Why I will vote for Peter Kenneth

Before I start

This is an intensely personal article.

For some time I have wrestled with whether to post such a patently political post on this blog. I have done so before, in August 2006 and December 2008, writing on tribalism and on what Obama’s chances would have been in Kenya.  I am first a Christian and only later a Kenyan. There are those who would say that a Christian should sit down and keep quiet about the evils going on in his/her country. Secondly, from what I have read about the Welsh Revival of 1904-5, from my study of church history and from personal conviction, I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be the greatest force for social change in any community. For this reason it is highly unlikely that I will ever seek political office. It is not my place.

On the other hand, it is also hypocritical of me to pretend to be apolitical for the sake of appearances when in fact this is not the case. Further, some of the greatest crusaders for social justice that this world has ever known have been Christians. I am reminded of William Wilberforce, a man whose conversion led to a lifelong crusade against slavery. I am reminded of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., who used his gifts for rhetoric to further the cause for racial equity in a racially-divided nation. It begins to seem to me that my silence would be an exacerbation of the problem. Our gifts are not given to us for nothing. If something I say, or something I write, can lead to the alleviation of a few of the many, many evils facing the nation of Kenya, then I ought to do it.

Along the way it is possible that I may make enemies. But I am determined that if somebody decides to be my enemy he/she will have to be very determined to remain so. On the other hand I must do my best to remain intractable as far as right, justice and progress for all the people of this nation are concerned. If this causes enmity, it is an enmity I must endure.

For these reasons I am now going on public record to back a Presidential candidate.

Achievements/Action

In enumerating the candidate’s actions, I am not going to go by anything he has told me, or by anything I have read. I would like to use the personal experiences of myself and others who have talked to me about him, as I feel this is more authentic.

The name Peter Kenneth began to mean more to me at a personal level in late 2009, when through sheer happenstance I had lunch with a colleague who happened to be a member of his CDF committee. This gentleman displayed such a depth of knowledge about the problems facing his constituency that I was astounded. We were specifically discussing how they were using CDF funds to improve education in Gatanga Constituency. The gentleman pointed out that Standard 7 boys were being hired to harvest fruit on farms at KES 100 or 200 (USD 1.20/2.40) per day. As a result these boys were skipping school – KES 100 is a small fortune for a child that age, living in Gatanga. That’s chips and a sausage every day, with some left over! So this gentleman was pointing out that it would be pointless to build classrooms at that stage, only for them to be empty. He said the first thing that needed to be sorted out was awareness as to why school was important, and making children aware that they were sacrificing long-term benefits for extremely short-term gains. This in-depth knowledge of the problems facing the constituents of Gatanga impressed me.

Some time later I spoke to a taxi driver who had worked on a USAID-funded program to assess the utilization of funds that had been spent by the Agency on education in several constituencies. He let me know that it took him and the person he was with around 1 week to cover 96 schools in Gatanga constituency. Skeptical, I have called him to confirm this (that is an astonishing rate of 19 schools per day) and he is adamant that they visited at least 16 schools per day. It took the same driver 3 weeks to cover the same number of schools in neighbouring Gatundu South, although it is a smaller constituency. Folks, I implore you not to take this as a mudslinging affair, but rather as an attempt to convey the honest opinion of a taxi driver. The fact is, this is not about the demigods and demagogues that have so far run this country. Rather, it’s about the taxi drivers, the vegetable stall owners and the shoe-polishers that make this country run. Their health, their wives’ health, and the education of and opportunities for their children matter above all else.

Lastly, I also spoke to yet another colleague who had worked in the Bermuda/Cayman Islands and had come home to settle down. He comes from the neighbouring Kandara constituency (again no mudslinging is intended here, friends). He informed me that at night he can tell where his constituency ends and where Peter Kenneth’s Gatanga constituency starts, because electricity (and therefore lighting) only goes up to the border of Gatanga and no further.

Accessibility

When you join Peter Kenneth’s Facebook page (if you join the right one!), you get weekly articles from him. I used that email address to repeatedly urge him to unite with (what I believed to be) other progressives like Professor James ole Kiyiapi and perhaps Mutava Musyimi and form one progressive ticket. I told him in no uncertain terms that politics in Kenya is tribal and to think he would make it on his own is to guarantee failure. I wrote to him several times without a response but one day he actually responded.

I wrote back:

He wrote back:

I was amazed that he could be so free with his phone number, and I wrote back telling him it was an honour to get it and that I appreciated the gesture. I was on assignment in Malawi at the time; so I told him that I’d call him when I got back. One day amidst my errands I tried to call the number (not very hopefully). His phone was off so I purposed to call later.

Wonder of wonders, I was sitting in a noisy Citi Hoppa coming from Eastlands, when a Presidential candidate dialled my number! This was epochal for me. He apologized for not being able to take my call, explaining that he’d been participating in a marathon and that as a result his phone had been switched off. We had a good long chat. He told me that he is not going to form any coalitions with anybody as this will (1) dilute his message and (2) compromise his ability to effect change due to the vested interests of those he would form coalitions with. He said he has a committee that is doing a (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) SWOT analysis on him and finding out his weaknesses in order to identify a complimentary running mate. I began to think that if this man could run a CDF Committee as well as I have just explained, and if he could have another committee actually working on identifying his weaknesses in order to identify a running mate, then it was possible that this nation could benefit from seeing him in charge of a Cabinet.

