Prayer

Prayer is the most powerful and precious gift that God has given us as believers. Paul tells us that we must be "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). So what then is prayer exactly? What does prayer accomplish? How are we supposed to pray?

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul explains that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Therefore, each day we are involved in actual warfare. However, the warfare we fight in is not physical. Therefore, armoring ourselves with physical weapons does us no good in the battle. Instead, we need spiritual weapons and armor to stay alive in the battle. What kind of weapons do we need to equip ourselves with? We are to have such weapons as truth and righteousness (Ephesians 6:14), the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15), but most importantly, prayer (Ephesians 6:18)! Prayer is the most important activity believers can participate in. In fact, each time you pray you step right into the middle of a battle between Satan, God, and you! This is especially true when praying for other people, since Satan is battling to keep them away from God. Therefore, when you pray for others you are battling against the forces of Satan. In 2 Corinthians 10:4, Paul tells us that "the weapons of our warfare are…mighty in God for pulling down of strongholds." As you can see, prayer is a very powerful weapon! Jesus says that Satan came to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Therefore we pray continually to hold back Satan's advances and attacks upon ourselves and others. In addition, prayer is a conversation with God. It is our opportunity to speak to God after He has spoken to us through His Word and our lives. We are allowed to come to God and lay our hearts before Him, talking with Him about our worries, concerns, and ultimately our love for Him.

In Matthew 6:6-13, Jesus teaches us how to pray, providing an example and outline of prayer in verses 9-13. The prayer begins in verse 9 in which Jesus praises God. Therefore, that should be the first thing we do in prayer, praise God for how wonderful he is to us. Next, in verse 10, Jesus asks that God's will be done on earth. Therefore, we are to pray for God to guide and use our lives according to His will. We see an example of this when Jesus is praying in Gethsemane. While praying about the sufferings He was soon to endure, Jesus prays, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will" (Mark 14:36). Notice that Jesus prayed that God's will would be more important than His will. Therefore we should pray for this in our lives as well: that our will and desires would never be more important than God's will. Next, in verse 11, Jesus prays that God would "Give us this day our daily bread." In Matthew 4:4 Jesus had said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Therefore we are to pray that God would guide us through our day and provide for our spiritual needs. Next in verse 12, Jesus shows that we are to ask for forgiveness, in addition to forgiving others. Finally, in verse 13, Jesus shows us that we need to pray for strength to avoid falling into temptation. This prayer that Jesus has prayed is not a required prayer for us, but rather an example of the format we should pray in.

It is important to know that God always answers prayer. However, it is also important to understand that there are more answers than just "yes." In fact, God can answer "no" to our prayers, or even "wait." Therefore, if you pray for something to happen, and do not see it happen immediately, continue praying for it, and ask God whether or not it is His will for it to happen. Jesus also instructs us to believe when we pray (Mark 11:22-24). It is important that we pray persistently, which God tells us will bring about action on His part (Luke 18:1-8).

Finally, Satan will try very hard to keep us from praying. If he can keep you from praying, he will have a much easier time doing his work and will be more successful. It is easy for our minds to become distracted while praying and start thinking about things we need to get done or worries that we have. When beginning to pray, ask God for a clear mind and concentrate fully on Him.

Prayer is available to all Christians and it is important for us to use this gift to speak personally with God and to actively engage in the spiritual battle we are all involved in. Remember that when using prayer we will be victorious in Christ.

We encourage you to send us your prayer requests and praise reports. Just click the link below and your prayer request will be delivered to one of our Staff Ministers.

Send your Prayer Request to:
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