" 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." -- Ephesians 6:10-18
We are at War. It is no secret that Christians are under attack. We have been persecuted ever since the church started. The types and methods of persecutions change, but they are always there. Right now, Christianity is under attack by groups like the ACLU and GLAD. However, our fight is not against them, but against what is behind them. As Christians, we are all soldiers in the Army of the Lord. By choosing Jesus, you have chosen to serve. Service is not negotiable; Jesus said "you are with me or against me." We have been given the best gift we could ever receive, and while there are no strings attached to that gift, we do have responsibilities that we must fulfill. There are no sidelines in this battle. You can try to "sit is out", but the enemy will not leave you alone. The enemy is out to keep people from God, and will do all it can to destroy Christianity.
As soldiers in God's army, we need stand and fight. However, in order to do so, we need the proper equipment. This article will be the first of two parts. In it, we will discuss the weapons of war that Christians need to employ. As Christians, "we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3,4). We need to stand for truth, and we need to fight for the truth. The enemy is going to try and destroy the truth, they want to wipe out every trace of it. It is up to us to fight back. We have the Truth, God's Word, we also have the weapons we need to fight the good fight of faith. We have weapons that, as Paul said, "have divine power to demolish strongholds." While the weapons are many and are powerful, in this issue we will focus on two: the power of prayer and maturity in Christ.
In the above passage, notice how Paul chooses to end his letter to the Ephesians. He does so with a call to prayer: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18). Just before his final greetings, he asks them to pray for him specifically (v 19,20). Paul uses some strong words, to denote the importance of prayer. The Greek phrase, translated as "always" or "at all times" by most modern translations is en kairos pas, which means at any, every and all opportunity. The word pas denotes thoroughly, for whoever or whatever. We are to be constantly praying for each other, about anything and everything. When Paul opens his letter to the Colossians, he tells them, "I have never stopped praying for you since I heard about you. I ask God that you may know what He wants you to do. I ask God to fill you with the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives" (Colossians 1:9, NLV). We should be doing the same thing, both for each other, and for the world.
Prayer changes things. Prayer is powerful. I am living proof as to the power of prayer. In the past week alone, I have witnessed three miracles that were the result of prayer. With their permission I would like to talk about each of them to show what prayer can accomplish.
In the first case, a dear sister in Christ who had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1977 was having some major flare ups. Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus. It is the most common blood-borne infection in the United States, affecting at least 4 million people[1]. Most infections begin with a sudden (acute) illness, often so mild that people do not notice symptoms. About 85% of people with acute illness will go on to develop long-term (chronic) infection. Hepatitis C is considered chronic when the liver is inflamed for longer than 6 months. This dear sister has had this problem for 27 years.
She had tried different treatments, but none of them really "took". In spite of that, her health had been pretty good, until recently. She has acute gross hepatomegaly, or a grossly enlarged liver. She has been going to the doctor and receiving test after test after test, including a CBC (for anemia), PTT (for clotting), liver panel, and AFP, which, if positive, could indicate liver cancer. Liver cancer is only found in about 20% of women with Hep C, so the odds were good, but even if the AFP was negative, she was still "in trouble". Her symptoms were too great to ignore, and liver failure was knocking at her door. She appealed to her family in Christ for prayer, and less than a week later, she received her test results. All of them came back as good. Her liver is enlarged, but she is otherwise ok.
In the next case, some other members of our Church family had recently fallen ill. The whole family became ill, but the mother, who is pregnant, bore the worst of it. She was taken to the hospital where she developed pneumonia and a staph infection, with high fever and chest pains to boot. Her husband asked for prayer for both her and their baby. Just a few days later, she was released from the hospital. She is still weak and tired, however she was on the verge of a coma. The doctors told her that if she waited any longer to go to the hospital she would have fallen into one. But, she did not, she went to the hospital and after just a few days of prayer was released. The baby made it through the ordeal unscathed. His heartbeat was normal and he checked out ok. She is still having some difficulties and is not completely better, but she is no longer in any danger of slipping into a coma and the worst is behind her.
The last miracle involved some friends who were both laid off on the same day. On the morning or 29 May, the wife was laid off. She was in total shock. It was not a complete surprise, but it did come a MUCH sooner than she had imagined. She was denied her severance pay, and had her stuff cleaned out that day. About noon, the husband was laid off from his job because there was no work for him in the "foreseeable future". In one day, both parents had become unemployed.
