TODAY OUR FOCUS IS ON PRAYING…AND PRAYING FOR OTHERS. 
First…let me ask you…do you have a prayer life? Please write in and let me know. If not, it is time whether you intend to be a prayer warrior or not. This is so.
You may have found praying to be pretty comfortable. That may be because your prayers are mostly directed towards your needs and those that are close to you. But, with that same heart; you must embark upon a path…to do the same for other people. For some people this comes naturally…for others it takes longer and still others may take even longer. I’ve often wondered (but not long) how the name Prayer Warrior came about. It is an earned title that represents the fact, that someone will “war” or fight for you in prayer. There is a belief that this person can get a word into God and get answer. There is a belief that this person always gets what is asked for. That isn’t true. Sometimes the person you are praying for may change their mind. This has happened many times. It’s complicated.
No person is God and no person can get God to do anything that He doesn’t want done. The power is not in the person. The power is God backed and it increases as a reward for your sacrifice, your diligence, your love for God and your thankfulness.
You must start praying for other people individually and that is where you will find your greatest challenge! Have the person present. I started by writing prayers based on perceived prayer requests that I might receive. Then I would pray with people that I knew over the telephone. I went to people’s houses, stopped people in the stores. I literally prayed with anyone that the Holy Spirit told me to pray for.
Let me tell you that God won’t take you along your destined course any faster than you want to go. But your Prayer journey will involve your spending time with God everyday for the rest of your life, it will not only be easy; but will become second nature.
Warning
The enemy knows just how good at this you will be. He will provide distractions and discord. Enough to make you think that maybe it is not for you. But, if you will trust God…He will make a way.
Our only compass can never be a person; it must be the bible. Let’s see what it tells us to do:
| We are God’s “set apart” “Mark this well: The Lord has set apart the redeemed for Himself. Therefore He will listen to me and answer when I call to Him.” Psalms 4:3, TLB God always answers He wants to Bless us! Ask, Seek and Find…. God knows better than us… Sin can hinder your prayers How To Pray ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS GIVE THANKS When To Pray He answers before we ask!. When God says No Waiting…. The Holy Spirit helps You must believe Why you know He’ll answer How you should pray
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IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE A SUCCESSFUL PRAYER WARRIOR:
Start a prayer group. Hopefully from your church friends, but if not….invite your friends and family and neighbors. All of my neighbors came to the first few meetings but only a few continued on. None of my family members came early on. This whole endeavor will teach you a whole lot in a little bit of time and God will honor your earnest effort. A few things to remember:
1. Keep the focus on prayer.
2. Have order; start on time and end on time. 2 hours is quite reasonable.
3. Prepare an agenda.
4. Ask people to bring their bibles.
5. Ask people to bring a dish to pass.
6. Consider taking communion.
Thank you for taking the time today.
Questions:
How many people have you prayed for recently within the last week or two?
Why do you believe that you are drawn to pray?
How often do you read your bible?
Challenge:
Write a general prayer for your family and friends and mail out 25 letters.
References:
- The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds On Prayer
- The Kneeling Christian (Anonymous)
- The Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)
- The Autobiography of George Muller
- Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Dr. Taylor. Life and Diary of David Brainerd Edited: Jonathan Edwards
- With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
- Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill
- Rees Howells, Intercessor by Norman Grubb
- God’s Chosen Fast by Arthur Wallis
Prayer Warrior 101 (Session One)
Prayer Warrior 101 (Session Two)
Prayer Warrior 101 (Session Four-Healing)
There may be people who may read this; who knowingly or unknowingly may be looking to see if this is a critical piece. That is not the nature of this writing. It’s simply about a personal experience that clearly shaped my walk with God.
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When I was younger and not walking close with God; I had an enlightening experience. It was what my friend Rose calls a “defining moment.”
I always had two or three jobs even when I had a good job. We had moved into a new house and the financial needs became more demanding. I needed to be able to work at home and still earn extra monies. It so happened that an opportunity arose that allowed me to make money and a lot of it writing meaningful greetings cards and I leaped at the challenge.
BACKGROUND
I had written poetry for many years; all of my life in fact. When we were newly married in the middle of the night; something would wake me up and whisper poetry in my ears and I would jump up and write it down. When I became convinced that it could wait til morning, I would later find that it couldn’t, it would be long forgotten. All I knew was that it was beautiful. So I ended up with a huge stack of poetry in a bin from these nightly writings. My husband and I even thought of putting a computer in the bedroom for my nightly writings but we decided against it.
