Prayer Time Guide Book

8/14/2019 Prayer Time Guide Book

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PRAYER TIME

GUIDE BOOK


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CHAPTER ONE

Following Christ in Biblical Prayer

Katy and Brian were among the first converts of a new church. They were not sure

how to pray "the right way." They were sure they wanted to talk with their newfoundLord and Savior. As members of a new church, there were not a lot of other mature

believers around to disciple them. They began to read everything they could find onprayer. Some of the books were biblical, but many of them were based on human

experience or opinion, and some were just weird. They very quickly learned "a lot ofpeople talk about praying, but very few people understand and practice biblical

prayer."

Satan hates prayer. He prefers that believers do anything except pray. Even peoplewho believe in prayer and have seen its power wake up one morning to discover that

their prayer life is powerless. It is interesting that prayer does not move to asecondary priority in the believer's life. It is either a top priority or it moves to the

periphery of our lives.

Many people desire to renew a personal passion for prayer. They want to discoverwhat the Bible means when it commands us to "pray without ceasing" in 1

Thessalonians 5:17. Believers know in their spirit that obedience to the living Lordmeans responding with a lifestyle that allows unceasing prayer. People for all faith

backgrounds are interested in prayer.

Some people have a tendency to rely on processes and effective models. Sometimes,this results in a dangerous autonomy from essential spiritual resources. A very

important verse for believers is Zechariah 4:6, "This is the word of the Lord...'Not by

might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts.'" Put that verse onyour dashboard and on your bathroom mirror. Do not let Satan turn your self-

confidence into self-sufficiency, nor to turn it into arrogance.

Differences in Biblical Prayer and Popular Prayer Edmund was one of the

backbones of the church. As a core group member, he was there every time thedoors opened. Everyone knew they could count on Edmund. He prayed often at

church but it had been years since he had spent any time alone with God in prayerand Bible study.

Prayer is popular in the postmodern culture. But popular prayer is often very

different from biblical prayer. A March 2001 Internet search of the word "prayer" inthe northernlight.com search engine resulted in 2,280,745 responses. Many people

talk about the importance of prayer. A March 1994 article in Life magazine, reportedthat "nine out of 10 Americans, . . pray frequently and earnestly." Eighty percent of

Americans pray for their families, 92 percent pray for forgiveness, and 25 percentpray for relatively unimportant things like victory in a sports event. The article

indicates that 28 percent spend more than an hour in prayer each day. It alsoreveals that more than half of all people pray for five minutes or less.

George Barna more recently (2000) indicates that 83 percent of North Americans

pray during a typical week. However, only 39 percent consider themselves as an"evangelical Christian" and only 17 percent regularly attend a small group. . . for

Bible study, prayer, or Christian fellowship." He too concludes the typical daily prayer


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time is less than five minutes long.i

Think about that fact. Most evangelicals only pray five minutes a day or less. Thatmeans that even believers rely on ourselves for the remaining 23 hours and 55

minutes each day. No wonder the culture and the church are in such disarray. Nowonder that so many unbelievers are uncertain if there is any difference between

Christians and non-Christians. (An unbeliever is defined as someone who has notaccepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior).

Barna concludes, "In one recent survey we found that almost nine out of ten adults

believe they know all of the basic teachings of Christianity very well. But when youexplore what they think the Bible actually teaches, ...many theological

inconsistencies and inaccuracies emerge. Unfortunately, correcting people's mistakenassumptions about Bible content is made nearly impossible by their self-assurance

about their beliefs. Even if they are exposed to good Bible teaching they typically failto absorb that input because they think they already know it all...."ii Where then

does a person begin to renew a personal passion to pray unceasingly?

Jesus said "follow Me" (see Matt. 4:19; 16:24; 19:21). Prayer flows from our

personal relationship with Jesus. It is a gift to His followers. A gift that is oftenunopened and unused. Every believer needs to clearly share what the Bible saysabout becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. Those seeking a relationship with God will

find it through the life and teachings of Jesus.

Becoming a Follower of JesusBelievers need to share a clear call for people to follow Jesus. Unbelievers need to

respond to God's call too. The followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians inthe first century (see Acts 11:26). Like today, it was probably intended to be an

insult. The term had become so widespread that by Acts 26:28, King Agrippa usedthe word "Christian" when talking to the apostle Paul. The followers of Jesus Christ

acted so much like Him that the people of Antioch, and the Empire, called them

CHRIST-ians. Like today, there was conflict between those who listened to what Godwanted and those who imposed on God what they wanted. God's way is better.

The followers of Jesus need to act like Him so much that there is no doubt that they

are Christians. The word "believers" is now being used for the followers of Christ.This became necessary because so many people who are called Christians do not

resemble Christ. The Creator is quite clear what He requires for a person to become

a Christian. Be careful not to compromise these truths under the guise of being"seeker sensitive."


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Following Christ in Biblical Prayer (Part II)

First, The Creator God Wants a Relationship with His Creation

Levi was a 78-year-old Russian Jew. Sitting by the pool, he began a conversation

that soon turned to spiritual matters. He shared his experiences under communismas an intellectual. He told of family members killed during the Holocaust. He said, "I

many times thought that God is no longer there, but my heart cries out for Him." Hisintelligent and piercing questions took over an hour to answer. At last he said, "I see

the Messiah has come to you and perhaps will come to me too."

Creator and creation

People are created with the need to have a relationship with the Creator God. We willonly find peace and meaning to life by accepting the instructions and purpose of ourCreator. There are many false gods that try to demand obedience. But, like any

counterfeit, they do not bring satisfaction. Prayer flows out of that relationship withthe Creator.

The Creator God is worthy of our absolute trust in His love and justice. The book of

Genesis introduces the Creator God. Like any proud parent, He is shown walking withand enjoying His created beings. Then they disobeyed Him and they hid from His

presence. A broken relationship with Jesus is the primary reason for prayerlessnessor ineffective prayer.

God seeking humankind

The rest of the Bible is the story of God seeking humankind to restore therelationship between Creator and creation. In Exodus 20:2-7, God warns His creation

to allow none of these counterfeit gods to replace His role as the sole King of our life.

They began to trust in other things instead of the Creator God. They, likepostmodern humanity, ". . .exchanged the truth of God for a lie, . ." (Rom. 1:25).

Humans are not ultimately satisfied with religious rituals and self-centeredaccumulation of wealth. Agreed, this is a surprising statement in today's culture. But

it is true. The prayer team was taking prayer to the streets of an affluentneighborhood. A man was washing his luxury automobile and greeted the prayer

walkers. They responded, "We are out praying for our community today, is theiranything we can pray for you about?" He immediately replied, "yes, as you can see I

have everything in my hands that I ever wanted. But I have nothing in my heart.Pray for me to find something worth holding in my heart."

Every person needs a relationship with our Creator. People created the false religions

and false gods so they could try to meet God on their terms. We must meet God onHis terms. The Creator God of the Bible is the one, true God. According to Romans

1:20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal powerand divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been

made, so that they are without excuse."


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The reality of a Creator God drives people to seek to know Him. God responded bysending Jesus. Everything humans need to know about God can be discovered in the

life, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus (see John 14:1-6). Knowing God isdependent on biblical, consistent prayer and Bible study.

Confronting the lies of the culture

The two businessmen sat next to each other in the plane with a nod. Shortly aftertakeoff, one man put down his paper with an expression of disgust. He said aloud, "Ijust can't believe there is a God with all the bad stuff happening to children now."

The believer next to him responded, "So you believe that there is a clear difference

between good and bad?" The man replied, "Oh yes, there is good and bad all aroundus." The believer asked, "So bad things, like hurting a child, are bad everywhere in

the world." The man replied, "Absolutely, bad is bad no matter where you are." Thebeliever then asked, "If that is true, you must believe there is a moral law that

defines good and bad for all humankind." The man thought for a moment and said,"Yes, I believe there is a moral law defining good and bad."

The believer asked "How do humans know what is good and bad in this moral law?"

The man quickly responded, "Oh, humans can determine what is good and bad." The

believer asked, "Really, could Hitler, (and he mentioned other notoriously evilpeople) determine what is good and bad?" The man said, "Oh no, they could notdetermine the content of moral law." So the believer asked, "Then you are saying

the moral law giver would have to be superhuman." The man thought again for a fewmoments and said, "Yes, the moral law giver must be superhuman." The believer

smiled and asked, "Then could the superhuman, moral lawgiver be called God?" Theman sat back, surprised at where his logic had just taken him. "Yes, the moral

lawgiver has to be God."

