The Prayer Initiative, Pt. 4 – Spiritual Warfare

Courageous Prayers...

• Search me
• Send me
• Break me
• Not my will

Unanswered Prayers...

• not God's will
• doubt
• wrong motives
• unconfessed sin
• lack of forgiveness
• unhealthy marriage
• forgetting the poor
• failure to ask
   

Spiritual Warfare

"War is a conflict that occurs when one party seeks to gain by FORCE something that another party will not willingly concede, or when both parties desire to possess a thing that cannot be mutually shared."  

Everything in this WAR ebbs and flows on the free-wills of humans.

2 Timothy 2:3-4, "You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No soldier in active service [warfare] entangles himself with the affairs of the civilian life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."
 

1.  Recognize our enemy
Ephesians 6:12 [NLT], For we are not fighting flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

"flaming arrows" – distract us!

We need to quit making the mistake of thinking our enemy is PEOPLE...the real enemy is the EVIL SPIRITS that are motivating those people.
 

2.  Recognize our battlefield
They have the power to influence and harass people's minds.

"Region - Nation"

Daniel 10:12-13 [NLT], Then he said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel.  Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven.  I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way.  Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me..."

Battlefield of our Minds  

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 [NLT], We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. 4 We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
 

3.  Recognize our access
Ephesians 6:10-18 [NIV], Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 AND PRAY in the Spirit on all occasions...  

• to hold at bay aggressively or to stand in front of and oppose.
• to engage actively in one-on-one combat.
• to be found standing after an active battle.
• to take your stand for the next battle.

Prayer is one of our weapons for spiritual warfare...we need to use it!