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Praying for the Revelation of God’s Glory

August 3, 2010 by Jim

“We can’t just confront society with issues of righteousness we MUST present them with the glorious person of Christ and His saving grace…” – Stuart Greaves

I saw this on Twitter from Stuart Greaves, who is an intercessory missionary at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and I instantly knew that I had to write about it.

The revelation of the glory of Jesus has been at the center of my prayer life for the past several months. In particular, in the past few weeks, the following passage in Ezekiel 1:26-28

Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

I cannot begin to express how important this is to our prayer lives. What Stuart Greaves is saying is that it is not enough for the Church to only stand up and call for righteousness in society. The reason is that when we do so, it comes across as simply being negative; the Church is well known for what it stands against but not as much known for what it stands for. Sadly this is what has happened over the past decades and it has turned off many people in our western society.

As Christians we must present what is infinitely better and more desirable than anything else, namely the glorious son of man, Christ Jesus. Further, there is no desire for righteousness apart from the person of Jesus Christ, so to call for righteousness in society without a clarion call to the magnificence of Jesus sounds hollow and undesirable.

The issue here is that we cannot get a revelation of the glory and splendor and beauty of Jesus Christ apart from the place of prayer. In prayer we are in the place (or activity) where we can behold his glory. If the Church is to rise up and have a prophetic voice in our western culture that calls people to the knowledge of God and the revelation of God in the person of Christ, it MUST begin in the prayer rooms. This kind of prophetic voice is not cultivated in classrooms and Sunday worship services. It is only developed through hours and hours spent in the Presence of the glorious One whom we have fixed our eyes toward knowing and loving.

Ezekiel was a man to whom God revealed his glory to and then was called to be a voice to his generation, calling them to return to the Lord, calling them to return to the glorious One.

In our times of prayer we need to rediscover a passion for the glory of God being revealed to the people of our generation. I challenge you to begin to begin to include regular, lengthy times of worship and intercession on this critical theme. Start reading Ezekiel 1:22-28 and Revelation 1:12-18. Read them over and over and let them lead you in your prayer times. Pray for a greater revelation of God’s glory to your spirit!

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Posted in Devotional Prayer, Intercessory Prayer, Prophetic Prayer, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Prayers that Open the Eyes

August 2, 2010 by Jim

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.” -Psalm 119:18,20

Lately I’ve been praying quite a bit from Psalm 119. It is the longest Psalm in the Bible and it mostly centers around the theme of God’s law. There are many verses in the Psalm that we often tend to overlook because we chalk them up as hyperbole. The statement ‘my soul is consumed with longings for your laws at all times’ is a good example. We tend to read that and conclude that we could never experience such a thing and so the Psalmist is simply exaggerating as a literary device.  The problem with that kind of interpretation is that is robs us of encountering the intensity of what is being communicated.

The key to verse 20 (‘my soul is consumed’) is found in the prayer of verse 18 (‘open my eyes that I may see’).

The reason why the Psalmist is speaking of being consumed with longing for the ways and laws of God is because he had been praying that God would open his eyes to see the wonderful, excellent and desirable things in God’s law. A bit further along he writes ‘your statues are my delight; they are my counselors’ (v. 24).  We don’t simply wake up one day filled with longing for God’s ways. We are gradually awakened to love and long for God and all of his ways.

This is the theme of one of the great apostolic prayers found in Ephesians 1:17-18:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…”

It is critical that we pray prayers that will open our eyes. The Psalmist prayed this way and the result was that God touched his spirit with something that is utterly beyond what the majority of Christians experience; yet it is something that is within the grasp of all of us! Indeed it was so important that the apostle Paul said that he continually prayed for the Church to enter into it.

It is so important that we realize what is available to us in this area. My prayer for you is that even by reading this, your eyes would be opened to see a sliver of what could happen if you would begin to pray for yourself that God would open your spiritual eyes!

Don’t wait. Take a moment right now and ask him. Pray it consistently and watch what happens to you!

