When I was still young in faith, I used to raise my eyebrows at the mention of prayer warriors. It just didn’t sound right. “Prayer” and “warrior” are two words that are seemingly irreconcilable in definition. In my head, the first images that come to mind when you say the word “prayer” is a child kneeling at bedside before going to sleep. Or a monk, priest, or nun in a monastery or convent. Or an adult regretting their actions, kneeling in a chapel or at some remote location in the wilderness. It is an act that assumes a position of humility or surrender. The word “warrior”, on the other hand, makes me think of samurais and knights and Pocahontas and ninjas and, well, you get my point. Strong, dignified, upright, never bowing down, unrelenting, unyielding. However, through the years, I’ve learned that prayer is an important discipline, a practice that is called for even for the strongest of wills and the toughest of tough cookies. A prayerful person is essential in facing the challenges and wars that inevitably come in life. But when do we pray, exactly? Is it when we are strong to say we still depend on God, even when all seems well, or is it when we’re at our weakest and our need for Him is ever more apparent? Is it when we need something or is it when we’re thankful that we have all we need? Is it when we’re desperate for Him, yearning to focus on Him alone amid distractions of mind and heart, or is it when we are already so attuned to His will and only ask for its continuance? Is it just for us on a personal level, or for others as well, in their stead? This is by no means an exhaustive list but it’s a good list of situations or moments or instances when we can pray, based on 2 Chronicles 6:18-42. This particular sermon was from a few months back but it’s still applicable whenever, wherever.
So…first up, hurt. Ask ourselves, have I wronged the other? We are in a broken world. The world today holds a lot of hurt and suffering. Some start small, others are more major, but a hurt’s a hurt, and we’ve all experienced it at some point in our lives, sometimes even on a regular basis. When hurt, our tendency is to focus on the pain and ourselves, but we need to be more open-minded to possibilities and ask ourselves, “Have I wronged the other?” We all vary in sensitivities, but a wrongful act is a sin not only against the person, but also against God. So pray and ask God to mediate. Since only He is righteous and just, then He can judge. Ask for Him to judge between you two and do to each of you as He sees fit.
Defeat. We’ve all experienced defeat, failures, and disappointments in life, when we’re just so broken and shattered. It’s not quite the same as hurt, but it is related. How do we respond to repeated defeats in life? Hurt and suffering is intertwined with sin, whether our personal sin or generational sin/sin of others. Most say sin is an act of transgression, a blatant act, something concrete that you witness. However, sin is not just an act. 1 John 3:4 defines sin as lawlessness, disobedience of the law. The last of the ten commandments in Exodus 20 states that we are not to covet. Covetousness is not an act. It is a thought, which may or may not translate into a feeling, which may or may not translate into an act. Disobedience in whatever aspect, or a thought out of line, is already a sin and we fail and are defeated in this respect everyday. We are affected by sin everyday, again, either by our own doing or other people’s actions. In the same way, healing and forgiveness are intertwined. The road to healing starts with forgiving and letting go, an acknowledgment of things being beyond your control, things being as they are. So we pray for that acceptance, for forgiving hearts, for repentant hearts. God redeems us everyday and every moment by Christ’s one act on the cross all those years ago. You may be hurt. You may be disappointed and feel like you’re destroyed and at your lowest. But beyond yourself, the sin was against God. Let God take the reins and ask for His healing hand. Practically speaking, holding grudges and vendettas and plotting ways of revenge are just too hard in the long run, not to mention exhausting.
Hunger is a perfect scenario for prayer as well. It is in hunger that we see the fragility of the human body and psyche, and the dependence on God that is necessary to survive and thrive. As bad as it sounds, if we’re being honest, suffering drives us to repentance. If we’re being rewarded in sin, why would we be motivated to repent? Not that we’re going around being masochists. We don’t go around trying to hurt ourselves. The concept of sin in the early days is tied into famine/poverty. Poverty does something to the mind. It messes with your perception of your worth and capabilities. He will take care of us, sure, but we’re not only to pray for the immediate material solution to the problem. That’s not the point. God is not a vending machine. We don’t just pray for food for the hungry. We don’t just pray for money for the poor. These are also spiritual diseases, to which we should pray for repentance from sin. We are to pray for a heart that returns to Him, no matter the conditions we’re facing. The conditions (hunger, poverty, whathaveyou), are not the focus here. The focus is on your heart. Pray for His guidance, for Him to lead us.
When disease or disaster plague us, when forces beyond our control threaten to wear us down and tear us apart, or if they already are, pray. It is when we’re aware of our affliction that we should all the more pray. Just as poverty warps our minds, how we perceive affliction (and our anticipation of what is to come and our assumptions of what will transpire) changes us entirely. So in the face of disaster, choose to see the good and the great, choose to see the beauty, choose to see the blessings that are still inevitably present. Choose to look beyond yourself. It’s the worry and the expectations that bog us down. Life is so much more than disease or disaster. In the face of both, rediscover humility. Gone are the facades. Approach God, asking for forgiveness and praying for a God-centered view of your life, not a me-centered or self-centered one, a life of obedience starting from our hearts.
