By James Wilson
A
quarter century ago my friend was indicted for allegedly molesting a boy. The accusers were a man-hating single mother
and her easily manipulated son; they looked for an adult to victimize and found
my friend. He was naïve enough to allow
them to place him in a compromising position and then they simply lied about
what supposedly happened. His first
attorney disbelieved him and had convinced him to plead out when I became aware
of the situation. Knowing all the
parties fairly well – she even tried to set me up but I smelled a rat – I first
referred him to an attorney who believed him and next flew out to California to
arrange a prayer team for duty during the trial. I offered myself as a witness for the defense,
as I had knowledge of the accusers’ chronic and malicious dishonesty over the
years.
The
prayer team engaged in silent daily prayer inside the courtroom. They prayed not for acquittal, but for
justice and truth. We faced a prosecutor
who added a charge during the trial, a judge so biased he refused to drop it
even when the prosecutor agreed, and damning statements the defendant admitted
making to the boy. When the jury voted not-guilty
they were just as unanimous that the defendant had been set up. Truth and justice prevailed.
It
wasn’t all about prayer. Although my
testimony was ruled inadmissible my highest use was leading prayer and responding
to tactical revelations God provided. One
of the most damaging statements of the defendant – a former fighter pilot – was
that certain military airplanes gave him a “hard-on” while showing the boy
photos of those planes. When God
reminded me of lines from the famous film, Top Gun, the defense attorney called
the pilot’s former CO to the stand and he confirmed a common phrase in
fighter-jock-talk that has no sexual connotation whatever. When the defense attorney tried to hypnotize
the defendant, so as to curb his angry responses under questioning, there was
no joy. Yet when I prayed God’s peace
over him he was able to be a calm and credible witness. Couching the events in prayer from the get-go
lays the proper foundation for God to move in each of us – from giving strategy
and tactics to building courage and peace to creating favor with a jury in an
atmosphere of extreme prejudice. But it
is still incumbent on each of us to act as God gives inspiration and
instruction.
As
important as prayer itself, is prayer for what God wants. We wanted our friend acquitted; God wanted
justice and truth. “Thy will, not mine,
be done,” are words uttered from the Cross, but likewise from the empty tomb
and every location in between.
Sometimes
one group prays dynamically while another group acts diligently – though all
should pray all the time per Mark 11:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17. When California’s Proposition 8 was fatally
behind in polls, political and church leaders campaigning over the state were unable
to halt the slide, let alone turn the tide.
A determined prayer campaign was undertaken and the prayers were shaped
by God for blessing, forgiveness, and healing for all. The proposition passed by a large majority.
“Well,
yeah, but the courts just threw it out.
The prayers didn’t work.” Again,
prayer is not something that works; it is something submitted. But the obvious conclusion is we need to pray
– and work – more – and let God – not us – win.
A
federal judge closed the pumps in the Sacramento Delta and threw thousands out
of work based on dubious science. One solid
presentation after another failed to sway him.
An eighteen month prayer campaign – for his blessing – saw his eyes
opened and when he reversed his decision he told the environmentalists who
howled that he was just not impressed by their version of science. Scientific and legal presentations were
necessary, but prayer sowed the ground for opening his mind.
My favorite personal witness is Anderson
Middle School, where faculty and staff worked for years to create the
atmosphere of peace and curiosity that fosters learning only to see their
school spiraling into violence and hopelessness. After a summer day of concerted on-campus
prayer the violence disappeared, the new reading program took off, and the
faculty returned for Fall with renewed hope.
The school became a California distinguished school. It was their efforts that determined and
shaped the renewal, but it was prayer that sowed the ground for it. When we submit to God in prayer it is more
natural to submit to Him in action and only great good can come from it.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living
As Ambassadors of Relationships and The
Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by
e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
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