Prayer Anger Or Protest? What Should I Do?

“One compromise here, another there and soon enough the so-called Christian and the man in the world look the same.”  A.W. Tozer

The Church (The Ekklesia)  is at a pivotal moment in history. We have a choice, nay, a duty to point people to Christ. In the midst of chaos, varying opinions concerning immigration, protests, fights, violence, we must be the Church right now. What does that mean? I want to take a moment and share a few thoughts God has put on my heart concerning our perilous times that we are living in at the moment and how that applies to the church and our lives as believers. 

The effective prayer of a righteous man (or woman) avails much. 

When you find yourself beginning to feel anger, do you pray? After all, the scripture does not say, “The effective angry protest of a righteous person avails much.” It says quite the contrary. Have you spent real time coming to God in prayer and asking Him these questions? Have you confessed your sins and asked for His help concerning how to handle what is going on in the world? If you take a look at the Greek words that were used in this passage they are as follows:

• energeo-(ἐνεργουμένη / ἐνεργός): Means “to be at work,” “active,” “operative,” or “producing power,” forming the basis for our English word “energy”.
• ischyō (ἰσχύει): Means “to have strength,” “to prevail,” or “to be able to accomplish something great”.
• dikaios (δικαίου): Means “righteous,” “just,” or “holy,” referring to someone in right standing with God. 

Take a moment and really process those words, coming to God Almighty with a heart that desires for Him to work has much power (like dynamite). To add to this idea, when 2 or more believers are gathered in His name, God is in their midst, His active presence is there. Dear Ekklesia, we must gather and pray. 

Yes Jesus did flip the tables in the temple but this is not an excuse for bad behavior

Yesterday as I was doing some reading, I kept seeing believers justify some of the actions of others by saying, “Well, Jesus flipped the tables in the temple! We’ve got to flip these (insert your anger) tables!” First, I’d like to say, there are poor examples of behavior just about anywhere you go. They come from all walks of life. However, encouraging to hurt, disparage, destroy, loot, malign, and encourage officious behavior is not reflective of Christ and His message. Jesus came to bring peace and righteous correction. Why did Jesus flip the tables?

• For context, Jesus did this about a week before he gave His life on the cross. In the Temple, there were animals (doves, sheep) available to buy to sacrifice for their sin and atonement after. People would travel from far and wide with little room to bring an animal on their journey as well. The animals were there (sometimes at an exorbitant price) to sell to the poor and weary travelers. God’s grace is not to be exploited in the Temple. Jesus came to turn over that system of sacrifice that was rife with corruption and offer His life as a lasting sacrifice.
• The Temple was a place that was to signify God’s presence, His place to meet with man and give them atonement for their sin. The merchants were impeding the people from coming to their intended purpose, to meet with God by selling their wares. 
• Jesus’ anger was directed at the dishonoring of God’s house, that is why he called the temple a “Den of Thieves.” God’s house is to be a pure place of worship. 

In looking at this passage of Scripture, I do not see a place for violence, harsh words, wishing harm on families, etc. It’s just not there. Ask yourself, does this represent the Scripture’s admonition that tells us to dwell on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of virtue and of praise? To take it a step further, would Jesus engage in this behavior? I would wager that is a hard no. 

How can I handle my anger?

You might be thinking, “But there is injustice in the world! Racism, hatred, bigotry, murder! Doesn’t that mean we should have righteous anger?!” For that I point you to Ephesians 4:26: Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness].  When we react to our anger, we are giving the enemy a place in our hearts and lives, we are opening the door to sin. 

What can I do when I see everything that is going on and anger inevitably follows?

• Pray. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, start your day with prayer, end your day with prayer, make it a part of your life. The prayer does not have to be verbose with many beautiful words, after all, when we do not know what to pray the Holy Spirit steps in to offer groans and utterances that we cannot articulate ourselves. 
• Get to know God. A while ago I wrote an article talking about God’s desire for us to get to know Him. I will link it here. Dear ones, I would wager that is much better than dwelling in constant anger. 
• Find a Bible believing church. Dear ones, the time for tip-toeing around wondering if it is permissible to speak God’s Word is over. Our world needs God’s truth desperately. When this year started, I spent much time in prayer and one word kept bubbling up in my spirit. Acceleration. This is a time when events are going to continue to happen at a fast pace. God is on the move and because of that, the enemy is as well. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities who are quite wicked. The Ekklesia must band together, speak the truth and pray. 
• Take a look at fasting. If you look through Scripture, you will see that many people of faith fasted and prayed when times were perilous. Jesus Himself fasted and prayed for forty days in the wilderness. In one portion of Scripture the disciples tried to cast a demon out from someone, Jesus told them that this ailment only came out by prayer and fasting. Fasting strengthens your faith, brings spiritual breakthroughs, deepens your relationship with God and helps your unbelief. Before fasting, take into consideration any medications or medical issues that you might have. Some people fast as Daniel fasted, this is a deeply personal practice that you must determine for your spiritual journey. 

Dear ones, I hope that in the midst of all of the world’s chaos we can find a place of peace in God. After all, it seems as if lies are represented as truth and real truth is spat upon and sacrificed at the altar of feelings. This is a time for God to be at the center of our lives. There are so many claiming to represent Christ and His principles, but we must ask ourselves: “Does it represent God’s Word in its fullness, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith?” I can’t emphasize it enough, pray dear Ekklesia, pray. Be the Church and God’s Word which is sharper than any two-edged sword. God Bless You All.