Pray for Others (or, call the Apache)

I recently listened to Spare, by Prince Harry, on Audible.

There has been much negative reaction to the biography – especially from the British media, who he severely criticises. But, whichever side you sit on his decision to write it, what is fascinating about his book is that it gives the reader – or listener in my case – insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the life of an individual and an institution.

In the UK many of us feel we know a lot about the members of the Royal Family after absorbing years of media coverage, but Prince Harry’s biography has become an instant best seller because it has the value of an insider perspective.

He gives his perspective of what we have previously only seen through the lenses of paparazzi and reports of journalists. He takes us behind the scenes and we see a very different reality to what we may have expected. We see what lies beneath the surface.

In the middle section of the book, Prince Harry describes his army career. He talks about learning to fly an Apache helicopter and then using it to provide aircover for soldiers on the ground when serving in Afghanistan. I hadn’t expected to be interested in this part of the book and to be honest, I fast forwarded several chapters about the war and training (military history has never been my thing!)

But when reading the scriptures to prepare for the topic, Pray for Others, details about the Apache aircraft and its use in warfare came back to my memory as an illustration that really encouraged me, and hopefully will encourage you too.

In the passage we read from Chapter 6 of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he compares Christians to soldiers in a war.

What struck me when reading the whole chapter and seeing what comes before verse 10, is that initially it feels as though Paul has made a very clunky change of subject.

At the start, he describes everyday relationships:

He warns parents not to anger their children and advises children to obey their parents.

He encourages employees to work hard and enthusiastically for their employers and warns employers to treat their employees well.

But after offering all of this good advice for living everyday life, Paul suddenly seems to change direction.

One minute he is explaining how to negotiate our ordinary lives and relationships. The next he is describing a soldier preparing for a supernatural battle.

And I feel, maybe the seemingly jarring juxtaposition between the everyday and the supernatural might be deliberate.

Because it is not a juxtaposition. Paul is pointing us to a parallel. He is lifting the lid on what is really going on in our daily struggles and relationships. He is showing us what truly lies beneath the surface

He is reminding us that our Christian walk is more than a pastime, more than a bunch of traditions, more than church services. Our Christian walk is a daily spiritual battle.

The struggles and challenges of our daily lives may look ordinary on the surface but behind the scenes, when seen from a higher heavenly vantage point, we are not just parents, children, employees and employers, we are actually soldiers on a mission, engaged in a very real battle with a very real enemy.

All too often we need a reminder of what is really beneath the surface.

When we are on the ground dealing with our situations, we can sometimes lose our perspective. We can be so bogged down in the trenches of everyday life and not see that we need a wider vision to realise that our struggles are not with the everyday flesh and blood reality we see in front of us.

So, Paul reminds us that:

- We are in a war.

- We have a spiritual enemy, willing to employ strategies and work through individuals and institutions to defeat our progress.

- We have a mission to achieve. A Gospel to spread. Captives to set free. Imprisoned camps to liberate.

And in Ephesians, when Paul instructs us to 'pray in the Spirit at all times…to keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints…' He is urging us to call on our Apaches.

Because, when we pray, we are calling for a spiritual vehicle to provide cover for us and our fellow soldiers on the ground.

When we pray, we are seeking an Apache perspective and asking for our eyes to be opened to the bigger picture of our situation and the situations that other people are in.

So, what lessons can we learn about praying for others from the Apache and from Paul’s reminder of the spiritual reality under the surface of our everyday lives?

THE APACHE HELICOPTER

Well, first let's look at what an Apache does.

The Apache helicopter carries out vital roles, including reconnaissance missions – scoping out the ground below to locate the enemy and support ground troops – evacuating casualties of war, and engaging in combat with the enemy.

The Apache attack helicopter is probably the most sophisticated piece of equipment in the world available to front-line troops. It has 120 degree visual field with high resolution imagery, can locate up to 256 targets simultaneously, has night vision and GPS, and is armed with guns, hellfire missiles and rockets. It is also equipped with harnesses to lift wounded soldiers out of the war-zone.

So, how does this translate to the importance of prayer?

When we are reminded of the spiritual battle that lies beneath the physical world we inhabit, we can truly see the need and the power of praying for others.

When we pray we are calling for the aid of a “spiritual” Apache aircraft to provide cover for all who are in the battle.

• We need prayer Apache vision so that we can be given the bigger picture and a wider perspective.

• We need Apache firepower to hold back the enemy and enable the soldiers on the ground to carry out their mission.

