The idea of being a prayer warrior can be daunting. But even if we’re not sure how to pray, we all need prayer. So, where do you start?
I recommend these 7 characteristics of a prayer warrior to have in mind when praying for friends and family. You can also use them to find a Christian friend to pray and support you. As we learn how to pray together, we can be powerful prayer warriors for others, too.
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What makes someone a prayer warrior?
When things don’t go how you plan, what’s your initial response? For me, it can be anger, frustration, sadness, maybe rejection. And when things go according to plan, I’m happy, proud, or arrogant.
While feeling our emotions isn’t a bad thing, only responding with emotion-fueled actions can be detrimental. And this isn’t the only way to respond to life’s ups and downs. Instead we can respond with prayer, and that’s what makes someone a prayer warrior.
Being a prayer warrior is about your response.
Kara J Lovett Co.
What does the Bible say about Prayer Warriors?
Prayer warriors are Christians who respond to the good and bad circumstances of life with sincere and consistent prayer to God.
Jesus is a prime example of a prayer warrior. Read the gospels, and you’ll find numerous instances where Jesus withdrew to pray. He also taught his disciples to pray (Luke 11:1-13) and encouraged the disciples to pray with him before he was crucified (Matthew 26:36-46).
Some other notable male prayer warriors of the Bible include David, Daniel, Samson, and Elijah.
Female Prayer Warriors in the Bible
In addition to the names above, here are three female prayer warriors in the Bible – Hannah, Deborah, and Esther—whose stories exemplify the characteristics of a prayer warrior.
Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, is one of my favorite female prayer warriors. In 1 Samuel 1, she prayed through her tears for God to give her a child. The priest thought she was crazy because that’s how hard she was praying, her total attention and heart on God. I want to pray like Hanna prayed, pouring out my heart to God.
Deborah was a prophetess and judge of Israel. She urged Barak, a warrior, to gather his troops to fight one of Israel’s enemies in Judges 4. After the Israelites’ victory, Deborah prayed a song of praise in Judges 5. She is a great reminder that our prayer doesn’t always have to be asking God for things. After all, God is not a genie or a vending machine.
Prayer warriors not only ask for God to act, but also praise him for who He is and thank Him for his blessings.
What does the Bible say about praying together?
The last female warrior of the Bible I’ll mention, Queen Esther, exemplifies the power of prayer in corporate prayer.
The turning point in the book of Esther is in Chapter 4, when Esther decides that she will approach the king’s throne unsummoned so she can ask him to reverse the order to kill the Jews. But Esther doesn’t charge into the throne at that moment. Instead, she asks her Uncle Mordecai to gather the other Jews so they can all fast and pray together.
In Matthew 18:19-20, Jesus says, “’Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”’ (ESV)
So we can be assured that when we are praying together, God is with us, and he hears our prayers.
Living the Life of a Prayer Warrior
Oftentimes, we read about faithful lives of the people in the Bible yet struggle to relate it to our own lives. So, how can we be powerful prayer warriors in the 21st century in the communities and cities where we are now?
How do I become a better prayer warrior?
A prayer warrior is evident by the attitude of his/her heart and response to life circumstances. There are no seminary degree requirements or number of service hours needed to be powerful prayer warriors. The only thing we need is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and belief in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Becoming a better prayer warrior starts with having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Then, you have to invest time and energy in growing your relationship with God, as you would to strengthen any relationship.
As your relationship with God becomes stronger, your prayer life will naturally grow as well. After all, you’ll be used to talking with God daily and be able to pray back His own words from Scripture.
Duties of a Prayer Warrior – What does a prayer warrior do?
A prayer warrior is someone who uses prayer to battle whatever is going on in their life and the lives of others.
One of the duties of a prayer warrior is to remind people of the spiritual warfare going around them. It’s the call out the lies of Satan, and prayerfully ask for his deception to be revealed and removed.
Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (ESV)
When I was going to quit writing fiction because of a bad experience, I had a friend who reminded me that what was happening around me was spiritual warfare. It wasn’t just about the experience, it was about Satan trying to stop me from living out the purpose God had for me, a purpose that most certainly included writing.
Another duty of a prayer warrior is to intercede for those who are too weak to pray or don’t know what to pray. For example, while recovering from a mental health illness, there were many days where I felt too overwhelmed or angry to pray. But one of my praying friends would intercede and pray for me and over me. Even though I wasn’t the one praying, I still felt God’s comfort, and looking back, I see how God was answering my friend’s prayer.
What does the Bible say about praying friends?
In addition to the stories of female prayer warriors in the Bible, the Bible speaks of praying friends and communities coming together to pray. Here are just a few verses about the blessing of friends who pray for you.
- Matthew 18:20 – “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (ESV)
- Acts 1:12 – 14 – “And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
- Acts 4:31 – “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
- Romans 15:30 – 31 – “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.”
- Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
- Ecclesiastes 4:9 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”
7 Characteristics of a Prayer Warrior
The power of prayer is something I’ve only begun to understand in my spiritual life. One way I’ve grown to understand prayer more is having people pray for me and learning to pray for others. Along the way, I’ve learned that while prayer warriors can be different from head to toe, these 7 characteristics of a prayer warrior are attributes they all have in common.
4 Qualities of Powerful Prayer Warriors
These first 4 characteristics of prayer warrior focus on the discipline of prayer. Later, we’ll discuss how prayer warriors can be a blessing to others by being friends who pray for one another.
