ONE THING Jesus did repeatedly was highlight the importance of prayer. He taught his disciples how to pray. (Luke 11 verses 2-4)
Before he fed the five thousand, he gave thanks. (Matthew 14 verses 13-21)
He prayed on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17).
And before he went to the cross, he prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one. (John 17 verses 21-24)
The WARRING SEASON is a time of prayer. It’s a period of contention and struggle—a time to fight battles.
When he wrestled with the angel, Jacob knew something was missing from his life. So, he told the angel that he would not let him go unless he blessed him. (Genesis 32 verse 26)
Jabez knew something wasn’t right with him when he caused pain everywhere he went, so he asked God to bless him. Enlarge his territory, put his hand upon him and keep him from harm. (1 Chronicles 4 verse 10)
When something isn’t right, you go to God in prayer.
THE HEBREW root word for wrestling in Jacob’s story is to contend, struggle and get dusty.
You will have to contend to get things right. You will have to struggle in prayers to move forward.
When King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and wouldn’t share it with anyone, Daniel told his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, to plead for mercy from God concerning the mystery. (Daniel 2 verse 17)
NO WONDER, he began to pray when he saw a vision of a great war. He knew he needed to pray things into existence.
He understood that the spiritual controlled the physical.
When God shows you something, He wants you to talk to him about it—and when he says something to you, he wants to do something with it.
God does not do anything just for the fun of it. He does things to bring things to your attention.
JOHN THE BAPTIST was in the wilderness waiting for the set time.
When the time came, he returned to the city, telling people to prepare the way for the Lord. (Luke 3 verses 2-16)
Whatever revelation God gives you, even for someone else, it still has something to do with you.
JOHN KNEW that the prophecy wasn't a destination but a path. (Matthew 11 verse 11)
So, when he tells you something, it's for a relationship.
Prayer is where you cultivate intimacy with God.
GOD WILL share things with you to make you pray, so prayer is a relationship.
Knowing something gives you certainty—and certainty brings hope.
Hope in God makes you unashamed. (Romans 5 verse 5)
DANIEL did not get an answer until twenty-one days later, but he hoped in God.
And when he did, the angel told him what had happened and gave him more insight. (Daniel 10 verses 1-14)
Like Daniel, trust his heart when you cannot see God’s hands.
PAUL said: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. (Ephesians 6 verse 12)
If there’s a struggle, there’s a force at play.
God’s mercy appeared when Hannah pleaded for a child (1 Samuel 1 verse 11).
His force was at play when Jesus prayed for Peter. (Luke 22 verses 24-38)
Likewise, His force will come into play when you pray.
When ELIJAH prayed intensely for it not to rain, it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
Then, he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the land produced its crops [as usual].
(James 5 verses 17-19)
I have often seen that prayer starts when we are at the end of ourselves.
PRAYER is the background noise of the life of the believer.
When you learn to pray, you learn to move the hand of God.
The church knew how to move God’s hand. When Peter was arrested and jailed, the church offered constant prayer to God. (Acts of Apostles 12 verses 5-9)
They prayed like people who wanted Peter alive, knowing something was at stake.
IF THERE’S nothing urgent about life, something is wrong.
God knew the urgency, so he sent an angel to free him, and Peter walked out of prison.
If there's nothing urgent about life, something is wrong.
THE TEN HEBREW SPIES said they couldn't possess the promised land, and God told them they wouldn't. (Numbers 14 verse 28)
Your words are like prayers to God. They are either pleasant or unpleasant (sweet aroma or putrid).
TO MOVE beyond the ordinary, you must trust God. Faith in God is a holy place.
Faith got Rahab to look away from race to grace. It grafted her into the family of God. (Acts of Apostles 2 verses 1-24)
It magnified the centurion's voice and gave him a foot in the door. (Matthew 8 verses 5-13)
Faith opens you up to grace.
GRACE brings divine possibilities to you. It opens you to God, and the will of God will not lead you to where the grace of God will not keep you.
Bringing it Together
PRAYER is the gateway to God’s wonders.
The warring season is when you cultivate intimacy with God.
To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." - Martin Luther.
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