ON THE VANGUARD

BRING IT ON!
“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31

I awoke this morning with two songs in mind head, but both pounding out the same lyrics. The first was Bring It On, a song by Steven Curtis Chapman on his 2001 album. The words of the upbeat driven chorus are simple. “Bring it on / Let the lightning flash, let the thunder roll, let the storm winds blow / Bring it on / Let the trouble come, let the hard rain fall, let it make me strong / Bring it on.” The second song to flood me as I awoke was another simple song by newcomer Izzy Ray, who in her own words paraphrased Romans 8:28-31. Her smooth chorus lyrics state, “If my God is for me, who can be against me / If my God is for me, who can bring me down / If my God is for me no one can defeat me / If my God is for me, bring it on.”
Now with the topic of prayer being my focus for this season of June, you may wonder what these sets of lyrics have to do with prayer. In my opinion, they have much to do. Travel back in time with me to II Kings 6:8-23. It is in this account that we read of the King of Aram being at war with Israel. The king had advised his inner court that he would set up camp in a specific place. Now without an inside man to report back to Elisha this place, Elisha knew of the plans and reported this plot to the King of Israel. When this warning came true, Elisha earned the respect of the king and his future warnings were also heeded.
The King of Aram, however, wasn’t so excited about the constant foiling of his plans and became outraged. For sure there must be a spy within his own court. But no one came forth. Instead, they confessed what was really taking place. In seeking God in prayer, Elisha was being given the words of the king spoken in private, as if being right there in his very room. Aram’s order then became to find Elisha and capture him. Aram’s army went out and in the morning had the place located and surrounded.
In the morning, when Elisha’s servant awoke, panic struck him as he saw the massive army of Aram surrounding the city. In fear he questioned of the prophet what they should do. But, with a calm ease, Elisha encouraged him not to worry. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (II Kin 6:16). At that moment Elisha prayed for the eyes of his servant to be opened to the spiritual world, as when he did so the servant saw the even greater army of God. As the army of Aram came forth, the prayer that God would strike the enemy with blindness was heard. From there Elisha led them away from him into Samaria, and the plundering of them in Israel ceased.
It is in this account I want to point out two important factors. First, God hears our prayers. While we have turned prayer into us bringing our shopping list before God, it really is meant to be a two way street of communication. He desires to hear our hearts, but He also desires to share His heart, His plans, and His desires with us. Elisha was able to hear the inner chamber chat of Aram because he took the time to question what was on God’s heart as opposed to spilling out only what was on his own. But the second point, which brings me back to the two songs I woke up to, is that God is for us. God brought His army, more massive in size, when Aram brought his soldiers to confront Elisha. God brought blindness which in turn ended the plundering of Israel. God fought for His people, and He will fight also for us today. So it is to this I say, boldly, as in these songs, “Bring it on!” I know my God is for me, and if He is for me then NO ONE can stand against me.