The Spiritual Weapon of Prayer

A few months ago, I recorded a Pray the Word episode about Daniel 9:20–23. I didn’t have time in that short podcast to elaborate more on this, but I was struck in a fresh way by the mystery of prayer. Do you realize what is happening in the spiritual realm whenever you pray?

Take a look at Daniel’s description of what happened when he prayed:

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.”
– Daniel 9:20-23

As Daniel is praying, an angel comes to him and tells him that he has been sent as a direct response to Daniel’s prayers. Just let that soak in for a moment. When you and I pray, things happen in the spiritual world that we cannot see. Our prayers create movement that affects people and situations, and events in the physical world.

I don’t presume to understand how all of this works, but if this is true (and it clearly is, not just based on this passage in Daniel, but based on the whole of Scripture), then we must pray in at least three ways.

WE MUST PRAY CONTINUALLY

Or more simply put: We must pray. Period. On a daily basis—all throughout the day, from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep—we have the opportunity to participate with God in what he is doing around the world through our prayers. Let’s steward this opportunity just as God’s Word says, praying at all times and without ceasing.

WE MUST PRAY CONFIDENTLY

When we pray, we’re not just speaking words or thoughts into thin air. We are communicating with God in ways that affect his work in the world. We can be confident that our every prayer is heard by the one true God who has all power, wisdom, and love, and who has ordained our prayers as means by which he accomplishes his good purposes in the world. Let’s pray with confidence that he is working in response to our prayers.

WE MUST PRAY EXPECTANTLY

I imagine Daniel may have been surprised when the angel Gabriel decided to visit him that day. But after that day, I imagine Daniel prayed with even greater anticipation of what might happen in response to what he was praying. Let’s do the same, expecting God to move as we cry out to him in our lives, for others’ lives, and for people around the world.

Before you move on to anything else, could I invite you to just pause and pray for a moment (or more)? 

Pray for whatever the Spirit may put on your heart for your life or for others’ lives, and pray with faith that God is moving in response to our prayers in ways you cannot see. Then, on a more specific level, I encourage you to pray for a people group like the Bengali Muslims, one of the largest unreached people groups in the world. And as you pray, trust that your prayers are actually affecting work among Bengali Muslims!