Christian Living

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Launching Missiles

As the sun began to ascend upon the eastern horizon there was a faint sound in the distance drawing closer. This was not the usual morning wake up call and it seemed to catch a few of the men by surprise. Tucked away in deep, damp fox holes that rarely stayed warm at this time of day, but usually developed into hot ovens by noontime, a rustling was heard as the sound in the air grew stronger.

Moments later voices began to yell commands that not only shattered the morning silence but also gave a stern warning of the ever advancing enemy. In what seemed like moments, the planes were in sight, preparing to drop their payload on the helpless troops below. The sound in the air grew louder as the yelling on the ground became more intense. Quickly each man took his place and prepared to aim at the enemy. With a limited amount of ammunition each shot must be fired with accuracy. There were no resources to waste or the time to make sure everything was perfect. When the signal was given each man would give his best and pray that the missile would find its target.

The lead plane was in view and the time was now. “Fire!” shouted the sergeant and a missile launched. It was just a matter of seconds before the explosion illuminated what remained of the night sky and the thundering sound of a plane being decimated echoed through the air. Again and again, the planes flew over and each one was fired upon by the men in their trenches. With every hit and squeal of a plane hurtling to earth the men shouted in victory knowing that the enemy had suffered a fatal blow.
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We have all seen old war movies that depict a classic battle between good and evil. The triumph of shooting down the enemy or wounding the oppositions best soldiers. The victory yells and feeling of satisfaction that those who were on the ground could sense, even if only for a short time.

How do we look at prayer? Is it a time to draw closer to God? Should it be used to beseech the Father for the things we need? Can we unload all our trials upon Him? Well, certainly, these are all applicable when it comes to prayer. Yet, i submit to you that sometimes prayer is similar to launching missiles. We may not have all the time in the world to aim for our target when the enemy catches us off guard. We may not possess the latest weapons to defend ourselves, much less make an impact upon the forces of evil. However, we do have one thing in prayer that is deadly accurate, the power of the Holy Spirit! His aim is never off. With Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, He sees every flaw that we possess and makes up for the outdated weaponry that we use. He restores and renews what we offer Him until it can be effectively used for His purpose.

The reason we may not think of prayer as a great weapon of warfare is because we sometimes only see the weapon itself or the one holding it. Some may feel that they do not have the training to use this weapon effectively. Others may have a weapon but it is inadequate in their eyes. Therefore, we bury ourselves in fox holes and hope that the enemy will somehow pass over us. The Lord is calling us to arm ourselves and fire at His command. Not aimlessly, but regularly toward the enemy. His guidance system insures that we will hit the target every time. But we must fire, and fire often!
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Praise and prayer are effective against the enemy and they truly can become synonymous. Both involve contact with the Throne of Grace and reveal our dependence upon Him while demonstrating trust. We begin to get in trouble when our ammunition is allowed to run low or we relax the attack because the advancing enemy is not within our sights. The secret is a constant barrage of prayer into the heavenlies while staying relentless in our pursuit of the power source for our lives. The enemy may never know what hit him or who fired the shot. Yet, the effect is the same, the enemy is defeated, and his plans are thrown into disarray. What we need are warriors who will fire the missiles. There will be no draft for this army, only volunteers. Will you sign up?

Glen E. Spaugh

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