Like the previous two sisters in Christ, these people appealed to their church family for prayer. Like the previous two sisters in Christ, God answered our prayers. On 4 June, the wife had a telephone interview (which was the second of two) with another company, and on the 9th, while standing in line at the unemployment office, she received an offer from the company. They offered her exactly what she was asking, so there was no haggling over salary, and on the 14th, she started her new job. Oh, she received her severance pay from her old job too.
God never does things halfway! When He answers, He ANSWERS. The Lord also answered in regards to the husband. On 10 June, he got a call from his now former boss calling him back to his old job. So, where BOTH were unemployed on the same day, within one day, BOTH were employed again. This happened after a good bit of prayer on their behalf.
Prayer is powerful. Prayer works. I could literally write volumes on how the Lord has answered prayer in my own life, in addition to the volumes I could write on how He has done so in the lives of family members. We need to use this to the advantage of the Kingdom. All throughout the Bible, we are called to prayer:
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
-- Job 22:26-2711Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. -- Romans 12:11-13
10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. -- 2 Corinthians 1:10-11
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. -- Colossians 4:2-4
Not only are we called to prayer in the Bible, but we are also shown how effective prayer can be. We are shown what it can accomplish. Sometimes, prayer is the only effective weapon we have:
Prayer is an extremely effective weapon against the enemy. It can heal us, drive out demons, rescue us from peril, keep us from harm, and grant us what we need. However, weapons are only effective when they are used constantly. We must pray daily, we must practice with our weapons of spiritual warfare. Without practice, the weapons will not be useful as they should be. For example, when I was deployed on the USS CARL VINSON, I took up an interest in the guitar. I loved it, and practiced it every chance I got. When I returned, I was still a beginner, but a fairly proficient one.26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
29He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer." -- Mark 9:26-295So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. -- Acts 12:5-10
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. -- James 5:13-15
I did not have a guitar at home, nor did I have the means to get one right away. Months went by when I did not so much as look at a guitar, let alone practice. When the next Father's Day rolled around, I received one as a gift. However, I had to start learning all over again. I had to relearn the chords, I had to reteach my finger the mechanics, and I had to retrain myself in switching from chord to chord. I had just starting to get the hang of things again, when we moved to Mississippi. Quite a bit happened when we arrived here (see my testimony for details, a lot of prayer was answered during that time), and a lot of time had passed (over a year) before I picked up the guitar again. I had to start all over, yet again. I have been playing for almost a year now and still have not reached the level I was up to when I was on the VINSON.
Prayer is the same way. If you go for year without praying, it will not be as effective a weapon. It's not that God will not answer your prayer, but you will not be able to pray effectively. While in school, I went through a period where I was severely backslidden. I was all but dead spiritually. Once I came to my senses, it took three years, three spiritually rocky years, to get to the point where I was before I fell. Did God answer my prayers during that time? Absolutely, however I had a hard time praying. It was very hard for me to set aside the time and be disciplined. When I was able to do so, it was very hard for me to focus. It took time and effort, and discipline, but I was able to reach the level I had been at, and later, grow even more.
Like anything else, it is very important that we pray constantly, without ceasing. Prayer is a weapon that can demolish the demonic strongholds, but it is a weapon that must be practiced with. It is a weapon we must wield often. The enemy hates it when we pray, so it will throw all sorts of distractions our way. We must press on and pray. I find that at the times I need to pray the most, getting on my knees is the most difficult. Distractions abound, focusing is tough, and my flesh would rather be doing other things. When that happens, press on. It is vital that we pray, pray and pray some more. The prayer of Christians is a very potent weapon, so let's get on our knees and fight!
One of the things we should pray for, as Christians, is maturity in Christ. Maturity is what God desires for us, and it comes, partly, through prayer. Reaching that maturity, however, will take more than just prayer. Prayer is a key ingredient, as is time, dedication, and study of God's Word. The Bible says, "All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you" (Philippians 3:15). How does God speak to us? Through prayer and His Word.
Not only do you need to pray and study, you also need to put what you study into practice. In January of 1997, I had the privilege and honor of marching in the Presidential Inaugural Parade with the Regimental Marching Band of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. We started preparation for the event in July of 1996. We studied the music, and we studied videos of the previous parade. We looked at the mistakes that had been made, and learned from them.
We spent months practicing the music, and then we started practicing the marching. We took what we studied and we put it into action. We practiced and practiced, and then we practiced some more. When we were done practicing, we went out and practiced again. It was hard, especially as the summer faded and fall kicked in. The school was located right on the shore in New York, so the weather got cold very quickly, with the north wind coming off the water. It made the hours of practice seem days long. Still we practiced, and still we studied. It took a lot of hard work, time and dedication, but when we passed the reviewing stand on 20 January, 1997, all of that had paid off. We "wheeled" expertly as we turned onto the main road, and were perfectly aligned as we march passed the reviewing stand playing for our then commander-in-chief.
