Pray
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
This week we kicked off 21 days of prayer at Church of the Highlands, a rhythmic discipline our church embraces twice a year in January and August to corporately seek the Lord at key transitional moments. Coming out of the summer season of rest and recreation and heading into the fall, one of the fullest seasons of life. I cannot think of a better way to transition into this next season than on our knees, fully dependent upon the Lord. As Pastor Chris reminded us this past Sunday in his message on prayer, Tabernacle Prayer Message, prayer is not the preparation for the work. Prayer is the work. Everything else flows from it.
Prayer is one of the most powerful and underutilized gifts God has given us, especially for leaders who tend to want to go attack the issues and challenges. We tend to ask God to bless and help our plans versus starting with a posture of seeking the Lord first in prayer, before we start doing. I call it the be before the do. Prayer is not a religious formality or a last resort when everything else has failed. It is our primary means of communing with God, building our relationship with Him, and putting our faith into action. When we pray, somethingactually movesin the heavenly realm where God does His deepest work. Because prayer is so powerful, our enemy does everything in his power to keep us from it. That alone should tell us how essential it truly is. Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.
Three Principles of Transformative Prayer
Prayer Is Relational Communion with God: More than anything else, prayer is simply conversation with our Heavenly Father. It is not primarily about reciting the right words or following the right formula. It is about genuine communication that builds intimacy, trust, and alignment with the heart of God. Just as any meaningful relationship deepens through consistent and honest communication, our relationship with God flourishes when we make prayer a natural and ongoing rhythm of our daily lives. Jesus gave us a beautiful framework for this in what we call the Lord's Prayer. It begins with "Our Father in heaven" — connecting with God intimately and relationally as our loving Abba Father who deeply loves us and desires what is best for us. It moves through worship, surrender to His will, petition for our needs, repentance, and a declaration of His sovereignty. It is not a script to recite but a model to follow, covering every dimension of our relationship with God in a single conversation. When we pray along these lines, we are not just talking to God. We are aligning our hearts with His. We are following the example Jesus gave us in Luke 11:1-4: "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Prayer Positions Us to Receive What God Has for Us: One of the most important shifts I have made in my understanding of prayer is moving from seeing it as a religious obligation to seeing it as a relational invitation. As an opportunity to connect with the Lord. God does not need our prayers to accomplish His purposes. But He has chosen to work in partnership with His people through prayer because He desires connection with us. James 4:2 makes a statement that is almost startling in its simplicity: you do not have because you do not ask. There is something in God's economy that moves in response to the prayers of His people. Some of my best decisions in life and business have been covered in prayer. When we lead from a place of consistent prayer, we lead with access to divine wisdom, discernment, and perspective that is simply not available to us in our own strength. As I head into this fall season with a full calendar and significant Kingdom assignments ahead, the most strategic thing I can do is not plan harder or work longer. It is to connect, pray, and trust that God's plan is the right one. "You do not have because you do not ask God" James 4:2.
Prayer Is Our Most Powerful Offensive Weapon: Scripture is clear that we are engaged in a spiritual battle whether we acknowledge it or not. Our enemy is real; he is strategic, and he is working overtime to keep us distracted, discouraged, and disconnected from God. But here is the good news: prayer is one of our most powerful offensive weapons against every scheme the enemy brings against us. It is how we take our stand, advance the Kingdom, and access the supernatural power of God in our daily lives. Paul understood this deeply. He wrote in Ephesians 6 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of darkness. And his prescription was not more strategy or more effort. It was prayer, persistent, bold, Spirit-led prayer that moves heaven and shapes outcomes on earth. This is why Jesus was up before dawn seeking the Father in solitary prayer before the demands of His day began. He understood that everything He was called to do required everything the Father had for Him. And He accessed that through prayer. "Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where He prayed" Mark 1:35.
As I engage in these21 days of prayer alongside my church community, I am doing so with a genuine hunger to hear from God about the season ahead. The fall is full, and I don't want to step into any of what I have planned in my own strength. I want to posture myself in alignment with His purposes. I want to encourage our community of leaders to join me in this season of intentional prayer as we transition out of summer and into fall. Show up before God consistently and honestly. Bring Him your hopes, your anxieties, your questions, and your gratitude. Pray first and pray often. And watch what He does in you and through you when prayer becomes the foundation for your life and leadership this fall.
Challenge Question: Is prayer truly the foundation of your leadership and your life right now, or has it drifted to the margins in the busyness of a full season? What would it look like to make the next21 daysa genuine season of intentional prayer as you prepare for everything God has ahead for you this fall?
Prayer: Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of prayer, that You, the Creator of the universe, invite us to come to You with everything on our hearts. As we transition into this next season, we come to You first. We bring You our plans, our hopes, our anxieties, and our ambitions and lay them at Your feet. Speak to us in this season of focused prayer. Align our hearts with Your purposes. Give us wisdom for the decisions ahead, courage for the assignments You have called us to, and the peace that only comes from resting in Your sovereignty. May prayer be the foundation of everything we build this fall. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Prayer is not the preparation for the work; it is the work.SeekHim firstthis week and watch how everything else finds its proper place. Pray first and pray often. Have a blessed week and a powerful season of prayer!