Prayer: The Secret Weapon

Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

The United States Military is one of the most decorated, powerful military forces in the world. America the Beautiful is armed and dangerous with a long list of weapons of mass destruction; the computer operated drone, satellite detection for bombings, secret mission submarines, Delta Force for counterterrorism, and last but not least, Navy Seal Team 6. These massive weapons and special teams are designed for the most elaborate covert operations of their kind to accomplish only one thing –to abolish the most powerful enemy.

I love my country and am blessed to have such a powerful military organization guarding me at all times. But, you see, I have found in my spiritual life to have a very powerful special weapon of my own – Prayer. I have oftentimes been on the receiving end of this most powerful weapon of prayer and have reaped eternal benefits on more occasions than I could count. The fruits of this powerful weapon have been evident in my life through and through and have on many occasions significantly changed the course of life. This massive harvest of fruit in my life from being on the receiving end of others praying for me has caused me to take this most significant opportunity to pray for others to the deepest of levels. Join with me in this most elaborate military operation with our greatest weapon of mass destruction of all – Prayer.

Why Do We Pray?

We pray because God hears us and responds by fighting our battles.

James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

When we pray, God hears us. And when He hears us, the Word of God says it avails much. God responds to whatever our battle is and He is ready to fight for us.

We don’t need an army of thousands of people or the Delta Force or Navy Seal 6, we just need the most effective weapon against the enemy…prayer. These people prayed and the Lord came to their rescue and He is still rescuing us today. If anything makes the enemy shudder, it’s the power and effectiveness of prayer to the One who answers.

God fights for us.

Joshua 23:10 One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.

I know first-hand the power of prayer and how the Lord rescued me by winning the battle for my soul. In 2003, I was a guest speaker at a missions banquet in Wisconsin. I gave my testimony and shared several instances where God had answered my prayers. At the end of the evening, a shy red-haired woman came up to me and in a very small voice said, “God has answered my prayers about you.” I was struggling to make a connection with who this lady was. Looking a bit confused, I said, “Do I know you?” She shyly answered, “No, but I know your father. He used to tell me about you and all you were going through. Whenever I would drive past your father’s house, the Lord would put you on my heart and I would pray for your salvation.” I am certain I am saved today because of this woman’s prayers on my behalf. I am forever in debt to her for her faithfulness to pray.

We pray because we acknowledge our dependence on Christ.

Matthew 15: 5 I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

We pray to Him because He is our only source. We must completely depend on Him to plan our attacks and fight our battles. We will have our “battle success” only through remaining in Him.

Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence in faith through Him

We can be bold when we ask God and we can expect Him to answer. We have access to the One who has all the resources to provide solutions and we can come to Him with confidence knowing that when He hears us, He answers.

I sat on a plane in 2004 ready to return home from a visit with a friend. It had turned out to be quite a disaster. My ex-husband had gotten remarried that weekend and I was on a huge pity party. He had moved on and remarried and I was still waiting for God. I was really broken that weekend. I sat there on the plane ready to return home and I poured my heart out to the Lord. I asked God if He would send me a woman to minister to me. Right after I prayed, I just knew with confidence that He heard me and I knew He would send her. I cried out to Him and said it was very seldom that I ask, but this time I needed someone to minister to me. I was sitting in the middle seat. I looked at the man on my left who had his headphones on and the woman to my right was reading a book and not at all interested in talking with me. In my heart, I said, “Lord, you are either going to change this woman’s heart next to me or you are sending someone else. I watched and waited for the woman to arrive. Person after person boarded the plane and sat down until the plane was almost full. The very last woman came through the door. She was an older woman in her 60s. She started coming toward me and said to the woman next me, “Excuse me, I think you are in my seat.” The woman to my right looked up from her book and said, “No, this is my seat.” The gray-haired lady pulled her ticket out of her purse and showed the woman next to me. It was indeed her seat. I knew as soon as she sat down it was the woman God had sent. This lovely woman ministered to me the whole way home. She shared her own faith in Christ, several scriptures to encourage me and loved on me the whole way home.

My God heard my prayer and not only did He hear it, but He responded. He sent her for me not only to minister to me, but to pray for me. We exchanged addresses before we parted ways. The next week, I was thinking how special that was that God heard me and responded to my plea. When I thought of this woman, I had this deep feeling in my heart that she was praying for me. Immediately after this thought, I went right to my mailbox and pulled out my mail. When I pulled my mail out, a letter dropped out on the ground. I knelt down to pick it up and it was a letter from the woman on the plane. It had just eight powerful words. It read: Stacy, I am praying for you. Love, Elaine. God hears prayer and He responds powerfully.

We pray because we are not ignorant of our enemy.

1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

We are in a battle. If you don’t realize you are in a battle, it means you’ve been taken captive. This battle is like no other. The most powerful of all military weapons of mass destruction pale in comparison to the weapons needed for this battle.

Join with me to arm yourself with the most powerful secret weapon available – Prayer. Make a commitment to step up your prayer. Get a prayer journal and pray specifically, fervently and consistently. We must completely depend on Him to plan the attack on the enemy and to completely annihilate him. He will respond powerfully to our prayer. This is a weapon available for our taking. Take hold of this secret weapon of mass destruction, our prayers, and stand back and watch the Lord fight our battles!