Do Not Pray Only in Times of Crisis

Prayer, like faith, is not just for getting us out of tight spots and crises. Prayer should bathe and saturate everything we do. It is the banner that goes before us, leading all our efforts. It should come before and after all our visions and projects. It is the element that should underpin and punctuate every event and activity of our day

. Martin Luther declared: “I have so much to do that I must spend the first three hours of each day in prayer.”

I believe deeply in preventive prayer. Most of us Christians spend too much time praying to remedy problems, instead of investing our best energies in cushioning and strengthening the foundations of our lives with proactive prayers that nourish and enliven the different aspects of our existence.

Do not wait until the devil is at your door to destroy you before you begin to pray. Pray continually to keep him neutralized, to shield your life in advance against his attacks.

The best time to pray is when all is well, when there are no clouds in the sky and your heart is calm and at peace. In those times of stillness and even prosperity, like Joseph in Egypt, store up prayers in heaven for when the evil day of drought and scarcity comes. Fill yourself with such vitality and power; cover every window and door of your life so thoroughly that the Enemy, when he launches his attack and tries to hurl his fiery darts into your dwelling, finds your house fortified and protected by the walls of Heaven, raised brick by brick through your persistent prayer.