LIVING WATERS from Lightbearers

GOD’S SECRET WEAPONS:

WEAPONS AND TACTICS OF A PRAYER WARRIOR 2

It could be said that we fight in the flesh because we don’t fight in the spirit.

One of our instructors in Bible College, ‘JS’, had been a captain in the USMC in the Vietnam war. He led his men, a platoon of over forty men, through a complete deployment in combat operations and never lost a man. “One night,” he said, “it had been pouring down rain, and the men saw a ‘hootch’ (an indigenous family living structure) up ahead and wanted to enter it to get out of the rain. I waited to hear His voice. “No” was what I heard. Five minutes later, the hootch blew up, but with none of his men in it. Captain JS also said something akin to our opening statement. “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.”

I’d never seen anything like it. The hip on the young boy was dislocated, as well as the knee and ankle. The right leg went every which way but the right way. The pastor had carried him into the office where I was drinking a cold Coke. He needs your help, he said. Take his knee and turn it around, Holy Spirit said. I did and the knee and hip went back into place. Take the ankle and turn it around, Holy Spirit said. I did and the ankle aligned and held its position. Stroke his foot, Holy Spirit said. As I massaged his foot, the foot was like putty in my hands and every bone became normal. Then we had him do ‘deep knee bends’ and sent him running home to his mother. The day before I had spent eight hours praying in the spirit, with short breaks, until Holy Spirit said, You are ready. The more we sweat in peace…

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, 2 Cor 10:4-5 NKJV

Before we get into weapons and tactics, let’s pull down a few more strongholds, like we did last week to the stronghold of ‘impossible.’ Let’s pull down ‘worry’ and ‘discouragement.’ Worry is tolerated, even accepted, in our Christian culture because it is equated with concern. We say, if you love someone you must worry about them. The destructiveness of worry brought great sorrow to the house of Job. Job worried about his children until he opened the door to fear which brought an end to his hedge of protection and consequently, disaster. Worry denies the concern of God. Perhaps God is too busy or He really doesn’t care about us, so we must worry! The Bible says, cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you! Repent of the sin of worry and cast all your care upon Him.

Discouragement occurs when something gets out of balance through lack of rest. With the sabbaths and the feasts weeks, God gave the children of Israel seventy three days off each year – literally one in five (the number for grace, vacation days are grace days) days. They were serious about getting rest, travelling only a sabbaths days journey on their sabbaths, about a mile. They filled their hearts with worship and the Word on their days of rest. Rest keeps the dogs of discouragement out of your house…

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 1 Cor 14:15-16 NKJV

Some times a charismatic like me has to be reminded that prayer with my understanding is important and vital as well as praying in the spirit. Jesus prayed with His understanding as did all the great saints before the day of Pentecost in Acts Two. The psalms of David and the worship in the Temple was all in the native tongues of the speakers, in their understanding. Certainly, when we prophesy and interpret tongues today it is all in our understanding. So, let’s examine some of the weapons and tactics associated with this great avenue of prayer with our understanding.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matt 21:22 KJV

WEAPON: PRAYER WITH THE UNDERSTANDING

TACTIC: CLARITY OR FOCUS – My first Bible teacher examined this tactic when he told a story of a woman who wanted prayer for a furnished place to live. She said, please pray that it have red drapes on the windows as well. My teacher said, I could pray that she have a place to live, but the thought that it would have red drapes as well was beyond my faith! Shortly after that, the lady reported that she had a place to live. What were the color of the drapes on the windows? Fire engine red. She was clear and specific in her prayer. Dear friends of mine prayed for over twenty years to have children, and specifically twins. She kept bags of kid’s clothes that she would sleep with like babies. She washed and dried those clothes like they were worn. Prophetic, faith acts. We prayed, and in November of 2017 they embraced Samalie and Samuel Kevin. Don’t pray for money. Pray for $5000 for the car you need!

WEAPON: PRAISE WITH YOUR UNDERSTANDING

I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Ps 7:17 NKJV

TACTIC: ENTERING THE PLACE OF REVELATION

And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?” 2 Chron 1:6-7 NKJV

The word of wisdom is the problem-solving anointing on the individual level, and the genius anointing on the macro level. God is ready and willing to release all the answers to every problem you face. I know we make up ‘doctrinal excuses’ for our unbelief, but He says, if you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, and it will be given him (James 1:5). Joseph asked for a word of wisdom to answer the king’s dreams, and basically saved the whole world, plus got a nice wife, a good job and wonderful kids. Moses didn’t have to get out his swimming trunks at the Red Sea. He got revelation and walked on nice dry land while the bad guys got to ‘swim.’ Don’t forget Daniel and his buddies! Through great trials God made them geniuses with revelation. Problems solved! What He did for them, He can do for you and I.

When we praise, we can enter that place where we can have an audience with the King. In that place of His presence, you find out how good He really is!

Of course, I have to say something about praying in the spirit, speaking in tongues. All of my regular readers have heard this stuff until its running out their ears. The thing you’ll notice about prayer with your understanding is that you tend to run out of things to pray for after about twenty minutes unless you are praying the psalms, etc. But with tongues, once you start flowing, you can easily go for hours.

WEAPON: PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT

TACTIC: PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 NKJV

Pastor John one time told me about an AG guy who prayed in tongues all the time. He said you would be sitting with him at lunch and you would see his lips moving as he prayed and prayed. The guy was legendary in the AG church for signs and wonders. He paid the price in prayer, in worship, in intercession to see those miracles happen, and If you ever needed to be prayed for, you went to this guy. Great reputation to have!

How do you get to ‘praying without ceasing’? Start first thing in the morning. Begin praying in tongues. The first twenty minutes or so you will encounter what I call ‘soulish resistance.’ This is not sin. It is simply your soul wanting to be in charge of your thought processes. Your soul will say, ‘I want to read the news, I want to check social media, I want to…’ You tell your soul to be quiet and that it is going to make the effort to pray in the spirit. After about twenty minutes you will break through and tongues will start to flow. Then just embrace it and let it flow for hours. Simple…elegant…and powerful!

WEAPON: YOU!

You are God’s secret weapon. You are so powerful that you are the ‘X factor’ in everything that happens in the senses world. God gave Adam authority over the whole world, and today, you are Adam. What will you do?

TACTIC: GET YOUR ASSIGNMENT!

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:7-8 NKJV

A strong case could be made that Reece Howell and his merry band of intercessors prayed in the destruction of Nazi Germany in World War Two. The data and proof is there that the Lord gave them specific strategies to pray for that led to the Germans demise. They prayed and they won. The Lord gives prayer assignments. He assigns intercessors to men and women of God as armorbearers. He’ll assign prayer warriors over evil situations that need to be brought down, or over people and situations that need to be brought up. What is your assignment? You may have multiple assignments in the Kingdom. Embrace each one. Ask the Lord concerning ‘how and when’ to work through each one in prayer. Remember that essentially every one in five days is to be a day of rest. Don’t get out of bounds with regard to rest or you will essentially be allowing the tail to wag the dog. Do you get it?

Let me close with where we started. It could be said that we fight in the flesh because we don’t fight in the spirit. Lets not let that happen to us! We can be the ones to change the world. Amen? Love you!

Remember dear ones we must be about our Father’s business…