In the traditional Ghanaian worldview, you keep good news to yourself for fear that an ‘enemy of your progress’ might jeopardise it through witchcraft or sorcery. People do not share when they are attending interviews, expecting a child, making visa applications, or about to travel. The Ghanaian lives in perpetual fear of being harmed by the ‘evil eye’—even from within their own family.

A Biblical Worldview

The first audience of the New Testament was not so very different from us. Many had come from pagan backgrounds, having been exposed to sorcery, witchcraft, and the worship of false gods (see for example, Acts 19:19). It was therefore all too easy for them to import the practices and beliefs of their former lives into their newfound faith in Christ.

Several passages in the New Testament call for a new perspective and worldview, using the pattern: ‘you used to walk in these ways, but now…’ (Eph. 5:8; Col. 3:7–8; Titus 3:3–5). We need our minds—our perspectives, our entire worldview—to be transformed through knowledge. This is what Romans 12:2 calls the renewing of the mind.

A God-Entranced Perspective on Biblical Warfare

In Part I of this article, we called for a God-entranced worldview, saturated in the sovereignty of God, to permeate our prayers. This does not mean denying Satan’s power. The Bible acknowledges that Satan and his demons are always at work (1 Pet. 5:8–9), and that he has the power to instigate painful persecution and, at times, even to kill Christians (Rev. 2:10). But the great comfort is this: Satan cannot do anything apart from God’s sovereign permission.

The biblical worldview is that spiritual warfare is normal—there is nothing extraordinary about it. Ephesians 6:16 calls us to:

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

The way to extinguish Satan’s darts—the way to do warfare—is simply to stand firm in our faith. It is faith in the Sovereign God that quenches Satan’s missiles. And the way we go on the offensive is by wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). This means believing everything God says about Himself, about us as His children, and about Satan. The truth is that God is sovereign over Satan and his cohorts; we are hidden in Christ in God; and Satan is a defeated foe.

Doing Warfare Biblically

In light of God’s sovereignty, prayers for protection or deliverance need not dwell unduly on Satan. Our Lord once said to Peter: ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers’ (Luke 22:31–32).

The word ‘demanded’ in the ESV can be easily misunderstood. The Greek root is equally rendered ‘to ask earnestly’ or ‘to request insistently’. In other words, Satan is asking God’s permission to have Peter delivered into his hands—which means he does not have the power to touch Peter in the first place. This reaffirms what we said earlier: whatever power Satan wields is entirely within the limits of God’s sovereignty. He cannot touch any child of God unless God permits it.

A text that unequivocally cements our security in Christ is John 10:28–29, where our Lord declares:

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

All Scripture is precious—sweeter than honey and the honeycomb (Ps. 19:10)— yet I confess I am tempted to call this the sweetest promise in all Holy Writ. Jesus here assures believers that they will never perish: their salvation is eternally secured. And as if that assurance were not sufficient, He adds that this security is doubly guaranteed in the might of the Father—there is none greater than He; the Father’s grip on His people ensures that no power can destroy them or wrench them from His sovereign, loving protection. Satan may do his worst, but he can destroy only the body; he can never touch the souls of God’s people (Matt. 10:28). And even that limited power is always constrained within the bounds of God’s sovereignty.

It is for these reasons that I believe the approach to ‘warfare’ propagated by the ‘dangerous prayer’ movement we talked about in Part I of this series does not square with the biblical perspective. When the Bible speaks of ‘weapons of warfare’, it points to standing on the truth of God’s Word in order to demolish strongholds of false belief—the distorted thinking that held sway when we were ignorant of God’s promises (Eph. 4:17; 2 Cor. 10:4–5).

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (2 Cor. 10).

God Is Glorified When We Depend on Him

One final thought regarding praying for our needs. At the close of Part I, we asked whether God-entranced prayer precludes praying for our daily needs. In response, we turn to the Lord’s prayer, a model prayer Jesus gave His disciples. Of its six petitions, only one concerns physical provision—yet from this we understand that our Lord fully expected His people to bring their daily needs to Him: food, shelter, clothing, and all that is necessary for life. God is glorified when we depend on Him in this way, as creatures who look to their Creator for sustenance. Psalm 145 says as much:

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your kingdom… The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing… He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

The Psalmist celebrates the goodness and mercy of God, summoning all creation to give thanks and His saints to bless Him. And among the glories of His kingdom that they are to proclaim, the Psalmist lists God’s faithful provision to all who look to Him. There is, then, a way of asking for provision that glorifies God—a posture of utter dependence and reliance that honours Him. He delights to fulfil the desires of those who fear Him.

