2 Corinthians 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
Paul frequently used the metaphor of war to convey the urgency and purpose of prayer. We’re in a battle, and the realm of warfare we’re engaging in isn’t the material world, rather the spiritual one (Ephesians 6:10–18), which is why he exhorts us to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (verse 13). In turn he calls us to appropriate every available weapon in God’s spiritual armory (verses 14–18). The list of weapons culminates with prayer: “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 saints. Pray also for me…” (verses 18–19).
So we need to wake up to the fact that our prayers have power; they can have eternal consequences! Each of us has a key role to play in God’s army and it is prayer that underpins everything. If we don’t grasp that, then our prayers will be sluggish, apathetic or just won’t happen.
Piper hits the nub of it: “Probably the number one reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is that we try to turn a wartime walkie-talkie into a domestic intercom. Until you know that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for… But what have millions of Christians done? We have stopped believing that we are in a war. No urgency, no watching, no vigilance. No strategic planning. Just easy peace and prosperity. And what did we do with the walkie-talkie? We tried to rig it up as an intercom in our houses – not to call in fire power for conflict with a mortal enemy, but to ask for more comforts in the den.”
Challenging words…
Lord, I choose to pray with a greater sense of urgency today. Amen!
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