The Call of a Prayer Warrior - Part 4

Ephesians 6:18 - "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—"

We have considered the command to be a Prayer Warrior, the conditioning of a Prayer Warrior, and to close out this study, let us ponder over the concentration of a Prayer Warrior.

When God has conditioned and trained us to be mighty in prayer, whom do we pray for? God does not take us through the training to pray for ourselves. He trains us to pray for the needs of the Kingdom. God tells us in Eph. 6:18-19 where to focus our efforts as Prayer Warriors. We need to pray for the strength to fight the battle. We need to pray for the "saints," or believers, who fight alongside us. Too often in the church, we forget that we are in the battle together - we are not to be fighting each other. Paul prayed for the believers to gain spiritual wisdom (Eph. 1:15-21; 3:14-21). We also need to be praying for the sinners we fight for - the boldness to share the gospel. As we see, we pray for strength, saints, and sinners.

But, be aware, the more that we proceed in building the kingdom, the more opposition we will face. The more we do for God, the more we will find those who will oppose it. (And sadly, the opposition does not always come from outside the church).

Today, as you ponder and muse over these last couple of days challenge, will you step up and be a Prayer Warrior? Would you be an Aaron and Hur? We need to stoke the furnace of Prayer in this nation more than ever before. 

"Nothing of eternal significance has ever been accomplished outside of prayer."

Prayer: Father, I am willing to take a stand. I am willing to be used by You. Call me. Train me. Equip me. Use me. Amen. 

The Call of a Prayer Warrior - Part 3

Ephesians 6:18 - "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—" (emphasis mine)

We can see this in the physical world around us. When a young person goes into the military, they just don't hand them a weapon and place them on the front line. They send them through Boot Camp. They receive the training that they need to be able to do what they are sent to do. When a person goes into the Medical field, they are trained and go through an internship to be sure they are prepared for treating others. When a person goes into the field of education, they take courses in their field, they student-teach and thus become qualified to teach others.

So, God also qualifies those whom He calls. So, what does Paul mean by "in the Spirit?" Well, first a person must have a salvation experience with Christ (Eph. 1:13-14). One must have heard the truth, trusted in Christ, and thus are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Then, we must not harbor sin, or have any unconfessed sin (Eph. 4:25-30). John Bunyan is credited with saying -"Prayer will make a man cease from sin, but sin will make a man cease from prayer."

In Ephesians 4, there is a list of sins that we are to remove, these grieve the Holy Spirit. Included in the list is lying, anger, thievery, worthless words (gossip, criticism, mean spirited talk) as well as others. We can't be in sin and in the Spirit at the same time. We can't pray and hate at the same time. We mus be yielded to God's Spirit (Eph. 5:15-16). And in turn, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). When we are this focused in our spiritual walk, then we will be ready to be a Prayer Warrior.

Prayer: Spirit of the Living God, as I meditate upon the truth from this passage, may You drive it deep into my being. Light the fire in my soul to be involved in the Kingdom Building Business of being a Prayer Warrior. Amen.

The Call of a Prayer Warrior - Part 2

Ephesians 6:18 - "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—" (emphasis mine)

Paul is giving us the command to be a Prayer Warrior. He is calling us to constantly live in a present state of prayer. Not the past, not the future, but right now at this moment. No believer, no church, no community, no nation on earth can ever rise above their prayer life.

The seriousness of praying like a warrior is highlighted by the "all's" in this passage. Always. All prayer. All perseverance. It is a call for a totality of prayer - in the believer and in the church. Paul speaks of prayer using two different Greek words in this verse. Proseuche (prayer) is a general term for prayer or the place of prayer. Deesis (supplication) carries the meaning of entreaty or want. In all forms of prayer, we should seek to be on the battlefront, to be warriors well equipped to do battle with the enemy forces. God desires for us to pray daily (I always tell my churches, two things to do every day - Read your Bible and Pray). God promises that when we truly seek Him, we can see great and mighty answers (Jeremiah 33:3).

Consider surrendering to God to be one of His Prayer Warriors. But, you say, I am not sure that I am to be a Prayer Warrior. I don't know if I am equipped to do this? Remember this - God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. And, whom He calls, He equips. So, in our study together tomorrow, we will consider the conditioning of a Prayer Warrior.

Prayer: Father, give me ears to hear Your call upon my life. Prayer, place deep inside of my soul the call, the desire, the urgency to be one of Your Prayer Warriors. Amen.

The Call of a Prayer Warrior - Part 1

Ephesians 6:18 - "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—"

The way to build strength in our personal lives, and in the lives of our churches is through the power of prayer. As the late Dr. Jerry Falwell said many times, "Nothing of eternal significance is ever accomplished outside of prayer."

Many are seeking to build the Kingdom of God, and by His power and His blessings, they are seeing mighty things being accomplished. So, if one wants to see the blessings to continue, to see God grow His Kingdom in their city and church, to see the sick healed, provision for physical needs, emotional needs be met, unity to thrive, and the Devil defeated in our lives and those around us -- we need to be people committed to being Prayer Warriors.

Over the next three days, let us consider the command, the conditioning, and the concentration of a Prayer Warrior. Will you prayerfully join me as we seek to see a great, mighty, and majestic movement of God come to our families, communities, and nation? Will you join my heart in praying for a movement of God like we have not seen before? Read Ephesians 6:18-20 today, and each of the following three days. Let the message sink into your heart and soul. Let your mind begin to be fully saturated with the Cal of God to be a Prayer Warrior.

Prayer: Spirit of the most High God, fill me with the desire to see the Father move in a wonderful way. May we see His Power and Might. May we see Him display to us His Majesty, Love, and Cleansing Power. I seek Him today. I focus on Him today. I come to Him today. I am anticipating what He can and is willing to do. Amen.