By Pastor Doug Cox
 
Recently, one of the men from the 4 C’s Men’s Group posted a meme that said, “prayer is not a back up plan, it is the battle plan.” It was only after becoming a Christian, did I realize I was born into a war zone. There is a battle going on over the souls of men. All men without Jesus will end up as hopeless victims and casualties because the wages of sin is death. The only remedy for sin is to put our faith in Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection.
 
The apostle Paul says, “… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV) Getting right with God is simple, that is once you realize you are powerless to save yourself and much could be said about that, but this article is about prayer. What being saved does is it positions you on the winning side of the battle and prayer is part of that battle.
 
Prayer is one of the most powerful yet misunderstood spiritual tools God has made available to His people. Having a healthy active prayer life should be a discipline that everyone who claims to be a believer develops and the Bible gives us several compelling reasons to do that.
 
The first reason is Jesus told us to in Luke 8:1. “He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” I’m sure you have found like I have, the closer I stay to the Lord in prayer, the more spiritual strength I have in my life. Also watching our prayers get answered is encouraging as well. It would do us all good to remember all the times the Lord worked in situations after we prayed about them. I can think of many. So because Jesus said we should pray always, then we should.
 
Another reason to pray is because it can help us overcome lack. James 4:2 says “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” (NKJV)
 
Wow! It seems James was dealing with some very difficult issues in the church. Hopefully the reference to murder was just a metaphor concerning members who were harboring extreme anger and hatred, possibly on the brink of murder and not murder itself. The point is we can spend our energy and thoughts in battling with flesh and blood or we can leave that aside and ask God for what we need. “You have not because you ask not.”
 
The third reason we should pray is because through prayer we can overcome anxiety and worry and if you haven’t noticed there is a lot going on in our world that can cause anxiety and worry.  Philippians 4:6-7 6 says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (NKJV) Greg Laurie said this, “Prayer is the act of staring down those things, acknowledging them and their impact on us, and then handing them off to God, Who is powerful and loving enough to take care of them for us.” I like that, don’t you?
 
And another important aspect of prayer is it can help us keep ourselves ready for Christ’s return. Jesus tells us about His return, “… that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” (Mark 13:32-33 NKJV)
 
Personally, I’m feeling impatient about it. Seeing the political unrest in our nation, the hatred and division, the wars and rumors of wars to mention a few. I just want the Lord to come, but I know that is the wrong reason. There are so many people who need to be reached and He is not willing that any should perish. On the other hand others who see what a big mess the world is don’t have any hope for the future at all. So there is much to watch for and pray about. The thing is we need to put it into practice.