PRAISE GOD IN DANCE

“Praise him with timbrel and dance...” (Psalm 150:4).

Psalm 150 is not a command that every Christian dance, any more than Psalm 69 is a commandment for Christians to curse their enemies. Consider Psalm 69:27-28:

“Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.”

Christians are not supposed to pray like this. See Luke 9:54-56.

Most of the things Israel did, in fact, we do not do today in the church age. This includes circumcision of baby boys, sacrificial offerings, temple worship, dietary restrictions, sabbath laws, religious festivals, multiple tithing, and many other things.

We draw spiritual lessons from every part of the Old Testament, but we determine what part of the Old Testament to keep by comparing it with the New Testament. The believer’s way of life is found in the New Testament faith.

And there is no instance of dancing in the New Testament churches. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find Jesus dancing. There are no examples of the apostles dancing. There is not one example of dancing in the first churches. New Testament believers are commanded to sing spiritual songs, but we are not commanded to dance.

The dancing in the Old Testament was associated with God’s kingdom (Psa. 149:3-5). When Jeremiah described God’s New Covenant with Israel and the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth, he mentioned dancing two times:

“Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. ... Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow” (Jer. 31:4, 13).

The reason dancing is not mentioned in the New Testament churches is probably because this is the period of Christ’s rejection and exile. The Bridegroom is away in a far country (Mat. 9:14-15).

At the Last Supper the Lord Jesus said, “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom” (Mat. 26:29).

When the marriage of the Lamb comes, then will come the time to “be glad and rejoice” (Rev. 19:7). And we have no doubt that the joyful dancing referred to in Psalm 149 and 150 and Jeremiah 31 will begin then! Even so, come Lord Jesus!

When the kingdom of God comes again to this earth at the return of Christ, we will dance, but it will not be rock & roll dancing.

PRAYER WARRIOR

Although the phrase “prayer warrior” is not found in Scripture, a prayer warrior is generally thought of as a Christian who prays continually and effectively for others in the manner of praying taught in Scripture. Therefore, prayer warriors pray to Father God (Matthew 6:9) in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16;Jude 1:20) and in the name of Jesus (John 14:13). To be a warrior in prayer is to engage in the spiritual battle and fight the good fight of faith wearing the full armor of God and “pray[ing] in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

While all Christians are to be prayer warriors, there are some people who feel they have a special and unique ability to pray and have been called by God to pray as their special ministry. The Bible never specifies certain people who are to pray more often, more diligently or more effectively than other Christians, but there are diligent pray-ers who are known for their emphasis on prayer. Paul commands that “requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone” (2 Timothy 2:1), and he says nothing that would indicate some people are exempt from doing so. All believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit who helps us communicate our prayer requests (Romans 8:26-27). All believers are to be praying in the name of Jesus, which means that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, that we trust in Him for everything, including His interceding with the Father for us in all things, and that we live and pray in accordance with God's will. Praying in Jesus' name does not mean merely adding “in Jesus’ name” to a prayer. Rather, it means praying in submission to His will.

As prayer warriors, we rejoice in all things and have a spirit of thankfulness for what God is doing in our lives and the lives of others, and our own spirits grow day by day as we come to realize the magnitude of our blessings. We know with certainty that God provided the breath we just took (Isaiah 42:5); that He has forgiven our past, present and future sins (1 John 2:12); that He loves us with an eternal love (Ephesians 2:4-7); and that we have a place in heaven with our Lord (1 Peter 1:3-5). Our hearts, then, are filled with joy and peace and overflow with love for God, and we want others to have this same love, joy and peace. Therefore, we work for them by praying.

Effective prayer is indeed work. We have to learn to walk with God, so we meditate daily on Him and His ways in order to become more and more humble, which is essential for effective prayer (2 Chronicles 7:13-15). We also study Scripture thoughtfully every day to learn what is pleasing to God and therefore what constitutes acceptable prayer. We learn to eliminate hindrances to prayer (Mark 11:25;1 Peter 3:7;1 John 3:21-22) and not to grieve the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30-32). We learn that we are in a spiritual battle with Satan, so we must pray for our own spiritual well-being to maintain our strength and focus in praying for others (Ephesians 6:12-18).

Prayer warriors have a heart for God, a heart for prayer, a heart for people, and a heart for Christ's church. Therefore, we pray continually and trust that God answers each prayer according to His perfect will and in His perfect timing.