We have studied a third of the Book of Revelation so far. To many of us, Revelation is a difficult book. It is filled with bizarre images, symbols and numbers. We see angels and demons, lions and lambs, horses and dragons. Seals are broken, trumpets blown, and the contents of seven bowls poured out on the earth. Some of us may have found it fascinating, some may have been confused, and some have been lost. But although it’s a challenging task to understand, we just cannot neglect this book, because it is the revelation of Jesus Christ, given by God to his servants (1:1). In other words, the Book of Revelation is as important as, as God-breathed as the four Gospels.
The Book of Revelation is given to us, to open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may see things from heavenly perspective, and so that we may live as citizens of heaven, God’s people, children of God. So far we have learned something about the church, worship, suffering, security, and so on. And today’s theme word is “PRAYER.” What is prayer? Why pray? Or why not pray? One of the top reasons people don’t pray is because they don’t believe that prayer makes any difference. But today’s passage does bear witness to the power of the prayer. Before diving into the text, I would like to show you a skit about what payer really is: Lord's Prayer Skit
Real Talk with God
Prayer shapes us. At first, we are the ones who shape our prayer. But then as we pray, as we really talk with God, prayer begins to shape us. Prayer changes us. Prayer transforms our lives.
So why pray? The primary purpose of prayer is not to change the circumstances. The primary purpose of prayer is to change us. Prayer changes us, so that we may become more like Christ. Prayer changes us, so that we may truly and fully abide in Christ, and Christ in us – “oneness with Christ.” That’s the ultimate purpose of prayer. Fanny J. Crosby’s hymn, “I Am Thine, O Lord,” says it all:
I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,The more we pray, the closer we are drawn to God. The more we really talk with God, the more we become like Him. In today’s passage we see the prayers of all the saints are answered. Their prayers are written in 6:10: “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” They cried out for God’s justice and righteousness here on the earth. And finally, the time comes when God brings his justice and judgment. The prayers of the saints have been heard. But that’s not the end. In Revelation 19-22 they are then invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And they shine like the sun and reign with Christ. Most importantly, they are united to Christ forever and ever.
and it told thy love to me;
but I long to rise in the arms of faith
and be closer drawn to thee.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side.
Like the saints in Revelation, today we cry out to God, “How long, O Lord? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” “How long? Will you not save my family, my children, my grandchildren, so that they may rejoice in you?” “How long? Will you not heal my disease, so that I may rejoice in you?” Yes, God hears our prayers – but not necessarily on our terms in our time. But much more importantly, as we pray, God changes us. God draws us closer and closer to Him, so that we may abide in him, and he in us.
The Exchanged Life[1]
As I close, I would like to share the story of Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China, because this past week I was greatly encouraged and able to learn what prayer really is and why pray through the life of Hudson Taylor.
Hudson Taylor was a man of prayer. Every time he was troubled, he prayed. When doors of ministry didn’t open, he prayed. When the riots occurred where he served, he prayed. When he suffered from poor health and depression, he prayed. When he lost the sweetest and brightest 8-year-old daughter Gracie, he prayed. Although he always prayed, his prayer was mainly centered on his immediate needs and petitions – prayer for healing, deliverance, perseverance, breakthrough, and so on. But it was kind of one thing after another. In fact, his life situations seemed to get more and more difficult. His own position became continually more and more responsible.
Mr. Taylor eventually reached the point where he felt he was far beyond his ability to endure. He cried out to God for faith. But it didn’t come. His heart was heavy and his soul was weary. Around that time God used a man named John McCarthy who wrote a letter that transformed Taylor’s life. The letter said: “How does the branch bear fruit? Not by incessant effort for sunshine and air… it simply abides in the vine, in silent and undisturbed union, and blossoms and fruit appear as of spontaneous growth… But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.” While Taylor was reading the letter, he experienced the scales of his eyes removed. He said, “As I read, I saw it all! I looked to Jesus, and saw and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed!” His life changed – from a life of praying hard to a life of abiding in Christ. Mr. Taylor called it the exchanged life – the life that is indeed “No longer I, but Christ lives in me!”
Mr. Judd, another missionary colleague, said, “Mr. Taylor was a joyous man now, a bright happy Christian. He had been a toiling, burdened one before, with latterly not much rest of soul. It was resting in Jesus now, and letting Him do the work - which makes all the difference. Whenever he spoke in meetings after that, a new power seemed to flow from him, and in the practical things of life a new peace possessed him. Troubles did not worry him as before. He cast everything on God in a new way, and gave more time to prayer. Instead of working late at night, he began to go to bed earlier, rising at 5 A.M. to give time to Bible study and prayer (often two hours) before the work of the day began.”
At the end of the book Mr. Taylor says that the hardest part of a missionary career is to maintain regular, prayerful Bible study. He says, “Satan will always find you something to do.” He commends his fellow Christians (and us) to take time – to be silent, listen, wait on God, to read God’s word, and to pray God’s word. And he concludes with the following words:
There is a needs-be for us to give ourselves for the life of the world. An easy, non-self-denying life will never be one of power. Fruit-bearing involves cross-bearing. There are not two Christs - an easy-going one for easy-going Christians, and a suffering, toiling one for exceptional believers. There is only one Christ. Are you willing to abide in Him, and thus to bear much fruit?[2]So why pray? My prayer is that as we pray, we may experience the wonderful exchanged life – a life of abiding in Christ and Christ in us – that God may get the glory. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20, NIV). Amen.
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[1] Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, 142-52
[2] Ibid., 226.
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