Prayer
Prayer is simple. But how difficult some people and churches make it.
"You have to speak in tongues", "You must be slain in the Spirit", are two of the expressions heard in some churches today. But what does the Bible say?
"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Luke 18:1. In the parable Jesus told of a woman who had been wronged. She kept going and going and going to the judge with her plea to be granted justice.
Finally the judge said, "Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming." Luke 18:4,5
There are two lessons to be learned here. The first is obvious - speak up. Pray often. Let God know what you need, want and are thankful for. Pray and not give up.
The other is the absence of "tongues". Jesus didn't teach his disciples how to speak in "tongues" to be heard or accepted by the Father. He just wants us to speak in whatever language we can most eloquently express ourselves.
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:18
Again, pray with all kinds of prayers and requests, not "tongues". Be alert and "in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue." 1 Corinthians 14:19
When the disciples came to Christ and asked Him to teach them how to pray, He showed them the principle of how to pray. "This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Matthew 6:9-13
Nothing here on how to pray in tongues. Did Jesus forget that part? I don't think so. It wasn't important. Not only was it not important, He doesn't want us to pray in the "tongues" of today. You see, the Pentecostal "tongues" of today are not the tongues of the book of Acts.
In order for us to understand the difference, we must humble ourselves and remember that Jesus always speaks the truth. Even when He is silent on a subject, we must recognize that He is speaking truth. Never attempt to add or subtract anything from what has been taught.
The Bible gives us clear indication of how to pray and how not to pray. It clearly indicates prayer that is of God, and prayer that is of the devil. Remember, for every true way to do something, the devil has a counterfeit. You must study and humble yourself before the Word of God and test yourself by the Word and the Word only. If your actions do not measure up to the Word of God, stop doing what does not measure up, and start doing what does.
Let's first take a look at prayer that is from the devil. The Bible gives us a glimpse of such a service in 1 Kings 18:26-28. Israel has rebelled against God and has turned to the worship of Baal and Asherah. God sent Elijah to hold a revival meeting.
Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a showdown. The prophets of Baal and Asherah accept and come prepared. They build their altar and call on their gods to send fire down from heaven in answer to their prayer. In verses 26 through 29 we see an example of a pagan worship service.
1. They shouted
2. They danced around the altar
3. They were frantic
1. Starting with the first one, we can see that they were shouting. Walk into many churches and you will see the minister or people shouting. As Elijah taunted them, so I do to these people. What is wrong with your god that you have to shout at him? Is he busy? or traveling? Or maybe deep in thought? "Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened."
My Bible says, "be still and know that I am God." I don't have to shout at Him. He knows what I need before I speak. He reads my heart. In quietness is the soul found in God.
2. Dancing around the altar. Yes, in many services you will find lots of dancing around. But is it of God. Nope! Where is it shown in the Bible that Jesus danced in the synagogue? Jesus is my example. Is He yours? The ONLY reference to dancing before the Lord is David. And that was NOT in church. It was bringing the Ark of the Covenant up to the City of David. You should also know that David disrobed during this dance. Are you going to disrobe and dance naked in the public street, as David did? If you follow David's example in one, you must follow it in the other.
Then, considering how much David feared the Lord and reverenced Him, I doubt seriously that it was like anything that you see going on in the churches of today. Since the Bible does not describe the dance that David did, how dare we attempt to "dance", since we do not know what kind of a dance it was. This was not a "dancing lesson", it does not teach us how to dance before the Lord. It probably was a holy dance of some kind. Where there is silence, let us not assume.
3. Frantic!
Some services and speakers in tongues can get pretty frantic. Falling down and writhing around on the floor, babbling and screaming, none of it is from the Lord. There is a spirit that is in control, but not a spirit from Jesus.
This falling down and writhing about is also demonstrated in the Bible. But it is not of God. Turn to Mark 9:17 to 27. A father brought his son to Jesus. A spirit possessed the boy. When the boy was possessed, the spirit would throw the boy down to the ground causing him to foam at his mouth and gnashed his teeth and become rigid.
Sounds like a lot of worship services to me. Must be the wrong spirit. I don't want to worship that spirit. I don't want that spirit inside me! Do you?
When the father brought the boy to Jesus the spirit "immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth."
Jesus allowed the spirit to demonstrate his power. He wanted to make sure that we understood the difference between the work of God and the work of the devil. You need to do the same. Look around your worship services and see what spirit is there. Use the Bible as your guide. If it is as depicted above, run.
Now it is Jesus' turn. He takes the boy casts the spirit out. Then He takes "him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up."