TRUE WARRIORS

We all know them.  They are those true warriors that understand fully that their real strength in battle comes not from themselves but from the power that is drawn from the throne room of God through prayer.  Many of us have witnessed these prayer warriors in our families or churches and have seen where they turn to find answers in the most difficult times.  But it is not only in those hard times that these saints humbly kneel before God’s throne for intercession.  These prayer warriors have come to realize how important it is to bring even the smallest of requests to the Almighty in prayer.  If you have never been privileged to know of one of these praying saints, we are given many examples in Scripture for us to learn from and pattern our lives after.

One such example is recorded in Luke 2:36-38 where we see the summary of the life of Anna.  She had been married at a young age and had become a widow after only 7 years of marriage.  We may wonder why Anna’s life was recorded for us in Scripture?  God is showing us the tremendous, life changing ministry that Anna was able to have even after she had endured the heartache of losing her husband.  She was not a famous public speaker or travel the world with a Christian ministry.  She simply committed herself to fasting and prayer out of her love, devotion and commitment to God.  God used Anna in a mighty way to impact the world as a prayer warrior during her earthly lifetime.  Anna is also an example to us today, to show us that anyone CAN be used GREATLY by our God to make a difference in our world for the kingdom of God.  We don’t have to be public speakers or talented teachers to be used in an amazing way by God, BUT each one of us can pray which one of the greatest ministries we can ever have in impacting others lives.

Just in case you were wondering, Anna was not a young lady who had lots of energy to devote to serving God.  When we see this example of Anna she was 84 years old.  A lot of people might be worn out by that point in life and maybe feel as if their best years of ministry to the Lord were behind them.  Not Anna, she faithfully and quietly carried out a world-impacting ministry which hastened the coming of Jesus Christ.  God greatly blessed Anna for her faithfulness by allowing her to see baby Jesus in the temple with her very own eyes!  That was an AMAZING reward! 

Anna’s prayer ministry was faithful.  Luke 2:37 says that “She did not depart from the temple…”.  Her prayer ministry was focused on serving God.  The greatest way we can serve the Lord is to have a ministry of prayer.  Anna’s prayers were frequent as she “served night and day…” and were fervent through “fasting and prayers.”  This special lady is our example to not let the tragedies and trials we experience in our life to make us bitter and give up on serving the Lord.  We need to let God use those heartaches we experience to turn our hearts toward serving Him like Anna did.  No matter what season of life we each may be experiencing by being single, raising a young family, the empty nest years or when we are in our golden years like Anna, we can ALWAYS serve God and others by having faithful, focused, frequent, and a fervent ministry of prayer. 

Can you think of those godly saints in your life like Anna whose prayers directly impacted situations and outcomes for you?  I definitely can!  My grandma was like a mother to me.  She not only led me to the Lord, discipled me by teaching me many Biblical truths BUT she was also a godly example of to me in her prayer life.  My grandma prayed for me several times every day while I was growing up and throughout my teenage years for God’s protection over me and guidance in making the right choices.  I would often stay with my grandparents on Saturday nights and then go to church with them on Sunday. 

I began to notice how tired my grandmother was every Sunday morning and when I asked her why she was so exhausted, she explained how the H.S. had prompted her to pray for me while I was out with my friends the night before.  My grandma earnestly prayed for me to go to Bible College, marry a godly man and commit my life to serving God.  Without her example and influence, I honestly do not know where I would be!   

My grandmother not only prayed for her three children who all ended up serving the Lord in the ministry, she fervently prayed for her 10 grandchildren and their spouses every day, naming each of her great grandkids by name.  When one of our children rebelled against God about 6 months before she went to heaven, she prayed all day for them to come back to the Lord.  She encouraged me to keep praying and have faith that the Lord would bring our wayward child back in fellowship with Him. 
After my grandma’s funeral, all of our extended family went back to clean out her house.  The first place I went was to her recliner rocking chair in her living room where her Bible and devotional books sat next to our child’s 8 x 10 photo where she cried out to God on his behalf several times a day.  I sobbed as I remembered her godly example and I will NEVER forget her prayer ministry in my life.  My grandmother’s prayers have radically impacted me and it’s the GREATEST legacy and wealth that I could have EVER inherited from her.

What about us? Will we ever be a godly example to others through our prayer lives?  For this amazing ministry to take place we must first make sure that God will even hear our prayers.  Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”  Harboring unconfessed and unrepented sin in our hearts is grievous to our Father and blocks our prayers to Him.  We must regularly humbly bow at God’s throne and clean our hearts out from our filthy sin if we expect Him to accomplish the impossible through our prayers.  For years I was blinded to the fact that my prayers were being hindered by my sin.  When I prayed, I never felt like God was actually hearing me and my prayers were not getting answered.  As soon as I finally humbled myself and confessed all of the sin I was holding onto, It was absolutely AMAZING how God began answering my prayers to the most seemingly impossible situations.

Are we willing to follow the examples of godly prayer warriors like Anna that have had amazing prayer ministries which led to them to be used greatly by God?  We can be instruments in God’s hands to make an impact on our world now, our church, our families, our marriages and on future generations to come if we are simply willing to serve the Lord by having a ministry of prayer.  Are you known as a faithful prayer warrior who goes to God in prayer for everything, even in the little things?  As you closely examine your prayer life, do you see your requests being answered?   If not then you may have some heart cleansing to do.  May each of us follow the godly example those True warriors have left behind.  We also need to recognize the value of leaving a godly heritage of prayer to future generations that will follow us into eternity.