The Power of Prayer

Written by Carmen Love

Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. If there are people, circumstances, or even your own behaviors simulating these three characteristics in your life… then you need to completely surrender and allow God to fight your battles. Spiritual weariness is a result of us focusing too much on trying to fix and control things beyond our control and it’s the job of the enemy to weaken your spiritual muscles long enough to prevent you from fighting at all. Think about it, if we could figure out the solutions to the tragedies, injustices, and heartaches of this life on our own, then we wouldn't need a higher power. 

When we get tired emotionally, the solution is to let it go by choosing to meditate on something more soothing, calming, maybe even the truth for a change. Ask yourself, what is God saying about this situation, this person, this problem? When we get tired physically, the solution is to simply rest. This oftentimes means saying no and delegating the responsibility to someone else, working smarter not harder, and getting proper sleep. When we get tired spiritually, the solution is to turn it all over to God. Yes, a complete surrender of everything weighing you down. 

My father taught me that "when things get hard, pray harder." He told me this at a time when the enemy came in like a flood and everything was coming against me in such a way that I found it difficult to pray. As a prayer warrior, I suddenly found it hard to do the very thing I was most equipped to do when times got hard and my heart grew weary. Pray. However, Dad was right, but I didn't feel like praying, just didn’t have the strength, and it seemed like the more I prayed the worse things got. My circumstances were speaking louder than my ability to conceptualize the reality of the whole mess, perpetuating my deepest darkest fears. The reality was, that God was the one who was really in control, yet still, I wanted to simply throw in the towel. 

Something on the inside kept nudging me and I eventually gave in. I prayed. 

Reluctantly, I forced my steps into my prayer closet trying to ignore my increasing panic. My legs grew heavier with each step but I somehow mustered up enough courage and strength to enter into this sacred place again, and it took every ounce of the little bit of strength I had left to get down on my knees, one knee at a time, until I was in total submission to a God I thought was not listening to me anymore and I gave it another shot. I struggled frantically, feeling the pressure of this negative intelligence trying hard to convince me that my prayers were in vain. I could feel this cloak of darkness hovering over me like a thick black cloud. I call a deep sense of despair. Insecure words were stuttered, then suddenly, they began pouring from my lips effortlessly, and I began to feel His presence all around me. His spirit hovered over me like a golden light of incredible purity illuminating the darkest places within my soul. 

After praying, I sat for a while lingering in His presence just a little while longer. Long enough to realize why it was so difficult for me to pray and why things appeared to get worse when I prayed. Satan knows that whenever we pray, whether we feel like it or not, weakens his power, limits his ability, and destroys his plans. Furthermore, the more fervently you pray, and the harder you pray, the more resistant Satan becomes. His attacks against you worsen! He will turn up the heat and fight you even harder. His strategy is to wear you down completely and to the point where you will get weary enough to stop fighting him and eventually give up. Your prayer life simply inconveniences him in every way. So, Never, stop praying! 

Praying is not about how we feel, it’s about obedience, faith, and the belief that the God we serve is much greater than whatever is coming against us. Let’s face it, whatever we focus on the most gets bigger, stronger, and more powerful. So what is it that you're focusing on? Are you giving the circumstances in your life more power than the one allowing them? Even in our darkest moments when it feels like God is nowhere to be found, this is when He is closer. Remember, the teacher is always silent during a test. 

Never give up on your children. Never give up on your marriage or other relationships that need healing. Never stop believing or praying. Never give up on your dreams and desires. The minute you stop praying, you give the enemy sovereignty over every aspect of your life. Every time you pray, you weaken Satan's ability to steal, kill, and destroy. It’s never about feelings but always about faith.