But the believer did not stop there. He asked the man, "Would God hide the morallaw from His creation?" The man replied immediately, "Absolutely not, He would

want people to know His moral law." The believer asked, "So how would God tell us

His moral law?" Without pause the man said, "He would send people to tell us." Thebeliever asked, "Can you believe just anyone who comes up and says they can tell

you how to know God's moral law?" The man responded with certainty, "No, youwould have to have someone special sent from God." The believer responded, "That

is why the Bible says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comesto the Father except through Him" (see John 14:6). The man sat back like he had

been hit. Suddenly, the lies of the culture were clear to him. He said three times,

"that's right, that's right, that's right."

This conversation took much longer than described here. But it shows severalimportant points. 1. Satan has blinded people from the truth. 2. All of creation points

to a Creator. 3. God is taking the initiative to bring His creation to relationship withHim. 4. God sent His only Son, Jesus, to show humans how to know the Creator.

Humans must admit to themselves and to God that He is Creator. We need to

respond to His desire for a close, personal, and daily relationship with each one ofus. That response includes an active, biblical prayer life.

Second, Humankind's Problem is Disobeying God and Not Knowing What

God Wants


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Sin is to disobey GodCreation points people to the Creator God. But the human problem is that our radical

self-sufficiency wants to instruct the Creator. This causes us to disobey Him. Wedetermine that our plans are better than God's plans. We choose not to study God's

Word and so we are ignorant of God's character and instructions. The biblicaldefinition of sin is to disobey God. Every person has disobeyed God and is a sinner

(see Rom. 3:23). In spite of the cultural opinion to the contrary, there is no degreeof acceptable sin. Sin undermines effective prayer.

God is holy

This is important. Since God is holy, any sin carries the consequence of beingseparated from God. Do not be fooled. The culture teaches people to believe that

they will not go to hell. However, the truth is that everyone who disobeys God isimmediately separated from the Holy God. A person who is separated from God

immediately earns the wages of death (see Rom. 6:23). Jesus paid the penalty forour sin. That is why he alone is able to offer us salvation. Even believers need to

daily confess our sin to maintain an unhindered relationship with God (see 1 John1:9).

Hell is horribleLife separated from the purpose and teachings of the Creator is horrible. It results ina hellish existence on earth and eternal separation from God in a literal, horrible hell.

Jesus taught about hell in Luke 16:19-31. Sending people to hell is not God's choice.The culture is correct that our Creator is NOT SENDING people to hell. The culture

tries to overlook that people CHOOSE hell as the result of disobeying God. OurCreator has provided the Savior, the Bible, the true church and other believers to

warn people away from choosing hell. But the majority of the culture has chosen thepath that leads to hell. And now the culture is desperately trying to justify and gain

approval for that decision.

The Christian has the moral imperative to warn people away from hell just as

certainly as the weatherman must warn people of an impending tornado. Believershave allowed the culture to intimidate us into silence about the destructive

consequences of sin. Barna's survey asked people to respond to the statement "You,personally, have a responsibility to tell other people your religious beliefs." Only 28

percent disagreed strongly.iii Most of the population understands that truth shouldbe shared.

Do not be fooled. The culture also tries to minimize the horror of hell. Hot days, badtraffic, and other things are compared to hell. This is done so that people get the

impression that hell is not so bad. And so some people are taught to believe thatspending time in hell is worth the price of getting to do things their way instead of

God's way. This is a terrible lie.


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Following Christ in Biblical Prayer (Part III)

Being good is not enoughMany people think that being good is enough to go to heaven.iv However, the only

way to heaven is to allow Christ to replace good activities with moral change.Annette was a very good person. She was a faithful wife and good mother. She

believed that if she was a good person she would go to heaven. Her friend oftentalked to her about following Christ. Annette always replied, "I have never

intentionally hurt anyone. I do no believe that God would send me to hell." Sheadmitted though that she thought her prayer did not go any higher than the ceiling.

Raymond was proud to be a "hell-raiser." His authority in life was himself. He drank

heavily, used drugs and was considered a troublemaker at work. When his momtalked to him about faith in Jesus, he always said, "Mom, I am no Hitler. I am not so

bad that I would go to hell." His pal, Bud, just said, "At least I'll be with my friends,"

and laughed.

Human opinion has become the authority for many people. This is why it is so

important for humans to understand that the entire Bible is the authoritative andtrustworthy instruction of God's will for humankind. The Bible is the primary way to

learn what God wants for and from His creation. No other academic discipline orindividual's thought is equal to or superior to the Word of God.

Humans must determine what authority they will follow. No other religious or

philosophical teaching can compete with the instruction manual that is given by theCreator God. In these instructions, people are taught to follow Jesus through the

power of the Holy Spirit. Many people make a fatal assumption when they try toimpose their expectations and wishes on God. God's authority must take precedence.

This understanding changes how we pray.

Confess and repent

People must admit to God that His way is better than our way. We need to admit(confess) through prayer that we have disobeyed Him. We need to know God'srequirements. We need to turn (repent) from our sin. Acts 26:20 says, ". . . they

should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds" (NIV). Wemust begin a life of obedience through following the example and teachings of Jesus.

Our obedience includes a daily, specific time of prayer and Bible study. God even toldhis people ". . .to obey is better than sacrifice, . ." (1 Sam. 15:22).

Third, God Provided the Solution to our Problem through Jesus

God is love and absolutely just. He does not want anyone to spend eternity

separated from Him. However, justice requires punishment for disobedience.

Jesus is the only way to GodThe Creator loves people so much that He sent His only Son to pay the penalty for

our disobedience (see John 3:16). Jesus lived all of His life without disobeying God.He never sinned. But He willingly sacrificed His life on the Cross and paid the penalty

for each person's sin. Jesus' death on the cross was so significant that it affected allof time and all of history. If you or I were the only people to ever live, Jesus still

would have died. He died to pay the penalty for your and my disobedience (see 1


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Pet. 3:18). His sinless life and sacrificial death are why Jesus is the only way to God(see John 14:6). God requires that His creation agree that they are (I am) wrong

and God is right.

The individual's response is to accept God's solution through Jesus. This relationshipcan only happen through accepting God's Son, Jesus, as Lord. He becomes Lord by

asking the Holy Spirit of God to come inside and take control. When the Holy Spiritmoves into the individual's life, He begins to remold it into Christ's likeness. Thischange occurs on the inside first. This internal moral and spiritual change results in

different behavior and activities.

The Creator God is absolutely holy. His justice and law are absolutely fair. He only

does what is best for His creation. He trusts us enough to let us choose His best wayover our own inferior way. The consequences of choosing our way are severe

because they are not what are best for His creation. God's love is so great that Heeven provides Jesus' death to pay the penalty for choosing the wrong way. God even

provides the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out.

False religion

Every person needs to understand that becoming a Christian is more than justchanging behavior. False religion tries to convince people that changing outwardbehavior and activities result in becoming a moral person on the inside. This is wrong

(see Matt. 23:15-19). Religion can successfully modify some external behavior, butonly a relationship with Jesus transforms the internal person into the likeness of

Christ. The internal change results in external change. This is a very important pointwhen sharing Jesus in a postmodern culture.

Becoming a Christian is more than just believing in God. Satan and his demons

believe in God (see Jas. 2:19), but they refuse to obey God. James 1:22-26 explainsthe importance to be ". . . doers of the word, and not merely hearers...If anyone

thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his

own heart, this man's religion is worthless." A personal relationship with Christreplaces all religious pretense. It transforms prayer from a ritual into communication

with our Lord.

Confessing Jesus as LordRomans 10:9-10 says, ". . .if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe

in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the

heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses,resulting in salvation." This is what the Bible also calls justification (see Rom. 4:25-

5:1; 5:18). We become just through Christ. People cannot earn their justification.

If you have never accepted Christ as Lord then pray a prayer similar to this one:"Dear God, I know that You alone are the Creator God. I admit to You that I have

disobeyed You. I ask forgiveness for my sin. I know that Your only Son is JesusChrist. I know that He died for my sin and rose from the dead. I now accept His Life

and teaching as the model for my thoughts and behavior. Please send the Holy Spiritinside me to change me on the inside. Thank You for forgiving me and giving me

eternal life."

Remember and share that there is nothing magical about this prayer. It is merely asummary of what you need to tell God. Anyone can do that in his or her own words.


