Every Prayer a Powerful Weapon
Every prayer a powerful weapon...
One of my absolute favourite things to do is to lead kids in worship! If you've ever been to a HCC Kids Church session you'll know the song 'We Want to See Jesus Lifted High', which contains the words;
"Every prayer a powerful weapon
Strongholds come tumbling down and down and down..." (ad infinitum!)
What I love about many of the kids praise songs is how simple and yet how profound the lyrics often are. Every prayer a powerful weapon. How often do we consider that our prayers, our every prayer, is in fact a mighty weapon? And yet, this is the clear revelation of scripture. Prayer, in a very practical way, has been ordained by God as an instrument of warfare.
We heard Eddie preaching on Sunday about the two battlegrounds of Exodus 17; the battle in the valley and the battle on the hilltop. The outcome of the battle in the valley between the Israelites and the Amalekites was determined by the outcome of the battle on the hilltop; of Moses in prayer. Whenever Moses tired in prayer and his hands fell the Amalekites advanced, whenever he was revived in prayer the Israelites would advance. In every challenge we face there is a valley battle and a hilltop battle, it is always the higher battle that determines the outcome of the lower battle. We must send troops to the lower battle, we must engage our enemy practically as well as spiritually but unless we active on the hilltop the troops in the valley will fail.
So what is the lesson here? It is that we ought to acknowledge the supremacy of prayer over all other good and wholesome endeavors in the Christian life. That God has ordained prayer as the means by which we access His strength, His grace, His power in our lives. Unless our works are saturated with prayer it doesn't matter how resolute, ordered or passionate we might be we will be left vulnerable to enemy attack.
Many a preacher has overlooked something vital in the what the apostle Paul wrote concerning the armour of God. They quote Ephesians 6:10-17 but miss out verse 18.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 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,
It's by prayer that the armour is kept strong and effective. Through prayer our love of the truth grows, through prayer we are daily taking the righteousness of God to ourselves, through prayer we are readied to preach the gospel, through prayer our faith is shored up, through prayer we are assured of our salvation and given the wits to wield the sword of the Spirit.
Very often, it's our prayer life its self which becomes the battleground. We struggle to stir up the desire to pray and when we do we become discouraged by our own inadequacies and the feebleness of our words. We're tempted to give up. But let's take courage from the words of the great Victorian preacher J.C. Ryle;
"Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you."
So let's continue to press into God for a deeper, richer prayer life. As often as we can let's follow the HCC prayer calendar and lift one another up by name. I sense that for us as a church right now this is the battleground. As we refuse to put down the powerful weapon that is our prayer life, we as a church will begin to conquer and overcome the works of the evil one in the city of Wolverhampton, I am sure of it.
Soli Deo Gloria
Graham Phillips