Thoughts for Life: #38 The Strength To Stand (with prayer)

Alvin Vandergriend- "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 saints." (Ephesians 6:18) [Read Ephesians 6:10-20 as background.]

God has given us prayer so that we may help each other stand. The devil is always scheming to cause us to fall. But God provides ways to help us stand victorious over the powers of evil. (timothy-eberly-3MWdi5_6Hrc-unsplash)

Paul warns us in Ephesians 6 against the devil's schemes and the "powers of this dark world" that are constantly opposing us. Four times he uses the word "stand" to encourage us to hold out against the onslaughts of the "spiritual forces of evil" (Ephesians 6:11-14).

Standing our ground requires that we first "put on the full armor of God." We are protected against the devil by knowing the truth, being righteous, having the gospel of peace, trusting God, possessing salvation, and using the word of God in the right way.

But Paul's order to "put on the full armor" does not end with "take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." It goes on without a break to say, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions." In other words, the prayer support we give each other is an important part of our defense against the devil.

The prayer support required is all embracing. It's "on all occasions", of "all kinds," "always," and "for all the saints." Imagine being in the midst of a fellowship of Christians who prayed for each other this way. The possibility of falling would surely be minimized.

Several years ago God led four other men and me to start a support group and to meet together every week for an hour and a half. We covenanted to share our lives with each other as fully as possible, study the Word of God faithfully, pursue God-given spiritual goals, and support each other in our daily prayers.

What happened in the following months surprised us all. The first surprise was that almost every week one of us needed special prayer support to face a troublesome situation. Second, we all experienced spiritual growth of a kind that had eluded us in years past.

And, third, every member of the group was launched into a key ministry position in the church or denomination within the next two years. As we stood together and supported each other in our daily prayers, God gave us the strength to stand and with victories.

God intends that all believers be strengthened to stand, as all take seriously the responsibility to always keep on praying, on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers for each other.

That's a tall order. It goes far beyond the kind of casual praying that most Christians are accustomed to. But those who pray "in the Spirit" can do it.

(pp. 98, 99 in Love to Pray- 40 Day Devotional for Deepening Your Prayer Life by Alvin Vandergriend)

Let's pray-

Father, we ask for prayer support from friends, realizing that it will come from committed friends who love and care for us. May we give the kind of support that others around us need too, to take a stand for what Jesus wants done.

We thank You for Your good and wise plan to supply prayer support for every member of Your body. It may be true that we have been given prayer support in the past by parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers, elders in the church and many others we know or don't know.

We do confess that we've failed to pray for those who needed our prayers in the past. Please help us be ready and available for serious prayer support for the people around us!

Help us make a list of believers who need prayer support right now; Pastors, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, national religious leaders, Christians in other positions of leadership, Christians in the media, and those who are standing up to run for political offices, as well as those in our church community!

We ask this in the name of Jesus, that He will be honored and glorified. Amen.

631-635- one-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-

631- Pro. 8:1 "Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?"

632- Ps. 103:1 "Bless the LORD my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name."

633- Acts 16:31 "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house."

634- Ps. 147:7 "Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God."

635- Ps. 34:13 "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile."

Quotes for today-

~ C. Samuel Storms- "Confidence that God receives us warmly to Himself is essential to a vibrant and vigorous prayer life. 'We can have no more faith that our prayers are heard,' declared John Owen, 'than we have faith that our persons are accepted.' As long as there are doubts and misgivings in our hearts, prayer will prove difficult, if not impossible." (p. 115 of REACHING GOD'S EAR)

~ Mary Southerland- "Sin is not merely doing wrong. It is failing to do what you know you should do – when you know you should do it. Knowledge equals responsibility. Procrastination and disobedience are just opposite sides of the same coin."

~Fran Pasch- "Now when I feel overburdened, I reset my priorities. I seek the Lord in prayer and rearrange my schedule making sure that there is always time for Him. When I do that, I function as God wants me to. Then and only then do I truly experience God’s peace that passes all understanding."

Words of wisdom-

As Christians, we are expected to heed the words of the Bible. When it tells us to love one another, we need to understand what that entails. To study how Christ lived, we we'll know better how to be His followers.

Today's question-

How are we to connect with other believers?

1. Love one another- be willing to lay down our lives for them

2. Welcome one another- act graciously towards each other

3. Care for one another- look for opportunities to help

4. Bare one another's burdens- listen to their needs and support them with prayer

5. Do good to one another- watch for times to be of assistance

6. Confess your sins for prayer support- don't hide them

7. Guard your tongue- from gossip and finding fault with one another

8. Find time- for fellowship

9. Show hospitality- open your home to other believers
10. Be kind to one another- make every effort to show Christ's kindness

Upcoming posts:

26th- #39 Prayer Defeats Satan

Alvin Vandergriend