Additional Benefits of Prayer (Final installment of 3-part series.)
In part one of this series on prayer, we saw that prayer is how we enter the Christian life, and, in many ways, it defines our Christian lives. We are people in touch with God. We hear from Him in His Word, and we call on Him in our prayers. Christian prayer is part of what sets us apart as God’s people.
Last week, in part two, we saw that prayer really does change things. Prayer is important in God’s design of how He accomplishes His purposes and plans. It’s a mystery to us, and we aren’t able to fully understand it, but when God is ready to work in some way, He moves His people to pray about that very thing, and the attending prayers of His people are somehow part of His plan. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16b). And we can pray about “everything” and let our “requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). That includes praying about political, societal, and governmental issues facing our nation and the world. Because “the king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:1), and because in Christ we have an open line to the King of Kings, our prayers are intrinsically consequential. From all eternity, God has factored our prayers into all He does.
In this third and final installment of the series, the focus shifts to this question: What does God intend to accomplish in our lives through prayer? What are the personal benefits of a life of prayer? There are two main benefits, and both are very practical.
First, prayer is usually not an end, but a beginning. If a person begins talking to God about some unmet need, or about something that needs to change, it is usually not very long before that person is moved by God to get involved and do something. The Biblical example of Moses comes quickly to mind. He began talking to God about the captivity of His people, and he ended up leading the Exodus. And the Bible is full of accounts of prayer leading to action. Peter was on a rooftop talking to God about the “unclean” food of Gentiles, and before the 10th chapter of Acts ends, he is moved by God to journey to a house full of Gentiles and preach the gospel. Sometimes prayer is all we can do, and when it is, we pray and then we have to “be still, and know that” God is “God” (Psalm 46:10). But usually, when God moves us to fight the battle in prayer (Ephesians 6:10-18), He also moves us to rise from our knees and engage the battle in action. There’s a balance to it all. God is sovereign, and we can’t do anything without Him (Luke 15:5). But it’s also true that He works through His people to accomplish His will (Philippians 2:12-13 and James 2:18). Many times a burden to pray will turn into a burden to rise and do!
Second, prayer works in our lives to reconcile us to the will of God. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Someone has wisely said, “The purpose of prayer is not to get our will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done on earth.” When Jesus prayed in the garden the night before His crucifixion, He asked His Father to somehow make it possible for Him to escape what He would face the next day. And we know if there was any other way possible for us to be saved, His Father would have granted that request. But there was no other way, and Jesus knew that, so He prayed, “nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36). Prayer has a way of reconciling our will to God’s will, and resolving our hearts and minds to His ultimate purpose and plan. In doing so, it prepares us for the future and we can face uncertain days knowing that God has all things well in hand.
The prophet Habakkuk was greatly burdened about what seemed inevitable for the nation of Judah. In the opening chapter of the book of Habakkuk, the prophet cried out to God and wrestled with Him over the coming invasion by the wicked and cruel Chaldean army. He just could not accept that this could possibly be God’s will. But by the closing chapter of book, after praying it completely through, Habakkuk wrote these words which revealed a heart that had been reconciled to the will of God:
Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And will make me walk on my high hills. ~ Habakkuk 3:17-19
Make no mistake about it, prayer changes things. But many times, what it changes, (or better stated), who it changes, is us. It stirs us to action and usefulness as instruments in God’s hands. And it resolves us to the will of our God, so we will be prepared for the future He has planned.
The Marks of Marxism (Part 2)
This past week Kamala Harris arranged to bring in a top European Socialist, Deborah Mattinson, to advise her campaign team. This reaffirmed what is already evident from her past statements – she is a Marxist. This makes it vitally urgent for the electorate to understand the basic tenets of Marxism. Marxism is the social, economic, and political philosophy of Karl Marx, the German-born philosopher, writer, and journalist who lived from 1818-1883. The following are some the main marks of Marxism:
1. Marxism is fundamentally utopian in nature. It is based on the idealistic premise
that people are willing to completely forsake all self-interest for the collective good of the societal order. This feature of Marxism appeals to the idealism of many people, especially the young. But it is this feature of Marxism that renders it untenable. Our system of government and economics rightly identifies the flawed nature of humans, and accounts for our selfishness and greed. Marxism ignores the reality of human nature and, as a consequence, has failed everywhere it has ever been tried.
2. Marxism can only be implemented through totalitarianism. Because people are not by nature willing to give up all self-interest for the greater good of the whole society, it must, for a time, be imposed on them. This imposition comes about first by the deconstruction of whatever culture and social order is in place. Then it is replaced with a communist-style totalitarianism where all decisions are imposed from the top down. Those who openly oppose this transition are dealt with forcefully, and even fatally, if necessary. (To be continued next week.)
For the past one hundred years we have been in the deconstruction phase of a Marxist cultural revolution in our nation. To learn more about this, sign up to take the free Hillsdale College course.
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