How to Train Prayer Warriors
How to Train Prayer Warriors — Prayer is a mystery. God invites us to pray, promises to answer our prayers under certain conditions, and yet has everything under His sovereign control from the Beginning to the End. AND, God powerfully uses prayer in His processes. It is enough to know this in order for me to fully engage in praying to my Heavenly Father.
In training my children on prayer, I did not delve into the theological complexities. Like electric lights, I do not have to understand all about electricity to flip the switch and enjoy a brightly lit room. I used simple verses like Jesus telling His disciples to pray and to expect good gifts from God: “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!“ (Matthew 7:8-11)
I also pointed to “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus… He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” (Col. 4:12) And we discussed what it meant to “always wrestle in prayer.” It sounded like something pretty vigorous, something that takes a person of might to engage in it, not a sleepy time activity.
We would discuss the examples of Paul in all of his letters and his inclusion of prayer within the armor of God, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Eph. 6:18) I liked the military application of prayer and I compared it to the role of the artillery in softening up a target before the troops are sent in to directly engage the enemy.
Just last night in my quiet time, I came across a military experience that is analogous to prayer — Aaron, Moses and Hur supporting Joshua in the battle against the Amalekites. As long as they were engaged in prayer support raising God’s staff, Joshua prevailed in the battle. (Exodus 17:9-13) Here we see an image of the way that prayer works in backing up God’s warriors on the front lines.
But the best training ever for our children is our example when we set aside special time to engage in prayer ourselves. When I started attending the three-day prayer summits, my daughters took notice. They asked all kinds of questions. “Do you just sit there for three whole days and just pray?!” I explained some of how it worked, but the biggest impact was the fact that they now knew I was fully engaged.
New to Prayer? Many of us are relatively new to prayer ourselves. I don’t mean new to talking to God on a casual basis, but new to participating in focused prayer. If this is true for you, or you are a seasoned prayer warrior, I would strongly encourage you to become a regular participant in Mom’s in Prayer whenever your schedule allows. This small group is essential to Veritas’ health and success. I count on this group’s prayerful support of myself and the other staff as much as Joshua relied on Moses, Aaron and Hur.
The neat thing is that it is a solidly scripture-based, wonderful environment to grow and experience prayer. Mom’s In Prayer provides a clear structure for thoughtful, deep prayer that impacts our staff and one’s own children. MIP meets every Tuesday at 2:30 PM in Bistro 3. Our facilitator Amy Klumpp is one of our hidden gems and will help you grow to be a faithful prayer warrior so that you can pass this on to your children. Your faithful participation in MIP will send a powerful message to your children as well.
Our Sovereign God commands us to pray without ceasing, to be faithful in prayer and promises to answer our Word-infused prayers. (John 15:7) Somehow, He uses it within His omniscient plan. So let’s pray!
Christopher
Mr. Barnes, I totally agree! Prayer is so powerful. It is amazing that the Lord Jesus gives us this gift to be involved in what He is doing in our lives, and the lives of those around us. To be able at any time to commune with The King of kings is truly wonderful.