Spiritual Leadership - Battle of Prayer

Remember our young couple (see Unique)? To the casual observer, to the less experienced, leader it would appear that the greatest challenge was simply “change”. Their argument centered around not “having what we had in the old leadership group”, “not really liking the way of the new leader” and “he’s not as good and active as the old – there isn’t as much to do.” The one hearing such arguments must believe that this new minister is really not doing a good job or that this young couple is having trouble with change.

Can’t you hear the counseling? “Well,” says the counseling friend, “just hang in there a little bit. Maybe it is just change. I am sure that he will get it soon. You just have to get to know him.” The less experienced would probably counsel, “Just get in there and help him where he is weak. You are strong. You are ready. Help him grow.”

It is true that change is tough. Change makes us uncomfortable even if we know the destination is guaranteed to be excellent. God will lead us into and send us “new lives” to which we must adjust and grow. Everyone knows that with God the outcome is guaranteed to be excellent even if it doesn’t seem so to the world. Nonetheless, those “new lives” bring change and change requires change and depth on our part.

Earlier, I inferred that it would seem to the inexperienced leader that this young couple's problem was change. In fact, change is one of the classic battlefields of spiritual leadership but change itself is not always a battle. In this situation, change was simply a battlefield – it provided the opportunity for the common enemy to come in and start a battle.

This couple claimed to leave because they were not comfortable with the new direction and leadership. Therein lies the key to understanding the real battles that they faced. Did you see the key? The key is found in “they were not comfortable.” If that couple had been wiser, they would have realized that it really didn’t matter what “they were comfortable with”. God’s comfort level is the only valued comfort level in spiritual leadership. The phrases, “I don’t have a peace” or “I have a peace” are overused, trite and meaningless in most of the modern Church. Oh, they claimed to pray but they could never truly quote anything other than personal preference.

Here is another interesting fact: the young couple recommended and approved of the hiring of the new leader that they now “just couldn’t follow.” So who is the problem, the ones who picked the leader they don’t like, the leader or both? In fact, if those criticizing are not deep enough to have picked well in the first place, then what is the real battle? All of these questions provide us the ability to understand the true battles that this couple faced and failed to win.  Here is their list in chronological order:

Battle No. 1 – Deep Prayer

Battle No. 2 – Remember the Call

Battle No. 3 – It Is Not About Me

Two battles were lost long before the “battlefield” of change provided the opportunity of a final loss that divided God’s people from His work and each other. First, this couple stopped praying deep. Their daily living and their ministry work claimed to be from a deep well of daily prayer but they were not united in the effort and not successful. It was not until they really were in a mess that they began to pray and then this particular couple found it “too late” to repent and return. Once they realized that they had not been praying well, this couple should have repented (stopped their current process) and resumed the last thing that God told them to do. It is from that point of obedience that this couple should have sought God’s heart on change. They lost the battle of deep daily prayer long before they ever fought on the battlefield of change.

Deep daily prayer is prayer that is not focused on answering our questions (we ask too many and many that are way too selfish) or meeting our physical needs but rather just conversations with God. My daughter came in today and motivated by love and learning through a disciplinary process gave me a kiss before leaving for school. This awesome young woman just came in to talk to me. She realized that there was value in simply having a conversation or a moment with her father who really loves her. It was awesome for both of us to have a time that was not focused on questions, answers, directions and provisions.

Relationships are forged in interactions. Some of those interactions will most certainly be interactions of question and provision but really most of them should be interactions of living together moment by moment. Watching our Father work and praising His name. Crying in His arms. Learning from His Words and listening to His voice are where we fall in love. If our only interaction with God is to ask Him questions from a heart that is not full of His love, grace and knowledge already – we are doomed to a shallow existence of welfare Christianity.

When this young couple found themselves on the battlefield of change, they found themselves unprepared because they had long ago lost the battle to be people of deep, daily prayer. They did not know their Father’s heart or they would have never asked the questions that they asked. They did not have their Father’s eyes or they would have seen the battlefield of change and known that they were in a war. They did not have their Father’s mind or they would not have forgotten who was in charge and who it was about.

The young people they once blessed have been gypped. The kingdom has been gypped. God has been gypped. Oh well, at least that young couple is happy – or are they?