The battle for prayer

(From my forthcoming book on prayer).

  
The battle for prayer

            It is so easy to talk about prayer, very easy to read about prayer, it is extremely easy to advice people to pray, but when it comes to praying personally, it is a difficult task.

            For many, prayer will always be a struggle, for we have to overcome the fleshly desires within us in order to pray. And we have to overcome the tempter who, tries to keep us from praying.

“....Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour, (1Peter 5:8).           

            The fleshly desires that we have, are a real hindrance to prayer, we rather sleep than pray, we rather do something than pray, we rather talk to man than talk to God, we rather spend time watching television than pray, we rather spend time on the internet than pray, we rather spend time reading books than pray, we rather go out visiting, than praying, we rather go for preaching than praying.

            The remedy is in dying daily. That is what Paul said, that “I die daily” we need to die daily to our fleshly desires. As we sit with God daily, we will be slowly loosened  from our fleshly desires. The “violent take it by force,” says the word of Lord, you need to be violent with yourself, literally forcing yourself to pray.

            We need to choose what we need to add to into our life, things that are everlasting or perishing, things that build your spiritual life or things that diminishes it.

            Then we have also the “tempter” who does not want us to pray. He is afraid of our prayer. He trembles when we pray. The tempter knows that if we continue to pray it will cause damage to his kingdom.

           

The tempter also knows that man has a tendency to drift away from a deeper fellowship of God. So he keeps us away from prayer. Literally he takes advantage of it.

            For many the temptation comes in this way:  a unworthiness to pray, a feeling of lethargy, the things to be done, distracting thoughts,  anonymous phone calls, friends inviting to go out, and much more.

For people growing up in prayer, not  feeling the freedom to pray, no exuberant experience while praying and after prayer, feeling of dryness while praying or after praying, wild sexual thoughts hitting  the mind, problems increasing.

            All these problems can be overcome, the secret is to continue praying, as you continue to pray, you will find changes taking place.

“Discipline yourselves; keep alert...” (1Peter 5:8), you need to discipline yourself, in order to pray, you need to plan, set goals, in order to discipline yourself, without discipline, you will fail.

You need to stick to the plan, to come out victorious, and once you get into the flow of prayer nothing can stop you. You will be unstoppable.

You need to fellowship with people who pray, and that will strengthen you, you are going to become like the people you walk with. So you need to scrutinise your close friends. It is worth walking with people who walk in the supernatural naturally.

When I started growing in the life of prayer, I used to avoid people who  talk about prayer, but never pray, another  kind of people I avoided was people who disliked praying, there was the third kind “holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power,” I avoided them, because they had nothing to impart to me. Not that I closed the door to them, I just did not spent my free time with them.

When I started growing up in prayer, and getting stronger and stronger in the spirit of prayer, I went back to these people, I went back to this first kind, “who talked about prayer, but never prayed” and inspired them to pray.

           

I went back to the second kind “who disliked praying” and taught them the need to pray.

The third kind “holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power”, I never went back to them, because they are un-teachable, they presume they know everything.

What  I am trying to highlight  is that you need to be careful of selecting who should be within the inner ring of friends and relatives.

They should be people, who leads you closer to the Lord.

They should be people, who leads  you to purity.

They should be people, who leads you to faith.

They should be people, who leads you to the truth.

They should be people, who leads you to His Presence.

They should be people, who leads you into the spirit of prayer.

You should avoid people who lead you to worldliness.

You should avoid people who lead you to alcohol.

You should avoid people who lead you to drugs.

You should avoid people who lead you to sexual sins.

Now don’t misunderstand, you need to talk to them, you need to talk good about them, you need to help them and pray for them, but when it comes for their lifestyle or their worldly words influencing you, you need to keep away.

After you grow strong in the Lord, you can spend time with them and influence them to come to the fullness of the Lord.

This is the price you need pay in order to walk daily, with the living God.

Jesus said  “For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it,“ (Matthew 7:14).

The road is narrow that leads to life, you are called to walk in it, you would not find many friends there, you will find few of them, and they shall be genuine. Many times you have walk alone, but the Holy Spirit will be in your walk, many times you will have to sit alone, but the Holy Spirit will  there sitting with you, and you will  have the Cloud of Witness around you. Many times you will have no one to talk to, but you will have the Holy Spirit to talk to. No matter how hard you find it, battle on and pray.

       

The battle for prayer will continue till the end of the age, when “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!” (Matthew 13: 41-43)

                                                                                                     Antony Thomas, Author, Holy Spirit:The Reality of His Presence,

                                           Holy Spirit, I love You.
                                           When We Pray: Be renewed by the Power of Prayer,

antonythomas.in

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