Live by Prayer

Instant Connection

Prayer is the energy that allows the believer to wear the armor of God.

We are incapable of fighting this spiritual war without our spiritual weapon of prayer.

Our skills and mindset is not enough to win or overcome without prayer.

It is through prayer that we win battles because through prayer we are evoking our strongest weapon: God the Father.

Think of it like this:

The 911 emergency system is the state of the art. All you need do is dial those numbers, and you will almost instantly be connected to a dispatcher. In front of the dispatcher will be a read-out that lists your telephone number, your address, and the name by which that telephone number is listed at that address. Also listening in are the police, the fire department, and the paramedics.

A caller might not be able to say what the problem is. Or perhaps a woman’s husband has just suffered a heart attack, and she is so out of control that all she can do is hysterically scream into the telephone. But the dispatcher doesn’t need her to say anything. He knows where the call is coming from. Help is already on the way.

There come times in our lives when in our desperation and pain we dial 911 prayers. Sometimes we’re hysterical. Sometimes we don’t know the words to speak. But God hears. He knows our name and our circumstance. Help is on the way; God has already begun to bring the remedy.

Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 415–416.

That is why prayer is so important.

A quote attributed to Charles Spurgeon, and one I love, says “Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the hand of God.” This is why we need to Live by Prayer.

Paul says it this way in Eph. 6:18-20

Ephesians 6:18–20 ESV

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

This follows the Armor of God teaching. We need prayer to fully wear the Armor of God.

We need prayer to make it through the day. We need prayer to live because it is our direct line to the Lord.

In this section we see Paul telling us six things about how we pray.

Pray at All Times

We are to always be a praying people.

This is like when Paul said 1 Thess. 5:17 “pray without ceasing,”

We are to stay in connection to the Lord. We never need to say “Lord we come into your presence” because we are always in His presence.

We are always connected because we have never hung up the phone.

You remember what it was like back in the day when you had your sweetheart and you would call her or him and fall asleep on the phone just to wake up and talk in the morning.

That is what this is here.

We are to always be in His presence through prayer.

When we are connected to Him like this we will always be ready and able to handle all that comes.

Which is why we are also to...

Pray with all Prayer

This may seem strange but trust me it is not.

You may be thinking what? Pray with all prayer, what does this mean?

It means there is more than one style of prayer.

Paul says with supplication. Supplication means with urgency and pleading. This is reaching out for others or major needs.

But we can intercede for others, give thanksgiving for needs met, or we can pray for things we need.

But the believer who only goes to God wanting things for themselves, misses the blessings that come from praying for others.

They miss the blessings of being thankful for what they do have.

When we pray for the needs of others we have victory over Satan because we have looked to the needs of others and as Job 42:10 says, “the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

We are blessed more when we pray for others and give thanksgiving for what we have over seeking our own desires.

We are to pray for ourselves too but we must not only pray for ourselves. We must pray with an alertness of what is going on.

Which leads to the next point that tells us to...

Pray With Eyes Open

Paul tells us to “keep alert.”

Being alert simply means we watch what is going on.

We keep an eye on the things happening around us.

When the enemy is trying to attack us, it will most usually be in subtle ways.

When we are alert and paying close attention to all that is happening, we will be better equipped to pray as we ought.

Just as Nehemiah prayed and set a watch when the enemy was trying to stop their work on the wall in Jerusalem (Neh. 4:9). We must set a watch.

Peter tells us to 1 Pet. 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Satan wants us to fall and fail. We must be alert and know what is happening.

Warren Wiersbe said that God :expects us to use our God-given senses, led by the Spirit, so that we detect Satan when he is beginning to work.”

If we are not in constant communion with the Lord through prayer, we will not be as sensitive to the ways of the world and Satan.

We will miss things and slip and maybe fall.

Stay alert and stay focused on the Lord through constant connection.

Also, we see that we are to...

Pray Persistently

We are to persevere in prayer.

We are not to give up quickly in our praying.

We must continue in prayer and know that the timing of the Lord is not like our timing.

We all to often want things now when God is saying we are not ready for that.

We are to focus on Him and trust Him but stay persistent.

How do we often pray?

I bet it is something amazing if we stay focused on a prayer request for more than once or twice.

We will pray for something and maybe never even pray for it again, unless it is something for ourselves.

I know there are many who are strong prayer warriors and they pray over and over for many many days and months.

With perseverance in prayer we stay continually in prayer until God answers and delivers. Or until God answers and we see that the answer was no.

But too often we stop praying right before God is about to give victory.

So, as we Live by Prayer we must persevere in prayer. We must “stick to it and not quit.”

Keep on praying until the Spirit stops you or the Father answers you.

When you feel like quitting know that is the enemy trying to stop the mighty hand of God. Stay focused and committed to prayer.

God rewards faithfulness and prayer is a most faithful way to live and be. But in those prayers remember to...

Pray for All Believers

Step out there and pray for others.

If you hear of a wreck with people hurt and in ICU, pray for them even if you have no idea who they are.

