The enemy is constantly trying to put ceilings and limitations on our lives. Sometimes, he even gets our help doing it. Yes, we can put limitations on our own lives and even on our prayer lives and not even know it. However, the devil can’t stop any believer from moving into what God has for them if they persevere in prayer.
Each time that we move to another spiritual level, there will be opposition that will try to put a ceiling on our lives. Don’t let the devil box you in and limit what God wants to do in you and through you. To go to the next level, you have to change your internal attitudes and your actions. Breaking through those ceilings and limitations is not something that is just going to happen. We have to press in and pray.
This isn’t going to happen by filling your day with social media or getting caught up in the things of this world. It’s going to happen through prayer. We have to make prayer a priority.
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. – Matthew 26:36 KJV
Notice that Jesus left the crowds behind to attend to the things that were most important. He retreated to be by Himself so He could spend time with the Father in prayer. Jesus broke through the ceiling that the enemy tried to put on His life and obtained that which He was anointed to do.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. – Matthew 26:37-39 KJV
Our Lord was consecrating Himself and His will to the will of God. If we’re going to go beyond where we are and break through any ceiling that the enemy is trying to put on our lives, we have to be consecrated to doing what the Lord wants us to do. We can’t do what we want to. If we do what we want to do, we’re going to be doing it in our own strength, our own power, and our own anointing. And all of that is going to quickly fade away, and we’re going to fail. The provision of God is found in the will of God.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. – Matthew 26:40-41 KJV
The oppression from the enemy was so great that it was easier to sleep than to pray. You can have a mighty declaration and say you’re going to do something, but if you don’t pray it out, you’re not going to walk it out. That’s exactly what happened to Peter. That’s why he denied the Lord. The oppression was so great that he didn’t pray out what he wanted to walk out. His words outran his prayers. If you’re going to obey, you have to pray.
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. – Mark 14:37-38 KJV
We can have a desire to do something great for God, but we have to have the anointing of God to do it as well. That comes through prayer. You’ll never conquer the flesh until you walk in the spirit, and you’ll not walk in the spirit until you pray. Prayer will give you the strength for your flesh to line up with your will and with God’s will. You’re either going to fall into temptation and go back or breakthrough and go forward. There is no standing still.
We have to stand up to the devil and all of his attacks. If we don’t, we’re not going to move forward and do what God wants us to do and what we want to do. We let devils get away with things we wouldn’t let our spouse get away with. We let the devil get away with things we wouldn’t let our kids get away with. If we’re going to do what God has called us to do—what needs to be done in the earth—we have to take a stand. That stand is taken in prayer.
There is a price to pay to move into the perfect will of God. Charles Finney prayed during his meetings from 4 a.m. until 8 a.m. and had great results. You don’t have to start there. It wouldn’t hurt, but start where you’re at and grow into it. If you’re going to break through those limitations that the devil is trying to put on you, you’re not going to do it through physical strength or human wisdom. It’s going to happen through the power of God working through you, and that is found in prayer.
