Message
Yesterday, we saw how Peter fell into temptation because he couldn’t keep watch in prayer (). Prayerlessness is one of the signs that a believer is relying on his or her own strength. Unlike Peter, however, David kept watch day and night in the place of prayer (). He often stayed awake at night, spending time with God and meditating on His word (, ). He was so aware of the limitations of his strength that on many occasions in the Bible, he enquired of the Lord to know what He wanted him to do (, ). However, in , where he obviously didn’t enquire of the Lord but rather gave in to lust, he got into a predicament that negatively impacted his lineage ().
Daniel also knew the importance of prayer. He knew how much he needed God in the strange land of Babylon, and the Bible tells us that he prayed thrice daily (). Even when a decree was made that nobody should pray to anyone except the king, he was too aware of the limitations of his strength that his first reaction was to open his windows and pray as usual. His response to everything was prayer.
Prayer is so important that the Bible urges us to pray without ceasing (). The moment you don’t feel like praying or see the need to pray is actually the time to pray more intently because prayerlessness can leave a believer in a weak state and cause such a believer to lose his or her spiritual vitality. Once the devil douses a believer’s spiritual fire, he can ruin him or her. Praying puts us in a posture of humility before God, where we acknowledge that we cannot do anything without Him. It keeps our hearts tender and reminds us of the limitations of our physical strength. When we cultivate a lifestyle of waiting on God in prayer, we renew our strength daily () and are able to overcome the devil’s temptations ().
Beloved, how do you respond to life’s challenges? Do you always try to solve them with your wisdom and strength first? Do you only run to God when everything you’ve tried fails? Do not make God a spare wheel in your life; rather, He should always be your first resort. Cultivate the habit of praying without ceasing, and you will live victoriously all the days of your life, in Jesus’ name.