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Being sure about your salvationSatan will try to bring doubt and discouragement into the believer's life. First John

5:13 teaches that "I write these things to you...that you may know that you haveeternal life" (NIV). In John 1:12 the Bible says, "Yet to all who receive him, . .he

gave the right to become children of God" (NIV).

A person who has turned from their sin and accepted Jesus cannot lose theirsalvation. In John 10:27-28 Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and

no one can snatch them out of My hand." The true followers of Jesus can never be

snatched from His saving hand. Salvation is for eternity (see Rom. 8:38-39).

Growing as a healthy ChristianEvery living thing needs nourishment to survive and grow. Christians grow

(sanctification) as they choose to let Jesus be Lord of every part of their life. TheChristian becomes a ". . .living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your

spiritual service of worship" (Rom. 12:1). Seek to become a living and holy sacrificeto God. Let God use you as His instrument to begin and grow the church.

The service of worship includes immediately becoming part of a local church. Churchmembers are not perfect, but they are seeking to learn from others how to becomemore like Christ. Church membership includes being baptized (see Rom. 6:4).

Baptism is a public symbol of what has happened on the inside of the new believer(see Acts 2:41).

Growing in Christ is an individual decision. It is a daily struggle to be changed into

Christ's likeness. It usually is not easy to set aside the old habits so that we will". . .not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your

mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptableand perfect" (Rom. 12:2). Renewing our mind comes with Bible study, prayer and

worship.v Growing Christians must be involved in a local congregation to learn as

well as to lead. Old friends and old habits will try to reclaim the new believer. Do notlet them. One new believer described it. "I sometimes feel like there is a bungee cord

pulling me back toward my old friends and old lifestyle. Only prayer, Bible Study andmy Christian friends keep me from falling back."

Healthy Christians automatically begin to tell others about Christ.

In Luke 19:10, Jesus said that He came to ". . .seek and to save that which was

lost." Those who are like Christ will do what He did.vi Proverbs 11:30 says, ". . .hewho is wise wins souls." Make sure that most of your church's growth is by

conversion growth. Seek to reduce the population of hell.

ConclusionA vibrant prayer life flows from a relationship with the Creator God. His enemy,

Satan, seeks to confuse and distort the biblical facts about prayer. So believers mustbe careful to focus on biblical prayer. The Creator God wants a relationship with His

Creation. He has taken the initiative to bring His Creation back to Him. He sent Jesusto clearly point us to God. He has sent the Holy Spirit to teach us how to live the

Christian life. God has taken the initiative with His creation to communicate with Himthrough prayer.


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CHAPTER TWO

Praying From A Believer's Heart

Craig was a well-liked science teacher. He often taught the importance of thescientific process. He was adamant that there is no personal higher power. He even

told a believer, "I tried prayer once and found it unreliable." He attempted to accessspiritual truth through secular processes. One day, his mother grew gravely ill. He

asked his Christian friends to pray for her. "I am not on good speaking terms withGod and have no right to approach him with this request." Even Craig realized that

effective prayer is based in relationship with the Creator. That relationship is basedon God's terms, not our terms.

Only believers have the relationship with God that provides Christ as their mediator.

Without the mediator, unbelievers do not have access to the throne of God, andprayer is powerless if it does not go to the throne of God.

In a masterpiece of subversion, Satan will convince unbelievers that their prayer hasbeen answered. This effectively keeps unbelievers praying the selfish, shallow areasthat do not require conversion to Christ. In Matthew 4, Satan offered Jesus food,

success, and popularity. The lure of these things is so tantalizing to people thatSatan does not even need to make a personal appearance to offer them. Since so

many people pray for these things, receiving them is perceived as an answer to theirprayer. Satan also can answer prayer miraculously.

Many people accurately recognize that there is a universal spiritual need to

communicate with the Creator. The error develops with the belief that prayer then isuniversally answered separate from the requirements God established for prayer.

Misconceptions about prayer can be corrected by carefully studying the biblical

instructions for prayer and for the person praying.

The Role of Jesus in our Prayer

The Bible presents the essential role of Jesus in the believer's prayer life. Jesusprovides our access to the Father.

By the blood

Hebrews 10:19 reveals, "Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter theholy place by the blood of Jesus." Jesus became the high priest to take each believer

into the holy of holies. In Ephesians 2:18 Paul wrote, "for through Him (Jesus) weboth have our access in one Spirit to the Father." The word prosagoge, refers to

unhindered approach to God. The word is used to introduce an ambassador to a

national assembly or a person to the king. Humans cannot enter the holy of Holiesunescorted. The only escort is the Son through the Holy Spirit. Unescorted prayerdoes not leave the room where it is prayed.

Made Righteous

Humans are made righteous only through Christ. James 5:16 refers to the effectiveprayer of a righteous man. Romans 10:10 writes, "for with the heart man believes,

resulting in righteousness, . . ." Jesus is the only one who can cleanse us of ourunrighteousness (see 1 John 1:7-9).


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Righteousness is right behavior that comes from holiness. Holiness only comes from

the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit only comes through accepting Jesus Christ asLord. It is important to understand that even sincere, fervent prayer is powerless

without righteousness. Without Jesus there is no righteousness. Withoutrighteousness there is no effective prayer.

ObedienceThe requirement for answered prayer is obedience to God's commandments. First

John 3:22 reads, "and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His

commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight" (emphasis added).Righteousness results in obedient behavior that is pleasing to God. Obedience is

essential to effective prayer.

The great prayer warrior, R.A.Torrey, wrote, "God's promises to answer prayer aremade to certain specific persons, and God is very careful in His word to tell us just

who these persons are." He continues, "The Christian Scientist cannot really pray.What he calls prayer is simply meditation or concentration of thought. It is not

asking a personal God for a definite blessing; indeed, Mrs. Eddy denied the existence

of a personal God and she denied the atoning efficacy of the blood. She said that theblood of Jesus Christ when it was shed on Calvary, did no more good than when itwas running in His veins. So a Christian Scientist cannot really pray; he is not on

praying ground."i

BoldnessHere is the source for bold, confident praying that is biblical. First John 5:14 says,

"And this is the confidence (boldness) which we have before Him, that, if we askanything according to His will, He hears us" (emphasis added). The believer's prayer

of petition must be according to God's will. There is a lot of false teaching thatresults in frustrated people who could not impose their will on God. Many people

have become angry with God because they imposed expectations on God that were

not biblical. Please notice that He does not even hear prayers that are not accordingto His will. This is why it is important for prayer warriors to understand God's will and

boldly align themselves with it.

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Prayer

The Holy Spirit plays a key roll in the prayer life of the believer. Prayer is a secularactivity without the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26-27 says, "...the

Spirit also helps our weakness; for we (Christians) do not know how to pray as weshould, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

and He (God) who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, becauseHe intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

The Holy Spirit helps in our weakness.Paul often reminded believers that our weakness is a benefit in our spiritual life (see1 Cor. 1:27; 9:22). In 2 Corinthians 12:10 Paul writes, "Therefore, I am well content

with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, forChrist's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." The believers' effective prayer

is based on repentant and humble recognition that we come to the throne asforgiven sinners. The prayer of unrepentant people is fruitless. The believer enters

into prayer through recognition that he or she is responsible for Jesus' death. Hedied for your sin. Look at the things Paul endured for Christ's sake. What will we


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endure?

The Holy Spirit intercedes for us.Our human weakness is so great that prayer requires the Spirit's help. Referring

again to Romans 8:26-27, "...for we (Christians) do not know how to pray as weshould, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us..." Many believers are not sure what

is best in any given situation. We truly do not want to impose our will on God.Perhaps our pain or our ignorance has blinded us. We cannot see the future, so wedo not know what could be harmful to us. Think back gratefully to the youthful or

immature prayers that God answered "no." Recognize that some of our current

prayers also deserve a "no" answer. In these times of uncertainty, the Holy Spiritserves as our advocate in the divine courts.

"...the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He

(God) who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because Heintercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26-27). There is no

biblical evidence that this groaning refers to tongues. The Spirit's groaning in thisverse is the same word used in verse 22. There, "creation groans." In verse 23, the

same word refers to when ". . .we ourselves groan ... waiting eagerly for our

adoption as sons, . . ." This is not tongues, but eager anticipation.

Paul then gives a glimpse into the relationship between God's omniscience and the

Spirit's intercession. Prayer is not a matter of informing the omniscient God. Prayeris recognizing that believers are bowing our will to God's will. We must agree with

God.