Accountability

One thing that is a big pointer to the kind of man Peter Kenneth is, is that he has always paid his taxes. This criterion alone would eliminate most candidates at a stroke. Even those who have now paid taxes since this became an issue only did so as a PR exercise. It was not something they have consistently been doing, and in fact since that time a law has been passed for MPs’ taxes to be paid by the taxpayer (these kinds of absurdities we can do without!). As someone who has also had to make the same (extremely difficult) decision about whether to declare income (fully, correctly) and whether to pay my taxes (to a particularly corrupt, inept and inefficient Government), I salute Peter Kenneth for this, if nothing else. For me this decision was painful enough that I can remember exactly where I was when I made it. I was on or approaching that walkway outside Posta Sacco towers on University Way in Nairobi when I said in my heart, “Ok, God, because You said ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s’ I will pay my taxes, in obedience to You.” Speaking personally I only did it because of my faith; I cannot for the life of me tell how Mr Kenneth arrived at this same conclusion and level of integrity.

Among the things I asked Peter Kenneth was a rather difficult, touchy question about his links with Dr. Sally Kosgei, the current Minister for Agriculture. I believe that if someone puts himself forward to be a leader, he should be willing both to be asked and to answer these types of questions. So I asked him point-blank about allegations I had heard that he was at one time Sally Kosgei’s boy toy, and that this is how he obtained the Managing Director job at Kenya ReInsurance.

Peter Kenneth did not insult me. He did not call me names. He did not say I lacked respect for my elders, or dodge the matter by stating that my question was “not pertinent in the larger context”, even though to some extent this is true. He (1) actually replied to me and (2) told me that “even if I was (and I am not saying I was) if after 16 years people are talking about one woman, that is a very good record”. Frankly that he replied my question at all shows what the man is made of. We have tried asking other candidates rather more germane questions regarding their candidatures and/or past conduct and mostly what we get is a stony silence or a tongue-lashing from either them and/or their followers that does not answer the question. That to me does not represent being accountable to the public.

Conclusion

Because of his achievements (which I did not hear from him, but from people on the ground), because of his accessibility to me, a common citizen, and because of his honest accountability, I consider Peter Kenneth to be the most viable candidate for President in the next general election. It is foolhardy to support most politicians, and perhaps some scepticism still persists among the people. But assuming he remains consistent in his message, continues to prove that he is untainted (I am more than willing to ask him any question on this matter and I can relay his response), and maintains a forward-thinking outlook, I intend to vote for him.

I wish every citizen of this nation was able to write 1,400 honest, heartfelt words about their preferred Presidential candidate. Or even 200 words. But honest words. Heartfelt words. Objective words. Un-tribal words.

This nation would be a better place, if we could.

And we can.

All comments – including dissenting views! – are welcome.

That First Good Friday (An Easter Message)

Although Christmas is the more heavily celebrated holiday, probably by virtue of its position in the human calendar, Easter is the weightier holiday in meaning, for without Easter, Christmas has less or no meaning; some will say there could have been no Easter without Christmas, surely the more accurate statement is that there could be no real Christmas had Easter not occurred; for the birth would have had far less meaning, except the sacrificial death had occurred.

Now therefore on this day around 2,000 years ago, the Christ yielded up His Life, exchanging it for death, that we who deserved death may have instead of deserved death, His Life, an exchange at once made the more beautiful (and un-understandable to the devil our accuser) for its seeming inequity. So we see that the Creator forfeited His Life for His creation, and the King became a subject to His own subjects, for their sakes; the Master became a servant for His Own servants, the Worthy One made Himself unworthy for we unworthy ones’ sakes; and “that Just One” was made unjust that we unjust might be counted just.

On that day when a sinless Christ was nailed to the Cross, paradox after paradox was thereby displayed, for He Himself created the tree of whose wood that Cross was made; He had nourished it from a seed, and had preserved it. In times of heat He had caressed the sapling’s boughs with gentle breezes, in times of cold He had smiled upon it with His own free sunshine. He had known of its primitive thirsts, and slaked them with the rain of His Heaven (for a tree’s thirst, primitive though it may be, still moves the heart of He Who clothes the grass of the field). Having taken such care over it, He was aware when they hewed it down, and foreknew its crude use; yea He was aware when one limb was shaped into crossbeam and another was shaped into stake.

The iron of the Romish hammer, and of those gruesome spikes, the Saviour Himself had forged; tens, maybe hundreds of millennia antecedent. Infernos of a nameless heat had melted stone and rock and crust into fiery magma, and by a great and violent belching the earth had spewed out of its belly the very rock from whence the iron for His nails was taken.

The Romish soldiers themselves He had fashioned in their mother’s wombs, perhaps not 60 years before. He knew their every sinew, He knew the manner of the beating of their heart. He knew their loves, their desires, their circumstance, their ancestry and their eventual end. Even as He hung on the Cross whose wood He had made, fastened thereon by nails that He had made, nailed thereupon by men that He had made, it was for the hearts of these men that a great compassion came over His own heart, and it was for their forgiveness that He cried out, beseeching His Father this grace on account of their ignorance.

That stygian afternoon as He hung between earth and sky, a black and awful silence came over natural creation. It was not the silence of peace, for peace had yet to be made. Nor was it the silence of awe. Nay, what stole over creation was the silence of utter, abject horror. Sun and Moon fled, un-chased, from the scene. Dovesong, breeze, and windsbreath, all ceased. Creation lay inert as its Creator hung dying, perhaps insensate that only by the death of that Wonderful One could its redemption be complete.

