Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:11 NIV
Many of us wait until we face a serious challenge, whether it be financial, spiritual, relational or emotional, to firmly grab hold of the weapons the Lord has given us to protect ourselves through his word. He gives us these weapons to strengthen us, so we are not only prepared for these moments, but can get through them without losing our faith, and our hope. Most importantly, so we won’t try to take these challenges on without him, thus taking our minds, hearts, and eyes off of him.
Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Jesus prayed constantly and committed his days to the work his Father gave him. He prayed for God’s will to be done, no matter the situation. The Lord sets our finest example!
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 NIV
Prayer is key tool in keeping us prepared for battle; we do ourselves a great service to follow the Lord’s example. The idea is to prepare ourselves for the battle we face as Christians daily and to seek his protection from all of our enemies – the flesh, the world, and the evil one! In a war, we would not go into battle without our armor on, wait until we got seriously injured, then go back to put the armor on and return to battle; that wouldn’t make any sense, the damage would be done and it could be too late. When entering into our spiritual battle daily, who better to do battle with than He who has never lost a battle!
Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. Psalms 40:11 NIV
He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:15 NIV
Getting the jump on strife, through prayer, will protect us and deliver his promises. Why wait to pray?
Barnabas
Special thanks for this submission by guest blogger – Barnabas