As I have studied prayer I have come to realize that my view of prayer, why we pray, how to pray, what to pray about has been skewed.

Often times prayer came as a last resort.

Crisis would happen, I would be in that place again and I needed help. I had essentially tried everything in my own power to manage and control a situation and found myself broken and hopeless. I would pray for God to “fix it” and hope He would answer my prayer in a way that was acceptable to me.

God was my spiritual vending machine.

When I needed a fix I would go and ask for a handout. I didn’t spend time praying every day….only when I finally needed help.

I don’t believe that I had ever considered that prayer was an opportunity for me to be prepared for battle against the enemy.

Have you?

As we move through this book Fervent we will discover that the enemy does everything he can to pull us down, but we don’t have to enter into those situations defenseless. We can have a plan for strategic, fervent prayer!

But God can’t be my after thought, my last resort. He needs to be my first choice, my only defense. {<===Click to Tweet}

Priscilla says this “If all we’re doing is flinging words and emotions in all directions without any real consideration for the specific ways the enemy is targeting us and the promises of God that apply to us, we’re mostly just wasting our time.” p4

The first few times I read that sentence I was focused on the the ways that the enemy was targeting me. I was completely ignoring the promises of God. It is easy to get wrapped up in the mess.

It is where the enemy wants us stuck in. The hopelessness, the fear, the anxiety and what-ifs.

In those moments we aren’t thinking about God’s promises are we? When I am focused on the burn of his fiery darts I am forgetting about the truth that the battle has already been won. God has already redeemed us, our situations. He has already defeated the enemy.

The enemy will lie to us and tell us that we can’t trust God, our broken will never be fixed. But it IS a lie! The blood of Jesus has already covered our sins. We are promised life with Him in eternity.

So in those times where I am filled with fear and doubt, I need to be praying His truths out loud! And just like I need some daily exercise {we are working on that next} I also need to spend time every day in prayer.

When we are working to build a new friendship, we invest in it by spending time with that person. The more time we spend, the deeper the intimacy that is shared, the more personal the relationship.

This same idea goes for our relationship with God.

If I want to know His truth, His heart and love for me, I need to invest in a relationship with Him.

Prayer is the easiest way I have found to do this. Sometimes I share my heart, profess my love for Him. Sometimes I am frustrated and I tell Him so. (It’s ok…He can handle it!) Other times I am speechless, in awe of what He is doing in my own life or the lives of those I love. I use prayer as my way to commune with Him.

The more I do it, the more {like exercise} it becomes a habit. And as the relationship builds, the less I see God as my “fix my need” machine and instead He is becoming my “I can’t live without You” Savior.

I know I don’t do it perfectly, and there are days even now that I realize I haven’t invested in Him at all. But God is patient with me, and always there. And what a gift that is!

Lord, I don’t deserve the love You have for me. And yet…I am convinced it is there. I stand amazed and overwhelmed. Stir our hearts for more of You. That we would come to see that prayer would be as necessary as breathing. And in those times where we are facing a battle we can know, without a doubt, that You are there. The fight has already been won. Help us to bring our weary hearts to You. Every day. In Jesus Name, Amen