Petitioning God in prayer, it is said, is the single most important offensive weapon available to a Christian.
It is also the weapon that is probably used most ineffectively than any other weapon.
Asking God for help is universal, but understanding prayer is not, and getting answers to prayers is something all of us seek, but often don't find.
Frankly, if we're honest, most of us struggle with prayer.
We all have, or have had, questions about it.
Talk of prayer is common.
Teachings on prayer are abundant.
But, the ineffective use and understanding of prayer is also common.
Let's face it, we all want happiness and well-being in this life.
We want, for example, to have freedom from sickness.
The Bible says in the Book of James, chapter 5, verses 13 through 16, "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.
Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
(14) Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
(16) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
" Ironically, too many Christians gloss over those words and fail to comprehend the reality of the promises made there.
We want to be healed of our sickness, but we don't want to believe God will do it.
We don't seem to want to use prayer as a weapon.
But, the weapon of choice for the Christian should be prayer.
The problem is many, perhaps most, don't understand how to use prayer as an offensive weapon.
Indeed, far too many don't know that much about prayer.
It is, for them, a mysterious, unknowable ritual.
But, there was a certain General who understood how to use prayer as a weapon.
In World War II, General George Patton ordered his chaplain to make up a prayer and have it distributed to the troops, then asked them to pray the prayer.
Suddenly, the weather changed from brutal, to dry and sunny, and Patton was able to achieve victory over the German enemy.
Imagine this.
Suppose you were a combat soldier being sent to a combat zone.
And, imagine you were given a new weapon, the most powerful rifle that had been made to date, but you put off getting to know the full capabilities of the weapon.
You just assumed you knew how the weapon worked.
The rifle appeared to be like most rifles you've used.
Then, you're sent off to battle, and in the midst of a fight, you suddenly realized that you really needed to have spent some time examining and using the gun, and learning of its capabilities.
Your moves with it during the fight were too slow and clumsy.
Your marksmanship was lousy.
And, you are unable to efficiently reload the weapon.
You learn after the fight that one of your squad had died, and two were wounded.
It had been a very harrowing time.
Then, you discover something shocking.
You learn that your weapon could have stopped the enemy all by itself.
You discover that if you'd put on a special adapter and made certain changes, then loaded the weapon with a special magazine, it would have disgorged a hail of bullets thicker than raindrops in a Louisiana rainstorm.
The enemy would have thought a hundred soldiers defended the location.
How would you feel? Well, no doubt you'd feel terrible.
However, you should feel that way at your lack of training and knowledge about prayer.
Your lack of training and effectiveness in prayer may be the cause of serious injury to yourself and even others.
Your lack of spiritual growth in this area can be disastrous.
Not knowing how to pray, for a Christian, is dangerous.
It's dangerous for the Christian and for his or her loved ones.
Do you know how to pray effectively? Maybe it's time to learn.
It is also the weapon that is probably used most ineffectively than any other weapon.
Asking God for help is universal, but understanding prayer is not, and getting answers to prayers is something all of us seek, but often don't find.
Frankly, if we're honest, most of us struggle with prayer.
We all have, or have had, questions about it.
Talk of prayer is common.
Teachings on prayer are abundant.
But, the ineffective use and understanding of prayer is also common.
Let's face it, we all want happiness and well-being in this life.
We want, for example, to have freedom from sickness.
The Bible says in the Book of James, chapter 5, verses 13 through 16, "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.
Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
(14) Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
(16) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
" Ironically, too many Christians gloss over those words and fail to comprehend the reality of the promises made there.
We want to be healed of our sickness, but we don't want to believe God will do it.
We don't seem to want to use prayer as a weapon.
But, the weapon of choice for the Christian should be prayer.
The problem is many, perhaps most, don't understand how to use prayer as an offensive weapon.
Indeed, far too many don't know that much about prayer.
It is, for them, a mysterious, unknowable ritual.
But, there was a certain General who understood how to use prayer as a weapon.
In World War II, General George Patton ordered his chaplain to make up a prayer and have it distributed to the troops, then asked them to pray the prayer.
Suddenly, the weather changed from brutal, to dry and sunny, and Patton was able to achieve victory over the German enemy.
Imagine this.
Suppose you were a combat soldier being sent to a combat zone.
And, imagine you were given a new weapon, the most powerful rifle that had been made to date, but you put off getting to know the full capabilities of the weapon.
You just assumed you knew how the weapon worked.
The rifle appeared to be like most rifles you've used.
Then, you're sent off to battle, and in the midst of a fight, you suddenly realized that you really needed to have spent some time examining and using the gun, and learning of its capabilities.
Your moves with it during the fight were too slow and clumsy.
Your marksmanship was lousy.
And, you are unable to efficiently reload the weapon.
You learn after the fight that one of your squad had died, and two were wounded.
It had been a very harrowing time.
Then, you discover something shocking.
You learn that your weapon could have stopped the enemy all by itself.
You discover that if you'd put on a special adapter and made certain changes, then loaded the weapon with a special magazine, it would have disgorged a hail of bullets thicker than raindrops in a Louisiana rainstorm.
The enemy would have thought a hundred soldiers defended the location.
How would you feel? Well, no doubt you'd feel terrible.
However, you should feel that way at your lack of training and knowledge about prayer.
Your lack of training and effectiveness in prayer may be the cause of serious injury to yourself and even others.
Your lack of spiritual growth in this area can be disastrous.
Not knowing how to pray, for a Christian, is dangerous.
It's dangerous for the Christian and for his or her loved ones.
Do you know how to pray effectively? Maybe it's time to learn.