Vitriol and divisiveness permeate our country today. Even the church is falling prey to its divisiveness. It is alluring to jump in the ring and enter the dispute on social media, but Paul made the case quite clear, “Do everything without grumbling or disputing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:14, 15 emphasis added). If we are going to stand out in the world, then like the luminaries in the sky, we are to appear different than the twisted-dark world around us.
I was deeply moved some years back by the character of Miss Clara, in the movie War Room, an elderly-passionate intercessor. Through her role, we see the effect that someone can have on the world around them when they retreat into their prayer closet (Miss Clara’s “war room”) and fervently pray. It would do the church well today if all of us were exhorted to pray with the same kind of fervency and expectation.
In a military context, a war room is where strategy is planned and current battle situations are monitored. In the movie, Miss Clara applied the same principles to her spiritual life. She constantly monitored the spiritual battlefield around her, prayed accordingly, and then watched to see what God would do in response to her prayers.
Paul reminds us that something deeper is going on today, and what believers need to do when the war is raging, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms . . . and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:12, 18). From Paul’s perspective, it is through prayer that we engage the spiritual forces of darkness, thus enabling us to monitor what is going on in the battle for our country and better prepare to participate in God’s strategy.
Spiritual warfare has been intense in the Lord’s Church since the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020. The enemy is no longer working behind the scenes but has pulled back the curtain and is operating deliberately in plain sight. We could go on and on about his activities in our country today, but the enemy would love for us to obsess on his activities. As C. S. Lewis wisely espoused in his book The Screw Tape Letters: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight.”13
Without prayer, which is a key weapon in our war chest, we are like a soldier going to battle without a weapon. Prayer is a mighty instrument that God has given us to tap into His power (Ephesians 3:14–21). Mary, Queen of Scots was well aware of the power that was released when a faithful man of God prayed: “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.”1 John Knox is considered to be the greatest Reformer in the history of Scotland.
“Perhaps more than anything else, John Knox is known for his prayer ‘Give me Scotland, or I die.’ Knox’s prayer was not an arrogant demand, but the passionate plea of a man willing to die for the sake of the pure preaching of the Gospel and the salvation of his countrymen. Knox’s greatness lay in his humble dependence on our sovereign God to save His people, revive a nation, and reform His Church.”15
Knox, like many other notable church reformers and movement leaders, had a passion for God and His ability to bring reformation and change to a nation. A. T. Pierson, leader of the modern missions movement, declared, “From the Day of Pentecost, there has not been one great spiritual awakening in any land which has not begun in a union of prayer, though only among two or three; no such outward, upward movement has continued after such prayer meetings have declined.”16
In the human soul there is resistance to this powerful weapon. Let’s be honest. We pastors and leaders and those in God’s Church would prefer to do almost anything than attend a prayer gathering. Our flesh loathes the thought of prayer. We have all attended prayer gatherings that have dwindled in size. Enthusiasm is stirred initially, but after a time there are only the faithful few left standing. Why?
General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army movement, gave answer to this question: “You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God . . . This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame.”17 These three—the devil, the world, and the flesh—war against us believers getting into our “war room” or gathering with other saints to participate in the most powerful activity in this world. And yet when we evaluate it on the surface, it seems so inconsequential. However, our Lord says, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). That reward comes now, in this life. A life of prayerlessness yields nothing.
Jesus’ half-brother James (“camel’s knees” as he was referred to in his day because of his life of prayer on his knees) states, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16 nkjv). What kind of praying? Fervent praying. The word fervent that James uses here literally means “boiling, hot, glowing.” Figuratively it means “violent, impetuous, furious, or impassioned.” James is talking about passionate praying.
In the movie War Room, Miss Clara embodies this passion when she prays, a kind of prayer that is missing in most churches today. James also uses the word “effectual.” He is saying the passionate praying of a righteous person is successful in producing a desired or intended result. Miss Clara’s passionate prayers produced the desired results.
This impassioned prayer was exhibited by the early church in its infancy when faced with intimidation from governing authorities.
“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:29–31, niv).
Where are the Miss Claras in the church today? Where are the John Knoxes of our day? Where are the prayer gatherings that exhibit the kind of fervor of those young believers in the early church? This is what leads to revival and awakening and will turn our country right side up.