Article
Connected, But Not Altered
March 23, 2019
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Ephesians 6: 18
"When the devil sees a man or woman who really believes in prayer, who knows how to pray, and who really does pray, and, above all, when he sees a whole church on its face before God in prayer, he trembles as much as he ever did, for he knows that his day in that church or community is at an end." R.A. Torrey
In the early part of the twentieth century, electricity came to a small New England town. Among those receiving this new power into their homes, was an elderly woman. She gladly gave her permission for the electricians to run the power lines and install outlets in her house. They gave her instructions on how to use her new electric lights.
Several weeks went by, and the power company realized she was not using any electricity. They sent a couple of workers to her home to make sure there was not a problem. When the woman opened the door, one of the men said to her, "Ma'am, we've noticed you haven't been using very much electricity; is there a problem with your connection?" "Oh no," the woman replied, "every evening I turn on the light so I can see to light my candles, then I turn it off!" The woman's house was connected to the source, but she was not using the power. She was not allowing the power to alter her dark home.
I was born the eighth of nine children. My older siblings can remember when electricity was installed in our home. I have no memory of life without electricity, but I well remember growing up in a home altered by the power of prayer. My parents depended on God for everything. There was no money for doctors, no insurance, so if we got sick, we were prayed for.
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 dropped the world's first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion immediately killed 80,000 people. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped over Nagasaki killing an estimated 40,000 people. The use of this secret weapon resulted in Japan's unconditional surrender, and helped bring an end to WWII.
In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul leaves no doubt that Christians are engaged in warfare. "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:11-12)
We're fighting an unseen enemy, yet we see the devastation and destruction he leaves behind wherever he goes. Every time you hear of a murder being committed, a child abused, a wife being battered, or a marriage ending in divorce, you can be assured, Satan is the real perpetrator.
How do you fight an enemy you can't see? Once again the Apostle Paul gives us the answer. In II Corinthians 10:4, he writes, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." We don't fight with the weapons of the world, but we do have a weapon more powerful than an atomic bomb!
In chapter nineteen of II Kings, the Assyrian army had surrounded the city of Jerusalem. King Hezekiah realized that Judah was no match for this vast army. He turned to God for help and began to cry out in prayer. God heard and answered. During the night, He sent an angel into the Assyrian camp. In one night, one solitary angel of God killed 185,000 Assyrians! To put that in perspective, the atomic bombs during World War II killed 120,000 Japanese over two days. There is still power in prayer to push back the darkness, defeat the enemy, save our loved ones, and breathe new life again into our churches. Prayer will still move the hand of God!
In the Acts of the Apostles, the early church lived in a state of perpetual revival. They saw healings, miracles, demons cast out, and thousands saved all during a time of great persecution. What was their secret? "And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, AND in prayer."( Acts 2:42 ) The church of 2019 is connected to the same source they were, the Holy Spirit, but could it be that we're not availing ourselves of the power?
Is it conceivable that we are connected but not altered? We live in an age of instant gratification. We have become accustomed to having what we need and want at our fingertips, but if you want the presence of God, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, victory in your life, power and deliverance in your local church, you must realize there are no shortcuts.
Prayerlessness has nothing to do with time; it's all about priority. My mother raised nine children without any modern conveniences. She had to cook every meal from scratch, draw water from a well, do the laundry on a wringer washer, and hang it on a clothesline to dry. My dad worked from sunup to sundown in the log woods, and also tended crops. They still made the time to pray twice a day, and if my dad was working close to home, they prayed three times. As a result, all nine of their children were saved and served the Lord. If we ever expect to see the revival that will transform our homes, save our loved ones, and stem the tide of immorality and evil in our nation, we must make prayer a priority.
Satan will put forth his greatest effort to limit your prayer life because he knows your prayer will limit him!
We who grew up in Pentecost are familiar with the term "praying through." In 1963, my sister Ann was critically injured in a car accident. A small church in Kentucky met on Sunday afternoon to pray for her. They made up their minds that they were going to pray until they felt assured God had heard and answered their prayer. In other words, they were going to "pray through." I don't know how long they prayed, but sometime that evening, Ann, who had lain in a coma for two weeks, opened her eyes and asked the nurse for something to eat. She is still living today!
Oh, that God would once again raise up prayer warriors that will take God at His Word, believe God is who He says He is, believe He will do what He says He will, most of all, warriors that will pray through till we touch Heaven and Heaven touches us! Prayer and the Word of God are the two most powerful weapons known to man. Prayer is the greatest privilege God has bestowed upon His children.
"Prayer is the contact of a living soul with God. In prayer, God stoops to kiss man, to bless man, and to aid man in everything that God can devise or man can need. Prayer fills a man's emptiness with God's fullness. It fills man's poverty with God's riches. It puts away man's weakness with God's strength. It banishes man's littleness with God's greatness. Prayer is God's plan to supply man's great and continuous need with His great and continuous abundance." E.M. Bounds
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