And so it was that when at last an end had been made of His great sacrifice, this Sinless One, this Just One cried out, “It is finished.” He of Whom all the Prophets had prophesied, and to Whom all true Prophets now point, He Whose coming the law made necessary, and Whose life – and death – the Law fulfilled (fulfills); at last He had finished His task. Listed below are a few of the things that came to an end at 3:00pm that afternoon so many years ago:

1. The enmity between God and man – finished (Matthew 27:51a, Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:21-22).
2. The distance between God and man – finished (Ephesians 2:12-13).
3. The price that needed to be paid to pay for sin – finished (I John 2:2).
4. The sin of the world – finished (John 1:29, I John 2:2).
5. Our own sins – finished (I Corinthians 15:3).
6. The sin in the heart of man – finished (I John 1:7).
7. The difference in God’s eyes between Jew and Gentile – finished (Ephesians 2:14-19).
8. The devil – finished (Hebrews 2:14).
9. The dispensation of the law – finished (John 1:17).
10. The power of death over just men who had died before Christ’s death – finished (Matthew 27:52-53).
11. The power of death over just men who died after Christ’s death – finished (I Corinthians 15:21-22).

Such that this morning, it is indeed finished, and an end has been made of all these things; it only remains, therefore, for an end to be made of all these things for us, at a personal level.

Jesus paid it all
All to Him we owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Do you see aught?

(Commentary for the Main Campus Christian Union Sunday Service 22nd May 2005)

And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and said, “I see men as trees, walking.” After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

Mark 8:22-25 (KJV)

Often in the Gospels we find that just as parables have an inner, spiritual meaning within them, the events in the Gospels do, too. They are not told solely as a statement of fact, but also as an example to us.

Our event this morning is found in the book of Mark 8:22-25. It is only 4 verses long. We shall in fact only look at 3 verses, and we shall draw parallels between the story of this blind man, and the story of our salvation.

We pick up the story as the blind man is being led by our Lord out of the town. Salvation is always an individual affair, and cannot take place amidst the clamour, noise, hustle and bustle of everyday life. Normal activity comes to a stop. It does not often take place in the midst of a crowd. We find that the Lord often prefers to do his work within an individual alone with that individual.

He took Moses out of Egypt and into the wilderness for 40 years. John was in the wilderness from the time he was a child ‘til the day of his showing unto Israel. Paul was in the desert of Arabia for 3 years. It is not that we must spend similar amounts of time away from everything – these men had a special work to do. It is that it is the Lord’s way to lead us away from all the noise when He is working with us.

Picture yourself as the character in the story. You are aware that you have been brought to this Man to be healed. Your heart is thudding with expectation.  The first thing He does is take you on a long journey away from your usual surroundings. The street where you used to beg is quickly left behind. You pass the shop where you used to buy cigarettes. Student’s Centre is reached, and passed. The Carnivore is overtaken without a pause from the Saviour. The friends you used to gossip with are also left behind, far behind. Your drinking pals are left behind, step by sure step. And each step of the way, you ask yourself, “When is He going to heal me?” Before you realize, it begins to get quieter and quieter. Finally there is only the sound of your footfalls, and those of the Lord. And the constant, reassuring, safe feeling of your hand in His (the Bible says in verse 23 that He took him by the hand and led him out of the town). You are alone with Him. If only God could have us alone to Himself! If our Lord would do any lasting work within us, we must allow ourselves to be drawn away from the distractions of everyday living, sometimes even from friends and family, and be totally alone with Him.

The second thing we notice is that this healing did not follow the normal conventions of healing. We see that when the man was brought to Christ, those who brought him “besought Christ to touch him.” Christ did not begin with a touch. He began by spitting on his eyes. Credit to the blind man, he didn’t run away at this point. He had a need. He wanted to see. And if it took spitting to see, he was willing to be spat upon. He was willing to do anything, or have anything done to him, if only it would make him see.

Sometimes we think we need a touch, and what we need is a spit, first. What we need may not always be orderly and tidy. It may not always be what we think we need. It may not be what we expect. It may be painful. It might hurt our pride. It might mean giving up something that we treasure. But when the work gets messy, let us not run away. And if we are conscious enough of our need, we shall not mind about the spitting. We must let our overwhelming need for Salvation override the sometimes messy path it takes to get there.

The third thing we see is that the Lord asked the man if he could see anything. Now God in Christ is omniscient. He must have known that the patient was not yet fully healed. However He asked the man if he saw anything. I believe that up to this point, many of us are with the blind man. God has saved us, and called us out and away from the world to a Life lived in Him. However, the mistake that many of us make as Christians is to only let the Lord work up to a point. And God will do only as much as we will let Him. The omnipotent God has limited Himself to the wills of His people. He only goes as far as we let Him.

Let us continue with the little story. The man looks up and says “I see men as trees walking.” What a parallel of many a Christian life today! It is equivalent to only a partial sight. Our Christian lives are not all that they can be, and all that our Lord is willing to make them, if only we can just admit it. We see men as trees walking. There is an old temper in us that despite our most valiant efforts will just not go away. Perhaps some selfishness abides that we do not know how to deal with. Or maybe a pride yet lurks somewhere deep inside. There reside in our hearts sins and habits and lusts that we will not let go of or we cannot make to go away. We are the Christians spoken of in Romans 7, as opposed to Romans 8. Our vision is not yet clear. We need to look up, away from our daily lives and duties, away from our chores and tasks, take stock of our lives and ask ourselves if we are not really just living a half or a third or a tenth of the Christian life that is ours by promise.

God has said in His Word that He is able to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24). God has promised that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). God has spoken of joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8). He has promised peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). He has even commanded that we ought to be perfect as He is perfect (Matthew 5:48). But He is asking us “Do we see anything?” And we need to say, “Yes Lord, I see, but I see men as trees walking. Yes Lord, You saved me, but I want more. You saved me Lord, and I’m thankful, but what about my lust? Lord what about my lying? Will you take that away, too? I want to see clearly, Lord.”

