Be A Prayer Warrior in God’s Army!
From the desk of Rev Tay 18 January 2026
Oswald Chambers, the writer of the classic work My Utmost For His Highest, “Prayer is not the preparation for the battle; it is the battle. The battle of Calvary was won in Gethsemane.”
This is taught both in the Old and New Testaments. When the Israelites were battling the Amalekites, Moses was on top of the hill, lifting his staff. Whenever the stuff was lifted high, the Israelites won. Whenever the Israelites were defeated because Moses was tired, the Amalekites won. The lifting of the stuff signified the people’s prayer. (Ex 17)
In the book of Ephesians, Paul urges believers to put on the armour of God and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and charge forth by “pray(ing) in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Eph 6:18)
In other words, believers rely on prayers to win spiritual battles. For example, in organising a gospel rally, prayers sustain the preparatory work and every aspect of the day, such as preaching, the weather, attendance, the functioning of the PA system, and the hearts of the hearers… etc.
Once, Rev Spurgeon brought a group of visitors to a basement room of his church and told them, “This is the engine room of the church”. They saw no engines but a group of people on their knees, holding hands, praying. Indeed, prayer meetings are the pulse of a church. It is weak when the church is weak.
Rev Lai taught us that a church revival begins with prayer meetings. However, prayer meetings often have low attendance, especially when life in Singapore is so hectic. I know of a few churches that are trying to boost attendance by moving prayer meetings to Sunday. But they see no improvement and eventually have to call it off.
Oh, how powerful the church could be when every member is a prayer warrior! That was why we started the “Prayer Warrior’s Pledge” in 2016. Since then, brothers and sisters have gathered at a prayer meeting every year to take or renew the pledge as an army of prayer for the church.
I urge you, brothers and sisters. Take home this call and think about how you may restructure your weekly schedule to make time for prayer meetings in 2026. The Lord will grant you wisdom to do that. Some of us come every week, some fortnightly, others monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly. You decide for yourself how often you come. This is a pledge, not a vow. So come! Come to the engine room of our church next Wednesday evening, 21 January, to take the pledge together. We will prepare the pledge and dinner for you. Thereafter, we shall recite with joy, “I am a soldier, a prayer warrior, in the army of Christ!”
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