Preparing for the unexpected...

Chapter Fifty-eight:

If there is one thing we learn very quickly in this life is that the unexpected happens.  It can come in many forms, from losing one's job to a sudden death in the family to getting diagnosed with an unexpected illness.  How we are prepared for the unexpected goes a long way in how it will affect us.  For some of us, we like to try to plan ahead as we do not like the unexpected, but what this causes is anticipatory stress, as we struggle with the "what if's" and "maybes".  We believe that if we can plan and prepare that somehow it will soften the blow of anything that may come our way.  In actuality all it does is increase our stress levels and affect our walk with God because we rely more upon our own strength and do not lean upon the strength of our Heavenly Father as much as we should.

Some things that we may face are  temptations, unexpected problems/crises, and attacks of the enemy.  How do you think you would fare if you were prepared and prayed up before any of these situations happened...do you think you would fare better?  However many of us wait until a problem happens or a temptation is in front us before we begin to pray for strength or guidance. 

 

Anticipatory prayer is needed because as the saying goes, the battle is often lost before it is fought. What this means is that due to distractions, laziness, or unpreparedness, we lose our battle before it even begins. Throughout the Old Testament we see the example of Israel and how they fought their battles.  When they were prayed up and following the one true God, they won their battles.  However, when they got lazy in worshipping God, began incorporating foreigners' heathen ways into their camp, and lost sight of their need of God, they ultimately always lost the battle, often to the point that they were overtaken and incorporated into another nation (II Kings, Chapter 25 ).

But what if we went about our daily lives with an attitude of anticipatory prayer so that we were not caught off guard, what then?  Would we not be less likely to succumb to temptation, to be sidelined and caught off guard by the unexpected? Temptation usually comes unexpectedly. However, if through anticipatory prayer we are strong in our spirit we would be better able to handle it and deflect it.  For example, we often think of David as an example of a man who really loved God.  But we also know from reading Scripture of his adultery with Bathsheba and his ultimately having a hand in the death of her husband. 

I believe this fall into sin resulted from him not walking as close to God as he had in the days leading up to the day when he faced off against Goliath.  His lack of closeness to God allowed temptation and sin to overtake him.  He ended paying a heavy price for his rebellion and sin, that being the death of the son he fathered with Bathsheba.  So, it goes to show that even the most righteous person can succumb to sin and its consequences if they do not walk daily in an attitude of anticipatory prayer.  

We have to remember that problems in life, and most importantly attacks by the enemy, are usually not forewarned. Satan loves to attack out of the blue, when least expected, when he knows we are at our weakest and most unsuspecting.  If he had one set way of attacking us, we would have had it figured out a long time ago and his attacks would be fruitless.  But the converse is true. One time he attacks one way and the next time it is another way.  We can never be sure just when he plans to strike or how. In fact, many of us have attacks come our way through the week that unless we are walking in anticipatory prayer and in the spirit we would otherwise just chalk it up to being a part of life and would not realize our need to fend off the enemy.   We often walk unprepared and pay the price.

The best example of walking in anticipatory prayer can be found the night before the crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane.   Jesus was there praying because He knew what was before Him. His night of prayer and crying out to God strengthened Him so He could finish His mission here on earth, which culminated in His brutal death and triumphant resurrection, a sacrifice that now offers redemption for all mankind.  He had anticipated what was to come and prepared for it by the best way He knew how, by going into a time of serious prayer. Unfortunately His disciples did not share His sense of preparedness, as Scripture tells us that even though He asked them to stay awake and pray, He later found that they had all fallen asleep. 

Just as Israel walked with God before them as a ball of fire by night and a cloud by day, we, too must walk in an attitude of anticipatory prayer knowing God goes before us.  Do not let your guard down.  When Jesus warned us, "Watch and pray..." (Matthew 26:41), He was telling us that we need to be walking daily in an anticipatory, prayerful manner.  Yes, there will be times of change and trouble in our lives.   Psalm 34:19 says, "The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all".  Our focus through anticipatory prayer should be that the battle is the Lord's, and if that is our focus, we can walk in peace as we go about our day, knowing that God is in control regardless of our circumstances.  

  

A. W. Tozer summed up anticipatory prayer this way when he said, "He has little strength because his prayers beforehand were few...the person whose prayers are strong and many will not collapse when the trouble comes."