Ephesians 6:18 In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. MSG
PRAY HARD&LONG
In the bible, we saw the example of Elijah. He prayed fervently and result came, 1Kings18:42. Hannah is another example, her fervency in prayer was so intense to the point where Eli thought she was drunk, 1Sam1:1-20. What about Jesus Christ? He prayed to a point where his sweat was like drops of blood, Luke22:42. How do you think their prayers were offered and in what manner did you think they prayed? There's no need beating about the bush on the matter. It is obvious to all that they prayed hard and for a long stretch of time.
To pray hard simply means to pray fervently with every fibre of your being . To pray long denotes spending quality time in prayer. The concept of praying hard& long has been misconstrued to mean being physical in prayer and repeating same words in prayers to cover for time.That's unscriptural. I was in a prayer meeting where the brother instructed us to blow the devil. I have heard some churches who demanded their members to bring cane to church so that they can flog the devil. That's ignorance at work. You can't flog a demon spirit with physical cane.
Failure to engage the Holy Spirit in our prayer is the reason why we have come up with carnal substitutes. As you pray hard in the Holy Ghost, your spirit is charged, your mind is prepared to receive ideas and your body is strengthened. It may seem like you've prayed for five minutes yet you've been praying for hours. That's what old timers call being lost in prayer. When last did you experience that? Apostle Paul's admonition to you is that you should pray hard( fervently) and long( be lost in prayer). This can only happen by the help of the Holy Spirit.
Father, i receive the grace to be fervent in prayer In Jesus name.