Become A Prayer Warrior | Essential Characteristics You Need

Do you have what it takes to become a prayer warrior? If your answer is “yes”, it’s important to read more about this powerful way to serve Christ.

Being a prayer warrior is both a gift from God and a calling.

Christians pray regularly because it’s part of our daily discussion with God.  Common prayer topics include a “thank you”, a request, and even a confession. God listens to them all without casting judgement.

But being a prayer warrior is slightly different. It sounds intense, right? If you feel the calling to be a prayer warrior your faith and knowledge of scripture should be strong. You should be dedicated to Christ and have a desire to help others.

In the sections below, we will take a closer look at what defines a prayer warrior and the essential characteristics to become one. Let’s get started!

What Is A Prayer Warrior

A prayer warrior is someone who fully commits to praying to God. Whether it’s during a lunch break or on the daily commute, they are always looking for opportunities to pray.

Their prayers aren’t for selfish reasons, rather, they’ve been called to pray for others. They understand there is a constant battle between good and evil, wrong and right, and they fight with prayers, for good!

As the term suggests, a prayer warrior is often intense in their approach to prayer. Intensity is not a requirement, but focus is (read my Best Ways To Spend Time With God)!

When praying, they are supremely focused on the task as hand. They are committed to prayer and use their gift of prayer to serve others in their church, community, and family.

Characteristics Of A Prayer Warrior

Everyone can pray, but can everyone be a prayer warrior?

There are no defined qualifications to become a prayer warrior. Warriors come from various backgrounds with the goal of serving Christ and others.

There are, however, a few characteristics that should be developed before becoming a prayer warrior. We’ll discuss them below.

Strong in Faith

A prayer warrior should be strong in their faith and comfortable with praying for others. Someone who is strong in their faith will usually have experienced in the church, including:

  • Long time church member
  • Small group leader
  • Praise team leader
  • Sunday school or Awana teacher

An active church member with a strong foundation of faith and Bible knowledge is a great candidate to be a prayer warrior.

Insightful

Are you insightful? Do you feel empathy with others and try to understand the lives of others? If so, it’s a great quality to have as a prayer warrior (also read The Best Christian Marriage Retreats).

An insightful person attempts to better understand those they care about. This translates to prayer and can lead to a more powerful, personalize prayer when praying for others.

Insightful people are usually perceptive and have intuition. This is important to have when serving others in prayer.

Unwavering

One word that is often tied to prayer warriors is “relentless”. A prayer warrior should be relentless and unwavering in their commitment to prayer.

Praying frequently can lead to exhaustion. Someone who is unwavering seeing the big picture and the importance of prayer.

They don’t doubt or question what they are doing, rather, they are hard workers and know why they pray. They continue to pray even when others tire.

Leader (with words and action)

Leadership is a boon to the church. We mentioned earlier that a prayer warrior should be experienced in the church and have a solid knowledge of the Bible.

A leader can come in a few forms (also read Qualities of a Small Group Leader).

When we think of a leader we usually envision someone who leads the Church choir, a Bible study group, or the pastor.

However, a leader can also lead by example. Even if they have a reserved personality, a veteran church member can often be a wonderful prayer warrior because they know the Bible and likely know how to pray powerful prayers.

Trustworthy

A prayer warrior should also be trusted. Are they responsible and someone who others can depend on? Do they live their faith and have they show themselves they can be trusted with prayers that are often personal?

A prayer warrior will likely pray for the church, for church leadership, and for new and old members. Therefore, it’s important they have a good rapport with the people they pray for.

In addition, they shouldn’t have a tendency to gossip. They are entrusted with personal details of others and they should be counted on to keep prayer requests private.

6 Steps To Become An Effective Prayer Warrior

1. Have a relationship with Christ

Make sure you have a relationship with Christ. If you’re a new believer you may want to jump in and volunteer to be a warrior.

