The Power of Prayer (6)

"I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Isaiah 62.6, 7

Come inside!
When our kids were small, Susie and I would sometimes watch Sesame Street with them. One vignette we particularly enjoyed was designed to stimulate logical thinking: If you’re experiencing a problem, rather than complain and whimper, look for a simple solution.

In this vignette, Grover shows up at Kermit’s door. The Frog is inside reading the paper in front of a warm fire, while Grover stands knocking at the window, outside in the snow. He keeps complaining about the cold. He’s shivering, shouting, struggling to get warm, while all he has around his cute furry body is a scarf. He has a problem, and he is appealing to Kermit for help.

Kermit looks at the audience with that “Duh” expression, then says to the lovable blue monster, “Grover, come inside!”

Life’s tough. It can seem cold and indifferent to us as we try to deal with each day’s issues and challenges. We whine and complain and wish things were different, but life just keeps blowing against us and threatening to freeze us in our tracks. We are not well prepared to deal with the challenges that face us, and sometimes we just want to shout out loud for some help.

Meanwhile, our heavenly Father, His Son our King, and the Holy Spirit cry out to us with one voice: “Come inside!” (Jer. 33.3)

Power to renew
Prayer holds the promise of peace and power to overcome every threat to our wellbeing, all our anxieties, concerns, troubles, and trials. Through prayer we may know the warmth and reviving presence of the Spirit of God. Why do so many of us prefer to continue shivering against the bitter cold of our lives rather than come inside to the throne room of God in prayer?

But prayer has even more potential than this. In a day when the Christian faith and the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ have lost much of their luster, and we are becoming a people more likely to be scorned than joined, only the power of God can bring revival, renewal, and awakening. Only the power of God can so transform His Church, that His beauty, goodness, and truth rise within it and are dispersed from it like the refreshing dew of the morning (Pss. 48, 110). Only the power of God can heal the divides that exist within His Church (Acts 6.1-6), cause the light of Jesus to fill and shine through us (Eph. 4.10), and bring the reconciling and restoring power of Jesus for making all things new in the world (Rev. 21.5). Only the power of God can make His Church a community deserving of the praise, respect, and attention of our lost neighbors.

And that power of God is only available to us through prayer.

God’s guidelines
God clearly intends to make His Church a thing of praise in the earth once again. We can hardly imagine that. Attendance is down. The media mocks the faith, academics deride religion, our secularized neighbors are too busy with their getting-and-spending lifestyles to have time for church, and nobody we know considers the Church – even their own church! – to be a thing of beauty and a source of joy in their community.

But God has called His Church into existence to be a Body so filled with His presence, so luminous with His glory, so moved by His goodness and love, and so empowered by His Spirit, that the peoples of the world will be eager to learn from the Church how they, too, might become part of such an admirable and praiseworthy endeavor (cf. Mic. 4.1-8).

God intends to make His Church an object of the world’s praise. And to do this, He is placing people on the walls, so that they can see the world as it exists without, and the community of faith as it struggles within; and so that, elevated above both, they can cry out day and night, taking no rest and giving Him no rest, until He does what He intends to do in making His Church a praise in the earth once again.

Here the Scripture’s teaching about praying always and in everything, seeking the Kingdom and Spirit of God, waiting on the Lord and listening for His guidance, coming and going in faith and obedience, and asking, seeking, and knocking at the throne of grace – all this comes into focus. Be diligent in prayer! Take no rest in your prayers, and give God no rest, pleading with Him to make His Church a praise in all the earth. He will do it, but He will only do it in response to the prayers of His people.

When it comes to seeing God’s people revived, His churches renewed, and the world awakened for the Gospel, the power of God will flow in response to the prayers of His faithful people, or it will not flow at all.

For reflection
1.  What could your church do to have a greater focus on the work of prayer?

2.  What would your church look like if it were a praise in your community?

3.  What can you do to enlist more of your fellow church members to take their place on the wall in prayer?

Next step – Conversation: So, improving our time for prayer is a matter of both quantity and quality. What’s one thing you might do to start improving the quality of your prayers? Do you think if the quality of your prayers improved, that might affect the time you devote to prayer? Talk with a Christian friend about these questions.

T. M. Moore
Each of our “next steps” exercises is tied into goals and disciplines involved in working your Personal Mission Field. If you have not yet identified your Personal Mission Field, watch the brief video showing you how to get started right away (click here). Learn how to work your Personal Mission Field by finding a friend and signing-up for our Mission Partners Outreach.

We’re happy to provide ReVision each day at no charge, together with a PDF download of each week’s study. God provides the needs of this ministry through the prayers and gifts of those who believe in our work and benefit from it. Please seek the Lord in prayer, and wait on Him concerning whether you should share in the support of The Fellowship of Ailbe with your gifts. You can donate online with a credit card or through PayPal by clicking the Contribute button here or at the website. Or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.