WEAPONS AND TACTICS OF A PRAYER WARRIOR 4: DEFENCE BEFORE OFFENCE

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!

‘You better watch out…the devil is going to get you!’ This, or some version thereof, is what we hear at times when we are doing something for God. It was 1991 and I was teaching my first class of what later would become the Holy Spirit Seminar. I had bought into the LIE about the devil rising up against me because I was doing something for God. As I was in my car and returning home, a pack of children on bicycles came swarming around my vehicle. Instead of stopping I tried to drive them around them, but I hit one of the bicycles! Unbelievable! Thankfully, the child was fine. We located his parents, and I bought him a new bicycle. But I repented of my error – of having MORE FAITH in the devil than I had in God’s protection!

 You shall hide (Heb. CATHAR: cover) them in the secret place (Heb. CETHER: covering) of Your presence (Heb.PANIYM: faces) from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion (Heb. SUKKAH: booth) from the strife of tongues. Ps 31:19-20 NKJV

Two of the great strongholds that intercessors must pull down are ‘I’m alone’ and ‘I’m not ready.’ A stronghold is a mindset, a pattern of thinking, that causes the believer to accept as unchangeable something they know is contrary to the will of God.

…the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; 1 Kings 19:10 NKJV

Elijah fell into the ‘I’m alone’ trap. There are two ways of pulling down this stronghold. The first is to embrace the reality of the power that you have, the power in one individual believer. “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” It doesn’t say, I sought a whole group of people, or the majority of people. It says I sought one individual – today, its irrelevant whether its man or woman (Gal. 5:28) – who has a backbone of steel and a heart that’s on fire, someone with a deep emotional connection with God and with the object of their intercession, in this case, the land.

…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man (NOTE: just one individual) avails much… James 5:16 NKJV

The second approach is to ask the Lord to help you find likeminded intercessors. When God speaks I find He speaks the same thing to a hundred people at once, so He can help you find your companions, the others He has spoken to. I have never bought into an approach that seeks to get a lot of people to pray for something or someone. We think, ‘the more, the merrier’ like intercession is a party. It’s not! If I seek to find intercessors for any purpose, I first seek to find those who know God or can be taught of God and secondly, have a deep burden for the object of the intercession or can develop one. Then, I seek to nurture both aspects. A well-aimed spiritual weapon is focused down by two crosshairs – a deep knowledge of God and a fervent passion for the object of our prayers. Weep before you reap, ‘Pastor Sparky’ used to say (Ps.126:6)!

I fell into the ‘I’m not ready!’ trap and I think it may have cost someone their life (if you really get into the ministry of healing, you think as much about the ones you didn’t help, and how you could have done better, as the ones you apparently did). The couple from California called about their seriously ill daughter and I gave them some lame excuse about why I couldn’t minister then and, can you call back? Heart broken I suspect, they never did. I learned the lesson…I’m ready!

“…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matt 28:20 NKJV

How do I know that I am always ready? He is always ready, and I can do all things through Him…that’s why! What does it mean – ‘lo, I am with you always’? Is He with us in some passive and distant manner? Or, does it mean that He is with us and He is ALWAYS ready to do signs, miracles and wonders, give comfort, give revelation, be our Lord and be with us 24/7? “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.” Mark 16:20 NKJV Do you see what ‘with you’ means? The only time you are really not ready is when you are ACTIVELY IN SIN. I handle this with a quick heartfelt prayer – Lord, If I have said, or done, or thought anything that is outside of Your will, please forgive me, Amen! (1 Jn. 1:9 the Christians ‘bar of soap’). Then I know I’m ready…

You are ready to pray over any situation at any time with fervent authority and world changing power.

WEAPON: THE PRAYER CLOSET

But you, when you pray, go into your room (Grk. TAMEION – inner storage chamber), and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; Matt 6:6 NKJV

Interestingly, Jesus said of the false Christs to come, that it would be said that they would appear in the deserts, or in the TAMEION, the closets or storerooms (Mt.24:26). There must be something about places dedicated to prayer that make them almost like spiritual portals; hopefully, godly ones like Bethel (Gen. 28:11-19). There is two things that the Lord desires in your prayer closet – ‘open ended time’ with Him and your undivided attention. This is why you ‘shut your door.’ You may have a place of prayer that is not a physical closet. But you want to go there regularly, and alone. I sensed that the Lord didn’t even want my dog Toby around when I went to prayer because I gave him too much attention. Be ready to be alone with Him…

TACTIC: LISTS AND ASSIGNMENTS

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, Gal 4:19 KJV

You can always pray for people and situations you are passionate about, but what do you do when you feel no emotional ties to the person or situation? You can always ask the Lord about how He feels about that person or situation. This has changed me from ‘Mr. Cold Heart’ to a puddle of tears on the floor many times! Sometimes you will travail in prayer, with no spinal anesthesia, until the object of your intercession is accomplished. Other times you will just keep at it, like the lady who annoyed the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8), until faith breaks through and the will of God is received. Making lists and taking prayer assignments, especially by revelation, can turn a sleepy exercise of prayer into a great adventure.

Evil triumphs when good men do nothing. When you understand prayer and faith you realize nothing is impossible for those who believe. This realization adds up to tremendous responsibility but also great authority and power. Helplessness and hopelessness die in the fires of truth and love. Its such a joy to be alive; its such a joy to be an intercessor! Amen? Love you!

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