Have you ever been referred to as a prayer warrior? Why do you think that is the case? Should there really be this category for some Christians?

I began this with the thought of how to define "Prayer Warrior". I put those words into a search engine and 619,000 results popped up. After looking over a few of  them, I figured that the opening line from the ever authoritative site, Wikipedia, said it as well as any.
"Prayer Warrior is a term used by many evangelical and other Protestant Christians to refer to anyone who is committed to praying for others."

I have bristled in the past at being called a prayer warrior, perhaps from a lack of understanding as much as anything else. Why would someone see me as a prayer  warrior? Since I had never questioned my accusers, I could only suppose it was because I attended the weekly prayer meeting on a regular basis. Over approximately eight years I would miss the weekly gathering about three to five times per year due to vacation or illness. Does regular attendance a prayer warrior make? If only people knew the shortcomings and deficiencies in my prayer life. Would they still think the same of me?

There is a danger to putting others on a pedestal. Even a low pedestal is precarious at best. I tend to believe that this term is one such pedestal that needs to be done away with. It is not an actual position such as apostle, elder, deacon or pastor. It is not a calling such as teacher, evangelist or missionary. It simply appears to be those who are obedient to the direction from scripture that we ought to pray. If the term is to be used, it should be as common as the term Christian. It is a sad commentary, in my opinion, that a praying Christian is looked upon as having done a noble thing when in fact every Christian ought to be praying.

Matthew 6:5 begins, "When you pray,". That is from Jesus Christ and the sermon on the mount. Did He say, "If you pray"? No, He is assuming that you will be praying. He provided many examples of praying and I suspect that He expected that His followers would follow His example.

Luke 6:12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Luke 11:1 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples."
Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,

The Apostle Paul followed through with instruction for every believer to pray.

Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always; pray without ceasing;in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Did you catch the end of that verse, or did you blow right by it? It said, "for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

It seems to be part of our human nature to desire heroes and someone to look up to. We build up individuals in our minds and place them on pedestals. When the flaws of their humanity appear on the surface, we are disappointed and we feel let down. The problem isn't really the people we raise up. The problem is the pedestal and the precarious nature in which it was constructed. The pedestal was built with partial information as there are a certain amount of details that are unknown and some facts that may be willfully ignored. We allow our perception to become reality and we are disappointed in the end.

Jesus Christ is the only one who should be on a pedestal as the one we look up to and worship. Others may be admired for certain traits, but remember that flaws hover below the surface. If "Prayer Warrior" is a title for those who obey the call to pray, what does that say of the rest? Is there another word for disobedient? I know that I certainly don't fulfill the role of one who is perfectly obedient, so I will continue to silently bristle at the thought of being referred to as a prayer warrior.