When Amy Carmichael was a temporary missionary in Japan, the organization she affiliated with regularly held small worship conferences for the surrounding villagers. Usually, there was a small turnout, and the energy and resources poured in to sharing Jesus in this way only resulted in a few being saved. One meeting, however, Amy felt God strongly speaking to her heart to pray that nine souls would be found that week at the conference. She asked her fellow workers at the mission to join her in prayer, but they refused. No meeting had ever touched anywhere near nine souls that deeply, and they were sure this conference would be no exception. Besides, if they did decide to pray, and God didn't give them what they asked, it would "defile His name". But Amy was sure God had called her to pray for nine souls, and proceeded to do so, even if she was praying alone. And, that conference, God gave her the exact number she had asked......nine people came to Christ that night.
At some point in time, I think each one of us has told someone "I'll pray for you". But how many of us have actually acted on those words? A lot of times, "praying for someone" consists of nothing more than a quick afterthought of: God, please help Amanda on her test. Amen.
For most of us, prayer isn't a part of our daily routine. We thank God for our food, and we say a quick prayer maybe in the morning or at night, but how often, during the day, do we just sit down and listen to Him, or talk to Him?
Prayer is vital to a truly functioning Christian life. Paul commands his audience to "pray without ceasing." And he meant it. Every minute of every day....pray.
If you want to get close to Jesus? Stay plugged in.
Today, I want to focus specifically on what I think we as American Christians lack the most: Wrestling Prayer.
Eric Ludy, in his message "As in the Ancient Days", refers to the story in Mark 2:1-11. In this miraculous healing, the friends of the paralytic couldn't get to Jesus. They were separated by crowds of people and roof tiles. But that didn't stop them. Their friend needed healing. So? They pulled off the roof tiles, and lowered their friend to the feet of Jesus. Today, there are more roof tiles separating Jesus Christ from this world. God's calling to His people? Pull down the roof tiles. Tear down the pieces separating the world from God. Pull down the roof tiles so part of heaven can come down to earth. Pulling down the roof tiles is a process known as prayer.
In Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob finds himself alone at night, wrestling with God Himself. Halfway through, his hip was literally disjointed from its socket. But Jacob was relentless. "I will not let you go unless you bless me." This was just verses before Jacob went back to his homeland to face his brother, Esau, who had threatened him with death. Jacob knew he couldn't go in his own strength to face Esau. "I will not let go....you're all I have. Please go with me." God's response? "Your name will be called Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome."
God rewards relentlessly persistent prayers. He calls us to wrestle in prayer until the break of day, and not let go until He has given us what we ask. Christians are commanded to inexorably pull down the roof tiles and bring their needs to the feet of Jesus.
And God loves bold prayers. When Jesus was on earth, it was obvious throughout His ministry that He loved children. He even said specifically that: "The kingdom of heaven belongs to them." He calls us to have a child-like faith. The problem with "mature" humans is that they stop to consider impossibilities. Like Amy Carmichael's fellow missionaries, they don't want to pray for the impossible, because they may not get an answer. But, as Leslie Ludy writes on the subject, if we are truly asking, in faith, for something that aligns with God's will, we can be sure that He will answer us.
Elijah prayed for drought, and no rain fell upon the land for years. When he prayed again, the rain clouds came. Hannah prayed for a son, and Samuel was born. The church in Acts prayed for Peter while he was imprisoned, and an angel came to release him. Hudson Taylor's mother prayed for six hours one night that her wayward son would find Christ, and the next day, Hudson had abandoned his life for the sake of Jesus. Lillian Trasher prayed for food for her starving Egyptian orphanage that was facing foreclosure, and was answered with an entire shipload of supplies.
Why don't we hear things like that in our modern day? I think we often approach those amazing stories in the Bible as things of the past, but our God doesn't change. And He is still able to work these miracles today. The problem isn't Him...... it's us.
When was the last time you came before God with an "impossible" request? And how hard did you wrestle for it? Did you wrestle at all?
Prayer is hard. When Elijah prayed for rain in 1 Kings, he sent his servant to look for rain six separate times. Each time, there were no clouds. But Elijah trusted God, and continued to wrestle in prayer and kick doubt in the jaw. And on the 7th time, his servant saw the rain cloud.
Wrestling prayer is incredible. It's world-altering. It's miraculous. And it's still possible. The Bible collectively gives us several pointers on how to start.
Know Your God
This one may seem obvious, but it's amazing how much we simplify God! Stay amazed at who He is. Pursue His word. Seek Him. Stay plugged in. Prayer is impossible if we don't intimately know who we're praying to. Prayer is the act of a spiritual warrior. When David's men fought for him, they gave him their all because they loved him. In the cave of Adullum, three of them ran out into a mob of fighting Philistines just to get him a cup of cold water. This isn't just a fight, it's intimately close to your King's heart. Embrace that closeness. Let Him lead you. Know the One you're fighting for, and know Him intimately.
Listen
God knows the roof tiles that He needs you to pull down. Listen to God. Know where He has set His eyes in this world, and fight for His purposes. He will show you what you need to be seeing.
Have the Faith of a Five-Year-Old
Don't stop to consider the impossibilities. When God lays something on your heart, it's your job to pull down the roof tiles and leave the rest in His hands. Trust your King. Take up the Shield of Faith. Jesus Himself promised that, when you ask in His name, you will be answered. If you're pulling down the roof tiles he showed you, you can be confident that your wrestling will not be in vain.
Wrestle Relentlessly
God is not eager to award half-hearted prayers. You may have a dislocated joint. You may be in pain. You may feel distant from God, and you may not feel like praying. None of that matters. You wrestle anyways. Be relentless. Be bold in your requests. Don't let the roof tiles go. Don't let go until He answers. There may be a lot of roof tiles to pull down. But if He showed you He wanted you to pull them down? Your job is to follow relentlessly, and not give in to your flesh.
I used to pray every night for awhile in my comfortable bed. I would curl up under the covers and talk to God an hour after everyone else had gone to bed. I would "listen" to Him......for five minutes, before comfort took over and I laid down to go to sleep. Last Thursday, God placed a pressing desire to hear from Him in my heart. So, I took up my usual prayer position and waited for His voice. It came...but it wasn't what I was expecting. "Get up. Get on your floor, I have something to show you." Reluctantly, I peeled myself out of my bed and sat down on my cold carpet. It wasn't comfortable. My flesh was whining loudly, and telling me to get back into bed before I froze. I reminded my flesh that I was not living in Minnesota, and would survive sitting up a little while. And it was uncomfortable. But God was true to His word.... He had something beautiful to show me. And I was able to truly wrestle for the first time in a long time over the roof tiles he had laid on my heart.
Bring a Bathroom-Buddy
Good old kindergarten rule. :) Never head out by yourself. Find an accountability partner, who can challenge you to be relentless in your prayers. God doesn't command you to do this by yourself.
Real prayer is beautiful. Take it from someone who's had a teensy-tiny taste of the spectacular power of wrestling prayer... this is something you CANNOT miss.
Assignment for this week: Find the roof tiles God needs you to pull down. And then get busy.
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