Praying Daniel Style 01

Recently I have been going back to praying Daniel style.

Last year I started praying Daniel style. I take the Hebrew words used to describe Daniel's prayer and search for other verses related to those words, then use them in prayer.

For your reference, I blogged about those words here: - http://jvworship.blogspot.sg/2013/08/prayer-life-lessons.html

Here are my passages for today:

1) Bless - 

Psalm 104:1-4 (NKJV) - Bless the Lord, O my soul!O Lord my God, You are very great:You are clothed with honor and majesty,Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,Who makes the clouds His chariot,Who walks on the wings of the wind,Who makes His angels spirits,His ministers a flame of fire.

2) Bow down - I take this to refer to humbling myself.

1 Peter 5:5-7 (NKJV) - “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

3) Give thanks (lift up hands) - 

Psalm 63:3-4 - Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

4) To gush over, to pour out - 

This is the point I bring up whatever is on on my heart. Today I prayed especially for success in my work.

5) To make supplication (implore for mercy) - 

Isaiah 30:18 (NIV 84) - Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

The word for "gracious" in the above passage is taken from the same root as "make supplication". So today, instead of asking God for grace and mercy, I looked at his word to see his willingness to be merciful towards me.

So that was my prayer outline for today. Hope you find it useful. Be blessed! 

Crisis and Loss – What is your reflex action?

I hate to sound negative, but here is a harsh truth: sooner or later we will face loss, crisis or grief.

Whether losing a loved one through death, being forsaken by the person who promised to marry you or even the loss of a job position, it is only a matter of time before crisis hit us. The exact problem may differ, but the emotional upheaval, the shock, fear, anger and aching sense of loss that hits us will be the same.

When that happens, we will not be at our emotional and mental best. We will most likely find our emotions running away with us, if not at the moment then some time later.

1 Samuel 30:1-2 (NKJV) - Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.

This was the crisis David faced. We must remember that David had no guarantee his wives and children were safe. He didn’t find their corpses at the ruins at Ziklag, but that meant nothing in an era when human life was cheap. He could only hope his family was safe. His men had no such hope, but gave in to despair immediately.

1 Samuel 30:3-6 (NKJV)- So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep… Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

At first, David reacted as any one of us would, he wept until he had no more strength to weep. But after that he strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Notice that this was NOT an automatic thing. David had to make the decision to strengthen himself in the Lord. Other translations say “David encouraged himself in the Lord”. He did not wait for God to come and zap him out of his grief. At that exact moment David HAD to take the initiative, to make the first move in approaching God.

This is NOT what I see from other people going through crisis or grief. At the most I see them grieving, but not going on from there to encourage themselves in the Lord or seeking him. Does God owe it to us to blast all the negative emotions out of us without any serious action on our part? I don’t think so!

When the crisis or loss hits, what we do will be the result of all the preparation we have put in during the peaceful seasons, when we seek God in prayer and the Scriptures. Whether we will seek God properly when the storms of life hit depends a lot on if we seek him before the storms. Whether our minds and emotions will react well to the trials depend a lot on how much we let the Scriptures renew our minds before the trials come.

Matthew 7:24-25 (NKJV) - "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

Let’s look at some people who reacted well to the storms.

Job 1:20-21 (NKJV) - Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job had just received news that he had lost ALL his wealth and ALL his children. And yet his first reaction was worship. Some Word-of-Faith people (like me) are uncomfortable when Job said “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away”, but we all can agree with what he said next: “Blessed be the name of the Lord”!

I am not saying that just because I am a worship leader. I have seen in many lives that if people keep seeking the LORD even during the storms, they come out from the storms sooner, faster and better. Worship is necessary for restoration and wholeness to take place. Job’s reflex action put him smack on the path of restoration and wholeness again. Things would get worse before they get better, but at least he was moving in the right direction!

2 Samuel 12:15-16, 19-20 (NIV 84) - After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground… David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

This was just after David was confronted about his adultery with Bathsheba. God already decreed that the baby born to them would die, but David entreated the LORD for mercy. When his supplications were fruitless and the child died, David also reacted with worship. And God showed his mercy by setting his heart upon the next child from David and Bathsheba. We know that child as Solomon, but God called him Jedidiah, “beloved of the LORD”.

