THE BEST WAY TO PRAY UP TO THE ELECTION

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1 U.S. CAPITOL TO: LEGISLATORS FROM: PASTOR RALPH DROLLINGER /7/365 DATE: OCT. 8, 2012 A s the elections come upon us, how can we pray more effectively? Most of us tend to default to generalized umbrella prayers, asking God to change the direction of our nation. But are there actually some guidelines for high octane praying? Yes, there are in the last chapter of Ephesians. Ephesians 6:18 provides incredible perspectives and guidelines which you can use to inform and direct your prayer life in order to best effectuate the redirection of our nation stemming in part from a successful election. This passage will help you get a better grip on prayer at a time when you d better have your best grip on prayer! It will give you what it takes to make a difference via the time you can apportion to it. Keep in mind the Psalmist said, Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice (55:17). May you give a similar amount of time as the Psalmist did to effective prayer in these coming weeks as we cry out in distress regarding the future of our country. Let us take into consideration Ephesians 6:18, evening, morning and noon, so that He might hear our voice in the strongest way possible during the coming weeks. WEEKLY MEMBERS BIBLE STUDY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF FIRST-VOTES-BACK (MONDAY OR TUESDAY NIGHT) Dinner Served Capitol Room H324 Spouses Welcome Robert Aderholt, Alabama Todd Akin, Missouri Spencer Bachus, Alabama Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Paul Broun, Georgia Dan Burton, Indiana John Campbell, California John Carter, Texas Bill Cassidy M.D., Louisiana Rick Crawford, Arkansas Jeff Denham, California John Duncan, Jr., Tennessee Mary Fallin, Oklahoma John Fleming, Louisiana Bill Flores, Texas Randy Forbes, Virginia Trent Franks, Arizona Scott Garrett, New Jersey Louie Gohmert, Texas Tom Graves, Georgia Ralph Hall, Texas Gregg Harper, Mississippi Pete Hoekstra, Michigan Randy Hultgren, Illinois Bill Johnson, Ohio Jim Jordan, Ohio Steve King, Iowa Doug Lamborn, Colorado James Lankford, Oklahoma Mike McIntyre, North Carolina Gary Miller, California Sue Myrick, North Carolina Randy Neugebauer, Texas Steve Pearce, New Mexico Mike Pence, Indiana Mike Pompeo, Kansas Bill Posey, Florida Tom Price, Georgia Ben Quayle, Arizona Tim Scott, South Carolina Steve Southerland, Florida Lamar Smith, Texas Marlin Stutzman, Indiana Glenn GT Thompson, Pennsylvania Scott Tipton, Colorado Daniel Webster, Florida Allen West, Florida Lynn Westmoreland, Georgia Joe Wilson, South Carolina Steve Womack, Arkansas

2 I. INTRODUCTION Ephesians 6:18 is our home passage that contains all the jewels we will soon explore in detail! 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 But first let us take hold of its preceding context. II. YOUR REQUISITES FOR POWERFUL PRAYER In this closing section of Paul s letter to Ephesus, he has been explaining why the believer should remain in the world after he or she has been saved. God has objectives that He desires His called-outones to achieve this side of Paradise. Otherwise it stands to reason He would take His children home right after He saves them. In the lead-up to our passage, Paul codifies the actual battle the believer will face in this regard and in which the believer is instructed to fight. Now that you are a heavenly being and heavenly minded, here is the specific instruction as to how best to achieve God s purposes while in the world. Why am I including this? This is the prior context, what Paul is teaching on, leading up to this week s passage for study (Ephesians 6:18). Here are the passages that usher in, and provide perspective for the one under consideration. 6:10-13 reads, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the full armor of God Paul profoundly describes and defines the battle as a spiritual one (versus a physical one) to be fought with spiritual weaponry (the specifics of which will follow). Similarly a great spiritual battle lies underneath the manifold manifest turmoil in most facets of American culture. To overlook or disagree with these insights from the Word of God as to what it says is the real battle in America is to fundamentally misdiagnose the problem and place all your energies in the wrong place. Beginning in Ephesians 6:14 through verse 17, Paul lists the main aspects of the believer s spiritual armament for the spiritual war they are enlisted to fight in. What follows are seven spiritual tools, with prayer (our passage) following these: Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Enhancing the idea of the believer s call to fight in an underlying spiritual battle are the insights of 2Tim. 2:4: No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. AS BELIEVERS WHO WILL AFFECT OUR WORLD, WE MUST DEVELOP OUR CONVICTION THAT WE ARE FIRST AND FOREMOST CALLED TO FIGHT IN A SPIRITUAL BATTLE THAT REQUIRES SPIRITUAL SKILLS Summarized from the above passage, notice the seven spiritual armaments that God gives and expects His enlistees to use. Prayer is the 2