It is the intervention of the Holy Spirit that brings the unbeliever's prayerfor salvation to God.

The biblical evidence seems to indicate that the only prayer that reaches the throneof God from an unbeliever is a prayer seeking to know the Creator. Many of the

stories that relate effective prayer to unbelievers can be attributed to the

intercession of believers for that person or for their country. Many people believethat God hears prayer that may not be for salvation but when answered will lead

them to salvation.

Works for the good of the believer"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love

God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28). This verse is

often misquoted and applied universally. The key phrase is, "to those calledaccording to (and on the basis of) His purpose." Albert Barnes notes, the word

"called" (kletos) refers to ". . .those who have accepted the call, and (are) trueChristians."ii

The human definition of "good" is much too secular. Believers must come as Paul did

in 2 Corinthians 12:10 to be ". . .content with weaknesses, with insults, withdistresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; . . ." The definition

of good must move away from whether an experience is good or bad for me and myfamily. Believers must be able to determine the experience was good if it was good

for God's kingdom.

A missionary family was preparing to return from stateside furlough to a very difficultfield of service. People asked him why they would return to endure the heat,

sickness, and political turmoil. "It may not be a real good experience for us, but it is


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essential to the work of the kingdom of God." That sense of dedication and sacrificeis lost to many believers today, and so our prayers become shallow and selfish. Even

to the point that we selfishly ask God to send someone else's children to the missionfields.

Jesus wept in the garden of prayer with the hope of being excused from His

crucifixion. But the good of the kingdom and the salvation of humankind wereawaiting Him. His response to His Father was, "Thy will be done..." (Matt. 26:42).The deacon Stephen knew that public preaching could be fatal, but he was willing to

pay the price for the good of the kingdom. Saul, who became Paul, was also

convicted by such devotion. Seeing believers who did not fear death was crucial inSaul's conversion (see Acts 7(8).

The work of the Holy Spirit is so crucial that those outside of Christ have no hope of

effective prayer.

God's Expectations for Prayer

Manuel had been a Christian for many years. He realized that his relationship with

the Lord was not as strong as it used to be. He often prayed for his family, theirsafety, and God's blessings, but deep in his spirit, he knew there was more to

prayer.

The model prayer in Matthew Chapter Six presents many lessons on God'sexpectations for prayer. It also explains God's expectations from the one praying.

Not just an external activity

Jesus warns believers that prayer must be more than mere external activity. InMatthew 6:5, Jesus begins to distinguish between popular prayer and true prayer. He

identifies the hypocrites who ". . .love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on

the street corners...they have their reward in full." The focus of biblical prayer is the

Creator, not His creation.

A spiritual disciplineMatthew 6:6 emphasizes the important discipline of personal prayer, "...When you

pray, go into your inner room, . . ." Personal prayer is an essential spiritualdiscipline. It is easy for spiritual leaders to allow public prayer to replace private

prayer. Every believer needs time alone with God.

Jesus is not rejecting public prayer. He is pointing believers to a priority need forpersonal prayer. Public prayer is different from private prayer. It deals with

corporate issues. Private prayer allows believers to be completely honest with theLord. He knows our every thought. He knows every motive, yet He loves us anyway.

Beware of imitation prayerJesus rejects the misguided devotion of "meaningless repetition" (the word meansbabbling). Jesus said, ". . .they suppose that they will be heard for their many

words" (Matt. 6:7). These hypocrites did not really pray, they only imitated prayer.William Barclay comments, "When a man begins to think more of how he is praying

than of what he is praying, his prayer dies upon his lips." (We also could insert "or towhom he is praying.") Jesus insists that prayer be offered to God and not to men.

Barclay also concludes that Matthew Chapter Six ". . .is a prayer which only one who


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is committed to Jesus Christ can take upon his lips with any meaning."iii Effectiveprayer is a function of believers through their personal relationship with Jesus.

Focus prayer on the Father

In Matthew 6:8, Jesus repeats His warning to focus on the Father. Prayer is an act ofworship to the Father, in the name of the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit.iv

Technically, we can address our prayers to any part of the Godhead. However, thereis no place in the Bible where the Holy Spirit is addressed in prayer.v Only once isJesus addressed in prayer (see Acts 7:59). The other prayers of believers in the New

Testament were directed to God. There is no biblical evidence for angels, loved oneswho have died, or spiritual leaders to be addressed in prayer. The focus of the

believer's prayer is the Father.

Who among us has not begun the closing prayer to remember something we meantto tell the class? So, in the midst of the prayer the audience for the prayer shifts to

the classmates from the Lord God. This should not be so.

At dinner one night, the youngest child said grace for the family. Her brother wasquick to say after the Amen, "I couldn't hear you." Just as quickly, the younger child

responded, "I wasn't talking to you."

Contrast false prayer with Spirit-led prayerJesus contrasts false prayer with Spirit-led prayer in Matthew 6:9: "Pray, then, in

this way."Jesus has just rejected ritual prayers, so He is not presenting a formulafor repetition. He is providing a model for prayer in form, content, and spirit.

"Our Father which art in heaven."Jesus uses the intimate word "abba" for Father.

The word implies relationship. It requires faith in the God who sent Jesus as theMessiah. Bible scholar, R.C.H. Lenski, writes, "In the old covenant any Jew who

believed in the coming Messiah could have prayed this prayer; and in the new

covenant only those Jews (and Gentiles) can pray it who believe in Jesus, the

Messiah.... Only a true child of God can address him as 'Father,' and only faith inChrist makes one a child of God."vi

The story is told of the Roman Emperor who returned in triumph. Soldiers lined the

parade route to protect the spectators and prisoners. As the parade neared thepalace, a young boy attempted to pass a soldier. The tall, strong soldier scooped up

the boy and held him. "You can't go through there boy, that is the Emperor." Theboy laughed and said, "He may be your Emperor, but he is my daddy."

Our relationship with "abba" Father comes through our accepting the Lordship and

sacrifice of Jesus. The apostle Paul was thrilled at this gift. In Romans 8:15, hewrote, "...but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out,

'Abba! Father!'"

"Hallowed be thy name."A hallowed name is respected. The Greek word means totreat it as holy or different from other things. The name refers to the character,

nature, and personality of the person named. The culture prefers to profane God'sname and to question His motives. Humans prefer to live in godless self-indulgence

and then expect Him to respond to our petitions. Notice that you never hearsomeone say, "Oh my Buddha" or "For Mohammed's sake." The culture does not

slander the names of Buddha or Mohammed because there is no holiness in thosenames.


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"Thy Kingdom come."Requesting God's kingdom to come infers the purpose of beingthe citizens of that kingdom. The kingdom refers to the reign and rule of Christ.

Those who refuse to be subjects to His rule are not citizens of His Kingdom.

"Thy Will be done."Praying for His will over our will is the acknowledgement that"prayer must never be an attempt to bend the will of God to our desires; prayer

ought always to be an attempt to submit our wills to the will of God."vii Paul tellsTimothy in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God ". . . desires (wills) all men to be saved and cometo the knowledge of the truth." These are foreign concepts to the attempted prayer

of an unbeliever.

Seek God's influence

Matthew 6:11-13 requests God to influence every part of our lives so that wemaintain control over no part of our lives. We must acknowledge that our prayer

flows from a life transformed by dependence on the grace and love of the Creator.This transformation allows our prayer to begin seeking God's influence in the lives of

other people. This dependence allows us to seek God's influence in the culture atlarge.

The visitation team was in an affluent neighborhood where a church was beingstarted. The man at the door replied, "Look at everything I have, the car, the boat,the house. I am in control of my destiny and don't need your God to bless me." The

team asked what would happen to all this when he died. He grew a bit agitated andresponded that he was in control of his life and his family's future. The team asked

what would happen to these things if he had an accident and lost his job or if thestock market crashed. Fear entered his eyes as a team member recounted the

massive destruction a tornado had brought just a few miles away. The man keptrepeating, "I am in control." His fear succeeded in breaking the self-sufficiency. He

asked, "How can I learn to trust in God?"

Prayer, like faith, without works is dead

These verses show that prayer, like faith, without works is dead. Praying "give usthis day our daily bread"is not an order on some celestial menu. This verse is not

instructing the person to then sit and wait for God to drop bread in our hands. (Godcan do that, as we see in Exodus 15 and 16, but it is not the normal way God

answers prayer.) The balance between God's sovereignty and human responsibilityprevents our prayer from becoming an excuse for our laziness. Neither should prayer

be an excuse for our disobedience.