Conclusion

Too often our prayers fixate on Satan, inadvertently giving him more credit than he is due. While we do not deny that Satan is at work to frustrate God’s agenda—which he cannot, we have clear biblical warrant that he cannot act outside of God’s sovereign rule and reign. We resist him, therefore, by standing firm on God’s promises. That is how we wage war as believers — wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Such prayers are saturated with the sovereignty of God.

And it is God’s honour to provide for His creation. As His children, He is glorified when we depend on Him for our needs.

The post Learning to Pray Like Paul — Part II appeared first on TGN.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

It has been said that if you want to know a man’s theology, listen in on his prayers. This has certainly been true in my own life. Back in my secondary school days, there was a little book in circulation called Dangerous Prayers, which  taught a style of prayer that attacked the ‘source of your problems’ – namely, Satan and his minions.

Armed with select verses, you would ‘go to war’ against the demonic forces militating against your progress. The book then led you through ‘battle’ after ‘battle’ against ancestral curses, anti-miracle forces, anti-prosperity forces, spirit guards, spiritual spouses – the list was endless.

In retrospect, , I have realised that what I read as a teenager shaped my prayer life for years to come. Many of the prayer meetings I attended fuelled such prayers. We had sessions badged ‘Spiritual Warfare’ where all we did was bind Satan and his cohorts. The implication was clear: Satan was responsible for anything that looked amiss in one’s life—from besetting sins to joblessness, singleness, barrenness, poverty, poor academic performance, ancestral curses—you name it.

Super-spiritual But Shallow Prayers

Those prayers sounded super-spiritual. But they were founded on a false theology of God, prayer and what it means to be a Christian. Is it possible for a Christian to be cursed? Could Satan hold back my marriage, job opportunity, academic excellence, or promotion? If so, then our God must be powerless and weak  for Satan to toy with His children as he pleases. Does Scripture even teach this?

Reading the New Testament, I find that this approach to prayer is completely alien to the apostolic model. There’s not  a single example of apostolic prayer addressed to witches and wizards or demons, prohibiting them from tampering with a believer’s progress in life. Rather, I see an abundance of prayers focused on God’s greatness, growing in holiness, discerning the will of God, pleasing God, and representing Him well as ambassadors of Christ who shine as lights in a dark world.

God-entranced Prayers

Take, for example, our opening verses from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. These are his partners in the gospel, he says; people who are dear to his heart and for whom he prays always (v3-5, 7). He loves them deeply (v8). The description so far has been sweet and intimate.  Paul  cares affectionately for them. And so, we can be sure that his prayers for them must be equally meaningful and powerful, caring deeply for their their wellbeing. For this reason, it’s instructive to glean from his prayers for these Philippian Christians.

But what does he pray for them? “That your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

In the original classical Greek, the word translated ‘approve’ here referred to the assaying of metals or testing of money for authenticity (see Luke 12:56; 14:19). In essence, Paul is praying that the Philippians grow in their ability to discern those things that are truly important, so they can establish the right priorities. He prays that they will bear fruits of righteousness as Christ works in them and shines through them – and all of these things will result in one ultimate end: to the glory and praise of God. (This paragraph I believe should follow immediately after the text because you are explaining the word approve.)

Paul is concerned for their  growth in love and knowledge and all discernment. That is because Christian belief (termed here as knowledge and discernment) expresses itself in how we love and behave. “As we grow in our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus,we will increasingly be able to affirm and practice what is excellent.” Consequently, he prays that they will choose what is excellent and, by so doing, live pure and blameless lives as they await the second coming of our Lord.

Paul here summarises what it means to live as a Christian: to live for God’s glory. Everything else flows from this. A cursory look at the New Testament reveals that this is the ultimate goal of the Christian life: the glory of God. Jonathan Edwards calls it the end for which God made all things. And this is the grand theme of all that God does in redemptive history. Rightly, it permeates the Apostle’s prayer for these Philippian believers.

