When it comes to the battle of prayer, nothing strikes me more than Elijah revealing the power of prayer to God being mightier than any other prayer, in his case, to Baal.

A prophet named Elijah, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to King Ahab, “In the name of the Lord, the living God of Israel, whom I serve, I tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next two or three years until I say so.” – 1 Kings 17:1 GNT

“The old religion against the new; the child of nature against the effeminate child of the courts; camel’s hair against soft clothing; moral strength against moral weakness.” – Meyer

Elijah was not only the prophet during the drought for when it comes to prayer, he was the cause of the drought. He prayed and it happened.

Elijah was the same kind of person as we are. He prayed earnestly that there would be no rain, and no rain fell on the land for three and a half years. – James 5:17 GNT

I get the bigger picture here too – to find myself in ungodly times (and when are they not), I should be praying asking God to make His glory known and to call those who do not know Him to Himself.

Paul was also aware and understood prayer and its power. He called all followers of Jesus to pray.

Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. At the same time pray also for us, so that God will give us a good opportunity to preach his message about the secret of Christ. For that is why I am now in prison. Pray, then, that I may speak, as I should, in such a way as to make it clear. – Colossians 4:2-4 GNT

I am sure that a sign of a maturing follower of Jesus is prayer. No different than a marriage would/would not grow with/without conversation.

I love the call to persistently pray. Yet, I am also still amazed how many times he asked for prayer for himself. He knew he could not succeed without the power of prayer. Prayer for a good opportunity, prayer for the right words and for the message to be clear.

I am also called upon to keep alert with an attitude of thankfulness to God while I pray.

“Literally the Greek means to be wakeful. The phrase could well mean that Paul is telling them not to go to sleep when they pray.” – Barclay

“Prayer should be mingled with praise. I have heard that in New England after the Puritans had settled there a long while, they used to have very often a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, till they had so many days of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, that at last a good senator proposed that they should change it for once, and have a day of thanksgiving.” – Spurgeon

I love these promises when we focus on them as we pray.

 Praise the Lord, my soul!
    All my being, praise his holy name!
Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and do not forget how kind he is.
He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
He keeps me from the grave
    and blesses me with love and mercy.
He fills my life^[b] with good things,
    so that I stay young and strong like an eagle. – Psalm 103:1-5 GNT

Here are my prayer points based on promises.

• I praise
• I praise some more 🙂
• I pray for forgiveness
• I pray for healing (physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, vocational)
• I pray for protection and deliverance
• I pray that God may provide me with everything I need
• Lastly, I pray to be restored and renewed

Prayer is having a “personal address to a personal God.” He calls prayer an address to a personal, covenant, and triune God. – Timothy Keller about Ed Clowney.