God’s Promises – Pursuing Prayer

One of the questions I often face as a Christian involves why God allows people to suffer– especially “good” people. Why is it that God allows His followers to go through suffering, oppression, and persecution? If He loves us; if He is powerful enough to stop injustice and suffering, why DOESN’T He put an end to it? Why does He allow it to happen? To continue?

I’m not here to provide a definitive answer today. But I will give three possible reasons, and some practical suggestions when praying for those who face persecution.

Jesus said that His followers would face trials and persecution– not because He was powerless to stop it, but because it is part of God’s ultimate plan. In John 16, Jesus is talking to His disciples just before His betrayal. He speaks of betrayal, persecution, and suffering to come– for THEM, as well as Him. And He repeats the phrase, “I have told you these things…” each time with a reason. In verse 1, “..to keep you from stumbling (falling away).” In verse 4..”when the time comes, you will remember (my warnings) …” In verse 25…”I have told these things to you in figures of speech (figuratively/cautiously), but a time is coming when I will tell you plainly…” and in verse 33, “..I have told you these things that in Me you might have peace…” So, we know that even trials and struggles have a purpose in God’s plan, and that one day, we will know the reasons, even if we don’t understand now.

What are some possible reasons? Here are three:

Persecution/struggle builds strength, perseverance, and faith. It also “weeds out” the weak, faithless, and uncommitted. Churches may grow in number during times of stress and persecution, but they grow deeper and more powerful in times of persecution.
Enduring persecution baffles bystanders and confuses skeptics. It is the most powerful kind of witness to stand firm in the face of persecution. Many millions have come to Christ because of the faithful witness of the persecuted (and martyred) Church.
Persecution gives a unique opportunity to show the incredible, lavish, amazing and enduring love of God. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” Romans 12:14. Not only does persecution strengthen the believer and baffle the bystander. It also convicts the persecutor when their cruelty is met with patient endurance and even mercy.

Do these reasons make suffering “easier”? No. But we can find peace, strength, and even growth during seasons of persecution, when we shift our focus from the pain to the promise. God will never leave us. He WILL bring perfect justice and peace in His time. He will use even our worst situations to bring grace, redemption, and glory.

Now, how can we pray for those who face persecution for their faith? We need to pray for God’s will to be done. Of course, we want persecution to stop and those who are being persecuted to be safe, and for justice to prevail. But what does God want? He does not WANT evil to flourish and people to suffer. But His plans and outcomes may include a season of great suffering in order to cause a season of great harvest and ultimate glory. There is no exact “formula” for prayer in the face of suffering, but here are a few suggestions:

Pray that God will strengthen those who suffer and help them to endure. Pray that they would be encouraged by the Holy Spirit to hold on to hope, to find the “peace that passes understanding”, and to keep their eyes on Jesus, even in the harshest of circumstances. Pray that they would not fall away or compromise but remain true and faithful.
Pray that Christians will not “return evil for evil.” Christ sent His disciples “into all the world” to make disciples through teaching and witnessing and living like Him. We are NOT to repay or take vengeance on our enemies– God will repay, and He will make all things new and right.
Pray that others will take notice. Pray that justice will prevail, and that those who see what is happening will be called to consider the truth of the Gospel, and the evil of those who so cruelly oppose it.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of the persecutors. Remember, our real enemy is not flesh and blood, but powers and principalities– not the people who have hurt us, but the Sin that causes them to lash out, rebel against the Truth, and become consumed by hatred, bitterness, and envy.
Pray that WE will be faithful and not lose hope because of their suffering. Pray also that WE will be prepared to suffer when the time comes, without losing heart or giving in to fear or despair.
Pray that God will end the persecution in His timing and His mercy, bring healing and restoration, and that His glory will be revealed!
Pray that we will be reminded of the suffering that Christ endured to redeem all who will accept Him. We can be encouraged to know that we serve a Savior who is familiar with our suffering, and who will never leave us to suffer alone or unseen.

