Better than Debates and Popcorn

I don’t particularly care to watch presidential debates. I squirm. I fret. I feel uncomfortable and often annoyed. For me, there’s no sitting down with a bowl of popcorn and enjoying the show. In fact, my tendency is to feel despair about the condition of our nation and some of the people who represent it with their political ideologies.

That’s why I felt called to do what I know best and represents the most hope for the future. I journeyed to Washington, D.C. in early October with one mission in mind—to pray and ask God for His grace and mercy on our nation. I joined 300 people from all 50 states to spend four days walking and praying around our nation’s Capitol. We didn’t come to pray for a particular candidate’s success. We simply prayed for God to grace us with an interruption of heaven, an outpouring of His Spirit, and a fresh spiritual awakening for our nation.

 

My time there was both physically exhausting and spiritually rejuvenating. We walked miles to pray at various sites. At times we prayed in groups; other times I walked and prayed alone. As the Lord led us, we prayed with faith.

On one day all 300 of us were dispersed throughout the Senate and House of Representative offices to pray with our government leaders’ staffs. We made appointments ahead of time to let the staffs know we were coming—and in every instance we were graciously received. Although the Congress members themselves were on recess, we were blessed to pray with the people who work behind the scenes. One particularly liberal Senator’s staff was somewhat suspicious when we arrived, but by the time we finished praying for them and blessing them—it was clear that their hearts had been warmed. In fact, the chief counsel of this staff contacted us a week later with another prayer request!

In addition, we spent time worshiping at "David's Tent," which is a large tent that has been pitched on the Ellipse - technically the White House property. This tent will be there for the 40 days prior to the elections with 24/7 worship. There is a stage set up at one end with speakers that broadcast live worship music as far as the Washington Monument. This means that for 40 days, night and day, there is continuous worship being offered to God - and I suspect you might even be able to hear it on the White House lawn. I am amazed that they could get a permit for this - another indicator that God is pouring out His favor to those who are willing to sacrificially pray!

Some people might believe that God has given up on this nation, but I don't believe that's true. I believe He is calling more and more of His people to pray with hope and humility because He wants to pour out another great revival and spiritual awakening in our nation. The week in D.C. strengthened that belief in my heart.

Dave Butts, chairman of the National Prayer Committee, shared a passage of Scripture that has stayed with me and continues to give hope—even when I’m watching presidential debates! In Jeremiah 14-15, God told Jeremiah to not bother to pray for the nation of Judah, as He was determined to carry out His judgment because of their rebellion and sin. In fact, God said that even if Moses and Samuel prayed for mercy, God would not listen. It was time for judgment to be carried out—with the hope of repentance and restoration to come later.

But God has not told His people today to stop praying for this nation. He called exactly 300 of us to come to D.C. to pray like Gideon’s army. He’s calling more and more people every day to fast and pray – especially in these last days leading up to the elections. Whatever the outcome, God’s heart is to answer the cries of His people with perhaps the greatest move of revival we’ve ever known as a nation. I believe that.

I agree with Dave’s assessment of our nation at this moment in history: "We are in the midst of the most massive movement of prayer ever in the U.S. It's happening now - and it's accelerating."

This is going to be way better than watching a debate with a bowl of popcorn.

 

Contending: Lost Battle?

There are certain situations when I feel a deep burden on my heart to pray with greater faith and hope for God to intervene in a miraculous way. I find my prayers rising to a new level—fasting, praying fervently both early morning and late night, crying out to God with a boldness that sometimes surprises me. I would term it as “contending in prayer,” which has a connotation of wrestling, battling, and struggling for victory in a dire situation.

That’s how I found myself praying for my friend Deb who struggled with life-draining cancer. I joined others in prayer for years on Wednesday evenings in our church prayer gatherings and during late Friday night prayer watches with a few friends. Our church staff prayed faithfully, Deb’s small group prayed, we held 24-hour prayer vigils for her, we gathered in her home with elders and the prayer team. I also prayed fervently in my own home. There was no lack of loving and heart-felt prayer for Deb’s healing over many, many months.

Yet, she died. This was a hard one. It felt like defeat. Why would God burden me (and others) to pray so fervently for healing, only to feel like the battle was lost.

I know all of the obvious answers that are absolute biblical truth. God is sovereign. Yes, I know. God’s plans are always good. Check. I couldn’t agree more. Deb has now received her ultimate healing in heaven. Yes, I fully get that. God never makes a mistake. I believe that with all my heart.

But somehow all these truths were not the comfort I hoped they would be. In the moment of learning of Deb’s death, I found myself struggling with the reality of seemingly unanswered prayer. I wondered if I somehow missed the key to unlock God’s healing touch. Did I pray wrong? Was I not hearing the Lord in praying so fervently for healing? Should I have fasted more or prayed later into the night? I had a lot of questions that rattled my confidence in the hope of prayer.

