Persistent children

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 7:1-14

TO CHEW ON: " ' 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.' " Matthew 7:7,8


If you've ever lived with a child determined to get his or her way, you'll have experienced a bit of what these verses talk about from God's point of view.  "Mom, please. Why not? You said…Please? When?"

My Bible's commentary says about the grammatical construction: "The Greek imperatives ask, seek and knock (vs. 7) are in the present tense suggesting continued petition" - J. Lyle Story, commentary on Matthew, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1302.

However, prayers that take a long time to be answered are much more than our attempts to convince God that it's answer time. Persevering prayer:

• proves to God and us our deep desires.

• reminds us of our ignorance of God's timing.

• focuses us on what is really important enough to stay on our prayer list year after year.

• may have us searching our lives for hindrances to God answering our prayers,

• while at the same time living alert to ways God is working and the part He may want us to play in bringing about the answers.

Daniel Henderson, in his book Transforming Prayer says about prayer generally:

"He has ordained prayer as a means by which we depend on and trust in Him. He answers our prayers to give us what He knows we need to bring Him glory. … We often pray to escape our difficulties rather than embrace discipleship" Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer, p. 79.

About the parallel passage to this one (Luke 11:9-13) Henderson says:

"Jesus clarifies His focus on the good things we should expect with these words: 'How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!' (Luke 11:13). The life spring of all the good things the Father wants to give us is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit" - Ibid, p. 81.

So we can and should keep up our persevering ways in prayer, knowing that the answer—whatever it is, whenever it comes—will be good.


PRAYER: Dear God, please keep the burden heavy on me over the things You want me to continue to pray for. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What's the devil doing in heavenly places?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 6:10-24

TO CHEW ON: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

"Heavenly places"—the phrase brings to mind heaven, paradise, a place beyond the petty conflicts of earth. But according to Paul, conflict abounds there too—conflict of the most intense variety.

Paul talks about "heavenly places" several times in Ephesians (as pointed out by Jack Hayford,  the writer of my Bible's notes on Ephesians):

• The spiritual blessings available to the church through Christ are located in heavenly places - Ephesians 1:3.

• Christ's post-resurrection power and authority issues from heavenly places - Ephesians 1:19-22.

• After we have accepted God's good news and have come alive in Christ, we are spiritually seated with Christ in heavenly places - Ephesians 2:4-6.

• The church's destiny is to make known the will of God to the principalities and power in heavenly places - Ephesians 3:10.

Hayford concludes: "On these grounds this passage announces the church's corporate assignment to prayer warfare in order that evil can be driven back and the will of God advanced" - notes on Ephesians, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1654.

I like that: prayer warfare. But what exactly does it mean?

Daniel Henderson in his book Transforming Prayer dispels some of the mystique around prayer that does spiritual warfare:

"Many who write about spiritual warfare seem to think that we must be astute in a variety of extra-biblical tactics and special insights about the names and addresses of demons. Some people promote grandiose sketches of the evil hierarchy and fascinating geographical exposes of their organizational battle plan....

I may be naive compared to the warfare experts but I have discovered that a life of passionate worship—one that delights in biblical truth about God's character, seeks the empowerment of the Spirit for application and articulation, then surrenders in every way as prompted by this intimate encounter, is equipped to 'fight the good fight' every day. Jesus, on the heels of forty days of prayer and fasting, wielded the truth of God's Word in facing down the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4-11). We, too, are equipped by His sufficiency to brandish the 'sword of the Spirit,' which is the spoken word of God - Ephesians 6:17" - Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer, pp. 143, 144 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank you that You have won the battle over evil. Help me to face the onslaughts of the devil and his demonic cohorts with the truth of Your word in my mind, and praise and worship for that victory on my tongue. Amen.

MORE: Prayer: a wartime walkie-talkie

"The number one reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is that they try to turn a wartime walkie-talkie into a domestic intercom. Until you believe that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for. Prayer is for the accomplishment of a wartime mission" - John Piper, (quoted in Transforming Prayer, p. 143) from the sermon "Prayer: the Work of Missions."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer postures

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 8:42-61

TO CHEW ON: "And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven." 1 Kings 8:54

"I can't really get into praying until I'm on my knees," a friend confided to me. Her words  lingered with me, I began making a practice of kneeling when I prayed in my 'closet,' and I sensed a change, not in God but in myself. It felt right to be in such a posture before Him.

