Prayer, A Spiritual Weapon

Prayer - In worship, a solemn address to the Supreme Being, consisting of adoration, or an expression of our sense of God's glorious perfections, confession of our sins, supplication for mercy and forgiveness, intercession for blessings on others, and thanksgiving, or an expression of gratitude to God for his mercies and benefits. (Webster)

It is not a matter of how much we pray, but a matter of how much we have prayed according to the principle of prayer. Only those prayers that are prayed according to the principle of prayer are worthwhile.

Why should we pray?
What is the use of praying?
God is omniscient and omnipotent.
Why would He work only after we pray?
Since He knows everything, why do we have to tell Him anything?
Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Since He is almighty, why would He not do it by Himself?

Why does He need us to pray?
Why is it that only those who pray receive, and those who seek find, and those who knock enter?
Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Matthew 7:8
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Why does God say,?
"You do not have because you do not ask"
James 4:2
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
 

We know that God does not do anything that is contrary to His will.
He knows everything.  

If He knows that we need an open door, why will He wait until we knock before He opens? 
Why does He not just open the door? What convenience does it give to God for us to knock on the door?
 
Well, we see that prayer is a great mystery.
Here we can see a principle of God's work. This principle is that God's people have to pray before God will rise up to work. God's will is accomplished by the prayer of those who belong to Him. The believer prayers accomplish God's will. God will not accomplish His will alone;
He will only accomplish His will when His people are sympathetic with Him in prayer.


Prayer does not change what God has ordained.
Prayer only accomplishes what God has ordained.
The lack of prayer and the absence of prayer changes things. When God's people do not work together with God, He will allow many of the things ordained by Him to be delayed and not be fulfilled.


Matthew 18:18
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
These two sentences are very familiar to us. They refer to prayer. This is why following this, it says:
Matthew 18:19
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

This passage explains clearly the relationship between prayer and God's work. God in heaven will only bind and loose what His children on earth have bound and loosed.

Many things that God should bind, He will not bind alone; instead He wants His people to bind them on earth first, and then He binds them in heaven. Many things that should be loosed, God will not loose them alone; instead He will wait for His people to loose them on earth before He will loose them in heaven.

Matt 16:19
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Action in heaven is directed from action on earth!
God is willing and happy to let His work be managed by His people.
I am not saying such words to a fleshly person.
We should listen carefully, lest the flesh comes in, and we offend God even more.
In Isaiah there is one passage which says the same thing:
Isaiah 45:11
Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
When we read this, we should be fearful and not allow the flesh to come in.

God wants us to be humble when we ask Him to move on our behalf. Luke 18:9-14
I am afraid to use the word “command.” How can man command God?
We must know God’s will in our life, then we can say to Him, “God, I want You to do this for me”
BUT FIRST, We have to ask God to open our eyes to see the kind of work He is doing in our life.

Whether it be binding or loosing, all of God's work in heaven is carried out according to our command on earth. Heaven may want to accomplish something, but heaven will not do it alone; heaven waits for the earth to do it first, and then heaven does it.

We must move on earth, before heaven will move. God wants us to move heaven.

God wants man's freewill to be harmonious with His will.

1Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Every man has a freewill and God is limited by it within our life.
1Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

There could be many reasons for God's creation of man.
1) God creates man to be united with Him in His Love and to be in His Kingdom Family.
So we could defeat Satan's work of lies and hate.

Being created with a freewill, man is expected to exercise his will for union with God’s will in opposing the will of Satan.

Deuteronomy 30:15
See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
This is the purpose of creation as well as the purpose of redemption. The entire life of the Lord Jesus demonstrates this principle. 

If the people of God fail to yield their will to Him and express their one mind in prayer.

He will stand by and postpone His work. He exalts His people by asking them to work with Him. Although He is the almighty,
He delights in having His almightiness circumscribed by His children.
Should His people forget His will and/or don't know what to pray for as we ought, the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26

Oh that God’s children were not as cold as is evident today, that they were more willing to deny themselves and submit to God’s will—caring more for His glory and keeping His word.

Then would the eternal will of God concerning this age be speedily realized, the church would not be in such confusion, sinners would not be so hardened, the coming of the Lord Jesus and His kingdom would sooner arrive, Satan and his forces would be cast much earlier into the bottomless pit, and the knowledge of the Lord would more quickly spread over all the earth. Due to the fact that believers mind too much their own affairs and fail to work together with God, many enemies and much lawlessness are not bound, many sinners and much grace are not released. How greatly restricted is heaven by earth!
Since God respects us so much, can we not trust Him that much?


How do we bind what God intends to bind?
And loose what God intends to loose?
The answer the Lord Jesus gives is this:
Matthew 18:19
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Now this is prayer— the prayer of the body of Christ.

The peak of our working together with God is in asking with one accord that God will accomplish what He desires to accomplish.
The true meaning of prayer is for the one who prays to pray for the fulfillment of the will of the One to whom he prays.
Prayer - is the occasion wherein to express our desire for God’s will.
Prayer - means that our will is standing on God’s side.

How many prayers nowadays truly express the will of God?
How much in our prayers is self completely forgotten and the will of the Lord is alone the thing that is sought?
How many believers are really working together with God in prayer?
How many of us are declaring daily His will and pouring out our hearts in prayer that He may do His will that has been or needs to be revealed to us?
How can we expect to be able to forget ourselves completely and seek God’s will in prayer?

Self-denial, must be practiced everywhere. It is just as essential in prayer as in action.

God has a will, He wants the freewill on earth to echo His will before He does anything. The ministry of the church is to bring the will in heaven to earth. How does the church bring the will in heaven to earth? 
It is by prayer on earth. Prayer is not as small and insignificant as some may think. It is not something that is dispensable.

Prayer is a work. 
Prayer - is the church saying to God, “God, we want Your will.” 
Prayer - is the church knowing God’s heart and opening its mouth to ask for what is in God’s heart. 
If the church does not do this, it does not have much use on earth. 
Brothers and sisters, if a prayer is uttered “according to God’s will,” it is our most powerful weapon. For the church to pray, means that it finds out God’s will and speaks out loud this will.
Prayer is not just asking God for something. 
For the church to pray means that it stands on God’s side to declare that man wants what God wants. 
If the church declares this, the declaration will be effectual.

Colossians 4:12 
a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

My prayer is for our Lord to open us up to new revelations for Spiritual growth. That we will boldly proclaim His Name everywhere we go. To be aware of the Holy Spirit guiding us in Holiness. To honor our Father in Heaven, Who knows the time of the end. To keep all of us strong in the Kingdom. All Glory and Honor to You Lord JESUS...