When Prayer Becomes a Powerful Foe
A prayer-filled friend is a powerful foe—not to the befriended—but to the father of lies, the deceiver, the sly one.
I
recently met with Kay, a godly mentor of twenty years. I’d not seen her in awhile but during an extended time of prayer the week before, I sensed God prompting me to ask her to meet me. I’d been on a roller coaster ride for six months, and trust me, there were no Mickey ears in sight.
I knew from the moment our meeting was penned on her calendar Kay would begin praying, but I was especially humbled to learn how on that morning, she covered us in prayer from 5:00-6:15 a.m.
After returning home, I phoned another friend who was aware of my meeting with Kay. Before I could share all God had accomplished, she said God woke her up at 4:30 a.m. to begin praying.
An unspeakable appreciation swelled in my spirit as I thanked God for these friends, and those like them who I know would drop everything, wake up early, or stay up late to pray on behalf of others.
God used my prayer-filled friends to wield the weapon of truth in the face of my enemy that morning and life took a different direction as a result. Prayer-filled friends are incredibly powerful foes, which is why we so desperately need each other in the battle. I plan to share more about my non-Mickey roller coaster ride in the near future, but until then, please know this:
Prayer-filled people are not perfect people. They are, however, people who know who they are in Christ, have a clear understanding of Who they are praying to, and have faith that God has the power to accomplish His desires for those being lifted before His throne of grace. Prayer-filled people also tend to repent quickly and find deep abiding joy in their community with other Christ-followers.
Is there any doubt why James tells us that their prayers – those who are “right” before God – are powerful and effective?
Let us appreciate our prayer-filled friends — but may we also seek to be one ourselves.
“Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is
simply picking up the pieces.” S.D. Gordon
“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to
preach.” Charles Spurgeon
