Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
There are all kinds of prayer, there is a prayer to fit each particular situation or condition.
There is public prayer- Private prayer Individual Prayer- Corporate prayer. Long prayers
Short prayers, Standing prayers - Sitting down prayers
Laying on your face prayers, While you walk prayers
The prayer of faith, The prayer of petition, The prayer of intercession
The prayer of submission, The prayer of repentance
It is clear from Pauls writings under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, That Prayer is vital for the believer to be successful in spiritual warfare.
**The believer hasn’t even begun to fight until he learns to pray)
Prayer is not simply an afterthought to the believers arsenal of spiritual weapons, Prayer is in fact the way that the believer implements his spiritual weapons against the enemy.
It is through faith that we appropriate our armor and our spiritual weapons, but it through prayer that they are implemented (put into action).
*For many Christians prayer is their last resort (when all else fails pray)
*For others it is only a way of getting things from God (getting their needs met)
But for these who have understood the armor of God and it’s purpose, prayer becomes a mighty weapon in itself.
E.m. Bounds says: Prayer is the great, universal force to advance God’s cause;
Not to pray is a denial of God, a denial of his existence, a denial of his nature and a denial of his purposes toward mankind.
He farther says: Praying men are the only men in which the Holy Spirit dwells, for the Holy Spirit and prayer go hand-in-hand. The Holy Spirit never descends upon prayerless men. He never fills them, he never empowers them. There is nothing whatever in common between the Spirit of God and men who do not pray. The Spirit dwells only in a prayer atmosphere.
*It was when Jesus came up out of the water Praying that the Holy Spirit came upon him.
*It was in a prayer mtg. That the new testament Church was birthed)
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
*It was through prayer the gospel was propagated)
Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
*It was through prayer that the gentile outcasts were brought into the fellowship of the inheritance of the saints.)
Cornelius was praying in his house and an angel appeared to him & told him to send for Peter.
Peter was praying and saw a vision, At the same time the men Cornelius sent for him were knocking at the gate, The Spirit said (go with them nothing doubting for I have sent them.
Because Cornelius prayed and Because Peter Prayed,
We are in the Kingdom today, But what happens from this point on is left up to our prayers.
Jesus went from place to prayer, from place to prayer, from place to prayer and in between he cast out devils healed the sick and raised the dead.
(Jesus life was saturated with prayer)
A believer who has accepted the armor of God but does not pray, is just a person who is all dressed up with no place to go.
Paul tells us that as we take the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit it is to be done in the spirit of Prayer.
*It is this spirit =Heart attititude and disposition and lifestyle of prayer that qualifies us to use the sword of the spirit.
This clearly tells us that we are expected to use the sword of the spirit in and through the spirit of prayer.
#1 No one is properly prepared to use the sword of the spirit who has not had their hearts and minds prepared through prayer.
#2 No one can bring to you the words of the spirit who has not been in fellowship with the spirit through prayer.
Ecc 10:10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. (If any man lack wisdom let him ask= pray)
The sword in the hand of a prayerless man or woman is as dangerous as a machine gun in the hand of a 3yr old, It can be a means of mass destruction.
But the sword of the spirit in the hands of a praying man or woman, can break satanic bondage, open the eyes of the blind, bring healing to sick bodies, open doors that have been closed, close demonic doors that have been opened, shake nations and set up the kingdom of God in the earth.
*Men of power in the earth have always been men of prayer.
We saw Elijah on mt Carmel as he called down fire from the sky, and the heavens opened and gave rain, but did we forget that Elijah on Carmel was the product of Elijah in the closet.
James 5:17-18 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Prayer
In the spirit: All of our praying regardless of the kind it is, is to be done in the power of the Spirit and by the direction of the Spirit.
#1 To pray in the spirit one must be in the spirit of Prayer, and that starts by accepting prayer as a God given privilege and responsibility.
No one will pray in the Spirit until prayer is important to them,
#2 To pray in the Spirit is to pray with a definite dependence upon the Holy Spirits power
All prayer to be effective must be offered in and through the Spirit and directed by the Spirit.
Certainly praying in tongues is a powerful element of spiritual praying, but the primary purpose of praying in tongues is to build up my inner man that I might be more effective in my warfare for my brothers and sisters.
*Watching thereunto:
Through prayer we are kept in a condition of spiritual alertness, our senses are kept sharp and alive, we do not allow the enemy to gain advantage against us through spiritual slumber.
*With all perseverance and supplication for all saints:
Through prayer we are given an overview concerning our brothers and sisters, we are able to see where they are weak, and through prayer we are able to intercede and fight for them until they regain their strength.
We should pray for all saints everywhere that they would receive a revelation of all that God has provided for them through Christ.
We should pray for the ministry, (pastors, teachers, evangelists, apostles, prophets,) That they can speak boldly and proclaim the liberating truths of the gospel.
For prayer to be effective it must be offered In: Humility, Faith, Obedience, Righteousness, Whole heartedness.
*Prayer is a mighty weapon in the believers life.
The most powerful yet impotent force in the earth is prayer (It is the most powerful when it is utilized & The most impotent when it is neglected.
