Prayer and Fasting

Over the next few weeks, I would like to talk about prayer and fasting as weapons of spiritual warfare.

There is a war going on that you must be prepared for if you want to have victory in your life. If you are a believer in Jesus and have received Him as your Savior, you are part of the Body of Christ.  This means you are in the spiritual war between God and Satan.  Even if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are still in this war.  You may not be aware yet, but you have no control over the things that happen to you. You can be hit and hurt in the crossfire from the enemy of your soul and not realize what is happening.

As you stand on the battlefield of life you may be suffering from problems, one accident or disease after another, the failure of your marriage, trouble with relationships, problems at work, financial crisis, mental torment, the consequence of bad decisions, the rebellion of children, the list is endless.  You may think this is bad luck, but it is not.  It is the result of the battle that is going on around you, and you are not protected.  The LORD wants to give you protection from the enemy of your soul, but you must accept the security that is only found in Jesus Christ.

Some believers are suffering from battle wounds because they don't understand war is going on, and they are in it.  Far too many believers are lying wounded on the battlefield because they think bad things happen, and that is just life.  They are not actively engaged in the war, even though they are on the receiving end of the enemy's weapons.  They lie wounded on the battlefield because they are unprepared to face the enemy.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, you must realize that the enemy of God is your enemy as well. You may consider yourself a peaceful person, and you are not at war with anyone.  You don't have to be at war with someone for them to be at war with you.  Many Christians have fooled themselves into thinking that their spiritual enemy does not exist and that they are not involved in the war.  The truth is that no matter what you believe, you have an enemy who is always opposing you.  One of the weapons of the enemy is to make you think you are not part of the battle because it does not exist.

It is time for people to realize that God has a plan for your life, and Satan has a plan for your life.

The only way that we can have abundant life is in Jesus Christ. Satan plans to rob, kill, and destroy us.  God is giving us the weapons to have a victorious life prayer and fasting.

As a believer, you now involved in a spiritual war whether you know it or not, accept it, or recognize it.

The things happening in your life happen to others, and it may seem that it is just bad luck, but it is far more sinister than that.  Those events in your life are the result of the enemy of your soul planning to destroy you.

Satan is the enemy of God and all God's children.  You may think this is not your war, but it is, and you better be ready to engage the enemy.

How you respond to the enemy of your soul determines if his plan or God's plan for your life is realized. The enemy is real, the battle is real, and what you do will determine your spiritual success.

There will be many battles in life, and God has called us to be warriors of the Cross.  One specific class of warriors is the Prayer Warrior.
The prayer warrior understands there is a tremendous spiritual battle ongoing (Ephesians 6:12). A prayer warrior is one who takes part in that battle through prayer—interceding for others and praying for God's will to be done in all things.

All Christians are called to prayer Eph. 6:18, 1 Timothy 2:1–4, Hebrews 4:14–16, and James 5:16 are intended for all believers, not just a select few. Even so, there seem to be some Christians who have an exceptional capacity to pray with enthusiasm, persistence, and effectiveness. How do we strengthen our own prayer lives and become prayer warriors?

First, we must understand what prayer is. It is communicating with God—both speaking to Him and hearing from Him. When we pray, we are addressing and hearing from the Creator of the universe, the one true God who has all knowledge, power, and might, and loves us more deeply than we realize (Ephesians 3:14–19). He is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). He grants us the privilege of prayer through the work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:15–16; 10:19–23). Prayer is powerful because of the one to whom we pray.

When we understand the privilege and power of prayer, we become more eager to engage in it. As we pray, we grow in relationship with God. Just as with any relationship, the more time we spend with God, the more we know Him. The more often we communicate with Him in prayer, the more we want to talk with Him in prayer. We become comfortable praying and grow in our understanding and practice of prayer; the more we do it.

Understanding and desiring the will of God is vitally important to our prayers. In part, our hearts aligning with His will happen as we pray. But we must also read the Bible, God's Word by which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us, to know who God is and the things He desires. First, John 5:14–15 says, "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." Our prayers are effective when we request things that are in God's will. Reading His Word helps attune our hearts and minds to His will.

When we pray, we are to address God (Matthew 6:9), rely on the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26–27; Jude 1:20), and pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13). Prayer is part of the armor of God, so it makes sense also to ensure that we are equipped with the other pieces of armor (Ephesians 6:10–18). Wearing the full armor of God is always appropriate.

To be a prayer warrior, we must also understand our standing before God in Christ: forgiven (1 John 2:12), loved (Ephesians 2:4–7), reliant upon Him for everything (Isaiah 42:5), blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3–14), sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14), fully equipped for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3–4), and planned for throughout eternity (1 Peter 1:3–5). We have the confidence to pray because of Jesus' work (Hebrews 4:14–16) and can boldly approach our heavenly Father, trusting Him to do good things (John 1:12; Luke 11:13; James 1:16–18).

Prayer warriors understand they must be humble (2 Chronicles 7:13–15); eliminate hindrances to prayers such as unforgiveness, sin, or selfish motives (Mark 11:25; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 John 3:21–22; James 4:2–3); and avoid grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19), but instead obey His promptings and directives.

To be a prayer warrior, you need to first be a child of God through Jesus (John 1:12; 3:16–18). Then you need to want to press in closer to God, to know Him better, to understand His ways deeper, and to follow Him closer. Read the Bible and start praying. Keep praying. None of us ever "arrives." But we can continue to build our "prayer muscle" by following God's directive to pray and rejoicing that He hears us and delights to relate with us and accomplish His kingdom purposes through prayer.