Matthew 5.5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The history of prautes is fascinating. Praus was a Greek military term used to define a horse trained for battle. Wild stallions were brought down from the mountains and trained for riding. Some were used to pull wagons, some were raced, and the best were trained for warfare.
The horses that were trained for warfare were those that retained their fierce spirit, courage, and power, but were disciplined to respond to the slightest nudge or pressure of the rider’s leg. They could gallop into battle at 35 miles per hour and come to a sliding stop at a word. They were not frightened by the chaos of combat. They would run into battle in the midst of arrows, spears, shields, and torches.
Once trained, they were said to be prautes.
Thus to be prautes is to be taken from a state of wild rebellion and trained to be focused, disciplined, calm, and highly effective. It is also learning to be unflinching in the presence of difficulty or danger.
What a powerful picture of authentic life in Christ! God calls us and takes us from a state of wild rebellion (our old nature) and trains us to be disciplined, focused, calm, and highly effective (our new nature). He moves us from fear to faith; he builds courage into our hearts so that we are unflinching in the presence of difficulties and danger.
But note again that this requires training. Prautes does not happen automatically; it is a key discipline, a spiritual virtue, that we must build into our lives. In order to be prautes, we must walk in the Spirit and be fully engaged in the process of spiritual growth and skill-building.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” (Titus 2.11-12)
Like the wild stallions from the mountains, we must be trained. As always, the strength to do this comes from the Lord; it is not self-generated. It is of the Spirit. But we cannot be passive; we must act in faith. We must be obedient and do the work.
Do not be spiritually and emotionally fragile. Don’t flinch in the face of danger. Be a warrior-stallion. Don’t be like the once-strong horses who lost their fighting spirit and could only pull wagons because they were very little use in battle.
Do not let this happen to you. Walk by faith and submit to the training of the Spirit; trust God and do the work; build the virtue and discipline of prautes into your life.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6.10-13)