Persecution is not easy or happy. Suffering breaks our hearts. But our prayers should reflect the reality of suffering– that in a fallen world, “there will be trouble.” But we can take heart and carry on because, as Jesus promised, “I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33)

I’ve been reading in the book of Numbers this week. Numbers is not the most exciting book of the Bible. Many of the chapters are about the census, or about further rules and regulations concerning sacrificial offerings, etc.. But the chapters from 11-15 detail a series of rebellions– grumblings against Moses and efforts to return to Egypt. These rebellions happen after over two years after God had led the people out of Egypt. For two years, they have been protected, fed, sustained, and instructed by God himself. His spirit has appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night throughout their journey. They have had manna and quail to eat, water from the rock to drink, and they have seen the vast army of Egypt drowned in a matter of minutes, while they were led through the sea on dry land!

And now, they are so close to the “finish line.” They are on the very doorstep of the land of Canaan; the land God had promised to GIVE them. All that is left is for Moses to send out some scouts to bring back a report about the land– its cities and farmland, its people and its produce. Those two years must have seemed like a lifetime, but now it would be coming to an end. God would provide a homeland; a place to build houses, raise crops, rear their children, and settle into lives of peace and prosperity.

So what happened? The scouts brought back a factual report. The land had fortified cities, and lush farmland. It was already planted with plenty of fruit trees and vineyards. And there were ancient people groups with mighty warriors. Israel had just taken a census. They also had mighty warriors, and a lot of them! Moreover, they had God’s promise that the land would be GIVEN to them as their inheritance.

They were so close! Victory, rest, and prosperity were so close they should have been able to taste them. Instead, their warriors moaned and wailed like infants. The same people who had vowed to follow the Lord at Mount Sinai, now planned to walk away from His promised prize. They decided to turn around and go back to slavery in Egypt–the same Egypt that God had decimated two years earlier by sending plagues and destroying its army.

Two years of camping and living “on the road,” lost in two hours of grumbling and fear-mongering. And the punishment? Forty years of needless wandering–time to realize what had been thrown away in petty worrying and imagining the worst. Time to regret their reaction and their failure to trust God. Time for God to show them, once again, His ability to keep them safe and sound in the desert places.

And the learning curve would be a steep one. Almost immediately, a group decided that they would “prove” to God that they were ready to conquer Canaan– on their own. But it didn’t work. Then a group decided that Moses was to blame for their misfortune. But they were “swallowed up.” In the forty extra years of wandering, group after group would challenge Moses (and God) and be destroyed from within. Moses, who had already lived forty years in the wilderness tending sheep, would have to repeat the task, shepherding the entire nation of Israel for forty long and difficult years. And even he would fall victim to his own frustrations, calling water from another rock, but doing it “his” way. Even Moses would fall in the wilderness, never getting to enter the promised land.

How many times have you noticed that the closer we get to a goal, the more likely we are to fall short. We sabotage our own efforts, or we rebel against good instruction. Sometimes we just give up a few yards short of the finish. We are just over half-way through the month of February. What goals or resolutions did you make for this year? How many of them have you stuck with?

Here are three things I take away from the lessons of Numbers 11-15:

Look Beyond. Don’t take your eyes off the prize! The scouts’ report was not all bad. Yes, the cities were walled and the warriors were big and fierce. But the walls of Jericho were eventually brought down without a single battering ram, siege ramp, or arrow! Don’t ignore the trials ahead, but don’t let them blind you to the blessings beyond them!
Look ahead, not behind. Don’t waste time living in past comforts or running from past mistakes. God has something better than whatever we’re going through now. But God isn’t waiting on the other side. He is beside us, around us, WITH us right now. He is patient with us. It may take us two years (or forty-two!) to reach a goal, but if we learn to follow God, we will never be forsaken.
Look UP! God’s spirit didn’t appear on the ground around the Israelite camp. He appeared as a pillar. God called Moses UP on Mount Sinai. We need to stop looking back at our past, or around, comparing ourselves to others, and look at God’s promises. In relation to our goals and dreams, we need to LIFT them up in prayer! Daily!

We are so close! Let’s keep going in the right direction towards God’s promises.

Tag: God’s Promises

Praying For the Persecuted

So Close…

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