1 Chronicles 5:18-20
"The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, expert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. And when they prevailed over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him." (emphasis added)
The more I read the book of Chronicles (1 & 2), the more I see it as a book of prayer. It is filled with communion and communication with God. Notice the passage above with its call for trust in God as a basis for prayer, rather than reliance on one's own resources. Surely this exemplifies the 'prayer of faith' referenced in James. It directs us in the spiritual battles with face, knowing our enemy is not flesh and blood.
Situated among the pages of Chronicles are the prayer of Jabez (1 Chron. 4), the prayer of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20), the prayer of Hezekiah (2 Chron. 32) and other portraits of prayer in relationship with and dependence upon the God with whom we have to do. These prayers and the examples they afford us are not merely for our interest; they are for our instruction. God shows us the natural voice of prayer in the story of His people, a voice that is to continue in the stories of our lives.
We are a nation addicted to junk food. In this I count myself chief of sinners. As big a concern as that may be, it pales in comparison to its spiritual parallel.
The psalmist spreads before us the feast of God's love:
"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds to men,
for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things." (Psalm 107:8-9)
We understand those "good things" as God's redemptive mercies and the glories of his grace bound up in Jesus Christ. In her Magnificat, Mary reveled in the realized promises of God, declaring that God her Savior had "filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty" (Luke 1:53).
Who are these hungry? They are those longing to be filled the Bread of Life, whose spiritual palate has been awakened to God's provision of enduring Manna. Isaiah speaks to those so awakened, giving both promise and warning:
"Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Isaiah appeals to those aware of their need, bringing the invitation of God to take and eat.
"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Yet the empty calories of the world's offerings compete and attract.
"Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David." (Is. 55:1-3)
We are to listen intently to God. As we do we find the issue is not physical nourishment but spiritual. The richness of the food speaks to the substance of salvation, bound up in the Son of David, the Chosen One, the sole covenant keeper, Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, the one Mary was told would inherit the throne of his father David and whose kingdom would never end (Luke 1:32f.)
The Spirit of God has opened our eyes to taste and see that the Lord is good, to savor the Savior. The question we need to ask ourselves, though, is, what is our daily diet? Or, to put it more pointedly, with what are we filling ourselves? Where are we trying to satisfy our thirst? Or perhaps more clearly, of whose love do we drink deeply?
Our heart hungers, our restless spirit searches. And we turn to the lures of evils on the internet to satisfy. The latest electronic gadget makes us salivate. Our eyes widen and taste buds pop as we read the sales circulars. We find "rich" food in the offerings of the world that at best offer empty calories and at worst poison for the soul.
Just as we find life in Christ, so we must feed upon Christ in communion with him, in delight of his blessings and in full enjoyment of his love. Only then will we be strong in the Lord and worthy instruments in his service.
As the National Day of Prayer (the first Thursday in May) draws near a buzz has been generated by the ruling of a federal judge declaring the day unconstitutional. But even if that ruling is upheld, what difference does it make? Should it stop the church from praying? Can it stop the church from praying? Not only can believers legally gather for prayer, even the most severe of government strictures cannot silence believers in their communion with God and petitioning of him on behalf of the nation.
Actually, when it comes down to restricting prayer, the church is doing a pretty good job all on its own. Often we don't pray, don't feel the need to pray, and the prayer we do engage in seems pretty anemic. In fact, this prayerlessness is one of the things for which we need to repent and bear the fruit of repentance in taking up the mantle of prayer given us by our Lord. In the service I prepared for my congregation for the National Day of Prayer, I include these confessions of our prayerlessness:
we your people, called by your name, do not humble ourselves and pray but instead go about our business in prideful self-sufficiency and willful neglect of your commandments and decrees, unconcerned for the name of Jesus Christ that we bear and inattentive to his design for us as his disciples;
we do not seek your face nor turn from our loveless indifference and worldly preoccupations, actually tolerating and even enjoying the corruptions of this world to the dishonor of you who has called us to be holy as you are holy;
we are not salt and light to our nation, nor do we desire to be, content to dabble in “Christian” practice and use you for our ends;
(I will post the whole prayer of confession after the May 6 service)
The buzz created by the judicial questioning of a national day of prayer and the ripples of rumor surrounding it should strengthen our resolve to pray, and not just on a designated day. But my guess is that it won't. Being up in arms will not translate to being on our knees. And that is to our shame.
