{source}<iframe style=”float: Left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #c0c0c0; padding: 2px; margin: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;” width=”400″ height=”225″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/mIl-XY9t_Lw?Rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}Hollywood is struggling to understand the power of prayer. War Room was the number one film over the Labor Day weekend and movie reviewers are confused as to why that is the case. The Los Angeles Times said, “Preachy doesn’t begin to describe War Room, a mighty long-winded and wincingly overwrought domestic drama.” A contributing reviewer at Rogerebert.com said, “Attention all God-fearing victims of domestic abuse—have the Kendrick brothers got a film for you.” So why was this the number one movie of the Labor Day weekend? Hollywood should stop shaking their heads and pay attention.
A lot of people in this country believe in God and in the power of prayer. This movie, therefore, is something we value and know to be true. I hope this movie will teach Hollywood that many of the people in this nation do not believe like they do. I hope this movie will teach God’s people that same lesson. We live in a culture that is heavily influenced by what we see and hear on television, in movies, and in music. War Room is sending an interesting message to Hollywood that they don’t understand—but God’s people will.
When I saw the movie trailer for War Room I recognized the main character, but I couldn’t remember from where. As it turns out, she is the daughter of a friend. Priscilla Shirer is the daughter of Tony and Lois Evans, the pastor and first lady of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas. Priscilla is a wonderful speaker, teacher, wife, and mother. I have enjoyed watching God’s leadership in her life, as she has become a powerful servant of God. Priscilla and her husband work together in their ministry, GoingBeyond.com.
Priscilla plays Liz, a real estate agent who is experiencing problems in her marriage. She finds an important counselor in Miss Clara, an older woman whose home she is listing. Miss Clara shows her a closet in her home that she calls her war room because it is her place of prayer. She encourages Liz to establish a “war room” in her own home. The movie is about the changes that occur as a result of both women’s prayers.
If a person were to believe the movie reviewers, this is a terrible movie. That is another powerful lesson to emerge. The movie reviewers don’t understand this movie. Could that be why they didn’t like it? The reviewer from the LA Times article wrote, “It’s one thing to seek spiritual refuge in a former closet, but by the time Liz casts Satan out of her handsomely appointed living room with all the fire and brimstone that she — and composer Paul Mills — can summon, that might be asking a lot from those outside the flock.” When I saw the movie it received applause from the audience. The film was powerful, genuine, funny at times and thoroughly enjoyable to those of us who know God and believe in the powerful message that was given. I’m not surprised that our opinions of the movie were very different from those of the reviewers.
The apostle Paul wrote, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). War Room is a movie that teaches the truth of this verse: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). God didn’t tell his people to pray because it would make them “feel better.” The results of powerful prayer “surpass all understanding.” Maybe that verse about prayer explains those movie reviews and the fact that War Room was the number one movie of the Labor Day weekend.
I encourage you to take yourself, your spouse, your kids, and your friends to see this movie. The reviews don’t indicate the truth because the reviewers don’t understand the truth. Prayer is the most powerful weapon Christians can use to change our world. I expect there will be a lot of closet cleaning in the coming weeks. We all need a war room in our homes. Our families and our culture will be powerfully impacted if we will pray like we are doing battle with Satan. That is the lesson this movie teaches.
Let’s continue to show those Hollywood reviewers why they were wrong about this movie. More importantly, let’s show the culture why this movie is right about the power of prayer. War Room teaches: “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Go see a great movie and most importantly, build a great “war room” in your own homes. Our world needs to understand the importance of prayer.
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