The Mystery of God’s Providence 
It wasn’t until Deb’s amazing funeral service that I understood how God applies all of our intercession, however He leads us to pray, for His glory. Before her death, Deb had planned and orchestrated every detail of her service so that there would be no doubt about her faith in Christ.

Hundreds overflowed the worship center and into the lobby to both mourn and celebrate Deb’s life. It was clear that many were not followers of Christ, and Deb had prepared well for them.

Pastor Bob Bakke’s message on God’s providence summed it up for me. My questions were answered when Dr. Bakke declared that every relationship of Deb’s had been orchestrated for that moment in time. Every neighbor in every area of the Twin Cities where they lived over the years, every hockey parent who ever shared a bleacher with Deb, every person she and her husband Joe met in their workplaces, every childhood friend, every family member—God had orchestrated this moment in their lives for Deb to speak to them through the power of the gospel. I have never heard a more clear declaration of the power of Jesus Christ to save and redeem. And Deb’s very words echoed through the crowd: “What are you waiting for?” There was no question about God’s purposes at that moment.

The response was profound. I witnessed firsthand the power of Jesus’ words in John 12:24: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.” God was giving Deb the glorious opportunity to share her heart with multitudes of people who were graced by her life. In that moment, I understood. And I knew that Deb, who was now with her Savior, fully agreed with God’s purposes in her death.

God’s providence framed perfectly the reason why I was so burdened to pray for healing even up to Deb’s last breath. When we contend in prayer and are fully obedient to all the intercession that God has placed on our hearts—there is no lost battle. Every prayer counts—and God applies them all to His perfect will. If He burdens you to pray for the miraculous, pray without fear of the outcome. Pray with abandonment. He is working out miraculous things you may not see or understand at the time.

Simply pray on, friends, with boldness and confidence in the mysterious and glorious providence of God.

From Under the Stage

Crawling on your hands and knees on a concrete floor for the length of a concert stage is admittedly a challenge—at least I think so at my age! But four times in the past year God has called me to pray from this unusual and strategic position as the gospel has been preached to thousands of university students.

I’ve been under the stage with my friends Steph and Nancy, as well as my nephew Brad, at outreach events on various university campuses. We’ve all been with our faces to the floor in pleading prayer while the bands above shook the stage—and while the gospel of Jesus Christ was shaking hearts.

My longing has been for God to stir in revival and spiritual awakening on campuses—and not only on campuses, but in churches, cities, and our nation. So crawling under a stage to pray seems like a small sacrifice when so much is at stake. We desperately need a Christ-awakening, and many people have gone before me with worn-out knees and that same prayer for God to move.

Stirrings of Awakening

And now, a year later, I can see that God is hearing those cries and He is moving! On the National Day of Prayer (NDOP) last year, Steph and I crawled under the stage at the Mariucci hockey arena at the University of Minnesota campus to pray while Bob Bakke and Nick Hall led a few thousand students and adults in prayer for this great awakening. (I guess we can be thankful for concrete instead of ice!)

Since that time, I can tell you that thousands of university students have given their lives to Jesus Christ. Nick did not know a year ago that he was to be launched on a nationwide tour that allowed him to preach the gospel message to hundreds of thousands of people in more than 50 cities. He saw the stirring of revival as more than 150,000 people stood up and surrendered their lives to Christ!

And since that time, God moved in the hearts of many prayer leaders across this nation to launch OneCry, a unified call to prayer for spiritual awakening in the U.S. Bob Bakke did not know last year that God would lead him to host and produce a radio broadcast on perhaps a thousand radio stations on the National Day of Prayer on May 3 of this year. He will be calling our nation to urgent and fervent prayer exactly a year after our NDOP gathering.

And as an added bonus, my nephew Brad did not know at the time he was praying with me under a couple of stages that God would launch him as a student ministries pastor. His heart for prayer will no doubt have an impact on the students in his church and beyond.

Under Your Own Stage

Crawling under a stage to pray has a component of “hiddenness” in intercession. No one but God knows that you are under there, and no one but the Lord can hear your prayers over the sound of the band, students cheering, and the preaching of God’s truths. But I believe His ears are attuned to those who earnestly seek Him with sincere hearts and not a lot of fanfare. I agree with the Psalmist (116:2): “Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” If that means crawling under a stage, I’m there! If it means on my face in the quiet of the night, I trust He is bending down and listening to my cries.

What stage has God called you to crawl under to pray—for the sake of His fame and glory? Is He calling you to slip out of bed, go to your knees, and pray for the salvation of a loved one? Does He want to you to pray fervently in the early morning on behalf of your pastors and the leadership of your church?

Praying together in corporate prayer and larger groups is absolutely essential. But don’t forget the powerful times of prayer that come from behind closed doors or under stages. Consider how the Lord might be calling you to seek Him in the hidden places. The Lord is waiting to bend down to listen to you—and move heaven and earth in answer to your prayers.