Standing in God's Might

When people are born again by faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit regenerates us spiritually and indwells us.  One aspect of His powerful influence and impact on our lives is described by Paul in Ephesians 6 through the analogy of amour that protects us in the spiritual battle we find ourselves.  Believers are called to understand how the Holy Spirit works in our lives and gives us victory over Satan's attacks so we can stand strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.

A passage I read in Gurnall's book, The Christian in Complete Armour, affirms something I long have believed:  rather than habitually "putting on the armour of God" daily, we are never to take it off, walking in the Holy Spirit to do what pleases God.  Should one of Satan's flaming arrows find its mark or we fall into sin, there can be a correlation with our negligence to appropriate all God has provided for our successful sanctification.  The exhortation to "put on" the armour of God is to utilise it, to exercise ourselves by faith in Christ by reliance on the Holy Spirit.  William Gurnall wrote:

It is not enough to have grace, but this grace must be kept in exercise.  The Christian's armour is made to be worn; no laying down, or putting off our armour, till we have done our warfare, and finished our course.  Our armour and our garment of flesh go off together; then, indeed, will be no need of watch and ward, shieled or helmet.  Those military duties and field-graces--as I may call faith, hope, and the rest--shall be honourably discharged.  In heaven we shall appear, not in armour, but in robes of glory.  But here these are to be worn night and day; we must walk, work, and sleep in them, or else we are not true soldiers of Christ.  This Paul professeth to endeavour.  'Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience voice of offence toward God and toward men,' (Ac 24:16).  Here we have this holy man at his arms, training and exercising himself in his postures, like some soldier by himself handling his pike, and inuring himself before the battle. (Gurnall, William, and J. C. Ryle. The Christian in Complete Armour. Banner of Truth Trust, 2002. pages 63-64)

Paul told believers to put on the whole armour of God because it is likely we have failed to appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit given to us to protect our minds and hearts.  Many times we have walked around without traction and support of the Gospel of peace which is like combat boots or God's truth which is like a belt.  We have wandered unwittingly into a conflict without the shield of faith or left the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God) in the sheath or at home.  We are able to "be" strong because this rests completely on Who Jesus is and the new creations He has made us to be.  Our identity in Christ does not mean we always or are currently using the full range of protection afforded us by God's grace, and thus we are called to put on the whole armour.

While soldiers sharpen their swords, knives and bayonets for hand-to-hand combat, we are told the manner which is to mark our preparing for and engaging in battle in Ephesians 6:18:  "...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..."  If we are not praying, it is likely victory will be an ideal instead of the continuous reality in practice.  We are told to pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks because this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us.  Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  When it comes to the spiritual conflicts, the Holy Spirit is able and willing to protect us from all harmful defeats.  If we are unwilling to pray, refuse to look to the LORD Jesus or yield to the Holy Spirit in obedience, we cannot stand in the power of God's might.

Trusting the LORD In All

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

It is one thing to trust the LORD Who rules and reigns over all to save us, and it is another to continue trusting Him in all our ways, all our days.  Should we experience anxiety, worry and troubled thoughts, it is evidence we are not trusting the LORD God with all our heart.  When we are overwhelmed with a current dilemma it is often because we cannot envision a remedy obtainable by our best efforts.  We are disturbed and restless when we lean on our own understanding which is finite, and thus we often forget about God's power and promises to us.

The children of Israel were obedient to God's command through Joshua as they approached Jericho, a massive stronghold they lacked the ability to conquer themselves.  After God miraculously gave them the victory, they turned their eyes to the next city that stood before them:  Ai.  They did not seek the LORD's guidance, consulted with one another, and sent 3,000 men to raze the city.  They were soundly beaten and fled before the men of Ai, and 36 of the Hebrews died in the skirmish.  How many times have we trusted God with the "big" things and leaned on our own understanding when comes to "little" things we are confident to do ourselves?  We are to trust in the LORD with all our heart and in all our ways acknowledge Him.  The one who does this will walk uprightly and have success in doing God's will.

The tendency to lean on our own understanding is as natural to us as sitting on a recliner designed to cushion the human frame.  The flesh is most comfortable to lean on our own understanding, our experience, or on other people rather than exercising faith in God.  This tendency to lean on our own understanding in our personal life can occur in church ministry as well.  There have been times over the years when I am aware the church is operating at a financial loss.  I have been tempted to broach the situation with the congregation to make the need known.  If this is done without seeking the LORD and receiving clear guidance from Him to do so, I can be guilty of leaning on my own understanding rather than trusting Him with all my heart and acknowledging Him in all my ways.  There is nothing inherently wrong with communicating the dire financial state of a church or business to members, but if it is not done by faith in God and obedience to Him it is sin.

How good it is when I have sought the LORD, chose not to make a public announcement, and had the opportunity to see God prompt His people to supply the needs at hand by His grace.  Seeing God's faithfulness to provide for all our needs and knowing He is LORD of all prompts us to keep trusting Him presently and in the future.  My experience echoes David's observation of God's provision in Psalm 37:25:  "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread."  God does not forsake His people, and He is faithful to provide our daily bread--and He speaks to us through His word to guide, comfort and satisfy us.  The fact our small church fellowship continues to meet and thrive is a testimony of God's grace, provision and faithfulness Who is worthy of our continual trust.