The newspapers have recently reported several high profile cases of unbiblical

prayer. The purpose of such articles is often to undermine any practice of prayer.The articles often try to portray all believers as dangerous extremists. In one recent

report, a 2-day-old boy died of complications from a hole in his heart. The parentsnoticed the boy was ". . .having trouble breathing and that he was turning blue. But

they considered him fussy and thought he was getting better after they prayed forhim, . . ."viii The parents misunderstood the balance between faith and works. They

join the many of us who struggle with the balance between God's sovereignty andhuman responsibility. We struggle with knowing when we are running ahead of God's

will or lagging behind God's will. This is one reason that daily intimate time with Godis so important. God's Word gives clear direction.


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Praying From A Believer's Heart (Part II)

Forgiven and forgiveness"And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors."Forgiveness for our

sin only comes from Christ. Only through Christ can we forgive others. Trying toaccomplish this prayer outside of a relationship with Christ is not humanly possible.

The whole tone of this prayer is of a person talking intimately to his or her father. Itis not a person shouting from outside to a stranger.

Jesus was even more specific in Matthew 7:21-23. "Not everyone who says to me

'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Fatherwho is in heaven.... And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you'...."

Forgiveness is only found in and through Jesus. So is the ability to forgive.

Delivered from temptation

"Lead us not into temptation."The word for temptation in Matthew 6:13 is not toseduce us to sin but to test the believer's strength, loyalty, and ability for service.

Temptation is further explained in James 1:12-18. The word he uses refers to a

fishing lure. The culture has presented evil as being alluring, exciting, and desirable.Satan tempts us to desire things that have a dangerous hook implanted in them.

Stanley warns believers, ". . .the devil may not be able to keep (believers) fromheaven, but he will do his best to make certain you don't take anybody to heaven

with you."ix Intimate time with God is essential to maintain the proper perspectivebetween what is good and what is bad.

Even unbelievers agree that hypocritical religion is fruitless. So the religious activity

of insincere (and even of sincere) prayer, is worthless. Effective prayer requires theperson and work of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayers often seek God's

intervention. Such prayers must be presented from a life that seeks God'sintervention in every part of that life. This divine intervention only comes through

Jesus and results in a transformed lifestyle of holiness. Then there follows a

reputation for honesty, integrity, and doing the right thing. These characteristics helpdeliver us from temptation.

Powerful, effective prayerPowerful, effective prayer requires an intimate relationship with the Creator.

Unbelievers often want the blessings of God without the necessary requirements.They also want to live as they please without the necessary consequences.

The Way

Jesus clearly tells humankind that access to God is only through the Son. John 14:1-12 establishes the importance of believing (and obeying) Jesus as "the way, and the

truth, and the life; . . ." John confirms in verse six of this passage that ". . . no one

comes to the Father, but through Me (Jesus)." There is only one way to God.Unbelievers and the non-Christian religions do not have access to the Father. Prayer

that does not go to the Father is powerless.

In Thailand, it was heartbreaking to watch Buddhists pray. A young man would come

to the idol and kneel. He would light a bundle of incense in the hopes the aromawould carry the attached prayer to their god. He would clasp his hands in the

traditional "wai" or sign of respect. He would devoutly utter his prayer to an imagemade with human hands.


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In Israel, pious Jews go to the wall of the temple in Jerusalem. They write messages

to God on tiny slips of paper and insert these between the rocks for God to read.They dress in all of the proper clothing of prayer. Then, they stand and rock before

the wall, repeating the same ritual prayers over, and over, and over again.

Such attempts to pray are often sincere. The prophet, Elijah, experienced a graphiccontrast between the futile prayer of pagans and divinely answered prayer. In 1Kings 18:20-39, King Ahab brought Elijah and the false prophets to Mount Carmel.

Elijah called out, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is

God, follow Him, . ." (v.21). He then had an altar and a sacrifice prepared. Theprophets of Baal ". . .called on the name of Baal from morning until noon..."(v.26).

They continued to cry out in a loud voice, they cut themselves and ". . .raved untilthe time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; . ." (v.29). These false prophets

spent an entire day in fervent, sincere prayer. But then in verse 29 comes what areperhaps the saddest words in the Old Testament, "But there was no voice, no one

answered, and no one paid attention." False gods cannot answer prayer.

In verses 36-39, Elijah presents his sacrifice. He prays aloud, "O Lord, the God of

Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that. . .I am Thy servant, and thatI have done all these things at Thy word." The Lord immediately answered Elijah'sprayer. Fire came down and totally consumed the offering, the altar, and the water.

The people then cried out, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God." Note theprayer was answered to glorify God, not Elijah.

Answered prayer is intended as a witness to unbelievers. It glorifies God. The Lord

God is fully known through His Son Jesus. Knowing God occurs by having an intimaterelationship with God through prayer and studying His Word, the Bible. Our theology

(understanding of God), our Christology (understanding of Christ), and ourecclesiology (understanding the church) must come from the Bible. Other

philosophical teachings are not divinely inspired as was (is) the Bible. Pray and live in

a way to impact unbelievers.

ConclusionAll of the artificial tolerance of the culture bristles at these biblical truths. Prayer is a

gift to those who are in Christ. And even those who are in Christ must pray accordingto His will and teachings to have effective prayer. The only prayer God hears from an

unbeliever is the prayer of repentance.

The entire secular culture understands that privileges come with a price. Police, fire,and government services come at the price of paying taxes. Even warehouse

shopping clubs deny entrance to non-members. Everyone wants to get something forfree. Jesus paid for our access to God's throne and we access it only through faith in

Him.

This is not an exclusive intolerance, but a standard of accountability. Christ died forall humankind (see John 3:16). Every person has the opportunity to accept Him and

enjoy the benefits of being adopted sons and daughters. Prayer must be offered onGod's terms and with His intended purpose.


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CHAPTER THREE

Spiritual Warfare and the Biblical Plan

The plane rolled to a stop on the runway in Bangkok, Thailand. The young missionary

was excited to have arrived at his field of service. The door opened and the stepswere brought up to the door. The missionary stepped outside into his new home. Thefirst impression was the heat and humidity. The second impression was the smell of

spices and diesel gasoline. The third impression was of spiritual oppression. Havinggrown up in the Southern United States, he was unaccustomed to spiritual

oppression. It was quite unsettling to him. He had to dig into God's Word to learnhow to endure and respond.

That country had long served false gods. Idolatry, poverty, immorality, and crime

were pervasive. Unlike their stateside counterparts, many Christian missionariesthere were accustomed to spiritual warfare. It was a constant and important

awareness.

In contrast, the United States has had a long Christian heritage. The presence of somany believers protected the country from much of Satan's direct influence. Recent

years, however, have seen a shocking decline in moral and theological foundations.

Satan has launched a massive and effective counterattack. Rationalism andintellectualism have undermined belief in a spiritual world. Secularism and humanism

worship the idols of human achievement.

North America has become decidedly more like the pagan world. This has resulted in

a growing need for effective and biblical spiritual warfare. Since most WesternChristians did not have the experience and/or training to respond biblically to the

increased spiritual onslaught, many false teachings filled the void.

Recent movies, television, and books have also increased awareness and interest inthe supernatural. Believers were searching for solutions to stop the moral and

spiritual decline of North America. Popular books presented an entertaining depictionof spiritual warfare. Many of these inaccurately confused spiritual warfare in the

heavenly realm with the earthly realm.

The biblical teachings on spiritual warfare are much too extensive to cover in thisbrief chapter. The endnotes attempt to provide many of the finest biblically based

books on the subject. The last part of the chapter alerts believers to some decoysused by Satan. These decoys confuse sincere people and drain resources from the

legitimate battle. Please use this outline to prompt your own study of biblical spiritualwarfare. Please allow the word of God to impact our theology more so than trying to

impose our self-made theology on the Word of God. This chapter was written with a

lot of input from other believers. The heartfelt intent is to help believers discover andpractice biblical truth about spiritual warfare.

The Focus of Spiritual Warfare

Satan does not like outposts of the kingdom being built in his territory. The biblical

focus of spiritual warfare is threefold:

1. The conversion of lost people to a relationship with Jesus Christ.


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In Luke 10:17-20, the 70 missionaries returned to report with excitement that ". ..even the demons are subject to us in Your name." Jesus immediately corrects their

perspective. He reminds them that He has given them authority over "all of thepower of the enemy, and (in order that) nothing will harm you." The authority was

given for their protection, not for a militant spiritual aggressiveness.viii Then, Jesusmakes this very important point. "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits

are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven" (Luke17:20). This is also the focus of Luke 9:1-2. The focus of spiritual warfare is thesalvation of lost people.