*A cappella* “Carry on my wayward son. There’ll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don’t you cry no more.” *Cue in crazy guitar rifts* It might seem weird that I’m quoting a classic rock song but Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son” is a fitting description of the journey of searching and wandering (plus I love the musical buildup and progression…and the hope at the end is completely warranted). There’s a lot of shuffling around in recent years, and people moving and wandering far from home are becoming a trend. I admire those who have been able to stick it out in the same place because it takes a lot of commitment to stay, especially if your environment or certain conditions are not ideal. But I also admire those who have been secure, but stepped out of their comfort zones to venture into the unknown, whether by choice or necessity or both. Speaking from personal experience, migrating shakes your world. I was ready for the change, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel lonely the first few months, and it certainly didn’t mean that I was able to adjust right away. When you are uprooted and everything you’ve ever known is far far away, you don’t have much to lean on.
Each person’s experience is different, but for me, it was a number of things. One of my closest friends had passed away. The place just didn’t feel right anymore. It made me question a lot of things about life and how I was living mine. I was starting down a horrible path of parties, drinking, going to places I should not be at odd hours, shutting people out, neglecting studies, dropping certain boundaries…I knew for a while the possibility of moving was imminent, and I needed a change. Now, several years after first moving here, I can see clearly how God was leading me here, using each circumstance to painstakingly mold me into who I am today. Just the year or two after moving here, gone was the girl who was terrified of getting lost taking transit. You can leave me anywhere now. LOL. Gone was the girl who carried a chip on her shoulder because, news flash, the past is past. It’s not always about me, even if I really was dealt with an “unfair” set of cards. People change sooo much. Just this past year alone, I’ve never had to grow so much. We go through so many things in life, wandering here and there, and when it’s just you facing life in a “foreign land”, God is your only real anchor. Wandering is a feeling of constant unsettling and resettling. In that state of solitude and searching is when you need an anchor that is constant, wherever you may be. Know God’s Name and pray.
I will never forget what Louie Giglio said about God and our lives when I attended a Passion concert for the very first time. It was back in late 2010, and in the middle of Chris Tomlin’s perfectly soft strums, Louie painted this wonderful analogy of how we are all part of one great movie, to which God is the director. He is the head honcho. He calls the shots. Just to be assigned a part in this grand film, no matter how small or big a part, is already honor enough. I come back to this thought whenever I feel like writing my own script to my life. It’s easy to forget that my life is not my own, but is God’s and is designed for a whole different purpose than what I may envision for myself. The same goes for when He commands us to go somewhere or to do something. We are living in times of war and we are in the midst of a spiritual fight. The enemy is Satan, not against flesh and blood, but Christ is already victorious. God has given us the tools necessary to succeed in His mission for us. He’s given us an armor, and if we are obedient, following His will, He will surely provide. Pray for continued obedience and unwavering faith in filling shoes we might feel are too big sometimes. If God says the big shoes are for you, then maybe you should open your mind to God possibly directing a comedy. Get it? Big shoes? Clowns? Never mind.
You know those old English shows where the main character experiences a tragedy and goes, “Woe is me”? I imagine that’s what the Israelites must have been thinking, except instead of vain self-pity, this was legit despair. Imagine being captured by ruthless opposing empires. The prayer in 2 Chronicles 6 talks of the very real possibility of captivity and how God, though loving, is just. When people sin, they were allowed to be held captive and taken by the enemies. Realistically speaking, then and now, no one doesn’t sin. I realize that’s a double negative but that’s the emphasis. Everyone sins. So when we sin, repent. Pray. Do we have things that hold us captive? We all have persistent sins and habits…addictions and obsessions. What’s more, at times, I’ve already repented, but I find myself back at the same sin. It’s so easy for us to fall into the same pattern of addictive behaviors. Some have issues with lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of the heart – among other temptations. Anger is also an addictive behavior. When you’re frustrated or irritated and your default emotional option is anger? There’s some underlying control and power issues there. Ouch for you if you can relate, but I’m as much at fault as you are on this. If you live in my city, you’d understand why it’s “natural” to develop road rage. Sometimes, you’ll wonder how certain people get their driver’s licenses. That’s a control issue for me. When I snap at people, my tiredness should not be an excuse. It’s usually a power issue for me, especially if I snapped at certain family members, just because, honestly, sometimes, it’s the only way to get their attention and for them to actually listen and take me seriously. Sins like these are like an itch you just have to scratch or it’ll drive you bonkers. So I try to think of it in a different way.
Ephesians 4 tells us to put off our old selves, together with our deceitful desires, and be made new in our thought patterns, in the attitude of our minds. It all starts with the mind, and then when we are disciplined in our thoughts, our desires change, and then our actions change. (More on the discipline of the mind in future entries!) Personally, I don’t think of it as just another thing I’m prohibited to do. How I look at it is I have a personal relationship with God and I’d rather go bonkers not scratching the itch than disappoint Him. More than the punishment that comes with the sin, it’s the disappointment that crushes me…and the feeling that I’ve failed. Again. But that’s the beauty of God’s love for us. He sent His son to die for ALL of our sins. It is by grace that we are saved, through faith, and not by our own actions. We can’t, with all our might, on our own, make up for every sin we’ve done in life. That’s just impossible. I’m far from perfect, but with God, definitely a work in progress. You don’t have to get yourself straight before God hears your prayers. It’s such a beautiful thing, that we have the capacity to change and to grow. So I strive and I pray to be more like Him each day, to help me break free from my captivity, asking for His forgiveness, even though He’s already given it. I am free.
Interestingly, after Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 6, we get an answer from the Lord right away. May you be encouraged to pray more as you read His response to Solomon from 2 Chronicles 7:13-16.
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”
The Necessary Additives 