Shields Of Prayer

Shields of Prayer

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:7, ESV

JONATHAN AND ROSALIND GOFORTH tell of God miraculously coming through to meet their pressing needs, finding out only much later (in the days of slow communication) that a church had felt led to pray earnestly for them at exactly that moment. Marie Monsen told of sensing special protection when pirates took over the steamer she was on and held her and the other passengers captive for days. Missionaries often share stories of breakthrough moments with God and connect them to praying friends and churches back home. The stories of God impressing people to pray at crucial moments are too numerous and too dramatic to dismiss.

We need to become spiritually sensitive to those impressions—alerts about people who might be undergoing exceptional temptations or dangers. These may come as sudden remembrances seemingly out of the blue or as someone weighing on your mind persistently without any discernible reason. Pray for these people—the trials they may be going through; the spiritual, physical, relational, mental, emotional, or circumstantial dangers they may be facing; the accusations or misunderstandings that may be coming against them; or whatever the Holy Spirit impresses upon you. Don’t ignore these alerts. They are opportunities to pray diligently for God to intervene in the lives of people you know, whether these people come from your distant past, live in distant places, or are among your close circle of friends, coworkers, and neighbors. You can even pray through the daily news this way. The world is in desperate need of intercession.

As you pray, believe that God surrounds those who love and worship him with angelic protection that keeps evil from doing its worst in their lives. You can also trust him to open doors of opportunity, turn the tables from adversity to advantage, cause breakthroughs, and establish fruitfulness and peace. There are plenty of other promises to support your faith in your prayers. But those mental impressions and alerts very often have to do with impending threats and potential harm. In those moments, God is calling his praying people to intercede for his protection over those who serve him. Your prayers can make an enormous difference in their lives.

The world may doubt the power of prayer, but the saints know better.