• We need the Apache MedEvac (or Medical Evacuation) to rescue the injured and lift them out of the battle to safety and medical care.

• And we need guidance from Mission Control on how to conduct the mission we have been sent to do.

1) Apache Vision: Bigger picture/wider perspective of the war field

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts…”

Life is full of overwhelming struggles and people are very good at hiding what they are struggling with. Sometimes we don’t know how to cope with the problems our children are having, the situations at work, financial difficulties, job insecurity.

Our solutions and offers of help may be well intended but may not be what that person truly needs.

1 Cor 13:12 tells us that ‘Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then [when we are with God] we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.'

When we call on the prayer Apache, we are connecting to God’s higher perspective, His perfect clarity.

God can give us Apache vision: an insight into a problem that we would never have otherwise. We see the person in front of us, but God knows what spiritual battle this person is going through. God knows what lies they have become entangled with and which enemy strongholds are wearing them down.

When we pray, God can give us a perspective that is higher and more accurate than ours could ever be. “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:3).

Elisha, the man of God, had Apache vision (2 Kings 6:15-17). When the armies surrounded him, he wasn’t afraid because he could see the bigger picture, the spiritual reality that lay in parallel to the physical scene that was in front of him. Elisha prayed for his servant to be given Apache vision too. And God answered the prayer by showing the servant what was behind the scenes, the spiritual battle that lay parallel to the physical view he saw in front of him.

We must pray for this Apache vision for other Christians, especially those in leadership positions in the Church. Those responsible for leading the squadrons (or congregations) that they are called to serve, need to have clear vision.

There are many issues of the day affecting the Church that have the potential of creating division. There are strongly held positions on all sides. We need to remember that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, and that the real battle is a spiritual one. We need to pray for our leaders – our vicars, Bishops and Archbishops - to have Apache vision. To have their eyes open to God’s higher perspective.

For God to reveal His ways and His thoughts – which are so much higher than ours – to find solutions and ways forward that are beyond what we could ever ask for or imagine.

Apache vision can help us to forgive

Having Apache vision is crucial to target the enemy and to distinguish who is an enemy versus who is a civilian in enemy territory.

Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. And this can be so difficult to do when we see things on the surface.

Forgiveness can seem impossible when someone has inflicted a hurt, an offence or an injury that seem insurmountable. Especially when the wound hasn’t healed properly. Especially when the person does not appear remorseful and – even – at least from the outside, appears to be living their best life even as it feels they have crushed yours.

We are called to forgive yet God isn’t telling us that this is easy.

Jesus was able to look down from a cross, whilst still in pain from the flogging, still in pain from the nails that were holding him to the cross. He was able to look down at the people who were still jeering at him, and pray “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”

Jesus had Apache vision. He knew the bigger picture. That what looked like the victory of his enemies was really God’s miraculous rescue mission. He knew that the people who had physically abused him and called for his execution, were not his real enemy. They were civilians, under the control of spiritual forces that he had come with a mission to defeat.

And because of his completed salvation mission we, as Christian soldiers, have been empowered with this same access to an Apache view of things.

At times when I have struggled with forgiveness, God has used scripture to give me Apache vision. Reading the book of Philemon, God enabled me to see the person I was struggling to forgive, through His eyes. Apache vision empowered me to see them as a wounded person who had in turn wounded me. When I also saw myself through God’s eyes and how much forgiveness he had given me through Jesus Christ, the repentance and forgiveness happened immediately.

Praying for Apache vision will empower us to pray for others, especially our enemies, because we will see beyond the surface, behind the scenes, the true enemy at the root of the issue. God’s perspective will direct our prayers for our enemies, aligning our prayers to God’s will for them. His will is for all people to come to repentance, salvation, freedom and liberation from enemy strongholds.

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2) Firepower to engage the enemy & provide cover for soldiers on the field.

Apache firepower provides air cover for those on the ground.

Prayer is a weapon we can wield on behalf and in defence of others. In our passage from Ephesians, Paul urges the reader to pray in the Spirit and he describes the Sword of the Spirit, as the Word of God.

When our prayers align with God’s words they are powerful weapons. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

When we pray, when we call for the Apache, we are not only raising our vision beyond what we see directly in front of us, we are also being equipped with powerful firepower, powerful weapons, to support those fighting in the spiritual battle.

Our fellow soldiers on the ground need cover to carry out their missions, to rescue captives from enemy territory, to push the enemy into retreat.

We need to pray for those in ministry – which is all of us who call ourselves Christians – regardless of position or title. We are all called to ‘lace up our sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace’.

