Re-Energized to Pray as Jesus Did

This is the final week of our 4-week series Five Habits That Shape Godly Men, before we begin our new, fall series Protecting Our Families from Enticing but False Worldviews. In case you are joining the podcast for the first time, it might be helpful to know that what drives the podcast is the desire to hear, “well done” from the lips of our Lord after running the race marked out for us. Just as the key to success in athletics is training—building the right habits—we know that in the spiritual world the same principle holds true: WE shape OUR HABITS—and then OUR HABITS shape OUR LIVES. So, this past month, we began a study of the habits that take us towards Christ-like character. Today we look at a fifth life-changing habit from Jesus’ life—loving those around him by devoting himself to fighting for them in prayer. Do you wish you had a little more motivation for your prayer life? I know I could use more. That is our objective as we examine Jesus’ prayer life in this episode.

But first, let’s review the first 4 habits we’ve covered in this series. We began with the most important habit of all—REGULARLY REALIGNING OUR HEARTS—building the habit of re-setting our heart affections on Lord, as our first love. The importance of keeping the affections of our heart set upon God first is underscored by our Lord who told us that the first and greatest of all commandments is “to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Keeping our hearts properly aligned is the most vital discipline any human can have, because God says to us, Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life (Prov 4:23). In this episode (# 34, August 14) we looked very specifically at how to build a weekly habit into our lives that resets our affections on delighting in the Lord. Then, in the second half of that episode, we examined a second habit that shapes the life of a godly man--the practice that caused both Joshua and David to flourish—meditating on the Word of God. Frankly, the promises of God that accompany gaining God’s wisdom are staggering. Her profit is better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. SHE IS A TREE OF LIFE to those who lay hold of her” (Prov 3:14-18).

Two weeks ago, in Episode 35, we saw the power of investing our treasure in kingdom ministry because wherever our treasure is, our hearts will follow. We looked to Scripture to answer the question, “how do I determine how much my check each month to support kingdom work should be?” Then, last week, we studied a fourth habit—the pattern we observed in Jesus’ life of escaping to the wilderness to meet with his CO—God the Father—to pray about his mission. We asked the question, “If God has ordained a world in which success in nearly every pursuit requires a game plan—why would we think accomplishing HIS MISSION for us would be any different, especially when we see Jesus modeling the practice of getting away with his heavenly father to pray about his mission?” We invited a busy, 27-year-old high school teacher and football coach to share his practice of finding an hour Sunday morning before church to focus with his CO on his mission.

So, let’s dig into another discipline of Jesus—praying specifically for the spiritual battles of those he cared for. Jesus’ life was as full and busy as ours is, yet Luke was amazed that in the midst of his frenetic pace of ministry, Jesus got away to pray so much. Listen to Luke’s description. After Jesus heals a leper, Luke says Now, even more, the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. BUT HE WOULD WITHDRAW TO DESOLATE PLACES AND PRAY (vs5:15-16). Luke the historian, while recounting the life of Jesus, was struck by Jesus’ radical devotion to prayer. The crowd is exploding, the needs and opportunities to teach, heal, and cast out demons are growing exponentially. But nothing could change Jesus’ astonishing devotion to shut out the crowds and pray.

Then later, in chapter 22—some details about the text reveal more about Jesus’ devotion to interceding in prayer for those he loved. Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). Here, the Greek word, you, is plural, indicating that all the disciples are in view. Satan is seeking to violently shake every one of the disciples. Satan is real. He is the destroyer. He hates followers of Christ. Jesus devoted himself to interceding in prayer for his team, his loved ones, his disciples. Jesus’ method of combat to fight Satan was PRAYER. When I read this story, I think, “Jesus was God. Why didn’t he just command Satan to leave Peter and the other disciples alone? Why did he have to pray to the Father? There is much that we don’t know about the way God the Son emptied himself—as described by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2. But we see here that Jesus, God’s Son in the flesh, fights Satan with prayer.

As Jesus continues the conversation in Luke 22, he switches to the singular word you to address Peter: “but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Notice how specifically Jesus’ prayer was tailored to the spiritual battle surrounding Peter. “I have prayed, Peter, that though you will betray me, your faith ultimately will not fail. I have prayed that you will come back to me.” Then Jesus instructs Peter, “When you do, strengthen your brothers.” “My prayer will be answered—you will come back to me after failing me; and when that happens there is something I want you to do—strengthen the other brothers.” Very specifically, his prayer gave spiritual power to Peter—the power needed to resist Satan’s attempts undermine Peter’s faith. Consistently Scripture reveals that prayer for others empowers them to defeat Satan. Let’s examine a few more texts.

