Deeper Warfare

Deeper Warfare

Read: Mark 11:22-25

“When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Mark 11:25

“If there is the tiniest grudge in your mind against anyone, your spiriitual penetration into the knowledge of God stops.”

—Oswald Chambers

IN WORD There is a direct link between the forgiveness in our hearts and the efficacy of our prayers. Those who are reluctant to forgive others are out of sync with God’s character. Those who know the depths of God’s forgiveness for themselves apply that depth to their forgiveness of others and are at one with the Father’s purposes. They therefore pray consistently with godly character and are aware of God’s purposes in the world. Their prayers avail much.

It is on this point that we often misstep. When we run into difficult people, we focus on resolving our relationships with them. We may believe that Satan’s warfare against us is also focused on these relationships. If he can disrupt them, he wins battles; if we can maintain them, we think we win. But there is a deeper battle going on. The enemy uses contentious relationships as a tool toward a more profound warfare. If he can sow seeds of bitterness and resentment in our hearts, he hinders our prayers. And he is far more interested in hindering prayers than simply seeing people argue.

IN DEED When we try to resolve broken relationships, we cannot afford to focus on the externals, seeking to preserve civility and keep the peace. There is a much more intense and high-stakes war going on in our hearts. We must not only preserve peace with our friends and enemies alike, we must also preserve peace in our hearts. A restored relationship is fine with the evil one if we lose a worshipful, joyful, prayerful, forgiving attitude in the process.

This is one reason God often puts His people in difficult and even oppressive circumstances. When we have learned to remain worshipful in an oppressive situation, we have won the battle, regardless of the outward resolution. This is the “standing firm” referred to in Ephesians 6:13. And our prayers can remain unhindered.