Badger

A badger will not back down.   Not even to a snake.   Honey badgers have a bite that makes cold-blooded enemies’ blood run even colder.   No amount of bee stings will cause the honey badger to retreat from a hoard of honey straight from the hive.  If cornered or trapped you will soon discover where we get the phrase:  "Mad as a sack of badgers!"   Related to their cousin the skunk, the badger is equipped with long, curved front claws and shovel-like back claws that help the mammals dig into burrows for prey, and strong jaws and sharp teeth that serve to rip an animal apart.  No wonder the badger has a reputation to being fierce and ornery!

We can learn a thing or two from a badger when it comes to the practice of prayer.  The Bible tells us about a man named Elijah, "a man just like us." (James 5:17)   He lived in a time when his country, the land of Israel, had turned their back on God and were following the path of evil and idolatry.   So Elijah persistently prayed that God would withhold the blessing of rain.   He would not back down from this prayer.   And it did not rain.   Severe drought hit the land of Israel for 3 1/2 years.  (see also 1 Kings 18)   In a showdown with the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmal, Elijah showed the people of Israel that there was only one true God:  the LORD God!   As a result there was widespread repentance in Israel (1 Kings 18:39).   Then Elijah prayed again.   This time he prayed for rain to fall on the land.  He prayed and nothing happened.  This went on and on, and each time he looked up to the skies and there was not a cloud in sight.   But again Elijah would not back down.  He kept badgering God until the seventh time when his servant reported:  "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." (1 Kings 18:44)   That was all the proof Elijah needed to know that his prayers were answered.  He sped down the mountain, out running the chariots of the king, all the way to the city of Jezreel as the sky grew black and heavy rain fell!  The drought was officially over. (James 5:18)       

Does your prayer life mirror the prayer life of Elijah?   Do you persist in your prayers, even after many years of seemingly your prayers being unanswered?  You might think that Elijah was some superhero believer, but remember he was a man just like us.   His faith life was riddled with doubt and cowardice.   Soon after that amazing showdown on Mount Carmel Elijah is running for his life in fear and feels rejected by God. (read 1 Kings 19:1-18)   I find this so encouraging, since I can identify with doubt and cowardice, especially when it comes to my practice of prayer.   There are many things I regularly pray for:  the conversion of the lost, the growth of the church in Australia, the healing of the sick, the end to COVID-19, and more!   But people do not repent, the church declines, the sick succumb to death, and the virus lingers on.  Then I read about Elijah, a man just like me, just like you.   He did not give up praying.   He continued to badger God in prayer.   We discover from the life of Elijah, in the words of Linda M. Gehrs, "When we pray with importunity, we have the opportunity to see God answer prayer."   

And so I keep praying!   Like a badger I keep pestering God to do things.   In case you think this sounds impious, remember Jesus told us a story of a pestering woman to show us that we should pray and never give up. (read Luke 18:1-8)  As churches we are committed to do likewise: "To call upon God for such an outpouring of his Spirit that his people will be assured of his love through his Word, seek to please the Saviour in all things, manifest the godly life and be filled with prayerful and sacrificial compassion for the lost in all the world."  (PRAY)   So I will continue to pray that there will be a rich outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our churches, that believers will passionately reach out to the lost in the world, that churches will be healthy and grow in number and in gospel impact, and that our country will turn in repentance and faith the LORD God, and to his Son Jesus, the only way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)   And each time I look up and see nothing, I will again bend my knee in prayer and badger God to do something!   I know there is a spiritual battle going on (Ephesians 6:12) against our enemy, the ancient snake called the devil, Satan, who is leading the whole world astray. (Revelation 12:9)   So I will not back down and stop praying.   I also know, like the bite of badger, our prayers "are powerful and effective." (James 5:17)  In our prayer life, may we have the reputation of a badger!