THINGS HAPPEN TO BELIEVERS
I knew the Lord as a little child. I am very thankful. I know that this doesn’t happen to everyone. God is love. I knew this as a child, but something happens to believers as we live in this world. I became sensitive to all of the unbelief that surrounded me in the wrong way. In my poems, Gods’ name would just pop up. Or Jesus name would just pop up. I really couldn’t explain it but they would be in the writings and nothing else would go there. I could be writing on anything, any subject and God’s name, His hand was always in it.
I GOT THIS JOB OFFER
I heard about a place that paid for your poetry if they could convert it into Greeting cards. I began to do some research and wrote a stack of materials. I went to the business and met the owner. I literally spent the entire afternoon there. I don’t recall her name and honestly I wouldn’t say it if I did. The lady paid me extremely well and promised me that she would give me a byline on the back of the Greeting Cards that were published. She then gave me a very large assignment. I was so excited.
THEN THE BOOM FELL…
This is a true story. As I was leaving she said: “One small thing. You mention God in your poetry, can you just leave that out? I usually don’t accept writings with Gods’ name in it but you didn’t have it in there a lot; but can you just do it less?”
She explained that she was an atheist. Now I had never met an atheist before. I couldn’t even understand how someone could have that mindset. I was shocked. I remember thinking how I couldn’t tell by looking at her. That was the most alarming thing.
MY RESPONSE…
I went numb. Those “visions of sugarplums” danced right out of my head. I just said the expected good-byes. For some reason I had parked a very long ways from the business. The walk back to my car was way too long. I was overcome with great sadness. I knew in my spirit that I could never return. I could not compromise my faith.
LOOKING BACK
I am very proud, because I wasn’t walking close with God then. There comes a time when we will all face DEFINING MOMENTS; what will you do then? What choice will you make?
Ephesians 6:16 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
[A Public Domain Bible] [KJV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
An umbrella protects me from the rain, but I prefer a raincoat with a hood. The bottom line is that they both work the same way. They don’t look the same but they both work and serve their purposes. Your faith is designed to do a whole lot for you. Dig it out and crank it out every day. Put on your shiled of faith and make a decision today that it is there for:
WHATSOEVER
WHOSOEVER
WHENEVER
HOWEVER
and WHY (ever) you need it. Make that decision today.
HERE’S A TRUE STORY:
On a recent trip to a Faith Conference; myself and several friends found ourselves catching the bus in the sweltering Texas sun. We boarded the bus and did not know that you had to have correct change. As we talked about our being tourists and how much we liked Texas; we attempted to get change from the passengers on board. There was so much chatter amongst us. We were4 hot but in a great mood so we were also complimenting the bus driver on his patience. Everyone seems to be getting new job titles nowadays so maybe he’s a large transport engineer. (smile)
Well, he eventually told us to please ride for free. We accepted but soon an opportunity arose that allowed us to pay so we did. I love Blessings but I don’t like freebies. I always feel like someone is loosing somewhere so I am very careful not to accept them without and extensive interview. I’m just that way.
Eventually we all sat down on what seemed to be a huge bus on the outside but not so huge on the inside. It was very clean and colorful and the people were quite friendly. The heat? No.
There were 5 of us and we sat all over the “small” bus. I sat next to a handsome young man, who began to tell me a lot of Texas data. This young guy was so friendly but I was intrigued by his tatoos. He had so many; I found myself wondering if he was in a gang. I asked the Lord to forgive me of my wrong thinking. No one has the right to stereotype. After all, I’m in a gang. I’m in the Jesus gang and glad to be in it. I carry protection too. I don’t go anywhere without the BLOOD. I have bodyguards; they’re called angels. I wear a wire so I always know what’s going on. My wire is like a pipeline if you must understand. That’s the Holy Ghost. I could go on but this story is not about me. The kind you don’t find in a Geography book. The young man told us many things, like how to get to the mall, the bus system, where to buy t-shirts etc.
We decided to get off the bus and visit the Target store. That was a joke. We had no idea that the store was nearly a mile from the bus stop. It was a very long mile in the Texas heat.
I was surprised to see the young man get off the bus with us. He walked with us. Right next to one of my sisters in Christ; a good friend; Sister LaTisha.
LaTisha is on the SWAT team at our church. That’s the soul winning attack team. They go out on the streets and bring people to Christ. I believe that it was a Divine appointment that we all had with the young man that day. I asked him if he wanted me to pray with him about anything and he said something like: “I’m good.” That means no thank you in a very polite way.
