2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV) For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

The Word of God is clear that the fiercest opposition that we face as the people of God is from the spiritual realm. It is power beyond our imagination that we are up against including rulers, principalities and evil spiritual forces. By ourselves, we are no match in the spiritual warfare arena. The only hope we have is waging this war with the weapons that God has made available to us. The most powerful and effective of all the spiritual weapons that we have been given is prayer. That's why I wince a little when I hear someone say, "I can't do anything about this situation. All I can do is pray." The implication is that prayer is the last resort and the only thing left to do when all else fails and you have run out of options.

When dealing with anything in this life, prayer is where you should start, where you should continue and where you should end. There is nothing more effective and life-changing that you can do than pray. Perhaps people don't think of it that way because they haven't learned to wield the mighty weapon of prayer. You have to know how to use it. First and foremost, you have to pray with faith. That means that you believe without doubting that what you are asking, you will receive. Without faith, nothing much happens. The people in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth didn't see Him do much there for that very reason. They had no faith in Him because they had seen Him grow up. They just refused to believe in Him even though they had heard about the great and impossible miracles that He had performed elsewhere. The next issue has to do with perseverance. It is obvious from what Jesus taught that He expects us to pray and not give up. Prayer is not "one and done." You must persist in prayer. That's called praying through until breakthrough. 

People who have believed the Words of Jesus and that have persisted in prayer have experienced the miracle of answered prayer, which includes demolishing strongholds. Strongholds are things such as dark, powerful spiritual forces that we would have no hope of overcoming on our own. But did you notice that the promise is that those strongholds will not only be brought down, but will be utterly destroyed? What mightier weapon can we wield than that? Make use of that mighty weapon every day. There is always something to pray about. The reason why prayer is your mightiest weapon is because it puts you in touch with God, the Creator of the entire universe, who wields all power and authority. It connects you with His power, which is the same power that was exercised when God raised Jesus from the dead. The weapon of prayer has been given to you to use. Don't leave it collecting dust somewhere but instead, use it to come against the forces that come against you. It will always be a winning battle when you do.

Pastor Joey Vazquez