Prayer reminders

In his second letter to God's elect, the apostle Peter wrote:

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1:12–15)

It is a fact that, even though we may have read the Bible many times, if we do not read and study it on a regular basis our memory and perception of spiritual truth begins to fade (Proverbs 19:27). This can adversely affect our prayer life. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to continually re-envision us, through the Word of God, so we can continue to pray effectively.

Spiritual warfare

Establishing God's kingdom on earth involves spiritual warfare, and the first thing to remind ourselves is that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). In other words, our enemies are not people, but the satanic forces that motivate them, control them, and work through them.

In Acts 14 Paul healed a man in Lystra who had been lame from birth. When the people saw this miracle it had a big effect on them. But some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the crowd against Paul. They stoned him and dragged him outside the city thinking he was dead. Paul survived, but it would have been easy for him to have taken that injustice personally and to have hated those who had done that to him. (How would you feel if you'd been stoned almost to the point of death, particularly if you were innocent of any wrongdoing?) But Paul knew he was not fighting against flesh and blood, but against the satanic forces that were opposing his ministry. And, by the same token, he would not have retaliated physically. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:3–4:

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Paul knew that spiritual battles are not fought with physical weapons, or in physical ways; spiritual battles are fought with spiritual weapons, and one of the most powerful weapons available to Christians is prayer—persistent prayer.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: 'In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, "Grant me justice against my adversary."

'For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, "Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!" '

And the Lord said, 'Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?' (Luke 18:1–8)

Who is our adversary? Our adversary is the devil. And would Jesus teach his disciples to always pray and not give up if their prayers were not going to be answered? It would be a pointless exercise, wouldn't it? On the contrary, our prayers will be answered if we persist in asking—we have that assurance from the Lord.

It takes strong faith to pray when nothing seems to be happening, but Jesus has promised us victory if we do not give up. However, when he returns, will he find us believing his words and putting them into practice in our lives? I hope so.

Praying for the saints

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:18a)

Paul wrote those words to everyone in the church at Ephesus. It is God's will that all Christians pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. And praying in the Spirit is not just praying in tongues, praying in the Spirit is prayer that is inspired by the Holy Spirit in any form.

Paul wrote:

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. (1 Corinthians 14:14–15)

Paul made full use of the prayer language God had given him, but he also prayed in his own language so he could understand what he was saying. We should do the same. Let us allocate time each day for our spirits—our innermost beings—to pray to God in the language he has given us, and let us pray also in our own language with prayers that are equally inspired by the Spirit of God.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18b)

Several points should be noted from this verse:

We are told to be alert, which means that we should be watchful and vigilant. If we keep our spiritual eyes open, the Holy Spirit will show us areas in people's lives that we can pray for.
We are told to always keep on praying. Luke 18:1 instructs us to always pray and not to give up. Prayer should be a regular part of every Christian's life; we should always be praying.
We should always be praying for all of the saints. That means the Body of Christ worldwide, not just those we know personally. But how can we pray for those we don't know and whose needs we're not aware of? Romans 8:27–28 tells us:

In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans [burdens] that [known] words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

When we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is able to intercede through us, for the saints, in accordance with the will of God. I remember praying in tongues on one occasion and, when I'd finished praying, the Holy Spirit gave me the interpretation. I'd been praying for a brother whom I knew, but for a need I didn't know he had. I didn't know his need, but the Holy Spirit knew, and he used me to pray for him.

Again, when I'm praying in tongues, sometimes the language that I'm praying in changes, and I find that my prayer becomes more intense and urgent. I don't know what I'm praying for at such times but I believe the Holy Spirit is using me to pray for the saints.

Praying for governments

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1–4)

Prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit will include requests, intercession, and thanksgiving for anyone in the world (Christian or non-Christian) but especially for kings, governments, and those in authority over us. These people make decisions that affect our lives so it's important that we pray for them.

Romans 13:1–7 tells us that God has established governments to keep law and order—to commend those who do right and to punish those who do wrong. Governments are God's servants, agents of his wrath, to bring punishment on the wrongdoer (v4). So any government that fails in this task is failing to fulfil the purpose for which God has established it.

Managing the economy and providing health care and education are secondary issues compared to the prime, God-given, task of maintaining law and order. It's nice for people to have money, but if they live in fear of being robbed, what good is it? Without law and order anarchy ensues and many innocent people suffer. That is not God's will. On the contrary, it is God's will that we are able to live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

'Peaceful' means freedom from disturbance and the Greek word translated 'lives' in verse 2 is bios which refers to the business and practical side of life. It is God's will that people are able to go about their daily business without being disturbed or molested and, in order to do that, we must pray that governments will keep law and order in the world. They need wisdom to do what God has established them to do.

Once we are sure of God's will in this area, we should pray in God's will until we see our prayers answered.

Praying for ourselves

We've been looking at praying for others, but what about praying for ourselves?

Then he said to them, 'Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, "Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him."

'Then the one inside answers, "Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything." I tell you, though he will not get up and given him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

'So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.' (Luke 11:5–10)

This promise is similar to the one Jesus gave in Luke 18:1–8 except that, in this case, he was speaking about our personal needs.

The literal meaning of the Greek word translated 'boldness' in verse 8 is 'without shame'. It describes a shameless persistence in the pursuit of an objective. And the Greek verbs translated 'ask, seek, and knock' in verses 9–10 are in the present, continuous tense. That means that Jesus is saying: 'Ask, and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek, and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock, and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.'

Don't feel ashamed to keep asking God for something—that is what he wants you to do. God answers persistent prayer.

The peace of God

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

God doesn't want any of his children to be anxious about anything. From time to time things may happen in our lives that cause anxiety. Jesus said: 'In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33)'.

We're not immune to the problems that beset the world but, when they come against us, we have the means to deal with them and with the fear, the anxiety, and the worry that often accompanies them, and for which the world has no answer. The Christian's secret? Prayer! If anything troubles you, take it to the Lord in prayer and keep praying until the peace of God fills your heart and your mind.

We can find ourselves in the midst of terrible trouble and yet have a peace that passes all understanding—a peace that comes from God. Sometimes that peace comes to us without asking, other times we will have to pray for a while, but don't stop praying until the promised peace floods your whole being. That is the assurance that God has heard your prayers and is in control of the situation.

God doesn't want anything to bother us. He wants us to bring everything to him in prayer. We are all different, and sometimes things may trouble us that others would consider trivial, but God understands. He is our loving heavenly Father and we can talk to him about anything that concerns us. God wants us to have peace in all situations. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and he wants us to have his peace (John 14:27).

A warning from Jesus

And finally, a prayer that Jesus told his disciples to pray:

'Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.' (Luke 21:34–36)

Jesus warned of something that will come upon the earth that will affect every human being. It can't have happened yet because history would have recorded it. Earlier in the chapter Jesus said:

'There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.' (Luke 21:25–27)

The Book of Revelation describes a series of catastrophes that will engulf the world immediately prior to our Lord's return. It was these events that Jesus told his disciples to pray to escape from. That the Church will be present on earth when at least some of these things happen is apparent from what Jesus said in the next verse.

'When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.' (Luke 21:28)

It's not the purpose of this study to look at those events in detail. Suffice to say that the Book of Revelation is essential reading for every Christian because it was given specifically by the Father, to Jesus, to show us, his servants, what must soon take place (Revelation 1:1).

Jesus doesn't want us to be taken unawares by these events. He wants us to be watchful and vigilant and, above all, to pray that we'll escape from them and that we'll be able to stand before the Son of Man.

Michael Graham
September 2001

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