Wisdom and Life

"Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odour; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honour."

Ecclesiastes 10:1

Biblical illustrations and teachings are the best because they are always true.  This is one of the more memorable proverbs in the book of Ecclesiastes, and it demonstrates the foulness of folly.  A perfumer mixed rare and usually expensive ingredients to make an attractive, sweet-smelling fragrance.  If left uncovered, flies or other insects were attracted to the scent and become stuck in the balm, salve or perfume.  I imagine people sitting around and saying to one another with wrinkled noses, "What's that smell?  Something has gone off!"  It would be a bummer to discover it is your expensive perfume smelling like death.

This vivid imagery of dead flies in the ointment is an illustration of how a little folly in a respected person can corrupt their behaviour and reputation.  Walking in God's wisdom provides the opportunity to send forth a sweet scent, but foolish words and actions cause offence that taint the whole person.  Liquified bug guts mixed into perfume are inseparable from the ointment and thus ruins it.  Picking out wings and legs of flies does nothing to santise the perfume or restore the original smell.  Only a little folly in one respected for wisdom and honour is enough to disqualify them from remaining in the good standing of others.

The main way to keep flies from contaminating ointment is to keep the lid tightly secured when not in use.  We might imagine folly comes to us from outside forces beyond our control, but the truth is our folly comes from within us as human beings born with a natural tendency to sin.  Our own hearts and minds are the source of folly that reveals itself in our words, deeds, pursuits and attitudes by opposition to God or living as if there is no God.  Even if we were to take great pains to sequester ourselves from every temptation to sin we are aware of, this does not purify our hearts of sinful habits or desires.  A short season of victory over one sin leads to pride in ourselves that often precedes a fall.

Jesus Christ is Wisdom for us by faith in Him, and He does for us what we nor religious pursuits can accomplish:  He takes away our stony heart and gives us a new heart of flesh.  By the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus places in us the capacity to walk wisely, and through us God diffuses the sweet savour of eternal life found only in Jesus Christ to the world.  People can spend a lot of money on expensive fragrances that only last a short while, but faith and obedience to Christ causes our lives to send forth the good fragrance that can mark our lives forever.  Perfume can be used to mask a stench, but the wisdom and honour of our Saviour is always clean, holy and acceptable to God.  Flies die and putrefy, but God's wisdom is the source of purification and eternal life.

Prayer Requests and Praying

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

The God Who created us knows our needs and guides us to solutions found in Himself alone.  Through Paul, God commands His people to cease justifying anxiety and instead to direct our prayers to God with thanksgiving.  God knows the unspoken desires of our hearts, yet when we choose to set aside our worries and make our requests to God as an act by faith and obedience, He gives the promise of peace through Christ.  This holy union with God by faith in Him protects us against fear, anxiety and worry.  These overwhelming feelings are often not a physical malady but a spiritual issue for which God provides a certain cure and preventative in the LORD Jesus.

Requesting other Christians pray for us has biblical precedent and is a good practice--though the way we observe this done in the Bible may be different from our experience.  Here are a smattering of examples from the New Testament.  Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2:  "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, ² and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith."  We read in Hebrews 13:18:  "Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably."  Again Paul said in Colossians 4:2-4:  "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; ³ meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, ⁴ that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak."

One thing I notice about these requests for prayer is they are very specific without sharing a lot of background information.  I am also confident these requests were already being made to God by those who requested people pray.  Another thing I observe is the Bible affirms these requests were according to the LORD's will with submission to His timing and wise ways.  We can find biblical support it is God's will we would boldly speak the truth in love, would be delivered from evil, to pray with thanksgiving and live in a God-honouring manner that pleases Him.  It is good that we pray and keep praying.  Let us not confuse making prayer requests of people as praying to God, for these are two very different things.

What I do not observe here--that I have observed many times in discussing "prayer requests" with fellow believers--is a detailed discussion about other people and situations leading up to this request for prayer.  Time that could be spent uniting in prayer led by the Holy Spirit is taken up in explaining our problem, venting our troubled feelings to other people, or telling others how to pray rather than making our requests known to God.  I find it interesting all the prayer requests I found in the Bible are very brief, no longer than one sentence.  Of course there is nothing wrong with multi-sentence requests, but at some stage it becomes more a story or personal sharing than a request.  Following the pattern established in scripture, we do well to make our requests known to God with thanksgiving, seeking God's guidance, power and wisdom to live as His obedient, trusting children.

When we gather together as believers for fellowship, study of God's word and prayer, how strange would it be to talk about our struggles with one another with God looking on silently, listening, just waiting for us to pray to Him in faith so He can do a mighty work!  How ironic it would be for God to observe a prayer meeting with extended periods where people are deterred from prayer to God due to conversation and questions that amount to gossip.  Should the prayer meeting be the first place God hears us verbally admit our struggle in sharing with one another because we have neglected to make our requests known to God in private?  Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us heed the word of God and make our requests known to God with thanksgiving as recipients of the peace of God that passes understanding.  We can learn to be thankful even for trying situations, for they prompt us to draw closer to the LORD obediently in prayer.