Praying Elijah-like Prayer, part 2

In case you missed it, the blog post yesterday was about Praying Elijah-like Prayer. I have long felt that the "modern" church was sadly missing some of the best parts of the first-century church. When those apostles prayed, seriously great things happened. 

It's a commonly held belief that all the "signs and wonders" were just done to get the church up and running. Some people believe that the miracles were all used up back in the early church.

I was taught to believe that theology, and it was a source of great grief for me. What kind of God calls me to Himself but doesn't save any good stuff for me? Not the Great I AM. That's for sure.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) The God who did the miracles, signs, and wonders in answer to prayer in the first century is STILL the same God today.

So where are the miraculous answers to prayer? As I asked yesterday, "Why, then, do we not see Elijah-style answered prayer?"

My answer yesterday was, "One reason for unanswered prayer might be that we worship the not-so-great me instead of the Great I AM." We depend upon ourselves and the "answers" we can obtain instead of relying wholly on God alone.

After I hit the publish button, I realized I had omitted the most important reason for unanswered prayer.

SIN.

James 5:6 says, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."

There's a big difference between a righteous man and those who do whatever they want and call themselves righteous. 

The word translated as righteous is dikaios and indicates one who is "upright, virtuous, keeping the commands of God." We cannot harbor secret sin, or not-so-secret sin and, at the same time, keep the commands of God. 

When we indulge in pride, anger, bitterness, idolatry, lust, covetousness, gossip or whatever our particular sin, it greatly impairs our prayer life/communication with God. It shatters our chance for answered prayer, especially Elijah-like prayer.

When we do not love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, when we fail to love our neighbor in the same way we love ourselves, we have not met the high standard of God. Our failure will hamper the answers to our prayers. We don't have to be perfect, but we do have to recognize our failures and address them.

(When I say, "Lord, I have not loved you as I should in this situation. I have loved _____ more than You. I repent of my idolatry and cast it away from me. Forgive me and help me love You more..." I have recognized my sin, admitted it, repented, and asked God to help me make it right.)

Do we want answered prayer, or not? 

That's the question we should be asking.

If we want answered prayer, we must be willing to do what is required. It begins by repentance and turning from our sin. 

Just to be clear, repentance does not mean simply that we agree with God that we have sinned. Repentance means we agree with Him that we have sinned, promise not to do it again, and ask Him for forgiveness. 

The intent to stop doing the sin for which we need forgiveness is a vital part of repentance. 

If we want answered prayer, especially Elijah-style prayer, even our favorite sins have to go. It's that simple.

So the question we all want answered is whether or not answers to Elijah-style prayer are still possible. 

The answer (I believe) is yes. 

I've seen quite a few miracles over the years. Not even one of them had anything at all to do with me. They were all prayed because God whispered that prayer in my heart. All I did was repeat what I heard. Those answered prayers were literally, from beginning to end, all God. 

Not once did those answered prayers happen when I was indulging in secret sin. 

Not once did those answered prayers happen when I failed to repent of all known sin. 

I'm not sinless, so I've gained some solid experience in repentance, and that, my friends, is critical if we want answered prayer. 

When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we are supposed to STOP IT. Repent of it and STOP IT.

That's how it works. 

Now, another point needs to be clarified. Even when I am as repented as I can possibly be, I still can not "get" an answered prayer on my own if my life depended on it.

Answered prayer comes from God alone and our participation in the excitement of answered prayer is birthed in our relationship with Him, built morning by morning. Hours of quiet time, Bible study, meditation, and listening to God are key elements in a relationship with our Lord.

In a nutshell, to have answered prayer (including "big" answered prayer) we must:
1) Get rid of our sin.
2) Have a deep and intimate relationship with our Lord.
3) Quit asking for what we want and starting listening for what God wants.
4) Pray what God wants.

When we pray for what God wants, we will see Him do exactly as He pleases. 

You might recognize that prayer if it's worded a little differently. When Jesus prayed it, He said, "THY WILL BE DONE."

Answered prayer is possible, but much more likely if we pray God's way and for God's will.

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16 nasb
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's blog post: Praying Elijah-like Prayer 
Here's the link to: The Prayer List
#prayer #unansweredprayer #sin

Praying Elijah-like Prayer

I've had the subject of prayer on my mind recently, so I started rereading Andrew Murray's classic, With Christ in the School of Prayer. If you've never read it, it's worth the time. I'm doing one chapter a day for thirty days, and it's already made me more intentional about my position when I'm praying, as well as the fervency of my prayers. 

