By Pastor Greg
During Napoleon's invasion of
Russia, his troops were battling in the middle of a small town when he was
accidentally separated from his men. A group of Russian soldiers spotted him
and began chasing him through the streets. Napoleon ran for his life and ducked
into a little furrier's shop on a side alley. As he entered the shop, he saw
the furrier and cried, "Save me, save me! Where can I hide?" So the
furrier hid Napoleon under a big pile of furs in the corner. When the Russian soldiers burst in the door looking
for Napoleon, they searched everywhere, even poking the pile of furs with their
swords, but could not find him. Eventually
they left.
Napoleon crept out from under the
furs, unharmed, just as his personal guards came in the door. The furrier asked
Napoleon, "What was it like to be under those furs, knowing that the next
moment might be your last?" Insulted, Napoleon bellowed, "How could
you ask me such a question? Guards, take this man out, blindfold him and execute
him."
The guards grabbed the furrier,
dragged him outside, stood him against a wall and blindfolded him. The furrier
could see nothing, but he could hear the guards shuffle into line and prepare
their rifles. Then he heard Napoleon clear his throat and call out,
"Ready! Aim!" In that moment, a feeling he could not describe welled
up within him; tears poured down his cheeks. But the blindfold was stripped
from his eyes and Napoleon said, "Now you know."
Until we experience something for
ourselves, we will not know what it is like to go through a trial. However, we can learn a lot from their stories,
and especially their prayers. Those who
endure great persecution teach us a valuable lesson on how to pray when facing
a storm of our own.
This is one of the difficult
realities of life. We all will face
trials and problems. Everyone will face
something scary. Yet, that is when we
need to learn how to pray. Praying as
the Lord has taught us (deliver us from evil), teaches us to ask the Father for
what we need in those moments when evil shouts “Ready, Aim . . .” The best example of this kind of prayer can
be found in Acts chapter 4.
Peter and John were arrested by
the Religious Authorities because they healed a lame beggar and preached that
through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead (Acts 4:2). Threatened by the religious council to stop
speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus, Peter and John return to their fellow
believers. This council of Religious
Authorities is the same group of men who conspired to have Jesus
crucified. They had that kind of power
in Jerusalem. If Peter, John, and the
rest of the church continued to talk about Jesus, they could face severe
punishment, even death (which did happen, by the way. Peter and John will eventually be
flogged. Steven will be stoned to death). This is what these first Christians were
facing. The local government threatened
them and demanded that they stop talking about Jesus.
In a way, I can almost
identify with what they were facing. Not
quite, but almost. You see, more
and more people wish that the Church would just go away. There are an increasing number of people in
our land that feel life would be better without Christians and their teachings
about morality and sin. An increasing
number of people simply don’t want to hear about the Lord. Even our own Government seems to hold a bias
against the Church. It has increasingly
restricted certain Christian liberties.
Oh, they don’t care too much that we talk about Jesus in our buildings,
but even the Supreme Court prefers that we stop practicing our religion.[1] How then should we respond? As Christians face an uncertain future here
in America, how should we pray? This is
where we can learn a lesson from the Early Church. Listen to how they prayed.
23 As soon as they were
freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the
leading priests and elders had said. 24 When they heard the
report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O
Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—25 you
spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant,
saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry?
Why did they waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth
prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against
his Messiah.’ 27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very
city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the
people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you
anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand
according to your will. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats,
and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch
out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done
through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this
prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
Then they preached the word of God with boldness [2]
(Acts 4:23-31).
Boldness. They prayed for boldness. They asked the Lord to work through them so that
even though Evil had raised its ugly hand against them, the world might be able
to see and hear, then testify that the message of Jesus is indeed true. The Church didn’t ask God to remove those
wicked people in office. They didn’t
whine about how the administration was opposing them. They didn’t complain that their civil rights
had been restricted. They prayed for
boldness. And God heard their
prayer. God answered their prayer. Ordinary people like you and me were given
special gifts by the Holy Spirit so that they might remain steadfast and immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that their toil in the Lord’s name
is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
I think it would be appropriate
for us to say the same prayer. The
persecutions have not started, yet. But
it seems that our land just doesn’t want to hear the Truth. Paul warned Timothy about this. He said, 3 “For a time is
coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They
will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them
whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject
the truth and chase after myths.”
However, Paul instructed this young Pastor to; 5 “keep a clear
mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at
telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given
you” [3]
(2 Timothy 4:3-5).
At Annual Conference, I had a chance to talk with some of the Christians in Nigeria who have been facing horrendous evils from Muslim Extremists. They talked of terrorism, kidnappings, torture, and murder while their government seems to do nothing. I simply do not know what it must be like to face persecution. The Church in America might be inconvenienced, but it is certainly not persecuted. Even so, I felt I could learn something from these bold Christians.
How should the Church respond to
the storm of anger, worry, and fear within us?
Don’t be mean. Don’t
criticize. Don’t throw rocks. Instead, Pray. Pray for boldness. Pray that the Lord might work through us in
ways that convince the world that the Gospel Message is indeed true.
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