Keep Climbing: Praying from the Mountain in a Valley Season
By Sherita Jones | The Anointing Grace
There is a reason God keeps calling us to “come up higher.”
Physically, climbing a mountain drains everything out of you, your breath, your strength, your focus. The air gets thinner, your legs shake, and the path requires more from you than the valley ever will.
Spiritually, prayer can feel the same.
We don’t always talk about this side of prayer, the mental warfare, the sudden rush of thoughts, the weight of fear, shame, or doubt that tries to pull us back down. Sometimes, just trying to pray feels like you’re climbing a steep mountain with no strength left in your body. Words don’t come easily. The mind wanders. Tears burn behind your eyes. And yet something inside you says, Keep climbing.
Because prayer is not just speaking, it’s ascending.
The Valley vs. The Mountain
Life will take us through valleys, painful seasons, disappointments, dry places, unanswered questions. But just because we live in a valley doesn’t mean we have to pray from one.
We can be in a valley and still pray from the mountaintop.
The mountain is not a physical location. It is a spiritual position, a choice to rise above circumstances and fix our prayer, our focus, and our faith on God.
Jesus didn’t have to climb mountains to pray, but He did. Moses didn’t receive the commandments in the valley, but on Mount Sinai. Elijah didn’t call fire from the ground, but from Mount Carmel.
Why? Because the mountain changes your vision.
The Mountain of Chariots: When the Battle Looks Impossible
This became so clear to me when I read 2 Kings 6.
Elisha’s servant sees the city surrounded by a great army, horses, chariots, weapons. Fear takes over. “Master, what shall we do?”
But Elisha wasn’t afraid. Why?
Because he had already rose early. He was already positioned higher, in prayer, in trust, in spiritual sight.
He prayed, “Lord, open his eyes that he may see.”
And God opened the servant’s eyes, not to remove the enemy, but to reveal a greater reality.
“And he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
The enemy surrounded the city. But heaven surrounded the mountain.
This is what happens when we go higher in prayer. We stop seeing just what is against us, and start seeing Who is for us. This is a mic drop moment, cause we all know, we don’t always recognize that God is for us.
Psalm 91:14: Set on High
“Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.”
To be “set on high” is to be lifted to a place where torment, fear, shame, and worry cannot reach. It’s not denial of the valley, it is elevation above it.
God places us where the enemy cannot just freely touch our minds, our peace, or our identity. He sets us in a higher place, like Elisha, where we can see what others cannot. Where panic loses its voice. Where faith rises above fear.
What Tries to Keep Us at the Bottom
Just like on a mountain, the climb of prayer is met with resistance:
• Distractions flood the mind.
• Fear whispers, “What if God doesn’t answer?”
• Shame says, “You’re not worthy to be here.”
• Worry keeps you circling the same thoughts instead of ascending.
• Exhaustion says, “Stop climbing. Stay in the valley.”
But these things don’t live at the summit.
They only live at the bottom.
They are not signs you’re failing, they’re signs you’re climbing. Resistance builds strength.
Why Climbing is Necessary
A quality walk with God requires elevation. You can stay in the valley and pray casual, convenient prayers. But valley prayers rarely carry mountain power.
Higher prayers require higher surrender.
Less of me. More of Him.
Less noise. More stillness.
Less fear. More faith.
And with every step upward, your thoughts quiet. Your spirit becomes more aware. Your heart grows more sensitive to His presence.
The More We Climb, the More We Are Changed
Moses went up the mountain, and came down shining. Jesus went up, and was transfigured before their eyes. Elijah went up, and fire answered his prayer. Elisha lived from the mountain, and saw heaven’s army before man’s attack.
Mountaintop prayers don’t just change our situation, they change us.
The climb transforms us. The view humbles us. The presence of God renews us.
Keep Climbing
So if prayer feels like a battle to you, if your mind is loud, if your heart feels heavy, if your words won’t come. It doesn’t mean you’re far from God. It means you’re on the mountain path.
Keep climbing.
Keep returning.
Keep pushing through the fog, the thoughts, the tears.
Because at the top, there is peace that fear cannot touch. Clarity that doubt cannot cloud. Protection that the enemy cannot penetrate. Presence that changes everything.
And yes, it is worth every step.
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