Divine Tension In Prayer

 

One of our young men recently had a dream. He was walking along a dusty road with an old man who handed him a hammer. The hammer had the word “Prayer” written down its handle. They walked into a dry riverbed and approached two massive columns that were holding up a gate in the sky. One column had “God, you’re so good,” written on it,

and the other had “God, we’re so desperate for more,” written on it. He began to hammer away at the two columns, trying to loose the gate at the top. He knew heaven was above the gate in the sky. He pounded away at the columns with his hammer, but instead of getting tired, he became stronger as he went. He kept hammering. The gates finally shook loose and broke open and a white liquid poured out into the dry riverbed. He had noticed houses along the banks when he had walked down before, so he called to the people to come out of their houses. When they did, many of them dove into the river of the white substance, and when those who dove in came out, they were burning. That was the end of the dream.

God is calling us to prayer, which we’ve known. But he’s also done so much that he’s given us a lot to be thankful for, so prayer seems to swing between praise and petition. There is a divine tension in prayer. Particularly in prayer that makes things happen. God is so good, and he has shown us so much, and he’s responded to so much of our prayer. He’s healing people on a regular basis, encountering our young people in an amazing way, pouring out strategy on our young people to reach different people groups and nations. He’s doing really odd, fun stuff miraculously. I have seen so many broken, hurting people healed and delivered and set free. But he’s calling us to pray.

Our prayer is no longer coming from a position of “God, I don’t have anything! And I need you!” Instead, our cry is “God, you’ve done so much! You’re so good! And we’re so desperate for more!” We see the amazing things that God has done and all the people he’s healed. But we pray for breakthrough in the area of healing. We see a lot of cancer patients healed. But it’s not okay with me that people in my city die of cancer. God, you’re so good. God we’re so desperate for more. I hold in front of me testimonies of life. And I cry out that God bring more life. My prayer comes from a place of knowing who God is and that he wants to do the things I’m praying for (God, you’re so good). Yet, if I remain satisfied with the things God has already done and stop crying out for more, then I am limiting myself and future generations to the breakthrough that generations of past prayer have brought to me.

Conversely, if I focus my prayer life and my vision upon the things God has not yet done, then I become limited in prayer to trying to convince God to do something, when he doesn’t need persuading at all. God wants us to have greater breakthrough in healing. How do I know that? Jesus said to pray “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” Greater breakthrough in healing is a manifestation of his kingdom, and is therefore his will, which means that he wants to do it and is waiting for us to pray in order to see it happen. He’s good. So we don’t need to persuade God that healing people is a good idea. If much of our prayer life consists of “God, please!” then we’re wasting our breath. My focus must be on what God has already done and who he is as I cry out for more. I ask God for breakthrough because I know he wants to do it because I’ve seen him break through in so many ways and in so many people already. The testimonies of things God has already done are fuel for this kind of prayer. Revelation 19:11 says, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Testimonies show what God wants to do again and in greater measure.

There is a divine tension in prayer that says, “God, you’re so good!” and “God, I’m so desperate for more!” and God is making it evident that if we want to see his glory cover the earth, there must be a generation that takes responsibility in prayer. The past generations have carried us for a long time. We must take up that hammer and begin pounding away at the heavens so future generations are able to step into the middle of something greater than we ever thought we’d see in our lifetimes. We must begin to cry out for more from the position of knowing who God is.

God is so good to give such amazing direction to prayer! Here, we extend the invitation to join us in our cry; “God, you’re so good! God, I’m so desperate for more!”