Protected, Powerful Prayer

Ephesians 6:10-13

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Romans 8:26-27

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Praying for a prodigal son or daughter can be overwhelming.  It can drain us of joy, hope and energy, especially if we’re putting so much focus on pleading and interceding on their behalf that we neglect our own spiritual health.  

Remember the days when our children were infants?  We were exhausted just trying to meet their basic needs.  It seemed all-consuming.  Yet, we had to make the effort to eat, sleep and care for ourselves, because if we neglected ourselves too much, then we were not able to meet the needs of our little one. 

Friends, it’s much the same with our spiritual needs.  We are praying against the enemy himself and if we do not take time to ensure we are guarded, protected and shielded by our Savior, we run the risk of being a target as well.

We need to put on the full armor of God, daily.  The FULL armor.  We can’t go into this half-dressed.  We can’t just grab our shield of faith and call it good.  No, we need the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth and feet that are ready with the gospel.  Only then are we equipped and ready to battle for the hearts and minds of our sons and daughters.

And when we don’t know what to pray?  That’s when we cry out to the Spirit and ask Him to intercede for us.  Who better to plead with the Father than the Spirit who knows what we need and can express it in words...rather groans that reach the heart of our Father.  “He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”  And isn’t that what we want for our sons and daughters?  To be obedient and blessed in the will of God?

Today, let’s take time to pray the armor of God over ourselves and our sons and daughters, and then pray for the Spirit to intercede on their behalf and work in ways that are beyond what we might imagine for them.

Pray without ceasing.