Is this Busy Prayer Warrior to busy to pray? The evil one would have me believe that.
John Bunyan said: “Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan”
Satan does not like it when I sincerely go to God in prayer. He will cause any kind of chaos from small insignificant interruptions to large urgency's that demand my attention. Anything to distract me, to exhaust me, and to cause my mind to be overwhelmed with this thing we call life.
Not just physical busy-ness and movement…but the busy-ness of mind, spirit and soul. All wound up like a ten-day clock, ticking, ticking, ticking, but never running down.
A bazillion things to do every day…my day planner is sickly obese with many insignificant, unnecessary and wasteful moments I shove into the mouth of each day.
Is this Busy Prayer Warrior to busy to pray? The evil one would have me believe that….but I know it is a lie from the pit of hell.
John Wesley once said: “I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.”
King David often stated in his Psalms about when he prayed…
Psa 5:3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
Psa 59:16 But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
Psa 88:13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psa 92:2 to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,
Psa 143:8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Jesus would pray often:
Mar 1:35 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.
Luke 5:16 …Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
The apostle Paul said:
1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing;
Paul also talks of being on the alert when praying…..
Eph 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request. Likewise, be alert with your most diligent efforts….
Jesus, King David, Paul, John Wesley and many others know the truth. There is a war that rages for my attention and my soul. Unseen forces to keep me from the very thing that gives strength to my body, peace to my soul, wisdom to my mind and organization to my day.
Paul told one of his church plants:
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Eph 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Prayer is so powerful that there are spiritual forces of evil that work night and day to keep God’s people off their knees.
Discipline to pray to receive power in prayer..so to stand against the devil’s schemes to keep me undisciplined and powerless. But let’s be honest….I have a will and I have the knowledge and I have the experience and it is ME that falls for the schemes of the evil one. Although the warfare is real…I am not powerless and I have the greatest weaponry in the world…prayer...but what good is it if I leave it under the bed or in a locked box hidden even from my sight.
With conviction on my heart….I prayed for discipline to pray and the awareness of when I can pray. God never disappoints me when I ask for His help. I have been getting up early to pray. I am praying in my car to and from work. I pray during the day at work anytime my computer freezes up and I have a few minutes to wait. I pray as I walk the long walk to and from the restroom at work. I pray when I see the prayer requests come across, I pray when I lay down to sleep at night and when I wake up in the middle of the night.
Getting started was not easy….hard to keep my eyes open and mind focused at 5:00AM in the morning. Hard to give up my favorite Christian radio program to and from work. Hard to clear my mind of the many work related issues and challenges while waiting for the PC to unfreeze. Hard to remember to pray a little prayer while going to the restroom, because I am thinking of what all needs to be done for the remainder of the day.
This prayer discipline continues to be a struggle…because Satan does not like it when I pray.
It is getting easier...prayer is becoming (once again) a constant with great blessings…and I have felt the immense power and strength that flows through prayer in these last few weeks while watching my Mom slowly leave this life and start her new life with Christ.
“We must no longer see prayer as preparation for action. Prayer must be understood as action itself, a way of responding, a potent spiritual weapon to be used in spiritual warfare against the most powerful forces in the world. Prayer is not undertaken instead of other actions, but as a foundation for all the rest of the actions we take” Jim Wallis
Time to set that alarm clock for tomorrow morning at 5:00AM……
Amen and Amen
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