Seeking the LORD, even after a grief or loss we don’t understand, is always the best thing to do!

Negative Example

Matthew 26:36-38, 40-41 (NKJV) - Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” … Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

This account in Scripture haunted me ever since I first read it as a new Christian. We are caught off guard by crisis and loss almost all the time. But this time Peter and the two brothers were warned by Jesus in advance AND told to pray. And they could not.

I suspect that during all that time Jesus was physically present, they were counting on Jesus to seek God for them. They were depending on him to hear God, relay God’s instructions to them and fix the mess whenever they fumbled. Jesus had told them of their relationship with God, the Father in heaven, but they were lazy in their prayer lives. And when push came to shove and Jesus asked them to pray just that one hour, they could not. They did not have the spiritual stamina for it.

How about us? Do we count on having a prayerful husband/wife or a pastor or small group leader, and have them do all the praying for us? I don’t want to sound alarmist or negative, but if even Peter and the two brothers, who walked physically with Jesus during his earthly ministry, could not get away with that, how can we make it without a proper prayer life of our own?

Just One Hour?

Jesus’ words, “Could you not watch with Me one hour?” also suggests to me that when a crisis or trial comes, one hour seeking God is what we need. We don’t need to spend the whole night in prayerful vigil (though that would be even better). Just one hour spent seeking God, crying out to him (not just sobbing away by ourselves), encouraging ourselves in the LORD (commanding our souls to remember God’s goodness) and giving thanks to him for all his goodness in our lives.

2 Chronicles 20:21-22 (NIV) - After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendour of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.’ As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

But it takes training and discipline. Don’t expect that you can have a wimpy prayer life and suddenly be able to pray for one hour the next time a crisis hits. We need extended stretches of time spent seeking the LORD (one hour?), not just a whispered prayer here and there during TV commercials or while waiting for the next train to arrive. We have to spend enough time in the Scriptures to renew our minds and emotions, to establish our hearts and minds in the ways of God. This won’t happen just by reading Christian books, watching sermon videos on Youtube, scanning through Christian posts on Facebook or getting some preacher who moves in signs and wonders to pray for you. If the last one would work, wouldn’t Jesus have already done that for Peter and the two brothers?

What Next?

If you know that your prayer life has been weak and you want to strengthen it, or if you are already facing trials and you KNOW that how you are handling it badly, get help. Find people you can be accountable to, and report your prayer life to them, even if you didn’t pray.

You can also join me at my Facebook Bible reading group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/approved.workmen/ , follow along with the readings from Psalms and the prayers I pray for my pastors. When you read the Psalms aloud, as I do, it is like seeds of prayer you are planting into your own heart. And over time they will help you bear a harvest of a strong and vibrant prayer life. Use the prayers I pray for my pastors to pray for yourself and your pastors. Over time you will not only grow in your prayer life, you will find your spiritual maturity in other areas growing too.

May the LORD find us faithful and fruitful in prayer this year!

Prayer Life Lessons

At the very beginning of the book of Daniel, we see that Daniel started small. He set himself apart from the rest of the unbelieving culture around him by his food choices. By the time we got to the second chapter, we know that Daniel had faced his first major test in Babylon, and passed. Did he have a powerful, dynamic prayer life before the test? The Scriptures do not tell us, but we know for sure that he had one by end of the first test!

For me, every trial and test that I passed with the help of God only served to cement the importance of a living relationship with God into my mind. I can get busy, distracted or even rebellious, but sooner or later I will return to seriously worshipping God, praying to him and seeking him in his Word. This was probably the case with Daniel. After he cleared the first major test he probably realized that he needed to walk close with the LORD in order to survive and thrive in Babylon.

Daniel 6:3 (ESV) - Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

By this time Daniel was no longer merely the royal dream interpreter or the head of the astrology and sorcery department of the Babylonian civil service (the thought of that always tickles me, though I am sure Daniel and the magicians of Babylon did not find it funny). He was actively involved with the day-to-day running of the Persian Empire. And he performed his duties faithfully AND flawlessly (Daniel 6:4).

