I wrongly used to think being a “Prayer Warrior” was a title allotted to those that were older and limited in other ways of service. While that season in life may allow for time to focus more on prayer ministry, obviously that kind of thinking is completely wrong. Hudson Taylor said “Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” Several things that I’ve been employing in my prayer life include; starting my day with focused prayer, using landmarks around the Ranch to remind me to pray for certain individuals, praying scripture (particularly the Psalms before bed), and trying to be considerate of my words when I pray. I can fall into patterns of expressing things and not really considering what I’m saying. For instance, I always used to pray for others by asking the Lord to be with them. (If you do this, by the way, I’m not saying you should stop). Instead, when I pray for folks who are followers of Christ, I thank Him that He is already with them and ask Him that they would be assured in that truth.
This article barely scratches the surface of prayer, but if it stirs consideration then I’ve effectively “salted the oats.” I don’t know if I’ll ever be seen as a “Prayer Warrior”, but I am blessed for how the Lord has been increasingly drawing this to my attention. I also pray that as a ministry we would be characterized as a people of prayer; daily declaring our dependency on the Lord and walking in the confidence of His sufficiency. May we be reminded of the start of Psalm 65:2 regarding the Lord “O You, who hear prayer.” As we enter this winter season, there are many things that we are praying about, which you can find in our Prayer and Praise section. We would joyfully ask you to join us as we come before the throne together and align our hearts with God.
Matt Cox
Executive Director
Miracle Mountain Ranch