To my surprise, the subject of prayer has come up repeatedly since I started on Murray's book. Sunday, we received a prayer card tucked inside the bulletin. I didn't even notice it until the pastor called attention to it. "What's the one thing you've been praying for that you would like to have a 100% guarantee that God would answer? The one thing you're most concerned about. Write that down on the prayer card and stick it in your Bible." 

Like most people, I have things that concern me deeply. I wrote my top concern on the card.

Our pastor went on to preach about Elijah's prayer. His sermon was so meaningful to me, that I'm sharing my notes.

He reminded us that Elijah was just a common, average man who prayed a huge prayer and it didn't rain for three and a half years. As James tells us, the "effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16) 

Elijah, he said, had a place to pray, (on the mountain) and a posture for prayer. He bowed down with his head between his knees. Elijah assumed a position of humility before God. I don't always prayed on my knees, but that's been my posture more often lately. Urgent prayer needs an urgently humble position.

Elijah also persevered in prayer. He sent his servant to look for a cloud seven times before he saw it. When there was no cloud, Elijah kept praying until there was one.

He had a plan of prayer. He had a specific prayer need (rain) and he didn't stop his prayers until the rain came. Finally, Elijah had a presupposition in prayer. He already knew what God intended to do. He kept praying until God did it.

The pastor invited us to come to the altar with our prayer needs, get on our knees and pray, then leave the cards there. The church staff would meet together to pray over the cards the next day. Nearly everyone in the worship center came forward. It was one of the sweetest moments in church I've ever experienced.

On my knees in the midst of hundreds of other people on their knees, I approached God with my need and left it with Him, along with my card. When I walked back to my seat, I wiped away tears with a firm certainty that God had heard my prayer and would deal with my need.

I've thought about that a lot since Sunday. The response made one thing clear. We all have an area of concern in desperate need of God's divine intervention. 

Why, then, do we not have answered prayer in proportion to our perceived need? Why, then, do we not see Elijah-style answered prayer?

One reason for unanswered prayer might be that we worship the not-so-great me instead of the Great I AM.

In this country, we depend (at least in part) upon ourselves and our ability to meet our own needs. It's when we recognize that we are powerless to meet our need, and that only God is big enough to do it, that we become desperate enough for Elijah-like prayer. 

This is not the case in some places in the world, where believers have neither the luxury nor the safety we have. They are much more desperate, pray with more determined fervor, and see many more dramatic answers to prayer.

Today, let's do what my pastor suggested. Think of that one need that transcends all others. The need of desperation. Write it down, date it, and get in your position of desperate humility and take it to the Lord. Stop trying to solve it yourself. Leave your need with the Lord and do the least American thing possible. 

Wait. Simply wait for God to move. 

Don't try to figure it out. Don't try to solve your problem. Don't doubt that God can handle it. Don't doubt that He will. Just wait.

I've prayed many prayers of desperation over the years. God's answered all of them. It hasn't always been the way I expected or the way I wanted, but they've all been answered in His way with what was best.

Are you burdened? Are you loaded down with worry and concern? Today, take those concerns and needs to the Lord in prayer and leave them with Him. He's big enough to handle all your troubles, and mine, and do what needs to be done.

"The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit." James 5:16-18 nasb

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In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: The Greenhouse: Where Fantasy Meets Reality
Here's the link to the prayer list: The Prayer List
#prayer #Elijah #unansweredprayer #disciple

Teach us to Pray: Part 47: Persistence in prayer

Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything. ' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence 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 it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. (Luke 11:5-10 NASB)

This chapter opened with the disciple's request that Christ teach them to pray, just as John had taught his disciples. After Jesus gave the disciples the model prayer, he continued the lessons on prayer with two interesting examples. The first is an example that concludes with a phrase most people know. "Ask and it will be given to you." It would be easy to assume that this lesson is about getting what you want, but it's not quite a simple as it seems.

In this example, Jesus sets the scene. Imagine this, He tells the disciples. A friend shows up unexpectedly in the middle of the night after a long trip. You have made no preparations because you didn't know the friend was coming, but you want to provide some food. What will you do? Jesus suggested that you might go to another of your friends to get some help. You knock on the door, but it is after midnight and your friend refuses to even open the door. He yells through the door, "I'm already asleep, and so are the kids! Quit this ruckus or you'll wake the baby! I'm not getting up to get you anything!" You are determined to get something to feed your friend, so you keep knocking and shouting through the door. Finally, your friend is so tired of listening to your hammering that he gets up and hands you as much bread as you need, just so he can get some peace and quiet.

