CHAPTER TWELVE
The Centerpiece of Ministry
“The prayer of a righteous man is
powerful and effective.”
James 5:16
P
rayer is the centerpiece of spiritual ministry. Real battles are fought alone with God. We wrestle with God in prayer even though He is not actually our opponent. He is training us. He is our Father! He wants us to wrestle and win.
The forces of unrighteousness are the enemy. Our fight against the enemy is our urgent, persuasive, and critical appeal to God. Prayer against spiritual forces of unrighteousness — spiritual wrestling — is our urging God to fight for us against them, the unseen spiritual adversaries listed in Ephesians 6:12. There Paul says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
As we wrestle with our heavenly Father in prayer, it is serious work and quite different from wrestling in play with an earthly father. The only similarity with wrestling in prayer with our heavenly Father and playing on the floor with our earthly father is that our heavenly Father, just like an earthly father, is teaching and toughening His children to face the challenge, exert energy, and win the contest.
Our prayer battles, whether we win or lose, determine successes and failures in our everyday lives. The devil does not like it when people of prayer invade enemy territory. He fights back. In this chapter, we will read of events that illustrate these ideas while we note that God’s plans and answers are better than our own.
Including Prayer in a Mission Statement
In Habits of Highly Effective Christians, I explained how writing a mission statement helps us by not only defining who we are but also by keeping us on course to reach our goals. Decisions about our life, our use of time, and our use of other resources are easier to make if we have carefully defined who we are in a mission statement. We then make daily decisions according to our perception of who we are.
Applying this principle to my new attitude toward the importance of prayer has significantly changed the way I structure my use of time each day. Since my original personal mission statement did not reflect my newly developing prayer emphasis, I changed the statement to fit my new sense of values by writing the following addendum.
Addendum to My Personal Mission Statement
Prayer is my most important activity to help make God’s kingdom come to earth. I match this belief with the daily practice of giving prayer more priority in importance, time, and sequence than anything else I do. Of my own choosing and with a sense of privilege, I gladly arise in the night or early morning to ensure that I complete my predetermined number of daily prayer hours. I continue to pray after breakfast as necessary. Imperfect human that I am, I watch the clock so that prayer is increased. Logging so many hours in prayer is not the goal; increasing my prayer is. I exercise holy discipline and self-control in this intentional personal commitment, fully confident I am heard based on the truthful Word of God. My appointment with God is first and takes me longer than anything else I do in the day.
I know prayer is addressed to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine. Jesus said He would do whatever I asked in His name if I remain in Him and His words remain in me. Jesus instructed His disciples to always pray and not give up. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; soar on wings like eagles; run and not grow weary; and walk and not be faint. I know that with men, many things are impossible, but with God, nothing is impossible.
Since my practice of prayer illustrates its importance, I risk possible misunderstanding when I speak openly about my commitment to prayer. I desire by word and example to challenge Christians to pray. Talking about my prayer life is not the goal; it only serves the higher objective of stimulating others to pray.
As a partner with God, I do not make requests that are inconsistent with His plan. I seek always to know His agenda and pray accordingly. Passion in prayer is important, but accuracy is more important. When the right direction for prayer is known, I persist, insist, labor, plead, reason, and persevere in the spirit of Jabez who prayed, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me …” (I Chronicles 4:10) and with the tenacity of Jacob who said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26).
In prayer, I do not overcome God’s reluctance, but rather grasp His willingness. Spiritual forces oppose me, but they can be overcome. To be fruitful in God’s kingdom brings more glory to God than to be unfruitful, and, as Jesus said, to bear much fruit is even better (John 15:2, 8). Therefore, with neither shame nor selfish ambition, I pray with confidence to be more fruitful for Him.
As with any personal mission statement, the process of creating it gives the writer a better idea of who he or she really is. Personal mission statements are not so much goals as they are self-descriptions. No sane person will behave in ways that are inconsistent with his or her self-perception. Therefore, by writing my mission statement and now this addendum, I am able to focus more easily on being who I am — the self my personal mission statement defines. Seeking to be unwavering in passionate pursuit of God, the mission statement has been a help to me.
The Valleys of Death
On Saturday, May 29, 2004, I ran the Andy Payne Marathon in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Several hours later, I boarded a plane for Atlanta. I was bound for a two-month trip to Madagascar, Zimbabwe, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) that included 10 seminars for pastors and Christian leaders. I slept okay at a motel near the Atlanta airport, called Char the next morning to chat, and boarded the plane for a 17-hour plane ride to South Africa.
I slept for only four hours before meeting Eddie Robinson of the World Missions Centre at the airport. I spent the day with him discussing missions work, strategy, trends, and the seminars scheduled for Madagascar. I went for a prayer walk in his quiet neighborhood that evening and then went to bed early. The next thing I knew, I was up at midnight and noticed that my irregular heartbeat seemed even more irregular! First, let me give you some background.
I first noticed an irregular heartbeat about three months prior to this episode. A physician friend of mine volunteered to listen to my heart, and then recommended that I see my own doctor. My doctor tested the beating patterns of my heart with an electrocardiogram. This test revealed fluttering atria and an irregular beating of the ventricle. The upper chambers of my heart were quivering instead of pumping regularly and the lower chambers were pumping, but not in regular rhythm. This heart disease is called atrial fibrillation. I met with a cardiologist, a heart specialist, and received a three-dimensional heart exam using an echo-measuring sonic camera. The echocardiogram revealed that I had a faulty mitral valve. Each beat of my heart allows some blood to pass back into the atria in the upper heart instead of pumping all of the blood out into my body.
