Prayer : A Vow

Never did I realize, as of lately, that my prayer life need to be prayed for. The real struggle in a Christian's walk, both of welfare and in warfare, is on the matter of PRAYER. I have been experiencing this very much in the gospel preaching. Factually, the spiritual battle was already fought and won at the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the subjective execution and experience of that victory depends on the believers' exercise and cooperation with the Victor Christ, as the indwelling Spirit. This experience is decided on the "knees." And Satan knows this too well that he will do his best to not allow the exercise of prayer. Prayer moves the Arms that moves the world. Therefore, prayer plays a very crucial role in the Lord's move, and Satan attacks the most for which we must persistently persevere in prayer. For this, even a vow has to be vowed for a prayer life.

As the church in Gurgaon, we were in the week of the holy word on "Spiritual Warfare." All the armor of God in Ephesian 6:10-17 are actually Christ in many aspects. As being just a member of the Body of Christ, I as an individual can never fully put on the whole armor of God. For the armor of God is for the Body of Christ. To fully be able to experience this, I must be in the Body in practicality. Only in the Body life can this armor be worn and experienced. And yet again, it can really be subjectively applied by prayer. So prayer is the key to apply these, and to have such a prayer life, a vow must be vowed - Prayer: A Vow.

Prayer in the Body can make us subjectively experience the whole armor of God for every item of the armor is Christ.

“Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth” (v. 14a): Truth here refers to God in Christ as the reality in our living, that is, God realized and experienced by us in our living; this is actually Christ Himself lived out by us (4:15, 21, 24-25; John 14:6).

“Having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14b; 1 Cor. 1:30; Jer. 23:6): Christ as the breastplate of righteousness covers our conscience, signified by the breast; in fighting against Satan, our accuser,we need a blood-purified conscience, a conscience void of offense (Heb. 9:14; 10:22; Acts 24:16). 

“Having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15): Christ has made peace for us on the cross, both with God and with man, and this peace has become our gospel; the gospel of peace has been established as a firm foundation, as a readiness, with which our feet may be shod (2:13-17).

“Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16; 2 Cor. 4:13; Heb. 12:2; cf. Phil. 2:13): 

“Receive the helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17a): Christ is the salvation that we can experience daily against the attacked of the enemy in our mind. Only Christ can be our helmet of salvation.

“Receive…the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17b): Christ as the Spirit and the word furnishes us with a sword as an offensive weapon to defeat and slay the enemy. 

“By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints” (v. 18): Prayer is the unique way to apply Christ as the armor of God; it is prayer that makes the armor available to us in a practical way. 

-HWMR Entering Into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life, Week 5, II

The Lord strongly reminded me to make a vow for a stable prayer life. As much as I read the word, pursued the ministry and corporately prayed with the saints, so much the more, I must vow a vow to have a very strong prayer life. Often, there are many lame excuses of misusing 1 Thes. 5:17, that as long as I am in the spirit I am living a prayer life. That's not bad either, but a "set time" specifically for specific and solid prayer time, personally with the Lord is, of utmost importance. It is so easy to wade away this set time by habitually calling on the Lord now and then, few sentences of prayer now and then and reckon this as sufficient and a substitute for a set time of prayer. 

Not neglecting these, still there must be a set time, and a time must be vowed for this prayer time. This inciting of the Lord to vow to pray really helped me. I was reminded again and again to pray and the Lord has already burdened me with a long list of prayer points. Similarly, a corporate prayer time was also set in the church life here, after the general Tuesday church prayer meeting, where few burdened saints would continue to pray for some specific and intercessory prayer items. Since this set time of prayer has been vowed, my prayer life has gone much deeper and higher and sweeter. So is the church's prayer life.

Lord, strengthen my prayer life. Grace me to uphold the vow for my prayer life.