A POWERFUL WEAPON

When I imagine a powerful weapon I think of a sword, a machine gun or even a tank. Weapons are generally used for defending or destroying. They are either intended for an attack or to defend oneself or others.

Imagining myself holding a sword in my hand, I feel more like laughing than being impressed. A sword in my hand would certainly not be a powerful weapon. On the contrary, my prayer is much more effective because there is a powerful God behind it who hears my requests. I put my defense and my attack in God’s hands – that means that I let go and trust him, because he has so much more wisdom than I do and, above all, has an overview of the situation and the circumstances. He is my powerful ally, who solves problems in such a brilliant way that I can only be amazed. Unlike us, he will always attack and destroy only the bad.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4, 6-7

I shouldn’t worry about anything and I should pray for everything! I don’t always succeed in this, but I notice that I feel better when I bring my concerns to God and let go in prayer! Praying requires trust in a good God and the knowledge that he hears me and cares about me. In the verse above it says that I should tell God what I need and that I should thank him. So I should give thanks when I don’t have it yet, when it is nowhere in sight.
The English Passion Translation Bible expresses this verse like this:
„…offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude.”

In the Bible we read of King David, who is called “a man after the heart of God”. Many of the Psalms are written by him, they are prayers to God. Often he laments in the psalms about his hopeless situations, how his enemies are pressing him and how difficult his situation is. But he also praises God for the many times in which he has helped him or his people out of terrible circumstances. This gives him the confidence to believe once again in deliverance and intervention from his God and he starts to praise God in gratitude and even rejoices that God will help him.

Our prayer will not always follow this pattern – David probably also sent a quick prayer towards heaven at times and that’s good! But with a prayer that includes praise, petition and thanksgiving, I will pray more faithfully. I will have confidence and joy at the end of my prayer, even if the situation is still the same in that moment. Personally, I believe that I will pray more effectively!

God has various names in the Bible, each of which expresses an aspect of his nature. In the illustration I have written down quite a few of these aspects. This way we see that we have lots of reasons to praise Him!

For this reason I tell you: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for.
Mark 11:24 (GNT)

Faith and prayer belong together. Sometimes it only takes a spark of faith for a prayer, in some cases even other people believe for me. And yet a strong faith helps me to persevere when a situation does not change or a prayer is not (yet) fulfilled. I may bombard God over and over again with my prayer. God isn’t hard of hearing – but with this persistence I show that I am serious with my request. Prayer is also a part of my communication with God. Just as I, as a mother, have joy when my children come to me with their requests and concerns, so God rejoices and gladly fulfills many of my wishes. As a mother I will not fulfill every wish of my child for sweets and also God will only give me what is good for me!

There are different ways a prayer can be fulfilled:
– A prayer changes the situation itself.
– My attitude towards the situation changes, or God changes me.
– God gives me the strength to get through and accept the situation as it is.

I experienced a wonderful answer to prayer in 2006. Since my teenage years I had neurodermatitis and the situation had later drastically worsened with food allergies (milk and eggs). We had prayed over and over again! One day as I was praying for healing, I suddenly felt a huge wave of gratitude, which felt like it literally flooded my body. At that moment I knew that the food allergies were cured. Many other symptoms of neurodermatitis also disappeared. Here my prayer was answered from one moment to the next and the situation was changed.

I experienced a completely different way of answered prayer in the relationship with my husband. For a long time I had the feeling that he did not understand my needs and I was annoyed about this. In a longer process of change together with God, I finally realized in prayer that I am allowed to have needs and to communicate them. My husband cannot read my thoughts. I can tell him what I want and need. In the meantime I feel that I am being noticed and cared for! In this example, God has changed me – and that in turn has changed the situation.

Prayer is a powerful weapon and that is why I would like to pray for you!

“Our Father in Heaven, I thank you for the person reading this right now and ask you to bless her richly. You are her provider, healer and comforter. You are omnipotent and yet so close! Let her feel how much you love her and how much you rejoice when she comes to you with trust and shares her needs with you. Show her your strength and love for her personally and help her to believe that you love to fulfill prayers! I thank you that she will experience and feel you as our good father! Amen!“