“Look- you may not like the story you find yourself in, but your displeasure doesn’t make it go away.”- John Eldredge
John Eldredge concludes Chapter 2 of Moving Mountains with his discussion of the second (of two) assumptions essential to prayer.
2. We are at war. John notes that King Herod’s “massacre of the innocents” (Matthew 2:16-18) is not portrayed in any Christmas pageant or manger scene. While the lovely imagery surrounding Christmastime is dear to many of us, Mr. Eldredge points out that such imagery is profoundly deceiving. The warm feelings, associations, and expectations of what the nature of the Christian life is going to be like as created by this perspective are, in fact, dangerous. Our viewpoint is incomplete.
When Daniel was in Babylon and received a revelation concerning a great war, he devoted himself to prayer and fasting for three weeks. Although God answered Daniel’s prayer the first day he prayed, the answer was delayed because a mighty, fallen angel blocked the way. God’s angel had to fight his way in as well as his way out. John explains how the Scriptures are a wake-up call:
“The Scriptures are a sort of wake-up call to the human race, a trumpet blast . . . One alarm they repeatedly sound is that we are all caught up in the midst of a collision of kingdoms- the kingdom of God advancing with force against the kingdom of darkness, which for the moment holds most of the world in its clutches.”
This should motivate us to learn to pray like a soldier learns to use his weapon for battle or how a smoke jumper learns survival skills. Until we learn to pray, we’ll have no idea what sort of breakthrough actually is possible.
Today’s question: Which of John’s two assumptions essential to prayer resonate most with you? Please share.
New addition to Crown Jewels: “The whisper test”
Tomorrow’s blog: “The Cry of the Heart”
