Wartime Walkie-Talkies

A dear friend of mine recommended I read Let The Nations Be Glad! by John Piper. It is one of those books that you start underlining key points and soon find that you seem to be underlining most of the text! ...it's that good. :)

Here is what Piper has to say on Prayer & Missions:

"Very few people think that we are in a war that is greater than World War II or any imaginable nuclear war. Few reckon that Satan is a much worse enemy than any earthly foe or realize that the conflict is not restricted to any one global theater but is in every town and city in the world. Who considers that the casualties of this war do not merely lose an arm or an eye or an earthly life but lose everything-even their own soul-but enter a hell of everlasting torment?" (pg. 48)

"The connection between prayer and missions can be seen in a passage that doesn't use warfare words but deals with the same reality, namely, John 15:16. Jesus said, 'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.' The logic of this sentence is crucial. Why is the Father going to give the disciples what they ask in Jesus' name? Answer: Because they have been sent to bear fruit. The reason the Father gives the disciples the instrument of prayer is because Jesus has given them a mission. In fact, the grammar of John 15:16 implies that the reason Jesus gives them their mission is so that they will be able to use the power of prayer. 'I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit...so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.' This is just another way of saying that prayer is a wartime walkie-talkie. God designed it and gave it to us for use on a mission. You can say the mission is to 'bear fruit,' or you can say the mission is to 'set the captives free.' The point stays the same: Prayer is designed to extend the kingdom into fruitless enemy territory."
(pg. 49)

"Until you know that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for." (pg. 49)

"So the truth is reaffirmed: God has given us prayer because Jesus has given us a mission. We are on this earth to press back the forces of darkness, and we are given access to headquarters by prayer to advance this cause. When we try to turn it into a civilian intercom to increase our conveniences, it stops working, and our faith begins to falter. We have domesticated prayer that for many of us it is no longer what it was designed to be - a wartime walkie-talkie for the accomplishment of Christ's mission. " (pg. 51)

"The unity of these two goals-the glory of God and the joy of his people-is preserved in the act of prayer."

"How then do we glorify him? Jesus gives the answer in John 15:7: 'If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.' We pray. We ask God to do for us through Christ what we can't do ourselves-bear fruit. Then verse 8 gives the result: 'By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.' So how is God glorified by prayer? Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as all-sufficient." (pg. 58-59)

"He (God) is the main combatant, and the battle is to be fought in a way that gives him the glory. This is why God has ordained prayer to have such a crucial place in the mission of the church. The purpose of prayer is to make clear to all participants in this war that the victory belongs to the Lord. Prayer is God's appointed means of bringing grace to us and glory to himself. This is crystal clear in Psalm 50:15. God says, 'Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." (pg. 57)


Dear Prayer Warriors,
There is a battle of astronomical proportions going on around us. My prayer for you is that your times of being still before your Lord and in the Word are sweet so that you might be filled with His strength for each day. May those times with Him make you sensitive to the needs of your loved ones, church leaders, and those who need Christ around you so that you move the heart of your Father above. I realize HOW VITAL YOUR PRAYERS are in the work of God here in Portugal among international students. Let us be faithful in asking Him to reveal Himself mightily in each of our areas in which we live and serve Him!