I am so glad that you are here today as we wrap up our series, Spiritual Habits, with one of the most powerful and life-changing habits of all, prayer. Prayer is more than words we speak to God; it is the breath of our spiritual life. It draws us close when the world tries to pull us away. It anchors us in his presence when everything else is shaking. And it shapes us daily into the likeness of Jesus.

It is for that reason that the Holy Spirit gives us this simple command through the apostle Paul, a command that carries supernatural weight:

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).

Today, I want to focus on just two words, “Pray continually,” because those two words have the power to transform a life, a family, and even a generation. To pray continually shakes the routine out of religion, because the Holy Spirit isn’t calling us to a schedule—He’s calling us to a lifestyle.

In other words, this isn’t about occasional devotion; it is about continual communion with the living God. It is a spiritual habit, a rhythm that keeps your heart beating in sync with heaven, because prayer is as natural to your spirit as breathing is to your body.

Prayer is essential because there is a crushing that many of God’s people are walking through. The apostle Paul said it this way,

“We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8).

In other words, we all want deliverance from the pressure shaping us, but the truth is we can’t become who God called us to be without walking through it. The Bible tells us:

“Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Those seasons of crushing produce what we wouldn’t even know to pray for, and yet God, in his wisdom, answers the prayers we never thought to pray.

Last week, I began something that stirred a strong reaction in the spirit realm. As I was preaching, a wave of spiritual warfare broke out so suddenly that I questioned whether to continue the series at all. But deep down, I sensed the Lord saying, “Stay right here.” In that moment, I knew that the enemy couldn’t stop what God had already set in motion. I’m sharing this because some of you are standing on the threshold of something significant today, and the resistance you’re feeling is confirmation that breakthrough is near.

Now, I don’t often talk about spiritual warfare, but there are moments when the enemy unleashes everything he can to wear you down, confuse your faith, and make you question your calling. Peter understood this kind of testing when he said,

“Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).

In other words, the battle you’re facing is not random—it’s evidence that you’re a threat to the kingdom of darkness. Hell doesn’t waste its energy on what isn’t dangerous to its plans. That’s why Paul reminds us to stay equipped and alert, saying,

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11).

Last week, we were in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, talking about walking by faith, and today we are going to go back in order to go forward. In other words, our relationship with God always begins with prayer. There is a direct correlation between faith and prayer. Faith stirs hope, and that hope compels us to cry out to God.

And so, last week we were in a season of conflict and controversy as we looked at Numbers chapter 13, where twelve men were sent to explore the promised land. Ten returned with a fearful report, because they were walking by sight, but Joshua and Caleb walked by faith, declaring that the land was good and that we could take it.

When we looked at the showdown between Caleb, Joshua, and the other ten spies, we saw that Caleb’s courage wasn’t random, it was a divine setup. In other words, spiritual strength is the mark of people who know their God, and it is that strength that allows them to step into what others only dream about. And so, what God has assigned to your life is due; what he has placed in your spirit long ago is ready to be released.

God arranges showdowns when the world needs to be reminded that he alone is God. In fact, God is often ready for us before we are ready for ourselves because he,

“Makes known the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10).

And so, he already knows the exact moment when you will be prepared and ready to move. He knows when a mighty move of his Spirit is needed to realign his purposes on the earth. These moments produce revival —not on our timetable, but on God’s.

Like Caleb and the other ten spies, every believer encounters conflict, a confrontation between who you think you are and who God knows you to be. Sometimes, he allows confrontation so that you are forced to evaluate what has been holding you back. And so, when something starts limiting your faith or hindering your purpose, God sets the stage for confrontation, because he won’t let his calling in you be compromised.

There are showdowns between your circumstances and God’s sovereignty, between your will and God’s will—when your desires collide with His direction. But the greatest showdown happens within you, in the quiet battle no one else sees. It’s the struggle that takes place in your prayer closet, where the Holy Spirit whispers, “This can’t stay. This has to go.”

Some of you are in that moment right now. God has been speaking to your heart, saying, “We need to deal with this” because the Bible says:

“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” (1 Corinthians 5:6).

Even one unaddressed sin can spread and bring corruption, not only to your life but to the body of Christ, unless it’s removed.

You may have been relying on God’s grace, but grace isn’t just for covering—it’s for changing. Grace was never meant to leave us where we are; it’s divine empowerment, God’s strength working in you to do what you could never do on your own. When grace is used as an excuse to tolerate what God is trying to transform, it ends up blocking the very thing He wants to release in your life.

Now is the time for a showdown, because whatever the Holy Spirit is bringing to your attention right now is exactly what He’s calling you to confront. This is a holy moment—a season of refining and realigning—as God prepares His people for what comes next.

To understand what that looks like, let’s look at the prophet Elijah. He shows us how to stand firm and carry yourself when God brings you face-to-face with what must change. Elijah is one of the most remarkable figures in Scripture. He appears suddenly, without introduction—moving differently, speaking boldly, and walking in a power that can’t be explained. Yet there’s no denying that he was sent by God.

Sometimes heaven endorses people that earth never expected, and I believe God is doing it again. He is about to raise up men and women who have been hidden in obscurity. God saw you praying when no one else noticed. He saw your faithfulness when others drifted away. He saw you

“Seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

Now he is preparing to release you publicly because He has already approved you privately. You may not have a title, certificate, or degree—but you have mastered His presence.

That is what we see right from the beginning in first Kings chapter 17, Elijah declared before King Ahab,

“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain... except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1).

