(The first in a week of posts on prayer)
The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying.
He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion.
He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom
but he trembles when we pray.
~ SAMUEL CHADWICK
Samuel Chadwick (a 19th century minister in England) also said,
“Prayer is the acid test of devotion.”
Believe it?
Then are you devoted to praying?
Do you believe Jesus’ words enough to take the time to “ask”?
To “seek”?
To “knock”?
Is it really so hard to do?
Depends on if you believe.
Give the devil something to tremble about.
Go pray.
7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
~ MATTHEW 7
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revised from the archives
Do you think the devil should be scared of our prayers?
9 comments:
This is going to be a great series!!
I am a BIG believer in Spiritual warfare and this is a huge aspect of it! The Devil fears nothing more than a person who strives to be in tune with God and who is after His will. We are no danger to him if this is not where we are in our relationship with Christ.
I've always liked the little saying..."Be the kind of woman who makes the Devil say "Oh {blankety-blank} she's up" when her feet hit the floor every morning."
Hope you are having a great weekend!
This is a really good reminder to Christians. I believe 100% in the power of prayer, but I often find myself so caught up in getting through my day that I forget to pray. I can even read in my Bible and still not spend the time I should in prayer. Shame on me. Thanks for the challenge.
Have you read the book, "This Present Darkness"? I love the way this book helps alert me to the importance of prayer and its effect in the spiritual realm.
I believe Satan is currently fearless except for Christ! I believe shouting Christ's name and the fact that He shed His innocent blood for me is the only thing holding me back from Satan! Your thoughtful post gives us something to think about. I try to pray without ceasing. Thank you for sharing. Anne
I have found that if you fall asleep praying, you wake up in prayer -- and very rested!
I do believe in the power of prayer. I believe what is mot importantis believing in the Jesus we are praying to. It's easy to have faith in our own faith, as if it is up to us to muster up enough faith to lend God the power to do something. Rather I must have faith in who God is, what he can do, and what he will do. Then, there is power in the prayer. ~ You always pack so much into a few words. It is a gift to write with the substance you do without making us read pages of material!
DaisyGirl,
I so agree with you; prayer is a huge part of our spiritual warfare. I have no excuse for not taking more advantage of it. God wants us to! I’m praying to pray more…
Hope you are having a great weekend too. Thanks for your encouragement!
Kimberly,
I read "This Present Darkness" several years ago and it made a huge impression on me to take spiritual warfare more seriously. Prior to that I think I tried to shy away from the thought because it seemed scary. But I know there is a battle ongoing for our souls, and prayer is a huge part of our armor. I don’t want to be caught undressed for battle.
Anne,
Trying to pray without ceasing – such a wonderful goal we all should strive for. I’ve found that I do best at it when I’m distressed, but I want to be as prayerful during the easy times as I am through the hard ones. May the Lord give us all the awareness to bring our conversations directly to him more often.
Elizabeth,
What a beautiful way to fall asleep and to be awakened—in conversation with the Lord.
Stephani,
Amen.
Here is something I question about myself when I say to someone, “I know your prayers for me have been working!” It makes it sound like I believe the praying itself is what is working. But the praying and the pray-er are only conduits; the LORD is the one who is doing the work. You’ve stated it well that the most important thing is believing in the WHO we are praying to. That should encourage us to pray even more.
And speaking of prayer, I continue to keep your family in my prayers all the way around. I know you are hanging strong in your faith in Jesus and his power to give you peace, regardless of what happens next (and there is always something new around every corner). That inspires me and glorifies the Father.
I agree with you. We need to pray more and fear less. I've always been intrigued by the idea that God knows everything we need and even everything we want and yet he waits for us to ask him for these things. Sometimes it is a hard lesson to learn. We need to pray more.
Blessings,
Charlotte
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