A ‘Dangerous Prayers’ pandemic?

Reflecting on the Ghanaian and African Christian landscape, there have emerged a number of influential prayer movements that have drawn large followings on social media and transcend nations, even continents. If what ardent followers of these movements share on social media is anything to go by, the focus and drift look very similar to the Dangerous Prayers model I was introduced to back in secondary school in the 90s.

Attendees are led to pray fervently for an end to financial stagnation, marital issues, childlessness, etc., and prayers and ‘decrees’ are issued promising an end to any forces militating against their progress. It is always Satan or some other force linked to him that is supposedly frustrating believers’ rise to glory.

Was Satan Less Active in the 1st Century?

Was Satan less active  when Paul wrote his epistles? Is that why he does not directly confront Satan in his prayers or battle for the deliverance of the saints to whom he wrote? I don’t think so. The world back then was not unlike the world today.

Church history tells us that the early Christians faced persecution far more severe than anything most of us will ever experience. Emperors like Nero viciously persecuted believers, burning some as torches to light his games and throwing others to lions for entertainment. Yet we don’t find a single apostolic prayer binding the demons supposedly motivating these despotic emperors or blaming Satan for the intense persecution the church experienced. The apostles saw God as Sovereign over all history, even in their suffering, yet their prayers remained God-centred, not Satan-focused.

We know from his letters that they often faced intense persecution on account of their faith and experienced diverse trials and temptations. In this very epistle, Paul recounts how Epaphroditus, a co-worker whom the Philippians sent with aid for him, fell ill and almost died. Yet Paul simply comments, “Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.” Even in the midst of affliction with sickness, the focus quickly shifts to God, not Satan.

Thus, we are given an insight into Paul’s theology: He was deeply saturated by a high view of God’s sovereignty. Nothing happened to the believer except by God’s permission (see the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism and accompanying Scriptural basis); and all things, Satan included, are subservient to God’s will (recall Job and see here). And so, Satan doesn’t take centre stage in Paul’s prayers – God’s glory does. And so should it permeate our prayers as well.

Praying Like Paul

In 2014, when I was exposed to Reformed theology, the first thing that gripped me was a profound sense of the sovereignty of God. And what a transformation a God-entranced, sovereignty-saturated view of God has made to my prayers! My ‘dangerous’ approach of commanding and decreeing things in prayer gave way to a more sober and humble reverence and awe for the majestic sovereignty of the One to whom I come when I approach the throne of grace.

Now I don’t waste precious time on Satan and his minions. God has taken care of them and takes care of me, so I don’t need to. Rather, inspired by Paul, I spend my meditations and prayers on how to grow in love and knowledge and discernment, to bear the fruit of righteousness, and to represent Christ well to those around me – living for His glory as He powerfully works His grace within me.

Does this mean praying for my needs and Christian warfare is unbiblical? We’ll address this in the sequel to this article.

The post Learning to Pray Like Paul appeared first on TGN.

¹ LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; ² many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah ³ But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. ⁴ I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah. ⁵ I  lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. ⁶ I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. ⁷ Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.⁸  Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah (Psalm 3)

One of the recent coup d’états that hit the African continent was staged by the Presidential guard¹. The person paid to protect the President plotted against him. This was perhaps his closest ally—a friend who became a foe, a complete betrayal of trust. Psalm 3 reflects something similar. But it is even worse. David, a king, in this Psalm is being pursued. His own son has staged a coup against him. The heading of Psalm 3 in my Bible reads : ‘A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.’

Here is a son revolting against his father to overthrow him from the throne. This betrayal is far more despicable than a Presidential guard staging a coup against a President. But all this pales in comparison to the worst revolt in human history—humanity’s rebellion against their Creator: (Romans 1:21). All human beings are rebels who will have nothing to do with God. Like Absalom, we have all revolted against God. We have kicked God out of our lives. But out of His mercy, God sent Jesus to redeem rebels such as we.