1 – Prayer Warriors have Faith
When we pray, we are relying on faith, trust, and hope in God. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
To be a prayer warrior, you must believe in what you’re praying and that your prayers have impact, even if you don’t see the result of your prayer immediately. God works on his own timetable, not ours.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Additionally, you must believe in whom you are praying to. The power of prayer is not in the prayer itself or even the person saying the prayer.
Prayer is powerful because of who we are praying to the Holy God who is good, righteous, and almighty.
He is sovereign over all, meaning everything is in his control and he can turn around any situation or circumstances. This is the God we are praying to for His holy intervention in our lives and the lives of our friends.
Do you have faith that He can work out all things for our good? (Romans 8:28)
2 – Prayer Warriors are Consistent
For prayer warriors, praying is a habit. They are diligent in prayer and treat prayer as a discipline of Christian living. Like all disciplines we must practice prayer consistently until it becomes a habit.
3 – Prayer Warriors have Humility
Another characteristic of a prayer warrior is humility. When you pray for your friends or yourself, you’re coming to God’s holy throne through Jesus.
Why Jesus? God is so holy and so righteous we cannot comprehend the amount of reverence he deserves. Because we all have sinned, we are tainted with sin and unable to enter the presence of God. But because Jesus has paid the penalty for our sin and clothed us in his righteousness, God sees us as righteous and without sin. This is what allows us to approach God directly on the throne of grace and pray to Him.
Little bit of a side story, but it’s worth knowing and understanding how Jesus’s sacrifice for us closed the divide between us and God, the divide that sin created. You can read more about where the power of prayer comes from in 10 Lessons and Stories to Unlock the Power of Prayer.
In summary, if we truly understand Jesus’s sacrifice, then we will approach God’s throne with humility. We know that being a prayer warrior is a gift. Being able to talk to God directly came at the highest price—Jesus on the cross.
4 – Prayer Warriors are Obedient to God
To be a prayer warrior, we must be obedient to God in other areas of our life, too. Having a clean heart and conscience allows us to pray to God unhindered. If we’re hiding sin in our lives or being disobedient, then we can’t fully experience the power of prayer.
God wants us to confess and repent of our sin and obey his commands before we come to him in prayer.
3 Blessings of Praying Friends
In addition to the first 4 characteristics of a prayer warrior, I want to highlight 4 more attributes that are particular to friends who pray for you. These attributes also out how praying friends are a blessing and joy, too.
5 – Prayer Warriors are Dependable
It always feels like the Christian thing to say is, “I’ll pray for you.” But how many of us really do pray for the person? When a prayer warrior says they will pray for you, they do.
Now, I’m trying to be more intentional when I say, “I’ll pray for you,” and follow through. I either stop what I’m doing and pray that moment or write it down to pray about it later.
6 – Prayer Warriors Speak God’s Word Over Your Life
In Matthew 4, Jesus was tempted by Satan before beginning his ministry. He fought temptation and Satan’s lies with the strongest weapon, the truth of God’s word. Powerful prayer warriors do the same. They are praying for friends with Scripture and speaking God’s word over people’s lives.
7 – Prayer Warriors are Persevering
At first glance, this characteristic of a prayer warrior may seem like a repeat of “Consistent.” On the contrary, consistency is about praying continually, daily, and at different points throughout the day. Perseverance is about continuing to pray when you’re tired, angry, disappointed, or sad or facing tough circumstances.
Persevering in prayer is like a marathon. We continue to pray for things even when we’re not seeing the results we expect or getting the answers we want.
Being a Prayer Warrior
Personally, having perseverance is the hardest part of my prayer life. What about you?
Don’t lose faith if you don’t have all these characteristics of a prayer warrior mastered. Building your prayer life is a journey, and it takes time and practice. Still, that shouldn’t stop you from being a prayer warrior friend to those around you and to yourself.
I am a Prayer Warrior with Praying Friends
One of the greatest blessings of my Christian friendships is having someone to pray for me consistently and intentionally, which is where I got the idea for this article. It’s one of those blessings you don’t realize you’re missing until you experience it. To illustrate the impact of praying friends and friends who pray for you, I’ll wrap up with a story from my own life.
The Ultimate Blessing of Friends who Pray for You
After the new year, I met my friend for coffee. While sipping from our mugs, we shared our “words” for the year. What I didn’t expect was that my friend had picked a word for me, too.
She told me that she had prayed for each of her friends, and God had given her a word to pray over them. The word God had given her for me was “Whole.” As someone recovering from brokenness, I needed that exact prayer, and God showed her that without me having to even utter a word.
That’s the power of prayer and friendship with powerful prayer warriors. So, you can bet that my friend exhibited all these characteristics of prayer warriors, and with a little time, intention, and practice, so will you.
What are other characteristics of a prayer warrior?
Leave me a comment below!
Check out More Posts about Growing in Faith:
- 10 Lessons and Stories about the Power of Prayer
- How to Find Comfort in God in Our Sorrow and Suffering
- 50 Encouraging Scriptures for Emergency Situations & Times of Trouble
- 10 Wonderful Ways to Show God’s Love to Others
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I love things. I wish to hear more about this. Thanks alot. God bless you 🤗🙏
Hi Justina, I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. I hope it helps your prayer life.
I will love to learn more about prayer and who a prayer warrior is
Hi Annie,
Thank you for your comment. The best way to learn more about being a prayer warrior is to start praying. Jesus often taught about prayer and many of His prayers are recorded in the gospels (see Matthew 6:9-13 and John 17:20-26) so spending time reading and studying those passages of scripture can be helpful in becoming a “powerful and effective” (James 5:16c) prayer warrior.
~Trish, from KJL Co.