It’s good to be involved but focus on learning as much as you can before you use your gift of prayer. Learn the basics, get involved with other areas of the church where you can grow your faith. Ask those who are strong in their faith to develop depth and understanding of what prayer is.

2. Practice prayer and commit to it daily

Paul told us, pray without ceasing. Like other skills, prayer takes time to learn. Your pastor and church leaders have likely spent decades honing their skill.

Decades of practice is not a requisite to become a powerful prayer warrior, but it certainly helps. It may sound surprising, but many Christians don’t pray every day.

It’s important to develop a routine and get in the habit of praying every day (and multiple times a day at that). Prayer warriors are relentless in their prayers and there is no limit of prayers in a day (also read: How To Do Church Outreach).

3. Learn Scripture and include it in your prayers

Learning Scripture is essential to becoming a prayer warrior. You’ll should be fluent (at least competent) in your Bible knowledge so you can refer to verses in the Bible when you pray.

The Bible is God’s word, so knowing what it contains will guide you as you pray.

4. Interact with others and offer your prayers to them

Once you’ve got a foundation in Christ and your faith is growing, you could be compelled to pray for others. You can receive prayer requests from friends and family or you can take your gift of prayer to the next step and pray for others in your church and community, some who you might now know.

A prayer warrior opens their hearts and minds to others and lets their church know they are available any time of day to pray for those in need.  If you commit to praying for someone, give them your best and give God a heartfelt prayer, time and time again.

You can even prepare for prayers with notes and scripture. You can pray alone or pray in the company of those in need.

5. Thank God for listening

Always thank God for listening. You may be relentless but God always listens. He listens to thousands of prayers at a time while you pray one at a time. He never falters and never judges. Thank Him day and night for listening!

6. Give credit to God

Above all, a prayer warrior should always give credit to God. At times we might feel powerful because we gave a good prayer or we might feel proud because those who needed prayer thanked us.

Remember that you are only the messenger of prayer. God works miracles and God answers prayers. Stay humble, even when you are working hard as a prayer warrior.

Who Shouldn’t Become a Prayer Warrior?

Are new to Christ

If you are new to Christ, it’s wise to develop a foundation of faith before praying for others. Read and study the Bible, build your faith, and volunteer in your church and community.

Practice your prayers with God. Practice in small groups and ask for feedback to improve your prayers.

Aren’t fully committed to Christ

In order to be a strong Christian you need to commit. Don’t just get your feet wet, dive in.

Many people in the church walk with one foot in faith and the other outside. A prayer warrior should lead by example and there should be no doubt about their commitment.

>> Also read: How To Invite A Friend To Church

Find it difficult to pray

If you find the act of prayer difficult then being a prayer warrior will  be a challenge.  Practice your prayers and become better at them before volutnteerring to pray for others.

With any learned skill, prayer gets better the more it is done. Make praying part of day and before you know it, praying will come easily.

Have a busy work schedule and can’t find time

Let’s face it, responsibilities are a part of life. If you have family or work obligations, it might be wise to pass on being a prayer warrior.

Rather than be a “warrior”, make yourself available to pray for others in a less intense environment. Being a prayer warrior is not a walk in the park!

Immature

Immaturity, whether it be the person or their faith is something that isn’t conducive to being a prayer warrior. Becoming a prayer warrior requires mental strength and a mature faith.

An immature prayer warrior may forget to pray for those who need it, or brush off the importance of their responsibility. Similarly, they may complain or gossip about those they are praying for.

Conclusion

Becoming a prayer warrior is a serious decision for you and your family. It’s a great opportunity to share your prayer gift with others and positively impact your church community.

If you’re thinking about being a prayer warrior consider the characteristics that will make you successful. The list we’ve provided is a general guide to what makes an effective warrior in prayer.

Consider your skills and abilities and compare them to the characteristics we have listed.

Don’t forget to consult leaders in your church to learn how your gift of prayer can best be used. Pray and ask God whether the opportunity is right for you.