So his foes sought to make praying illegal, just for the sake of catching Daniel out. Sometimes, I wonder how many other schemes and plots they tried before they figured out that Daniel was only vulnerable through his prayer life. Did they try to tempt him with illicit gain? Did they try to catch him showing partiality to special interest groups? Did they call for audits on his accounts to uncover misuse of government funds? Whatever else they did, nothing worked.

Since I have a lot less responsibilities than Daniel did, that was something for me to really think about!

So the decree was passed. Daniel had just received the news that he could be jailed for his prayer life. What did he do?

Daniel 6:10 – (ESV) … he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

That verse, with core Hebrew words put in, looks like this:

… He kneeled (b^erak, Strongs’s H#1289 to kneel or to bless) upon his knees three times a day, and prayed (ts^elâ', Strong’s H#6739, to bow down), and gave thanks (y^edâ', Strong’s #3029, to throw up the hands) before his God…

So even at Daniel’s advanced age, prayer was a physical activity. He kneeled, he bowed down and he raised his hands to the LORD. He kept to a private place, yes, but if you ever watched him there you will know for sure he was praying.

Daniel 6:11 – Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying (b^e‛â'  b^e‛âh, Strong’s H#1156, to swell, to gush over, to desire) and making supplication (chănan, Strong’s H#2604, to move to favour via petition, to implore a benefactor to bend over to show favour) before his God.

If the earlier verse didn’t convince you of the intensity of Daniel’s prayer life, this one certainly would. He was literally gushing over to God. He was also imploring, beseeching, earnestly begging that God be gracious (show favour) to him. No timid requests from Daniel, he prayed as if his life depended on it.

And later on we would see that it did!

Another point – When speaking to Daniel, King Darius referred to the LORD as “Your God, whom you serve continually…” The word “serve” in both vs 16 and vs 20 is p^elach, which can also be translated as “worship”. Bear in mind, Daniel was not a priest serving at the Temple of Solomon, he was a full-time civil servant involved with the running of a massive empire. He spent the bulk of his time on secular matters. But consistent, intense prayer three times a day caused King Darius to see Daniel’s prayer life as a life of continual worship and service to God.

Would he say the same of OUR prayer lives?

Conclusion:

There is so much for us to learn from Daniel’s prayer life. We can learn from it

1)      Consistency, even in the midst of a busy and productive secular job;

2)      Frequency, three times a day;

3)      Expressiveness; you can see from even his physical posture he was praying;

4)      Variety, he would engage in worship, thanksgiving and supplication; and

5)      Intensity, imploring, beseeching and pleading for God to be gracious.

More importantly, for those of us holding full-time jobs in the secular world, we can see here what it takes to live a life of continually serving and worshipping God. Praying like Daniel will be a challenge for some of us but it can be done. And I believe even trying for it will cause us to walk closer to God.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get praying!

Prosperity - The Challenge

This passage has been on my heart recently.

Psalm 118:22-26 (NKJV) – The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

The Hebrew word for prosperity in this passage is Tsalach (Strongs #06743). It has a wide range of meaning, including to advance, prosper, to make successful and profitable. In fact, the NIV translates verse 25 as “grant us success”. In this passage we see that the Scripture exhorts us to pray to God for prosperity and success in our undertakings.

In my own Christian life I have swung between extremes. Sometimes I have been the typical Word-of-Faith person, declaring by faith success in everything. Sometimes I have been more passive, just getting along with my activities and trusting God to prosper whatever he chose to. This isn’t wrong, by the way, we see this kind of attitude displayed in Ecclesiastes 11:6.

But this season, I’ve gone back to plain old asking. God, prosper the work of my hands, and grant me success! Driving this consistent prayer are two realizations:

1) We cannot afford to NOT prosper

When can you afford to not prosper? I cannot imagine. If you are a parent, prosperity means raising your children well. If you are a pastor, prosperity means taking good care of the congregation God has entrusted to your care. If you are a doctor, prosperity means your patients get better, not worse. If you are an employee, prosperity means you succeed at the tasks entrusted to you. If you are a worship minister, prosperity means you led the people into a powerful and life-changing encounter with the God of the universe, instead of wasting the time and the opportunity.