Now, our work is not to heal ourselves. Thanks be to God. We can’t heal ourselves any more than the blind man could open his own eyes. God is the Healer. He is the Saviour. Ours is to admit that we need further healing. Ours is to cry out for a deeper salvation. Ours is to let the Lord know that we will not be content to live our lives in the wilderness, when Canaan has been promised. Ours is to want it enough not to leave Him until He does it for us. Let’s tell Him that we are not satisfied with just a small portion of Salvation. Let’s tell Him that we want every promise in the Bible to apply to us as Christians. Let’s tell Him that we are not willing to stand this side of Jordan, but we are willing to take the land that God has promised us. Let’s tell God that we need more of Him. Christ is sure to give us the second touch and we shall “see every man clearly”.

How do you see this morning? Do you see clearly? Is Heaven in clear sight, and does the love and Spirit of God abide within? Or do you see men as trees walking?

God bless you all.

Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 7

Step 7 – Praising and blessing the Lord

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

II Chronicles 20:18-19 (KJV)

And when he [Jehoshaphat] had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

II Chronicles 20:21-22

And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.

II Chronicles 20:26 (KJV)

It’s interesting to note that there are three places where there was praise or blessing was given unto the Lord. The first was after God spoke. The second was at the time of the battle. And the third was after the victory.

Praising God for His Word

There are times when God clearly speaks a Word to each of us. It may be spoken to us by somebody. It may be spoken to us in a dream. A particular portion of the Scripture may come to life. But God has always spoken, does speak and He will always speak to His people. If we are sure that God has spoken, it is actually the same as if He has done it. This is why the Levites praised God after the prophecy of Jahaziel. The answer to Jehoshaphat’s prayer actually arrives in verses 14-17 when God said through Jahaziel: “

Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord…”

II Chronicles 20:17

When Judah heard this, they fell on their faces and worshipped, beginning with Jehoshaphat, and the Levites praised the Lord. If only we could have this kind of faith in His Word, that after we have heard It, we praise Him just as if it had already happened. That we would praise Him in advance of the victory. That we would praise Him because we have heard His Word and we believe Him. This is what Mary told Elizabeth after the angel Gabriel had visited her. Remember, Jesus had not been born. Perhaps she didn’t feel anything in her womb yet. She had only a Word. But she praised Him anyhow:

My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His Name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath holpen His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Luke 1:46-55

Praising the Lord at the time of battle

Let’s turn the camera to the camp of the Ammonites and the Moabites and the Edomites. The time is early in the morning (verse 20). Soldiers are buckling on their armour. Swords are being placed in scabbards. The generals are assessing the lay of the land, and finalizing strategies for attack. There is adrenalin in the camp. And then… wait, what’s that sound? Is that music I hear? Singing! The people of Judah are singing!

And so we see that praise is one thing we can do in the midst of battle. It sounds counter-intuitive, but imagine what it must look like to the devil when we praise the Lord in the midst of trouble that he (the devil) has orchestrated.. I’m quite sure he cannot stand it. There is an attitude I like to call a “Hallelujah anyhow” attitude. Those Ammonites are numerous, but hallelujah anyhow. They came with the Moabites too, but hallelujah anyhow. The Lord hasn’t healed me yet, but He said He would, so hallelujah anyhow. Hallelujah! Anyhow.

Blessing the Lord after the victory

The third time that Judah thanked the Lord, the Bible says they blessed the Lord. The Swahili word baraka is actually related to the word Berachah quoted in this Scripture. The word baraka in Swahili is Arabic in origin (e.g. Barack Obama) and Hebrew and Arabic share some words. The Bible says that after the enemy finished slaying one another, it took Judah three days just to collect the loot. On the fourth day, they said “Folks, we better bless the Lord.” Now, it is not good to be an ingrate. It is not pleasing to God to forget the things He has done for us or be ungrateful. Seems to me I can hear the hurt in the Master’s voice when He said:

“Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”

Luke 17:15

God does not withhold the blessing because He knows we will be ungrateful. No, God’s heart is too big for that. But the least we ought to do is find time to thank Him and bless Him after He has done for us things we could never have done for ourselves. The people of Judah blessed God until that site was named the Valley of Blessing ever after. It became a memorial because of how they blessed Him. I like that. We too, ought to learn how to bless Him until our blessing of Him becomes memorable. Whether in song, or dance, or thanksgiving, offering, testimony or praise – it ought to be memorable, somehow.

In summary, we ought to remember to praise Him after He speaks, to praise Him during the battle and to bless Him after the victory.

Thank you for reading through these articles. I trust they have been a blessing to you. Remember, they will mean nothing to you or to me until we get down to it and pray. If there’s any way I can help you, feel free to let me know. May the Lord God bless you, and give you the faith and strength you will need on those early mornings and on those hungry afternoons/nights. And may He receive the glory that is due Him out of our lives as He answers our prayers.

Let us pray.

Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 6

Step 6 – Stand believing

And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

II Chronicles 20:13 (KJV)

Many of my own prayers have been mixes and matches of the previous 5 steps. ESPECIALLY Step 4. And God has answered many of them. But I see another step that has been missing. And that is to stand before Him until the answer comes (II Chronicles 20:13). The Bible talks about having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13). Remember, to this point, we have:

1. Set ourselves;
2. Reminded God of His goodness and the great things He has done in the past, especially for us;
3. Found a legal (Scriptural) basis for our petition and rested our case upon it;
4. Honestly stated the problem, including examining ourselves; and
5. Confessed our shortcomings and weaknesses, professing ourselves to be dependent on Him.

