And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people (Ephesians 6:18).

I was recently encouraged by a friend to commit to the 45-day prayer challenge. She was prompted to do it because she had heard some miraculous stories of amazing things that God did through other people who had already completed the prayer challenge. She wanted to be a part of it and so did I. 

The first step was to choose one person and pray for them daily for 45 days. I decided to set an alarm on my phone for 2 pm every day to remind me to pray. I also decided to keep a journal to record what I observed. I was expecting God to work in this person’s heart and life, so I wanted to look out for what He might do. 

 I chose to pray for a person who had struggled for a long time. I had tried to help him but nothing seemed to work. It occurred to me that maybe more was going on than just what I could see. Maybe there was something at work in the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Three days into my prayer challenge, I had already observed a couple of positive changes. I recorded those in my journal.  I also felt pretty sure that God was working in ways that I couldn’t see as well. Whether or not I could physically see any changes, I still committed to praying daily.  In Ephesians 6:18, we are told to “…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Ephesians 6 compares us to soldiers under God’s command. He gives us the authority to pray and responds to those prayers with power. We all have the chance to take up the call to pray. We can fight on our knees in the name of our Commander.  Since I started praying for my chosen person, there have also been some circumstances that got worse. I’m not sure if it’s a result of spiritual warfare or his sin. However, I’m trusting that God is at work and will use those things for good in the future. I believe in faith that He will work in mighty ways. Hopefully, I will be able to share the fruit of my prayers with you one day in a future devotional.

Is there a people-related, work-related, or community-related item that you feel led to pray about? You could write it down and put a reminder somewhere you could see every day. Then pray, “God help______.”  You fill in the blank. Commit to praying every day for 45 days and see how God works through your prayers to affect the spiritual environment in the places and relationships you’ve been called to.