Battle Weapons: Prayer
written by J. A. Hart
Every day, we face battles. Whether it be in our marriage, work, family, or even school, we find there is no shortage of struggle on this earth. We have more than a few enemies that want to “steal, kill, and destroy” who we are and who God has created us to be, yet, God gives us what we need to find “life to the full” (John 10:10).
Last week, we talked about prayer as a crucial weapon, saying, “Prayer is, first and foremost, our path of communication with our heavenly Father.” We gave you some examples of people from our Heavenly Dad’s great story who used prayer (listening and following) as their first defense in battle. This week, we want to give you some specific ways you can use prayer to battle well.
Pray for protection:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” - Ephesians 6:10-11
Every day, we need protection. We wake up, and immediately, we are bombarded with the world’s noises playing on repeat at full volume in our heads. How do we protect our hearts?
We can pray for protection around ourselves and put down everything that crowds our hearts and minds. We can spend time with our Heavenly Dad and pick up what He has for us. We can pray the Armor of God on ourselves every day to prepare for the noise that rushes in like a tidal wave. Read Ephesians 6:10, and pray each piece over you- the helmet of salvation, the sword of truth, breastplate of righteousness, etc.
To face enemies we cannot see, we pray hedges of protection around our hearts and minds, and with faith, call upon our good Dad to send his angels to protect us from the very real spiritual enemies we face every day.
Like the oxygen mask on an airplane, we can care for others once we have put on the armor ourselves. We pray the armor on our families, our wives, our kids, our work, placing all we care for under the authority of Jesus and his Kingdom, and with trust, we step into the day being mindful always.
The resources below are fantastic prayers you can read daily to help you with everything we mention above:
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/daily-prayer-extended-version
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/daily-prayer-head-household
Pray for Deliverance:
“...and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” - Psalms 50:15
Throughout life, we undoubtedly find ourselves in need of deliverance. We get backed into a corner, pinned down by the enemy, and many times chained by our flesh. If he can’t take us out in our hearts, Satan knows he will bury us under burdens and frustrations. In moments like these, we need to pray for deliverance.
Deliverance is the cavalry arriving just when it looks like the battle is lost. It’s Gandalf charging just as Helm’s Deep seems to be overrun by Sauruman’s twisted Uruk-Hai.
Deliverance is our good, Heavenly Dad coming through in moments where we have nowhere else to go. We can pray and ask Him to show up when we get buried by spiritual forces and things we can’t control, and we trust in his goodness to deliver us from the fight. Even when hope feels lost, don’t let go, He is right next to you.
Pray for Healing:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” - Luke 4:18-19
Amidst the battles of life, we receive wounds. It’s not always obvious because we don’t always read our stories well, but all of us have experienced moments where an event occurred that changed the trajectory of our lives in negative ways. Those moments leave impressions on us and follow us around like shades. We make agreements like, “I will never be good enough,” that affect how we respond to the world around us. Whether we see it or not, these agreements lie under the surface and rear their disfigured faces when we least expect them affecting us physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, etc.
In prayer, we can go to our Heavenly Dad. Jesus is the great healer. In Luke 4, he declares it as his entire mission, and throughout three years, he heals people in every way- spirit, soul, and body, heart, mind, and will. We can ask him to reveal where we are wounded- to reveal where we’ve made agreements about who we are and who He is. We can ask him to lead us into those moments and heal the wounds that were formed.
Some agreements may go away quickly, and the truth you received blots out any semblance of them from your mind or heart, but others are attached to spiritual enemies. They won’t go away without a fight. You may have to pray and invite Jesus into it over and over. Healing and breaking agreements is intense. They aren’t a “walk in the park” as the saying goes, but on the other side, you will find life to the full.
More Resources for Prayerful Healing:
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/prayer-inner-healing
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/prayer-sexual-healing
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/prayer-breaking-curses
Final thoughts:
We know we could spend a year talking about prayer and not cover everything, but as we close out our series on battling well, we want to encourage you. Stay in the fight. Nothing good comes without a series of intense battles, but keep of good hope, you have the maker of the universe and the true king of this world in your corner. They will fight with you and beside you, you need only ask.
A great book to read to understand prayer is John Eldridge’s Moving Mountains. We highly recommend it!
Calibration:
Have you ever prayed for protection over your heart or your family? Why or Why not?
Pray protection over your family today.
Where are the places you need to pray for deliverance from your Heavenly Dad?
Why haven’t you prayed for deliverance from him in the past?
Pray for deliverance in the areas you listed above.
Where are places where you have been wounded?