Having done all this, the hour comes when we must stand. Amen.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t physically move, although such situations may arise. It means remain in an attitude of waiting for an answer until one comes. After presenting your case,behave as if you have been heard. Remain expecting His answer! Too many of my prayers have ended when I got up off my knees, or after the amen, when they shouldn’t have. No doubt many an answer would by now have been received if we had got to the point where “all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives and their children.” The Bible says all Judah. Not just some of Judah. It’s got to be all. It’s got to be all of me, it’s got to be all of you. When all of us and everything we are is to be found in an attitude of expectant standing, wholly given over to waiting in faith for the answer to the dilemma, we shall receive what we ask for. It might, as in Daniel’s case, take 21 days. For Judah, I don’t think it was that long until the Spirit of God fell upon Jahaziel and he prophesied. But God help me henceforth to stay right there expecting, listening for Him to answer until He does.

In another place the Scripture commands us, when we pray, to believe that we receive what we have asked for (Mark 11:24). This is the same attitude. Our prayers may come to an end, but like Judah, we dare not cease to believe when we cease to pray. Believing can not, must not end with the prayer. Believing must go on past the “Amen” up to and even beyond the point where the object of the prayer is made reality. Like how Abraham believed for Isaac. Even after Isaac was born (reality), when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, that old patriarch climbed Mount Moriah believing that God would raise Isaac from the dead, because he still believed Isaac to be the son that God had promised (Hebrews 11:17-19). How’s that for standing!  Oh, may God give us the faith to make His Word live. When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?

Let us “walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham”  (Romans 4:12);  having done all, let us stand.

Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 5

Step 5 – Confess your current weakness and your dependence upon Him

…for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee.

II Chronicles 20:12

Here is a word especially for us men. You know, there is that part of prayer that is a humbling of self. Let us cast pride, self-confidence, abilities (perceived or real) and ego to one side and allow ourselves to appear before God the way we really are. Sometimes in the midst of prayer, one becomes acutely aware of the magnitude of one’s inadequacies to deal with the situation. Powerlessness. Despair, even. Deep, unpretentious prayer can and should unclothe me, unmasking what really lies beneath all the bravado, the confidence and the image that I have projected out into the world. For “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:13)

Let’s take a closer look at King Jehoshaphat. Here is the king of a great nation, confessing his inabilities. Was it that he lacked an army? No. Judah at that time had an army of 1,160,000 soldiers (II Chronicles 17:14-18). In 2011, that would be one of the top 5 largest armies in the world. Yet, close your eyes and listen to this king praying: “We have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do…”  I imagine if the kings of the Moabites had been strolling by at that moment, he would have thought, “Boy, this’ll be a walkover. Look at the guy! On his knees, whining to his God…” Don’t worry about what it looks like. God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty (I Corinthians 1:27). Confess your weaknesses and inabilities, and be honest with God. After all, what might have we against cancer or AIDS? Against sin? Against many of the situations that we find ourselves in? It would do us a lot of good sometimes to put trying aside and say “Lord, I have no might against this great thing.”

Linked to this is confessing dependence on Him. Jehoshaphat did not stop at confessing weakness. He also prayed: “…but our eyes are upon Thee.“(verse 12) Surely there can be few better ways to conclude a prayer. “I don’t know what to do, but I’m depending on You, Lord. I could do this and that and the other, but Father, but really I’d just be guessing. I’m lost and I don’t know what to do. My eyes are on You.” In your prayer, go back where you began – go back to Him. Amen.

Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 4

Step 4 – Turn God’s attention to the problem and ask for His help

And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of Thy possession, which Thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt Thou not judge them?

II Chronicles 20:10-12

Finally! “And now behold, Lord.” This is perhaps the step in which I have most experience, because unfortunately this is where too many of my prayers have begun. Indeed, many of us should have no problems here. But it cannot hurt to say – turn God’s attention to the problem and thoroughly describe it; give the background and state the current situation. In the verses above, Jehoshaphat describes where the problem began and how things have got to the current point. He reminds God that when the Israelites were marching to the Promised Land, they were warned of God not to distress the Moabites (Deuteronomy 2:9). Now, Jehoshaphat prays, this is how they are rewarding us. That’s really stating the case, beginning with the background and all the way up to the present. He wasn’t blaming God for lack of foresight, either. He was saying the error was with them for repaying Israel’s kindness with evil.

Internal or external?

Let’s remember to get our prayers up out of the clouds and state what the issues really are. You know, we might be surprised. More often than we think, the problems may be internal and not external. A lot of our prayers need to change from “Avenge me, O Lord! Didn’t You say ‘Vengeance is Mine?’ ” to “Lord, help me to pray for my enemy like You said I should. I’ve tried and I just can’t. Give me real Godly love in my heart for them. I want to be like You.” We have got to thoroughly understand the problem, including whether or not the problem is us. Let’s make sure our motives are right, and that we are not pursuing selfish agendas while appearing to be piously on our knees. Christianity is not some kind of white, right magic to make our enemies (whether tribal, political, economic, office-related, or neighbourhood-related) disappear in a puff of smoke. The whole essence of the matter, as stated in the Lord’s Prayer, is for God’s will to be done. God’s will for our lives is perfect. It is not God’s will for you to be sick, or in sin. So He wrote His Word to tell you that you can be free. As earlier stated, find His stated will in His Word and make sure your motives are pure, then you can define the problem clearly and honestly before Him.

