In 2008, I was working through a Bible study by Jennifer Kennedy Dean called Live a Praying Life: Open Your Life to God's Power and Provision. From that study, God spoke to me about how when we are facing hard situations we must take aggressive action in prayer to stand against the enemy so we can gain the victory over our circumstances. If you are in the midst of a firestorm, or feel confused, brokenhearted, discouraged, or full of doubt I hope the following insights offer a new strategy for your situation or give you hope that your prayers do make a difference! I pray that these words will capture your heart and provide you with renewed hope for your life.
One thing I know for sure, God has not forgotten about you. His plan will prevail in your life. Nothing and no-one can stop that plan from coming forth. God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). His promises are true and we can rest in those promises no matter what our circumstances look like (2 Corinthians 1:20). And that is where I want to focus for a moment.
Our circumstances can be deceiving especially when time has passed and it seems as if nothing is changing concerning our prayer focus. We know that prayer works but we also know that God's timing is not our timing, which means that sometimes time feels like an eternity. This past week, I've talked with some friends about prayer, which brought me back to Dean's book. She had some powerful insights on spiritual warfare, prayer, and the armor of God, which penetrated my heart and has compelled me to share this devotion with you. Please read on (taken from Dean's book):
In response to our prayers, spiritual forces are set in motion that brings God's will to earth. Prayer has its first effect in the spiritual realm. When the work is finished in the spiritual realm, the answer is revealed in the material realm. Prayer is spiritual work. In the material realm, the definition of "work" is "to use energy to create change." Everything I do that uses energy to create change falls under the category of "work." In the spiritual realm, prayer is how energy is released to create change. Remember James 5:16? "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
Prayer changes the spiritual realm and the spiritual realm changes the material realm. Because prayer has its first effect in the spiritual realm, a reality that cannot be observed with the physical senses, there is a period of time when, from the earth, it appears that prayer isn't changing things. This is because the prayer is first doing spiritual work. Wait until the time is fulfilled, when everything is ripe. That's when the kingdom of heaven will be revealed to your senses. (Waiting is the hard part, I understand... but please keep reading).
Many people mistake prayer for a passive activity. Some think that prayer is what you do when there's nothing left to do but pray. My friend, get this deep in your spirit: prayer is the work. Prayer is the most aggressive, offensive, pro-active, invasive work you can ever engage in. We're not talking here about just 'saying prayers." This is living prayer. Let's examine a well-known, much-quoted passage of scripture and see what it has to say about prayer as an offensive strategy.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And 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" (Ephesians 6:10-18).
In summary, true prayer is God's words in my mouth. God's words do His work and He is sending His words out with an assignment. He is watching over His words to see that the assignment is carried out (Isaiah 55:10-11; Jeremiah 1:9 and 12). When God sends His words out through your mouth, the spiritual realm is immediately fully engaged. Spiritual forces are dispatched. All of heaven is poised to respond to the prayers of God's people. Through prayer, the enemy's schemes are thwarted. Through prayer, the powers, principalities, and authorities of Satan's realm are stopped cold. Through prayer, all of the power and provision of God flows into the lives of his people.
I believe there is super intense warfare going on in the spiritual realm on our behalf for our souls, for our children, spouses, for our mental well-being, provision, jobs, etc. We may not see change yet because prayer is still doing its work in the spiritual realm. I know life is full of blessings but it is also full of challenges, and in those times, we tend to pull-back, hide, stay silent rather than rise up and stand against the attacks of the enemy through aggressive (making an all-out effort to win or succeed) prayer.
Dear Friend, God has called you for such a time as this. There is no mistake that you are connected to your situation for good reason. Your steps were ordered before one was taken: before you were shaped and formed in your mother's womb, God knew you (Jeremiah 1:5). For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12-13).
I want to encourage you to keep praying, aggressively and on the offensive over your situation. If it is your marriage you are praying about, then during the week while your husband is gone, go through your home and lay hands on your husband's side of the bed, his pillow, his shoes, his clothes, his stuff outside that he uses often, everything that is connected to him and pray over his world in a tangible way. This is an example of an aggressive prayer action in my humble opinion. Also, pray for wisdom and direction, seek the Lord on your knees to get a fresh download from God every morning for the battle. We all need a fresh download from God to ensure we are hearing His voice above all others.
One last thought:
"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good" (Romans 8:28).
God Bless.
written by,
Dori Price
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