Have you sought healing? Why or Why not?
Pray and ask God to step into your wounded places. Ask for healing and the agreement you’ve been making as a result. Pray against the agreement today.
Last week, we talked about prayer as a crucial weapon, saying, “Prayer is, first and foremost, our path of communication with our heavenly Father.” We gave you some examples of people from our Heavenly Dad’s great story who used prayer (listening and following) as their first defense in battle. This week, we want to give you some specific ways you can use prayer to battle well.
Pray for protection:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” - Ephesians 6:10-11
Every day, we need protection. We wake up, and immediately, we are bombarded with the world’s noises playing on repeat at full volume in our heads. How do we protect our hearts?
We can pray for protection around ourselves and put down everything that crowds our hearts and minds. We can spend time with our Heavenly Dad and pick up what He has for us. We can pray the Armor of God on ourselves every day to prepare for the noise that rushes in like a tidal wave. Read Ephesians 6:10, and pray each piece over you- the helmet of salvation, the sword of truth, breastplate of righteousness, etc.
To face enemies we cannot see, we pray hedges of protection around our hearts and minds, and with faith, call upon our good Dad to send his angels to protect us from the very real spiritual enemies we face every day.
Like the oxygen mask on an airplane, we can care for others once we have put on the armor ourselves. We pray the armor on our families, our wives, our kids, our work, placing all we care for under the authority of Jesus and his Kingdom, and with trust, we step into the day being mindful always.
The resources below are fantastic prayers you can read daily to help you with everything we mention above:
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/daily-prayer-extended-version
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/daily-prayer-head-household
Pray for Deliverance:
“...and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” - Psalms 50:15
Throughout life, we undoubtedly find ourselves in need of deliverance. We get backed into a corner, pinned down by the enemy, and many times chained by our flesh. If he can’t take us out in our hearts, Satan knows he will bury us under burdens and frustrations. In moments like these, we need to pray for deliverance.
Deliverance is the cavalry arriving just when it looks like the battle is lost. It’s Gandalf charging just as Helm’s Deep seems to be overrun by Sauruman’s twisted Uruk-Hai.
Deliverance is our good, Heavenly Dad coming through in moments where we have nowhere else to go. We can pray and ask Him to show up when we get buried by spiritual forces and things we can’t control, and we trust in his goodness to deliver us from the fight. Even when hope feels lost, don’t let go, He is right next to you.
Pray for Healing:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” - Luke 4:18-19
Amidst the battles of life, we receive wounds. It’s not always obvious because we don’t always read our stories well, but all of us have experienced moments where an event occurred that changed the trajectory of our lives in negative ways. Those moments leave impressions on us and follow us around like shades. We make agreements like, “I will never be good enough,” that affect how we respond to the world around us. Whether we see it or not, these agreements lie under the surface and rear their disfigured faces when we least expect them affecting us physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, etc.
In prayer, we can go to our Heavenly Dad. Jesus is the great healer. In Luke 4, he declares it as his entire mission, and throughout three years, he heals people in every way- spirit, soul, and body, heart, mind, and will. We can ask him to reveal where we are wounded- to reveal where we’ve made agreements about who we are and who He is. We can ask him to lead us into those moments and heal the wounds that were formed.
Some agreements may go away quickly, and the truth you received blots out any semblance of them from your mind or heart, but others are attached to spiritual enemies. They won’t go away without a fight. You may have to pray and invite Jesus into it over and over. Healing and breaking agreements is intense. They aren’t a “walk in the park” as the saying goes, but on the other side, you will find life to the full.
More Resources for Prayerful Healing:
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/prayer-inner-healing
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/prayer-sexual-healing
https://wildatheart.org/prayer/prayer-breaking-curses
Final thoughts:
We know we could spend a year talking about prayer and not cover everything, but as we close out our series on battling well, we want to encourage you. Stay in the fight. Nothing good comes without a series of intense battles, but keep of good hope, you have the maker of the universe and the true king of this world in your corner. They will fight with you and beside you, you need only ask.
A great book to read to understand prayer is John Eldridge’s Moving Mountains. We highly recommend it!
Calibration:
Have you ever prayed for protection over your heart or your family? Why or Why not?
Pray protection over your family today.
Where are the places you need to pray for deliverance from your Heavenly Dad?
Why haven’t you prayed for deliverance from him in the past?
Pray for deliverance in the areas you listed above.
Where are places where you have been wounded?
Have you sought healing? Why or Why not?
Pray and ask God to step into your wounded places. Ask for healing and the agreement you’ve been making as a result. Pray against the agreement today.
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