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A Starved and Bored Generation

July 9, 2010 by Jim

The other night I was watching the TV show ‘America’s Got Talent’. It’s a spin off based on the wildly successful shows ‘American Idol’ and ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and is a reality show where contestants show off their particular talent and the winner gets a contract for a live show in Las Vegas.

Last night’s show was an elimination round and as contestants prepared to go on stage to perform in front of the judges the host of the show interviewed them to ask them how they were feeling. Of course everybody was nervous, but what got to me was the frequency and intensity of people who said how desperately they wanted to go on to the next round. They repeatedly made began to cry as they said variations of “this means everything to me”, “I want this more than anything else in the world”, or “I will be totally devastated if I don’t make it”.

Obviously I understand that these people have put a lot of work into their performance and it is normal that they would want to win. What stunned me was the utter emptiness of their lives. They really don’t have anything else more worth living for. It was like pealing back a layer from a generation of people and listening to their hearts. They are a starved and bored generation who have been seduced into the cult of celebrity.

As a Christian I have many different points of reference from which I would like comment, but let me do so here in the shadow of my previous post about the ‘Luke 18 weekend’ of 72 hours of prayer and worship for the G8/20 summit.

The focus of that weekend of prayer here in Edmonton was very much around exalting Jesus Christ as the King above all other kings; as the King who is coming back to this earth to reign and rule over all the nations. Our prayers were for the glory of God to be made known to the kings and peoples of the whole earth.

One of the most central transformations that takes place in the life of a person when they become a disciple of Jesus Christ is that their own life no longer is their central focus but the glory and beauty of God become the predominant focus. In 1648 in the Westminster Catechism this point was described in the famous phrase that “man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever”. When we ourselves become the ‘chief end of man’ then we are on the road to boredom and futility.

There is a tremendous need for intercession for this generation to be delivered from the cult of celebrity and to have their eyes opened to the glory and majesty of God in the person of Jesus Christ.  Apart from Christ, people have nothing beyond themselves to live for. There is nothing that is worthy of their life’s energy and strength. All around us are people who are bored and depressed and discouraged. This is (or ought to be) a powerful motivation toward the activity of intercession.

In my next post I hope to develop more of the practical side of how we can begin to pray about this issue in a more effective way. For now I encourage you to read over some of the ‘kingship Psalms’ (Psalms 93-100) that I mentioned in my previous post and focus on the themes of the worth and glory of God.

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Posted in Intercessory Prayer | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Prayer and Politics

June 30, 2010 by Jim

One of the most challenging things to do in prayer in pray for politics, especially in a group context. There are so many different opinions that can get intertwined in our prayers. Yet as I mentioned in my previous post the Scriptures are clear in commanding us to pray for our political leaders.

There are some fantastic articles and blogs that have been written about this issue. One recent blog that I highly recommend is by Rob Parker of the National House of Prayer in Ottawa on how to pray for government. It is very practical and worth reading.

This past weekend was the Luke 18 weekend of 72 hours of intercession and worship over the G8/20 Summits. (you can read a report on how the weekend went from a national perspective in a blog post by Sara Maynard, who was the national coordinator of the Luke 18 weekend) The main theme for me was the exalting of Jesus as the King above all the other kings of the earth. There was a lot of intercession for justice, wisdom and for each of the individual leaders of the G8 and G20 summits, however I want to comment on this issue of prayers that exalt Jesus above the nations.

Within the book of Psalms there are a grouping of Psalms from 93-100 that are commonly called the ‘kingship Psalms‘. (obviously there are many other ‘kingship psalms as well) These Psalms exalt God as the King that is above all other kings. They are a tremendously rich place from which to pray for government and those in authority.

