Ephesians 6:18 praying at ALL times in the Spirit, with ALL prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with ALL perseverance, making supplication for ALL the saints,
Worthy News recently covered a story about the impact of prayer in the lives of the everyday American. As I read through the poll, I was shocked at how little Americans pray. In these days, prayer simply must become an essential in our daily walk. Pondering this, I realized I’ve never done an in-depth series on prayer, its importance, and how to be an effective prayer warrior. This will be the first in a series of devotions discussing this important subject — prayer and intercession.
This verse in Ephesians 6 is part of Paul's most articulate exposition on spiritual warfare, the passage in which he describes the enemies arrayed against us, and the spiritual armor we must wear for the battle. Once our armor is on, prayer takes center stage in his battle strategy. And notice Paul's usage: ALL times, with ALL prayer, with ALL PERSEVERANCE, for ALL saints. Could he have been more urgent or comprehensive in his counsel toward equipping us? Prayer seems to be the single most critical element in spiritual warfare.
Yet it appears that prayer is one of the most neglected disciplines in the body of Messiah. Visit the next prayer meeting at your congregation, if there is one, and calculate the percentage of those present. We don't have the time...or, we don't make the time...or the meeting is at the wrong time...or, it's actually kind of boring ... What's really going on here?
To begin with, we're not aware, we're not watching. Often in scripture, prayer is immediately connected to watchfulness; [Mat. 26:41; Mar. 13:33; Mar. 14:38; Luk. 21:36]. Paul also stressed this. "Keep alert", he says. If prayer is neglected, one primary cause is our failure to WATCH, to be alert. We are numb, preoccupied, lazy, overwhelmed, distracted, or drunk on whatever; anything but watchful like Gideon's 300 men. But prayer is a natural sequel to watchfulness. When we're aware of what's really happening, we almost naturally feel the urgency to respond to it.
But, if we are going to get serious about prayer, it will be because we are mobilized to watch, and by watching, to care, and by caring to respond. Prayer is motivated by deep concern. Check this in your own life. When were your prayers most fervent and persevering? What were you so deeply concerned about? Prayer is really about love, isn't it. Pray because you watch; watch because you care; prayer is an act of love.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Revivals, that is, genuine Divinely ordained seasons of the activity of God among men, have a universally unusual character. Normal activities and behaviors give way to the tangible influence of God’s Holy Spirit, whose inspiration brings a freedom of expression, emotion, conviction, worship, and other variations from normal experience.
During the Catholic inquisitions, as millions of Christians were being killed by the Jesuit Priests for apostasy, throughout Europe, Christians were fleeing. In Bohemia alone, there were an estimated 4,000,000 Christians before the Jesuit inquisition, and ten years later, only 800,000 people remained in Bohemia – all of whom were Catholic. These terrible events prepared the ground for one of the greatest moves of God that have ever been recorded, the Moravian Revival, which lasted for over 100 years. Gustav Warneck, the German Historian of Protestant Missions, testified, “This small church in twenty years called into being more missions than the whole Evangelical Church has done in two centuries.”
I love to study past revivals and in studying them, there are two recurring themes that stand out:
First, that He has often used obscure and unknown individuals to lead revivals, and that even these men whom He used so powerfully never considered themselves to be “special”, but often wanted to stay out of the limelight.
During the Great Depression, poverty swept across America like a whirling tornado, ripping up dreams and scattering hopes to the wind. One such poverty twister hit a small part of Texas where a man named Yates ran a sheep ranch. Struggling even to keep food on the table, Yates and his wife did all they could to survive. Finally, they had to accept a government subsidy or lose their home and land to the creditors.
When Joseph was thrown into prison, his life was thought to be over. How could anyone escape an Egyptian prison? But then, in one day, according to God’s perfect timing, he was instantly promoted to reign over all Egypt with only the Pharoah, (“god on earth”) as his Lord…
As we continue our study of Mashiach ben Yosef, we observe that both Joseph and Yeshua (Jesus) were chosen or ‘anointed’ for a special task. When Jacob gifted his son Joseph with a coat of many colors, lifting him up above his brothers, he reflected Joseph’s calling by the Lord for a life work as a leader.
Joseph interpreted dreams and revealed their meaning to those around him, and so Pharaoh gave him the name, Tsofnat Paneach (Zaphnathpaaneah) which means the “Decipherer or Revealer of Secrets”. Yeshua, (Jesus) at his first advent as “Mashiach ben Yosef” also came revealing secrets; not as an interpreter of dreams, but as one who disclosed the secrets of men…