Have you ever had one of those times when it seemed like God took a highlighter and ran it over something you read, or a phrase you heard, or a comment somebody made in the course of a routine conversation? When that happens for me, whatever words, comments, or ideas that prompted the Holy Spirit to whip out His highlighter tend to hang around in my head and won’t let me alone until I grant them some focused attention. 

Two Small Words in a Unique Book ~
That process was kicked into gear earlier this week when two of the smallest words in the English language got the ‘bright yellow treatment’. They were standing side by side in the last chapter of the New Testament book of Hebrews. Hebrews is a powerful and doctrinally rich epistle written to encourage Jewish Christians who had fled their homeland and had been scattered all over the Greco-Roman world. At that time, Rome had recognized Judaism as a religion that was generally approved … but Christians were not. They were looked upon as a divisive and oppositional sect and were often targeted for persecution. 

The letter we call Hebrews is an epistle intended to reinforce their faith in times of trial by showing how Jesus had embodied everything the Old Testament Mosaic and Levitical systems represented. Jesus’ death was the ultimate sacrificial offering – and ‘His’ blood, the ultimate cleansing. His resurrection was the ultimate victory over death, and His living presence the ultimate priesthood. This powerful document inspired by God declared to Jesus’ suffering disciples that Jesus was and is, indeed, their true Messiah and that He could be trusted. 

A Practical Admonition ~
But in addition to its rich contribution to New Testament theology, the book also includes practical guidance for followers of Jesus, regardless of where they live or the nature of the culture surrounding them. One of those concluding practical admonitions is a reminder for them not to forget their Christian brethren who were suffering imprisonment and other hardships. And it’s in that reminder that we find those two little standout words I mentioned earlier. The text reads like this:

Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. (Hebrews 13:3 NKJV)

Nothing about this admonition is complex, and we don’t need to go looking for a dictionary of New Testament terms to unravel the message this sentence intends to convey. It’s a simple and straightforward call for believers not to forget those who are imprisoned and those enduring other kinds of hardships. Though the text doesn’t directly advocate prayer, the usual Christian approach to instructions like this would lead us to assume that prayer would be part of the process. Regardless, the text itself is a simple directive not to forget their suffering brethren – but on closer examination, it becomes clear that God had more in mind than adding another item to their spiritual “to do” list. He inserted two little words that serve to establish a profoundly powerful condition upon which their remembering was to be predicated. 

Personal Connections Make a Difference ~
The recipients of this letter were asked to think about people that, in almost every case, they didn’t know, would probably never meet, and whose suffering was not affecting them personally. Had they been called upon to remember and/or pray for someone they knew and loved, their interaction with God would have been different. A personal connection always takes our prayers to a different dimension and tends to multiply the depth and emotional intensity to our intercession for them. Those two little words, as if, are the mechanism God used to establish that personal connection and take their prayers to that different dimension. 

God’s admonition wasn’t for them just to picture their imprisoned brethren as detached, unaffected observers. His directive was to subject their minds and hearts to something infinitely more impactful. He wanted them to open that viewing screen in their minds and see themselves chained alongside them. It would not be enough to see themselves as chained like them. God wanted them to see themselves as chained with them. To be chained like them may have introduced a personal perspective, but to be chained with them made it not only personal, but relational. 

Elevating the Impact ~
Remembering their suffering “as if” chained with them would not only transport them into their fellow believer’s dungeon, it would help them share the burning pain of their torn skin, the inescapable stench of human waste, and the cramps of their empty stomachs crying out for food. Remembering them “as if” chained with them would break their heart and take them to a level that would illustrate an incredibly powerful phenomenon that James wrote about. 

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:16) NKJV

 The Greek word translated as fervent is energéō, and it’s the word from which we derive our word for energy. And to illustrate how powerful, active, and effective prayer can be, James added this incredible historical validation. 

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5:17–18 NKJV)

Expanding the Application ~
You may be thinking that this was fine for those believers in that day and time, but our situation is different, so what does that have to do with us here and now? That’s a good question. Let me ask a few questions and make some suggestions about the power of praying “as if”:

• • What if we prayed as if the Holy Spirit of God was really interested and listening intently to what we’re saying?
  • What if we prayed as if the Risen Christ was not just a distant observer, but as One whose presence is actively and actually with us? And could really do the things we’re asking Him to do?
  • What if we remembered some suffering saint in Somalia as though we were living with them in the same shanty and enduring the same struggle to survive and to keep faith alive in circumstances that feel hopeless? 
  • And what if we stopped thinking about commonplace sins as if they don’t really matter because “everybody does it”?  
  • What if we stopped thinking about blatant hypocrisy as if it doesn’t infect and weaken the Church of Jesus Christ?
  • What if we stopped conducting ourselves as if God isn’t serious about the things He says He hates and about the judgment He promises will be coming? And …
  • What if we begin to treat faith in Jesus Christ as if it really can unleash the power to heal broken relationships, break sin’s chains, restore broken families, and renovate careers?

The words may be small, but the potential is huge. May God help us to treat that incredible potential in this principle as if it was meant for every one of us.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • • James 5:16 is a simple directive not to forget their suffering brethren. On closer examination, it’s clear that God inserted two little words that establish a profoundly powerful condition upon which their ‘remembering’ was to be predicated. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
    • A personal connection takes our prayers to a different dimension and tends to multiply the depth and emotional intensity to our intercession for them. God used the two little words, “as if”, to establish that and take their prayers into that dimension. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)       
    • What if we prayed as if the Holy Spirit of God was really interested and listening intently to what we’re saying? What if we prayed as if the Risen Christ wasn’t just a distant observer, but as One whose presence is actively and actually with us? @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)       
    • What if we remembered some suffering saint in Somalia as though we were living with them in the same shanty and enduring the same struggle to survive and to keep faith alive in circumstances that feel hopeless? @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • What if we stopped conducting ourselves as if God isn’t serious about what He says He hates and about the judgment He promises is coming? What if we begin to see faith in Jesus unleash power to heal broken relationships and families and break sin’s chains? @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)

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