God's Word: Let's Pray It

Last Friday in this space I sought to remind us that the church is in a battle. In a battle, good armies pay attention to three main things: the strategy for victory, the tactical application of that strategy, and the logistical considerations required to support the tactics.

In the church, our objective is to glorify God by worshiping Him, obeying Him, and bringing the lost to Christ: that’s the strategy. The tactical application of that strategy includes the “how-to’s” of ministry. Logistics involves finding the supplies, asking God to meet our needs.

But just read most of our prayer lists, and you might conclude that we are an army that has turned things upside down: preoccupied with logistics, but mostly unaware of our strategic purpose or our tactical orders.

So, what then must we do to expand our practice of prayer?

The obvious first answer is to remember that we are, indeed, at war. There is a devil who hates God and His people, and there is a world increasingly hostile to the clear claims of Jesus Christ. Even our own sinful natures are at odds with God. We need to re-orient our entire outlook into a constantly conscious awareness of the state of war that exists, and in which we are called to be warriors.

A second way to expand our prayer-lives is to learn to pray what’s on God’s heart, rather than simply praying those felt needs that preoccupy our minds and emotions. However, maintaining a focus on the big picture can be tough: as the old adage says, “It’s hard to remember that your job is draining the swamp, when you’re up to your elbows in alligators.” But, to carry that illustration out, if we would ask God to help us drain the swamp, then little by little the alligator problem would go away.

God knows the big picture, the overall strategy of the church, and we must learn to pray strategically about that big plan. That means catching hold of His heart, learning to pray back to God what He tells us in His Word.

In practical terms, it works like this. As we spend time reading God’s Word, He enlivens His Word as He seeks to pour into our hearts that which is on His heart. Then, we simply pray His Word back to Him. The Word of God then serves not only as the guide for your life, but as your prayer list.

A good place to start this approach would be in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Carefully read the first chapter, and highlight the big-picture plans God reveals there. Then simply pray back to God the strategic matters He lays on your heart.

That particular chapter is filled with God’s eternal purpose for Christ and Church. As I read that amazing text, it always excites me to consider what God wants to accomplish through the church. But let’s do more than consider it.

Let’s pray it!

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO PRAY?

Recently I heard a well-known Christian teacher describe some research he conducted in his travels throughout the nation. For more than two years, he tracked the prayer requests people shared with their fellow Christians, both in small groups and in worship settings.

He discovered that more than ninety-five percent of prayer requests were based upon a felt need or a problem that had arisen. A friend has cancer. A brother needs a new job. A neighbor’s child has chicken pox. A co-worker’s marriage is shaky.

Please understand something here: he wasn’t saying there’s anything wrong with such prayer requests. I am not saying that either. Such requests are important.

Does God care about such things? Of course He does!

Should the church pray for needs like these? Of course we should!

But should prayer requests like these occupy ninety-five percent of our praying? Absolutely not. While not neglecting these felt needs, the church must awaken to the fact that there are many other matters about which God has called us to pray.

Think of it this way.

In a military operation, the energies of the battle group are divided into three major components: strategy, tactics, and logistics. Strategy refers to the overall objective: winning the battle. Tactics is the practical how-to aspects of achieving victory. Logistics has to do with provisions: getting the ammunition, food and supplies to the warriors so they can do their job.

In all of this, strategy must dominate, because the focus is the overall victory. The needs of the troops are addressed not merely with their comfort in mind, but as a function of their warfare: they call for provisions so they can win the battle.

I hope you see the analogy.

The church is in a battle. The glory of God is our objective, and that involves worshiping Him, obeying Him, and bringing the lost to Christ: that’s the strategy. How we achieve these goals in the ministries we conduct, the outreach with pursue: that’s the tactical aspect. Logistics in the army of God is finding the supplies, and that includes praying for sick friends and people who need better jobs.

Looking at our prayer lists, you might conclude that we are an army that has turned things upside down. We seem preoccupied with logistics, but mostly unaware of our strategic purpose or our tactical orders.

Perhaps the reason we focus so much prayer on felt needs and logistical concerns is that we have forgotten we are at war. As a result, Christianity has been reduced in some circles to a “feel-good” experience, with the church serving as a kind of spiritual therapeutic massage center. In such a setting, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that much of our praying is a reaction to our aches and pains, rather than a response to the glory of God and the holy majesty of our risen Lord Jesus.

So, what then must we do to expand our practice of prayer?

More on that next week.