Never in a million years would I have imagined going to a Christian movie in a theater and being SO profoundly impacted.

Let’s be honest, Christian movies have sometimes gotten a bad rap for cheesy acting, poorly written scripts, or even worse, story lines that deviate from or water down the truth.  So, I sheepishly admit to being a little hesitant in enthusiastically rushing to the theater to see The War Room.

But I must say, from the moment the movie reel began, the War Room was anything but just a movie for me, it was an experience. An experience where I laughed, I cried, and I even worshipped as I was so powerfully reminded of the POWER and the HOPE that is found in Jesus!

 

And guess what? I even went back to see it AGAIN…this time with my husband, and we were both moved, challenged, and even beckoned to change.

Change. You might wonder—How can a movie be life-changing? As I’ve pondered that over the last 2 weeks, here is what I keep coming back to:

When you take 2 hours and focus with undivided attention on the POWER of PRAYING in JESUS’ NAME, you can’t help but leave CHANGED!

So, here is how the War Room challenged my heart:

1. Prayer need to be SPECIFIC. Philippians 4:6 tells us to make our requests known to God. In order to do so, we need to boldly and specifically pray over EVERY detail of our lives. The movie definitely spurred me on to be more diligent in writing out my requests and including verses and promises from God’s Word to bolster my faith.
2. Prayer needs to be FERVENT. James 5:16 says that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails MUCH.” After watching this movie, I began asking myself—when was the last time I got on my face before the Lord and fervently prayed for our country, for refugees desperately trying to escape ISIS, for Christians persecuted across the world, and the list goes on. This movie both convicted and ignited my heart to not just be consumed with the needs that affect me personally but to become more fervent in prayer for the needs of the world around me.
3. Prayer needs to be CONTINUAL. I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. If I am honest, I can start off strong constantly praying for the needs that are close to my heart, but as time marches on and as distractions set in, sometimes those requests can take a backseat to keeping up with life’s daily demands. As the movie so powerfully demonstrates, praying continually simply means making it a priority to ALWAYS go to God with our concerns, our struggles, our decisions, and our worship.
4. Prayer needs to be IN JESUS’ NAME. Prayer is not meditation; it is not quiet reflection; prayer is claiming power that is found in the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This power is mentioned 311 times in the New Testament and is available to us when we receive it in prayer.

But perhaps the biggest take away from this movie is the way it encouraged my heart that Christianity is still alive in America! Just the fact that a low-budget Christian movie shown in a very limited number of theaters could blow past full budget movies released in the majority of theaters is such a powerful testament to me of the power of God.

And just when I feel like our country has turned away from God with its undeniable moral decline these last few years, the overwhelming and unexpected response to this movie speaks hope into my heart. Hope that no matter what is going on in our culture, nothing can take away from the fact that God is alive. God is on the throne, and He is still changing lives today!

So, God is doing His part, the question is—am I doing my part? Am I praying specifically, fervently and continually in Jesus’ name for my family, my country, and the world I live in?

Well, to answer that question, you will have to excuse me while I go clean out a closet. I have a War Room to prepare and a prayer life to ignite.

I pray that I am just one of many who do the same and that our collective prayers will avail MUCH as we lift up the needs of this world to the only ONE who can bring about healing and change.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.       2 Chronicles 7:14

*All graphics in this blog were taken from the Official War Room Facebook Page- a great place for continued inspiration!