OvercomingSample

Overcoming through Prayer

Pray Continually.

As I finish our theme of being an Overcomer, I want to say that prayer is the overarching key for overcoming.

In writing about prayer, Annie Dillard states it this way.

“Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.”

Wow!

In Ephesians 6, Paul makes it very clear that we are in an ongoing war.

Our Lord and Commander is absolutely determined to lead us in the struggle to take back what has been lost, and prayer is our lifeline, giving strength and direction on a daily basis.

I am asking myself three questions and offer them to you.

1) Are you holding on to bitterness?

Holding on to grudges, bitterness, or anger in our hearts actually restricts the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Harboring bitterness in your soul limits the working of the Holy Spirit, and your prayers have no power.

2) Do you understand Satan’s strategies to discourage you from your prayer life?

In warfare, you need to know your enemy. There are two primary strategies Satan uses.

a. He uses our emotions and success in prayer against us. If we experience effectiveness and see prayer being answered, and then we have times when we feel that God is distant and not hearing us, he causes us to think that prayer should always be clear and have tangible results. This can cause us to become discouraged and want to give up.

b. He tries to convince us that prayer does not really work. This is usually an attack on our self-esteem, leading us to believe that we are not good enough Christians.

3) As mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, how can you implement praying continually in a practical way?

On the last two pages of my journal, I list what I am asking of God, and I do it consistently. It is my way of responding practically to 1 Thessalonians 5:17: Pray without ceasing.

How are you persevering in your prayer life?

May we be known as men and women who went into our war rooms and moved the One who moves and shakes history.

“When I pray, coincidences happen; when I stop praying, the coincidences stop happening.” –William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury

We adapted this Plan from As Long As I Have Breath by Bruce Gordon. Learn more about this discipleship resource.