As spiritual defence has been on my mind of late – and there are more than enough people for me to remember – seeing again an earlier post by Roger reminded me of the reason for my desire to meet with brethren to talk.
The sign of the Cross is upon us, that we should be unashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully fight under his banner, against sin, the world, and the devil, and continue Christ’s faithful soldiers and servants even to the end of our lives. But there’s so much to guard, so much to buttress, so much to combat, day in and day out. Heckled by heresy, grieved by schism, but also uneasy about a thousand things within the Church, I know I cannot but write, but I also cannot see how I can go on. I hope not to sow empty seeds; I hope that the tender hands of those into which I sow will also pour wine upon my dry lips.
Perhaps I have a thorn in my side to keep me from hubris (cf. 2 Cor 12.7–10), but love suffers all the same.
This week’s ABC, Ephesians 6:18:
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.
I like how this verse tells us to be “on the alert” for prayer requests, essentially. I think we tend to view prayer requests as things that are dealt with a few times when experiences of troubles are volunteered in BCS, and not much more.
The reason why I like this passage is that it encourages us to have a more active role in ministering to others in prayer. It’s not just praying for people who happen to share in BCS or come to prayer meeting, but much more than that. I have a prayer list, and try to update it regularly. I encourage everyone to do the same. Prayer requests and brethren in need are things we should watch for more vigilantly and follow up on them with more perseverance. I will be the first to admit that I’ve taken prayer requests before and forgotten about them or not ended up praying for them for whatever bad excuse, but keeping a prayer list helps guard against this. It serves as a reminder of those requests and people who slip your radar now and then.
There are many practical things we can do to have a more active and effective personal prayer ministry, but keeping a prayer list (and an up to date one!) is a quick and practical way to get some results. So I encourage you all to do so if you do not already.
In Daniel’s prayer (Dan. 9:4–19), he petitions:
O Lord,
according to all your righteous acts,
let your anger and your wrath turn away
from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill,
because for our sins,
and for the iniquities of our fathers,
Jerusalem and your people have become a byword
among all who are around us.
Now therefore, O our God,
listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy,
and for your own sake, O Lord,
make your face to shine upon your sanctuary,
which is desolate.
The following are his last words after that (9:18–19):
O my God, incline your ear and hear.
Open your eyes and see our desolations,
and the city that is called by your name.
For we do not present our pleas before you
because of our righteousness,
but because of your great mercy.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive.
O Lord, pay attention and act.
Delay not, for your own sake, O my God,
because your city and your people are called by your name.
What do we see here?
The first thing that we can notice is the emotional urgency in Daniel’s pleas: he emphatically repeats what he’s said, not meaninglessly but, after a more detailed petition with more explicit explanation based on the situation, with more force and with a stronger appeal, not merely to the situation itself but to God’s own character. After this he crests into even more fervent cries for God to do something.
The second thing we can see is that not only is this prayer not casual-sounding (I dare you to act this out convincingly without sounding very into it), but its fervency, its earnestness, isn’t lessened by the actually rather formal language. In plainer terms, it’s not really in street language but in a “higher” speech, if you will.
But why is it not destroyed by the formal language? Why does it not sound wooden and listless? Despite the higher formality, the prayer is no less authentic. Despite its lack of whining, it sounds real. This is because, more formal as it is, it’s not flowery by any measure: it’s plain and reverently formal.
One thing this shows us, then, is that you can have very carefully reverent but very earnest and authentic prayer, just as you can have sloppy, lackadaisical prayer. The prayer as a whole is actually rhetorically a great piece of work: it’s very premeditated in its words as well as just the general idea, and there’s no bubble-gum filler. Of course not all our prayers will be literary classics, but the care we give to what we say honestly and frankly to God should reflect how much we really mean it.
I’ve always seen this verse as almost a singular command, to not be anxious, much as Jesus admonishes us in the Sermon on the Mount. In many ways it is, but in context I think the emphasis of these verses is not to be anxious for nothing, but to fix your focus on God.
In verse one the chapter begins with “stand firm in the Lord.” How do we stand firm? By keeping our eyes fixed on Christ.
In verse four Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Then in verses 6–7 he identifies anxiety as something that we often set our eyes on and something that turns us away from God. People often describe anxiety as the thief of joy, that is the joy of God. So Paul says, pray with thanksgiving, and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Thanksgiving refocuses our minds on God, the source of all joy and peace.
Then in the verses directly following he encourages us to fix our eyes on the things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and praiseworthy.
Perhaps this verse is less the antidote for anxiety, and more a simple and powerful example that by turning our eyes back to Christ in prayer and thanksgiving, we can overcome even the sneakiest thieves and receive God’s amazing joy and peace — proof that God can lift me from the depths of my sin and weakness: what great incentive to keep my eyes fixed on Him!