So when can you afford not to prosper? If your life is meaningfully occupied, you have no room in your life for not prospering!

2) We are called to prosper

New Testament believers are called to a priestly ministry…

1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

… and the priestly tribe, Levi, had a special calling to prosperity and success. We see that from the blessing Moses spoke over Levi.
If we take this prayer and apply it to our New Testament priesthood, it tells us that we are to pray that our skills (work, music or others) be blessed (successful) and that our works are pleasing to the LORD. We are called to prosper, but we have the obligation to seek God for it.

Deuteronomy 33:11 (NIV) – “Bless all his skills, O LORD, and be pleased with the work of his hands. Smite the loins of those who rise up against him; strike his foes till they rise no more.”

And how will we know if we have it?

Consider the example of Joseph in Genesis 39.

Genesis 39:2-5 (NIV) - The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

In the above passage, both “prospered” and “success” are the same Hebrew word, Tsalach, again. God’s prosperity leads to blessings with tangible evidence in our work, ministry and family. If we are truly walking in the prosperity of God, the people of the world can tell. It’s as obvious to them as it was to Potiphar in Joseph’s time.

Are you feeling uncomfortable yet? I am. I know that my life isn’t anywhere near that standard yet. And if God wants me to prosper in all to which I set my hand, and there is a spiritual calling upon my life for success, then it’s MY responsibility if it’s not happening. It’s MY responsibility to seek God for wisdom and direction, and then to take action as he directs.

And that is why praying for success is so important. Praying means an active communication and communion with God. When I pray, rather than just speak the success over my life or let God prosper whichever area he chooses to, I am putting myself in a position and frame of mind to hear God on the areas of my life he wants me to work on, to see the results he wants me to have.

Conclusion:

Of course there is a lot more to Biblical prosperity than just asking God for it. There is the meditation on the Word of God (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:3), the presence of God (Genesis 39:2), seeking the LORD (2 Chronicles 26:5) and other areas I probably haven’t realized yet. But I share this with you first to invite you to join me on this journey. Let’s grow in wisdom and understanding in the prosperity God desires for us, shall we?

Prayer Principles from Psalm 41

This passage has been on my heart a lot this season. 

Psa 41:1-3 (NKJV) Blessed is he who considers the poor;
The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth;
You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.

Notice that God promises deliverance from times of trouble. Which means that there will be troubles, even in the life of the generous. Notice also that it also implies that generous people are not immune to sickness, and that they will have enemies.

Psa 41:4-6 (NIV) - I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies say of me in malice, "When will he die and his name perish?”
Whenever one comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad.

In this case, David has fallen into severe illness. And he knows it is the consequence of his sin (vs 4). Pay attention: David does not ignore the sickness or pretend it's not his fault. He also did not think God ought to ignore his sin just because of the good he has done before. He understands God too well for that!


I know some generous people who don't take their own sin seriously, and they are taken aback, caught off-guard and offended when they reap the harvest from their sin. And they start raging against God. It’s actually quite common; there are some people who head charities, for example, and have terrible tempers, or commit adultery or embezzle funds. I suspect they feel, deep in their hearts, that their good works gives them some room to sin...


Make sure you don't fall into that deception!

Psa 41:7-9 (NIV) All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,
“A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

We don't see in the Bible any account of David falling sick, so it's hard to tie this psalm to a specific incident in David's life. The closest guess, in my opinion, is that this psalm refers to the time David committed adultery with Bathsheba, which eventually led to Absalom's rebellion and Ahithophel's betrayal (2 Sam 11, 13-16).


Remember that as David’s trusted counsellor, Ahithophel not only had the ear of the king, he also knew his heart. If any man would know how David would think and act, it was Ahithophel. Ahithophel thus would be the person most capable of plotting David’s downfall, since he knew David inside-out.


