Weapons of War: Prayer.

Effective strategy: concentrate on prayer and on doing the works of the kingdom.The key to our praying is to pray for the positive and not primarily against the negative.

Matt 6:9-13 is what is known as the Lord's Prayer and it is often used as a pattern for our prayers. Jesus did not pray about, nor did he teach us to pray about how terrible the reign of Satan is going to be. No he prayed and taught us to pray "Your kingdom come God on this earth and your will be done here as it is in heaven."

Intercession

Dan 9:1-19

Intercession is where we speak the word of God on behalf of someone else. Daniel had devoted his life to prayer but there is something different about how he prayed in this chapter.

He prayed according to the prophetic word he had received. He prayed with passion this was not some little five minute prayer to make sure he had done his duty. Daniel didn't even know he had engaged in spiritual warfare, it was only afterward that it was revealed to him.

He was motivated by God's word and he called upon God to fulfil his word. He did not start shouting his mouth off about what was going to happen. No he prayed more fervently than he had before, if that's possible! His prayer came disparate

Daniel 9:18b-19 (NIV)

"We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."

Its time for us to rediscover this urgency in prayer, so that like Daniel we will fast and pray and declare God's word over this church, this community, this city.

What has God said?

For me the recurring theme is light pouring out of this church.

Changing from one thing to another

Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

People returning to God

Listen, this is what I say to you, I will bring many people back to this place where they will breath in the clean air of my Spirit, they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will cause each one of you to be like a saggar to the people that I bring into this place. You will protect them and care for them, and you will go through the fire with them enabling the fire of my Spirit to change them without destroying them. I will bring them from within this community and from distant lands but I will bring them to this place.

Get yourself ready for I'm about to bring in people and I will light the fire of my Spirit that will change them.

What are we to do to get ready you ask?

By setting your eyes on me and not on the things around you, as your eyes are on me, then as you go through the fire with those I'm bring back and you will not touch by the fire. And as you set your eyes upon me the fog will be lifted from your eyes and you will see my purpose and how I'm restoring my kingdom here.

So the days are coming when the people will no longer say surely the Lord has brought his people out of Egypt long ago. Nor will they say look back in to history and see what God did.

No they will say the Lord lives, He lives today and He is in this place and He has brought his people together.

Light bursting out

Walls coming down and the light being seen

Shaft of light going up from this place

Warfare Praying

There are time when the Holy Spirit will stir us up with what can only be called 'holy indignation" and we will pray in a militantly. This is not a model of normal prayer but is used when the Holy Spirit directs in specific situations. We may normally we quiet and withdrawn when we pray but when the Holy Spirit leads us this way we need to run with it with all we have got.

2 Kings 13:14 (NASB)

When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!"

Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and arrows." So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. He said, "Open the window toward the east," and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot!" And he shot. And he said, "The LORD's arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans until you have destroyed them." Then he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," and he struck it three times and stopped. So the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times."

When Joash was told to strike the ground with the arrows, he did it only half-heartedly. As a result, Elisha told the king that his victory over Aram would not be complete.

Although he had the word of God that he was going to destroy the enemy he still had to be fully committed.

Praying in the Spirit

Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

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.

I love this verse firstly it shows us the diversity of God he does not just give us one prescribed way of praying. Paul is encouraging us to be led by the Holy Spirit into a great variety of prayers.

I want us to just stop a moment and look at how Paul describes what he has been through in life:

2 Corinthians 11:23-29 (NIV)

… I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,

Three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.

I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.

I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep;

I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;

I have been cold and naked.

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

How on earth did Paul manage to live to tell the tale?

What was it that kept him going?

I think we find the answer here in:

1 Corinthians 14:18 (NIV)

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

Is this the reason Paul was able to keep going when the enemy threw so much at him. One of the most powerful ways we can pray is to pray in tongues. When the enemy comes and tried to dislodge us pick up the weapon of praying in tongues and defeat his attack

Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

When I'm not sure how to pray the Holy Spirit prays through my spirit in tongues.

Are you willing?

Are you willing to pick up this weapon of prayer and pray like you have never prayed before?

Psalms 110:3 (NIV)

Your troops will be willing

on your day of battle.

Arrayed in holy majesty,

from the womb of the dawn

you will receive the dew of your youth.