What If Things Haven’t Changed…Because You Haven’t Prayed?

Sometimes Goliaths grow simply because they are left un-assaulted and unassailed.

Think of the men possessed by demons in Matthew 8 and Luke 8. They lived among the tombs and had become so strong that they broke chains.

Everyone assumed that things could not and would not change with them, and so people just accepted their situation as status quo and adapted to it by steering clear of them.

How many things are like this today?

What are the injustices, the wrongs, the sin, and the strongholds around us that are growing in strength, because we have not prayed?

What about strongholds in our families?

Could it be that things haven’t changed, because we haven’t prayed?

What about patterns of sin? Addictions? Sinful behaviors? Hopelessness, anxiety and depression brought about by spiritual attack?

Could it be that things haven’t changed because we haven’t prayed?

One of the ways to handle the sin, suffering and brokenness of this world is through defensive prayers.

When we pray defensive prayers, what do we do? We accept reality as it is, and simply pray for the grace to deal and cope with it.

But defensive prayers aren’t all we see in the Scriptures.

There are offensive prayers – prayers that don’t just ask for the grace to endure, but prayers that ask God – the God for whom all things are possible and nothing is impossible – to do a miracle that only He can.

These are two different ways to live and two different ways to pray as Christians. In the stories of Matthew 8 and Luke 8, one is symbolized by the herdsmen and one is symbolized by Jesus.

Let’s look at it in detail.

“When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29 And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
— (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Matt. 8:28-29)

The first truth that we have to pay attention to is that Jesus went to the “other side.” This is their side. He went to the tombs, and the tombs represent territory the enemy has taken. Those demons felt they had the right to be there. It was their turf.

For our purposes, think of all places of death, devastation, darkness and destruction as “their” territory. These are unchecked places with unchallenged inhabitants.

When Jesus crosses over into this territory they say, “Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”

That, right there is what offensive intercession does. It goes over to the other side. It crosses the line into enemy territory. It is not content to wait until the appointed time for the enemy to lose all but is set on tormenting the enemy before the return of Christ.

And let’s contrast Jesus going over to the other side, offensively contesting unchecked territory with the herdsmen in the story.

“Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying,“If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.”
— (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Matt. 8:28-29)

Jesus, representing intercession, is the hunter. The pig owners, representing the antithesis of an intercessor, are the herdsmen.

Are you a hunter or a herdsman?

Here are five distinctions between the two.

The first distinction is that the hunter goes while the herdsman stays.
Jesus crosses over to the other side, at great time and investment to himself. The herdsmen are right next door and could care less.
The second distinction is that the hunter provides for their needs, while the herdsman protects his own needs.
Distinction three is that the hunter brings the out in, while the herdsman keeps the in from going out.
The fourth distinction is that the hunter is concerned about the cost of staying, while the herdsmen is concerned about the cost of leaving.
And fifth, the hunter is about more, the herdsman is about maintain.

The herdsmen in this story are extremely content with status quo as long as no harm comes to their own herd.

Notice that the herdsmen are more concerned for their own herd than for a human. The herdsmen have no compassion on these men. They aren’t going to fake being excited that Jesus just invaded darkness and changed a life and an eternity of a human being, not if it came at the cost of their own property.

A herdsman will even turn away Jesus if He disturbs their precious status quo just as in this passage, and this happens every day in the church itself.

The church is filled with herdsmen today, and we need more hunters.

We have so many in the church who want to do the following:

- stay and not go,
- protect their own instead of provide for others,
- focus on keeping the in from going out instead of bringing those out in,
- are concerned about the cost of leaving instead of the cost of staying,
- and just want to maintain status quo at the expense of more.

Are you a herdsman or a hunter?

When you look at our county and the globe, what do you see?

Do you see the brokenness needing healing, the darkness needing light, the desperation needing hope, the wrong needing right, the captivity needing freedom, and the death needing life?

Do you see their faces?
Do you hear their cries?
Do you know their names?

He does.

And hunters do.

How do you know if you’re living as a herdsman or a hunter?

Evaluate it by evaluating your prayers.
What are your prayers for and who are they for?

The prayer of a hunter is offensive.
The prayer of a herdsman is defensive.

These types of prayer are radically different in many ways, but we are going to focus on two of those ways: perspective and practice.

Let’s start with perspective.

Imagine two fields:

- Field A is an open field. It’s a peaceful meadow. Butterflies and sunshine.
- Field B is also a field, yet, it’s filled with two massive armies. Battle lines are drawn and armor is on. There are cavalry horses and all.

