Monday, October 19, 2009

A warrior of Prayer


Christians don't pray enough. If we did, I don't believe the church would be so weak and ineffective. I hear from so many people who feel dead in their walk with Christ. They feel useless and weak and continually battle with petty, earthy things when instead they could be walking victoriously among the clouds! Yet how many hours do we spend in prayer? I know, I know, you don't have time. Me neither. I'm not talking about sitting down for an hour or two and just praying, I'm talking about having a continual, on-going conversation with God all day long. Yes, it's important to set aside quiet time for just you and Him. But usually that's all the time we give Him. Yet there He is, following us around all day, just waiting for us to turn to Him and say something!

God answers prayers! He can do whatever He wants! But do you really believe that?


Three prerequisites of effective prayer
Humility - the complete absence of any pride. You must be destitute in spirit and heart Psalm 102:17
Faith - you must believe God exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Repentence - no hidden unconfessed sin that separates you from God James 5:16

The Benefits of prayer
  • Receive your marching orders, direction and guidance Psalm 16:11
  • During prayer, God changes your heart
  • You will know what the will of God is for your life Romans 12: 1-2
  • You learn more about who God is through prayer
  • Receive strength to withstand temptation Mark 14:38
  • You become more obedient
  • You receive great peace and joy John 15:11
  • You are empowered to do what God tells you to do--you become invincible and a force to be reckoned with in the Kingdom of God

Take an example from the life of Jesus. He was about to face the most horrific day anyone on this planet has ever faced. He was about to be beaten to within an inch of his life, marred beyond recognition, humiliated, taunted and then hung on a cross. How can any man endure this? Yes, He was God, but also fully man. What did Jesus do? He prayed. He prayed until he sweated blood. And when He was done, He told the disciples with enthusiasm to get up--that His hour had come. Then the soldiers came to arrest Him, and here's where it gets really cool. He asked them who they were seeking and they said Jesus of Nazareth.

As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! John 18:6

Talk about power! Do you want to be effective for the Kingdom of God? Do you want to know God's will for your life? Do you want to become more like God and less like yourself?
Then become a prayer warrior.

2 comments:

  1. I agree, we don't pray enough, and then when we do, we don't pray with full confidence in Him!

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  2. I love this post. I want to print it off and put it in my room so i can always read it. Thank you MaryLu, for telling us how important it is to pray to God. What a difference it can make. I am trying to get a lot more in the habit of reading my Bible and carrying prayer books with me. Great post MaryLu!

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