Characteristics and Duties of a True Prayer Warrior

Praying alone fervently is already a virtue. But God’s victory is empowered by the supplications of a prayer warrior. 

Praying is the closest thing that links us with God. Praying to the Lord always has a purpose, and we pray for many different reasons. We pray to give thanks for God’s blessings or to offer our requests before His mercy. 

We are all called to pray. But some give the extra hand in winning our battles in prayer. They are called prayer warriors. This article helps us learn about prayer warriors and how to effectively become one.

What is a Prayer Warrior

We know that all of us are called to pray. However, there is a deeper meaning to how Christians pray. For example, in Philippians 4:6–7, God calls us through the apostle Paul to not be anxious, but instead in everything, with thanksgiving, we should let our requests be made known to God through prayers.

A prayer warrior is passionately living a life of prayer. Not only do they pray for their afflictions and requests, but they take on the challenge to pray for others too. We already know what prayer is, it is one of the intimate ways to spend time with God. But, what does a warrior mean? 

The apostle Paul warns us of the ongoing spiritual battle against the evil one. In Ephesians 6:11-12, he wrote, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” 

Take note that he said we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, thus, we do not take being a “warrior” in its literal sense.

A prayer warrior then is God’s servant with a spiritual armor that can withstand the schemes of the evil working against the Lord’s kingdom. Through praying, a warrior joins the ongoing spiritual warfare and intercedes for others who are in need.

Characteristics of a Prayer Warrior

However, there are some believers and Christians who are more prayerful than others and practice a more fervent prayer life. Being a prayer warrior, though is more than a lifestyle. There are certain virtues and traits that a prayer warrior possesses. Although the characteristics of a prayer warrior listed below are not all-inclusive, these are some of the most common that are presented by a dedicated prayer warrior.

Heart for prayer

A prayer warrior has the heart of prayer, which means having a pure intention of offering their prayer supplications before God. Prayer warriors understand the spiritual warfare that they are facing. Having a strong heart anchored in prayer is one of their armors in the spiritual war they are marching toward their victory for the Lord.

God-centered

The most important characteristic of prayer warriors is being God-centered. All their prayer supplications are anchored on their faith in God. They pray with faith in God’s word and they summon the Holy Spirit in their prayer battle.

Emphatic

The prayer supplications of a prayer warrior are not confined to their benefits and requests. Prayer warriors recognize the injustice and discomfort of others. One characteristic of a true prayer warrior is being emphatic and sensitive to the social issues around them even if these do not affect them directly. It is one of the best traits that makes a good prayer warrior.

Perseverance

Patience is a good place to nurture a prayer life. Perseverance on the other hand is what makes a prayer habit more resilient. Prayer warriors are persevering in the sense that they do not give up on their prayer supplications even if these are not yet fulfilled by God. They understand that there are things that the Lord differently plots in our lives that do not necessarily align with what we want them to be. Prayer warriors do not doubt God’s truth. They are relentless in praying for their petition because they trust in God’s grace until such time that victory is won for them.

Loving

Prayer warriors live in the truth that God is love. All that Christians do to advance God’s kingdom is for their love for God. Their love for others also is a seed that makes them true prayer warriors. Mirrored in the unconditional love that God gave us, prayer warriors also offer their love to serve God through loving their brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Without any hope for a reward, prayer warriors offer to fight the spiritual forces on behalf of, or together with others because of love.

5 Steps on How to Be a Prayer Warrior

Understand the ongoing spiritual battle

There is an undeniable war between good and evil. We see it every day in our own life. We view “good” as those imitating the work and life of the Lord Jesus Christ as a righteous person, and “bad” as those who deliberately disobey God. One must understand the ongoing spiritual battle to fight for the right side of the war.

Submit to God and be His instrument

Praying is only one way of connecting with the Lord. Submitting oneself to be used by the Lord in the fight for victory is another thing. To be an effective warrior, one must fight the battle not relying on his strength but must surrender to God and His mighty hand.

Recognize the true enemy

The battlefield of the spiritual war is any other warzone. It might get blurry when times are tough. But between two armies, one will not be swayed to fight for the wrong side when one recognizes the true enemy, which is the evil one.

Seek for the Holy Spirit to prepare for the spiritual battle

The Holy Spirit helps intercede for us in all tribulations that we face. Seeking guidance and help from the Holy Ghost is a wise choice, especially when preparing for an important battle such as this. Remember that the Holy Ghost is one of the trinitarian faces of God and acts as the protector against all evil.

Be consistent in prayer and get others to do the same

In Matthew 18:20 it is written, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Being consistent in what we are praying for and encouraging others to join the fight for peace against evil can deliver victory to our doorstep faster and stronger. The power of a prayerful army can speak truth against sin and the evil working against God.

Duties of a Prayer Warrior

Usually, when we are praying for something, we tend to focus on our requests and appeals that would benefit us directly. Sometimes, when we are going through troublesome times, we tend to zoom in on our prayers. Prayer warriors do the opposite. They respond to the call of a life of prayer and being one to lead the spiritual warfare against the true enemy. Aside from actually praying, here are some duties of a good prayer warrior.