Why is the theme of Jesus being exalted as the King of all kings so important? One answer is found in Psalm 2:

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One (v. 1-2)

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (v. 10-12)

This is a prophetic Psalm about the end of the age and the return of Jesus, so there is a futuristic context to these verses. However you understand this Psalm, one thing is clear: the tendency of human kings (Presidents, Prime Ministers etc.) is to exalt themselves and to pursue power for themselves over and against the establish power of the King of kings, Jesus Christ.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, President Barak Obama and all the G8 leaders need us to pray for them for wisdom as they seek to lead and make very difficult decisions. It is also important to pray for them to make decisions that are honoring to God and also pray for the prosperity of our nations. However, the greatest need that they have is to bow down in worship before Jesus Christ and recognize him as the King who is exalted above all kings and who has all authority and power. If they get that one issue right, it will make all the difference. It will connect them to the God of all the universe who has ALL wisdom and understanding and power. I am not saying it will instantly guarantee that all problems will be solved, but no other issue will have more impact on their leadership. The Scriptures makes that abundantly clear.

I strongly encourage you to pray for governmental leaders. Pray for God to give them wisdom and Godly counsel, to protect them and their families. Pray for their own salvation. Pray that Jesus Christ would be acknowledged and worshiped as the King.

As Psalm 2 puts it: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him”

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Why Pray for the G8 & G20 Summits

June 17, 2010 by Jim

On June 25-27, 2010 the leaders of the most industrialized nations in the world will be meeting in the Muskoka area near Toronto, Ontario. The G8 leaders will meet June 25-26 and the G20 leaders will meet June 26-27. These are annual meetings and this year is the 5th time that Canada has been host to this gathering of international leaders. (you can find out more information at the Government website)

In anticipation of this event, God has raised up a national prayer initiative called ‘The Luke 18 Weekend‘ to pray over the G8 and G20 meetings. This initiative is being led by Cityscape Prayer Ministries and there are over a dozen Canadian houses of prayer and other prayer ministries that will be involved from coast to coast. The weekend will consist of a call to 72 hours of continuous prayer and worship in cities and regions across Canada. This is truly an historic event because never before in Canada has there been such a national mobilization of night and day intercession for a single event!

In the context of a western culture that has grown increasingly cynical about government and politics we must understand why it is important that we pray for such an event. It is easy to simply say that the G8 and G20 meetings are ‘much ado about nothing’ and that similar meetings of international leaders rarely change anything.

Today I want to look briefly at some Christian and Biblical reasons why it is extremely important to be involved in the Luke 18 weekend:

The most immediate reason is that as Christians we are commanded to pray for our leaders. The words of Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 are familiar to us:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority…

It is clear that God’s will is for us to be in prayer for those who are in positions of governmental leadership. Our cynicism does not release us from the mandate to pray for our leaders.

A second reason that the Luke 18 weekend is of tremendous significance is in light of the hour of human history that we are living in and the need to sound a prophetic voice to the kings of the earth. Psalm 2 is a well known Psalm that speaks to the human drama at the end of the age. It gives a powerful declaration in verses 10-12:

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The G8 and G20 summits are clearly a gathering of the kings of the earth. To host these leaders in our nation of Canada is an honor that should be taken seriously. As Christians we must also be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying through the Scriptures. The great need of the hour is for the kings of the earth to hear the warning of Scripture to respond and honor Jesus Christ, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the One who is coming to rule over all the nations of the earth!

How will they hear this warning? Will it be through picketing and protests? No, such a warning must strike their spirits and this will only happen by the power of God moving in response to the intercession of His people!

The final and most important reason why the Luke 18 weekend is so critical and why Christian believers across Canada should be involved is this: God desires it. This national prayer initiative is not simply some idea that was cooked up out a desire to be cool and trendy. The Luke 18 weekend is a gathering that the Lord has raised up. God is saying “I want there to be continual worship and intercession over these meetings”. Christian leaders from across the nation have agreed that this is what God is saying and Christians are responding to this call to continual worship and intercession for this important event.

Here in Edmonton, there will be 72 hours of continual prayer and worship hosted by House of Prayer Edmonton. More information about how to become involved can be found on the HoPE website. For people in other regions of the country, more information can be found on the Cityscape website.

It is time to put our words into action and gather together and pray!

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