Let's look at the request in more detail. 
1) First, the request is not for ourselves. This request is to provide for someone who has unexpectedly asked shelter of us in the middle of the night. 
2) Someone has a need and we want to meet it, but have no way of providing what is needed. (Baking bread requires time for the yeast to rise, and it would take several hours before bread could be ready, even if you started immediately.) 
3) You know someone who has exactly what is required to meet the need.
4) You are willing to be inconvenienced and, potentially, embarrassed to meet the need. (After midnight, waking up a grumpy friend)
5) The request is not extravagant. It's not for caviar and filet mignon. The request is for the most basic of meals - three loaves of bread.
6) One loaf will be enough for the visitor, but three loaves is more than enough. In fact, the one requesting the loaf can share the meal with his guest, giving the guest both provision and companionship.

This example is not about getting something we want, even if we want it desperately. It is not about extravagance. This example is about persistent prayer, especially when it involves the needs of another when we are not able to meet those needs ourselves. 

As I am writing this, I am reminded of a very real need that seems impossible to me. Women who have escaped from their terrorist captors need a safe place to recover and to live, for many of them cannot go back to their homes. The opportunity to care for them was most unexpected for the ones requested to give that care. The amount of money needed is not something that can be instantly provided. The women neither need nor expect an extravagant shelter. A roof, bread, and clean water will be enough. The equivalent of one loaf would be enough, but three loaves would allow more than the basics. This is the kind of need that is similar in nature to the friend arriving in the night. 

Think of this need for a moment. Women, taken from their homes and families, trapped in the nightmare of a terrorist captivity, have finally escaped. They are traumatized, injured, sick. They desperately need help and the love of Jesus. They need us to be the hands and feet of Christ.

Jesus said that, because of the asker's persistence, his friend will give him everything he needs. Ask and it will be given you. You may remember that we prayed for the women who had been captured to be released, and God answered our prayer. Hundreds of them have escaped. (They aren't all free, but the asking has not stopped.) Now, we must ask for provision to be made for the care of these women. If we ask, God will provide. 

One of the reasons for unanswered prayer is that we ask amiss. Asking for the provision to care for the escaped captives, however, is not amiss. The women have a need and the opportunity to care for them has arisen. The need is greater than can be provided, but we know Someone who can provide everything the women need. Instead of using these verses as an opportunity to ask for what we want, let's use these verses as an opportunity to ask God to provide for those in need. 

Today, join me in asking that God will provide everything that is needed for the shelter that is, even now, being prepared for the women who have escaped their captors. If we ask, God will provide, so please help me ask.  (If you want to help, you can go to www.criout.com)

(Those who provide the care for the escaped women, and the women themselves, will face grave danger. Please pray for protection for all involved.)

The persistent father

On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, "Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy, and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not." (Luke 9:37-40 NASB)

The next day, after the transfiguration, Jesus with Peter, James, and John, came down from the mountain prayer retreat, and, as usual, a large crowd had gathered. In that crowd, there was a father whose son had seizures. They were severe and unpredictable. No one had been able to help him. In desperation, the father had brought the boy to the disciples (the ones who were not at the prayer retreat). They had tried to heal him without success, but the disciples had not been able to help the boy either. 

We will look at this passage in greater detail later, but there is a lesson in the father's perseverance. He did not lose hope because the disciples failed. He clearly understood that Jesus had greater power than the disciples and that a failure on the part of a disciple was not a failure on the part of Jesus. That sounds intuitive, doesn't it? 

It's surprising, though, how many of us become angry with God when one of His servants fails us in some way. We equate man's failure with God's failure (a lie from the enemy of our souls), and allow the hurt, disappointment, and anger to create a stronghold in our lives that becomes a barrier between us and God. It weakens our relationship with our Lord and robs us of the joy He longs to give. 

All too often, we encounter a "disciple", whether clergy or laity, who fails in a spectacular way. They may even have hurt us or one we love. It is easy to assume all ministers, all laity, all disciples, are the same as the one who has failed. We may even, in some mixed up way, equate God with the one who has failed, but how foolish this is. Deuteronomy 31:8 tells us that God will never fail us or forsake us. Even when His answer to our prayers is not the one we want, He does not leave us nor fail us. 

This father took his son to the disciples and, when they failed to help, he took his boy directly to Jesus. He wasn't angry because of the failure. He was simply seeking a solution from the One he knew could help. This father did exactly what we should do with our needs. He was not discouraged by man's failure. His trust and his hope were in Christ alone, and that is exactly where he took his need. 

Do you have a need or concern for which you have been unable to find help? Take it to Jesus, like the persistent father, and let Him do what only He can do. He may not do what you "want", but He will neither fail you nor forsake you.