Will God answer your prayer for your friend’s salvation? Will He honor your witness to them about Christ? God’s answer is forged in the fiery furnace of Daniel 3. The book of Daniel presents us with faithful witness in a foreign land. That witness takes the form of kingdom alignment and allegiance through Daniel’s fellow servants of the Most High God, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. When pressed to worship a god that was no god at the jeopardy of their own lives, they affirmed, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O king.” Then in allegiance to the ultimate Sovereign whose kingdom is an enduring kingdom and who gives earthly reign to whom He wills, they take their stand: “But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
How does this help us to know if God will answer our prayer or honor our witness? This account displays not only a determination of faith, but also lays out a division of responsibility. God is able to answer and will do as He pleases. That’s the impetus for praying in faith. Praying in faith is praying with the conviction of God’s hearing, the expectation of God’s answering and the confidence that no matter how great is the thing we ask for, God is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or could even think. Such prayer knows, trusts, relies on, serves and submits to the will of God.
Alongside of God’s responsibility lies ours, showcased with tenacity in the stand taken by Daniel’s trio of friends. In essence we say, “God is able to save the one to whom we witness and for whom we are praying and His saving purposes will be accomplished. But if He does not, I will not shrink from my convictions or shirk my responsibility to bear witness to my Lord Jesus whose kingdom I serve.”
We bear witness in what the Apostle Paul calls a “present evil age” (Gal. 1:4) and calls us to caution because “the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15). Our witness takes place in the face of spiritual opposition. God alerts us to this in Gene. 4:6 where He says, "sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." To help orient us to the age in which we live, I’ve copied from my sermon blog on Genesis 4:1-16.
Our first foray from Genesis 1-3 into a post-fall world presents us with a pretty disturbing picture. We witness mangled worship, rebellion against God and unchecked emotion leading to murder, all a taste of what a world now riddled with sin will be like. We see how horrible sin is and what man in rebellion against God is capable of, especially if we allow sin to rule us to the neglect of the counsel of God. Yet in the midst of the darkness we see the sparkle of God's promise and grace that anticipates the coming of the seed of the woman that we celebrate this Christmas season. Those who look at a sin-infected world with all its horrors and conclude there is no God or an inadequate God, fail to take seriously the reality of the fall and neglect the great redeeming work of God to bring remedy and hope through Jesus Christ.
(comment from Ray) God tells Cain that sin's "desire is for [him] and [he] must rule over it," reminding us of the curse upon Eve that her "desire shall be for [her] husband and he shall rule over [her]." The language seems to point to a connection, but it is less than transparent (to me, at least).
(comment from Stan) The words "desire" and "rule" in Gen. 4:7 are identical those of Gen. 3:16, and both are expressed in the aftermath of sin's entrance. The connection for us to make could well be the active elements of contending with sin. Sin finds a friend in the desires of our hearts that are drawn to it, embrace it and cultivate it in our lives. The result of sin entering through the door of desire is that it climbs to the throne of our hearts to rule over us, and we become ensnared in it. Paul employs the same imagery in Rom. 6, where he says in vs. 12: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions." James 1:14-15 is also instructive for us in the ascendancy of sin.
There is little more invigorating to prayer than using the words of God Himself to fuel it. One of my most serendipitous (if a firm belief in the sovereignty of God will allow such terminology) discoveries is the volume by Kenneth Boa, entitled Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures for Intimate Worship. The book guides prayer in all its moods using the word of God. I have yet to use it without being profoundly affected by the life it breathes. Another resource for prayer that I use regularly is The Psalms for Prayer by T. M. Moore. The psalms give us voice in all situations of the human condition in communion with God, leaving no God-appointed target for prayer unattended. However, allowing Scripture to direct our prayer lives means more than reciting prayers, even with fruitful minds and resonating hearts, or interacting with God along the lines of His inscripturated revelation. Scripture itself is a school of prayer in that we hear the voice of our personal God as the speaker, as He pastorally ministers to His people in relationship with them. A primary value I see in my book, The Prayer of Jehoshaphat: Seeing Beyond Life's Storms, is the tutorial it provides for engaging God expectantly in the trenches of life, not just parroting a prayer but learning from the context that produced it to interact with God to give us a bigger view of Him, a better view of ourselves, and a broader view of His grace sufficient for us in whatever we face. God's prayer book doesn't just give us prayers. It makes us pray-ers.
How many times have you been like me in swinging by a fast food place to pick up a couple of burgers to eat on the go from one place to another, absentmindedly wolfing down the food to get a little nourishment in the system? That approach is not unlike our daily feeding from the Word of God. We do it because we're supposed to, knowing it's good for us. But how much nourishment do we receive from that spiritual food when we eat it on the go, barely tasting it, or with our engine impatiently idling?
