Wrestling With God

We often like to think of prayer as a conversation with God, which it very much is, but not always. If we look at the lives of those who truly and radically prayed throughout history, to the point of “calling Heaven down”, we see something more akin to wrestling. Scripture is clear; those who wrestle with God, grasping firmly to His promises, refusing to let go until God would bless, are at the forefront of seeing God move. Dear reader, ask yourselves, when was the last time you wrestled with God and made a demand for the Kingdom?

 

It needs to be clarified that this “wrestling” with God in prayer isn’t a form of manipulation or some form of disrespect for God, it is infact quite the opposite. It is to honour Him as King, Father and Almighty. Since God has made His will and power clear in Scripture, should we pray doubtfully with prayers  such as, “Well, God, perhaps if it is is your will, and perhaps if you want to use your power, could you cause your Kingdom to increase here?” No, of course not! That is weakness of faith and discounting God’s power and purpose. We know God’s will is to see His Kingdom come, to see many hearts restored in Christ, to see the church strengthened, and the Gospel proclaimed boldly. This is not such a thing to ask, “Is this your will?”. Likewise, do we doubt God has the power to fulfil His purpose, or that He is shy to show forth His glory -  far from it. Let us then pray such as:

 

 “Father, I know from your Word that you would see your Kingdom come. I know you are Almighty. Lord, hasten your Kingdom, I will not be satisfied until I see your church on fire!  This is a very small thing to ask, for you are exceedingly great” 

 

“I will not cease praying God until you bless me in the Spirit.”

 

“Lord I have laid hold of your promise, I shall not loose my grasp until I see it fulfilled to thy glory.”

 

“Father, I’ll be banging on your window at the latest hours of the night until we see Revival!”

 

We must again pray boastfully. Some may consider such prayers arrogant and selfish. However, how can we be arrogant, if our boast is in the Lord and in His power? If such is arrogance then Elijah was quite arrogant to pour water on the altar before the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). God seemed to have rewarded such reckless boasting in His goodness and power. And how could such prayers be selfish if they are indeed the desires of God’s own heart?  Is it selfish to desire the will of God to be done and His glory to be revealed? Friend, we tread much closer to sin when we don’t boast in the Lord. If we are not recklessly confident in God, then some honest soul-searching must be done. I have yet to see in Scripture God rebuking someone for boasting in Him. We must begin to pray in a way that is boastful in the character and promises of God. Let us boast in Him.

 

We must again pray like children. What child of a good father would ask, “Perhaps, father, you might give me a loaf of bread if you are able.”? Such a thing sounds utterly absurd. The son or a daughter of a good father, doesn’t ask as above, he or she simply says “I’m hungry, feed me.” They look to the Father, and expect of Him and won’t stop expecting until they receive from Him. Who among you, who have children of your own, hasn’t once or twice granted a ridiculous or extravagant request from their child, simply because they asked and would not stop asking. Such is the way we should ask. If we don’t ask with such a childlike expectancy, we are really saying, “Father I don’t need you or I don’t trust your promise.”  That may sound harsh but it’s true; we either faithfully expect from God or we doubt and make excuses for God. Dear reader, pray like a child again, recklessly asking and recklessly expecting, for you know that your Father is exceedingly good and able.

 

We must again pray expectantly. God is not reluctant to pour out His Spirit and to bring revival. God is not slow to see His will be done and His Kingdom come. Even “on Earth as it is in Heaven”. Ask a friend if you can borrow a loaf of bread in the ‘distant future’ and you might die of starvation. However, go to your friend’s house in the middle of the night and yell,  “Friend I need some bread right now or I and my family will starve, I won’t leave or stop bothering you until I have been given what I ask - a loaf of bread.” I tell you dear reader, such a man will go home satisfied and will not be lacking in bread. Likewise, we must pray in expectation, asking God with beautifully reckless faith that He shall answer. Pray expecting revival, pray expecting an outpouring of the Spirit, pray expecting God will bless the work of your hands, pray expecting He will draw many hearts and souls unto Himself, and pray expecting God to answer extravagantly. For to ask without expecting is, in reality, to ask without faith. Expectancy is asking in faith. Ask in faith!!

 

We must again pray violently. The great poet Tennyson wrote of ‘battering the gates of Heaven with storms of prayer’. Dear reader, when was the last time you battered Heaven’s gates? We too often knock timidly at the door of our Father’s house, in doubt and in believing the lie we have no right to knock. If you have been bought with the blood of Christ, you are a child of God, you have more than a right - the Kingdom of God is your inheritance. We too easily scorn God’s inheritance when we pray like we are asking for something that is not our gift. How dishonouring and heartbreaking it would be to give someone an extravagant gift and they, in doubt and unbelief, don’t use it and don’t take ownership of it. We have been given the keys to a mansion and yet dwell in a tent in the garden and act as if we are timid trespassers. The house is our inheritance; the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit is the key. And prayer is the doorway. Will we knock boldly, pray violently, and kick down the door if we must? Don’t fear asking too much of God, fear asking too little of Him. Pray like you are kicking down the door to your own house. You have family and friends who are ready to enter into the Kingdom of God, you need to welcome them into the King’s house. Dear reader start violently praying, kicking down doors in the Spirit, and taking the Kingdom of Heaven by force through violent prayer.

 

Finally, we must simply pray. For prayer is the true work. I daresay, prayer is the most important work in the Kingdom of God. If we have 10 hours each week to devote to ministry, devote 9 to prayer and 1 to practical ministry. Pray until your trousers have holes in the knees. Pray until God answers. Pray and pray without ceasing. Tears can wear away even at stone and metal bars, if one weeps long enough. There are legends of prisoners digging their way out of their cells all day everyday with broken spoons and bloody hands, for years and years, yet they gain their freedom at the end. Such is the way we should pray; unrelenting and unceasing. Prayer is indeed a simple but powerful thing, like water wearing away at stone, yet it is only in its intensity and great measure that prayer has an awesome impact. A few random drops of water here and there can do little, yet a great surge of much water can forever alter a land, casting immovable mountains into the sea, drawing fertile fields out of desert waste, and reviving arid wilderness. We need prayer like the breaking of a dam. Like a surging sea breaking upon the shore until even cliffs of stone crumble to sand. Like rain in the highlands which cause great floods. So let us pray.

 

- Web Blackmon