Threat of The Enemy

The events of Absalom’s revolt are recorded in detail in 2 Samuel 15:1–6, 12. It is out of It is while in flight that David wrote this Psalm. In this Psalm, we see David overwhelmed by the threat of the enemy. His faith in God is being mocked. Notice how he expresses the threat: “LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me. many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God'” (vv. 1–2). His problems are rising and overwhelming.

Like David, we do get overwhelmed sometimes—if not often—by life challenges. It could be health, finances or a besetting sin we are dealing with. Then in the midst of all that, doubt sets in. The devil, the accuser of the brethren, is at your heel assailing you with unbelief. You can hear the accusation: “Many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God'” (v 2)

David is being told God has forsaken him. God will not deliver him. He is being told he deserves whatever is happening to him (2 Samuel 16:5–8)

What did David do in the situation? He…

Turned to God in Prayer

Psalm 3 is a Psalm of Lament where we see David pour out his heart to God. “LORD,” the Psalm begins in v.1. That is a desperate cry to God for help. And see the number of times he appealed to God: “LORD” (v.1), “But you, O LORD” (v.3), “I cried aloud to the LORD” (v.4), “Arise O LORD, Save me…” (v.7). David cried out to the God who could save him. But David didn’t end at prayer—he continued in trust.

Trusted God in Prayer

In the midst of all his increasing problems, he trusted God. There is a remarkable contrast between vv. 1-2 and verse 3. In verse 1-2 David cries out about his pursuers. Then in verse 3, the language changes to trust: “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head…“ (v.3a).

A shield is a common biblical picture of protection. So, David is affirming that despite his pursuers, he trusts in God for protection. God indeed protects his own. He preserves his own. He is a shield to those who have put their trust in him. In his prayer and trust, David further encouraged himself in God: “my glory, and the lifter of my head” (v.3b). This is a language of encouragement. His head was bowed in shame. His enemies taunting him. But “David strengthened himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6).

Whenever you find yourself in any overwhelming situation, do what David did: “encourage yourself in the Lord.” Don’t encourage yourself in your abilities or skills or wisdom. Rather, encourage yourself in the Lord—because…

God Answers Prayers

There is a reason David turned to God in prayer. There is a reason he trusted Him: because God answers prayer: “I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah” (v.4). David prayed, because God hears prayers and answers them. There are indeed many biblical promises of answered prayers (Psalm 50:15).  Dear child of God, do not linger long in your problems. Call out to God in prayer.

Peace In Prayer

Now, when you have prayed, let go of your worries. David did that. Verses 5–6 paint a picture of peace and tranquillity for David. “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me” (v.5). In the midst of his enemies pursuing him, David can sleep. This is total peace and confidence in God. Do not lose sleep over your problems. Trust totally (Philippians 4:6-7).

By the time we get to verse 6, there appears a turn of events.  Compare verse 6 with verses vv. 1- 2 where David laments his fears. In v.6 he expresses total confidence in God: “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” What happened? David can now say this because he has committed everything to God in prayer. He is no more afraid. His fear of his enemies is gone.

Triumph In Prayer

As we near the end of the Chapter, verses 7-8 paint a picture of Triumph for David. David is triumphant. He calls on God to administer justice “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked”. David did not take revenge. He left vengeance with God.

And finally, in contrast to the mockery of the enemies in v.2, “there is no salvation for him in God”. David pronounces his salvation in God in verse 8: “Salvation belongs to the Lord”.

Salvation indeed belongs to God and God can save us from the enemy. Now, our greatest enemy is sin. It is what has caused us to rebel against God. John tells us Jesus came to his own, but his own did not receive him(John 1:10). We are like Absalom, unwilling to submit to submit to the authority of our Father. So, we have rejected God’s authority. We have rejected his king—Jesus. We need to return to God through faith in Jesus.

Note

¹ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34277989

The post Praying When In Trouble: Lessons From David appeared first on TGN.

Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh, what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer

In a previous article, the prayers of Paul, we pointed to a collection of the apostle Paul’s prayers as it is recorded in the New Testament. This article follows on from that and will examine some prayers of biblical characters. Being the first in the series, we will examine a prayer from the belly of a fish (Jonah 2:1). Does this sound familiar? It is the story of Jonah—called and sent by God, but he fled (Jonah 1:1-3). He didn’t get far before God intervened and stopped him in his tracks:

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days  and three nights (1:17).

