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Prayer the best weapon

In his devotional for Nov. 24, Ed Mathews writes on spiritual warfare. He mentions prayer:

Our strategy. In the end, prayer is the best weapon, Ephesians 6:18a. A saint on his knees makes the devil nervous. And, when prayer is uttered “in the spirit,” satan meets his match, Romans 8:26,27. Therefore, we “should always pray and not give up,” Luke 18:1. It is possible for believers, with one prayerful request, to marshal the mighty battalions of eternity, Matthew 26:53. We have a defeat-proof plan for a sure-fire-victory.

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Praying with the hands

George Raindrop in his book No Common Task tells how a nurse once taught a man to pray and in doing so changed his whole life, until a dull, disgruntled and dispirited creature became a man of joy. Much of the nurse’s work was done with her hands, and she used her hands as a scheme of prayer. Each finger stood for someone. Her thumb was nearest to her, and it reminded her to pray for those who were closest to her. The second finger was used for pointing and it stood for all her teachers in school and in the hospital. The third finger was the tallest and it stood for the V.I.P.s, the leaders in every sphere of life. The fourth finger was the weakest, as every pianist knows, and it stood for those who were in trouble and in pain. The little finger was the smallest and the least important and to the nurse it stood for herself.

—Wm. Barclay

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God cares more

“The moment you begin to blindly beg and plead with God to move on your behalf is the moment for you to take a step back and ask yourself the following questions. Do you believe God is a good God and your Heavenly Father? Are you praying out of a place of fear that perhaps he isn’t listening or that he won’t answer you unless you prove to him how desperate you are? Calm your heart, remind yourself of the truth, and pray from a place of trust that God cares about your situation far more than you do. Pray with the sure knowledge that you are a child of God and that he knows your voice, and hears your weakest whisper.” — K. Walden.

I don’t know who the person is who said it, but the words ring true, especially that God cares far more than we do.

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Dare to prove the greatness of God

Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that commands as well as asks? May God baptize us with holy audacity and divine confidence. He is not wanting great men and women, but He is wanting men and women who will dare to prove the greatness of their God.

We understand, of course, the reference to baptism here figuratively. The author may have other, unbiblical ideas here. But his main point is spot on.

Source: Simpson Devotional

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The early church grew because they prayed

Larry Miles gives as one of the five reasons that the church grew in the first century: The Early Church was a Praying Church:

After Peter and John had been released by the Sanhedrin they went back to the rest of the apostles and fellow believers to give a report o what had transpired. Verse 24-31 record that the early Church was a praying church. In Acts 4:29 we read: “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,” They believed in the power of prayer and also of answered prayer. Many of the great figures of the Old and New Testament were people of prayer. God has told us to pray. If we pray, knowing that God hears, and expecting that God will answer in a way that will bring glory to His Name, we can have a victorious prayer life. Remember, it is our Creator that we are talking to. If we can recapture the prayer life of the early church we can better stimulate church growth.

—Larry Miles, “Five Reasons the Early Church Grew (Acts 4)”