Prayer As Battle

Kristen Rabon

Bridge of Hope Counseling Center Administrator

8/1/2023

If we are honest, we may admit to finding prayer boring.

There are many reasons:

Life is full of rushing, and consistently giving God our focus is hard. There are also times of boredom in life, like when waiting in line, where it is easier to try to find something interesting on our phones or to talk with the people around us than pray. Also, since many of us might find prayer boring, it is not our first choice when we are already bored. And when we pray at night, it is easy to fall asleep while praying.

In contrast to how we may think of prayer, the Bible describes it as a battle.

Colossians 4:2 “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;”

Colossians 4:12 “Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always contending for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.”

James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

These verses use words like vigilant, contending, and powerful. And there are many other verses like these. The Bible is full of examples of how prayer is an active and even strenuous activity, like King David’s, Moses', Hannah’s, Daniel’s, the prayers of the Israelites during battle, and many more examples.

Prayer is not just for defense, either. The Bible also encourages us to pray proactively.

Ephesians 6:8 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

 Consider prayer a shield and sword in a fight. When we know decisions are coming in our lives, and when we know our friends and family will be in situations that might need prayer, we should start the fight first. Study scriptures like these on prayer and use the shield and sword God has given us in the battle against the powers and principalities we face.