Rev. E. Anderson
Maximise Your Life with Paul Benger
Get into prayer, is Paul’s message this month in Chapter Nine of his book Twelve. Paul teaches the importance of prayer as part of every area of life.
Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will heal the sick…Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years. Then he prayed for rain and down it poured. James 5:13-18 (NLT)
How many times have you heard people say, “We need to pray more.”? You might think that this statement is totally harmless but I know that it is one that can strike fear into the heart of any leader. You see, the problem is that the saying, although well meaning, often comes from a heart that is striving and frustrated rather than a heart that is full of faith and expectation.
To pray more, purely because we believe our efforts are needed, will only lead to more and more frustration and the inevitable, “We don’t pray enough,” follows on. All that said, we do need to pray! James encourages us that Elijah was a man just like us and he prayed and God answered. I wonder, “Was Elijah a man just like us?”
A quick reading of 1 Kings 17-19 gives some insight into the personality of this man. In these chapters we find he has times of confidence and doubt, times of arrogance and humility, times of feeling weak and if Elijah was not coping with pressure, Elijah would pray; his parents were giving him trouble, he would pray; the kids were a pain, Elijah would pray; relationships were struggling, Elijah would pray; he was stressed out, Elijah would pray; friends were backsliding, Elijah would pray; there was a big decision to make, Elijah would pray; his fire for God was going out, Elijah would pray; starting, finishing or continuing something, Elijah would pray; though, ‘I don’t need to pray’, Elijah would pray; wanted an awesome church, Elijah would pray.
PRAYER WORKS
Elijah knew that God is drawn to those who ask. As I think back to my childhood I don’t ever remember being a good asker. I can’t think of a time when people told me that it was wrong to ask, only that I felt it was wrong to ask or I was too embarrassed to ask. Jesus actively encourages asking. “Ask and it will be given to you,” he says. (Luke 11:9) He tells the story of a man who has a friend unexpectedly turn up one night only to discover that he does not have any bread to feed him. At midnight this man calls on another friend asking him to give him some bread. The friend initially refuses because he’s got the missus and the kids tucked up and asleep. Eventually he gives in and supplies the bread because of the man’s persistence. Jesus encourages this type of asking. “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for.”(Luke 11:9 NLT)
We are the cheeky girls you are the cheeky boys:
Recently my mum got angry with a young boy in our church who, whilst she was waiting for her turn to be served in the queue for coffee after the service, darted in front of her and helped himself to some biscuits. I was never that cheeky as a young boy and that’s exactly the reason that at times I have struggled to pray. Jesus really is encouraging that kind of bold and brazen audacity. God loves the attitude that is unembarrassed about being the first in the buffet queue. We’ve all been to parties where everyone is starving and the DJ announces, “The buffet is now open.” Everyone is starving but nobody moves, what’s that all about? “We’re being polite.” No we are not, we’re being stupid! Nobody moves! – Except the cheeky boys and girls.
Elijah knew what this cheekiness was all about and also what persistence was all about. When it comes to praying for rain he prays six times. Each time he sends his servant up the mountain to see if any rain is forthcoming and each time the servant sees nothing. Elijah continues to pray and on the seventh time of asking the servant sees a cloud the size of a man’s hand. I like to think that as Elijah prayed the cloud filled up. The audacity of the man! Become a cheeky boy or girl today and get thinking, “Oh no why hasn’t someone done something about this!” The prayer time is over.
PERSONALITY TYPE 4 PHLEGMATIC
To be phlegmatic is to be relaxed. So relaxed you can live life horizontal. The phlegmatic is unlikely to be cheeky because it takes too much effort and persistence. At prayer this person sounds like, “Ok God, whatever God.” Whatever personality you are, and most of us are a mix, the truth is that prayer doesn’t necessarily come easily or naturally. But if like Elijah we can grasp the vision of a God who is intimately involved in every detail of our lives then we will pray.
We will pray because he loves us and we love him. Some things only happen through prayer: In an earlier chapter I stated that Doris Day was wrong when she sang, “Que Sera, Sera.” The trouble is that many of us still believe it, “Whatever will be, will be.” In his book, “Wild at Heart” John Eldredge talks about God being a wild man and that as such he desires three things: a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue and an adventure to share. His thoughts are that men are made in his image and therefore desire the same things.
However, we have so sanitized the idea of a “Christian Man” that this is rarely true. The adventure that God longs to share is your life and mine – A life of risk and faith. A life of pursuing what God has put in our hearts. Made in his image we too desire an adventure to share. In the same way that God comes and shares our life adventure we too, at heart, desire to share his. We long to see the lost reached and the church built. The bride that he gave his life for, won and becoming all she was meant to be. These things do not happen without prayer. Through prayer we partner with God and He with us in our mutual adventures. Years ago
I remember David Yonggi Cho, pastor of the world’s largest church, speaking about how he viewed his relationship with the Holy Spirit as a partnership. “He is the senior partner,” he said, “The CEO. I pray and then obey.” Only by prayer: In Mark 9 Jesus is confronted with an angry father whose son is demon possessed. The father is angry because the disciples could not cast it out. After checking whether the father’s faith was still intact Jesus delivers the boy from his torment. And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure he will give us what we ask for. James 5:14-15 (NLT)
He hears us: Our confidence is in the fact that God hears us. Even when our prayers are delayed or denied he hears us. The way we pray doesn’t give us confidence for there are all types of prayer. That we pray should give us confidence because as we do we are heard. God is waiting to hear about your big plans, your new vision, your business idea, your troubled waters and so on. He longs to jump into your boat and share your adventure as he longs for you to share his. Elsewhere James tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2) Get asking and asking!
Violent prayers: If it is true that the kingdom of God only advances through prayer then it is also true that the prayers needed are of a violent nature. From the time of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing and the violent take hold of it.” (Matthew 11:12). Violent prayers are prayers of tenacity and persistence. An unwillingness to put up with situations and attitudes in our own lives and the lives of others will advance the Kingdom of God. Introducing the story of the persistent widow, Luke says this: “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up.” Luke 18:1 (NLT) Jesus tells the story about a widow who, frankly, wears down a judge due to persistence. Jesus’ point is that if this evil judge eventually gave justice to this woman because of her persistence, will not God act more quickly to give what is right to his people.
Never give up: Violent prayer means not downsizing our faith because it looks as if we’re going to receive less than what we asked for. Violent prayer means believing God will come through even when the opposite of what you’re believing for is smacking you right between the eyes. Violent prayer means attacking those attitudes within your heart that you don’t like rather than tucking them away and pretending that they don’t exist. Violent prayer is refusing to accept the expected and expecting the unexpected. Violent prayer means OK is not OK. We’re going for great. Violent prayer means approaching God with vision and partnership and not with duty. If you’ve found prayer difficult be encouraged, so has everybody else but you can do it! Whether you’re the type of person who puts prayer times into their diary or prays whilst walking the dog, you can pray. The revelation you need is that God is sharing the adventure with you – Both yours and his.
REMEMBER:
- Prayer works
- God is drawn to those who ask
- We are cheeky boys and girls
- You and God have an adventure to share
Barnabas Ministries UK 
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