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from The Prayerline Newsletter by Darrell C. Porter

"Portrait of Prayer"

April - June, 2003

The Bible commands the believer to walk in the Word (Rom.8:4; Rev.3:10). Yet the ground of the Word can sometimes be hard to put your foot on. The environment of the sinful and lost world that we live in is like a vast sea. Though not of it, we are, nevertheless creatures in the world. Our fleshly nature is compatible with the nature of the world. Even as Christians it is compatible. This is why it is so easy for Christians to be lured into sin, because of that compatibility problem.

Therefore, to walk in the ground of the Word, while in the midst of the sea of the world is at times ominous and routinely awkward. Because the waters of the world are not going where God would have you to go. One can easily stand on the ground of God’s Word while on the edge of the sea, on the beach. The waters may come up to your feet and do nothing but refresh you. But the more you walk out into that water of the world, or are taken by God into the sea of the world for His own purpose, your life can quickly lose its footing and end up being tossed with the waves.

Deep sea divers, in order to walk on the floor of the sea, must wear a heavily weighted suit that will anchor their body in the depths. Once suited they can walk on the sea floor and go where they need to go. God calls the believer, in like manner, to walk on the ground of His Word. His Spirit anchors our soul to His sayings.

Now in the sea of the world, this becomes a daunting task. For as soon as you step into God’s Word the waters of the world rise up against you. The force of the waters - the cares of this world, the trials and troubles of it, the persecutions and heartaches, the losses and disappointments – pound upon you to take you off the ground of God’s Word.

Caught in the sea of the world many become as helpless, floating Christians, bobbing up and down on the surface waters of the world. Now and again one will pursue the depths of God through teachings, though Godly fellowship, through concerted prayer, through Godly service, but the waters around them will only let them go so far and they bob back to the surface of the cares and frustrations and hurts and fears and doubts and unbelief.

What is needed to stay in the depths of God and to once more walk on the ground of God’s Word, is an anchor for the soul. That anchor is the written Word of God. God says He will anchor your mind in peace if you keep it stayed on Him. (Is.26:3) A mind kept on the written Word of God has the soul grounding itself in the Truth.

This Truth, Jesus said, sets you free from the power and pull of the world. (Jn.8:32) Unanchored souls can be seen floating about and bobbing from place to place, activity to activity, event to event, church to church, person to person. But putting on a deep sea suit of faith in Christ and His promises, and locking oneself in Him, will keep you grounded in faith in God’s solid ordinances.

Prayer, also, is a grounding force. It is like a deep sea suit. It takes you to the ground of God. Effectual prayer "forces" you to keep your mind on God. This is why the Scriptures command to. "Pray always; and with all manner of prayer." (Lu.21:36;Eph.6:18) Prayer is powerful because it causes you to stand on the Words of the powerful God. God’s power is available to every believer in Jesus Christ. However, it can only be apprehended when the heart says "I want God and nothing else." It can only be realized when that soul determines day by day, circumstance by circumstance, trial by trial, situation by situation, that he will keep his mind stayed on what God says. (Isa.26:3)

This power will only be realized when such the soul sees God and Christ not as religious idols that they float up to on Sunday mornings but us the real and living source and foundation of their lives every moment of every day. It is relationship with this Source that brings Godly power into your life and the lives of those for whom you pray.

Some things in life require more prayer more often than other things in life. It is during these times that we must be ready to go deep and put our foot on the promise of God’s Word and stay ourselves there. It is from this position of faith in the Truth that God will move.

There are assignments that God will place upon you that will require, even demand, that you plant your feet solidly upon the revealed Word of God before any change will ever take place in that situation of your life. He will not move a "muscle" while you are merely "floating" on the Word. He will not break through unto you while you are elevated in the "air" of faith. He doesn’t want you "mouthing off" His Word as though the mere saying of it will get you the deliverance. In these particular types of crisis He wants you embedded in His Word, heart and body and soul. It is from this position of faith that God will move; else He will wait for you until you get there.

Mercifully and thankfully, God does answer many of our "floating" prayers. He does not always demand such austerity of faith. Yet, it is important to understand that certain situations absolutely require it.

It is important for the praying saint to understand that prayer is a means that God gives to you to take back ground from the enemy. Such ground has been occupied for a long time by sin. It will not be released easily. No light prayer will let it go. It will take earnest, fervent prayer to do this. And if you are willing to let God use you He will even cause you to take the ground underneath the ground. Some sin has big, deep roots; and if your soul is big in God and if you are available to be used of Him in a rough and rugged way He will cause you to walk a long way with Him in deep prayer, reclaiming the land that was taken by sin.

Though God offers it to many, not everyone will chose to enter into this type of prayer. It is not a glorified life. It is a rugged life of an intercessor. Whatever one’s choice of the level of prayer they are willing to accept, it is most needful to understand that some things require a different type, a different duration of prayer. Not all prayer ends in two minutes. Some may go for two hours, for two days, for two years, for two decades. Like Abraham, who prayed for twenty years for a son. (Gen.15:2-3) Yet when God answered Him (Gen.17:4-5; 21:1-2) and an entire world was blessed. (Gen.22:15-18) Situations that demand these types of prayers demand your whole attention and strength and faith be upon God and His ability. Nothing less than this will do.

Rees Howells was a man whose soul was stretched out in prayer. God used him profusely, deeply to transform individuals, communities and nations themselves, through selfless prayers of power and faith. God takes a man into the depths that he may bring forth from that place treasures that can be brought forth no other way. The rewards for a praying man are indescribable. The treasures are beyond the reaches of this world. God says He even stores them up in vials around His throne in heaven. (Rev.5:12) Your prayers from the depths of your soul are laid up in the very heights of heaven.

God blesses the man of prayer. He calls unto Himself that praying woman. No duty in this life has its equal to the duty of prayer. For it is the highest and most rewarding and noblest thing you can do. This rich call unto prayer has been extended to every Christian. We are all called to pray. So much so that God refers to us as His temple, His body, His house - a house of prayer. (Math.21:13)

If I am a house of prayer then my feet and my hands and my heart and my head should all be involved in prayer.

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The PRAYERLINE Newsletter is a quarterly publication of Darrell C. Porter Evangelistic Assoc., Inc.

www.oneaglewings.com

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