Prayer is . . .

 

In December, pandemic isolation, the war in Ukraine, other world news, the state of some family members, and other issues made my heart heavy. God knows what I need so I invited Him to surprise me. After several incredible answers to prayer, some of them not even given as a verbal request, my prayer life is changing.

A few weeks ago, I made a commitment to more prayer and immediately things to stop me from talking to God hit like machine gun fire. February was filled with unexpected demands on my time and energy, but also with a deeper desire to persist. Those days that I prayed the most were the most challenging, yet God kept surprising me. I must agree with today’s devotional topic: Spiritual victory is directly related to the quality of our prayer life. I might add that the quality of my prayer life is also related to spiritual victories.

The NT tells me to “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18)

Praying like that is tied to worship. The more I praise God and speak to Him about His power and grace, the deeper my conviction that He cares, He can do what is needed, and it is best to leave the choice with Him.

While MacArthur sees our spiritual freedoms and high standard of living make it easy to become complacent about prayer and to presume on God’s grace, I am not so certain that is the reason. For me, lack of prayer is tied to the attitude of ‘I can do this myself.’ Pride and the ability to take care of myself does not foster a strong prayer life. Saying I trust God does not mean I can live as if He is not necessary. I need to recognize my need for Him and stop trying to fill that need with my own way, or with other people or things. In other words, idolatry is a big enemy of prayer. Another enemy is Satan and his evil forces and ideas.

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)

The armor of God involves being firm about truth, knowing where my righteousness comes from and how Jesus protects me. It is about willingness to share the gospel, having faith that knows the enemy’s devices and how to defeat him, and knowing the Word of God and how to use it . . . praying at all times! It is realizing that being a Christian is being a warrior against wickedness and most of our battle is on our knees.

Last week my hubby had surgery. I was fearful as hospitals can be dangerous places, especially for people like him with a lowered immune system. I asked our children to pray for him and for my fears. Within an hour of sending that request, my fear was gone and complete confidence in God who knows best came back. The power of God is felt in the people on our prayer list. Never doubt it and keep praying for them!

Jesus told His disciples to “always pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1) and Paul tells us to “Pray without ceasing” meaning to live in a constant state of awareness — He is right here, and I can talk to Him and lean on His shoulder anytime I need to . . . and the more I feel a need, the more I lean into prayer. Besides learning to pray more, God is teaching me to welcome neediness — for this draws me closer to Him.

Lord Jesus, I thank You for the privilege of prayer. I know that I’m easily distracted so often need a determination to pray when something pulls me toward my to-do list. I also know that You are eager to answer prayer. These past few weeks have been filled with ‘surprises’ that were “exceedingly abundant above all I could ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20) These answers did involve struggle with many unexpected issues, yet You heard my heart, even when the words didn’t make it out my mouth. May that not be an excuse to yield to all the distractions and lies of the enemy, but instead give greater and deeper attention to communicating with You. You want me to pray all the time because You want to answer all the time!

READ: Daniel 9:1–19. What prompted Daniel’s prayer? What was Daniel’s attitude toward God? Toward himself and his people? What did Daniel request?