EDITOR’S NOTE: Frank S. Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, has issued a call to prayer for revival and spiritual awakening for our churches, our nation and our world during 2013. Baptist Press will carry First-Person articles during the year encouraging Southern Baptists to pray in specific areas and for specific needs as we petition the Father for spiritual awakening.
NASHVILLE (BP) — “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me day and night.” These lines from English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s epic “Idylls of the King: The Passing of Arthur” have been a stirring challenge to me since I first read them many years ago. They seem especially apropos given the chaotic darkness we see each day in the news.
As we contemplate the pervasive lack of interest of spiritual things in our nation; as we witness the atrocities being perpetrated in the name of religion in the Middle East; as we hear continuing news of floods, wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters apparently occurring with increasing frequency around the globe — perhaps our hearts are overcome and we wonder, “What difference does one person’s prayer make?”
The answer is simple — it makes a world of difference.
Yes, the world is dark. Some lament, “No one is praying. If they were, things would be rosy and revival would be breaking out all over.” Perhaps the better perspective should be, “Many must be praying, for despite the lostness and darkness of our world, there are still pockets of vibrant witness and faithful obedience to the lordship of Jesus Christ on every continent and in every circumstance.”
How dark our world would surely be if God’s people were not praying!
Tennyson’s words seem strangely reminiscent of Jeremiah’s in lamenting: “If my head were a spring of water, my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night over the slain of my dear people” (Jeremiah 9:1). I believe many heads are bowed to the Father day and night. I believe many tears flow down the cheeks of faithful prayer warriors. I believe many hearts are moved by the events of this world to intercede for individuals, for people groups, for nations and for the world.
The apostle Paul and the writer of Hebrews urged us not to grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:13; Hebrews 12:3). Despite Jesus’ complaint against the church at Ephesus for having left their first love, He nevertheless commended the church for possessing endurance, tolerating many things because of His name, and resisting the temptation to grow weary in well-doing (Revelation 2:3).
When the priests led the way into the flooded Jordan River under Joshua’s leadership, the Bible records that the waters rose up in a heap upstream from where the priests stood. The priests stood under the towering wall of water, a mass of potential judgment ready to wash downstream at God’s command, but they maintained their post until the last Israelite had crossed the Jordan on dry ground (Joshua 3:14-17).
This is exactly where God’s faithful prayer warriors find themselves in this present age. The wrath of God’s judgment is rising like a flood just upstream (Romans 2:4-10). Were it not for the restraining hand of the Holy Spirit, imminent judgment would fall across the face of the earth.
But, in this prayer closet, in that prayer group, in this praying church, in that intercessory gathering, God’s righteous remnant continues to kneel before the throne of grace, pouring out their souls to the Lord in intercessory prayer. And despite the rampant evil present everywhere across our globe, things are happening that can only be attributed to the mighty hand of God moving in unfathomable ways to make a difference in people’s lives for time and eternity.
Tennyson got it right — “more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” Let us then commit ourselves to raise our voices day and night in intercessory prayer for our families, our communities, our churches, our nation and the peoples of the world.
