Do you often feel like you are on the defensive against the devil?  You pray from crisis to crisis, asking God to deliver you from the latest mess in which you find yourself.  Or maybe you find yourself only praying for your family or others AFTER something happens to them. We react to these circumstances with desperate prayer in hopes that God will intervene. How different would our prayers be if we prayed proactive prayers instead of reactive prayers?

Recently, I attended a conference in which Dr. Chuck Lawless led a session on spiritual warfare and prayer.  Dr. Lawson is a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and has studied spiritual warfare for over 20 years.  At the conference he introduced us to the idea of praying proactively. In a recent blog,“12 Strange Ways We Pray,” he exposes the folly behind some of our most reactive prayers.

Praying reactively is like waiting for a downpour before you open your umbrella.  Proactive prayers either prevent or prepare us and those for whom we pray for life’s difficulties.  So allow me to suggest some proactive prayers you should pray.

[Tweet “Praying reactively is like waiting for a downpour before you open your umbrella.”]

5 Proactive Prayers You Should Pray

1.  Pray that you will not succumb to temptation.

Jesus told his disciples to be alert and pray so that they would not fall into temptation (Mark 14:38).  He taught us to pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). Why do wait until temptation comes before we pray?

2.  Pray for your family.

If your children are not yet married, offer proactive prayers for their future spouse.  If they are married, pray that their marriage will be strong and Christ centered.  Pray for the salvation of your children.  If they are already believers, pray that they will walk closely with the Lord and boldly before others. 

3.  Pray for your pastor and church leaders.

As a pastor, I can testify that we ALWAYS need your prayer.  Sometimes when you think you are praying proactively for your pastor, unbeknown to you he faces a challenge at that moment.   Don’t wait for the rain to fall on your church leaders before you open an umbrella of prayer over them.  Pray proactively.

4.  Pray for law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and first responders.

Pray for their safety and effectiveness.  Whenever you see a patrol car, fire truck, or ambulance pray for the men and women who occupy them.  Pray they will have a safe shift and return home safely to their family.

5.  Pray for missionaries near and far.

Finally, you can pray proactively that our missionaries with be both fruitful and faithful.  Pray that God will keep them from the evil one.  Don’t wait to hear of a natural disaster or catastrophic news event, pray proactive prayers.

[Tweet “Don’t wait for the rain to fall on your church leaders before you open an umbrella of prayer over them. Pray proactively.”]

The list could continue, but you get the picture.  We will always have need to intercede for the sudden needs of others and ourselves, and those prayer are important.  Instead, learn to get into the habit of filling your prayer time with proactive prayers.  Don’t let a situation arise before you pray, let the situation find you already in prayer.

[Tweet “Don’t let a situation arise before you pray, let the situation find you already in prayer.”]

Feel free to hit the comment button above and share other proactive prayers you currently pray.  We would love to hear from you. Or click on of the links below to read a related post on prayer.