In 2 Timothy 2:1 Paul says this to his young charge, "You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Typically, our eyes skim that sentence, take it in to some degree, resonate with it a bit and move on. However, just what does it mean to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ? How do we go about being strengthened by it? Is there a distinction to be made between the grace of Christ and the grace that is in Christ?
Then, almost as if reading our minds, Paul says a few verses later, "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything" (2:7). If the questions raised by verse 1 made us tap the brakes, this call to think on makes us put it in park and turn off the engine. There is a command here not to just skim but to ruminate, with the enticement of the benefit of understanding from our Lord Himself.
What our God seems to be telling us here is that in order to receive greater benefit from our reading His Word, we need to be ready to ponder it. In expectation of our Lord Jesus granting understanding (including application), that pondering necessarily involves prayer in seeking and wrestling with Him over the truth He has set before us. In fact, we can say with conviction that prayer is the digestive juices by which we assimilate the milk and meat of God's Word for our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
It's always remarkable to me how God showcases prayer as a means for His ends. Hezekiah serves as an example. Confronted by a severe threat from the Assyrian army, we're told Hezekiah prayed to the Lord (Is. 37:15). It's worth checking out what he prays. A few verses later we find the words coming from the mouth of the Lord, "because you have prayed..." In the next chapter in an entirely different matter, our attention is again drawn to Hezekiah praying (Is. 38:2). Likewise, a few verses later the Lord declares: "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears." What I find so remarkable is not just God emphasizing prayer for the accomplishment of His purposes, but how it is so startling to me each time. The only answer has to be the forgetfulness of my unbelief. Instead of being tethered to the theology and experiential example inscripturated in God's Word, I fear my prayer is chained to unbelief. As I result, I don't pray with urgency. I don't pray with expectation. I don't pray.
Just today I read a note a pastor friend passed along to me. I've pasted it below with the names deleted. It serves as a vivid reminder of the difference between prayer tethered to God's Word and prayer chained to unbelief. May God help me and all "believers" in our unbelief.
God is working in _______'s family. Fear and discouragement are a normal and accepted part of peoples' lives in our area and the spiritual oppression is quite shocking. Recently, we have been receiving requests for prayer among _______'s extended family along these lines. The requests are coming as a result of God answering our prayers openly and releasing people from some extreme symptoms. The first time we prayed for a cousin of his, the guy was healed that day! He had been acting like a lunatic with extremely erratic behavior and since our prayer for him, he has had complete relief! _______'s family (aunt's & uncles) have since been calling him for prayer! Instead of the persecution that I feared was imminent, the opposite is actually happening. The oppression that these people have been living under is too much to bear and the (other religions') options have provided no deliverance or relief. Christ has come that they might be released from this bondage and live in abundance and overflowing joy & peace. Recently, ___________and I prayed for another cousin of his who is also having extreme emotional and spiritual difficulties, and the next morning they contacted __________to tell him about the amazing improvement overnight. Prayer is the tool that God is using to reveal His goodness. People are seeing the clear difference between ritualistic religion that offers no hope, and the power of God through Jesus to deliver them. __________is teaching his household (3 nieces, a nephew, 2 daughters, a wife and his mom) all the lessons and stories he is daily learning from the Bible - that's awesome! Keep praying that God would exponentially increase the knowledge of Christ in this community and that ____________would grow daily. It is important to keep in mind that we have been working for over 4 years and are beginning to see God work in this way. We are vessels for His blessing, but He chooses the time and manner in which He will carry out His will.
The Bible is clear that we face spiritual opposition in our enemy the devil. He opposes us because we belong to Christ. But exactly what do Satan's efforts look like? Although the Bible speaks of his efforts in terms of accusation, temptation and deception, how do those efforts show up in ways we can recognize them?
One way Satan opposes us is through agents of his kingdom, those whom Jesus cites as being of their father the devil (John 8:39-47). Of the Pharisees, who rejected the Christ and taught contrary to what God had revealed in His Word, Jesus says, "You are of your father the devil." He puts that family lineage in practical terms of action, "and your will is to do your father's desires." Jesus speaks of the Pharisees inability to understand. This all comports with teaching elsewhere that those of the kingdom of God, endued with the Holy Spirit can comprehend the things of the Spirit because they now belong to the realm of light and life (cf. 1 Cor. 2:12-16) and obey the will of God (Rom. 13:12-14). Paul draws a line between "us" and "them," brothers and not, those with hope and those without hope in passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, where those belonging to light and those belonging to darkness manifest different orientations and produce divergent fruit.
