Gasbagging or Prayer?
By Theron Walz 2003
You
have no doubt been hearing of all the calls to prayer in our nation
lately; if one didn’t know better it would seem like another fad rolling
off the press. But you can’t deny the fact that recent world events seem
to be culminating into a really sticky situation.
An awesome
book, Reese Howells, Intercessor,
tells the story of how an Englishman named Reese Howells and his prayer
partners had a massive prayer chain in operation during World War ll.
Always fascinated by WWII history, I was riveted by their stories of
spiritual heroism and sacrifice as this group of intercessors saw through
the salvation of their country during the Blitz of London.
What even interested me more was the fact that they prevailed by simply
doing warfare while in that intimate place with the Lord. At times they literally prayed against
Hitler’s plans by the direction of the Holy Spirit, but I noticed an often
overlooked fact in the history of National Intercession.
Abiding.
Intimacy.
Jesus said:
"Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the
vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5
I
would like to define the type of prayer and worship that God has been
leading us into lately. Journeys into the Father’s Heart. This type
of prayer is not for the faint-hearted or the talkative, it is only for
those willing to listen and act. How can we pray Father’s will if we are
always falling asleep or gasbagging?
I’m beginning to see that real prayer is NOT an empty oratory
aimed in heaven’s direction. Prophetic intercessory prayer is simply a
willingness to follow after God’s heart. Now that sets the real
Prayer Warrior apart from the rest!
“In utter desperation we reach out to the Lord in prayer,
while seeing only our passion for Him.” -Lynne Kavastiac- If only we could
be this way in all our relational activities with God! I must say that I
am reaching a state of total desperation for more intimacy with my Father.
There simply MUST be more to this walk of life than just doing our little
religious things on Sundays, then living like a mild chili pepper
throughout the week. Even many of the things that our family does as a
ministry seem dull and lifeless compared with God’s presence
that visits us on occasion! When His Presence pervades the atmosphere of
the room, when you can literally smell the perfume of His Glory, who needs
another homily?
Prayer
is communication, but it’s more than that, it is a transfer of divine life
between God and humanity. Prayer is a sacred Spirit to spirit
communication to the Most High.
Prayer
is something initiated by the Holy Spirit, incubated by our hearts, and
then carried to the Father by the same Holy Spirit who, when we
“do not
know what we should pray for as we ought, He Himself makes intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Rom
8:26.
Prayer
is not just words spoken out in self-righteous tephellah, it is something
that comes from the very depths of our beings. Intercession becomes more
like the “knowing” that intimate lovers share than like the dutiful
propitiation of a lukewarm pietist.
“The only way you can fail at prayer is not to show up.”
-Thomas Keating-
Friends, we must be
in our prayer closets a bit more often during this time; we must be in
communication with God throughout the day, no matter what we’re doing. It
is vital that we know Father’s will in this day and age when the Called
are being shot down by the thousands. We must hang tight with the task He
has given us to do, no matter how many times we have fallen in the past,
sinned, or forgotten His words.
I think I’m almost an expert on receiving His grace, I’ve had so much
practice; but I still drink it in like parched ground in a rainstorm!
So now is not the time to go sit in front of the tube and
vegetate, lets get off our bums and get out of the comfort zone and pray,
for God’s sake!
“Let us go out today and preach this gospel;
and if we must, use words.”
-St. Francis of Asissi-
Theron Walz 2003 |
