RELIGION: Prayer previews

Jesus tells us some things in advance so that we won't stumble when tough times arrive.

He said, "These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them" (John 16:1-4 NASB)

Why does God give us glimpses of future events? So that we can pray with faith. When we see in the Scriptures (or perhaps by a revelation) things that God is about to do, it is easier to walk in faith for its fulfillment. We know what is ahead. Our hope has an anchor. The Lord wants us to have stronger faith. He may show us things to come so that after it happens, our faith will be confirmed. (Read John 14:29)

This can happen to believers today. The Holy Spirit is always prophesying to us. He is God and he is not silent. He is present in our past and is also present in our future. Nothing is concealed from God. (Hebrews 4:12-13) Jesus stands at the end of history as Alpha and Omega. He foretells what is ordained so that we can walk in faith and not doubt.

God shows us what he wants us to know (just glimpses, not everything!) so that we can pray and obey. Intercessors can pray with confidence knowing with full assurance the predicted outcome and also participating in the process of its fulfillment by their act of praying. In this way, we get to co-labor with the Lord. We can pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Prayer is the work of the Lord. It is how we first obey. Everyone who knows Jesus is called to the high honor of joining him in the work of praying. What do we pray for? (Read Matthew 6:9-19) We intercede. We travail. We ask and keep on asking. (Matthew 7:7) We ask for God's kingdom to come on earth, in America, in us, here, now!

When the Holy Spirit shows us a revelation of a future event, God is not predicting what might occur. Rather, our Creator-God, who is above all space and time yet is present with us in every moment, is showing us a preview of history as he sees it already having happened. He sees the end from the beginning. He isn't time limited. We are time-bound. Through prophetic glimpses in the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit's prophetic previews, we get a snapshot--a partial picture--of what God already sees with perfect clarity. (1 Peter 1:10-12; 1 Corinthians 13:9)

Passivity is a sin. Idleness is sloth. Having seen God's purpose and knowing his desire, we dare not sit back and wait for the Lord to do it all without us. He has a place assigned for each of us to occupy, a vital task, one especially chosen for each of us to achieve. We can do this by being in the right place, joined with the right people, and by praying according to God's will. That's why we need to know the word of God and why we need to be familiar with Christ's heart for people. We can co-labor. That is both the mystery and the opportunity called prayer.

-- Ron Wood is a retired pastor and author. Contact him at [email protected] or visit www.touchedbygrace.org or follow him on Facebook @touchedbygracenwa. The opinions expressed are those of the author.