The Consistency of Prayer – Gary Rohrmayer

Oswald Chambers wrote, ‘Prayer is not only asking, but an attitude of mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural.’ Prayer is a constant state of humility and dependence on our loving Father. When Paul writes, ‘And pray in the Spirit on all occasions,’ he reminds us of the four keywords for living a victorious Christian life: ‘pray in the Spirit.’ We define ‘praying in the Spirit’ as the means of praying the mind of God, under the will of God, by the continued assistance of the Spirit of God.

Now he adds that we are to pray ‘on all occasions.’ Meaning there is never a bad time to pray. Prayer should never be isolated to certain places or occasions but should be exercised whenever and wherever the Spirit prompts us to pray. Reflecting on the context of spiritual warfare, we can understand Paul’s urgency for ongoing prayer as our enemy never takes a rest from scheming against us. This is why we are admonished to ‘pray continually’ (I Thessalonians 5:17). As soldiers in this epic spiritual battle, our armor will function at a high level if we continuously communicate with the commander-in-chief. Soldiers on the front lines rely heavily on their unbroken contact with their commanding officers to help them navigate the battlefield. Without that unceasing communication, they could be quickly overrun by the enemy, making them vulnerable to attacks and ultimately defeats. So it is with us as followers of Jesus, the armor of God will only be effective as our continual dependence on the Father.

There are three strategies that Satan uses to attack our prayer lives:

1. First, he will try to discourage us from praying. Have you ever thought that your prayers were useless? Do you ever get tired of praying prayers that go unanswered? Have you ever said to yourself, ‘What is the use? I pray, and nothing happens!’ Those discouraging doubts are planted in our minds by our scheming enemy. It’s at that moment we are to put on the belt of truth like David in Psalm 13, who in one breath said, ‘How long, O Lord?’ (v. 1) and in the next said, ‘But I trust in your unfailing love’ (v. 5).
2. Second, he will try to distract us from praying. We should not be amazed that when we give time to focused prayer, crazy things happen. Satan is the master of distractions. Jesus asked his disciples to pray for him for one hour. What happened? They all fell asleep! Jesus said to them, ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Matthew 26:41).
3. Third, he will try to deter us in our prayers. Satan wants to weaken our prayer lives and does it in many ways: He will entice us into sin (Psalm 66:19). He will place idols in our lives (Ezekiel 14:1-3). He will cause relational strife (I Peter 3:7). He will seduce us to pray with the wrong motives (James 4:3). He will use our selfishness against us. Solomon wrote, ‘Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered’ (Proverbs 21:13). John Piper offers this challenge to our prayer lives, ‘Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den.’ May we find victory today as we allow prayer to permeate our lives.

A 21-Day Prayer Campaign is an excellent time to renew your discipline in prayer privately and corporately. During the 21-day Prayer Campaign we hope to strengthen the private prayer life of every pastor, staff member, lay leader, and believer in our churches and strengthen the corporate prayer life of every church throughout Converge MSC as together we seek to stand victoriously against the schemes of our arch enemy through Jesus Christ our victorious Savior.

Check out one of our 21-Day Campaigns for your church to do this Fall and join hundreds of churches and thousands of believers in prayer.

The Preeminence of Prayer – Gary Rohrmayer

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always continue praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:18

On a daily basis, it is in our prayer lives where the battle for spiritual victory is won or lost. The absence of prayer makes putting on the armor of God nothing but an intellectual experience completely void of spiritual vitality. Remember, when Paul speaks of the armor of God, he is metaphorically speaking of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ. We unlock the divine truth of the gospel through prayer and constant communion with the Father.

We see this truth come alive in the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where Paul lays out thirteen of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ. Let’s take a quick survey: We are chosen, made holy and blameless before God, and loved unconditionally (v. 4). We are spiritually adopted as children of God (v 5). We find complete acceptance in Christ (v. 6). We are redeemed through the blood of Christ, forgiven, and given all the riches of God’s grace (v. 7). We are lavished with all spiritual wisdom and understanding (v. 8). We understand the mystery of God’s will (v. 9). We are guaranteed an eternal inheritance (vs. 11, 14). We received the Word of truth and were sealed with the Holy Spirit (v. 13).

At the end of this robust list of blessings, Paul offers a prayer of enlightenment. Paul does not pray for us to receive these spiritual blessings because he knows we already have them as chosen children of God. Paul prays that we will experience the wonder and depth of what we already possess so that we will “know God better” (v. 17) and so that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (v. 18). God desires that we have an ever-expanding view of his infinite blessings so that Christ will transform our lives. He wants us to be people marked with hope and full of assurance. People with unlimited spiritual resources and heavenly confidence, and people marked with supernatural spiritual power and unstoppable strength (vs. 18–20). He wants to equip us to be the victorious warriors God intended.

Just like each piece of armor can be turned into an intellectual exercise void of spiritual power, spiritual blessings can become lifeless Christianity through prayerlessness. Oswald Chambers writes, “Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God.” Paul’s emphasis on the preeminence of prayer at the end of his study on the armor of God drives this point home.

If we are not regularly encountering God through meaningful prayer, the Devil is winning. He is out scheming us! He is outwitting us! He is robbing us of spiritual power and distracting us with trivial things. John Piper writes, “The devil hates prayer. Our flesh does not naturally love it. Therefore, it does not come full-born, complete and passionate from the womb of our heart. It takes ever-renewed discipline.”

A 21-Day Prayer Campaign is an excellent time to renew your discipline in prayer privately and corporately. During the 21-day Prayer Campaign we hope to strengthen the private prayer life of every pastor, staff member, lay leader, and believer in our churches and strengthen the corporate prayer life of every church throughout Converge MSC as together we seek to stand victoriously against the schemes of our arch enemy through Jesus Christ our victorious Savior.

Check out one of our 21-Day Campaigns for your church to do this Fall and join hundreds of churches and thousands of believers in prayer.