War Room: The Power of Prayer


"Prayer is the method, and the Holy Spirit is the mechanism whereby God has given us the ability to discern His direction in our lives"~Richard Stearn in Unfinished

"Prayer is openness to God in faith"~David G. Benner in Spirituality and the Awakened Self

“But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.””
Mark 9:27-29 ESV

According to yahoo news, the movie War Room was the leading box office draw this weekend.   War room is a film about a couple with a struggling marriage who have a divine intervention with the introduction of intercessory prayer into their lives.  It is an unapologetically Christian film.

So, let me get this out of the way after seeing it this weekend. The acting is poor, the writing is definitely subpar, and the plot is predictible, very cliche,  somewhat unbelieveable, and...   and.....  I absolutely loved it.

I was reminded while watching the movie that God loves to reveal truth in very flawed vessels.  In fact, that's the essence of the growth of the Kingdom of God according to the early Church.  We (literally you and I) are very flawed but God chooses to reveal himself through us, despite our flaws, our junk, and our shortfalls.  We remember:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Corinthians 4:7

All of this comes back to this very flawed film which reveals that it is time for followers of Jesus to recognize that the discipline of prayer is a basic discipline for growth, wellness, and restoration.  Despite the film's metaphor that it is used to engage the enemies of darkness and is in essence our strategy of war, I would take exception to that concept.  Our prayer, particularly our intercessory prayers, do not engage the enemy, but engage God almighty himself.  I am not saying that spiritual warfare does not exist as it is a reality, but rather, I am saying that prayer does not engage the enemy, but deepens the connection between the believer and God.

This is the power of the film.  Just as the disciples of Jesus could not exorcise a demon in the Mark 8 without prayer (not to the demon, but deeper connection with God), we resist temptation, evil, and discouragement through the presence and power of God, found in prayer. Phillip Yancy said it best when he said "prayer enters the pool of God's own love and widens outward".  The Scriptures tell us to pray for our families, our leaders, and our enemies, not only for God to bless them but to be empowered to bless them ourselves.  As World Vision Director, Richard Stearns says above, prayer gives "us the ability to discern His direction in lives"

Prayer does not change God or his will for you, but it does deepen your connection and your appreciation of His will for you.  God does not need you in order to intervene in your family, job, or health, but desires your partnership.  This is why, the prayer sage in the move, Ms. Clara taught the main character, Elizabeth, that surrender preceeded prevailing prayer.  In essence, prayer is a practice of surrender where we give up "the illusion that we are self-made" (W. Brueggeman) or that we are actually in control.

So, I want to encourage you to see the movie, ignore all the bad-movie-stuff, and receive the encouragement to ignite your prayer life.  This is not to get your marriage, your job, your finances, or your health together (although that often happens) but in order to connect with God and deepen your faith.

May God bless you.


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