyer is making is that Abraham spoke with God boldly and without fear because he knew the Lord as his friend.

We can do that, too.  We can enjoy him as a friend.  And we can ask things of him with confidence because he is our good friend.

Praying always in life's trials

Nehemiah is one of my heroes - a man without any power of his own but who lived a life of power.

He gained his power from God through prayer.

In terms of Bible history, he does not stand out like Moses, Elijah, David or Jesus.  But he played a significant role at a very low point in his nation's history even though he was from a despised, defeated, and enslaved people.

His story is told simply and relatively briefly in the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament.

He appears at the beginning of the book as a cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia where the captive people of Judah now lived.  The cup-bearer's job was to drink wine before the king drank it so that if someone poisoned it the cup-bearer - and not the king - would die.

A perilous job.  But it was also a position of trust - Nehemiah was clearly trusted by the king.

E.M. Bounds, author of Prayer and Praying Men, describes what happened when several Jews returned to Susa in Persia after visiting Jerusalem which was in ruins following Judah's catastrophic defeat at the hand of the Babylonians.

Nehemiah was devastated by their stories - so devastated that he mourned and wept and prayed to God for days.

"How few the strong men in these days who can weep at the evils and abominations of the times!" writes Bounds.  Nehemiah had a heart for his people.

As Bounds says, Nehemiah's prayer is a model for our prayers.  "He begins with adoration, makes confession of the sins of his nation, pleads the promises of God, mentions former mercies and begs for pardoning mercy."

And then he asks God to prepare the king's heart so that he can talk to him about his concerns.

The king noticed Nehemiah's unhappiness and asked him why he was so downcast.  Nehemiah prayed to God as he was telling the king that he wanted to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the fallen city.

In itself, this prayer in the midst of a crucial conversation reveals Nehemiah's total reliance on God.  He lived a life of prayer.

The king granted Nehemiah's request and went further, providing material and his royal authority to rebuild the city.

But Nehemiah faced a whole series of opponents and problems once he reached Jerusalem.  There were local powers who set out to sabotage the effort.

Bounds says "Nehemiah mixes prayer with all he does."  He prays to God to foil the attempts by his enemies to undermine the reconstruction.  And he prays to God for protection when the walls go up again.

Nehemiah ultimately completes his task of rebuilding the city.

Bounds concludes: "Prayer helps mightily in all matters concerning God's cause and wonderfully aids and encourages the hearts of those who have his work in hand in this world."

Nehemiah had no power of his own, but God's power was more than enough.

Prayer is action

Some years ago, a friend told me he wasn't much interested in prayer - he was busy reaching out to people with the good news of Christ.

What he seemed to be saying was: "Prayer is a waste of time.  It doesn't accomplish anything."

That's not what John Wesley believed.  The founder of Methodism, which brought millions into the kingdom of God, said: "Prayer is where the action is."

David Bryant, author of In the Gap, takes it a step further: "Prayer is action."

The Bible supports this view.  Here are some examples:

• In Exodus 3, God tells Moses that he has heard the cries of distress from the Israelites enslaved in Egypt and has come to deliver them;
• In Judges 6, God sends an angel to the Israelites in response to their pleas for help against the Midianites and designates Gideon as the man who will free them from their oppressors;
• In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah prays to God for help as three nations invade his country.  God responds by giving the people of Judah instructions to go out against their enemies singing praises to God - and the Lord miraculously destroys the enemy armies; and
• In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are miraculously freed from their chains in a Philippian jail when they sing praises to God.

In each case, prayer - or praise - was the first step in God moving powerfully.  The implication is that without that action, God would not have moved.

And, of course, there are the great promises of Jesus on prayer such as:

• "For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:10); and
• "If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you."  (Matthew 18:19)

God chooses to move as we pray.

In his book The Hour That Changes The World, missionary and author Dick Eastman says:

"In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God's work, especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer."

Missionary and prayer warrior Wesley Duewel says: "We can reach the world, if we will.  The greatest lack today is not people or funds.  The greatest need is prayer."

It's clear: Prayer is vital in God's work on earth.

Be bold!

Do you pray as if you expect a “no” answer?

I sometimes do.  I go through the motions, hoping but not really counting on a “yes” answer.

That’s not how Jesus prayed.

Of course, Jesus began by seeking what the Father wanted.  Then, he knew the answer to his prayers would be “yes”.

Yet, I may know from the scriptures that God promises something.  And I will still doubt that he will say “yes”.

The issue may be that I forget who is really praying through me – Jesus.  Knowing that it is Jesus builds my faith.

Bryan Chappell, author of Praying Backwards, writes:

“We can be very bold, not because we deserve to be heard but because the One who speaks to the Father for us provides us the privileges and power of his identity when we pray.”

I like the way Chappell puts it: “The Holy Spirit does not merely supply the fervor and content of our prayers; he gives us the Savior’s voice to make our petitions.”

He notes Jesus’ words to his disciples about the persecutions they would endure.  Jesus said that they need not worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit would give them Jesus’ words to speak (Mark 13:11).

 

He also points out the apostle Paul’s words that the Holy Spirit groans before the Father for us when we pray (Romans 8:26). 

In other words, Chappell says: “Through the Spirit we petition the Father with Christ himself speaking for us.”

“We pray, but another prays for us.  We approach the heavenly Father, but his Son intercedes.”

As believers, Christ lives in us.  He shares his identity with us.

Chappell says we speak to God with the voice of his child “and with fathers we can be even bolder than we are with friends”.

“If I, an imperfect father, so appreciate hearing my child’s voice, it helps me understand how my heavenly Father desires infinitely more to hear my prayers offered in the voice of his Son.”

Of course, praying in Jesus’ name means praying as Jesus would pray.  In his model prayer, Jesus begins by glorifying God and praying that God’s will be done on earth.

We must seek what God wants.  What he wants is for our good.

Then, we can pray boldly, knowing that Jesus is praying for us.