FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-18

PREVENTING CASUALTIES – Continued

From Last Lesson: Most Christians agree that studying and knowing God’s Word is valuable. But we often fail when it comes to actually using the Word in warfare. This is where prayer comes in. We must learn to pray God’s Word back to Him.

Beth Moore explains this well in her book Praying God’s Word:

In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul listed the whole armor of God. Only one piece of the armor is actually a weapon. . . . The sword of the Spirit, clearly identified as the Word of God, is the only offensive weapon listed in the whole armor of God. 2 Corinthians 10:4 uses the plural, assuring us we have weapons for warfare. What would the other primary weapon be? Perhaps additional weapons might be identified elsewhere, but I believe the other primary weapon of our warfare is stated right after the words identifying the sword of the Spirit as the Word of God in Ephesians 6:17. The next verse says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions” (Ephesians 6:18 NIV). I am utterly convinced that the two major weapons with divine power in our warfare are the Word of God and Spirit-empowered prayer. ⁴

My wife and I often share with other believers that the one thing that has changed our individual prayer lives is learning to pray the Lord’s Word back to Him. My favorite way to pray is, “open eyes, open Bible.” As I read through the Bible, I’m led again and again to pray about that which is clearly God’s will. I find myself praying about things I had never considered praying about in ways I had never expected to pray.

All of us can do that; it doesn’t require special training or aptitude. We simply open our Bibles and begin to pray about what we are reading. Sometimes it is a matter of asking the Lord to teach us, to give us understanding of His Word. Other times there are clear ways of praying the Word into our own lives or the lives of those around us.

In my ministry within other congregations in the past I have often prayed for the congregation I was a servant in. There are many beneficial ways that any of us could pray over a congregation. But what I love to pray is what I know God desires to bring about in that fellowship, so oftentimes I turn to Ephesians 3:14 and begin praying around the verse in my own words, personalizing and applying Scripture to the specific group in which I am serving:

I bow my heart before you in prayer Father, from whom our whole family in heaven and on earth derives our name. I pray that out of your glorious riches you might strengthen this church with power through your Holy Spirit in their inner being, so that you, Lord Jesus, might dwell in their hearts through faith. I pray that the brothers and sisters here, being rooted and established in love, might have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is your love, O Christ. I ask that they might know this love that surpasses knowledge, that they might be filled to the measure of all your fullness, Lord, to the glory and honor of Christ Jesus I make this request.

This sort of praying overcomes the enemy. It is not based on emotions or desires, but on the revealed truth of God’s will in Scripture. It touches God’s heart because it emerges from His heart.

It is scriptural praying that allows us to resist the enemy, much as Jesus did in the wilderness temptations. Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

In the previous chapter, he writes, “Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). In both verses, he commands believers to practice self-control. Self-control is needed if we are to pray with power and passion, and fervent and prevailing prayer is needed if we are to be successful in resisting the devil.

⁴ Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2009).
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-18

WEAPONS OF WARFARE – Continued

We are in a war like no other. Because it is spiritual warfare, the weapons that we use cannot be the normal weapons of this world. The devil does not succumb to guns or bombs. Nor does he surrender to human wisdom or strategies; to fight the devil, we need spiritual weapons.

Jesus offered an example of spiritual weapons in use when He resisted the devil in the wilderness. Whenever the devil tried to tempt Him, Jesus replied by quoting from Scripture (see Matthew 4:1-11). With every thrust of Satan’s sword of lies, Jesus parried with the sword of the Lord, God’s Word. Even the Son of God did not leave spiritual warfare to His own strength of character or will; He instead fought the battle with the spiritual weapon of the Word of God. Jesus offers a model for us to follow in our daily battle; we should know the Word of God so well that when we are asked our opinion on anything, we naturally give God’s.

On a very practical level, we can win this spiritual battle by using the Word of God and prayer. Prayer keeps us in communication with our commander-in-chief. As we pray, He directs us, guides us, protects us, and even shows us the parts of His Word that are needed for the victory at any given moment. Have you ever experienced the Spirit working as His Word comes to your mind at just the right time, for just the right purpose?

PREVENTING CASUALTIES

When I was a young man attending the church where I had surrendered to the Lord, we would have what was called “sword drills” or “Bible drills” in our church youth group. In contest form, we would try to respond to questions our leaders asked us with the correct Bible verse as quickly as possible. Though at the time we saw it as a game, we were being trained for a very real spiritual warfare. The soldier who must learn to use a weapon in the midst of battle is an unfortunate one. How much better it is to be trained in the proper use of your weapon in the safety and security of a training camp with your comrades?

When Paul admonishes Timothy to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), he is clearly calling Timothy to engage in serious training in the use of the spiritual weapon of the Word. If we do not have a working knowledge of Scripture, we will likely become a casualty in this spiritual battle we are in. Remember, the best defense to warding off the attacks of the tempter is a good offense. And there is just no better offense against temptation than proper knowledge and use of the Word of God.