I’d like to go back to the Apostles’ prayer in Acts 4. Let’s look at the background a bit. Peter and John had been brought before the same High Priest that had been involved in Christ’s crucifixion a short while earlier. They were having to answer for having healed somebody (religiosity is bad, friends). They told the priests that they were not going to listen to them or stop doing miracles in Christ’s Name. So they were threatened and released. When prayer time came, did they ask God to descend upon the priests with a fistful of lightning bolts? Far from it. They said:

And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy Word, By stretching forth Thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of Thy Holy Child Jesus.

Acts 4:29-30 (KJV)

In other words: “Yes we have been threatened. Yes these are the same men that condemned Christ and caused His crucifixion. But whether or not we are being threatened, the Gospel must be preached. We are Your servants. Grant us boldness to preach, Lord.” No wonder God shook the building. Rather than call for a removal of the problem, they asked for the ability to overcome it. They pointed the finger at themselves and asked for boldness. That’s really mature prayer.

So, even as you define the problem, check: are my motives right? What really needs to change, is it me, or is it the situation? The right prayer at times seems so opposite to the way one would normally pray. At times we are going to need God’s help in understanding life’s issues the way He sees them before we can pray the kind of prayer that He wants prayed. Some of the time, it’ll take the illumination of His vivified Word which discerns the thoughts and the intents of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12) to guide us in the way we should pray or we are going to miss it. Let’s ask for His help in that too. However, once we are sure of how we need to pray, once we are sure we are in His will, let us not be afraid to turn Almighty God’s attention to the problem and say: “Lord, now behold.”

What would you have Him do?

Having turned God’s attention to the problem, it is also important to say what we would like Him to do about it. What a great and effectual door has been opened to us in this. Both Jehoshaphat’s prayer and the Apostles’ prayer in Acts 4 had this feature. Jehoshaphat asked God to judge the Ammonites, the Moabites and the Edomites. The Apostles asked God for boldness to preach the Gospel. We too may ask, and likewise receive.

It seems to me that at this point in his/her prayer, the Christian stands where the blind son of Timaeus stood in Mark 10:51. You have cried out. An unsympathetic, un-understanding, graceless crowd has bid you stop your shouts, but your desperate cry has rung on, ceaseless, oblivious. At last, your desire, your desperation, your cries have attracted His attention. The great Master stands still (amen – Mark 10:49). The recently vehement multitude is now quiet, for He has commanded that you be brought to Him. I can hear your shuffling, stumbling steps in the great silence. Seems to me that in the stillness, I can hear the Master’s Voice as He asks a question that reverberates from His lips all the way through two thousand years or so right down to this moment as I write these words:

“What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” 

What do you want Me to do for you, Samuel? What would you have Him do for you, this morning? This evening? This month? This coming year?

“Lord, that I might receive my sight!”  

So simple.

Per the Scriptures in James 4:2-3 the lack of blessing is correspondent to a lack of correct asking. So brethren, let us ask. Let’s ask God to heal. Let’s ask Him to soften stony hearts. Let’s ask Him to open barren wombs. Let’s ask Him to forgive. Let’s ask Him to bless. Let’s ask for His Presence, His protection, His in-filling, His baptism, His provision, His encouragement. Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,”exhorts the Lord in Matthew 7:7/Luke 11:9.

At long, long last, let us simply, humbly ask.

Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 3

Step 3 – Explain on what legal (Scriptural) basis you’re asking God for help

And they dwelt therein, and have built Thee a sanctuary therein for Thy Name, saying, If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in Thy Presence, (for Thy Name is in this house,) and cry unto Thee in our affliction, then Thou wilt hear and help.

II Chronicles 20:8-9 (KJV)

When one is praying, one needs to find a legal basis on which to stand his/her petition. This simply means: find an appropriate Scripture and hang your case on it. Amen to that. Jehoshaphat’s legal basis for coming to God for help was the prayer that Solomon prayed when he was dedicating the temple (I Kings 8:22-53/II Chronicles 6:12-42 especially 28-31). II Chronicles 6:28-31 says:

If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all Thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: Then hear Thou from heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest; (for Thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear Thee, to walk in Thy ways, so long as they live in the land which Thou gavest unto our fathers.

II Chronicles 6:28-31

After Solomon’s prayer the Bible says that the fire fell on the sacrifices and offerings and consumed them, and God’s glory filled the temple, showing that God had heard his prayer. God also confirmed to Solomon that He had heard this prayer, and He said to him at night:

“…Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.”

II Chronicles 7:15

That was enough for Jehoshaphat. He found somewhere to base his petition. In other words, Jehoshaphat prayed: “God, when You gave us this land, You chose to place Your Name here. We Your people have built a sanctuary unto Your Name in this land. And when we built it, Your servant King Solomon prayed and asked that if we’re ever in trouble, if we should pray in this place, this temple, You would hear and help.” Jehoshaphat didn’t have a full Bible like you and I. He only had what had happened up to that time. But he still found somewhere to hang his case. We are so fortunate to have the whole blessed Book, numberless examples and promises!

A lesson from Jesus’ job description

I love Luke 4:17-20, I call it Jesus’ job description. The Bible says of Christ:

And there was delivered unto Him the Book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the Book, He found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down.

Luke 4:17-20

That, my friends, is the lesson, right there. Christ found a place where it was written about Him (Isaiah 61:1-2) and quoted it. So ought we to open the Book and find the place where It’s written about us – and quote it back to God. “About me?” you ask? Sure! Pray a “God, You said…” prayer. If you’re sick, find where It says that He “healeth all of thy diseases.” (Psalms 103:3) If sin is the problem, find the place where It says that He “forgiveth all thine iniquities”. (Psalms 103:3) If you’re in trouble and you can find one place where God promised to help those who are in trouble, stand your prayer upon It because He has said He doesn’t change. Find the place where It’s written! And then point it out to God. Base your case upon It. Rest your petition upon the written Word of God.