3 culminating seventh element and therefore very important. VS. ELEMENTS DESCRIPTION 14 Truthfulness In a personal sense, i.e. no hypocrisy 14 Righteousness In a personal sense, holy living 15 The Gospel In a personal sense, knowing God is on of Peace your side, buoys confidence 16 Faith The believer s continual obedience to God s Word vs. Satan defeating lies 17 Salvation The personal assurance that stems from one s eternal security, i.e. no reason to doubt one s salvation 17 The Word The only weapon mentioned, the Word is living and active (Heb. 4:12), it fends off and destroys Satan s schemes 18 Prayer This week s subject These seven spiritually based facets for spiritual warfare are fundamental to victorious Christian living while remaining in the world. And as we will see, their crescendo element of prayer is fundamental and critical to the mix. Further note the cadence and culminating sequence in the above chart: A believer who lives in truth (without personal hypocrisy) stemming from holy, righteous living, who possesses an internal peace (knowing who enlisted him or her as a soldier) who by faith lives in obedience to Scripture, who possesses no doubt because of the personal assurance of their salvation, and who has skill in utilizing the Word of God when in battle, will be a giant when it comes to effective, nation-changing prayer! The six previous elements are indicative of personal spiritual maturity, commensurate precursors if you will, of someone who is most effective in the use of prayer; it is the prayers of these kinds of people that best serve to move the muscles of Omnipotence! If you are serious about affecting the election through your prayers then you will forever desire these spiritual armaments in and for your life. These are the requisite characteristics of people whose prayers alter the direction of a nation! Personal godliness and effective prayer are intrinsically intertwined; you can t expect to have one without the other. That must be said up-front. Now let s delve entirely into requisite number seven, this week s passage. There are at least four aspects to prayer that Paul mentions in verse 18, and each should play into your prayer life. I will make applications relative to the upcoming election. This is the scriptural detail as to how you can best invest your prayer time so as to best affect the outcome of the election. III. YOUR REQUESTING IN POWERFUL PRAYER With all prayer and petition The Greek word for prayer proseuche is used 85 times in the NT and is the NT s most comprehensive word for prayer. In all of proseuche s contexts of usage throughout Scripture, effective prayer with God is only achieved through His Son Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Here then are additional requisites for effective prayer. Because of man s fallen nature and lack of peace with God, combined with his rejection of God s reconciliation on the cross, He hears not the prayers of the unrepentant. This point must be made clear, as difficult it is to say in an increasingly tolerant and syncretistic world where it is common to hear all religions lead to acceptance with God. The prayers of the unregenerate (save the prayer of repentance from sin) He hears not. Isaiah 59:2 states clearly, But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear (emphasis mine). Peace with God through the atoning work of Christ is therefore a prerequisite for effective prayer: Prayers God hears. (Given this fact, it is hypocritical for believers to be involved in syncretistic community-wide Prayer Breakfasts where the unregenerate are commonly 3

4 led to feel that God does hear their prayers. The I m okay, you re okay message of all paths lead to heaven prayer breakfasts, where the gospel is not clearly presented, is totally contrary to what the Scriptures teach regarding the means to create and achieve effective prayer. Not always the case, but all too often the value, power and effectiveness of the American Prayer Breakfast Movement has been largely compromised due to this fact). The Greek word for petition deesis in classical times denoted need, lack or want therefore the word developed the meaning of request, petition or entreaty 1 and it means, that which is asked with urgency based on presumed need request, plea, prayer. 