Prayer: Our Most Essential Strategy
Grief is often accompanied by a myriad of temptations: anger, bitterness, fear, and despair, just to name a few. But God has provided us with everything we need to overcome these temptations, and to move forward in our sorrow with His strength. In this series, we will be studying the various pieces of our spiritual armor, and how each of these pieces uniquely equip us to cling to the hope we have been given in Christ.
We’ve spent the past several weeks together studying the armor of God and learning how each piece uniquely equips us to overcome temptation and find strength to endure in the midst of our sorrow. Although we have already talked about every piece of our armor, today we will discover our most essential strategy in defeating the enemy of our souls.
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
Ephesians 6:18
Prayer—the direct line to our General. Without His strength, our amor is useless in battle. Paul knew that our greatest need in battle is to go to God early and often for help. Through prayer, we call upon God’s strength and remain dependent on Him. God wants to be God for us. He wants to be our hope and defender, our refuge and rock, the One who fights for us. The command to pray, which is found all throughout Scripture, is simply an invitation from God to be the kind of people who depend on Him—desiring Him to be all that He’s promised to be for us—instead of looking to the world for comfort and relief in the midst of our sorrow. The power of prayer was not given to us simply to gain comforts and desires, but for us to wield as a weapon against the enemy. Prayer fuels our armor and helps each piece work together as God intended them to.
“The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon him in truth. He fulfils the desire of all who fear Him, He also hears their cry, and saves them.” Psalm 145:18-19
When we pray, God moves and things change. When James tells us in James 4:2, “You do not have because you do not ask” we learn that prayer causes things to happen that do not happen when we do not pray. This is an astonishing truth. But often, the most significant change that takes place, is in our hearts. As we learn to depend on God with increasing consistency and devotion, we become more aware of how desperately we need Him and far we have yet to come to conform to His likeness.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” James 5:13
In prayer, we convey our hearts longings to God, and come to recognize just how deeply and perfectly we are loved and cared for—a depth of love that is able to diminish, and even erase, our greatest fears. What an amazing and humbling privilege we have been given to approach the throne of grace whenever we desire! In every moment of bitterness, doubt, anger, anxiety, or despair, through Christ, we have been given direct access to the One who holds the universe in His hands.
John 16:24 states, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” God has granted us access to His throne by prayer so that our joy would be full. When we come before God with the burdens of our hearts, His Spirit stirs in our hearts a fullness of joy that we would not otherwise know.
Prayer is an opportunity for us to humble our hearts before the Lord, trusting Him to work on behalf of our good and His glory even with our words are few and our circumstances seem overwhelming. So let prayer be the most natural rhythm of your heart. Be in communion with God continually.
Prayer, however, isn’t a formula for a blissful life, free from pain, discomfort, and fear. I wish that in reading this you would find freedom from every unpleasant emotion and experience. But you won’t. I wish I could tell you that these words contain everything you need in order to prevent heartache from reoccurring, but I can’t.
The reality is that there is nothing we can do to guarantee that we will avoid sorrow or discomfort in the future. All we can do is trust that our sovereign God will always provide us with everything we need to face whatever the future holds for us, because He is faithful and He is good. Your circumstances may not change, your sorrow may not lesson, but your hope will shine brighter and your joy will be fuller as you continue to press into the Lord in prayer.
In Luke 18, Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the persistent widow. This woman went before the judge continuously to plea her case before him. Eventually, the judge is worn down by her tenacity and endurance, and grants her request. Jesus told this story to remind them “that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
Sweet momma, you’ve been given a powerful weapon. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to you through prayer. In the midst of your grief, do not give up. Keep pressing in to the One who loves you and gave Himself for you. Our God delights in the prayers of His children (Proverbs 15:8) and His help in the midst of your battle is simply a prayer away.
- Ashlee
Hope Mom to Simeon and Odelle
Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of I AM (Hope Mommies, 2017) and Identity (Hope Mommies, 2018). She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.
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