I am thankful to have been brought up with the importance of prayer. In my time being a Christian I have walked in the path of prayer, both with people, in my prayer closet and in larger settings. My community and I excercise this as a consistent part of our life. From the outside, it looks great. But if I am being honest with you friends, I recently realized that I have grown numb to prayer. That I have become flat in the act.
However, in Sri Lanka I was radically reminded of the power of prayer.
I was reminded that prayer is fundamental, not supplemental
I was reminded the prayer precedes all miracles
I was reminded that prayer is the most powerful tool that we have
I was reminded that the sentence “all we can do is pray” should escape our vocabulary. Because prayer is not a second resort, but instead our initial approach
I was reminded that prayer is our defense tactic
I was reminded the significance of God trusting us to pray
I was reminded of the Bible constantly urging us to pray, and to not seize praying
and this was oh such a powerful awakenening and reminder.
But God didn’t stop there. (With Him there is always more…. am I right?)
In Sri Lanka, I also learned that I am a warrior. A prayer warrior. A warrior for the Kingdom. A solider in God’s army. A powerful fighter with my Father.
Friends, I have to admit that at times I place myself in a box.
In a box full of colors and smiles that brings joy and excitement into situations. This box is soft and kind. This box is full of smiles and is light and fluffy. This box is full of kiddos and games and songs and flowers.
Don’t get me wrong. I like this box. I am thankful for this box. I like Light, I like joy and I love smiles. I love dance parties and I love love.
But in Christ, I am also a warrior. Powerful and strong. Fully equipped to fight and defend. Prepared to intentionally intercede and call down heaven. To declare His name with power. With all authority, with the help of the Holy Spirit and accompanied by the Mightiness of God.
Like my dear sister said (Hi Megz):
We pray to God, through the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus
So this month is Dambulla, my team and I put on our armor. And we prayed.
We were warriors for this town. Celebrating and stepping right into the power of prayer.
We prayed constantly
We prayed fiercely and boldly
We prayed with Scripture and we prayed with our hearts
We prayed with tears
We prayed all over the town, over the top of mountains, walking around town, stepping into stores
We prayed around the largest Gold Buddha (I even read my bible in front of him)
We prayed over the IMMENSE spiritual warfare and darkness in this place (seriously I could write a blog just about this)
We prayed over our hostel and multiple times with the hostel owners
We prayed with the underground Church we met in the village
We prayed over the Bibles we were able to pass out to a village of new believers
We prayed at 3 AM during the weeks there
We prayed all night one of the days as a team
We prayed in Tuk-Tuks and we played worship music as we were walking and driving around town
We went to battle. With our Armor. Alongside God.
This month, we prayed.
I say this to remind ourselves of our call to pray. Of the power those words hold.
Of the fact that we are warriors, coming into battle every time we pray.
Prayer is such a large task that God entrust us with. Prayer is obedience to God.
Prayer is our main goal. And please friends, lets not get held up with the idea that “we are missionaries here to change the world” and minimize the urgency of prayer.
Pray. Pray constantly. Pray specifics. Pray bodly. Pray and rejoice. Pray and praise. Pray and mourn. Pray and fight against the evil forces. Pray and call down heaven. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to move.
Pray and open up your eyes to the wonders that prayer brings. Pray and open your mind to the power it holds. Pray and open your heart because it really does change everything.
The Lord allowed us to see some of the fruit from those prayers with a home visit where the family came to know Christ, at the church service and prayer meeting, and at the breakfast table with our hostel owner.
Prayers plow the land. For future seeds to be planted. For the seeds to be watered and for God to cause the growth
God, I thank you for teaching us how to pray, for hearing our words and trusting us with this tool. God I ask for a heart posture that is devoted to prayer daily. I pray that you fill up our hearts with the desire to pray and with the reminder of the power it holds. God I want to pray as I go. I want to pray and talk to you as I walk, as I live and as I do. I want to be interruptible, stop to pray over a shop, over a person, over a town, over all.