What do you picture as you start your day?

A hunter pictures Field B.
A herdsman pictures Field A.

A hunter is well aware of what the Scriptures say.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Eph. 6:12)

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. (New American Standard Bible, 1995, 2 Tim. 2:4)

In Christ, each of us are sons and daughters.
In Christ, each of us are citizens of heaven.
And in Christ, each of us are enlisted soldiers.
Hunters know we are soldiers, not civilians.

We should never assume that we can evade the battle and pretend to be a non-combat civilian. We are enlisted, so let’s make it our aim to please our commanding officer.

Of course, knowing the battle is not against flesh and blood but the principalities and powers, what do we know to be our primary weapon?

Prayer.

Some, knowing at least this much, do begin to pray, but they engage in warfare with prayer as if prayer is drawing a border, drawing a box, but not actually as battle.

This is where again there is a major difference between the defensive prayer of a herdsman and the offensive prayer of a hunter.

When it comes to the practice of prayer, herdsmen pray to draw a box, while hunters pray to win a battle.

Church, so many of us give too much credit to our enemy. We imagine that if we draw up a truce and say something like the following – “This is my side. That is your side. You don’t mess with me, and I won’t mess with you” – that he will actually abide by it.

Never forget that the enemy has no integrity. He is not content to “stay on his side” if “he’s just left alone.” Remember, he’s a liar. There is no truth in him. He has never kept his word. He never will. He has an insatiable appetite for death and destruction. He is not docile or domesticated. He is a roaring lion.

1 Peter 5:8: …Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (New American Standard Bible, 1995, 1 Pet. 5:8)

Those who think to themselves, “I don’t want to get too aggressive, because I don’t want the enemy’s counterstrikes” are actually inviting attack, while thinking they’ve struck a deal.

Yes, our advances provoke counter-attack, that is true, but I think many of us have mistakenly ignored the fact that lions prefer prey that sit still.

In fact, if and when the enemy sees someone waving that white flag of truce, his eyes get big and his mouth starts salivating. He sees opportunity and invitation.

While we are praying passive, defensive prayers, do you know what our enemy is doing?

He is not doing what we assume.
He is not resting, he is readying.
He is preparing to get in the optimal position to attack.

For lions, hours are spent stalking, but the kill is made in minutes.

It is the same with our enemy. The enemy has no problem waiting for your defenses to be down, for the most favorable conditions to take you down.

The aim of the kind of box and border making, defensive prayer is not to take territory but to have its territory untaken. But the truce is untrue.

We need to engage in prayer not as border and box, but as battle.

We need to engage in prayer not as herdsmen, but as hunters.

In this world the battle is always, ever engaged.

We need to be always prepared and always vigilant.

Knowing that every inch of this world is contested and counter-contested by light and darkness, how did the Lord teach us to pray?

Matthew 6:9-11:...“Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name—-Give us this day our daily bread.”

Wait, did I skip something?!

Guess what? That is what most of us do every day – we skip over the offensive prayer of God’s Kingdom coming, His will being done here as in heaven.

The offensive came first when Jesus taught us to pray.
Let’s keep it that way.

Both offensive and defensive prayer matter, but we need to prioritize our offensive praying. Offensive (Ahh-fensive) praying is the most offensive (Uhhh-fensive) to the enemy, I can guarantee you that.

People think the best offense is a great defense. Not true.
The best defense is a great defense and a great offense.

Let’s get a picture in our mind for offensive prayer warfare.

Imagine you are in a battle line, lined up against the opposing enemy. You’re lined up with an army dressed in white and soldiers on white horses, and you are facing a dark enemy in front of you.

At the center of our battle line, picture a catapult with these huge logs loaded on it.

How does advancement work in the Kingdom?

It’s not by the foot soldiers marching.
It’s not by the cavalry riding.
It’s by cutting the cord on the catapult.

So, picture it cut. Picture those logs go soaring over the enemy’s heads, becoming sharp arrows as they fly, and they land behind the enemy, falling back onto the enemy, cutting through the enemy soil.

Those are the arrows of intercession.

The way the Kingdom advances is always through prevailing prayer:

Prayer that crosses into enemy territory and does not just stay
Prayer that provides for others’ needs and does not merely seek to protect its own
Prayer that brings the out in and does not simply seek to keep the in from going out.
Prayer that is concerned about the cost of staying not merely the cost of leaving.
Prayer that is concerned about more not merely maintaining.

Let’s be hunters.
Let’s be those who prevail in praying offensive prayers.

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