One thing’s for sure, we can’t pray based upon our own goodness or virtue. We don’t have any. We have absolutely none. The Bible says “…we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses…” (Daniel 9:18) Friends, few if any prayers would be answered based on our own standing. We’re a lot like Isaiah, if we were ever to see God, we’d say “woe is me”. We can’t pray based upon the fact that we deserve the things we ask for, either. We don’t.

No friends, except our prayers be founded upon Scriptural Promise – what God Himself has promised to do about situations like ours – there is very little hope for them. But thanks be to God, there will be many Scriptures that apply, especially if it is character that we seek, for it is written: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature… (II Peter 1:4)

Find the place where It is written – about your problem.

Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 2

Step 2 – Start your prayer with God. Remind God of His greatness and what He has already done, especially in your life

…O Lord God of our fathers, art not Thou God in heaven? and rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in Thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand Thee? Art not Thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever?

II Chronicles 20:5-7 (KJV)

Speak to God of His greatness, and remind Him of what He has done in the past – for you.

“Wait a minute,” you say. “I thought we were praying! When do I get to tell God all MY problems, and everything they did to me? Doesn’t that come first?” Yes, I used to think so too. But we’re looking at the pattern of an answered prayer. The time for petitioning will come.

You and God have a history 

So – speak to God of His greatness. Now, it’s got to be personal. Some prayers, only you can pray, because what God did He did only for you. That’s partly why you can’t always be prayed for; because only you can tell Him, in your own special, personal way, the things that He has done for you.

Many times in His dealings with the children of Israel, in the Pentateuch, God refers to Himself along these lines: “I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 20:2, Exodus 29:46, Leviticus 11:45, Leviticus 19:36, Leviticus 22:33, Leviticus 25:38, Leviticus 25:55, Leviticus 26:13, Numbers 15:41, Deuteronomy 5:6.) Rather than refer to Himself as the Creator of heavens and earth (which He is) or the Captain of the hosts of heaven (which He also is) God repeatedly reminded them of a momentous event in their own lives during which they had personally seen His Power. That’s it.

In other words, if God was writing to me about Himself, He would say: “Samuel, I am the God that saved you that Saturday evening in Campus, and visited you in your room in Hall 7 the following evening.” Blessed be God forever. Away with a nebulous and hazy understanding of God! God would have us remember the reality and the Power and the Majesty of “Him with Whom we have to do.” He that cometh to God must believe (a) that He is, and (b) that He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Don’t guess at it, friend, for you do not have to. He has done things for you in the past. Remind Him of these things. Did He not save you – bring you out of Egypt and the house of bondage – too? Has He not blessed you in many, many ways? Recount these things to Him. Perhaps you should not be surprised if you find yourself saying “Thank You, Lord,” and getting up, after this step! Our problems seem to shrink when set beside God. In any case, remind God about what He’s done for you in the past. You and He go way back. There is a history. Draw on it. You’ve got to start somewhere, and it will increase your faith.

The Lord’s Prayer

This pattern of beginning prayer with God and not us is repeated in the Lord’s Prayer as well. I imagine things went a little bit like this. The disciples, future Apostles, overheard Jesus pray (Luke 11:1). Man, I’d have liked to hear Him pray. There was something about His prayer that was not like other men’s prayers.  Amen, have you ever heard a prayer like that? Sure, I have too. The prayer of somebody who is connected. I like those kinds of prayers. The prayers that you know are getting heard. So the disciples heard Him pray and they began to feel like their own prayers were inadequate. I am acquainted with that feeling. So they asked: “Lord, teach us to pray.” That kind of humility is worth learning from. They saw their failings, and they asked for help. That was prayer, too. So Jesus answered their prayer (amen). And He said:

“After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy Will be done in earth, as it is in heaven…“

Matthew 6:9-10 (KJV) 

It is so unfortunate that too many of our prayers have precisely the opposite format:

“Jehovah Lord, Righteous Redeemer

It’s been a while since I last told You what I want  spoke to You, but I’m sure You understand. We had a fight with my spouse – no, no - auditors/exams/visitors/office deadlines and it’s been so busy. It wasn’t my fault, as I’m sure You saw.

So Lord, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the heart of the matter. Make my name great. Make me great! Let others see, Lord, let them see. I’m tired of being small. When will things change?

May my destiny/job/house/car/wife/husband/child come. I know You can do it. You said You would give me the desires of my heart, anyway.

Let my will and desires be done; first things first, Lord.

Gotta go Lord, it’s time for [insert relevant TV programme here]. Thank You for listening. I know You’ll answer.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.”

Ok, I admit this is a bit extreme, but it is not entirely made up, either. It is not wrong to ask God to help us. But you see, Jesus said: pray after this manner. Not pray these words (this is vain repetition and is to be avoided as per Matthew 6:7), but use this format. The first four statements He said after saying that are not even requests, they are about God – His Fatherhood, His Name, His Kingdom and His Will. Not so much as a whisper about our needs, though these immediately follow. But that’s how we should pray folks. Not those shallow “gimme prayers”. Let’s pray prayers that concern themselves with the Almighty, first. That’s it – that is how to start a prayer. Begin at the right place, with the right Person. You will find that Person isn’t me, or you (or them, for that matter). It’s Him.