The book of Acts presents many examples of spiritual warfare, but the emphasis ofthe book is the conversion of the lost. For example, Paul gives his testimony before

King Agrippa. In Acts 26:18, Paul recounted Jesus' words to him, ". . .open theireyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to

God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance amongthose who have been sanctified by faith in Me." In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 Paul reminds

believers that Satan has ". . .blinded the minds of the unbelieving, . . ." Any event orfocus that subverts attention from the conversion of the lost is in error.

The focus is not Satan and his demons. The focus is not the manifestation of Satan'sor God's power. The focus of spiritual warfare is summarized by Jesus in Luke 19:10,"For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Evangelism

is spiritual warfare. Dr. Chuck Lawless at Southern Seminary defines evangelism as"Taking the gospel of light into the Kingdom of darkness."i Each convert must be

discipled through a local congregation.

A lot of the information in the spiritual warfare books seems to focus on Satan orbelievers more than the lost. The focus of spiritual warfare is the conversion of the

lost.

2. Identification and protection from Satan's plans. God's enemy, Satan, is also

the enemy of all humankind. C. S. Lewis once said, ". . .in respect to the devil weusually make one of two mistakes: we either give him undue attention or ignore him

all together."ii Understanding Satan's nature and purpose will prevent people frombeing fooled by his tactics. He is identified as the evil one in Matthew 13:19, a

murderer in John 8:44, a trickster in Ephesians 6:11, a trapper in 2 Timothy 2:26,the adversary in 1 Peter 5:8, the destroyer in Revelation 9:11, and the accuser in

Revelation 12:10. Satan cannot be trusted to direct or even influence our life. He is a

thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10). First Peter 5:8 describesSatan as a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. Every believer needs to

understand the tactics of Satan and the biblical protection provided. Evangelismrequires the evangelist to wear the Eph. 6 armor that God provides.

Please be careful that the enemy is Satan, not his followers. Some of the spiritual

warfare and evangelism material seems to picture the lost as the enemy. Jesus diedfor all humankind (see John 3:16, Rom. 5:8). We must share the truth with them in

and with the love of Christ (Eph . 4:15).

3. Accepting responsibility for biblical authority and activity.The Bible provides clear instruction about the believer's authority and activity in

spiritual warfare. Christians have a responsibility to participate only in spiritualwarfare that is biblically based and taught. Here are five key components to spiritual

warfare in the earthly realm.


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The first and primary component of earthly realm spiritual warfare is prayer. In John

17:15, Jesus prays for His father to keep His followers ". . . from the evil one." InLuke 22:31-32, Jesus prays for Simon when Satan ". . .demanded permission to sift

you like wheat; . . ." Jesus prayed that Simon's "faith may not fail." In 2 Corinthians13:7-9, Paul prays for them to ". . .do no wrong...do what is right, . .that you be

made complete." In 1 Timothy 2:1-8, Paul presents extensive lessons on trulybiblical prayer. The focus of warfare prayer is interceding for other people, notagainst Satan and his demons.

In Ephesians 6:18-19 Paul concludes his lesson on the armor of God by writing,"With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be

on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, . . ." In Matthew26:41 Jesus told his followers to "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation."

The primary task of believers involved in spiritual warfare is prayer. More prayerwarriors are desperately needed.

The second key component is to resist the devil and his influence. James 4:7-8 says

to "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to

God and He will draw near to you." Resisting without submitting is to take the devilin our own strength, which is a dangerous move. 1 John 3:7-12 warns that practicingsin identifies us with the devil and puts us under his influence.

Paul warns believers in Ephesians 6 to enter the battle daily by putting on the armor

of God. Most of the pieces are defensive armor. Study that chapter carefully. Inverse 17, Paul refers to the Word of God as a short sword for close combat. It is the

knowledge and use of God's Word that protects believers from Satan's influence.

A pastor shared, "Satan knows my weaknesses very well. I have to be very diligentto stay away from things that lead me into depression and lust. I have learned that

resisting Satan is directly related to drawing near to God."

In Ephesians 2:1-2, Paul acknowledges the "prince of the power of the air, of the

spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience." Satan is working in theearthly realm to influence the entire culture to disobey all physical and spiritual

authority. In verse 3, Paul warns about following the lusts of the flesh that makes us"children of wrath." He also warns that uncontrolled anger can give the devil

opportunity to penetrate our defenses (see Eph.4:26-27). In 1 Thessalonians 5:22,

Paul says to avoid all evil. Anything that gives Satan a foothold in our lives can causeus to fall into sin, and sin destroys our testimony.

The third component is to lift up Jesus. In John 12:31-32, Jesus describes how ". .

.the ruler of this world shall be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, willdraw all men to Myself." Notice how the first part of that verse is often omitted when

it is quoted. Lifting Jesus up will draw people away from Satan's influence. Theprimary activity and authority of the believer is to lift up Christ. Be careful not to fall

into the trap of lifting up Satan instead of lifting up Jesus. Many unbelievers willgladly leave their counterfeit religions when the truth of Christ is provided as the

Divine alternative.

Fourth, work through the local church. Matthew 18:18 and Ephesians 3:10 eachemphasize the primary role of the church for support, protection, accountability, and

direction. The list of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 includes the need for


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"discernment of spirits." The church has an essential role in spiritual warfare. Becareful of spiritual vigilantes working autonomously from the church. Error occurs

easily without theological training or accountability.

Mark began his prayer ministry separate from the church or denominational support."I wanted the freedom to do my ministry as I understood God wanted me to do it.

However, I quickly learned that the lack of accountability was dangerous. I becameundisciplined. I became driven to make an income instead of ministering to people. Icompromised the truth to get a crowd."

Another couple wept as they returned from a failed church start in a pioneer area."We did not want to wait until our denomination would appoint us. We went out on

faith without the training, education, or spiritual maturity that we needed. It was ahorrible experience. We tried it in our power. Now we understand why the

denominational guidelines are so helpful."

Fifth, overcome strongholds with the power of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 10:4 is anoften-misunderstood verse. It does not refer in any way to warfare in the heavenly

realm. Paul begins by admonishing believers that the ". . .weapons of our warfare

are not of the flesh, . . ." The weapons are defined as the power and wisdom of Godin 1 Corinthians 1:17-25.xii Churches should not exchange the power and wisdom ofGod for secular weapons of marketing, entertainment, or the personality of the

pastor. Each of these things can be helpful, but these do not replace the power ofthe gospel.

Paul continues, ". . .but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Cor.

10:4). This is the only place in the New Testament that the word "strongholds"(fortresses) is used. Paul explains what he means by strongholds in verse 5: "We are

destroying speculations and every lofty thing (pretensions) raised up against theknowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of

Christ." This is not as exciting as participating in the spiritual Green Berets, but it is

the truth. The strongholds are arguments that try to make individual willimpregnable to God's will.xiii Beth Moore says that this verse (2 Cor. 10:5) intends

for us ". . .to steal back our thought life and take it captive to Christ instead."xivBelievers do not have to discover and demolish vast levels of spiritual strongholds.

We simply (but not easily) must take "every thought captive to the obedience ofChrist."

Satan's Plan

Satan's first tactic is to tell people that God and the spiritual world are not real (see

2 Tim. 4:3-4). In spite of pervasive rationalism, people know this is a lie. But Satanconvinces many sincere people to stay away from any "organized religion."

A professed atheist was arguing with a believer. The conversation seemed to find nohesitation that there is no God. The believer said, "Fine, then I will pray for God tostrike down your children." Immediately the purported atheist responded, "NO,

DON'T." With a flash of understanding, the uncertain atheist, not the believer, said,"Maybe I believe in God more than I thought."

A second satanic tactic is to provide fake examples or incomplete definitions of

salvation, revival, and prayer (see Acts 13:8-10). Satan likes to focus on worksinstead of on grace. This allows him to lure many sincere people into works-based


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cults and false religions. Satan is aware of the global awakening in prayer. He hasresponded with a lot of counterfeit teaching about prayer and about spiritual warfare.

This allows him to effectively confuse intelligent, sincere people.

