Pillars of Harvest - Prayer (Pt. 1)

Write this down!

Prayer is foundational for faithfulness and victory in the Christian life.

If you are not experiencing either of these you have probably forgotten the truth of this statement. This week in our core group meeting we looked at the prayer pillar of Harvest Bible Chapel, which is:

         · We Believe Firmly In The Power of Prayer.

This pillar is based on Ephesians 6:18 which says that we need to be 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…

Apart from prayer you are facing failure and defeat because self-reliance is incapable of providing strength and power needed to win the battle you are facing. For you to be victorious and experience the power of prayer in your life you have to first:

                   1. Recognize your dependence on God!

In verse 6:10, Paul exhorts the saints at Ephesus to “…be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

If you don’t recognize your dependence on God as the basis for living the Christian life you are going to fail miserably. You must be dependent on the strength of God in order to live your life for God. You cannot be faithful to God in your marriage, family or job if you are relying on your own strength to do so. God knows we don’t have the strength, power or ability to do so and that’s why he has given us his strength, but if you haven’t recognized your dependence on God’s power to live this life you will never seek it.

After we recognize that we must be dependent on the strength of God we then need to:

                   2. Recognize what the real battle is!

In verses 11-13, Paul tells us exactly who we are facing – “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Take a minute and jot down where your greatest conflicts take place? Is it in your mind? In your marriage? In your family? At your job? With your neighbor? Before we pray for strength to fight the battle, we have to know who we are fighting. The fight isn’t against your wife, your kids, your boss or the guy next door who won’t mow his grass. It’s against Satan.

I’m not a “the devil is behind every bush” kind of guy, because I know that much of my problem is the battle against my own flesh, but it would be very foolish not to believe that Satan is taking my weaknesses and tendencies and trying to exploit them and make me succumb to them every chance he gets.

The sooner we recognize who the battle is against, the sooner we can start praying for the strength of God to fight. Fighting Satan in our own power is like fighting a wildfire with a squirt gun. It’s not going to happen. Let’s bring out the big guns and fight him with the equipment that God has provided.

Paul goes on to list these in the next few verses:

· Truth (14a)

· Righteousness (of God) – Not our own righteousness, that’s useless! (14b)

· The Gospel (15)

· Faith (16)

· Salvation (17)

· Word of God (17)

These are the tools God has given us to fight the battle! Take a few minutes and jot down some ways that these tools will help you fight the schemes of Satan. We did this in our core group and came up with great reasons why we have to be dependent on these things and how they can practically defeat the lies of Satan.

Lastly, we need to:

              3. Recognize the necessity of prayer!

You are only going to stay dependent on God if you stay on your knees. Prayer is acknowledging your own inability and your desperate dependence on God for victory. If you’re not praying you are trusting in yourself, which results in defeat every time.

If you are struggling with defeat and conflict on a regular basis examine your prayer life? Do you have one? Is God just a genie that you rub when you need something or is your prayer life preparing you for battle.