ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAY

In the upper room during his last supper before his crucifixion Jesus promised his disciples, “You may ask me anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14) Yet often it appears that our prayers are unanswered. Where can we find encouragement to pray? How do we know our prayers are heard, that they are worthwhile? The Christians of the first century were being persecuted and martyred for their faith. They cried out to God for vindication, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Rev.6:10) John is given a vision of the power and efficacy of prayer that will encourage them and us to continue to believe in the power of prayer.

“Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of all the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” (Rev.8:2-5)

Prayer in the temple was associated with incense that rises to heaven. “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” (Ps.141:2) Representatives of creation and the people of God are portrayed in heavenly worship in the same way. “Each had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” (Rev.5:8) What does this tell us about our prayers?

First, our prayers ascend to heaven and are heard by God. They may be whispered in secret, or prayers uttered with “groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26). They may be expressed in private, or be part of public worship. Whatever the form or occasion of our prayers, we can be assured that they are heard by God in heaven.

God’s people were oppressed by slavery in Egypt and they prayed for deliverance. They must have felt that they had been forgotten by God. Yet God was planning for their salvation and revealed his mind to Moses at the burning bush, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them.” (Exodus 3:7,6) Their prayers resulted in Moses bringing judgments upon the Egyptians in the form of the plagues. These plagues were meant to bring Egypt to repentance, to demonstrate the superior power of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob over their idols, and to cause Pharoah to release the Israelites from bondage.

Similarly the seven angels with the seven trumpets described in Rev.8-11 will do the same for his people in the first century and in every age. In God’s good time, as in Egypt, all prayers will be answered by the overwhelming demonstration of God’s power. The trumpets will sound as the prayers of God’s people are answered in dramatic fashion. Do you believe that the Lord will answer your prayers in Christ’s name?

In case we doubt this promise we are given the example of Joshua and the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6). Seven priests were to carry trumpets of ram’s horns in front of the ark. They marched around the city blowing their trumpets for six days. All the time the trumpets were sounding. On the seventh day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, the people were commanded to shout, and the wall collapsed. Nothing can stand in the face of the power of prayer. No wall of opposition to God’s will can withstand the power of prayer. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Cor.10:4) What are the strongholds of doubt and despair in your life that need to be demolished?

A similar victory is recorded for us in the reign of Abijah, king of Judah, when he went to war against Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 13:12-15). Every morning and evening the priests presented burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord, and observed the requirements of the Lord, whereas Jeroboam had forsaken the Lord and worshipped idols. Abijah said to those who opposed him, “God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. Men of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.” God routed Jeroboam. God can rout every enemy of our souls, even disease!

Secondly, our prayers are effective in God’s time and in God’s way. When we ask anything in the name of Jesus, i.e. according to his will and purpose, it will be done. As Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God has chosen to make the prayers of his people part of the exercise of his will. God has willed that the prayers of his people should be part of the process by which his kingdom comes. The prayers of all the saints have the power to shape the course of human history. We are making human history today in how we combat our circumstances, our divisions, our dangers.

Much of the book of Revelation draws on the experience of Daniel, who likewise received a vision of spiritual warfare. Daniel’s prayer becomes the battleground for angelic powers greater than the earthly rulers affected by them; while the leaders of empires rise and fall as little more than pawns in the hands of a sovereign God. The Son of God comes to him described in terms similar to those revealed to John, assures him that his prayers are important weapons in the spiritual realm, and also affects the physical world. “Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.” (Daniel 10:12) How reassuring and encouraging can this be, that our prayers are heard and Christ comes in power in response to them. We should never minimize the value and power of our prayers. The Son of God goes on to describe the conflict taking place in the spiritual realm that affects the earth and human history (Daniel 10:13,14).

“Details for which we pray are sometimes answered ‘No,’ but in the big picture, the entire course of human history, God’s plan is secure and is advanced in his sovereign will through the prayers of his people.” (Craig Keener)

What will this year look like in hindsight? How will the historians describe our challenges and our responses? When your life story is written how proud will you be of how you conducted yourself? When your prayers are read in heaven how do you think they will be received? What grade will they be given?

St. Paul exhorts us to “Pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17) for our struggle is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Eph.6:18-20)

We should never cease to pray for God’s kingdom to come in the world. Prayer is the oxygen of the Christian’s life. Pray as you breathe. Make it your default drive. Make it your steering wheel in life, not your spare tire (Corrie ten Boom). You will be energized and encouraged by your conversation with the Lord.