It's interesting to see the posture of Solomon in prayer, described in detail by the writer of 1 Kings. I'm glad he included that description, for it adds a jolt of realization about the relationship between God and us. Solomon, despite his giftedness, his touted wisdom, his unusual success spent part of this momentous day in Israel's history on his knees before God in front of all the people.

The Bible mentions at least four prayer postures.

1. Standing:

• That is actually how Solomon began his prayer - 1 Kings 8:22.
• Jesus' instructions about prayer imply that standing was a common stance - Mark 11:25.

2. Bowing

• Abraham's servant bowed in prayer when he thanked God for answering his prayer about finding a wife for Isaac - Genesis 24:26.
• The Israelites bowed in worship when Moses returned with signs and a promise that God would free them from their Egyptian masters - Exodus 4:31.

3. Kneeling

• Sometime during his prayer, Solomon must have sunk to his knees, for that's the posture our writer describes him in at the end of his prayer - 1 Kings 8:54.
• Jesus is also described as kneeling when He prayed in Gethsemane - Luke 22:41.

4. Prostrate, on the face before God

• That's how the people of Israel prayed in response to Ezra reading 'the book' to them - Nehemiah 8:6.
• Jesus was also on His face in Gethsemane - Matthew 26:39.

No prayer posture is prescribed or given more honor than any other. Rather it seems that the posture may indicate the state of our heart, the fervency of our felt neediness, and can become a physical demonstration of our humanity, humbled before deity.

What position do you prefer to be in when you pray? Does it make a difference to you? Have you ever experimented with different ones? Of course the main thing is the posture of my heart and yours.

PRAYER: Dear God, I love the variety of prayer postures seen in Your word. Help me to always have the spiritual posture of humility before You, whatever physical position I'm in. Amen.

MORE: Prayer attitudes

Daniel Henderson in his book Transforming Prayer lists seven prayer attitude positions we do well to put into practice in our prayers:

1. Pray to seek God's face, NOT just His hand.
2. Pray with your heart fixed on god's glory, NOT just for personal satisfaction.
3. Pray from the treasury of God's word, NOT from a list of your own ideas.
4. Pray according to the Spirit's instruction, NOT only from human reason.
5. Pray with a heart completely surrendered to His will, NOT  with a hurried personal agenda.
6. Pray in anticipation of living triumphantly in the war zone, NOT in satisfaction with your comfort zone.
7. Pray that God would change you, NOT simply change things - Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer, pages 157-158. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer list: revelation, wisdom

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 1:1-23

TO CHEW ON: "I … do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him..." - Ephesians 1:16,17

Studying Paul's prayer here gives us clues about what to pray for ourselves and others. Paul tells the Ephesians his prayers for them include a request that God would give them  the "spirit of wisdom and revelation."

The writer of my Bible's notes on Ephesians says, "Wisdom and revelation are not to be interpreted as mystical. 'Wisdom' concerns practical, workable principles, 'revelation' refers to clear perception and applicable understanding" - Jack W. Hayford, notes on Ephesians, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1645.

I take that to mean, in plain language, revelation is a clear understanding what God's word says and means; wisdom is how to put it into practice in our lives.

What a great prayer to pray for ourselves, each other, pastors and members of our local church, and the Christian church all over the world. It's just as apropos today as it was in Paul's time as we struggle to live what the Bible teaches in the midst of our generation that lives (in North America at least) increasingly by the principles of relativism.*

PRAYER:  Dear God, I need this spirit of revelation and wisdom as I grapple with my society's redefinition of marriage and its general enforcement of political correctness that would pressure me to compromise living by the principles in Your word. Amen.

MORE: The best way to hear from the Spirit

"Eastern religions, and even some teachers of the Christian faith, propose that the best way to hear from God's Spirit ... is to empty your mind, accompanied by various breathing exercises. … Rather, the Scriptures affirm the best way to hear from the Spirit is to fill the mind with the Word of God, accompanied by careful reading and meditation on the sacred text. That's the best way to receive what the Spirit is speaking clearly" - Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer, p. 118.

*Relativism in the religious realm is also sometimes called pluralism. Tim Keller explains what this is and describes its impact on western society in the article "Religious and Philosophical Pluralism."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.