Third, he has confused some believers so thoroughly that they will not participate inany kind of spiritual warfare. The young couple came up smiling before the

conference. "We are looking forward to what you have to say. We hear so manyconflicting opinions on spiritual warfare that we have been waiting until we know thetruth so we don't do anything wrong." The speaker affirmed their seeking the truth

and asked where they thought they would find the truth. "Oh we know it's in the

Bible somewhere. We just haven't been to the right seminar, yet." The speakerstrongly encouraged them to do their own study of the Scripture. The couple looked

at each other as if they hadn't thought of that and said, "Yeah, I guess we could dothat." Some believers do not want to move from the comfort of being spectators.

Others refuse to believe there is a spiritual war between good and evil all aroundthem.

A very effective satanic tactic is to provide decoys that drain energy, time, and other

resources from the legitimate battle. This will be thoroughly discussed later in the

chapter. Christians must be careful to participate only in biblical spiritual warfare.

Discerning False Teaching

Studying the Word of God will identify false teaching. Many nanve and trustingpersons have been lead astray by unintentional and intentional false prophets.

Believers need to take heed to 1 John 4:1. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, buttest the spirits to see whether (or not) they are from God; because many false

prophets have gone out into the world." Jesus Christ, as revealed in God's Word, isthe way to discern false teaching. There are many intentional false prophets leading

people astray. In many ways though, the unintentional false prophets are more

dangerous. Even sincere, conservative believers can become false prophets when we

stray from God's word into teaching our opinion.

The young couple shared about attending a spiritual warfare conference. "We hadpurchased all the books and attended every seminar. We quoted the speakers to our

friends and recounted their experiences with the devil. We sincerely wanted to helpour church grow, but we were sincerely wrong in what we had learned about spiritual

warfare. Our militancy turned to guilt at not seeing the kind of things we read about.We became defeated because of the unbiblical teaching instead of triumphant in

Christ."

The Bible is the definitive source for understanding and practicing prayer andspiritual warfare. People must be very careful that their theology and practice comes

only from the Bible. In a recent Sunday School class, the teacher quoted a radio

preacher he had heard that morning. The teacher thought the radio preacher waswrong, but he wanted to share that perspective "just in case." Another class memberquoted a television program about Mary. Many people get their theology and activity

from television, books, and their preacher. However, the only truly reliable source isthe Bible, and the only perfect example is Jesus. Be careful that we too do not

become unintentional false prophets.

Spiritual Warfare in the Bible


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This part of the chapter highlights five biblical principles that are foundational tounderstanding and responding to warfare in the heavenly and earthly realms.

First, God is in control.

From creation to the apocalypse, God is absolutely in control. As we see below inGenesis 3 and Matthew 4, Satan is constantly trying to question God's sovereignty.

Job 38(39 presents the wonderful response from God to Job. In this discourse, welearn that God is God and we are not. Do not be fooled by Satan or the culture. Godis in control.

Job 1:6, Zechariah 3:1-2, and Luke 22:32, each show that Satan must come to God

for permission to accuse and "sift" believers. Do not let Satan's accusations stealyour joy. God is in control. In 1 Samuel 28:3-20, King Saul seeks answers from

demonic sources. God answers him by taking control of this evil medium.iii Saul payswith his life for dabbling in the occult (see 1 Chron. 10:13-14). God is even in control

of evil. Romans 8:38 reiterates that nothing, not even angels or principalities, canseparate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God is in control.

Second, Jesus is God's Son and has authority over Satan and his demons.

First Corinthians 15:23-28 teaches that it is Christ alone who will dethrone thepowers and place ". . .all things in subjection under His feet" (v.27). Colossians

2:10-15 refers to the victory of Christ and His followers over sin and death. Thecrucifixion and resurrection allowed Paul to write in verse 15, "When He (Jesus) had

disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, havingtriumphed over them...." Jesus unmasked them as false gods and liars. The

resurrection showed without doubt that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (seeJohn 14:6). Amazingly, Satan and his forces continue working to remove the

influence of Christ and His followers. Satan is desperate to renew his dominion withfalse gods.

Jesus binds Satan.

Please study these verses carefully with several Bible commentaries. They will helpyou respond to a lot of confusion about the believer's role in binding Satan. Matthew

12:22-29 presents the lesson of what Jesus did and completed for humankind.Notice the context refers to Jesus being accused of casting out demons through the

power of Beelzebub. Jesus responds in the first person in verse 28 , ". . . I cast ourdemons by the Spirit of God . . ." Verse 29 has been elevated into a prescriptive role

for all believers that has no biblical validity.

There is absolutely no evidence that the followers of Christ are to become involved inbinding Satan and his demons. In his balanced book about spiritual warfare, Calvin

Miller writes, ". . . remember this, we do not have such a pat representation for'binding Satan' anywhere in the Bible. Paul does not once say, 'Satan I bind you.' Nor

does Jesus for that matter."iv There also is no evidence of binding Satan in any of

the records from any of the previous great awakenings. Some of the teachings seemto indicate that God was not able to bind Satan enough so now we humans need tohelp. Believers should not assume an activity in the name of God that has no biblical

validity.

Sara would often bind Satan whenever a problem arose. She was embarrassed thatthe demon she bound in her car was actually a dead battery. She was elated to learn

the biblical truth that she was not responsible to help God in that way. "I had heardso many people doing it, I thought I was supposed to do that, too." She became a


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wonderful prayer warrior. There is a lot of misunderstanding about Matthew 18:15-18 too (". . .whatever you bind on earth..."). This verse was written in the context of

church discipline. Criswell writes, "The tenses of the (Greek) verbs indicate that theaction in heaven precedes that on earth .... The church is to carry out on earth the

decisions already made in heaven."v Matthew 18:18 refers to disallowing certainconduct in people. It does not refer to binding demons in people or to binding

demons in general.

Matthew 16:18-19 refers to confronting the gates of hell. This is done by the

conversion of lost people. The task of the believer is to reduce the population of Hell.

In Ephesians 1:20-21, Christ has been placed by God "far above all rule andauthority and power and dominion." Philippians 2:9-11 reminds questioning believers

that Christ rose from the dead so that eventually ". . .every knee should bow... andevery tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, . . ." Faith will endure.

Demons can be cast out and their activity limited. Demons can possess people

and animals, but there is no evidence of possessing inanimate objects. Christians canbe influenced, as we will discuss later, but there is no biblical evidence that a

Christian can be owned or controlled by a demon.vi Be careful of the many stories

that try to impose personal experience and opinion on the Word of God. We aremuch safer relying on the Word of God.

Mark 5:1-9 tells the story of Jesus' encounter with the Gerasene demoniac. Much hasbeen assumed about Jesus asking his name. There is no evidence that this is a

formula in preparation for casting out demons. Jesus does not request the demon'sname in any other exorcism.vii In verse 7 the demon recognizes Jesus' authority

before Jesus asks for a name. In Matthew 8:16, Jesus ". . .cast out the spirits with aword, . . ." We must conclude that naming the demoniac was a descriptive act and

not a prescriptive formula. A lot of sincere people are wasting time researching thenames of local demons to bind them.

In Mark 10, we do not find Jesus casting out demons of greed when he meets therich young ruler, or demons of blindness when healing Bartimeas. Don't demonize

the regular difficulties of bad hair or broken toasters. Also, be careful not to blameSatan or God for your bad decisions and choices. The influence from a comedian of

an earlier generation continues as believers too often respond, "The devil made medo it" (or made it happen). In Luke 4:40-41, the physician Luke describes that

healing some illnesses is different from exorcism. Notice that none of these demons

were named before they came out.

Jan commented that so much of what she had read and heard "seemed to create amilitant band of Satan-bashers instead of soul-winners." She was struck by the role

of prayer and spiritual warfare in the conversion of lost people. "Now I understandthat spiritual warfare is more about the lost and less about me."

Third, Satan is the enemy of God and humankind.

Satan and his demons are fallen angels.In Luke 10:18, Jesus describes watching ". . .Satan fall from heaven like lightning."

Second Peter 2:4 describes the judgment of the angels who sinned. In Matthew25:41, Jesus refers to ". . . eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his

angels, . . ."


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As fallen angels, they have supernatural power. This is the danger of the "If it works,use it" philosophy of some people involved in spiritual warfare. Pragmatic success

should not be the only indicator for the validity of an activity. Exodus 7(8 recountsthe story of Moses' miracles before Pharaoh. Exodus 7:11 and 7:22 recounts that the

". . .magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts." In Acts 16:16, Paulencountered a slave girl with a ". . .spirit of divination...who was bringing her

masters much profit by fortune telling." Rely solely on God's power and wisdom. Donot be fooled by Satan's power and "fleshly wisdom" (see 2 Cor. 1:12).

