So, last night we talked about defeating the obstacle of prayerlessness in our Bible study. With prayer comes POWER, PROTECTION, and PASSION. Thats huge. May I never doubt the necessity of prayer. May I pray during the high times of life and in the low times of life...and in the middle. May I pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17).
I read a really cool article on prayer by a guy named Edward M. Bounds, who was known to rise at 4am and spend at least 3 hours in prayer. Here is a portion of the article that really stuck out to me:
Christian soldiers, fighting the good fight of faith, have access to a place of retreat to which they continually return for prayer. "Praying always with all prayer" is a clear statement of the imperative need of much praying, and of many kinds of praying, by him who, fighting the good fight of faith, would win out in the end over all his foes.
It cannot be stated too frequently that the life of a Christian is a warfare, an intense conflict, a lifelong contest. The life to which Holy Scripture calls us is no picnic or holiday junket. It is no pastime, no pleasure jaunt. It entails effort, wrestling, struggling; it demands the putting forth of the full energy of the spirit in order to frustrate the foe and to come off, at the last, more than a conquerer.
What a misconception many people have of the Christian life! How little the average church member appears to know of the character of the conflict, and of its demands upon him! He seems scarcely to realize that the world, the flesh, and the devil will oppose his onward march, and will defeat him utterly, unless he gives himself to constant vigilance and unceasing prayer.
