Prayer Target

In the last blog, we mentioned one weapon of defense, the sword of the Spirit. Also, that there was a seventh part of the Armor of God.

You probably weren’t told of another weapon available to you, thus you have been fighting Satan with only part of the arsenal available to you, and, often defeated.

The next verse, Eph 6:18, gives the second weapon, “all prayer” and it tells what it is.

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf”.

When you get tempted to sin, the natural reaction is to grab on and hold on tight for the fight. You “white knuckle it”. You wait for the battle to end and it most often ends in defeat. Then Satan grabs that “handle of guilt” on your back and tells you that you are not worthy of the Kingdom or that you aren’t a believer and reminds you that your “righteousness is as filthy rags”. Then the depression and guilt sets in and you feel worthless and ineffective as a Christian.

The principle of “all prayer” gives you a new weapon to defeat the enemy.

The technique is simple. We all know someone who is a struggling Believer. Choose someone who you know, that if they got their life right with God, they would be a dynamic Christian, effective for the faith. Don’t pick someone that you are intimate with (there is a reason for this) and only pick one person and keep them as your Prayer Target.

Now, when you are tempted, use this temptation as a signal from God to pray for this person, for their walk with God, for their moral purity, for their time with God and their spiritual growth. As you do, you no longer fear the power of the temptation as it comes but rather you welcome it as a reminder from God to pray for your Prayer Target.

When you are tempted to sin, immediately think of your Prayer Target and begin to pray for them, then thank God for the temptation because it reminded you to pray for that person. The power of the temptation immediately loses its grip on you. Satan’s plan was thwarted. He wanted you to fall, not pray for someone.

Using this principle, you have changed a curse into a blessing. Several things will happen. First, Satan will back off on the temptation, as he does not want you to pray for this person, he wants you to fall. Second, the person will start to have a closer walk with God. Third, you will be prompted to contact them to inquire as to how they are growing, as to their faith. This will cause the two of you to be bonded in a deep friendship.

The hindrances are forgetting to use the principle, stopping because it is work or not realizing that it is a blessing when you are tempted. If you become thankful when you are tempted, you can look forward to the temptation as it is a reminder to pray.