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Winning the battle on our knees

“Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters.”
Ephesians 6:18 (The Message)

“The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel” Thomas Watson

“It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart” Mahatma Gandhi

The security guard raised an eyebrow. But then I was carrying
a sword. It was accompanied by a shield, a helmet, sandals – a full set of plastic Roman armour. I took it with me to meet with a group of church leaders in India. A pastor put on the armour and I attacked him with my giant inflatable hammer. His colleagues cheered as he defended himself.

This was more than just pantomime. The Apostle Paul talked about the need for a spiritual version of this Roman armour. Why? Because he knew that:

“our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12).

Crushed into a hotel room with 20 of these young pastors, I discovered they knew the reality of spiritual warfare all too well. Each one told their stories of beatings and intimidation. Some were leading churches with only six weeks’ theological training. But they also knew the reality of using their greatest weapon in the battle.

We were now crammed together into a rural church. It was hot, very hot. And the young pastors prayed, pouring their hearts out to God. I could feel the intensity of their longings and their total dependence on God. They would have understood why John
Bunyan – an earlier persecuted church leader – said, “*Pray often; for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and
a scourge for Satan*.”

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is a great opportunity to join others on the frontline of the battle. Of course prayer is not the only thing we can do, but it is the most
important thing we can do. This is not a matter of duty. Richard
Foster wrote, “If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer: intercession is a way of loving others.”

I experienced that in the company of these Indian pastors. As we prayed together, I clasped the hands of one as a representative of the many. His hands were fragile but his heart was not. He was overwhelmed to be prayed for and said he had been strengthened as a result.

When you read of all that is happening in India right now, don’t you wish you could do something to protect your brothers and sisters from the physical attacks that are manifestations of the work of the evil one? You can. Prayer is not only a weapon in the battle. It is also a practical expression of fellowship, distance no object.

Eddie Lyle, Open Doors UK CEO