The enemies of prayer

«I therefore urge, first of all, that supplications are made, prayers, intercessioni, thanks for all men, for kings and for all those in authority, so that we can lead a quiet and peaceful life, in all pity and honesty. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth " (1 Timoteo 2,1-4).

The devil employs six different weapons to paralyze the prayer wings of the children of God.

The tiredness

We are talking about the paralyzing fatigue that makes us unable to pray continuously for a particular subject. however, we affirm that this supernatural fatigue can be overcome exactly with prayer, since the Bible testifies that God gives strength to him who is tired and increases the strength of him who is weak. Throwing yourself into the river of prayer, you will find real comfort and new strength.

You feel unable to concentrate. A mountain of thoughts and worries pours over you. You notice with dismay that while you pray your thoughts wander off! But you can win this enemy weapon by praying aloud. In salmo 55, 16-17 David says:

«As for me; I will cry out to God, and the Lord will save me. It will be, in the morning and on! noon I will complain and groan, and he will hear my voice. "

Son of God, pray aloud very distinctly and you will experience that the powers of distraction will no longer have a hold on you.

A distracted spirit

You feel unable to concentrate. A mountain of thoughts and worries pours over you. You notice with dismay that while you pray your thoughts wander off! But you can win this enemy weapon by praying aloud. In salmo 55, 16-17 David says:

«As for me; I will cry out to God, and the Lord will save me. It will be, in the morning and on! noon I will complain and groan, and he will hear my voice. "

Son of God, pray aloud very distinctly and you will experience that the powers of distraction will no longer have a hold on you.

The inner turmoil

An inexplicable lack of calm takes hold, you say, but you can win it by praying, whatever the cause, whether it is sin, of nervousness or disbelief. The Bible says in the salmo 55, 22: "Throw your burden on the Eternal, and he will support you; he will never allow the righteous to be moved "and in salmo 42, 11:

«Hope in God, because I will celebrate it again; he is my salvation and my God. »Only by praying, you will be rid of your lack of inner calm.

Haste

The weapon that Satan probably uses most successfully against intercessors is haste. What does the Bible tell us inEcclesiastes 8,3?

"Don't hurry to get away from his presence. »

What is the cause of your haste? That would be a lot of work ahead of you? You don't see how to finish it. However, it is precisely in prayer that the best method to carry out your work without tension will be revealed to you. With this result: the more you pray, the more you work. I am aware that this statement is really contrary to so-called common sense. Therefore it has been experienced numerous times and the Bible confirms this fact in Isaiah 55,2:

«Because you spend money on what is not bread? and the fruit of your labors for what does not satisfy? Listen to me carefully and you will eat what is good, and your soul will enjoy succulent foods. Incline your ear and come to me; listen, and your soul will live. "

Through your perseverance in continuous prayer, your day's schedule will be fueled by divine sources of God's power and you will be amazed that your time spent in ardent prayer was your best time, because in this way the satanic weapon of haste that wanted to prevent you from praying was defeated. Discouragement paralyzes many intercessors. Being discouraged means not looking far enough or high enough. The Bible says to look to Jesus. This means that we need to turn our gaze away from visible things, to contemplate him alone, in prayer.

The lack of courage

maybe, you are discouraged because of your weakness, ashamed of your defeats, disheartened by the hardness of heart of men, shot down by sad circumstances. Listen to Paul's word in 2 Corinthians 4, 8:

«We are troubled in every way, but not reduced to the extreme. »Because Paolo tells you this? Because he was an intercessor. Isaiah 35, 3-4 proclamation: «Strengthen your weak hands, steady your shaky knees! Tell those who have a lost heart. 'Be strong, fear not!Here is your God! Revenge will come, the retribution of God, he himself will come to save you. »

You have only one chance to get rid of your discouragement: a solemn prayer. Writing this, it seems to me that invisible powers would like to prevent me from saying how things actually are. I know that Satan will try by all means to keep you from believing that prayer really discloses the sources of God's power.. But in the name of Jesus, these opposing forces are equally overcome! To discouraged hearts I address the following exhortation: Pray! Try a new test today. Say it out loud: I choose God's will and reject Satan's will in the name of Jesus. God's will is that you pray and Satan's that you don't pray.

The laziness

Satan employs this pernicious weapon against those who have the desire to become intercessors; uses the weapon of laziness against them, of the flesh and incapacity. You get on your knees, determined to pray, but you can hardly pronounce a word. Everything appears so painful to you. The flesh is unable to pray. How can you be freed from this terrible laziness, from this inability to pray? Here is the answer: Pray with the Bible in hand. Read aloud God's promises about prayer. In Matteo 7, 7, Jesus said:

«Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. "

Simply say to the Lord in prayer: “Sir, I cannot pray, but you say in your word that I have to do it, and with perseverance …."Tell him all your misery, do not keep it from him, and while you speak to him by reading his word, you will suddenly notice that the flame of prayer lights up in you and that your laziness disappears. Then you can advance to the throne of grace.

Jesus, help me win, because everything is gone,
and my perdition haunts all thoughts,
my ability to pray is no longer found,
and I feel reduced to being like a dry branch!
O Lord, may you join in the depths of my soul that invokes you sobbing.

Bibliography: “Invitation to Prayer” by Wim Malgo