1. After Jesus returns from the Mount of Transfiguration, he finds his disciples arguing with a group of Scribes. The text says: And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able... Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “THIS KIND CANNOT BE DRIVEN OUT BY ANYTHING BUT PRAYER” (Mark 9:29).

2. The best-known text about spiritual conflict in Scripture is Ephesians 6, which begins, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (vs 12). Then Paul gives us two basic commands: A) PUT YOUR ARMOR ON so you can use it to stand firm (vs 13-17) B) PRAY…. 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 (vs 18-20) Again we see God telling us that the way to fight Satan is to pray. Interceding is not something we do for our loved ones simply because God commands it but because it stops Satan’s destructive work in people’s lives.

3. When we realize that the OT gives us physical pictures of spiritual realities, Exodus 17 communicates the same truth. Prayer is the way to defeat the powers of darkness.

So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.  And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword (vs 10-13).

I can think of no clearer picture of the power of prayer to defeat Satan than this. As Moses lifts up the staff of the Lord in prayer—Joshua and Israel prevail; but when he lowers his staff, the Amalekites prevail. Incidentally, Aaron and Hur provide a great picture of why we need other brothers in our lives. Like Moses, our arms of prayer get weary. Unlike Moses we cannot see the spiritual victories that take place in the lives of our loved ones when we pray, which makes our arms lifted in prayer to get heavy quickly. The truth is that every last man reading this blog has loved ones—a wife, kids, friends, neighbors down in the valley—who will lose spiritual battles if we do not pray for them and will win those spiritual battles if we do. Prayer defeats Satan. Renowned missionary, Wesley Duewel, writes, Prevailing prayer is God’s ordained means for extending His kingdom, for defeating Satan and his empire of darkness and evil, and fulfilling God’s eternal plan and bringing into effect His good will on earth. It is God’s means of covering the earth with his blessings. Prevailing prayer is God’s priority strategy for our age (Mighty Prevailing Prayer).

4. Many passages of Scripture link prayer to the conquest of Christ’s kingdom of light over Satan’s kingdom of darkness. Our calling as Christ-followers is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, i.e. to seek to displace the Prince of the Power of Darkness and his evil cohort from their rule over earth, spreading Christ’s kingdom instead. This link between defeating sin to advance Christ’s the kingdom of righteousness and prayer is quite clear in Jesus’ instructions about prayer. He says to pray, “May your kingdom of righteousness come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven, there is total surrender to the righteous will of God. As we pray for righteousness to overcome evil, specific biblical texts apply this principle of prayer to our own personal godliness while other text explain that it is by prayer that righteousness spreads over the earth.

• Concerning our personal growth into holiness, Jesus linked prayer directly to the spiritual fruit of our lives. Probably standing in front of a grape vine, Jesus said to the 12, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. The fruit of the Spirit, like the faith that Jesus’ intercessory prayer enabled in Peter, comes about through prayer.
• But prayer is not just the power behind overthrowing our personal sins. Psalm 2 tells us that prayer is the appointed way that Christ is spreading his kingdom over the nations right now. Psalm 2 consists of a conversation between God the Father and God the Son, beginning with God the Father’s scorn for mankind’s arrogant attacks against him and his Anointed One, Jesus. But they will be defeated BY JESUS’ PRAYER. Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.  Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. ASK OF ME, AND I WILL MAKE THE NATIONS YOUR HERITAGE, AND THE ENDS OF THE EARTH YOUR POSSESSION (Ps 2:1-8).

Jesus is interceding right now for the overthrow of Satan’s kingdom and spread of the kingdom of righteousness. The biblical case could not be more clearcut: intercessory prayer gives our loved ones spiritual power to defeat Satan.

12 Reasons to Devote Ourselves to Intercessory Prayer

Here is a succinct, rapid-fire list of benefits of devoting ourselves to intercessory prayer for our loved ones.