What did he do in there? He  prayed. “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:1). Jesus, in Luke 18:1 told a parable to point to the necessity of prayer.“…[we] ought always to pray and not faint.” Job certainly exemplifies this.

What Does Jonah’s Prayer Teach Us?

Prayer is offered to God

Jonah, alone in the belly of the fish prayed: “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish” (Jonah 2:1). What we observe in these words is that the object of the Christian’s prayer is God. When in trouble, it is God we pray to. We don’t pray to dead  relatives, dead saints, Mary or  our ancestors. We pray to God—the Creator of the  heavens and earth. Take note of  the spelling of LORD in the text. The all capital spelling is the translators way of pointing to God’s proper name in Hebrew: Yaweh, meaning the “self-existent one” (Jonah 1:9). We pray to only God. He is the object of our prayer. The Westminster Shorter Catechism captures this aptly:

Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q98)

Prayer Is Personal

Jonah’s prayer teaches us that we can talk to God personally. He is a God we can relate with on a personal level. Jonah’s prayer is instructive. He prayed to “The  LORD his God”. He prayed to God because he had a relationship with God. He was a covenant child of Israel. The only grounds by which we can approach God in prayer is covenant a relationship with him. And Jonah had that personal relationship. And for us as Christians, on the grounds of our relationship with Jesus, we can pray to God because he is our Father (Matthew 6:9).

Prayer Is Not Limited By Geography

Before we proceed, let’s remind ourselves where Jonah is praying from: the belly of the fish: “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish. What an unusual place for prayer! This reinforces the omnipresence of God and because of this, our prayer is not  limited by location or geography. All of Jonah’s prayer were offered from the belly of the big fish. There  is no limitation to where prayer can be offered. Whereever we find ourselves, we can offer up prayer – and that should encourage us to pray.

Prayer is A Plea

If you have paid attention to many of the prayers been offered these days, you will hear much about commanding, decreeing, declaring, positive confessions and much more. Perhaps, dear reader, you may be guilty as charged. But these kind of prayer are wrong and unbiblical. Prayer is a plea! We call out to God to help. We bring our petitions before him, and that is no passive thing.

Imagine Jonah in the belly of the fish – suffocating, struggling to catch his breath, drowning in the midst of water, acid and everything else there is in the belly of a great fish.  He is in distress: “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress… out of the belly of Sheol I cried…” Jonah is in a real, face to face  encounter with death (vv 5;6;7).  You don’t command and declare your way out of a situation  like what Jonah found himself in. You cry out. You call out to God. You plead—God please save me! And we see it in the very next line “out of the belly of Sheol I cried”.

Sheol is depicted as hell or the grave. It brings clearly into view the picture of what Jonah was experiencing. To be people of prayer, we must plead our cause to God and turn away from the unbiblical prayers that have become so rampant among believers. Plead with God. Don’t decree and declare.

Prayer Must Be According To God’s Will

Prayer is no mere collection of wishes and desires—it must be according to God’s will. And where do we find God’s will? In the Scriptures. If you consider Jonah’s prayer carefully,  you will notice that it is saturated with the word of God. Jonah prays the Psalms. He prayed the word of God (Ps 18:4-6;42:7;130:1;31:22). Donald S. Whitney, in his book Praying the Bible, offers a compelling reason why we must pray the words of Scripture—especially the Psalms:

To pray the Bible, you simply go through the passage line by line, talking to God about whatever comes to mind as you read the text…If you don’t understand the meaning of a verse, go on to the next verse. Just speak to the Lord about everything that occurs to you as you slowly read his word

On some occasions, while leading a pastoral prayer in the church I pastor, I have prayed from a Psalm – and it has been deeply encouraging. It improves your prayer life and keeps you from being repetitive, from saying the same things every time you pray. Jonah prayed the Psalms.

