Eph 6:12 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
The older I get, the more obvious it becomes to me that prayer is supernatural warfare. Think about it: when we pray, we are not changing God’s mind nor His timing. There is no argument of reason that could change His already perfectly reasoned plan. There is no heartfelt plea of good things that He has not already ordained in not only a good way, but the best way. He already knows and is guiding that perfect thing in the perfect timing. The question isn’t of changing Him or convincing Him, but rather, of our hearts being transformed for something more glorious through the offering of our desires as sacrifices to His will.
Going further, once we have been given such a glorious change of heart to match the will of God, such that all that we would ask would be given (Matt 7:7-11), we know we are still to pray. Why? After all, there is no more change to be had in that situation: the Lord has revealed His will and we have conformed our will and desired timing. Truthfully, even when we glimpse a specific future promise of His will, the timing often eludes our understanding, so we typically do need to continually pray for patience. But even if we have both a specific desire and the timing of our desire matching God’s, we are still to pray. This is for at least two reasons:
Firstly, it is pleasing to God to have this conversation of agreement between Father and adopted son or daughter (Psalm 141:2, Rev 5:8). Therefore, we should continue to pray in agreement simply for the enjoyment between us, especially our Master’s enjoyment. However, this is only part of the truth. What has finally become clear to me is that the act of sincere prayer in agreement with God’s will is supernatural warfare. That when we have prayed His will over ourselves or another person, whether near or far, the spiritual realm is pulsed with the power of God on earth. The power of God in the spiritual realm on earth is felt across the globe when even one righteous man prays for God’s justice for the oppressed in another part of the world. These prayers pierce the Evil One and suppress him, all the while reviving the Holy Spirit in our comrades. It is the source of why James 5:16 is true: “the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.” Recognizing the supernatural battlefront helps us to embrace this truth with renewed understanding.
I say let’s hit the floor in prayer, the battlefield in our bedrooms, vehicles, churches, streets, and everywhere we go. First, we seek to be transformed and conformed to God’s will, such that our desires are His desires. But that is only the beginning. Next, we pray in agreement and fight the good fight. In the meantime, we share what God has revealed to us about His will to others so that more warriors can fight alongside us. Lastly, we “pray it through.” That means that if you have the faith to recognize a promise of God and a hope that you know 100% does not disappoint (Rom 5:1-5), you don’t stop praying. You could stop, for the promise was true and is not revoked, but you would be abandoning the battlefield where your comrades are under fire. Continue to pray, doing it for them if not for yourself. Every prayer is spiritual warfare. It is either the boot camp and training ground where we learn what is beneficial for our Kingdom (conforming our will to His), or it is deployment into the active battlefield that requires desiring, enacting, and praying for the things which God wills. Will you be content to graduate boot camp and never set foot on the battlefield for which you were trained, or can your comrades count on you to stand with them? I'm enlisting today. Will you join me?
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