Pray for other churches to impact the community for the Lord.

We as believers are on the same team, we are not enemies.

If another church succeeds we should celebrate with them. We should pray for continued success.

We should never be against another church. We should always pray for them and intercede for them to have more power and influence.

We are all part of a great family and as a family we should desire the goodness of all members. We should desire the power of the Lord for all members.

We all need prayer and if every member of the body of Christ would pray for each other and pray for them to have boldness as Paul asked for, man what a different world this would be.

If Paul needed prayer from the saints, how much more do you think you or I need these prayers?

There is power in prayer for each other. When we are joined together in prayer, Satan is being defeated and losing ground.

He is because we are together and not fighting against one another. We are working against him together. That is power and a force that will propel the church forward and set Satan back.

I want you to see what Paul said to pray for though.

It is not comfort or safety.

No Paul said to pray for “words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel…that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19-20).

Boldness in the face of death is what we should be praying for each other.

Boldness to declare the truth of the Lord and the gospel to all regardless the results.

Let us all pray for boldness for one another and see what happens to this world when the Spirit moves and changes people.

But to do all of these steps, we must...

Pray in the Spirit

When we pray we must always pray in the Spirit.

We must always pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

We must seek Him and His will always in prayer.

That is why Jesus told us to pray to the Holy Father in Heaven and seek His will before anything else.

Jesus also told us to pray in His name.

We are His and we seek Him through His name by the power of the Spirit.

Paul also told us Rom. 8:15-17 that we received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry Abba Father. This same Spirit bears witness with our spirit and in Rom. 8:26 “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

He is our power and means of prayer.

But for us to Pray in the Spirit we must first...

Relinquish Control

We do not try and orchestrate every word.

We pray as our heart guides us.

When we pray from our heart to the Lord we may not speak in words you have heard others pray.

We may not follow some formula that a liturgy says.

When we pray this way, praying in the Spirit, our minds stay focused in because we are praying what hits us.

We are able to think more clearly.

We are able to pray for the needs of others, for other believers to glorify the Lord, and for the Lord to be known by all.

Also, when we pray in the Spirit we are praying God’s will over everything.

We are seeking His power to be made known and that His will is done here as in Heaven.

To do this though we must...

Relinquish our Knowledge and Emotions

By this I do not mean we never enter into prayer without our emotions and thinking.

What this means is that we do not try to force our desires or thinking on the Lord.

This type of prayer is called fleshly prayers. When we think we know what we need more than God and try and force that on Him, we are not praying in the Spirit but in the flesh.

We must take all our concerns and worries to Him and let Him deal with them as He knows best.

We relinquish what we think we know and leave our emotions out of it, we will be able to focus on the Lord and His will more.

His will is for all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4).

He desires all people to know Him and worship Him alone.

He does not care if you have a new car, or a running car. He does care if you are seeking to glorify Him.

He does want you to praise Him in all things.

He wants you to be bold in all things.

Seek His will and follow His promptings over your knowledge and emotions.

Application

When we seek the Lord in prayer we have total victory. We have access to the Lord who is the power.

So some applications are:

1. Practice praying by setting a time daily.

Set this time for just a few minutes to begin with.

Allow your mind to focus on the Lord and His love for you.

Let Him guide your mind for the areas you need help and strength in.

Let the Spirit guide you to those who need prayer.

Pray for the needs you have and for the needs of others.

2. Then, write down names of those you desire to pray for.

Write down what you have prayed for and the day you prayed for that. Do this until that prayer is answered and then look back over the year and see how the Lord worked.

This will empower your prayer life more than you could ever imagine. Seeing when you prayed and when the Lord moved for this prayer helps you physically see the power of the Lord.

If you can just do these two simple things every day, you will be a strong prayer warrior in less than a year. Possibly in just a few short months.

Stay focused on the Lord in all of this and watch how He moves and impacts society as you pray for all His people to be bold and courageous in the face of insults and attacks.

The Hand Not the Pennies

I want to tell this little story from a sermon titled “The Disciple’s Prayer,” by Haddon Robinson. He stated:

When our children were small, we played a game. I’d take some coins in my fist. They’d sit on my lap and work to get my fingers open. According to the international rules of finger opening, once the finger was open, it couldn’t be closed again. They would work at it, until they got the pennies in my hand. They would jump down and run away, filled with glee and delight. Just kids. Just a game.

Sometimes when we come to God, we come for the pennies in his hand.

“Lord, I need a passing grade. Help me to study.”

“Lord, I need a job.”

“Lord, my mother is ill.”

We reach for the pennies. When God grants the request, we push the hand away.

More important than the pennies in God’s hand is the hand of God himself. That’s what prayer is about.

(Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 414–415.)

Seek to see the hand of God move in life and see how much better the world is.

Remember that “Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the hand of God.”

Watch what prayer does for others and I guarantee you will be fired up and ready to take on hell with a dollar store water gun.

God has given us an amazing weapon through prayer, let us go out today and break out this weapon of mass destruction and demolish the evil strongholds the world has set up.