Prayer Must Be Offered In Faith

From vv.2-3, Jonah expresses his distress. He feels driven away from the presence of God. But in the midst of it, he still had faith:

Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head. To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple (Jonah 2:4-7)

Jonah feels a sense of separation from God, but two words points us to his faith: “yet I shall again look upon your holy temple” (v.4a). Despite his overwhelming experience—the feeling of complete separation from God—he still garned the faith to look towards him.  Verse 7 equally paints a picture of faith: “when my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord…”

Have you ever experienced a sense of separation from God? It’s just a feeling. Don’t live by your feelings—cry out to God in faith. Jonah in the belly of the fish is grappling with this illusion that God has drawn away or cast him aside. Yet he cried out to God. Regardsless of our feelings, we must always turn to God in prayer, in faith.

Prayer Must Be Offered With Thanksgiving

In Luke’s gospel, the story is told of Jesus healing ten lepers, and only one returned to thank him. Jesus’ response tells something about thanksgiving: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17). This speaks volumes aboutthe place of gratitude in our faith walk. In the midst of all his petitions, Johan paused to thank God. In prayer, we don’t only bring our petitions, we bring our thanksgiving as well: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”(v.9).

We must be a grateful people for what God has done for us.

God Answers Prayer

 I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice (v.2)

To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God (v.6)

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land (v.10)

The greatest motivation for which we must pray is that God hears us, and he answers prayer. We see this powerfully in Jonah’s prayer and in his being cast out upon dry land. Do you need any further motivation to pray?

God answers prayers. So pray.

The post Praying With Biblical Characters: Lessons From The Belly of A Fish appeared first on TGN.

This communal practice resonates deeply with the Protestant theological tradition. In the writings of the Puritans, we find our contemporary practice rooted in centuries of careful reflection on how God shapes His people through prayer.

The Puritan theologian Richard Rogers noted that “God’s children are especially refreshed through public prayers” and that “we learn to pray gospel-centred, God-glorifying prayers by listening to experienced saints.” Rogers wrote these words as part of his practical guide to the Christian life (the Seven Treatises), focusing on what he called “the means^§ whereby a godly life is helped and continued”—what we now know as the Spiritual Disciplines: the preaching of the Word, the sacraments, and prayer^¶.

Rogers emphasises the importance of hearing other believers pray, particularly in the gathered assembly. As we listen and consent together in the same requests, we grow in grace. In essence, we learn to pray gospel-centred, God-glorifying, Christ-exalting prayers by listening to experienced saints. What better teachers could we have than the Apostles whose doctrine and teaching laid the foundation of the Church (Ephesians 2:20).

As the author of nearly one-third of the New Testament, Paul shaped early Christian theology and practice through his letters, his proclamation, and his intercession. His prayers, woven throughout his epistles, reveal a man whose heart was consumed with gospel concerns and whose petitions were saturated with Scripture. In Paul’s prayers, we glimpse what Spirit-empowered, gospel-centred intercession truly looks like. This is why God has graciously preserved the prayers of the apostles: so that we may learn from them and pray along with them.

In the resource that follows, we have collated the prayers of Paul, organised by theme, to serve as a guide for your meditation and spiritual growth. Read through them. Pray them for yourself and others. Meditate on them. Let them shape your understanding of what faithful intercession looks like. As you do, may you find yourself conformed to the apostolic pattern of prayer—may you discover afresh what it means to pray with biblical conviction and Spirit-empowered urgency. And may you experience the transformative grace that comes when our prayer life aligns with the Word and mirrors the example of the saints.

1. PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING

For Churches

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.” (Romans 1:8)

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you.” (1 Corinthians 1:4–6)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

“For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God… Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:12, 15)

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” (Philippians 1:3–5)

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints.” (Colossians 1:3–4)

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2–3)

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

For Individuals

“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service.” (1 Timothy 1:12)

“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.” (2 Timothy 1:3)

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints… for I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” (Philemon 4–5, 7)

2. PRAYERS FOR SPIRITUAL WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE & REVELATION

“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:17–19a)

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent.” (Philippians 1:9–10)

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” (Colossians 1:9)

“…and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” (Philemon 6)

3. PRAYERS FOR SPIRITUAL STRENGTH, MATURITY & GROWTH

Inner Strength & Fullness

“…that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16–19)

Maturity & Sanctification

“For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.” (2 Corinthians 13:9)

“…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” (Colossians 1:10–11)

“…so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13)

