I love sports - football, basketball, baseball, tennis. I even watch a little golf. I especially love basketball. In the game of basketball there is offense and there is defense. Offense scores the points but defense wins championships. Why is that? Because at the end of the day you can score all the points in the world but if you are not able to stop the opponent's scoring then you are just trading baskets and typically the one who ends up with the ball at the end of the game wins.
What is the believer's first line of defense? Prayer. Prayer is our direct line to God. When we are prayed up, we are equipped to handle many of the circumstanses that come up in our lives. Life may be just rolling along, nothing too major happening so our prayer life slacks off. Then trouble comes and we can't do enough praying. We are praying and we asking everyone else to pray for us. We are in panic mode. But just like in the game of basketball what if we prayed consistently from start to finish. When you play defense you are are able to stop the opponent from scoring, grab a few rebounds, get some steals and go up by a few points. You can take some time to rest. The Bible tells us that, 'the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results'. (James 5:16b) It also tells us to 'pray without ceasing'. (I Thess. 5:17) God knew that our opponent Satan was going to come at us with everything he could. So he wanted us to be prepared. When you pray you have blessed assurance that things will work out in your favor. When you pray you don't have time to worry. When you pray you can stand firm against the evil rulers of this world. When you pray you can bounce back a little quicker, rebound the ball, come out ahead. Laugh at the devil. Simply put, you can stop the devil from scoring.
You see we have an advantage against our opponent. We know that we are already victorious because God has already taken care of that with the sacrifice his Son made on the cross. When he died and went to hell and took away the keys and then got up early Sunday morning with all power. And just like a championship team we can go to the throne of grace boldly, with confidence, telling God everything so that he can impart in us the wisdom that we need to fight. Are you ready to be a champion? Are you walking victoriously? Are you using prayer as your first line of defense or are you using it as a last resort? If you are using it as a last resort, beware, time may run off the clock.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the opportunity to pray. I know this is a time I can bring all my problems to you. There is no one on this earth I can tell everything to without fear of being judged or ridiculed. But I can tell you and I am so grateful. I know if I want to get better I should turn everything over to you Lord, the one who can actually do something about it. I want to be better prepared in life. I desire better communion with you. I am going to make a better effort to talk to you about everything, leaving it at your feet. And because of this I know you will recognize my voice and I will recognize yours. I know you will provide for me clear direction and I will be victorious. In Jesus' Name Amen.
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