Always Keep On

Be alert and always keep on praying... ~ Ephesians 6:18

We don't always see or know the destiny or legacy for ourselves, or spouses, our children, our family. We need to pray protection around them, fight off and build up a defense against the enemy before he even has the chance to attack. Looking back on my life, how much did the enemy know, how much did he see the areas for which God had predestined me? The things, the areas for which God has been grooming me to serve, those are the areas that have been the hardest hit.

The love and approval of a father are so important, especially to little girls. The devil knows that, so he taints that relationship; it may start with fear and later become bitter rage. How can a woman, whose was a scared little girl, understand the love of a heavenly Father, when the relationship with her earthly father was so tainted? Think about little boys, training to become men. If their fathers are tainted by pornography or other addictions which lead to the disrespect and abuse of the boy's mother, what kind of man will he grow up to be? Will he run to a heavenly Father, or always run from?

If relationships are important to God, where do you think the enemy will attack? What do you think he works overtime to destroy? What if the kids you are supposed to parent are predestined to be great warriors and leaders for the Lord...where do you think the enemy will attack? Perhaps he'll attack your body, making it hard for you to conceive. Perhaps he'll attack the area of your intimacy, so that you and your spouse won't be drawn to each other. Perhaps he'll attack you as a child, so that when you are old enough to have children, the thought of it--what someone did to you, what you might to do someone else--makes you sick.

We don't always know the full plan of what God as called us for; we don't get all the specifics. Often times, our last resort is prayer--a desperate plea to God. What if we followed what R.A. Torrey said and made it our first line of defense? "Anticipate the battles, fight them on your knees before they arise," (Word for You Today 25 Mar, 2010). We'll never know what we may be saving our loved ones from, but isn't it better to not know than to wish we had prayed from the other side?

Lord, I know that prayer is one of the areas that I struggle to remain faithful in. Father, help me to be ever on my knees before your throne, as your hand is what protects us and your spirit is what guides us. Lord, I pray that you would always bring to my mind the words to speak for protection over my family and friends. Lord, you have called us for a reason, and for that reason, the devil plots to destroy us. Father, I pray in Jesus' name that you would place bumpers of protection around us, that the attacks of the devil would be thwarted and that no weapon formed against us would prosper. Lord, I pray also that you would show us how to move forward for that which you have called us--that these attacks would not hold us back in fear. But rather, that we would be empowered and emboldened to move forward with greater ferocity. Thank you, Father, for your grace and wisdom. Thank you for your protection and love. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.