The Apostles’ prayer in Acts 4

Let’s look at the prayer of the Apostles in Acts 4, a prayer they prayed when they got into trouble with the priests for preaching the Gospel. The Bible says when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken. How did this building-shaking prayer start? Did they say: “Now, O great Jehovah, look these priests! Enemies of the Gospel and of You. They even got Jesus killed. Now move O God! And move them preferably…” Er… not quite. They said:

“Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said…”

Acts 4:24-25 (KJV)

In other words: “Lord, You’re God. You’re the Creator. You made all things. And this is what You said…” In fact they said a very great statement later on in the prayer: that everything that happened to Jesus Christ was actually in fulfilment of whatsoever God’s hand and His counsel had determined before should happen.

Let’s make our prayers less about us and more about God. Let us start with Him. His greatness. What He’s done for us, personally. His will. His plan for our lives. Then we can go on into Step 3.

Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 1

Step 1 – “Setting yourself” to pray (get serious with God)

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

II Chronicles 20:3-4 (KJV)

Be serious and sincere when praying. Stop what you’re doing, and pray. Too often prayer (if it happens at all) is an unwanted interruption, a brief interlude in the stream of our busy lives. Not Jehoshaphat’s prayer. The Bible says Jehoshaphat “set himself” to seek the Lord. I like that. Setting ourselves! Every time we pray, we have an audience with Jehovah. Let’s stop playing with God. Don’t just hit pause on that movie, Samuel. Shut down the laptop/computer and pack it away. Close the door, and lock it. Switch off that phone. Get the kiddies to bed. Get up early, when it’s quiet. Sing some, or listen to some good Gospel music. Get ready, get quiet and then start praying. Set yourself to pray! The idea is not to launch into a barrage of Christian-ese. Remember, there are those that Jesus said “think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7) That’s a bad place to be, thinking that you’re being heard, when you’re not. Get ready to pray, then pray. What we need is prayed prayers, not said prayers.

Fasting

The Bible says that King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast throughout Judah, so fasting must receive mention here. Fasting seems to have become extremely unpopular among us these days. I heard of one man who was fasting in that he was only eating a banana at mealtimes. Many times I fast by going the whole day without food, but then at suppertime all hell breaks loose. The concluding prayer is made with the aroma of a Steers takeout wafting in my nostrils. Well, maybe it has worked up to now. But I get the feeling this is not the kind of fast that Judah was observing. This country was facing dangers such as imminent destruction, the ravishing of their wives and daughters, the killing of their little ones and slavery or at least taxation (called tribute in those days). They were in trouble! Now, it is not practical to fast every single time that we pray. However, in times of crisis, we ought to fast. Let’s fast like we were fasting to God. Some things cannot shift without fasting, and that is Scripture (Mark 9:29). Fasting is hard, but remember this is not modern Christianity. This is a back-to-the-Bible treatise on prayer.

Corporate prayer

In response to the king’s call, Judah “gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord”. What a righteous nation. In other words, nationwide activity ground to a halt. If it was planting time, they stopped planting. If it was harvesting time, the harvest was left in the fields awhile. An entire nation stopped what it was doing to pray! Judah really got serious with God. So we see that there is much to be said for corporate prayer. Remember it is also written

“…If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.“

(Matthew 18:19)

One may not be able to gather the whole nation to pray for their own needs (nor is this necessary). But find a trustworthy friend or two. Then confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. Amen, that’s good Scriptural strategy for prayer (James 5:16).

Getting away

This morning [12 December 2011] my attention has been caught by the phrase “even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” We pray in secret, in our rooms, in our closets and this is effective. But there are times when we may find it useful to go “out of the city” and there cry out to God. Remember, there were few men as prayerful as the Lord Jesus. Though He was God on earth, though He had the fullness of the Godhead in Him, He too, was in the habit of setting Himself to pray. He would send the multitude and His disciples away and pray (Matthew 14:22-23). Or else He Himself would depart into a solitary place, and pray (Mark 1:35). The night before He chose His disciples, He went out into a mountain and continued all night in prayer (Luke 6:12). If the Master required to set Himself to pray in this manner, how are we ever going to make it without a similar commitment to personal prayer?

I remember when the time came for me to leave my former workplace. The conviction that it was time to leave was so strong that I took leave from work and “left the city” to pray for three days. God heard my prayers, and the rest is history. Since then I have continually seen what God can do when we pray. He’s taken me places I would never otherwise have visited, blessed me beyond what I deserve… Only five months ago, in July 2011, He surpassed my wildest expectations and took me to visit Israel. I spent my birthday in the Holy Land, on a 5-week assignment and therefore free of charge. I have been known to call myself “God’s spoilt little boy.” I say this not to boast, but to move away from theory and give a real-life, modern, current, “live-live” example that these things are true and they are effective and God is alive and well and ready to listen to you. I am in no way special or more deserving than anybody. But if we are willing to give God a chance, we shall see what He can do.

Early-morning prayer

Although the Bible does not say what time Jehoshaphat prayed, I’d like to reserve a special mention for early-morning prayer. There’s nothing quite like it. There are numerous mentions of this habit in Psalms, the most well-known of which, perhaps, is found in Psalms 63:

“O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is…”

(Psalms 63:1)

I know for a fact that God has been encouraging me to do this. God can speak all the time, but I know from Scripture that He speaks early in the morning, for in Jeremiah (a book that made me wonder whether God cries) the following statement appears:

“I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not…”

 (Jeremiah 7:13) 

Do you know how many times this statement appears in Jeremiah? This phrase appears no less than 11 times (Jeremiah 7:13, 7:25, 11:7, 25:3, 25:4, 26:5, 29:19, 32:33, 35:14, 35:15, 44:4). Guess what, friends. Maybe God waits for us every morning and then we don’t show up.

Let’s be serious with God. Let’s set ourselves to seek Him. The Bible says if we will draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to us (James 4:8). Let us pray.