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ… so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:6, 10–11)

4. PRAYERS FOR LOVE, UNITY & HARMONY

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5–6)

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more.” (Philippians 1:9)

“…and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

5. PRAYERS FOR JOY, PEACE, HOPE & ENCOURAGEMENT

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)

“May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 15:33)

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17)

6. PRAYERS FOR GUIDANCE & DIRECTION

“…asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.” (Romans 1:10)

“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

7. PRAYERS FOR MINISTRY EFFECTIVENESS

“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.” (Romans 15:30–31)

“…and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:19–20)

“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:3–4)

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

8. PRAYERS FOR SALVATION & DELIVERANCE

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1)

“…that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea.” (Romans 15:31)

9. PRAYERS FOR INDIVIDUALS

For Timothy

“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:3–4, 7)

For Onesiphorus

“May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains… may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!” (2 Timothy 1:16, 18)

Notes

1. Holy Helps for a Godly Life, Richard Rogers, Edited by Brian G. Hedges, Reformation Heritage Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp. 26-27.
2. Systematic Theology, Charles Hodge, Oak Harbor, Wash: Logos Research Systems, 1997; 3:446.

• Charles Hodge writes, “By means of grace…the phrase is intended to indicate those institutions which God has ordained to be the ordinary channels of grace, i.e., of the supernatural influences of the Holy Spirit, to the souls of men.”

¶For a full treatment of the Spiritual Disciplines, see Donald S. Whitney’s ‘Spiritual Disciplines’, or Richard J. Foster’s ‘Celebrations of Discipline.’

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What is our purpose? As humans, what were we created for? What is our calling? These are questions we normally pose to ourselves. As image bearers of God, it is not only crucial that we ask these questions but that we seek to answer to it. Why did God make me and to what end? The Westminster divines, based on the truth stated in Holy Writ, answer this most crucial question, what is the chief end of man by saying, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” (WSC Q. 1). We were created to glorify the triune God and this is what we should seek to do. That is our mission statement as humans. It follows then that we ask ourselves, How? How do we glorify God?

We must seek to fulfill our purpose of being created each day of our lives and we must reflect on these truths even more so now that the times are dark. Our eternity depends on it. We are fifteen days into the New Year and it will be best for our souls, if we dwelt on how we can achieve our purpose. The question we must face is this, “How can we glorify God”. We can glorify God in so many ways. So how does one summarize it? How do you teach someone how they should glorify God? That is not something we teach! God does that! He does everything! He regenerates our heart so that we can! It would be easier to just give everyone a to-do list and tell them to just follow this, for with this you can glorify God. But is God really glorified by following a to-do list? We have people from different races and different backgrounds and all walks of life. How do you answer this for everyone? The question, “how can we glorify God” is broad. It could have been easier had it said, “how can we glorify God in our workplace, or our body, or even at school”. But we ask, that the most Gracious and Holy God, will show us grace as we seek to glorify Him.

What Does Glorifying God Mean?

Glorifying God means we recognize that He is far greater, valuable and beautiful than any other thing. It means that He is our treasure. So to glorify God, we are in essence treasure hunters seeking out our greatest treasure. We must first recognize who God is to glorify Him. Glorifying God means we must worship God as He is and must cherish Him above all things. With this, How then, can we glorify God?

Knowing God And Christ

The most important way we can glorify God is to know Him. I do not mean knowing about Him but knowing Him. We glorify God by having a Father-Son relationship with Him; that is by knowing Him. As image bearers of God, we were all made for a relationship with God; in fact we are all in a relationship with Him. We either relate with God as a Father, who sent His Son for sinners and who welcomes us to a loving relationship with Him, or we relate with God as the Judge and Creator of all things.

In the first type of relationship, we are Sons, in the second, we are enemies of God. In both categories, we know about God (creation speaks of God (Romans 1:19-20)). As a result of the Fall, we are all born dead in our sins and find ourselves in the latter category; our natural relationship with God is not as a Father-Son relationship, but as enemies of God. As enemies of God, we hate God and do not honor Him as God. Paul says in Romans 1:19, “ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” We actually spit in the face of Him who gives us breath. We look in the face of God and disobey Him. How dare we! We don’t glorify God; in fact we can’t. However, because of Christ’s death on the cross, we are reconciled to God. We enter into a Father-Son relationship with the triune God by placing our faith in Christ. We down our weapons, stop warring against God in sinful rebellion and we cry out to Him. No longer are we children of wrath, but we are sons. We can now live our purpose: Glorifying God! It is important to understand how we can know God. It is only through Christ.

