40-Day Devotion, Day 18

PREPARATION: READ JAMES 5:13-18

Lifeline: Prayer

It was 1891, and Karl Eisner was tired of the high unemployment in his country. He was also weary of people leaving his homeland to find work in Germany. An idea came to him to manufacture a versatile tool that would be used by the soldiers of his country’s army; a tool created for the Swiss Army not manufactured by the Germans. (photo)
The tool he designed, the Swiss Army knife, went on to become synonymous with survival. It was soon issued to every Swiss soldier and has since been carried on expeditions to the North Pole, the top of Mount Everest, the forests of the Amazon and even outer space! (It actually became standard equipment on the space shuttle!) People value it for its compact size and the numerous tasks it can perform. In some ways, it is a pocket- sized survival kit!
If you will allow me an extended metaphor, in our “spiritual survival kit,” we have an equivalent to the multi- functional Swiss Army knife: it’s called prayer and, to be sure, it is a multi- faceted survival tool. It is also standard equipment for each soldier in Christ’s army. Let’s think for a moment about the many different uses of this powerful tool:

Communication is prayer’s most widely used tool. Praying generates hope when all hope seems gone and affirms the fact we are not alone and, indeed, the Lord is encamped about us. Prayer is the tool that recharges our determination even in the face of situations far beyond our abilities.In other words, prayer bolsters our confidence. It emboldens our faith because, in prayer, we take the focus off ourselves and the immediate situation and return it to God with whom nothing is impossible.

Prayer also eases our burdens. When we pray, we transfer the weight of our problems from us to God. This is critical to avoid being overwhelmed. Martin Luther summed it up well when he said, “Pray, and let God worry.” Worrying about events outside our control leads to anxiety. When we give our burdens to God through prayer, we can finally release them.

Prayer also provides direction. Lyell Rader wrote, “If you can’t pray a door open, don’t pry it open.” In other words, if God does not open a door, choose a different direction! Psalm 16:11 reads, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” In seeking direction, make prayer your first resort, not your last. As Corrie Ten Boom asked, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” So if prayer is the Swiss Army knife of survival, we had better be trained in its use. What does that look like?
What are some tips on getting the most from it? In Ephesians 6:12, Paul explains we are engaged in an active spiritual battle: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms.” Just as in a military battle, your knife (prayer) will sometimes be used in defense and sometimes offense.
Pray for protection against attack and pray God gives you courage to put one foot in front of the other when you can only see so far. Get familiar with Old Testament giants such as David, Daniel, Elijah, and Gideon, men who stepped into life-threatening situations with prayer as their solitary defense.
Like your knife, prayer should always be readily accessible. Do not bury it in your knapsack. Keep it on your belt, within easy reach. It brings you comfort just knowing it is there. There will be days you find it has been in use most of the day and you didn’t even realize it.
Like your knife, you need prayer to aid yourself and others, too. God gave it to us, like all blessings, to be used in outreach. Be quick to voice an audible prayer with those hurting or needing encouragement. Use it to soothe and comfort.
Prayer is valuable for praise and worship. In acknowledging the grandeur of God and remembering His past faithfulness, we renew our confidence and courage in following His way. Using the “praise tool” keeps our attitude uplifting. David knew this when he wrote, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6).
Another of King David’s mainstays was confession. Carrying un-confessed sin is like having a dull knife. It makes us ineffective. Just as sharpening a knife often keeps it ready for use, praying regularly for forgiveness is critical. Do not allow your faith to lose its edge.
Most importantly do not feel you need to understand the mystery of prayer before using it. God made it simple enough for a child to use and strong enough for an adult to lean on. In today’s hectic world, Paul Miller’s quip rings true: “Praying does not offer us a less busy life; it o ers us a less busy heart.”
The bottom line is this: pray as though your survival depends on it. It does!