December Days - prayer as a privilege

Was adding to my calendar to pray for Claramae's job interview next Tuesday, when it struck me that I was actually making an appointment to pray for someone... before I became a Christian, such a thing wouldn't have crossed my mind, even though I was raised in a Christian family.

Had earlier on read this Crosswalk.com article about the importance of praying for our preachers, for protecting those who share the Gospel. And I thought about our prayers for the Christmas outreach, and for our leaders too. Who knows how many leaders have been saved from falling away or falling down, simply because a caring bro or sister took time to get down on his/her knees in prayer? The devil does not fear prayerless religion, but when we get down to prayer, whoa, Jesus Himself said that whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven! aMeN! And He shall build His church, and the gates of Hades shall NOT PREVAIL against it!

Prayer is an extremely powerful weapon. It can be considered both a strategic and a tactical weapon too - strategic as in capable of demolishing spiritual strongholds that hold sway over entire nations and continents, or tactical as in supporting a spiritual skirmish in which we share the Gospel with a lost friend or family member. Wow.

I recommend this excellent book by Ed Silvoso on prayer evangelism: "That None Should Perish", and Pastor Jim Cymbala's "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire", on the power of prayer. And while you're at it - get Brother Yun's book, "The Heavenly Man", a gripping account of a Chinese Christian in today's China - the testimony of how he walked out of a max-security prison with TWO broken legs at the busiest hour of the day is simply an amazing testimony of the power of God when we pray and believe Him to do great and mighty things! aMeN!

(BTW you can get them from Hope Resources while stocks last! Disclaimer: I'm not serving in Hope Resources... I'm just one blessed customer. ;))

Oh yah, so what about prayer as a privilege? It just struck me that when I first received Christ, it really was so thrilling to realise that I now have connection to the Father, and that I really can ask Jesus for anything in His name, and He'll do it! After many years, however, prayer can seem very stale... Lord, I don't want ever to lose that freshness of joy, of the thrill in being able to touch heaven, Your face, when we pray and ask in Jesus' mighty name.

An old spiritual "fight song", but powerful as ever:

In the name of Jesus
In the name of Jesus
We have the victory! (AMEN!)
In the name of Jesus
In the name of Jesus
Demons will have to flee! (AMEN!)

When we stand on the name of Jesus
Tell me who can stand before
In the mighty name of Jesus
We have the victory!