PRAYER

Believers are being made awake to the reality that their fight in life is not against flesh and blood but the powers of darkness and the principalities of the air.  So many Christians today are deceived into thinking that what they see is what they are to battle.  As the Lord draws near, we can be assured that our battle with the world, the flesh and the devil will intensify.  Worldly ideas of pop psychology will increase as the primary solution to our troubled minds.  More rapidly than most of us realize, the questions people ask are based on worldly fables called philosophies of man.  God is calling each of His children to call upon Him and He will deliver according to His divine Truth and Will.

Fear of confronting the enemy has held most believers back from bolding going before the throne of God regarding the temptations and afflictions of the enemy.  God’s greatest servants have always shared an appreciation of the magnificent power of prayer and the complete victory over Satan’s kingdom which is available to all believers through the mighty Person and work of our Husband Jesus Christ.

The book of Ephesians is the New Testament handbook on spiritual warfare and prayer.  Get to know this book like a handbook.  The believer’s emphasis in prayer must be upon a Biblical & sound doctrinal approach to this subject.  The Word of God recognizes that we encounter the three faces of Satan—the world, the flesh and the devil.  When a person becomes born-again, his/her relationship to everything in the physical, spiritual, mental and emotional world completely change.  Since the believer is a citizen of Heaven, they are given to power to face the enemy toe to toe.  Scary? Well, look at it this way, either you face him head-on or he will constantly be nipping at your heel—eating away your life a little at a time.

To resist the limited power of the enemy, one must submit therefore to God first, then resist the evil one and he will flee.  It is a promise given to us by God. (James 4:7)   

Because of our new founded relationship with God, all believers are marked targets for attack from God’s enemy—Satan.  Understanding that he is relentless in his attacks, believers must embrace the Truth that the Father has given them a defense system—the power of prayer.

First things first, we must not depend upon feeling and experience as an evidence of our being strong enough to pray.  The power and ability to pray boldly is to be based upon objective fact and not upon subjective feelings.  The power of prayer is to be appropriated by faith and faith alone.  The following are the Four Phases of Effectual Prayers:

1. Personal Reflection & Confession
2. Praise & Adoration
3. Prayers of Supplication
4. Worship & Affirmation

PERSONAL REFLECTION & CONFESSION

The following outline presents a Biblical procedure for your personal reflection and confession time with the Lord.

· Engage in an honest appraisal regarding your selfishness.  It is important to be open and honest with God about yourself .

· Confess all known sin (1 John 1:9).  Verbalize your sins against yourself & others.  Confessions take back from Satan any ground which he has taken from you.

· Extend forgiveness to those who have hurt you.  Unforgiveness is the primary reason most Christians don’t pray consistently.  List out who hurt you, how they hurt you and your reaction.  Bring the offender & how they hurt you before Him and extend forgiveness to them in prayer.  Now confess to God that your reactions to these offences are sin, accept His forgiveness and tell Him you are willing to seek the offenders forgiveness for those reactions. 

· Yield yourself to God (Romans 6:13).  As an act of your will (displace your feelings), yield all areas of your life to Him—spiritual, psychological, physical, social, marital, parental & financial.

· Express your passion & desire for the Holy Spirit to renew your mind.

· Believe with your mind that the Holy Spirit will fill you up with His power—remember to set your “feelings” aside and claim this by faith.

· Now obey God in all that He reveals and expresses in the Scriptures and begin to pray doctrinally


Quote:

"If Psalm 1 is to be believed, we must not allow our children to stand, sit or walk with those who deny biblical truth and morality. Instead, we must place them in situations that will aid them in meditating on the law of the Lord 'day and night.' Surely this involves how and where they are to be educated." Voddie T. Baucham Jr.

HEARTLAND FAMILY PRODUCTIONS

Holy Spirit Come: The Final Seal

"Crucified With Christ" (Heartland)

Heartland Family Productions: Keaton Story