Prayer is one of the spiritual weapons we have been given to disrupt the enemy's strongholds. As Paul reminds us, we do not use carnal reasoning or human understanding to fight spiritual warfare; rather, we combat spiritual forces, authorities, powers of this dark and evil world, and spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).
We are called to use prayer as a spiritual weapon to fight against the lies, deceptions, evil thoughts, and schemes of the "prince of the air" who holds the world in bondage to sin and wickedness (Ephesians 2:2)."Behold, he prays!" Like Saul (Paul), who prayed to God and saw his prayers reach the throne of heaven, we too, as believers in Christ—God's chosen people who have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light—are encouraged and urged to be unceasing in our prayers. We are called to not worry about anything, but with prayer and supplication, make our requests known to God, being thankful in everything (Philippians 4:6-7). When we do so, God’s peace will rule in our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
God’s word can never fail, and this is the confidence we should have in prayer. Believing that whatever we pray for, we have already received, we can give thanks and praise to God for answered prayers even before we see them manifest in the earthly realm (Mark 11:24). Like the persistent widow before the unjust judge, we too should persist in prayer and wait patiently, for God has promised that when we call on Him, He will answer (Luke 18:1-8; Jeremiah 33:3).
We are called to pray in the Spirit, allowing the Spirit to help us when we do not know what to pray for or how to pray. When we are overwhelmed, the Holy Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26-27). Our sighs and groans move the hearts of angels in heaven, who cry, "Holy, holy, holy." Our tears are collected in a bottle before our heavenly Father, who delights in hearing our prayers and doing more than we could ever imagine or expect according to His power at work within us (Psalm 56:8; Ephesians 3:20).
So let us rejoice today in the Lord, our God, whose name is our help, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2). Let us pray unceasingly and rejoice in our afflictions, giving thanks for everything; pray in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is our advocate before the throne of heaven and intercedes for us when we sin (1 John 2:1).