Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More
The life of God’s servant is likened to warfare. Salvation was described as a helmet in Isaiah. Feet shod with good news shoes was talked about by Nahum. The LORD is a shield from Genesis to Psalms. Proverbs says people’s tongues are like swords; and then the tongue of the LORD is like a sword, sword of the Spirit. A knife separates muscle from bone, and skin from muscle, and the sword of the Spirit separates thoughts and discerns intents, much deeper than flesh and bone. It divides the carnal motive from the spiritual motive, which is impossible to physically do.
Paul cataloged the spiritual weapons into a single list in Ephesians 6. The weapons are necessary, but then there is the mindset of the soldier. That attitude of the soldier is discussed by Paul and Peter and the LORD Jesus Christ. Battle requires a certain mentality. With the weapons and the mindset discussed, Jude lays out the tactics of spiritual warfare: remember the purpose of this letter is to earnestly contend for the faith. There are three things Jude mentions.
- building your faith, praying in the Holy Ghost
- Keep in the love of God, looking for the mercy of the LORD
- Save others
We’ll just deal with the first one which is building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Prayer is often what people turn to when they feel like nothing else is working. Not all prayer is directed to God the Father through Jesus Christ though. That means not all prayer is in the Holy Ghost. Some prayer is in a dead Christian named Mary. Some prayer is in the spirit of the environment. Sometimes people light candles as though those are the same as prayers. Sometimes people spin cylinders in Asia as though those were prayers.
Prayer in the Holy Ghost
- Not all prayers invite the power of God.
- Vain repetitions. Spinning cylinders. Praying to saints. Praying to Mary. Praying to the earth.
Prayer invites the resources of Almighty God
- Prayer invites the resources of God in heaven. In prayer God gives man the privilege to direct him. Isaiah 45:11 …command ye me.
- Prayer is one of the essential duties of a Christian. But it’s also one of the most neglected. It’s considered a tiring exercise that is so boring it justifies being neglected. Even Christians who say it is essential pray with such wandering mind that their prayer, far from drawing down blessings from God, only increases his frustration.
- 2 Kings 20:1-7 Hezekiah’s prayers answered and God withholds destruction
- Prayer has no substitutes because the power of God has no substitutes.
- Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
The alternative to praying is fainting
- What’s lacking when prayer is lacking? Strength.
- Luke 18:1. The parable is shows that fainting is when someone stops looking to the LORD for help.
- Lack of prayer shows our lack of faith like nothing else.
- Story of Bo Schimbechler blocking and tackling. Importance of basics. When things breakdown it is at the basic level. Businesses, families, churches, people’s lives. You and I don’t fail at the big things in Christianity, in service to God Almighty. You know where we fail? In the little fundamental things. We bite our fingernails over some decision that needs to be made, waiting on God without considering the question, well how much time have you spent with Jesus Christ?
- Prayer made the difference
- Great men of God had great prayer lives. But it’s not that great men of God happened to have great prayer lives, rather that the great prayer lives of these men helped them become great men. James 5:16 – effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
- Elijah lead a miraculous life. 7 miracles recorded being performed by Elijah
- Stops the rain
- Widow’s cruse of oil and barrel of meal lasted –
- Widow’s son dies and is resurrected.
- Fire of God on Mt. Carmel
- Elijah restores the rain
- Elijah burns up Ahaziah’s men
- Elijah is taken up in a chariot of fire
- James 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are
- Why add that caveat? Because it tells us that Elijah was just a man. You have problems? Well, he had problems too. Bible characters are not comic book heroes. One temptation of the devil is to think of the people you and I read about lived on a higher level you and I do.
- We serve a God who wants us to come to Him for help. Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
- Answered prayer means you got a hold of the Creator of all things and He agreed with you and moved in a direction you wanted Him to.
- Prayer changes thing
- James 5:17…that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. The implication is that would not have happened had Elijah not prayed. Elijah got a hold of God and God moved. Prayer is powerful because God answers prayer.
- God moves on the prayers of His people. Consider Moses. God is ready to wipe out millions of people and Moses prays that changes the course of history.
- Acts 4:31 when they had prayed the place was shaken
- Acts 9:40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up
- Acts 16:25 prayed and sang praises and there was a great earthquake
- Acts 28:8 prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him
- This kind only comes out by prayer and fasting. The power of God was not at work because there was a prayer deficit.