And if someone who knew him inside-out could not only reject him but actively work towards his defeat, it was a rejection of everything that David stood for. He must have been thinking “If someone who knows my heart so deeply could betray me, what does that say about my heart?” It's enough to crush a man's spirit!

Pro 18:14 (NIV) - A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

It takes faith to rise up above this. It takes faith in order to know God still loves us in spite of our sins and in spite of our failings. Hear the prayer of a man who pleases God's heart -

Psalm 41:10-12 (NIV) - But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

Personally, I feel uncomfortable with this part. David prayed that God would let him avenge himself on his enemies. One thing I noticed, however, is that God kept David from doing so. Whether we are talking about Saul, who sought to kill David in the earlier days, or Ahithophel, or even Absalom, David never had to raise his hand against his enemies. God eventually took care of those enemies, and kept David from avenging himself on them.


The point, however, seems to be that because David loved God, David could pray what he wanted. God would still decide what was best and settle matters accordingly.


And that's what I want to share with you also. Just pray, pouring out your heart to God honestly, and let God decide how he wants to handle the matter.


Also, begin with remembering the promises of God.


If we had stopped at the end of verse 3, we would have thought this was a feel-good, sunshine-and-roses kind of Psalm. It’s when we look at verse 4 onwards that we realize that David wrote this in the midst of severe trial and testing. He was commanding his soul to feed on the promises of God.


We likewise ought to do the same. When we are in the midst of a difficult season, we need to discipline ourselves to not only to pray, but to pray remembering the promises of God. We see the same principle in the following passage:

Lamentations 3:19-26 (NIV) - I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”

Notice how the writer of Lamentations has to consciously remember the goodness of God even in the midst of grief? If we want to have a confident and enjoyable prayer life, we need to do the same.


Conclusion:


Our worship lives will not rise above our prayer lives. That is why we need to not only pray, but pray in ways that please God. The LORD chose to have this psalm preserved for us in Scripture so that it may encourage and strengthen us in the LORD. I hope my sharing has helped to spur you on and make your prayer life more like how God wants it to be!

When You Meet Simon the Sorcerer

May was the month I studied the Book of Acts. And when I looked into Acts 8 one day over dinner (I was eating by myself and flipped open my Bible for fun) some thoughts came to me.

Acts 8:9-11 (NIV) - Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.

In this day and age we are likely to meet Simon the Sorcerer again, spiritually speaking.

Witchcraft and sorcery, obvious use of the occult for self-gain, is not only easily available, it is now fashionable. When I was a teenager I would see the occasional book on spells in the bookshop and think it was a joke. Now you can get detailed instructions on performing and casting spells for free. Just search online!

Because it is now so much easier for people to practice sorcery again, it is likely that we Christians will meet a real genuine sorcerer (or a Satanist or a person with occult powers) sooner or later.

Acts 8:12-13 (NIV) – But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

When was the last time you preached to a Satanist? Or maybe a priest of some other religion, who happened to have supernatural powers? I used to assume that they would never give up the powers they had and turn to Christ, because in order to get their powers they probably sold off their souls permanently and weren't interested in getting them back.

But Satanists do turn to Christ. I know one personally. And I know two powerful evangelists who have no hesitation to declare the resurrection, love and power of Christ to Satanists, witches and priests of other religions. And they do have some success, mainly because they were gutsy enough to pray for God to show signs and miracles to others through them.

You would think that a witch who could curse people with deadly sickness or get winning lottery numbers from spirits would not be impressed when you pray for them and they get healed of headaches. But they are. I have heard of them breaking down and crying when God heals them in the name of Jesus. Of course, these two evangelists have seen God heal more than just headaches through them. But it started from them daring to pray for signs and miracles to confirm the Word they preach.

One thing though, it requires you to accept that signs and miracles are still available to the Body of Christ today. If you believe that the Book of Acts was just meant to be a fluke, a transitional period, and signs and wonders are not meant for us today, then you will have great difficulty witnessing to Simon the Sorcerer when you meet him again.

