A Wartime Walkie Talkie
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and on this 9/11, life is war.
So says Dr. Piper, and I think we’d all agree with him based on the battle that we have had this year with coronavirus, and of course looking back at the events of 9/11 and that awful attack. As believers, we know that our true enemy – it’s not Al-Qaeda, like it was back at 9/11; it’s not even a virus, but it’s our life-long adversary, Satan. Well, in his book “Let the Nations Be Glad!” Piper says some fascinating things about our major weapon in fighting this, this war against our adversary the devil – a weapon that we often misuse or do not use at all. As you know from Ephesians chapter 6, that weapon is prayer. It is our primary firepower against the devil. But let me read directly from John Piper’s book, because I’m not so sure we act like life is a battlefield. But maybe today on 9/11 we’re reminded of it, right? And I’m not so certain we see prayer as our primary weapon in a spiritual war. Piper says this; he says:
“Probably the number one reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is that we try to turn a wartime walkie talkie into a domestic intercom. Until you know that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for. Prayer is for the accomplishment of a wartime mission…[Our] field commander (Jesus) called in the troops, gave them a crucial mission (go and bear fruit); [he] handed each of them a personal transmitter coded to the frequency of the General’s headquarters, and [he] said, ‘Comrades, the general has a mission for you. He aims to see it accomplished. And to that end he has authorized me to give each of you personal access to him through these transmitters. If you stay true to his mission and seek his victory first, he will always be as close as your transmitter, to give tactical advice and to send air cover when you need it.’
“But what have millions of Christians done? We have stopped believing that we are in a war. [There’s] no urgency, no watching, no vigilance. No strategic planning. Just easy peace and prosperity. And what did we do with the walkie talkie? We [have] tried to rig it up as an intercom in our houses and cabins and [our] boats and [our] cars – not to call in firepower for conflict with a mortal enemy, but to ask for more comforts [and cushions] in the den.”
“In Luke chapter 21, Jesus warned…that times of great distress and opposition were coming. [And] then he said, [Be watchful] at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things… and to stand before the Son of man.’ In other words, if we follow Jesus it will lead us into severe conflict with evil. It will mean war. Evil will surround us and attack us…” – just like it did on 9/11 – “But God has given us a transmitter. If we go to sleep it will do us no good. But if we are alert, as Jesus says, and call for help in the conflict, the help will come and the Commander will not let his faithful soldiers be denied their crown of victory before the Son of man…we cannot know what prayer is…until we know that life is war.”
Oh, friend, that is such a great reminder. And we need it from John Piper today, so please do not handle prayer like an intercom to request comfortable things from the Lord. Prayer is a wartime walkie talkie, and thank God we can call in firepower from our Commander in heaven.
And one more thing, we here at Joni and Friends would love to pray for you in your troubles. So, share with us your prayer need today at jonriradio.org.
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