Are We Prayer Weaklings or Prayer Warriors?

Ephesians 6:18 

¹⁸ 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.

This week, perhaps more so than ever before I have had a burden to pray. To pray in particular for the body and the ministry of LWBC. I am in the unique and humble position, as a leader in the church, to be intimately involved in many of your lives and to see the daily struggles that many of you face. All of us are confronted with burdens in life that are too heavy and far too complicated for us to handle on our own, yet far often I see too many of you trying anyway. Like a sinking ship being bailed out with a teaspoon, we desperately try to fix the problems in our marriages, families, church, health and every other aspect of life with little power or effectiveness. We need to learn to put the teaspoon down and pick up the high powered pump that is available to us!

Prayer is the direct path to the only One in the universe that not only knows our struggles but has the power to use them for His glory and our benefit. When we pray we are literally entering the throne room of the King of Kings, seeking an audience with Him. And unlike the kings of the earth, this King will never turn us away, never be too busy to listen and never ignore our pleas. As Christians, we have access through Christ our mediator, to the greatest power ever known or will be known. God is the recipient of our prayers! Do you really understand the incredible statement that I just made? God, the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Almighty Creator, the Ancient of Days, the Holy One…listens to the prayers of you and me! And He not only listens, but He works all things out according to His purposes, His will and for our benefit! Do you pray really knowing who it is you are praying to?

Each one of us must commit to increasing our prater life! Not simply understanding who it is we are praying to, but committing to making prayer the most important part of our day! As I studied this week on various topics something struck me like a ton of bricks. When the Lord accomplished a great work in and through His people, for the benefit of the Kingdom and for the people of the Kingdom, it always started with prayer! In 2 Chronicles 7scripture promises that the move of God on behalf of the people of Israel will be predicated by prayer. In Matthew 9 the move of God’s favor in the harvest field was predicated by prayer. Even wisdom is acquired through prayer! Every single day, prayer should be the place that we start, it should carry us through the day and it should be our ending point when we lay down our heads! There will be no great man or woman of God where there is no prayer! And LWBC will never accomplish all that God has for us if we are prayer weaklings. If we are distracted by the world, when we should be on our knees before God, we will ever be struggling forward, trying to accomplish the impossible. Like a teaspoon bailing out a sinking ship. Brothers and sisters, pray. Pray for the church, pray for each other, pray for your families, pray for yourself, pray for your leaders and pray for the lost…and when you are finished…start again. The best defense against the schemes of the enemy is to never give him a chance to gain a foothold. Prayer will forever be the first line of defense in our lives and the only thing that sustains us through every situation.

“Prayer plumes the wings of God’s young eaglets so that they may learn to mount above the clouds. Prayer brings inner strength to God’s warriors and sends them forth to spiritual battle with their muscles firm and their armor in place.”   -Charles Spurgeon 

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John