Acts 8:14-17 – When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

This was a turning point in Church history. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritan believers was not only a reminder to the apostles that the command of Acts 1:8 (to preach the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and all the earth) was still in force, it was also a sign of reconciliation between the Jews and the Samaritans.

And yet in the midst of the Holy Spirit's demonstrated approval of the reconciliation, someone much more worldly-minded could miss or ignore the significance of this event…

Acts 8:18-19 – When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

First, he may have been looking at the whole matter from the perspective of potential profit. If he could bring the Holy Spirit upon anyone whom he laid hands on, he may have been thinking about charging people for receiving the Holy Spirit.

But I personally don't think this is the reason, because as long as the apostles did not charge for laying on of hands, Simon the Sorcerer could not charge for it either. No one would pay him for the Holy Spirit if they could receive the Holy Spirit free of charge directly from the apostles, right?

Second, he may have assumed that the apostles themselves received this ability as a result of giving someone else money. Or that they achieved this ability at great personal sacrifice and training, and deserved to receive monetary compensation for all their efforts and dedication.

This was most probably how he himself received his powers. He either paid someone who had those powers to teach him and then practiced and trained very hard to master those powers, or he sought out spirits to teach him. And in case you do not know, those spirits would have demanded a heavy price from him in one way or another in return for giving him those powers. They may have demanded animal (or even human) sacrifices or that he perform elaborate rituals that are time-consuming and difficult.

(in a nutshell, that is what my ex-Satanist friend taught me about the nature of witchcraft and sorcery…)

So Simon probably thought that was how it was for the apostles. Look at Peter's response.
Consider Peter's rebuke. When Peter rebuked Simon for thinking he could buy the gift of imparting the Holy Spirit, Peter was implying that this gift was free of charge also. It was not given only to those who had the money to pay for it. That was not how the apostles received this gift, or the gift of working miracles. They received all their gifts from the LORD freely, and so they likewise imparted them freely too (Matt 10:8).

Acts 8:20-23 (NIV) – Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

This is a serious matter. Once you think you have to buy the gift of God, instead of receiving it freely on the basis of faith, the above passage tells us that your heart is not right before God (vs 21), it is wickedness (vs 22) and you are full of bitterness and captive to sin (vs 23).

Does this also apply to trying to buy the gift of God with good works, piety and devotion? Think about that…

Acts 8:24 (NIV) – Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."

Now we come to the final question: was Simon the Sorcerer saved? Why did Simon the Sorcerer make this offer?

Yes, I believe so, because he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). But he certainly had a faulty understanding of his salvation. Remember, the Apostle Paul had not yet appeared on the scene to explain in greater depth how we can freely approach God on the basis of faith in what Jesus has done for us on the cross and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18).

Notice that when Peter ordered Simon to pray to the Lord (vs 22), Simon refused and asked that Peter pray for him instead (vs 24). This tells me that Simon himself was still afraid of approaching the LORD in prayer, especially when he has sinned. His own faith was not yet established to the point that he could pray to God himself and know God will freely pardon him (Isa 55:7).

This has two implications for us that I would like us to ponder together:

1) Do we believe we have to buy from God what he has freely given us on the basis of faith?

If we believe that, and teach others the same, our hearts are not right before God. Moreover, we will find ourselves captive to bitterness and sin (vs 23) as Simon the Sorcerer was. We will find ourselves stumbling when we try to work for what God has already given us, instead of believing God's Word and trusting in his goodness.

2) People who have a background in sorcery or witchcraft usually have greater difficulty believing in the goodness and forgiveness of God.

Please be patient with them, especially in this area. They need more time and effort to be established in this aspect of the Christian faith. So if you are the one who will follow-up with them after they believe in Jesus or if you have to disciple them, pay careful attention to this area. It is very easy for them to slip up and start relating to God the same way they relate to whatever deities or spirits they served before. And we don't want that to happen!

Conclusion: I personally believe that we will encounter more people with occultic powers in this day and age. We need not be intimidated, in fact, we should be confident as we share Christ with them. The case of Simon the Sorcerer gives us some lessons and thoughts to consider, and we will do well to learn what we can from this passage of Scripture. Be blessed!