Worship On Wednesday! May 23, 2012 Reverend Dr. Derrick Joseph Hughes

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

PRAYING VICTORIOUSLY Theme Scripture: “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Ephesians 6:18-20 After you’ve put on the whole armor of God, you still need another component in your lifestyle. Interestingly enough, the apostle Paul concluded the passage on putting on the armor of God with a command for the armed believers to take a certain course of action. Paul issued a strong call for prayer to the believers in Ephesus. Because he was facing spiritual battles, he wanted intercessory prayer warriors who understood the reality of spiritual warfare. He assumed they would be wearing the armor of God. All Christians need to be growing in a stronger prayer life. Prayer connect us with God’s power. Prayer will make you stop sinning or sin will make you stop praying! Underline the statement that best describes your current prayer life.  I know I should pray, but I don’t.

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I have a long way to go, but my prayer life is growing. My prayer life is strong and effective.

The important thing is not where your prayer life is, but where it is going. None of us has arrived, but if we are making progress on the journey, we are headed in the right direction. If we have ceased growing or are not trying to grow our prayer lives, warning bells should sound. If your prayer life is stagnant or non-existent, ask God’s forgiveness and make a commitment to grow in prayer. If your prayer life is strong and growing, ask God to protect your prayer time – and ask Him to allow you to influence others to pray effectively. “Prayer is communication with the commander-in-chief during the battle. Our awareness of the battle heightens our sense of need to stay in constant touch with our superior officer, who can resupply us and provide us with our orders.” Let’s examine three primary reasons prayer in warfare is important. First, prayer signifies a relationship with God – and it is our relationship with Him that threatens the enemy. The motivation for prayer ought to always stem from the desire to relate to God, not to get power over the devil. However, we know when we connect with God, the devil is threatened because of what God will do in us and though us. Prayer is communication with God; in fact, it is offering ourselves to Him and quietly allowing Him to speak to us in turn. Who prays powerful prayers? Is it the one who sounds the best or the one who is humble before God and seeks His will? I hear people say, “I love to hear him/her pray.” The question is why? The essence of what we say to God is not uttered in English. Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” I Corinthians 14:2-4 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Praying in a proper spirit, we communicate with Him just because we are in relationship with Him and love Him. We draw closer to Him, listen to Him, learn from Him, and gain strength from Him when we pray. Our relationship with Him

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grows – and whenever our relationship with God increases, God’s working through our lives increases. Second, the battle we face is spiritual, and we fight spiritual battles by spiritual means. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Paul indicated that that we live in the world, but “we do not wage war as the world does” (v3). Look at how other versions of the Bible translate this same phrase:  “We do not war after the flesh” (KJV).  “We do not war according to the flesh” (NASB).  “We don’t wage war with human plans and weapons” (New Living Translation). We battle against supernatural powers and principalities (Eph. 6:12), and no natural, human means can defeat this kind of enemy. Only God’s working in prayer will weaken the enemy’s holds in our lives. Through prayer, God gives us the strength and power to win the battle. If you have a problem, pray it away! If you need strength, pray for it! If you need God to move on your behalf, pray for it! Remember, if you pray in faith without doubting He will answer. It might not be what you ask for but He will answer according to His will. That’s what we really ought to want anyway. Jesus taught us to pray that God would “’deliver us from the evil one’” (Matt.6:13). This model prayer reminds us that we cannot deliver ourselves from the enemy; we are not match for his schemes and temptations in our own strength. Prayer provides the power for deliverance. Third, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (Jas. 5:16). Do you remember the story of Elijah who prayed to stop the rain and then prayed to start the rain again? The writer of the Book of James used this story to explain the power of the prayers of a righteous man. Elijah, who was “a man just like us” (Jas 5:17), prayed earnestly, and nature itself was affected. Pause to pray. Ask God to increase your desire for righteousness and to deliver you from the devil’s schemes at work in your life right now. Satan’s Strategies Against Prayer

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We’ve recognized that Satan schemes against us. If prayer is so important in spiritual warfare, it makes sense that Satan would strategize to weaken our prayer lives. His methods are numerous, and he doesn’t give up easily. In fact, your authors have provided a list of several ways the enemy seeks to hinder our praying. Maybe he entices us with sin, then so accuses us (Rev. 12:10) that we feel guilty praying. At other times he brings to mind message of doubt: You don’t really believe God hears your prayers, do you? Prayer really doesn’t work – think about all of your prayers that have gone unanswered. When doubt sets in, we typically pray less often. One of Satan’s most successful ways to hinder our praying is working to keep us from praying at all. Perhaps he leads us to direct our attention away from God (including focusing our attention on “good” things), as we have seen in a previous study. At other times, he lures us to complacency about prayer. After all, life is OK, even if we have a few struggles. Our family is intact. We’re serving in the church, and things seem to be going well there. Our jobs appear to be secure. Apparently, we can get by pretty well without much praying – so we don’t pray. When we don’t pray, we cause little concern for the devil. Maybe you’ve battled with developing a consistent, effective prayer life. Check any obstacles to effective prayer in your life.     

too busy to pray don’t know how to pray unanswered prayers weakened marriage relationship lack of discipline

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unconfessed sin doubt pride self-sufficiency complacency

Prayerlessness is a sin of omission (1 Thess. 5:17). It displeases God. We live in disobedience and do not wear the breastplate of righteousness. In the meantime, Satan allows us to rest in our complacency and lulls us to sleep before he strikes. Then when the devil attacks, we are exposed to his arrows. The Purpose of Prayer PRACTICE A NEW WAY OF PRAYING Pray this prayer every day for a week. Pray it slowly, taking time to consider each word and phrase. Each day, emphasize a different word or phrase. What new insights or understanding do you get as you saturate your heart and mind in this prayer? Make your

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observation specific to your own situations and concerns. What is God telling you? Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5 Think about your prayer life. When you pray, what do you assume happens in heaven? a. God says, “What a great idea! I’ll take that under advisement. Maybe – just maybe – if he can bring Me enough documentation or can make a strong enough case, I’ll consider his idea.” b. God say, “The majority of the requests on this matter are leaning in the other direction. I’ll have to deny your request. I have to go with the majority.” c. God says, “Someone else got here first.” d. God says, “You’ve let Me down so many times. What makes you think I would give you anything you asked for? You don’t deserve to have your prayers answered.” e. None of the above. What is your answer to this dilemma: Does prayer change God? If so, can He be sovereign? If not, why should I pray? Think about it. If the right argument can change God’s mind, then how can His word stand firm in the heavens? How can His word endure when all else fades like the grass of the field? What is God saying to you? Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5

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