Prayer: a Spiritual Weapon

 When the Apostle Paul described the Christian's spiritual armor, he named six principles in the form of metaphors: Truth-a belt, righteousness-a breastplate, peace-boots, faith-the shield, helmet-assurance, and The Word-a sword. He placed the importance of prayer above all these and gave instructions on its use. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18). There are five different kinds of prayer that Paul mentions:

 •          prayer which is: Spirit-directed ("pray in the Spirit")

•          continual ("on all occasions")

•          diverse ("with all kinds of prayers and requests")

•          persistent ("be alert and always keep on praying")

•          intercessory ("for all the saints")

We are surrounded by the extraordinary, especially since everyone is addicted to social media. We wake up longing to discover what is new and surprising. All of these fantastic things seem only to happen to other people. We always go back to our insignificant life surrounded by dull drudgery. We battle the feeling that we are very trivial. Our lives and tasks seem very unimportant compared to all the fantastic things that are going on in other’s lives. If we are not careful, we assign prayer as a drudgery and, therefore, a waste of time.

We often feel that we don’t matter and that nothing we do matters. That is a lie! Significance is usually found in the commonplace duties of everyday life. There is greatness in any task if it is done unto the Lord. It’s not what we do but who we do it for that matters.

Prayer, often seen as a mundane task, is actually a powerful tool. We must not underestimate its potential. As Paul says, it is to be Spirit-directed. The Holy Spirit leads us to pray for things we wouldn’t even think of. We can pray about everything, just as Jesus did—when he was tired, discouraged, frustrated, or tempted, he talked with his Father. This reassures us that we are not alone in our struggles, and there is always hope in prayer.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 ). We are to ask and keep on asking. We are to seek and to knock and to keep on seeking and knocking.

The following story illustrates how the meaning and power of prayer can be lost slowly if we do not maintain a vital and close relationship with the one to whom we are praying. It also illustrates how prayer can become meaningless if we do not seriously believe that prayer is a spiritual weapon and that we are to pray in all kinds of ways on all occasions.

David Watermulder, a devout Christian who had a cat, used to spend several minutes each day in his bedroom praying and meditating. He read a portion of scripture and a devotional book, followed by a period of silent meditation and prayer. As time went on, his prayers became longer and more intense.

He came to cherish this quiet time in his bedroom, but his cat came to like it too. She would cozy up to him, purring loudly, and rub her furry body against him. This interrupted the man’s prayer time, so he put a collar around the cat’s neck and tied her to the bedpost whenever he wanted to be undisturbed while at prayer. This didn’t upset the cat, allowing the man to pray without interruption.

Over the years, the daughter of this devout Christian had noted how much his devotional time had meant to him. When she began establishing some routines and patterns with her own family, she decided to do as her father had done. Dutifully, she tied her cat to the bedpost and then proceeded to her devotions. But time moved faster in her generation, and she couldn’t spend as much time in prayer as her father did.

The day came when her son grew up, and he wanted to ensure that he preserved some of the family traditions that had meant so much to his mother and grandfather. But the pace of life had quickened all the more, and there was no time for meditation, bible reading, and prayer. But to carry on the religious tradition, he tied the family cat to the bedpost each day while he was dressing. (George Wood)

 

Confidence in God

 Instilling self-confidence in a child is an essential task for a parent. If the child doubts their self-worth, it will be an ongoing problem in adulthood. However, it is even more important to instill another kind of confidence. This is the confidence that God gives us that we belong to him and that nothing can take us away from him. We get this confidence when we give our heart to him—at our conversion. Paul wrote to Ephesians: “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

The helmet of salvation is the assurance of salvation. Any helmet gives us confidence that we are protected to some degree. This helmet enables us to stand and fight in a spiritual war. This confidence is that God will not will not abandon us. The work he began will continue until he has done what he intended to do in our lives. He does not walk away from his projects. He doesn’t leave us like an abandoned building project that went belly-up. He finishes the job.

Christians with that helmet have spiritual confidence in their God, not themselves. Do you need that confidence? Do you need help to refute the lies that you belong to the king? Do you doubt that you matter? Do you doubt your worth to Him? Then, reach for your helmet and put it on.

Paul encouraged the Ephesians to take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Bible. We must understand that when we take up God’s Word to fight spiritual warfare, we have the weapon that defends us and enables us to fight. When Satan attacked Jesus in the desert, he tempted him three times. But each time, Christ responded from the Scriptures. If Christ, in battle with Satan, used the sword of the Spirit, how much more should we. Moses told Israel that the scriptures are not idle words, but they are your life (Deuteronomy 32:47).

The simple preaching and teaching of God’s Word will change lives. Yet many pastors do not expound its truths. It is a great deal of work to extract the truths and let them speak to your soul before sharing them with others. Second, it is far easier to speak about what is trending and what everyone else is talking about. Third, sharing something nobody else is saying is exciting. This can be done by stringing together illustrations and stories that grab people’s emotions. Sadly, this will not prepare people for the battle they are facing. They need to hear the truth of God’s Word. It must speak to them!

We are at war and must not keep the sword in the sheath simply because our culture tells us that it is irrelevant. Today, pastors are afraid to say what the Bible says for fear of ridicule. Our culture has become the umpire of what is right and wrong. How shameful this is! We must be Jeremiah or Ezekiel who stand and speak God’s Word even though those who hear it don’t like what it says.