Our gracious Lord has given us incredible spiritual weapons to use in our spiritual battles.  Unfortunately, these weapons are typically underutilized.

In the past few posts, I indicated that, in my opinion, the most neglected spiritual weapon is God’s Word, and the second most neglected one is formal worship.  Today we explore the third weapon that is often left in the spiritual war cabinet.  I maintain that this weapon is prayer.

And perhaps you would argue that you use this weapon all the time!  Before meals.  After meals.  Before going to bed at night.  And even now and then during the day when something crosses your mind. 

To which I reply, “Good for you!”  But you and I could pray a whole lot more frequently than that! 

In fact, the Lord urges us to “pray continually” (1 Thes. 5:17).  He expects us to keep a running conversation with him.  We thank him.  We praise him.  We share our concerns with him.  We express our frustrations with him.  We ask him to help us.  We entreat him to bring good fortune to others.  We beg him to bless our congregation and church body, and to expand the Kingdom of God in general.  There is no end to the matters you and I can take to the Lord in prayer, so we keep our spiritual Bluetooth connection with the Lord open.

Jesus himself was quite specific regarding prayer:  He said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). 

Jesus’ message was, “Do this and watch your God act!”  Yet we so often don’t. 

Sad to say, the Lord is often our last resort in difficulties.  First, we see what we can do, or whom we know, or what we can buy, or whom we can hire, or what we can arrange, to handle our challenges.  And when all else fails, we finally go to God.  This isn’t always our approach, of course, but it is often enough.

In the same way, as we coast through those times of life rife with blessings, we are often too busy enjoying the good times to talk to God, even to thank him.

Our sinful nature doesn’t want anything to do with conversing with God.  Nor does Satan.  And the world keeps us duly distracted, inhibiting our spiritual conversations as well.  There is a reason for this; the spiritual enemies of God well recognize the power of prayer.

And what an astounding spiritual weapon prayer is!  The Lord has given us direct and continual access to his almighty, all-knowing, and ever-blessing self, and he has promised to answer our every single prayer in love!

We are in continual warfare in the spiritual realm.  Why would we keep the powerful spiritual weapon of prayer locked away?  Rather, it is an incredible and effective weapon, one that should be present and utilized constantly.  Because through prayer we tap into the always victorious God, and this brings spiritual victories to us.