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The Prayer Before the Battle
So how is God involved now?
How does God choose to make a difference in our world?
Through our prayers.
I don’t understand it.
Why would he trust us to pray like we should?
And why would he choose to use our imperfect prayers and impure motives to do his work?
The best that I can understand, God chooses to work through our prayers to build our faith and to draw others to faith.
Now there are all kinds of prayers.
A family was having guests over for dinner.
At the table, the mother turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, “Dear, would you like to say the blessing?”
“I wouldn't know what to say,” replied the little girl.
“Just say what you hear Mommy say, sweetie.”
Her daughter took a deep breath, bowed her head, and solemnly said, “Dear Lord, why the heck did I invite all these people to dinner?”
Now that's an honest prayer!
So there are all kinds of prayers.
A few years ago, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote the theme song for the National Day of Prayer.
The chorus went,
Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way
Every moment of the day, it is the right time
For the Father above, He is listening with love
And He wants to answer us, so let us pray
Sometimes we pray quick prayers, like, “Help me, Lord! ... Give me the right words here ... Change my attitude ... Give me strength.”
But sometimes we pray more earnestly.
Sometimes we are absolutely desperate for God.
These kinds of prayers are like spiritual warfare: we need God to overcome the evil one.
Maybe these kinds of prayers are what J.C. Ryle said, “Trials are intended to make us think; to wean us from the world; to send us to the Bible; to drive us to our knees.”
So when it comes to more serious kinds of prayers, consider these three action steps as you go into battle:
Recognize the Reality of the Spiritual World (v.
12)
We think the physical world is what’s real.
We think the physical world is what’s real.
But you know what?
It’s not as real as the spiritual world.
The physical world is only temporary.
All that you see, all that you experience with your five senses, it’s all going to pass away someday.
All that you see, all that you experience with your five senses, it’s all going to pass away someday.
What’s most real is the spiritual world.
Why?
Because elements of it will last forever.
You have a physical body that is temporary, but you have a spiritual self, some people call it a soul, that is forever.
What’s most real is the spiritual world.
Why?
Because elements of it will last forever.
You have a physical body that is temporary, but you have a spiritual self, some people call it a soul, that is forever.
Our enemies are not people.
We must see beyond people.
Satan may use people to persecute us, lie to us, cheat us, hurt us, or even kill us.
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But our real enemy lurks in the shadows of the unseen world, moving people as pawns on the chessboard of time.
It’s true.
You have an adversary who wants to attack your desires, your thoughts, even how you see and treat your body.
So you and I need to be on guard against Satan’s schemes.
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I find it interesting that every piece of “armor” described in that passage refers to the character of Christ.
In other words, put on Christ-likeness – abide in Christ – and you will fend off the attacks of the enemy.
We abide in Christ through surrender and constant communion with Him.
As you suit up with the armor of God, here are five prayers to pray against Satan’s attacks on your heart, mind, emotions, mouth, and body.
1.
A Prayer to Guard Your Heart
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Lord God, Captain of my heart, Satan knows if I follow Your Greatest Commandment – to love You with all my heart, soul, and mind () – he is powerless over me.
This is why, I think, as leaders we must be diligent to guard our hearts.
This is necessary for at least three reasons:
This is necessary for at least three reasons:
Because your heart is extremely valuable.
We don’t guard worthless things.
I take my garbage to the street every Wednesday night.
It is picked up on Thursday morning.
It sits on the sidewalk all night, completely unguarded.
Why?
Because it is worthless.
Not so with your heart.
It is the essence of who you are.
It is your authentic self—the core of your being.
It is where all your dreams, your desires, and your passions live.
It is that part of you that connects with God and other people.
Just like your physical body, if your heart—your spiritual heart—dies, your leadership dies.
This is why Solomon says, “Above all else.”
He doesn’t say, “If you get around to it” or “It would be nice if.” No, he says, make it your top priority.
Because your heart is the source of everything you do.
King Solomon says it is the “wellspring of life.”
In other words, it is the source of everything else in your life.
Your heart overflows into thoughts, words, and actions.
In Tennessee, where I live, we have thousands and thousands of natural springs, where water flows to the surface of the earth from deep under the ground.
It then accumulates in pools or runs off into creeks and streams.
If you plug up the spring, you stop the flow of water.
If you poison the water, the flow becomes toxic.
In either situation, you threaten life downstream.
Everything depends on the condition of the spring.
Likewise, if your heart is unhealthy, it has an impact on everything else.
It threatens your family, your friends, your ministry, your career, and, indeed, your legacy.
It is, therefore, imperative that you guard it.
Because your heart is under constant attack.
When Solomon says to guard your heart, he implies that you are living in a combat zone—one in which there are casualties.
Many of us are oblivious to the reality of this war.
We have an enemy who is bent on our destruction.
He not only opposes God, but he opposes everything that is aligned with Him—including us.
Guard my heart, Lord Jesus, so that it beats for You alone.
Don’t let me grow complacent toward You or be lured to love anyone or anything more than You.
Remove the idols from my heart so that
You alone command my allegiance and utmost affections Help me to love and forgive others as You have forgiven me so the enemy can get no foothold through hate or bitterness on my part.
Cultivate in my heart Your love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (>, NASB).
Finally, Lord, set my heart on things above, not on earthly things.
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