Here we find one way that Satan carries out his efforts to oppose us and Christ's church. He works through people, those who are subjects of his fallen kingdom. Paul speaks of being delivered from wicked and evil men in the context of the Lord in His faithfulness guarding us against the evil one (1 Thess. 3:2-3). We might think of Satan using instruments like Judas Iscariot to carry out his desires.
In Acts 13 a man called Elymas the magician opposes Paul and Barnabas, seeking to uproot the seed of faith taken root in through the ministry of the word. Listen to Paul's recriminating words in rebuke of Elymas: "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy" (Acts 13:10). Elymas bore family resemblance to his father the devil and served as a tool for his use against the kingdom of God and His Christ.
The book of Revelation is filled with scenarios in which those who are "earth dwellers" carry out the will of their demonic father, seeking another kingdom, serving a different lord. (e.g., Rev. 3:10; 11:10; 13:8; 14:6). These ones operate as ones dead in sin and are described by Paul in Ephesians 2:1-3, where they walking according to the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, in the spirit of the sons of disobedience.
It is of these from Ephesians 2:1-3 that God called us, made us alive in Christ and enfolded us into an enduring kingdom of righteousness and life. Yet, we too, alive in Christ as we are, can be tools of Satan. We see that with Peter, who one minute is lauded by Christ as the rock upon which Jesus will build His church, and the next is called "Satan" (Matt. 16:16-22). Why the turnaround? It's because in the first instance Peter aligned himself with God and His will. In the the other, he opposed God and His will. Jesus summarizes it for us: "For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
As believers, we can walk according to the ways of Satan and be used of him to further his agenda. That's why the New Testament is filled with counsel for us to be alert, discerning, obedient, walking consistent with our new identity in Christ, displaying characteristics of grace through our abiding in Christ. Evidently, with the body of sin that remains in us we feel the tug of temptation all too strongly.
Much of Paul's letter to the Ephesians sorts these things out for us. We are not to allow our anger to be a foothold for Satan into our lives, giving him sway and using us for his kingdom's agenda (Eph. 4:26f.). That puts our grievances and grudges in a whole different light (or lack thereof). We are to be light because we are light. (Eph. 5:8). What does that light look like? Paul tells us: "for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true." Our agenda in this spiritual conflict is "to try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." In other words, our actions reflect whom we belong to and whom we serve.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace." Eph. 6:13-15
The spiritual armor laid out for us by our God to don as we face each day in this present, evil age has to do with putting on Christ that we may find stability in him and strength in his redemptive might that has overcome the devil. Given the admonition multiple times that we "stand" as the sum of our spiritual warfare, that with which our feet are shod draws particular interest. Standing has to do with the reality and exercise of our union with Christ. Paul's "stand" in Ephesians 6 equates with John's "abide" in John 15. Christ is our salvation, our stability, our surety, our strength.
If we tease out the image of the readiness given by the gospel of peace as constituting our footwear, what do we find? Feet support us and give us stability and leverage for our task. Our stand is on Christ, Christ crucified, raised and reigning. We stand with him who has put all things under his feet for his church (Eph. 2:22f.). By canceling the record of our debt that stood against us, setting it aside, nailing it to the cross, Christ has disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in himself (Col. 2:13ff.). Because of Christ, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet (Rom. 16:20). Every aspect of the peace accomplished by Christ fills the gospel and there we position ourselves.
If our feet are fitted with the gospel of peace, it is there we must stand, preaching the gospel to ourselves that Christ might be our all in all. He is our righteousness. He is our deliverance. He is our sustenance. He is our strength and shield.
Feet, however, are not only for standing; they are for ambulation. By our feet we march against the gates of hell, which cannot prevail against us because Christ reigns and his kingdom advances. Even in chains, captive in prison, Paul enjoins prayer for the the advance of the gospel (Eph. 6:18ff.). To the Philippians Paul gives assurance that his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel (Phil. 1:12ff.). Though Paul may be shackled, the gospel is not. The shoes of the gospel of peace we share as spiritual armor with Paul enable us and engage us wherever we tread. Some wear athletic sneakers for casual dress. However, the footwear of the soldier of Christ is not for lounging but for action. That it is deemed a "readiness given by the gospel of peace" implies preparedness and expectation.
If our feet are fitted with the gospel of peace, it is for the cause of the gospel, with the calling as its heralds, we must go. We enter our life-spheres as recipients of gospel grace and we must proclaim that good news of deliverance to those the Spirit of Christ gives us opportunity, that they too, by God's grace, may know peace with God and the peace of God.
Standing and marching--the shoes we put on for the comings and goings of daily life are intended for both as we stand firm in Christ and step out for him whom we serve.