Praying Like Jesus, Part IV: Praying in Hard Times

“Praying Like Jesus, Part IV: Praying in Hard Times”

by Pastor Kent Munsey

August 23, 2020

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. . . . .

Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

• Luke 22:39-43; 22:52-53 (NIV)

There is power in prayer. How is it that Jesus can be in a place of prayer, but not change the external circumstances around him that allows darkness to have a moment? Remember, while weeping endures for a night, joy comes in the morning.

Scripture teaches us that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. While it may seem that darkness is reigning during this pandemic, our social inequalities, disorder, and economic depression; scripture tells us that when the enemy comes in like a flood, God raises a standard of righteousness. While it may seem like darkness was reigning when Jesus went to the cross, victory was just around the corner. God is faithful to meet us in the place of prayer--to meet us and strengthen us.

Altars were places where sacrifices were made, where people could atone for their sins and talk to God in prayer. They were sacred places. In the Old Testament, Saul had reigned as king and was instructed to visit the Ark of the Covenant. The Bible says that he was transformed and had a supernatural experience in the presence of God. But, during his entire reign, he never sought to bring the Ark of the Covenant back home to his people. The very first thing David did as king was to go after and bring the presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant home. However, because Uzzah reached out to steady the ark and died, David left the ark in the house of Obed-Edom and everything he had was blessed (1 Chronicle 13:8-14). The place where the ark slipped on the threshing floor is a significant place because it’s where the wheat is separated from the chaff. 

There are some important lessons for us in this:

1. Separation. A threshing floor has two primary purposes: the first one is to separate the wheat from the chaff. On a threshing floor, we see God at work. He is separating the harvest, the wheat from the chaff--that which is useful and that which is not. All kinds of individuals for over 40 years have touched and interacted with the Ark of the Covenant. But on the threshing floor here we see God separating something very significant. On the threshing floor, we see God doing work in us right before we can experience the full harvest that God has for our lives. Could it be that in this global pandemic, God is bringing us to a type of threshing floor where we are being tested? In this time we can see that God is at work and he is calling us to a place of prayer. He is sanctifying us, purifying us, and we are on the verge of the greatest breakthrough, blessing, and revival that we have ever seen. Right now the question is: What is God trying to separate us from? If we begin to seek God and press into prayer, then we will be able to separate ourselves from the sin that so easily entangles us, from relationships that are not fruitful but toxic. 

One of the ways to separate the wheat from the chaff is to throw it up in the air and let the wind separate it. On the threshing floor, we would see a swirling, aggressive wind that would separate--it’s the elements. Right now COVID-19 is separating us physically. There are also spiritual winds that separate things from our life and we need to allow the Holy Spirit of God to separate us from sin and the agents that are trying to separate us from the harvest and the blessing that God wants to give us. 

The other way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to physically beat or trample it. It is physically intense and aggressive. Right now we are going to have to do the hard work in this season if we are ever going to see the victory. Allow God to separate us from wrong attitudes, mindsets, and all kinds of evil that are working within us. 

2. Strengthening. There is a strengthening when separating that which is useful and that which is not. There is strength in allowing the power and the presence of God to have its way in our life. When Satan stood against David, David built an altar on a threshing floor and made an offering to the Lord which was the greatest offering he had ever given. God answered with fire and consumed the offering and consumed the threshing floor. On those ashes, there was a foundation laid for another generation to seek the power and the presence of God. 

Everything we are going through right now has a spiritual component. We have to continue to seek God and receive strength. In Acts 27, the angel of the Lord strengthened Paul when he went through the trials of the storm on his journey to Rome. We must now allow anything to separate us from the love and supernatural power of Jesus. God needs to take some things out of our lives because he has greater things in store for us. Sometimes the environment will do it, and sometimes we have to do the work ourselves. 

God may be trying to separate us from something. We must remember the source of our strength. There is supernatural strength for us today. Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning. This is not the time for us to allow sin to separate us; the Lord is at work, the victory is near, the harvest is near. Let’s stay faithful, let’s stay in God’s process. Like Obadiam let’s go with the presence of God. We must put aside our bitterness and pain and keep our eyes on the promise of the coming harvest. God is protecting us and will give us beauty for ashes if we can just hold on. Taste and see that the Lord is good even in hard times.

Discussion/Reflection Questions: 

1. What has made this season difficult for you?

2. What can you do to hold on to God’s promises and believe that a better purpose-filled life is just around the corner, bringing relief from the hard times and making them worthwhile?

3. How are dying to self for God and resurrection power related?

4. List all the ways that God has filled you with hope in this pandemic.