The Cause of Prayerlessness
The Storm Center on the Battlefield
Living a Prayerful Life,
The Cause of Prayerlessness
Mention was made in a conference of the expression ‘‘strategic position,’’ used so often in reference to the great strife between the kingdom of heaven and the powers of darkness.
When a general chooses the place from which he intends to strike his enemy, he pays most attention to those points that he thinks most important in the fight.
On the battlefield of Waterloo, there was a farmhouse that Wellington immediately saw as the key to the situation. He did not spare his troops in his endeavor to hold that point: the victory depended on it. And so it happened as he predicted it would.
It is the same in the conflict between the believer and the powers of darkness.
The place of private prayer is the key, the strategic position, where decisive victory is obtained.
The Enemy uses all his power to lead the Christian—and above all, the minister—to neglect prayer.
Satan knows that however admirable the sermon may be, however attractive the service, however faithful the pastoral visitation, none of these things can damage him or his kingdom if prayer is neglected.
When the church closes herself in to the power of the prayer meeting, and the soldiers of the Lord have received on their knees ‘‘power from on High,’’ then the powers of darkness will be shaken and souls will be delivered.
In the church, on the mission field, with the minister and his congregation, everything depends on the faithful exercise of prayer.
During the week of conference, I found the following illustration in The Christian:
Two persons quarrel over a certain point. We call them Christian and Apollyon. Apollyon notices that Christian has a certain weapon that would give him a sure victory. They meet in deadly strife, and Apollyon resolves to take away the weapon from his opponent and destroy it. For the moment, the main cause of the strife has become subordinate to: who will gain possession of the weapon on which everything depends? It is of vital importance to get hold of it.
So it is in the conflict between Satan and the believer.
God’s child can conquer anything and everything by prayer.
Is it any wonder that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian or hinder him in the use of it?
How does Satan stand in the way of prayer?
He hinders it by the temptation to postpone or curtail it;
by bringing in wandering thoughts and all sorts of distractions;
and through unbelief and hopelessness.
Happy is the prayer hero who, through it all, takes care to hold fast to his weapon and use it regularly.
Like our Lord in Gethsemane, the more violently the Enemy attacked, the more earnestly He prayed, and He did not stop until He had obtained the victory.
After naming all the other parts of the armor, Paul adds,
‘‘And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints’’ (Ephesians 6:18).
Without prayer, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and the Sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) have no power.
All depend on prayer.
God, teach us to believe and hold fast to prayer!
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