Knowledge of the Father comes only through the Son. Apart from the Son, we cannot know God. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:3) and He makes God known (John 1:17). He is the way, the truth and the life and no one goes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

You can glorify God this year by knowing Him. In fact, that is what eternal life is! In his high priestly prayer, Jesus said this, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent “This is how we can glorify God: By knowing Him and His Son. God is so vastly greater than us that we cannot know Him fully, even into eternity. Knowing God is far much precious than gold or silver! Like Paul, we must count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. He is All! Knowing God doesn’t end with believing in Christ at just one point. It is a way of life. We will find ourselves exactly where we started when it comes to Knowing God. He inexhaustible! Incomprehensible!

Do you know God and do you know Christ? John Piper is famous for saying this, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”. We will only be satisfied in God when we know Him. Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:17, “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” Do you know this God? Do you cherish Him above all?

Obeying God’s Word

In His high priestly prayer, Christ says, “I glorified you on earth,…” How did Christ glorify His Father on earth? He tells us, by saying, “having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). As the perfect man, Christ is the embodiment of a life that glorifies God. He lived in perfect obedience to the Father. It comes as no surprise that the Father is well pleased in Him (Matt. 3:17). To glorify God, like Christ, we must obey His Word. Dr. Steven Lawson notes this when he says, “The primary purpose of the Word of God is to glorify the God of the Word”. Unlike our first parents who disobeyed God in the garden, Christ lived in perfect obedience to His Father. Now, because of the person of Christ, his death and resurrection, we have the person of the Holy Spirit, who helps us to live in accordance with God and His Word. It is incredible to think that we need God to help us glorify God! O What wretched men we are! We can glorify God by obeying His Word, and trusting in His promises. To obey God’s Word, we must believe that He is who He says He is and that we can trust His Word. Because God is good, we must obey Him. God is glorified and honored, when we like Christ, do what He tells us to do. What does God tell us? He tells us to believe in Christ. He tells us to be in the world but not of it. He tells us to be a light in a dark world. He tells us to be holy, as He is holy. God is glorified if we are obeying God’s word in these and other places. Are you obeying God’s Word? Are we holy as He is holy?

Praying to God

You might be asking yourself, “How is God glorified when I pray to Him?” I will show you. God is glorified when we believe in the gospel. By believing in the gospel, we honor Him as Lord and Savior, and humbly accept that He is infinitely greater than all. Prayer is essentially living out the gospel. In his book, A Praying Life, Paul E Miller, makes this point when he says,

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer, the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help.

Like the gospel, when we pray, we realize that we are nothing apart from Christ. In the gospel, we realize that we are wretched and sinful, and that we need the righteousness of the perfect Lamb of God to be right with God. When we pray, we acknowledge also, that we are nothing apart from Christ, and that we need Him to perfect our words. Does it not strike us that Christ tells us to pray to the Father in His name? Apart from Christ, we can do nothing ! Prayer is a recognition of this: God is most glorified, when we acknowledge our helplessness and His all-sufficiency!

When we realize we can do nothing on our own, we are helpless and God is everything to us. He is glorified when we pray. We must be a people of prayer. We must cast ourselves at the foot of the throne via the cross of Calvary and cry out, “We are nothing! We need you”. In Prayer, we come as broken and helpless, and all we can do is cling unto the promises of God. In what other way can God be more glorified than when we His people trust Him? In Prayer, we are confronted with who God is and we can only bow to Him. Prayer glorifies God and so we must pray.

When we know God and His Son, obey His Word and also trust in His promises, and when we pray to God, He is glorified in us. This is the root. And this applies to all from different races or walks of life or work force. We must be a people who know their God, obey Him and cry out to Him. And in doing so, we glorify God. We must always remember, this is our chief end. Grace and Peace to all who seek to glorify their God, who died to save them from their sins.

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