Prayer is one of those things that Christians know they are supposed to do, yet it seems like it can be one of the most tedious and sometimes seemingly fruitless exercises. If you are like me, you have probably had some questions about prayer. What does prayer do? Does it really make a difference whether or not I pray? If and when I do pray, what am I supposed to pray about? Does it matter how I pray? Are there any “tricks” to getting my prayers answered?
Let me begin with a subject that may seem off the subject, but I will bring it back around to the issue of prayer. Within the realm of the spirit there are dynamics and powers that are actively involved in the daily issues of our lives. We tend not to notice their work or their influence. In the book of Daniel, chapter 10, Daniel has been praying to God about the captivity of Israel in Babylon and other areas around the middle east. When an angel finally arrives to give Daniel the answer to his prayer, the angel lets Daniel know that in the process of getting to Daniel with the answer, a prince spirit over the province of Persia had been withstanding him for 3 weeks.
In Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus encounters a Roman Centurion, whom He praises for his faith. The soldier’s faith was represented by his acknowledgement that he understood that even in the spiritual realm there was a hierarchy of command, just as there was in the Roman army. The apostle Paul would later write about this hierarchy of command within the kingdom of our enemy when he wrote to the church at Ephesus. He told them that our struggles in this life are due to the works of principalities, powers, world rulers of this darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.
As we think about what this means for us today, the meaning is clear; we have an enemy, and that enemy is fighting against us through the influences of evil spirits. What we also need to recognize is what the Roman Centurion recognized – that there are good spirits, angels we call them, working with Jesus Christ to bring good influences to earth. Within the spirit realm, these two opposing forces for evil and for good, are constantly in a battle to accomplish their purposes on the earth. The interesting thing that we need to get hold of, is that God has ordained that we as believers have the privilege to participate in this spiritual battle through the practice of prayer.
When we pray, and when our prayers are properly made and properly directed, we have the power to push back the darkness of evil from our neighborhoods, our schools, our homes, our places of business, even our government and our states and nation. Our prayers or the lack of prayers have a direct bearing on whether evil advances around us or whether God’s blessings surround us.
The unfortunate thing that I have noticed within Christianity today, is that many people have focused their prayers on themselves and what they need or feel they want. Very few prayers are ever directed toward the ministry, or toward pushing back the kingdom of the enemy. We tend to pray about our health, our finances, or our family. Everything is about us. James says in James 4:3 that our prayers do not get answered because we are asking for things just for the purpose of satisfying our desires. Peter also states in 1 Peter 3:7 that our prayers can be hindered because we aren’t in proper relationship with our spouse. It’s time we begin to listen to God’s word when it comes to prayer and begin to focus our prayers on those things that matter to God. In 1 Timothy 2:1-3 we are told to pray for those in authority over us so that we can have a peaceful and quiet life.
When we begin to focus our prayers on the realm of the spirit, and we begin to pray about the things happening around us in light of the spiritual war going on in the heavenlies, it will begin to impact that war. We should be praying that God will send His army to roll back the influence of darkness that has infiltrated our communities. We need to realize that in response to such prayers, God will push back the darkness so that we can do the work of the ministry in our community in order to rescue as many souls from the kingdom of the enemy as we can. Our time on this earth is running out and we need to concentrate our prayers on the ministry. In Colossians 4:3 Paul asks the believers to pray for him and asks that they petition God so that a door could be opened for him to proclaim the gospel even though he is imprisoned. This is the type of prayer that God wants us to be praying.
We need to also be cognizant that it is important how we pray. In James 5:16-18 we are told that our example in this matter is the prophet Elijah. He was our example, because he was a man just like us. He had the same desires we have and yet because he prayed with a passion and a fervency, God listened to him and granted his request to stop the rain for three years. This was not a simple, polite, calm prayer like “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” Not Elijah’s prayer was passionate. There was some energy behind it. He poured everything he had into that prayer. In essence, Elijah was refusing to take “No” for an answer. He knew what God wanted to do and he prayed in agreement with God’s will. Those prayers will always be answered.
So, what about our needs? Are we not to pray about our needs? We certainly can pray about our needs, but it needs to be done within the context of a covenant relationship with God, and as part of a bigger picture of the ongoing ministry of the gospel. For those involved in spreading the gospel, God will never let them go without meeting all their needs. He knows He can trust them because they are involved in the work of evangelism.
Join me in focusing prayer on the spirit realm, seeking to push back the influence of the enemy at every turn, and at every place around us. If we are consistent and our lives are being lived in accordance with His standards, then we can know that God will move in very powerful ways to transform our churches and communities.
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