Jesus came into this world on a mission - to "destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8).
And believers play key roles in God's army.
Prayer is our main weapon in this war.
It was with prayer that Jesus fought off Satan's attempt in the Garden of Gethsemane to turn Christ away from completing his mission.
It was with prayer that Jesus sought the Father's guidance in his efforts to bring healing and to cast out demons from hurting people - victims of Satan.
And the apostle Paul says we are to use prayer with the spiritual armour of God to defeat the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6).
"In its simplest meaning, prayer has to do with a conflict," wrote S.D. Gordon in his book Quiet Talks on Prayer about a century ago. "Rightly understood, it is the deciding factor in a spirit conflict."
The conflict is between Satan and God. Satan is the "pretender prince who once was the rightful prince" of our world. Jesus is the "rightful prince" who is seeking to "win the world back to its first allegiance" to God.
Satan uses any means including force to defend his territory while Jesus uses persuasion to bring the world back to God.
Jesus won the ultimate victory on the cross. But Satan is fighting a rearguard action until Jesus' return when the devil and his followers will be cast into the lake of fire.
Prayer enables prayer warriors to fight these spiritual battles anywhere in the world. God works with us as we pray. So we can pray effectively for people on the other side of the world - people we could reach in no other way.
Gordon said it gave him joy to know that, "in effect, I am standing in Shanghai, and Calcutta and Tokyo in turn and pleading the power of Jesus' victory over the evil one there, and on behalf of those faithful ones standing there for God".
In battling the enemy, the prayer warrior must be definite and persistent because Satan does not yield territory easily.
"Every such man who freely gives himself up to prayer is giving God a new spot on the contested territory on which to erect his banner of victory."
These words from Gordon inspire me to pray with faith and persistence.
And believers play key roles in God's army.
Prayer is our main weapon in this war.
It was with prayer that Jesus fought off Satan's attempt in the Garden of Gethsemane to turn Christ away from completing his mission.
It was with prayer that Jesus sought the Father's guidance in his efforts to bring healing and to cast out demons from hurting people - victims of Satan.
And the apostle Paul says we are to use prayer with the spiritual armour of God to defeat the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6).
"In its simplest meaning, prayer has to do with a conflict," wrote S.D. Gordon in his book Quiet Talks on Prayer about a century ago. "Rightly understood, it is the deciding factor in a spirit conflict."
The conflict is between Satan and God. Satan is the "pretender prince who once was the rightful prince" of our world. Jesus is the "rightful prince" who is seeking to "win the world back to its first allegiance" to God.
Satan uses any means including force to defend his territory while Jesus uses persuasion to bring the world back to God.
Jesus won the ultimate victory on the cross. But Satan is fighting a rearguard action until Jesus' return when the devil and his followers will be cast into the lake of fire.
Prayer enables prayer warriors to fight these spiritual battles anywhere in the world. God works with us as we pray. So we can pray effectively for people on the other side of the world - people we could reach in no other way.
Gordon said it gave him joy to know that, "in effect, I am standing in Shanghai, and Calcutta and Tokyo in turn and pleading the power of Jesus' victory over the evil one there, and on behalf of those faithful ones standing there for God".
In battling the enemy, the prayer warrior must be definite and persistent because Satan does not yield territory easily.
"Every such man who freely gives himself up to prayer is giving God a new spot on the contested territory on which to erect his banner of victory."
These words from Gordon inspire me to pray with faith and persistence.
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