Prayer is a vital part of the Christian’s struggle against sin. Just prior to His betrayal, our Lord fervently prayed in the Garden. He told His disciples to “Pray that [they] not enter into temptation” (Lk. 22:40). When He returned from praying, He found them asleep and exhorted them again to pray (vs. 46). Obviously, Jesus considered prayer to be an important tool in overcoming temptation. In His model prayer, Jesus included: “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Mt. 6:13).
Why is prayer essential to victory over sin? If God is all-knowing, why must we bring our requests before Him in prayer? Doesn’t He already know our most pressing needs? We sometimes forget that prayer is for our benefit. Prayer is an expression of our reliance on God. We are not self-sufficient. We need God every hour of every day. We cannot live without Him for we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). But, how can ours be a walk of faith unless faith leads us to prayer reliance on the Lord? Solomon writes, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean upon your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).
Prayer is the means whereby we plug into the power of God. God is “able to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…” (Eph. 3:20). Prayer is a great resource from which we draw strength for living. It is not a crutch upon which we lean when all other sources of help have been exhausted. When temptation strikes us to the core, remember God’s promise: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). Prayer is a tremendous, but often untapped resource of spiritual strength and power.
— Glen Elliott —