Satan tempts and influences people.

Satan, his demons, and his followers are working against God and His people. As wesaw in Chapter Two, Satan seeks to compromise and undermine the testimony of the

believer. Matthew 4:1-11 presents an excellent summary of how Satan temptspeople. In 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Paul warns believers that Satan and his followers

can be disguised as an angel of light.ix Believers must be spiritually sensitive torecognize (and also not become) imitation and counterfeit spiritual leaders.

The influence of Satan is a primary concern for believers. The followers of Satan can

hinder Christians without Satan's direct involvement. In Acts 14:2 the unbelievers

". . .stirred up the minds of the Gentiles, and embittered them against the brethren."In John 6:70, Jesus knew that Judas was influenced by the devil. John 13:2 reportsthat ". . .the devil had already put into the heart of Judas ...to betray Him (Jesus)."x

Revelation 2:10-13 shows that even believers will be tested. Bad things happen togood people. Good people can be influenced to hinder God's work.

The new church pastor went to the city council meeting with the plans for the church

property. A council member began by saying, "We need more bars in our communitythan another church." That person began to add restrictions on the property that

would limit the growth and effectiveness of the congregation. In another instance astore wanted to sell alcohol across the street from the church school. The Baptist

commissioner supported allowing alcohol to be sold in spite of the church's protest.

Each instance was resolved through persistent, righteous prayer.

Satan already has been defeated.Revelation 20:1-10 describes Satan's final and total defeat. Satan, his human

followers, and the angels who followed him, are consigned to the lake of fire for theirultimate punishment. Verses 11-15 reemphasize that those who never accept Jesus

(whose names were "not found written in the book of Life") will join Satan in the lake

of fire. Much of what we do not understand in Revelation is because we are sotemporally based. Time and space will no longer be relevant when these events

occur.


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Spiritual Warfare and the Biblical Plan (Part II)

Fourth, There is a Battle Between Good and Evil

The battle between good and evil predates the creation of humankind (see Rev.12:7-12). The Bible warns believers that there is a personal and cultural war

between good and evil. Readers meet the serpent (Satan) for the first time inGenesis 3:1-8. Satan lies to Eve and lures her into disobeying God. Satan's purpose

is to disobey God and lead others to do so. The culture often attempts the impossibletask of explaining evil in secular terms.

The July 18, 2000 USA Today featured a front page article entitled "Why everyone is

so short tempered." The article tried to diagnose what is happening in the culturewithout acknowledging the existence of good and evil. The problems were identified

by "experts" as "an increasing sense of self importance, the widespread feeling that

things should happen my way...too little time, overcrowding, intrusive technologyand too many demands for change." The article offers no solutions, only diagnosis.

Life can only be understood by acknowledging that good and evil are at war witheach other. The pervasive, illogical, and horrible evil in the world has no other

explanation. Identifying the problems, or even throwing money into social services,will not solve the problems in human behavior. As Chapter One showed, people must

repent from allowing bad influences to control their decisions. Every person mustfollow Jesus' example both internally and externally. Our faith, and transformation, is

in Christ alone. Believers then need to be involved in counteracting Satan's influencein our lives and in our culture. Think about some ways you can do that personally

and through your congregation.

Fifth, the difference between warfare in the heavenly and earthly realms.

The Bible shows that there is warfare in the heavenly realm for which humans have

no responsibility or involvement. There is also warfare in the earthly realm thatrequires diligent, biblically accurate involvement. The events in each realm often

impact each other.

Angels are the key warriors in the heavenly realm. The current popularity ofangels has led to many false perceptions about their work and nature. Genesis 3:24

introduces one category of angel, the cherubim, whose duties include protecting the

entrance to Eden. This does not imply territorial authority. Also, angels are a createdclass of beings, not the spiritual remains of deceased humans (see 2 Pet. 2:4,11).

Revelation 12:7-12 graphically describes the fall of Satan. In verse 7, "Michael and

his angels" (the good guys) waged war in heaven against the dragon and his angels

(the bad guys). Verse 8 recounts, ". . . they (the bad guys) were not strong enough,and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven." (The good guys did and

always will win). Verse nine clarifies that the dragon is also, the "serpent of old ...the devil and Satan." This warfare occurred and was won without human knowledge

or intervention. No human lead cavalry of prayer and intercession turned the tide.

Daniel 10:13-20 details another spiritual battle in which humans were not involved.These verses are often used to justify belief in territorial or ruling evil angels. This

has become such a common misconception that this strong response was presented


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in a major missiology journal, "First, even if the territorial reading of this passagewere the correct one (and we do not believe it is), there is still an enormous gap

between what can be inferred from this passage and what the advocates of territorialspirits are teaching. Daniel has no knowledge of the details of the battle, . . until he

is told later. He simply prays and trusts God for the unseen dimension of things.Daniel's prayer, therefore, does not depend on any knowledge or map of such

realities on his part, and his prayer is not that of knowledgeably binding a territorialspirit. It certainly does not involve binding such a spirit for evangelistic purposes.Daniel does not 'discern,' 'map,' 'bind,' or 'pray against' a territorial spirit."xi

Obviously there is a tremendous gap between what the Bible teaches and what is

inferred from the passage. Hence the need for careful Bible study about thebeliever's role in spiritual warfare.

God and His angels are in warfare in the heavenly realm that is unseen and usually

unknown by humankind. There is no evidence that believers have been givenauthority to be involved at that level or in that heavenly realm. However, as we saw

at the beginning of the chapter, there is a level of spiritual warfare in the earthlyrealm that requires the diligent involvement of believers.

Believers need to daily confront Satan's influence on a personal and culturallevel in the earthly realm. A congregation that is not transforming lives andimpacting the culture is just competing with social agencies. The culture does not

need another social agency. The culture needs the truth of Christ. The spiritualwarfare conducted by the disciples (including Paul) deals in the earthly realm. Paul

took no authority to deal in the heavenly realm of spiritual warfare.

The Decoy Tactics of Satan

Sincere believers have been fooled into diverting needed resources into the decoys of

unbiblical emphases and events. This is occurring through neglect of the biblical

principles of spiritual warfare.xv Dismissing these decoys can help reassign those

resources to the legitimate battle at hand. Learn to recognize decoys and do not befooled by them.

Spiritual Warfare Movement

The most popular decoy is the Spiritual Warfare Movement. It has raised concernfrom many conservative evangelical theologians and missiologists. This section

focuses on the writings of two primary leaders, Peter Wagner and Charles Kraft.These are good men with a sincere desire to help the kingdom. But they have

become unintentional false prophets by straying from biblical truth. (They definethemselves as a "movement" in their publicity pieces.) Wagner's extensive writings

are permeating Christendom and so require specific correction. As has already beenseen, in spite of its popularity, there is no biblical support for the kind of spiritual

warfare endorsed by the movement. Careful footnoting is used to document their

beliefs and provide the biblical response. Personal experience has shown thatcriticism of the movement often results in emotional responses instead of biblicalstudy. Please study the scripture references carefully and make a biblically based

judgment.

The stories told by people in the movement are convincing, exciting, and frightening.They have all the markings and popularity of great fiction. It is a concern to many

people that the "proofs" come from individual experiences, from "interviewing"demons, and from the practitioners of other religions. There is a consistent appeal to


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pragmatists because it is shown to work. Remember that this chapter has alreadydealt with that danger.

The movement endorses Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare (SLSW). The best

response to that subject is Chuck Lowe's Territorial Spirits and World Evangelization?xvi Lowe clearly contrasts biblical spiritual warfare with unbiblical and animistic

SLSW. In his prolific writings, Peter Wagner contends there are territorial spirits whoare a class of powerful evil spirits (demons) who rule over areas of various types andsizes. He proposes the need for warfare prayer which involves naming and rebuking

the spirits.xvii There is no biblical evidence for either approach.

There are many stories of evil felt in certain rooms and certain places. As we saw

above, Satan is real and active. Be careful not to assign him a territorial role basedon Hollywood or stories and encounters. Believers must impose biblical theology on

our experiences, not vice versa.

For most evangelicals the Bible is the authority for our lives and teaching. In themovement's limited appeals to Scripture, ". . .the connection between the references

they cite and the doctrine for which they seek biblical support is often oblique and

but superficially suggestive. Alternate interpretations are rarely entertained. Th

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