"The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is to pray."

" Prayer is striking the winning blow - service is gathering up the results."

God intends for the church, not Satan, to be the controlling factor in human affairs. In spite of all her weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings, the church is still the mightiest force in the world, because of the authority God has placed upon her. The church holds the power of life or death. Souls are saved by prayer.

When Jesus died without failing in the smallest detail, He cancelled all of Satan's legal claims upon the earth and the whole human race. Colossians 2.15 tells that Christ "spoiled principalities and powers", completely disarmed His defeated foe, and made Him "useless". In the mind of God every believer shares complete identity with Christ from the Cross to the Throne.

Prayer is an acknowledgement of need, or helplessness. Unless the church understands the absolute necessity for prayer, the power needed to overcome and bind Satan on earth will not be released. If the church does not pray, God will not act.

Eze 22:30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

:31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, ..."

There is no authority apart from persistent believing prayer. Neglect of prayer is the major reason for the spiritual anemia we see in our society today. God is doing things in other parts of the world that would boggle our minds - because people are praying there. Anything which is a substitute for effective prayer is useless as far as damaging Satan's kingdom is concerned. Without fervent prayer the church is simply operating a religious treadmill. Any church program not supported by fervent prayer is futile.