"But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house." (Matthew 12:29-29)
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)
"For 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." (Ephesians 6:12)
"Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured." (Colossians 4:12)
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
" ... in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." (Ephesians 2:2)
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32)
Jesus' life, his passion, his preaching, his healings and exorcisms were all about the "kingdom" or rule of God represented in his own person and work with the goal to open our eyes to the wonder of God's love and grace, to set the captives free, and to iniate a process of transformation that would enable us to follow in Jesus' footsteps and partner with God - to work towards an ever increasing awareness of God's goodness and an extension of his healing power in peoples' lives.
Many have recognized this central paradigm in Jesus' mission and are seeking for ways to communicate it clearly and to live it out incarnationally where the need is the greatest. I'm excited to see how much attention "missional living" is getting these days.
What surprises me though is the fact that the aspect of spiritual conflict and the role of intercession and prayer isn't nearly as much emphasized or talked about. I'm not sure whether that is part of the damage that has been done through "flaky charismatics" and a lot of teaching and "prophecy" that went way beyond biblical revelation and instruction, or whether the fear of a world-view with too much of a dualistic outlook (as if God and Satan were almost equal forces pitted against each other) might be behind that reluctance.
Of course, it's also difficult for us to understand all the dynamics of God and His influence on our choices, and why He leaves so much up to prayer in a rather precarious situation of people blinded by the enemy and His own children being constantly tempted to rebel against Him all over again!
But whether we can fully understand it or not, the teaching of Jesus and of the apostles is clear enough. We're not simply engaging directly with people's minds and hearts. As representatives of God's kingdom we're up against another kingdom that keeps people from seeing and responding to God's invitation to live under His rule. And we're prime targets for an invisible enemy who is fighting with every ounce of strength and every trick available to him to keep us from walking in freedom and love and from spreading the kingdom message.
In all of this, prayer plays a pivotal role. God responds when we ask. Jesus' own ministry was bathed in prayer. Paul and Epaphras constantly engaged in prayer for the church and for those who would hear the message in their efforts to spread the gospel. The description of prayer as "wrestling" shows the intensity and agony involved in this conflict. Prayer in this context is actually hard work. It is not a chore but a labor of love.
How much of this do we really believe to be true? How is that reflected in our personal prayer life and the emphasis and frequency of prayer in the church? Who are you interceding for today?
