The Scriptures make it very clear who our real enemy is in (Ephesians 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.” And while Satan, for the Christian, is a defeated foe, he still wields great power unless we are prepared for his fiery darts that he constantly hurls our way.
Fortunately, we have a divinely powerful weapon called prayer that when we use it effectively can defeat Satan at every turn. Sadly, we often don’t utilize prayer until we are in desperate situations and as a result we sometimes struggle needlessly because we try to solve our problems with our own feeble weaponry. I am learning that we need to make prayer a high priority in all situations of life because quite simply there is no other way to defeat the devil.
Pastor Jim Cymbala shares this wonderful insight: “I learned as never before that persistent calling upon the Lord breaks through every stronghold of the devil, for nothing is impossible with God. For Christians in these troubled times, there is simply no other way.”1 In order to defeat the fiery darts of the devil, which he is constantly hurling at us, we need to not only take up the shield of faith and wield the Word of God, but we need to bathe all of our efforts in prayer. For prayer brings God into the battlefield and with God on our side Satan is powerless.
And calling on the Lord through prayer brings God centerstage into the spiritual battles we face and will always cause the devil to flee. Prayer is a spiritual powerhouse weapon that we need to use far more often than we do. Corrie Ten Boom said is well: “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”2
Always remember that prayer is a divinely powerful weapon that the devil fears greatly. (2 Corinthians 10:4) says it well: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” How prayer works is still somewhat of a mystery to me but praise God it does indeed work! My friends never underestimate the power of prayer and by all means pray without ceasing.
1 26 Jim Cymbala Quotes | ChristianQuotes.info
2 Is Prayer Your Steering Wheel or Spare Tire? – My Fervent Prayers