2 More specific than proseuche, this word denotes specific petitions made to God by the believer. Biblical prayer then is more than adoration, Paul is instructing Christ s followers here to include an element of supplication, or requesting of God in one s prayer life. This idea is illuminated by Jesus in John 14:13-14: Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name I will do it. By asking for specific things (in line with scriptural priorities versus selfish materialistic desires), the answers to your prayers by Him ultimately serve to glorify Him! Why? His power is evidenced in the world via answered prayer. To illustrate this, Paul petitioned for Timothy night and day (2Tim. 1:3) and as a result Timothy was successful in righting the Ephesian Church from heretical takeover (cf. 1Tim. 1:20; 2Tim. 1-2:1); and that brought glory to God in the world. The fact that Paul petitioned with specific prayers night and day informs us that effective requesting is hard work, but it yields are worth it! The effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much summarily states James 5:16. It follows that your diligent, specific petitions to God to raise up political leaders that will further His causes is in keeping with this first principle of effective prayer. Asking God to raise up political leaders who will obey and reflect His attributes and commandments in service to our country is to pray biblically, efficiently and strategically. Such prayers are proper and powerful; they are requests that God will hear and honor because His answers to such bring glory to Himself! Petition for godly leaders! ARE YOU PETITIONING IN PRAYER RELATIVE TO THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTIONS? The time you allot to labor in petitioning between now and the elections is time best spent, even though it might not seem that way to task-oriented individuals. Be someone who spends much time requesting in prayer. This leads to the next point Paul makes in this passage. IV. YOUR RESOLUTION IN POWERFUL PRAYER pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance We now come to an often-misunderstood concept in prayer: Do we have to pray all the time in order to be effective? This disheartens many: if that s the case, then why even try? they reason. The Greek word used here for time kairos denotes a season of time. When coupled with the particular use of the Greek word for all panti there exists the combined idea of every critical season. Reverting to the larger context of the passage, when the believer wields the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and Satan reacts through his minions; there exists, there become evident, critical times or seasons for petitioning. Obviously the upcoming elections are such a time! This interpretation (versus thinking that if you are not praying every second of the day that you are disobedient and living in sin) is bolstered by the words that follow. But first notice the closely following phrase in the Spirit. Herein is the power of one s prayers. It probably should be an additional point in the outline: the resource of prayer because it is the 4

5 Holy Spirit who intercedes on behalf of the saints (Rom. 8:26-27) and makes our feeble, fumbling, often inattentive requests appropriate to the listening ears of God. Combined with the previous paragraph of exposition, it is our use of the sword that puts the believers enemies at bay and our use of prayer in the Spirit at those critical junctures of time that mightily aids us in our struggle against evil forces; the believer is to cry out to God on the occasions of the assaults of darkness. Again, the upcoming elections represent a pray at all times period. THE LOOMING BANKRUPTCY OF OUR NATION IN WAYS MORE THAN FINANCIAL SERVES TO ILLUSTRATE THE NEED FOR A CRITICAL SEASON OF PRAYER In contrast, in the life of Peter when a critical season arose relative to his relationship to Christ, he fled from associating with Him instead of buoying his stamina through concerted prayer (cf. Matt 26:69-70). Opposite Peter, may those in the Members Bible Study be individuals who fall to their knees versus busying themselves with lessor priorities during this time of national crisis. America in crisis: now s the time for earnest prayer. And kai connects what follows to that which was previous: and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance. The words for alert agrupnountes and perseverance proskarternesis have similar meanings: One lexical translator states that this phrase means, to continue to do something with intense effort to devote oneself to, to keep on, to persist in. 3 Prayer and perseverance are conjoined sisters throughout Scripture: prayer is manifest in perseverance and perseverance in prayer. They fuel one another. In Colossians, Paul told believers to devote themselves to prayer (4:2). Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray (Matthew 26:41) and Peter (years later) would say from earlier failure, Be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer (1 Peter 4:7). When believers are faced with spiritual dangers, likened to the appointment of new leaders in the upcoming election, their first response should not be to punt or be passive, but to pray with earnestness. Such should be your resolution too. V. YOUR RECIPIENTS IN POWERFUL PRAYER and petition for all the saints This point is the most profound, and best explains why I titled this study The Best Way To Pray Up To The Elections. I think you will soon see why. The observant student of Scripture has noticed that this is the fourth time the Greek preposition all has been incorporated in this one passage. Such insights are crucial for gleaning authorial intent and punctuation of thought. Paul is pounding home this powerful point: The believer is to use (1) all prayer forms (especially petitioning); (2) at all critical junctures or season (such as a country s elections); (3) with all perseverance (intense effort); (4) lastly, for all the saints! What does this fourth all mean? Paul is roundly communicating that these four elements of prayer in this one passage all need to connect with one another. You can t pick one or two out of the four: All four go together and are intrinsically intertwined. For him say we need to be praying for all the saints means that we should pray that all believers should be connected to all three of the aforesaid elements. Importantly note that the passage does not read that we are to pray with all the saints. That is a crucial interpretive insight! We are to pray that God would incorporate and include all the other believers into all the aforesaid elements of high octane prayer versus assuming other believers are already on board. We are to be praying prayers of recruitment for the cause! God has enlisted all of His saints together in and for spiritual battle (remember that is why He leaves us on earth after He saves us) but unfortunately not all of them can be counted on to participate! The point: Pray them onto the team; pray them into the battle! It is a huge mistake to 5

6 assume that all believers will come forward during seasons of crisis. That s to say, in essence, through the lens of this passage and the application of this study, that. LOW EVANGELICAL VOTER TURNOUT MEANS THAT THERE WAS LOW EVANGELICAL PRAYER FOR ALL THE SAINTS An appropriate application of this passage is that we need to pray that God will prompt His chosen ones to come out and vote! Again, Paul is saying that we should petition for all the saints, meaning we should ask God to team-up His and our fellow called-out ones at critical times in order to win specific battles. The elections represent such. This Pauline admonition is in keeping with all the other passages in the NT relative to the Body of Christ and God s desire for unity (cf. 1Cor. 12; Jn. 17:21). Your best prayers should be specifically and strategically aimed at all the saints: that they would be convicted by the Holy Spirit in and for a common cause during a season of crisis. To pray that God would lead fellow believers to vote is to be a biblically-informed participant in prayer! You know the statistics here better than I: if all of our teammates would vote with the Scriptures in view, our nation would radically change direction from the elections in stark contrast to what happens when believers stay home. More than praying umbrella prayers for the nation, pray specific prayers for the saints: Dial in your prayer life my friend! Pray with pinpointed, strategic specificity! Pray that the Holy Spirit would activate fellow believers! Therein is the best way for you to pray! Just think what would happen if in November all the believers voted in response to your dialed-in strategic petitions? Wow! It can happen! This is the best way to pray up to the elections. VI. CONCLUSION Believers are enlisted in a spiritual battle. Just as we can t defeat a computer virus by use of the Craftsman toolset in the garage, or fix an iphone with kitchen utensils, we can t win spiritual battles by engaging the enemy with the wrong armament. The real battle, Scripture says, transcends the physical realm. America s crisis is fundamentally spiritual in nature; if all the saints would engage not only in building God s Kingdom, but in being responsible citizens by at least voting and voting with a view toward Scripture our nation s path would be changed overnight! It follows that we should pray especially for our fellow teammates, that they would honor the institution of Government as they are commanded to in 1Peter 2:13-14, and participate in it! Passivism has no biblical basis. If America s threatened demise is spiritual in nature, then the battle needs to be fought with spiritual weaponry and the armament of prayer must be employed with the specific aim of beseeching the Holy Spirit to engage the myriad of lame teammates who will not obey governing authorities governing authorities who want them to vote! YOUR SPECIFIC PRAYERS SHOULD BE AIMED AT FELLOW BELIEVERS: THAT GOD WOULD CONVICT THEM TO VOTE! As a Member of Congress, this aforementioned kind of prayer is the most important discipline for you to practice between now and the elections. It represents time best spent! Make sure you this study to every church in your district and ask them to forward it along. 1 Hoehner, Harold Ephesians, An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002) p Louw, Johannes P., Eugene A. Nida, et al. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 2 Vols. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1988) Ibid