“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.” – Ephesians 6:18
When most people think about armor they think about the
protective pieces that cover our body and defend against the attack of
another. I am here to tell you that the
strongest element of armor you have at your disposal is prayer. The communication between you and the Father
is the strength from within that conquers all that mankind can put in front of
you. God knows what is upon your heart
and mind, for He is omniscient (all-knowing).
The prayer lifted up to God is our recognition of dependence upon Him,
it’s not to educate Him on what is happening in our life and what He should
do. He already knows what He should do,
I mean, He is God and I’m pretty sure He doesn’t need our advice.
So many of us lift a prayer with the expectation that our desires and interests will be met. What we often fail to grasp is that our desires and interests are not the deciding factor in whether a prayer is answered or not. I propose that God has a plan for your life, a desire for who He wants you to become and an interest in what is best for you. We do not have the full picture when we lift our prayers to the Lord of all creation, some might say our perspective is myopic. Before the thought enters our mind, and the words leave our lips, the Lord has already recognized the need and whether it is in line with His plan for your life. There are those times that prayers are lifted which are in perfect alignment with His plan, He was simply waiting for you to acknowledge it. These tend to be the times when we recognize prayers answered quickly. There are those times that prayers are lifted which are not necessarily in line with God’s plans and we find that they are not answered in a manner we would like. Either case though, the Lord is hearing your prayers. The bible assures us that Holy Spirit will intercede on our behalf; Romans 8:26 tells us “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” The Holy Spirit is God within you, and therefore He knows what you need even when you don’t.
It was December 2003, we had just come back from Michigan after attending my Grandmother’s funeral. That night my daughter and I were involved in a car accident. We both walked away okay, a little bruised and scraped, but no serious injuries. I had glanced away from the road for nothing more than a second and a car pulled out in front of me. I was doing 50 mph at the time and ran straight into the backend of their car. It was determined that I was at fault for not controlling my speed, even though I wasn’t speeding (per se’). We thought everything was going to be okay, up until a week or so later. The owner of the other vehicle had chosen to sue us for liability, which is within their right in the state of Texas. We believed that our car insurance would handle it though, so it didn’t worry us at first. Then came the notification that our insurance premiums, due the week before while we were in Michigan, had not been paid and our insurance could not cover the claim.
Imagine our shock and dismay looking at a pending lawsuit for medical care, time off work, transportation and grievances in the area of over a hundred thousand dollars, with no insurance. In speaking with the insurance company to reinstate our insurance we were told that they could reinstate it but could not cover this claim. There computer systems would not allow for it to happen. The first time our agent put the data through it kicked it back out and denied the claim just as she said it would.
So many of us lift a prayer with the expectation that our desires and interests will be met. What we often fail to grasp is that our desires and interests are not the deciding factor in whether a prayer is answered or not. I propose that God has a plan for your life, a desire for who He wants you to become and an interest in what is best for you. We do not have the full picture when we lift our prayers to the Lord of all creation, some might say our perspective is myopic. Before the thought enters our mind, and the words leave our lips, the Lord has already recognized the need and whether it is in line with His plan for your life. There are those times that prayers are lifted which are in perfect alignment with His plan, He was simply waiting for you to acknowledge it. These tend to be the times when we recognize prayers answered quickly. There are those times that prayers are lifted which are not necessarily in line with God’s plans and we find that they are not answered in a manner we would like. Either case though, the Lord is hearing your prayers. The bible assures us that Holy Spirit will intercede on our behalf; Romans 8:26 tells us “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” The Holy Spirit is God within you, and therefore He knows what you need even when you don’t.
It was December 2003, we had just come back from Michigan after attending my Grandmother’s funeral. That night my daughter and I were involved in a car accident. We both walked away okay, a little bruised and scraped, but no serious injuries. I had glanced away from the road for nothing more than a second and a car pulled out in front of me. I was doing 50 mph at the time and ran straight into the backend of their car. It was determined that I was at fault for not controlling my speed, even though I wasn’t speeding (per se’). We thought everything was going to be okay, up until a week or so later. The owner of the other vehicle had chosen to sue us for liability, which is within their right in the state of Texas. We believed that our car insurance would handle it though, so it didn’t worry us at first. Then came the notification that our insurance premiums, due the week before while we were in Michigan, had not been paid and our insurance could not cover the claim.
Imagine our shock and dismay looking at a pending lawsuit for medical care, time off work, transportation and grievances in the area of over a hundred thousand dollars, with no insurance. In speaking with the insurance company to reinstate our insurance we were told that they could reinstate it but could not cover this claim. There computer systems would not allow for it to happen. The first time our agent put the data through it kicked it back out and denied the claim just as she said it would.
Do you notice that in most dire cases we turn to the Lord in
prayer, and I did that day as well. I
was an emotional wreck, having, only weeks prior, attended my Grandmother’s
funeral, then to have this happen, fears had formed in my mind of the worst possible
case. Could they take our house? What if we couldn’t pay? Where could I ever get that kind of money in
a short time frame? None of this was
from the Lord mind you. Recognize that
all of my thoughts were fearful by nature and when I knelt to pray I had no
idea what to pray for. Through my
mumbling and quiet whispers of love for the Lord and trust in Him that He would
see us through this, I started to regain my composure.
No less than 15 minutes later my wife, Lisa, walked in. After speaking to the insurance agency, climbing the ranks from supervisor to supervisor, she had been receiving the same answer, “There’s nothing we can do, the computer and software do not allow us to override the dates in the policy.” But with persistence, Lisa had convinced the agent to re-enter the claim one more time. When they put the claim through the system accepted it and we were covered with the exception of our deductible. Some may claim coincidence, but Lisa and I both know that God answered my unrecognizable prayers at the very moment I was crying out to Him.
The world will pose trouble, trials, temptations and evil every day; but God promises that He will be with you to overcome these things. Prayer is unbelievably powerful, and when coupled with the armor of God provided in Ephesians 6:13-18 you are more prepared for battle with the enemy than you can ever imagine. God is good, and nothing in this world can separate us from His love and peace.
No less than 15 minutes later my wife, Lisa, walked in. After speaking to the insurance agency, climbing the ranks from supervisor to supervisor, she had been receiving the same answer, “There’s nothing we can do, the computer and software do not allow us to override the dates in the policy.” But with persistence, Lisa had convinced the agent to re-enter the claim one more time. When they put the claim through the system accepted it and we were covered with the exception of our deductible. Some may claim coincidence, but Lisa and I both know that God answered my unrecognizable prayers at the very moment I was crying out to Him.
The world will pose trouble, trials, temptations and evil every day; but God promises that He will be with you to overcome these things. Prayer is unbelievably powerful, and when coupled with the armor of God provided in Ephesians 6:13-18 you are more prepared for battle with the enemy than you can ever imagine. God is good, and nothing in this world can separate us from His love and peace.
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