WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Always Aware – Step #1 in Learning How to Be Always Praying

Did you know that God has actually appointed a supernatural ruler over this earth during this age; one that is in charge of all the worldly things that we pursue? (Ephesians 2:2) Did you know that this ruler opposes God’s plan to strengthen His children through suffering and instead seeks to give Christians health and wealth and prosperity for their ‘best life now’? (James 1:2-3)

Lesson #2 (Always Aware) in the Always Praying series at Grace Community Church makes the point that the two main reasons that we do not pray is the fact that we are either:

• not aware of the presence of our God or
• not aware of the presence of the devil

No, I don’t constantly think about the schemes of the devil, but after Pastor Wilson hammered home just how hidden and pervasive those schemes are in our life, I see just how blind I’ve been.  Those schemes can come in several forms. He can make our wildest dreams come true, leading us away from dependence on God or assault us with physical illness and chaos like Job.  This is a war we know all too well but we fail to acknowledge it’s origin and voracity.

We must acknowledge the source and call it by name. The devil is tirelessly at war for our souls and we are in constant danger (1 Peter 5:8-11). If we acknowledge this we will stay in prayer for God to strengthen us through the battle, keep our witness pure and deliver us from evil.  We don’t get the option of being a conscientious objector to this supernatural war (Ephesians 6:12).  We also can’t use human tools to fight it such as self-help techniques or substances that numb us.

We need to always remember that Jesus is coming back to dethrone the devil and he has left us here in a constant battle, armed with some very special supernatural weapons (Ephesians 6). 1 John 4:4 tells us that “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”.  So pray with confidence that God is always with you.  Pray with thanksgiving for the promise of perfection, strength and peace that comes after we’ve suffered. (1 Peter 5:10)

Next week in Lesson #3, Pastor Wilson shows us that the enemy around us (the devil) is not the only enemy we must contend with if we are going to be Always Aware & Always Praying.

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