• Learning the Scriptures. God’s word in itself is power. Learning about the word of God helps one to become a prayer warrior that is anchored in God’s promises.
• Meditating on God’s commandments. A true follower of the Lord also strives to keep His commandments. To be an effective prayer warrior, one must be mindful of living the life that Jesus chose to have, which is obedience to the Heavenly Father.
• Attentive and alert in praying. In ongoing spiritual warfare, prayer warriors recognize the important and urgent areas to pray for and win the victory early.
• Controlling oneself against the enemy and temptations. Although we are all human, a good prayer warrior shies himself away from temptations as these distract one from the true mission.
• Keeping humility through suffering. Do not falter and give up when the road gets bumpy. Keep your humility in suffering and trust the Lord and rest in Him before fighting the battle again.

Prayer Warriors in the Bible

While we see many prayer warriors in our modern times in large churches and prayer meetings, there are also notable prayer warriors in the Bible whom we can model our prayer life. Presented below are five strong prayer warriors in the Bible, and how they wear the full armor of being a prayer warrior.

King David

King David is an image of a great king and a warrior in the literal sense. But beyond the battlefield, King David manifested a consistent prayer life. He has enormous faith in God by praying that the Lord will win the victory for him every time. His prayers are well documented in his psalms.

Psalm 3 is a Psalm of David written when he fled from the rebellion of his son Absalom. It is one of the powerful prayers of King David that show how God works if we put our full trust in him.

“O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” –Psalm 3:1-3

In this prayer psalm, we can see that in times of despair and under threat, King David still trusted the Lord to save him from his enemies. This reminds us that prayer warriors are resilient and put their full trust in the Lord until victory is won for us.

King Jehoshaphat

The great prayer of King Jehoshaphat of Judah when his land was invaded is told in 2 Chronicles 20. Along with preparing for war, King Jehoshaphat turned to God like a prayer warrior to save them from their enemies.

‘‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’’ – 2 Chronicles 20:9

Even though he has an army and artillery at his disposal, he still turns to the most powerful weapon: prayer. True enough, God heard his prayer, and through the Holy Ghost, He told him to not be afraid and dismayed for the battle is not theirs to fight but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Jeremiah

The prophet Jeremiah is a witness of God’s wrath upon Judah due to the nation’s sin. Jeremiah, in his preaching of the word of God, has been mocked and persecuted. Many times in the Bible verses, we have seen Jeremiah whine and complain before God. And when he prayed for the people of Judah, God even said no to him. But what did Jeremiah do? He did not give up!

“Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” – Jeremiah 33:2-3

Jeremiah was one of the longest to practice a prophetic life. In all 52 books on his Bible account, Jeremiah did not falter in talking to God on behalf of the people. Even if God raged on his people, Jeremiah did not give up to pray and asking for amends from them. The Scripture above proves that if we are relentless in our supplications, God will eventually save us from all the present darkness and will open doors in His kingdom for us.

Paul

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul devoted himself to making Jesus known and His life works. Paul and his friends served in building the church of Christ Jesus. By living this ministry, Paul had many times prayed for others. One great prayer of Paul was when he was imprisoned.

“For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” – Ephesians 3:14-19

Even though Paul is in prison at the time, he did not falter in his prayers for others. His prayer for spiritual strength in the Bible verse above is a mark that he indeed is a good prayer warrior worthy of emulation.

Jesus

The greatest example of a prayer warrior in the Bible is none other than the Son of God Himself, Jesus! Not only that Jesus Christ taught us how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13, but Jesus chose to live His ministry centered on prayer. Even if He is the Christ, He did not fail to show His believers that faith in our heavenly Father’s power can overcome all evil. Further, like a true warrior, Jesus did not only pray for things that concern Him, but He also prayed on behalf of His followers.

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” – John 17:15

We can see that even if Jesus knew that His destination is in the heavenly places with God, He has not forsaken His people and prayed to God for their safety.

How to Pray Like a Prayer Warrior

Now that we know what a prayer warrior is and the characteristics of an ideal one, we must take the real step in joining the spiritual battle. We were taught to pray to God, in the name of Jesus and summon the miracle of the Holy Spirit. To become prayer warriors, we must know how to complete our supplications and start praying to usher in God’s power as a warrior.

Here’s a guide that might help you pray like a prayer warrior as supported by the Scriptures:

• Seek God’s heavenly power
  “Call to me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” – Jeremiah 33:3
  
• Acknowledge the help of the Holy Spirit
  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” – Romans 8:26
  
• Be a line of prayer defense for others in the name of love
  “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” – 1 John 4:7
  
• Declare that the victory is already won by the Heavenly Father
  “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

In Summary

God calls on all of us to pray. Being constant in prayer and helping others by praying for them entails great effort. But with the help of our faith in our commander Jesus, we take on the challenge as God’s warriors to stomp on satan’s plans.

Being the prayer warriors of God, we help to overcome bad circumstances or even prevent bad things by fervently interceding for them. Being a prayer warrior also helps unveil the truth of God and helps engage others in discovering it. 

Later, when the war is won and victory will be God’s, so will the eternal inheritance be graciously given to us. Indeed, praying helps trample the evil that disturbs our peace. But prayer warriors help win spiritual battles and win the spiritual war by constantly praying for others especially those who could not, and those who chose not to.