CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 866

“Cover Me”

I pray for them…Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one…My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… (John 17:9 NIV)

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The point man needs to gain a tactical position against the enemy. He looks back at his team and says ‘cover me’. They provide a hail of gunfire causing the enemy to hunker down allowing him to advance through an open area of greater vulnerability. While a barrage of gunfire is an effective temporary protective cover in urban warfare, prayer cover is what is required to afford around the clock protection in the urban warfare of everyday life in this world.

God’s Word tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) An effective tactic of an enemy is to take down the leaders first. “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7). Jesus informed Simon Peter that Satan had sought to sift him as wheat but that He had provided him with prayer cover. (Luke 22:31) Our moral integrity and character is tested through temptation. We are sifted to see what we are made of. Will our moral character be nothing but chaff or will it be proven to be the character of Christ in us – pure and holy?

Hardly a day goes by that we do not see or hear about leaders who suffer moral failure. Leaders are found at all levels from parents to priests to presidents. They are all targets of the enemy. Corporate and government leaders give in to greed and the lust of the flesh and the ripple effect of their failure is felt for years to come. Priests, Rabbis, Ministers, and other church leaders succumb to moral failure with devastating results that ripple through their fellowship. Teachers, coaches, parents and troop leaders are caught in inappropriate moral behavior. The victims of their moral indiscretion are widespread and the lasting emotional scars adversely affect them and society as a whole for generations to come.

We need prayer cover 24/7. Our leaders need prayer cover 24/7. All those who are part of our lives from family to friends to coworkers and acquaintances need prayer cover 24/7. God’s Word exhorts us to pray and Jesus set the example when He prayed for His disciples as the future church leadership.

In your prayer time allow the Holy Spirit to bring to mind those who need prayer cover and intercede on their behalf in the power of the Name of Jesus. Let us not leave them vulnerable to the attack of the enemy. As the Lord places them on your heart throughout the day, may you hear them say ‘cover me’ and pause to provide prayer cover for them. …The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)