To my surprise, the cardiologist recommended that I continue my exercise program, including running marathons! Even if the heartbeat was irregular, he reasoned, it was still better for the heart to be strong than weak. Following doctor’s orders, I continued my exercise program — including the three marathons that I had already scheduled for that spring. The big question was whether I should proceed on my proposed trip to Africa and PNG since my schedule included being in some remote areas far away from hospitals and cardiologists. The trip, planned for months, also included meeting people in three nations who were expecting me. My cardiologist advised me that it was safe for me to proceed as planned.
My decision to go, however, required some thought. Since I train missionaries, I am more aware of not only how I think about Christians taking risks, but also how I personally handle risks. Would I die for the gospel? Yes, of course, but not all deaths of gospel workers are necessary. We are not to tempt God. We are to temper our zeal with knowledge.
I did not want to go on an eight-week trip to remote areas if it meant that I would be tempting God. My cardiologist assured me that, while atrial fibrillation was serious but treatable, the treatment could wait until I returned to the United States. I took medication to sedate my heart slightly so that it would not be over exerted. Then after I returned home from my trip, I had planned to take a blood thinner so blood clots would not form in the atria that were not pumping normally. Now, let us get back to the midnight adventure in South Africa.
In Eddie’s home in Pretoria, I lay on my bed and listened to the irregular pumping of my heart. I noticed that my heartbeat was even more irregular than it had been before I went to the doctor. Was it the marathon I had just run? Was it the 17-hour flight from Atlanta? Was it the missed night’s sleep? Was it the sleeping pill I had taken on the plane? Had the sleeping pill reacted with the other medicine I was taking? Was it a combination of all of these?
As I reflected on these possibilities, I noticed that the irregularity had suddenly stopped. In fact, everything had stopped! I heard no heartbeat at all! Because I wear earplugs at night to help me sleep, I am able to hear my heartbeats quite distinctly. However, now, I heard nothing. I began to feel something abnormal in my legs; then, my arms. I held very still and prayed, “Lord, are you taking me home?” As the deadening (no pun intended) silence prevailed, I cried out, “Lord, help me!” My heart then began to pound very strongly. My whole chest shook with sudden and abnormally vigorous activity.
I began to rethink whether I should proceed with my trip. My schedule included being on the road for eight weeks living in remote areas. Was it wise to proceed? I walked slowly into Eddie’s living room and lay on the floor to gather my thoughts. After several minutes, I decided to discuss the whole thing with Eddie. I called out to him and he came into the living room. I had him put his ear on my chest. After some discussion, we decided to go to a hospital that specialized in heart conditions which was about 10 minutes away. For three hours, I experienced an electrocardiogram, blood tests, consultations, phone calls, and lengthy waits. During this time, I watched the irregular patterns on the heart monitor with inward agony. Early in the morning, the doctors eventually agreed with my cardiologist back home: proceed on the trip and take an aspirin a day to help mildly thin my blood.
As I look back now on that event, I believe the enemy attacked me. The 10 conferences eventually held on that trip in Madagascar, Zimbabwe, and PNG were well received; in fact, many people expressed how much more effective they thought their ministries would be as a result of hearing the teachings. Furthermore, I was invited to teach more seminars in all three of those nations. However, the enemy does not want God’s servants to succeed. Attacks will occur, and when they do, maintaining prayer is essential for survival. Nevertheless, the attacks on me continued, and so does my story.
After successfully completing seven conferences in Madagascar and two in Zimbabwe, I prepared to leave for PNG. I was to fly through South Africa and then another third of the way around the world through Australia to Goroka in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The trip before me involved thousands of miles with two days of travels and layovers and an eight-hour time change.
During the last two days in Zimbabwe, however, I had developed chest pains. When I twisted my body in certain ways, coughed, sneezed, or lifted a suitcase, my chest would hurt. I asked the pastors in my final session in Zimbabwe to pray for me. And pray, they did. One man came from the audience, placed his hands on my chest, and prayed fervently. When I asked him why he had done that, he said that the Lord had told him to pray for my heart. I was encouraged.
After boarding the plane from South Africa to Australia, I took another sleeping pill. By the time we landed in Brisbane, I was exhausted. I made sleeping arrangements and ate dinner. As I got ready for bed, I again heard my heart beating very irregularly. Because of my chest pains, the fuzziness in my head, and my extreme exhaustion, I thought that I was dying.
Out of a sense of responsibility, I wrote two notes: one for the hotel personnel and one to my wife should I die. Below are the notes.
To whom it may concern:
In case of an emergency, please contact Char Meyers (pronounced Shar) at either of these two numbers [here I wrote out our home phone number and Char’s work number] in the United States. She is my wife in Tulsa, Oklahoma (USA), and I have been having atrial fibrillation for three months. The doctor said I could make this trip safely, but I have been having chest pains.
July 8, 2004
Ron Meyers
Dear Char,
I do not know if this is serious or not, but I have a chest pain if I cough or lean over the right way (wrong way), or put pressure on my chest.
I am not afraid to come home to my dear Savior, but I would extremely regret leaving you to be a widow to go through temporary pain until we are reunited in glory land. You have been the delight of my life, and I regret to let you down.
I have no other regrets. God has been good to me to give me 54 more years since I recovered from rheumatic fever at age six.
July 8, 2004, 10:22 p.m.
Ron Meyers