Prayer is a communication with God Almighty, presenting to him praises and also putting supplication requests before him for manifestation. It is no doubt prayer is a powerful tool in the arsenal of a Christian, but it is certainly not the most powerful.

One thing that we must open our eyes to as Christians is that, our most potent and first line of defense in times of trouble and distress, is always with us and can be quickened into action any moment. That’s the wisdom of God.

This single most important provision by the almighty, is our good old mind. While it may not be obvious, God didn’t create humans that we may rely on him for every single need. In his infinite wisdom, he gave us the one thing that other living things lack, reason and critical thinking.

In many instances in the Bible, wisdom is mentioned and even goes as far as how to use it to avoid or get out of difficult times. A typical example is Luke 12:58 NIV “As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison”.

King Solomon, arguably the most powerful and wisest king ever to grace the face of the earth, was a master of the mind. Much of his victories and success can be attributed to his use of the single most powerful tool known to man, the mind.

If it isn’t yet clear to you, here’s something that will convince you even further. The devil, the arch nemesis, is after your mind and nothing else. As Christians, we have been taught that the devil’s first attack on a Christian is on his/her faith, a subject of the mind. If he successfully disarms your mind, he sets off a chain reaction that ends with you self-imploding.

Why the devil wants to dominate your mind

That’s your powerhouse in simple terms. The mind is so powerful you could almost cause things to be with it, literally and metaphorically. A typical philosophy that supports this claim is US Christian philosopher, Neville Goddard's Law of Assumption, which theorize that, your state of mind directly affect your state of being, including the manifestation of things in the physical.

So yes, as strategic as the devil is, he targets your powerhouse, dominate it and boom, takes control of its operation and that’s how the downward spiral begins.

How to take control of your mind

It’s your mind, your armory and you need to guide it. The mind is affected by the polarization to which it is constantly exposed to. Negative things affect the mind negatively, positivity feeds the mindset and nourishes its creative abilities.

Stay away from negative things, have an open mind that sees the immediate and potential positives in every situation. In case you find yourself in a distressing situation, remember the best recommendation by the bible is, “Do not be afraid”, “Do not panic”. Solutions come more easily to a calm, open mind than a tensed, closed mind.

Positive law of assumption affirmations can be a way to tune your mind to be positive and your mind's eye to see the good in even the worst of situations.

There’s always a way out, an open mind always allows you to keep your expectations within control to avoid disappointments. Many who resort to prayer to ask for ridiculous things way beyond their means are mostly left blaming God for not answering their prayers, when in fact, a calm, open mind would let them know their requests are quite unrealistic.

Conclusion

God gave humans two powerful defense tools in time of trouble and need. Our innate power and prayer. The modern Christian knows he/she must pray, but has relegated the first line of defense which is the power of the mind, which is also God-given. If we use this, we will find that we can overcome a lot of life's adversities, triumph over evil and live a fulfilling life.