Growing to maturity in Christ takes the same hard work, the same dedication, and lots of time. It all starts by studying God's Word. When Joshua took the mantle from Moses to lead God's people, the Lord told him, "Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it" (Joshua 1:8, NLT). we need to study God's word daily. This not as easy as it sounds, but it is very important. I will be honest, I have not yet been able to do this. I can get an A for effort, but would barely rate a C when it comes to performance. I know how hard it is to set aside time, but we must do so. It is crucial to your growth toward maturity.
You are probably wondering, why should I listen to you about how important this is when you fail so miserably? One, I hope you will learn from my mistakes, and two, I hope you do not listen to me, but rather listen to the Lord. Through His apostle Paul, He tells us, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). Study, study, study God's Word. Meditate on it, pray over it, learn from it. Once you have a good solid base (and what base is more solid than the Bible?), you can start putting your study into practice.
Just like prayer, we need to be diligent and disciplined in studying God's Word. Once you have that firm foundation, you can start to apply God's Word as you continue your studies. We need to persevere. James tells us, "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:4). Maturity comes from the perseverance we show in studying God's Word and applying it to our lives.
Maturity is something that God wants of us and for us. It is something we should strive for in ourselves, and something we should encourage others towards as well. Not only should we pray for ourselves, we should to pray for each other:
12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. -- Colossians 4:12
Ephras prayed for the Christians in Colosse, Laodicea and Hierapolis. We need to be praying for each other. You saw what happened with the Church family prayed for those who were sick and lost their jobs, imagine what God will do with us when we pray for each other to grow in maturity!
Diligence, discipline, hard work, blood, sweat and tears. It almost sounds like a sports drink commercial. Just like in sports, we need to train ourselves. When I was in the Navy, I had to work out to maintain my physical fitness. At the time, we were at war, and we need to maintain our readiness. Today, Christians are at war, and we need to maintain our spiritual fitness. We need to get our spiritual work out, daily. We need to maintain our readiness. Then, we will be "mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Ronald Reagan, in a speech he delivered in Los Angeles on October 27, 1964, stated the following: "Admittedly there is a risk in any course we follow other than this, but every lesson in history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement, and this is the specter our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face--that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight and surrender. If we continue to accommodate, continue to back and retreat, eventually we have to face the final demand--the ultimatum. And what then?" Reagan was talking about the cold war, but the same can be said today of the spiritual war we all face. The time has come for Christians to take a stand. To stand and fight, we need to get on our knees. Prayer is one of the most effective weapons God has given us. We need to use it continually. We cannot afford to retreat and appease any longer. We cannot let the lieds of Satan go unchallenged. We do not fight like the world does. We do not and should not take up physical arms, but we possess weapons that can obliterate the gates of hell and bring the fight to the enemy's turf. When we stand united, mature in the faith, and pray in one accord, we will be an unstoppable force. We need to pray. We need to study God's Word. We need to grow in our maturity. We need to stand together. Then the gates of Hell will not prevail against Christ's Church!
Al Maxey, author of REFLECTIONS and a dear brother in Christ, is currently traveling with his wife, Shelly. They are driving from New Mexico to Missouri, and will be driving back in a few weeks. Will please keep these people in your prayers, interceding on their behalf for their safe travels and peace?
Also, for some time now, the Lord has placed a tremendous burden on my heart for the need of unity among His people. While I was in Seattle, during my two week AT, I had a lot of opportunity to talk to God about that very thing. He is leading me to start a new ministry, the purpose of which is to promote unity in His Church. It is called "One Body Ministries", and is officially incorporated in Mississippi. I am currently working on getting tax-exempt status and an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. I am also working on a book, entitled Father Make Them One: A Prayer of Jesus, which will be used to fund OBM. May I ask for your prayers for this ministry? Please pray that God's hand will be upon it through each step of its "birth". Once things are fully up an running, OBM will have its own website, but for now, updates can be found at http://theuebeles.woktiny.com/obm.htm.
Finally, please pray for the Church as a whole. Ask the Lord to restore unity to His people. I know it is a hard concept, and I know first hand of the resistance the concept alone will meet. However, I also know first hand the power of prayer. Thank you, and God bless!
-- Todd Uebele