Friday, December 7, 2018
“So He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one’” (Luke 11:1–4). The Lords’ Prayer cannot be improved upon, though many fruitlessly try. And especially in today’s end-times, even church leadership looks elsewhere for guided prayer, which often comes from within their own ranks.
To demonstrate this end-time truth, several years ago an evangelical minister, Mark Batterson, wrote a book on prayer called “The Circle Maker” which took the Church by storm. The book was an instant best-seller, and Batterson received praise and evangelical acclaim akin to a rock star. But entirely contrary to biblical Christian reasoning, the prayer Christ taught didn’t even make honorable mention in his book! Instead, Batterson’s hero is an unbiblical first century BC Jewish sage named Honi who customarily drew a circle in the sand, then stood in that circle until God allegedly answered his prayer. Of course, nothing in God’s Word even suggests such an approach to prayer, nor to the making of big “audacious” prayers as Batterson instructs.
In what is today biblically certifiable proof of the end of this age with the transhuman days of Noah (Matt. 24:37), the transgender days of Lot (Luke 17:28), and those who destroy the earth (Rev. 11:18) – all humanity but especially Christians are now targeted for destruction by Satan’s agents and spirit of Antichrist. Mankind is being systematically destroyed in numerous ways, of which the worst is yet to come via wars, disease, pestilence, drought, famine and fire from God above, which is all biblically foretold. Therefore, now is the time for effectual fervent prayer.
Many authors have learned that they can write a best-seller book by ignoring the testimony of Christ and replacing it with ear-tickling story lines and doctrines that turn people’s “ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Tim. 4:3–4). It’s very common for best-seller Christian books to exclude the testimony of Jesus Christ and replace it with humanistic ideas pleasing to the flesh. But only the spiritually foolish pursue and laud books that diminish the testimony of Jesus. God help the Church, for it is now being sifted for purity and holiness.
Effective prayer is vital to the Christian’s life, and should be modeled after the testimony of Jesus. In fact, if we love God who has given us conversion new birth faith by His Spirit, is it not only natural to exalt in the prayer modeled by His Son Jesus Christ? Of course! But Jesus and His testimony wasn’t popular in His day, nor is He or it today. But for we who would endure to the end to see our Lord and Savior face to face, the testimony of Jesus is utterly vital, but only a few will enter that unpopular narrow gate and difficult path as Jesus foretold, (Matt. 7:13–14).
Maybe you’ve not had this thought before, but Jesus’ model prayer includes an imprecatory portion, meaning decreed judgement. The Scriptures, and especially the Psalms, contain many imprecatory prayers as exampled by (Psa. 5:10; 69:22–28; 139:19–22), just three of many, and Jesus’ model prayer is likewise a vision-casting prayer of judgment of what will occur. And the saints who would endure to the end must be dressed in the love, righteousness and power of the Holy Spirit, walking in Christ’s example of prayer and knowledge of that which is to come.
What is to come? When Jesus taught us the model prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, He was vision-casting the end-time, an imprecatory matter. So should we. And for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, it requires the literal physical and spiritual destruction of every earthly nation, government and kingdom of mankind! See Dan. 2:34–35, 44–45 and Rev. 11:15–18. But the precursor to that overthrow is seven years of difficult tribulation for which most Christians are not prepared.
In days to come, one thing is certain: Christians will neither desire, nor even consider Mark Batterson’s exalted Honi the circle maker when the crush of the end-times is upon them. Many today who profess faith in Christ will wait until disastrous end-time events are upon them before actually turning to God’s Word to find out what went wrong with their prayer life and idolatry of false doctrines and traditions, if offense doesn’t first carry them away. Nor will people seek out William P. Young’s book, “The Shack”, though being an abomination was, again, a best-seller taking the Church by storm as Young portrayed God and the Holy Spirit in the female gender, and Christ the Son as being unnecessary for salvation! God forbid!
Of urgency, Christians must fervently pray for God’s knowledge and truth. An 11/29/2018 Breaking Israel News headline says “Sanhedrin Invites 70 Nations to Hanukkah Dedication of Altar for the Third Temple”. Orthodox Jews believe their messiah [the Antichrist] is about to be revealed and will allow the building of their third Temple. And they’re right! But Orthodox Jews hate Jesus Christ and thus have no spiritual connection to salvation. But the spirit(s) within them agrees with the spirit of Antichrist knowing that his time has come, and thus they’ll receive their false messiah, the one who “shall confirm a covenant with many” (Dan. 9:27) for seven years.
I urge every Christian to fervently pray in holiness and reverent fear of Jesus Christ who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), to desire being equipped in His testimony and not the pre-trib rapture traditions of men. Time is truly short! As nation’s rage, we are now close to the destruction and chaos of the seven-year tribulation and God the Father wants you to believe the testimony of Jesus Christ that you might be prepared. So let’s cry out, “Lord, teach us to pray”!
God said Christ “must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything” (Acts 3:21 NIV) which occurs “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31); for only then “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16); at “the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4–6); “at the last day” (John 6:40, 44, 54); “at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:51–52); when “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!” (Rev. 11:15). Please pray!
We hallow God’s name by believing what He said applies to us, not making His end-time truths applicable to others. And when we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, we make our vision-casting imprecatory prayer as Jesus taught. Therefore “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! [Even within our own hearts!] Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand” (Joel 2:1).
Marlin J. Yoder