Most Christians agree that studying and knowing God’s Word is valuable. But we often fail when it comes to actually using the Word in warfare. This is where prayer comes in. We must learn to pray God’s Word back to Him.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-18

HIT OR MISS

Why did Jesus pray? Was it simply to change Himself? Or did Jesus know that prayer was the way His Father had chosen to work on this planet? Jesus didn’t waste time doing things just for religious show. Jesus prayed because prayer was His way of staying in touch with His Father and it demonstrated His dependency upon His Father. When Jesus prayed, He expected God to act. His great high priestly prayer in John 17 demonstrated that He expected the Father to do things in response, both in His prayers as well as the prayers of His disciples.

Another one of the main reasons why so many Christians fail to pray or believe the wrong things about prayer is the seeming “hit or miss” aspect to much of our praying; sometimes it seems to work, sometimes it doesn’t, at least from our fleshly perspective. So we develop a bad theology to cover our misses and turn prayer into something it was never meant to be.

This problem happens when we look at prayer as a way of getting things from God. If we pray long enough, have enough faith, and get enough people to join us in prayer, maybe we’ll get what we want from God. But prayer is not our way of getting things from God; prayer is God’s chosen way of accomplishing His will on this planet. Our job in prayer is to draw near in intimacy. As we begin to understand a bit of the Lord’s heart on a matter, then we begin to ask Him to accomplish what is already His will. It is at that point that prayer becomes a powerful change agent to achieve the Lord’s purposes.

In spiritual warfare, it is prayer that keeps us connected to our commander-in-chief. Consequently, prayer becomes strategic in warfare. It is prayer that gives us our supply line of provisions for the battle. It is prayer that unleashes the power of God’s Word to accomplish its purpose in overcoming the enemy. John Piper said it this way:

“Until you know that life is war, we won’t know what prayer is for.” ²

WEAPONS OF WARFARE

In one of his sermons, the late great preacher Charles H. Spurgeon preached:

Like the Spartans, every Christian is born a warrior. It is his destiny to be assaulted, his duty to attack. Part of his life will be occupied with defensive warfare. He will have to defend the faith once delivered to the saints. He will have to resist the devil. He will have to stand against all the devil’s wiles, and having done all, still to stand. He will, however, be an ineffective Christian, if he acts only on the defensive. He must be one who goes against his foes, as well as [one who] stands still to receive their advance. He must be able to say with David, “I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45).

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary: they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). ³

To Be Continued

² John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad! (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003).
³ Charles Spurgeon, “The Shield of Faith” (sermon, Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, UK, October 27, 1861).
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-18

One of the key reasons for prayerlessness in the Christian life is a theological one. Deep inside, many Christians believe that prayer really doesn’t matter; God is going to do whatever He is going to do, and prayer isn’t really going to change anything. If that is so, then why pray? Why spend time doing that which is ineffective for change? S. D. Gordon provides us with an answer:

“The purpose of prayer is not to persuade or influence God, but to join forces with Him against the enemy.” ¹

The Bible teaches that prayer not only changes the person who prays, it also changes situations. Scripture is filled with examples of people whose situations changed as a result of their prayer, whether on a personal scale, such as a Hannah praying for a son (1 Samuel 1:9-18), or on a national scale, such as King Jehoshaphat praying for deliverance for Judah (1 Chronicles 20:1-8).

Prayer is communion with God Almighty as our Father. That is where true power lies, in that relationship.

STANDING IN THE GAP

One of the best teachings on the power of prayer comes from Ezekiel 22:30:

“I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.”

This verse shows us the all-powerful Creator of the universe looking for someone to pray before He begins to act. The people of God had sinned and rebelled against Him and faced the punishment for their disobedience; in this case, the punishment was the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. But our merciful God was willing to delay or even avert this catastrophe if someone would intercede before Him on Jerusalem’s behalf, if someone would “stand in the gap.” God looked for such a person, but could find no one. Prayer could have made a difference then, and it still can today. God is waiting for us, His people, to stand before Him on behalf of our nation and land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

The story of Moses praying on the hill while the Israelites fought the Amalekites (Exodus 17:10-13) if you remember from the passage also demonstrates how prayer changes things:

“Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed” (Exodus 17:11).

Why would the position of an old man’s hands have anything to do with the battle in the valley below? Consider this, lifted hands have always been a symbol of prayer. As long as God was involved through prayer, Israel won. In Exodus 17:16, after the battle, Moses built an altar to the Lord and said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation” (NIV). Moses’ lifting his hands wasn’t just idle spiritual calisthenics; it was an expression of the power of prayer to change situations.

To Be Continued

¹ S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks in Prayer, Christian Classics Ethereal Library (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1904).
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.