Our Word for the day is Salvation
One of the better definitions that I found was by Robert Longman Jr. was:
{Latin salvatus, past part. (to save); fr. assumed IE solu- (to make whole or complete again)]
The core Biblical meaning of ’salvation’ has to do with being rescued from danger or death. Indeed, that is what the name Yeshua (Jesus) means : ‘he rescues’. It is what the crowd shouts as Jesus entered Jerusalem that last time before death : hoshi’annah, ’save us!’ (in this case, from the Romans).
Christ rescues us from :
* sin (our broken relationship with God, shown mostly in our broken relationships with each other);
* death (we die because we are kept apart from God because there is something in us that rebels against God — Christ addresses that, overcomes it, transcended it, and is working to complete it in the future);
* captivity (we are set free from all that shackles and hinders us);
* the Devil (“deliver us from evil”);
* the wrath that is to come (when Time ends).
Christ rescues us for :
* a restored relationship with God (reconciliation) and life with Christ without end;
* new wholeness or completeness of being;
* citizenship in Christ’s Kingdom;
* new realms of possibility beyond what we can now imagine.
I watched quietly as Sister LaTisha began to speak to the young man that we met on the bus.
I heard her ask him if he knew where he was going if it so happened that he passed on. I heard her explain that salvation that we defined above is a free gift; that you don’t have to earn or work for. I believe that she gave him some of these scriptures:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
It wasn’t more than ten to fifteen minutes before we arrived at Target. While 4 of us chatted and complained about the heat; Sister LaTisha brought this young man to Christ. On a short walk in Texas, a young man was snatched from the devil’s grasp and God added to His family. It was powerful and I wish that you could have been there too. I pray that this word will inspire you today. Blessings
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Psalm 119: 130 KJV (King James Version)
A friend of mine needed prayer one day and I was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray with her. I was trained to pray scriptures and that’s what I do. I didn’t know of anything going on with her so I trusted God to give me the word. After we prayed, I could see that she felt better; just having heard the word of God. There was sheer relief all over her as if she had been freed from bondage. The Word of God can have that impact on each of us. I’ve known cases where the Word touched the hearts and lives of people from other faith backgrounds.
I know of cases of people who crave the Word of God from the bible even though that may not be their holy book. I’ve heard recently of the Word of God (the bible) delivering a woman from demonic possession as a result of practicing witchcraft.
The entrance of Gods’ holy word gives great light. It also provides understanding no matter how smart you are or you think that you are. Gods’ got fresh insight for you.
Each day, I purpose in my heart; to allow God to give me a different way of seeing things that I had not seen before.
The best Christmas present; I stumbled across. Here it is:
1. Make a list of your unsaved friends and relatives.
2. Minister God’s love all year long. (ideally, but you don’t have to)
3. Pray the prayer of Salvation to them and have them repeat it all after you.
4. Perhaps they have never made Jesus their Master or Savior or Lord of their life; maybe they need to rededicate their life to him.
5. I was happy that God had prepared the hearts of those whom I approached.
6. God will be pleased with your work. Keep your eyes on Him and follow His lead.
Below are some salvation scriptures and a prayer following
JOHN 3: 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
JOHN 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him [God] that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
JOHN 10:9 ” I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (Said Jesus)
JOHN 10:28-29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father”™s hand.”
You must understand that a prayer cannot get you into heaven. God looks at the heart; I will not mislead you. This is very serious; it is life changing. The devil would like to deceive many, do not allow your loved ones to be deceived. This is a commitment; God is not playing; He is serious and every soul is important to Him.
We should do the following:
1. Acknowledge
2. Declare
3. Believe ( Have Faith)
4. Repent
Father, I acknowledge You and I know that You are real. Thank You for loving me amd counting me worthy of Your kingdom. I declare that You are God alone and that there is none like You. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. I accept Him as the master of my life. Lord Jesus, I thank You for being put in a grave and I know that after that you were resurrected and rose from the dead. I thank You for saving me and making me righteous. Come into my heart this very minute. I repent of my sins and I put you first. Thank You for saving me now. I am now born again. Use me to do your work. In your name I pray, Amen
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Now this isn’t the end. You will need to see after them, encourage them, disciple them, Bless them, help them if you are able to get them in a good bible teaching church. You will need to follow up. Don’t leave them in the wind.
You don’t just have to do this at Christmas…but it is a good gift…
