Overview 

1. Set aside time to pray
2. Prayer changes things
3. Every adversity is an opportunity for God to reveal His glory
4. Prayer in the Spirit is our spiritual weapon

Set aside time to pray

In life, we are often confronted with just how little control we really have over things and circumstances. A situation can change suddenly, a troubling report can arrive, or a problem can grow beyond any solution we can humanly devise. We may have wisdom, resources, and people around us who want to help, yet still find ourselves dealing with something that human strength cannot resolve.

Acts 12 brings us into such a moment for the early church. Among the apostles, James had been killed, and Peter arrested, with Herod intending to execute him next. To ensure that Peter did not escape, Herod had him bound in chains and guarded by 16 soldiers. In the natural, there was obviously no way out.

Yet, in the midst of such dismal circumstances, Scripture records: “constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5).

The church could not change Herod’s mind. They could not break Peter out of prison. They did not have a human solution to what was happening. But they could come together and pray, and that is exactly what they did.

They did not merely acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and carry on as usual. They gathered, interceded, and kept praying. And there are times when there is only so much we know to say with natural words. But in such moments, we can continue praying in the Spirit.

As the church prayed, God moved mightily. An angel appeared beside Peter, and his chains fell off, he walked past the guards, and even the iron gate opened before him. Sixteen soldiers had been assigned to keep one man in prison, yet when God moved, none of them could stop this man’s deliverance.

In this story, an important lesson for us is the early church’s response. They took time to pray. Faced with a crisis they could not solve, they did not allow prayer to become an afterthought. They gave themselves to it.

There are times when the weight of what we are facing calls for more than a passing prayer. We need to make room to seek the Lord—sometimes even setting aside other responsibilities for a period. Whether we need wisdom, a breakthrough, or the strength to face a crisis, set aside time to pray.

Prayer changes things

Sometimes the need to pray becomes especially urgent when trouble seems to come from several directions all at once. You begin to notice that, besides yourself, people around you are facing one difficult situation after another, and the weight of it makes you realize that this is not a moment to remain passive.

Pastor Lawrence experienced this personally this year. He was seeing attacks affecting people close to him, while also facing challenges of his own. One precious couple who had been believing God for a child received a troubling medical report concerning their unborn baby. At the same time, the father of another church leader became critically ill and was admitted to intensive care. As these situations unfolded, the answer in his heart became clear: We have to pray.

He encouraged the ministry leaders to pray and also gathered his staff to pray in the Spirit. And they began to see things turn around.

The expectant couple had received an initial test result indicating that their baby had an extra Y chromosome and was at high risk of having Jacob’s syndrome. Rather than allow the report to have the final word, they chose to stand in faith and hold on to the Lord. On the report itself, they wrote, “As Jesus is, so is my baby in this world. Healthy, whole, and no Jacob’s syndrome, in Jesus’ name.” They also stood on Psalm 139:13–14, declaring that their baby was fearfully and wonderfully made.

Pastor Lawrence, their care group members, and leaders continued praying with them, often praying in the Spirit when they ran out of words. Then a follow-up report came back showing a normal male karyotype, with no major chromosomal abnormalities detected. What had begun as a deeply troubling report ended with news that gave them every reason to rejoice.

And the church leader’s father, who had been critically ill in intensive care, also experienced a remarkable turnaround. After prayer from the church leaders, care group members, and other church friends praying in the Spirit, he was able to come off life support and was transferred to the general ward. Even the doctors were surprised by his improvement.

These situations were serious, and there was no guarantee in the natural that they would improve. But the church prayed, and there was a real turnaround.

Something happens when we pray. God hears the cries of His people. When we come together and pray, we can believe Him for deliverance, healing, miracles, and breakthroughs.

So when troubling circumstances arise, do not simply accept what you see in the natural. Pray. Gather others to pray with you. Keep praying, and believe God for the turnaround.

Every adversity is an opportunity for God to reveal His glory

The turnarounds Pastor Lawrence had witnessed highlighted a truth he wanted the church to hold on to: Every adversity is an opportunity for God to reveal His glory.

We see this clearly in the story of the children of Israel at the Red Sea. The Lord had brought them out of Egypt, yet He led them to a place where, in the natural, there seemed to be no escape. The Red Sea was before them, and Pharaoh’s army was closing in on them from behind.

No one could help them. No one knew what to do. 

Yet God already had a plan.

As Moses looked to the Lord, God miraculously opened up the Red Sea and brought His people through on dry ground. The very situation that looked impossible became the place where His power and majesty were revealed in a way the world had never seen before.

There will be moments when we face challenges we cannot explain and situations no human wisdom can resolve. But an impossible circumstance does not mean God is without an answer. The adversity before you could be the very place He reveals His power mightily.

Prayer in the Spirit is our spiritual weapon

We also need to recognize that some of the opposition we face might be spiritual. Ephesians 6 reminds us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Our real enemy is not another person. The battle is spiritual, and God has given us spiritual armor for it.

Much of that armor is defensive. It helps us stand against the enemy’s attacks.

We are girded with truth—the truth of the gospel of grace. We wear the breastplate of righteousness, knowing that our righteous standing before God is not something we achieve by our own efforts but is a gift from God. Our feet are shod with the gospel of peace because, through Jesus Christ, we now have peace with God. We take up the shield of faith, trusting in Jesus and His finished work, and we put on the helmet of salvation, holding fast to the hope He has given us.

All of these establish the believer in what Christ has already accomplished through His perfect work at the cross. Before we can even think about coming against the enemy, we first need to know where we stand with our heavenly Father. Today, we are forgiven, and we stand righteous in Christ. We are at peace with our Abba, and we live under His grace.

Then in Ephesians 6:17, Paul talks about one part of the armor that is different from the rest: the sword of the Spirit.

The sword is not merely for defense. It is also the only offensive piece in the armor of God.

The apostle then tells us to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” We need to pay attention to what Paul is saying here—we do not take up this weapon through natural strength; we take it up through praying in the Spirit.

This is why praying in tongues is so vital. There are moments when we do not know exactly what is happening behind the circumstances we see. We may not know how to pray with our understanding. But we are not helpless. We can pray in the Spirit.

The enemy may be relentless in his attacks, and we believers can be just as relentless in our response. We do not fight people, and we do not answer spiritual opposition with natural weapons. We come against the enemy with the weapon God has given us—prayer in the Spirit.

In Revelation 2, a sharp sword proceeds from the mouth of Jesus. The picture is striking. A sword would normally be held in the hand, yet here it is described as coming from the Lord’s mouth. In the same way, God has placed a weapon in every believer’s mouth.

And this weapon is not only for our own battles. Prayer in the Spirit also enables us to stand in faith with others and to intercede for them. When someone we love is facing sickness, a crisis, or an attack we do not fully understand, we do not have to stand by helplessly. We can come alongside them in prayer. Such intercession is evident throughout the testimonies Ps Lawrence shared. Leaders prayed, staff prayed, care group members prayed, and believers stood together for those who were going through difficult circumstances.

At the same time, praying in the Spirit also strengthens us from within (1 Cor. 14:4). As we pray, we are not simply responding to what is happening around us; we are being built up inwardly so that we can remain steady in faith rather than be overwhelmed by what we see around us.

Beloved, prayer in the Spirit works on more than one front. It is a weapon against spiritual opposition, a way to stand with others in faith, and a means by which we ourselves are strengthened to keep standing. So boldly wield the sword of the Spirit and keep on speaking; keep on praying in the Spirit.

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These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.