These past few years, I’ve written a lot about my practice of prayer walking. And I’ve been asked if it’s like marching around a wall trying to bring it down. That made me wonder: What if the way we think about prayer has quietly shaped how we experience God? I’ve struggled with writing this post. The people pleaser in me doesn’t want to ruffle feathers. But when God gives me a topic, I obey His prompting. This week I kept hearing, “it’s about communion, not combat.” When prayer is experienced primarily with a sense of urgency to fight, it’s not surprising that we’ve come to speak of it in battle language. Prayer has become our weapon as we wage spiritual warfare. We stand firm and push back against the darkness. The imagery is vivid and deeply familiar to many of us.
And yet, when we turn our attention to Jesus, a quieter, more peaceful picture emerges. There is a gentle and consistent pattern in His life that is easy to overlook: Jesus does not model prayer as a place of confrontation. Again and again, Jesus steps away from the crowds. He seeks solitude. He speaks with God in private. And from that place of intimacy, His authority increasingly flows. When confrontation with evil comes, it is brief and decisive, but it happens FROM time spent in prayer, not within it.
Communion, Not Combat
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Mt 6:9-13 ESV
When Jesus teaches us the Lord’s Prayer, He begins with simple, relational words: Our Father. This prayer is founded on a relationship. It centers our attention on God’s name and His position in our lives. Only near the end do we hear the words, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
With the words “Deliver us,” Jesus teaches us to place ourselves in the Father’s care. Seen this way, prayer becomes less about our efforts and more about relaxing in His arms. This also sheds light on why Jesus tells the disciples that their inability to cast out a demon was connected to prayer and fasting. He does not point them toward more forceful techniques, but toward the kind of life from which authority naturally flows, a life shaped by closeness to God.
Prayer, then, is not a weapon we wield. It is an embrace of communion.
It is where trust is formed, surrender is practiced, and our lives are slowly aligned with the heart of God. Perhaps the invitation of prayer is simpler than we’ve imagined. Not to strive harder or speak louder, but to return, again and again and again, to the presence of our loving Father. Prayer does not require us to be fierce; it asks us to make space for Him. In a world that teaches us to daily brace ourselves, prayer gently reminds us that we are already lovingly held by the hands of our Father.
*For those of you who prayer walk, ponder the phrase, “communion, not combat” and relax in His presence. For this week’s screensaver click here. To access my YouVersion Bible App devotional plans click here.