We must pray for those going into battle, those working within the community, engaging with those who are unfamiliar with, indifferent to, or even hostile towards the Church. We must pray for each other as we go about our daily lives, meeting people at work or through the school playground, that God would prepare the hearts of those he sends us to, that he will clear a way for their hearts to be receptive to the Gospel message.

Paul writes to the Thessalonian Church, “Finally brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you.”

Our Apache firepower clears a path for soldiers on the ground to find receptive hearts for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells his followers that He has cleared the ground for them and will continue to do so. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In prayer, we have Apache firepower to provide cover for every battle and every mission God sends His people on. So, praying for all our brothers and sisters in the spiritual battle is vital.

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3) MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation): Rescue wounded soldiers and lift them out of the battle to receive medical treatment.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ – Galatians 6:2

Our prayers and our actions can provide a lift, a medical evacuation, for our fellow soldiers.

It is inspiring to know that we can provide this support in the lives of our brothers and sisters through our prayers and encouragement. Carrying others when they are too weak to put one foot in front of the other.

Giving them time and space to be restored, healed, fed, strengthened.

The ‘evil day’ that Paul writes about to the Ephesians, will come to all of us at some point. Times where we are under siege. Times when our armour comes loose. Times when we fall into sin and are injured and in need of help.

Jesus warned Peter about the trial he was going to face, and fail. He told Peter that – despite how brave Peter believed he was, he would deny knowing Jesus when the pressure was on.

But Jesus didn’t berate Peter for his cowardice, he told him he had already called for the Apache airlift in advance: He told Peter… “I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail. And you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

We must pray for other Christians who are wounded and overwhelmed in the fight, so God will lift them out of the battle and give them what they need to heal and be restored. They will return to the mission, with greater empathy to help and strengthen others.

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4) OBEY MISSION CONTROL:

Prince Harry recounts an incident where he and his crew member had the enemy in their sights and wanted to attack them to help some Ghurkas who were surrounded. But headquarters would not allow them to strike – due to some political issues that were above the pilots understanding. They had to obey and return to base despite their misgivings.

Apache pilots have to remain in constant communication with headquarters. The commanders in Mission Control have a strategic vision for the battle that is more complex than what the crew in the Apache can take into account.

The Apache crew are under the authority of headquarters and can’t engage the enemy or strike without permission.

Our world feels broken in so many ways at the moment. Everywhere you look there is division. Strikes. Poverty. Greed, corruption, political upheaval, war. It feels as though we are under siege.

We can feel helpless and overwhelmed by our inability to do much more than tinker around the edges of these deep societal problems. Food banks, heat banks, youth clubs, charitable donations…

Staying in communication with Mission Control reminds us to bring our focus back to the spiritual battle at the heart of all these tragedies. To remember that God has a larger mission. He desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth that there is one God and one Mediator between God and humankind, Christ, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all…

Spreading this message is the Mission Strategy that God wants us to be obedient to.

We need to pray that our leaders will be obedient to God’s authority and to the authority of Scripture. That they will stay on mission and not be entangled in every wind of doctrine or spirit of the age but be guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. To not get bogged down by “friendly fire” and in-fighting.

We should pray that our leaders, and all Christians, will contend for the Faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people, the Saints. We need to pray that God will call His Church and ourselves back to His strategic mission.

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In conclusion:

We are all going through struggles. At home, with our children, in the workplace, with those who are governing us. Everyday life can sometimes be overwhelming and, on the surface, people can be very good at putting a brave face on.

This is why we need to pray for Apache vision to see the bigger picture, to see the spiritual battle being waged behind the scenes of everyday, ordinary life

We need to pray for Apache firepower to aid the mission of our fellow soldiers

Play our part in Apache Medical Evacuations fgor the injured and those who need to be lifted by our encouragement, our prayers and our walking alongside. And we need to stay connected to our Father God to keep us in line with His mission strategy.

We need to pray for others because, when we do, we provide vital air cover for all partnering with God’s mission to the world. When we pray for others we are preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness, making straight in the desert a highway for our God and the work He is doing.

One last thing about the Apache helicopter:They run out of fuel very quickly and have to be continuously refuelled.

And for me that is a reminder that we need to continue in prayer.

Paul ends this passage by saying: “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying, for all the Lord’s people.”

Now we have been reminded of how important our prayers are for God’s wider mission, let’s be encouraged to keep at it. Our fellow soldiers’ need us.