As praying warriors, our praying and our fighting are motivated by our passion for Jesus, the people we serve, and the work we do.
What are praying warriors? Praying warriors are people who have a passion for Jesus, the people they serve, and the work they do. That passion is so intense that it inspires continual prayer and abidance in Christ. Christ’s purpose on earth is to help people live life to the fullest. We, the praying warriors, join Jesus in his work. We pray, persevere, and overcome with him.
When you hear the phrase, praying warrior, the picture we have in mind is that of a warrior doing battle and praying at the same time. It’s not a picture of one who locks themselves up in a room and prays all day (what most people think of as a prayer warrior). Even though there is room for that kind of prayer, our calling is to the forefronts where, as warriors, we fight with everything we have. Yet, we know that we can only win battles in the physical world because we have first won them in the invisible spiritual world.
Prayer warrior is a common term we’ve used in the past. We prefer the term praying warrior. Prayer is a noun, while praying is a verb in the present continuous tense. A praying warrior is still a warrior. He/she is a fighter. He/she is different from ordinary warriors in that he doesn’t just fight hard, he prays hard as well. A praying warrior is actively praying.
Praying Warriors win their fights on their knees before they go out to the physical battlefield. S.D. Gordon said, “Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is simply picking up the pieces.” The first warfare that a praying warrior does isn’t physical but spiritual warfare. He wins spiritual warfare on his knees and then goes out to pick up the pieces. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Praying warriors win spiritual wars before they win physical ones.
A praying warrior prays hard and fights hard. A praying warrior doesn’t just fight in prayer, they fight in the physical after they have won the battle in prayer. You’ve heard the saying, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” That describes the praying warrior we are talking about. In fact, we work hard because we know that we’ve won the battle in prayer. Without winning the battle in prayer, we can do nothing.
Battles are won on the knees; physical work is picking up the pieces (c.f. 2 Chronicles 20)
“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while the ordinary man takes everything as either a blessing or a curse.”– Carlos Castaneda
As praying warriors, our praying and our warring all come from our passion for Jesus, the people we serve, and the work we do.
