Prayer is a spiritual practice that gives us spiritual victory, and the enemy knows that prayer is the way we can defeat him. This is why Ephesians 6 warns us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against forces in the heavenly or spiritual unseen realm. That battle will affect our prayer lives, because the enemy will strategically attack us in our prayer as a means to disarm our spiritual power.
So we can trust that the enemy is going to attack our prayer. Whenever you think of any kind of battle between two enemies, one thing your enemy is going to want to do is cut lines of communication with your allies because then you can’t call for help. The enemy of our souls thinks very much like this. If he can stop us from praying, he can cut off the source of our victory against him.
Maybe he’s attacking you with distracting thoughts. Maybe you feel anxious when you start to pray. Maybe you start thinking about past mistakes and all these bad thoughts come into your mind, or you just can’t focus, or you keep falling asleep. Whatever tactic the enemy is using, I want you to pray about that too. When you start to pray, say: “Lord, I feel like I’m under attack. Please clear my mind so that I can connect with You at this moment.”
The Bible tells us to:
“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV)
This means we are to pray about everything, so we should pray about anything, even when it comes to how we pray to God. Pray about your prayer.
Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of prayer and the victory it brings. Help us to recognize and overcome any attacks that hinder our communication with You. Clear our minds and strengthen our spirits as we seek to connect with You more deeply. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Reflect: What distractions or obstacles do you face when you try to pray? What strategies have helped you overcome spiritual attacks on your prayer life?