In other words, he could stand with authority before a king because he served the Lord, the God of Israel. His confidence didn’t come from status or pedigree; it came from God’s presence. That’s what made him unshakable; he could confront kings because he had already bowed before the King of kings.

That is where God is calling the church to live, so deeply rooted in his presence that no circumstance, no opposition, and no person can intimidate us. When you are anchored in God’s presence, you can say, like Elijah, "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve..."

Worship this morning was powerful, and you might say the worship team brought us into the presence of God. But the truth is, worship doesn’t bring us into his presence; it brings us to an awareness of his presence. In other words, God is omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere, all the time. And so, worship doesn’t bring us into his presence; it awakens our awareness of it, increasing our spiritual sensitivity so that we recognize the God who is already there.

For example, the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord high and exalted and the angels were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).

The prophet Habakkuk said,

“The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (Habakkuk 2:14).

And so, since God’s glory fills the earth, it is our awareness that needs to be awakened. Because, before a song was sung or a note was played, God was already here. Our response is to practice his presence, to stay aware of him in every moment, because when your awareness shifts, everything else does too.

Therefore, we want to live our lives in such a way that even when we are standing in front of our enemy, our trouble, or the doctor’s report, we are still standing before the Lord. Because when we are aware of his presence, our perspective changes, and we can declare confidently:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

And so, wherever you go, God is already there, but fear grips us when we lose our awareness of that truth.

The prophet Elisha’s servant was overwhelmed with fear, so Elisha prayed,

“Lord, open his eyes so he may see” (2 Kings 6:17).

In that moment, the servant’s eyes were opened, and “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17).

Suddenly, he realized that they weren’t surrounded by the enemy—the enemy was surrounded by the armies of heaven.

Jesus lived that way too, because he said,

“The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (John 5:19).

And so, he was able to move in confidence because his focus stayed on his Father.

When we are aware of his presence, our perspective changes, and so I want to encourage you to stop staring at what is against you and start looking to the One who is for you.

David said, “I have set the Lord always before me... I will not be shaken.”

“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).

So, lift your eyes to the hills, fix your focus, and tell him, “I need to see you.” Sometimes you have to close your eyes to everything else before you can truly see him. And when you do, you are ready for your showdown, because the Bible says,

“Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Neither Elijah, Joshua, nor Caleb could wait until the showdown to get ready—their preparation started long before the battle. It happened in God’s presence. The more time you spend with Him, the stronger you’ll stand when it matters most. When you’re aware of His nearness, even when everything around you shakes, His throne is still unshakable. That’s why the Bible says,

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

This kind of faith—this steady awareness of God’s presence—comes only from a personal relationship with Him.

Your relationship with God qualifies you for your assignment, but it requires a daily rededication. If his mercies are new every morning, then our surrender should be as well, and so we want to:

“Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1).

Prayer is how we practice his presence. Every day we come before him in surrender and repentance, not just when we have stumbled, but to stay pure before him, we pray like David prayed:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).

That is the spiritual habit of someone who refuses to allow themselves to drift from the presence of God.

This kind of living is intentional—it doesn’t happen by accident. The world is radical about darkness, rebellion, and sin, so we must be just as radical about holiness, purity, and faith. It is our continual prayer that keeps our hearts tender and our spirits sensitive to His voice.

Through prayer, you stay in step with the Spirit, hearing what heaven is saying in every season and staying aligned with the flow of His Word because we know that...

“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

And so, God’s Word is not optional—it’s your daily bread and your provision. But the Word only works when it’s mixed with faith. You can quote it all day, but it won’t bear fruit until you obey it. The Bible says,

“Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will prosper” (2 Chronicles 20:20).

In other words, if he tells you to go, go. If he tells you to give, give. If he tells you to speak, speak. And every step of obedience brings provision with it, but it is prayer that keeps you close enough to hear the instruction and strong enough to follow it.

In this age, we are in a season to treasure every word God speaks. When he stirs your spirit, move, because your obedience releases what he has already prepared. But it all comes down to this, Elijah asked,

“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).

Your life reveals what you truly believe, not by what you say, but by how you move.

I want to encourage each one of you to settle it once and for all, the Lord is God. That’s important to establish because the Bible says:

“Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

Faith is how you win, but prayer is how you stay positioned to win. When you live by faith, you move with confidence; not just hoping God will come through, but thanking Him in advance, knowing that He already has.

When you face opposition with the right heart and posture, it can spark revival. I believe that we are living in a divine season of restoration where futures are being unlocked and destinies reignited. The intensity of the warfare is proof that hell senses what heaven is about to release.

So, when the Holy Spirit stirs something in your heart, take it as confirmation. Act on it and respond in faith. Let this be the moment where God’s Word and your faith meet; producing revival, restoration, and release in your life.

Surely, we don’t want to be those of whom the Bible says:

“The message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Hebrews 4:2).

As we close, I want to invite the worship team to come up.

If the Holy Spirit is stirring your heart this morning, don’t hesitate—move in faith. Be like the woman who pressed through the crowd until she touched Jesus. This isn’t about emotion; it’s about obedience.

That’s why Jesus filled you with the Holy Spirit. Lift your hands and begin to pray in the Spirit. Remain in Him, and He will remain in you. Let prayer become your posture. Be a people who moves when He moves and wait when He waits.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).

Every great move of God begins this way—when God speaks and His people respond. When the Holy Spirit nudges you, don’t overthink it, just move. This is what it means to live a Spirit-led life, cultivating the habit of continual prayer that keeps heaven open over you.

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

Seek the Lord while He may be found. Stay prayerful, stay surrendered, and let this be the habit that keeps you in His presence and the power that sustains your calling.

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.