Knee Deep In Penitent’s Foxhole

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man…”

Ephesians 3:14-16 (NKJV)

Tozer at one time exclaimed that, “Not only is prayer the highest honor that can be granted to any being, it’s the most profitable investment in all the world.” He also would say that it is only a religious cliché to repeat that prayer is the greatest privilege ever granted to men. He knew that the prayingest prayer is done by a dependent person to a Divine person. He knew that the prayingest prayer is done better in the proper posturing of the heart and not so much about the proper posturing of the knees.

He knew prayer was done better when done now.

However, I don’t think he ever mentions foxhole prayers. You all know about foxhole prayers, right? Those moments where you need instant results, for the good of you first and foremost. Those moments where things could get ugly and you need a way of escape. Those moments where you’ve mistaken El Elyon as the blue genie inside the Disney version of Aladdin’s Lamp and baby needs a new pair of slippers. Those moments, where you are facing the very hard truth about yourself and you need instant mercy so you don’t continue beating yourself up. Yeah…I think we’ve been to the foxhole, haven’t we?

And maybe there’s a few of us who have ended up in the foxhole…wearing the full armor of God. Why would I say that? Well, if the armor ain’t being prayed up as it is getting put on, it’s like putting on a Batman costume and then constantly tripping over the cape because you don’t know how to wear a cape in the first place. Paul finishes up what and how the armor goes on with this, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—” (Eph 6:18)

Fellow Freedom Fighter writer (and brother-n-Christ) Rev. Dave Brown says this about prayer, “Prayer is the key…and not just mouthing off some memorized lines; prayer is not a magic potion. Prayer is intently seeking the heart of God with a desire to know His will (or to understand His operating manual) and living in obedience to His word.” This pretty much does damage to the foxhole prayer doesn’t it? Its like this warning outta James… “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” — James 4:2-3

Ya see, this is where I go back to proper posturing, the vertically connected heart prays the loudest. A heart that bows itself in adoration of and is as close to God as possible gets the answered prayer and responds like this…

“Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!” — Psalm 66:16-20

I cannot say how often I found myself at the bottom of Penitent’s Foxhole hoping that the God of universe would show up, show off and let me be after that. That’s not how any of it went down but this is where I gotta admit that approaching the Throne of Grace in complacency will get your posturing corrected that’s for sure. Being at the bottom of hole ain’t no fun either.

So, when you approach the Throne, consider your hearts posture. This should be an expression both of the wonder and the awe you have before your God, and your earnestness in seeking God. This decision for prayer is it driven by your awareness of your dependence and is your posturing emphasizing that awareness?  Sounds pretty fancy, don’t it? Well Alistair Begg gets the credit for that as that idea came from his book, “Pray Big: Learn To Pray Like An Apostle.”

So take your prayer life seriously. Don’t allow to erode to a place where you’re in your armor, at the bottom of a foxhole asking yourself how you got there. You know how you there…and you know Who will get your out. Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a husband, a father, has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can e-mail at cphughes515@verizon.net.