1. Intercessory prayer is God’s ordained means of releasing spiritual, strength, blessing, and power. James 4:2. “You have not because you ask not.”
2. Intercessory prayer gives vital needed strength to our loved ones in their spiritual battles. Eph 6:19-20 “Pray that I may declare the gospel fearlessly as I should.”
3. Intercessory prayer is God’s ordained way of defeating Satan, Luke 22:13 “Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you.”
4. Intercessory prayer was the central part of a priest’s responsibility and is thus part of our calling as priests of God. I Peter 2:9 “You are a royal priesthood.”
5. Intercessory prayer is the way Christ’s kingdom advances. Ps 2:8 “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance.”
6. Intercessory prayer is God’s means of producing spiritual fruit John 15:7 “If you abide in me and my Words abide in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (Gal 5:22-23). “The fruit of the Spirit love, you, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control.”
7. Intercessory prayer is the means to joy that Jesus wants us to experience. John 16:24 “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be made full.”
8. Intercessory prayer strengthens our faith as we see God’s answers…and it is especially our FAITH that pleases God. Heb 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”
9. Intercessory prayer deepens our relationship with God, thus satisfying the deepest longings of our hearts. I Cor 6:13 “You were made for God and God is the answer to your deepest longings.”
10. Intercessory prayer is a way to daily lay down our lives for one another. It is giving some of the minutes that constitute my life for the benefit of others. Gal 5:13 “Be servants to one another in love.”
11. Intercessory prayer is the command of God for us, Ephesians 6:8 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.”
12. Intercessory prayer was a distinctive the mark of our Master’s life—the one we are to emulate.  (Luke 22:31-32) “He would often withdraw to desolate places and pray.”

Prayer—The Mighty Force That Moves the Kingdom of Righteousness Forward

Earlier this year I pointed to the remarkable historic results of a decision made August 27, 1727, by the Moravian Community of Christians in Herrnhut, Germany to begin an round-the-clock “prayer watch.” This commitment to intercessory prayer continued nonstop for over a hundred years. Church historian A. J. Lewis explains, “For over a hundred years the members of the Moravian Church all shared in the ‘hourly intercession.’ At home and abroad, on land and sea, this prayer watch ascended unceasingly to the Lord.” Here are some of the astounding historical events that took place during those 100 years. Again, it began in 1727.

• In November 1734, (just 7 years after the intensified prayer effort began) Jonathan Edwards delivered a series of sermons on “Justification by Faith Alone,” resulting in a great revival in Northampton and along the Connecticut River Valley in the winter and spring of 1734–35, during which period more than 300 made professions of faith in 18 months.
• In the 1730’s and 1740’s (3-13 years after prayer focus began) the Great Awakening took place in America, having an immeasurable impact on the shaping of America.
• In 1738 (11 years after the prayer meeting began) John Wesley, after two years of fruitless ministry in Georgia as an unconverted minister met a group of Moravians on the ship as he returned to England. In England he joined a Moravian group leading to his famous conversion, May 24, 1738, when he felt his "heart strangely warmed". He went on to traveling over 4,000 miles every year as a circuit rider, preaching some 40,000 sermons in his lifetime. When he died, the denomination he founded contained 294 British preachers and 71,668 British members along with 198 American preachers and 43,265 members. All of this fruitfulness in his ministry took place during the hundred-year prayer watch of the Moravians. (Wesley died in 1791.)
• In 1741, (14 years after the prayer meeting started) Englishman, George Whitefield traveled to North America, where he eventually traveled 5000 miles and preacher over 18,000 times to 10,000,000 listeners in Great Britain and her colonies.
• The Baptist Missionary Society was founded by William Carey (who subsequently went to India) in 1792, the London Missionary Society in 1795, the American Mission Societies began in 1787, and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1810. It was during this 100 years of intentional prayer by the Moravian church the these mission societies were built, which became the foundation for the next century, knows as “The Great century of Christian missions.” This period 1815-1914 witnesses the greatest numerical and geographical expansion of the missionary enterprise of any epoch until that time—including the penetration of the most populous nation of the world—China, by Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission.

Your heartfelt prayers of intercession for your loved ones have no less power to defeat Satan. Tremendous power, says God, is made available through a good man’s earnest prayer (James 5:16).

For Further Prayerful Thought:

1. What are the obstacles you need to overcome in order to more consistently intercede for your loved ones?
2. Which texts of Scripture seemed to most clearly make the case that Satan can’t stand against our prayers made for the spread of righteousness?
3. Do you think it is harder for Christians today to carve out time to consistently pray than it was for Moravian Christians from 1727-1827