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2000-03-25 - Prayer, The Arsenal
What Hinders Your Prayers, Part 2
Our last devotional spoke about hindrances to prayer. Let's review them:
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Some prayers are said for people to hear instead of God. See, Matthew 6:5-6
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Repetitive Prayer. See Matthew 6:7,8 and Psalm 94:9
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Not Knowing how to pray. See Matthew 6:9-15
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A lack of faith or trust in God. See James 1:5-6
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We do not ask. See James 4;12
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Selfish motives. See James 4:3
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Get our priorities straight
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Independence from God. See Philippians 4:19
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Husbands understanding your wives. See 1 Peter 3:7
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Sin. See Isaiah 59:1-2
James 5:16-20 Confess therefore your sins one to another,
and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous
man availeth much in its working. 17 Elijah was a man of
like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and
it rained not on the earth for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the
earth brought forth her fruit. 19 My brethren, if any among
you err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 let him know,
that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul
from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.
We are told to confess our sins to each other, to pray for each other and
to live a live that is righteous so that our prayers may be powerful.
Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and
in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of
God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against
the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this
darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may
be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
We have to remember that our battle is a spiritual one.
Our weapons are the Word of God and prayer.
I Peter 5:8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Get serious about prayer and the test will come. It happened here recently.
We decided as a couple to pray together at least twice a day and to read
the Word together once a day. That is no easy task in this house. We began
to study about prayer and to pray especially for our children that they would
be brought closer to God. Well, the test came with one of our kids. A BIG
test. I would like to say that we passed with flying colors … but we didn't.
It was, and in some ways still is a struggle. But Romans 8 :28 is clear,
"And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good,
even to them that are called according to his purpose."
There is a very real Enemy out there who wants to destroy us. He wants to
destroy our relationship with God and with each other. It is easy when emotions
run high and the situation heats up to forget who we are fighting against
and let our flesh take over. Yet we have to remember that Satan wants to
keep us from being effective in the kingdom of God. He wants our focus to
be unclear and our mind to be filled with everything but with the mind of
Christ. That is why it is so important to know the Word of God. Then when
a test or a trial comes our way we can fall back on what we know to be true
rather than what we feel. Then truth and not circumstance will dictate our
thoughts and actions.
Matthew 16:13-18 Now when Jesus came into the parts of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the
Son of man is? 14 And they said, Some say John the Baptist;
some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said
unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
We can pray that God would bind the demonic forces within the spiritual realm.
We can pray that prayer specifically for a person or for a situation. That
is where the real battle begins. God has shown us through His Word, how to
prepare ourselves, how to fight the battle and He has even provided the weapons.
He has also shown us the strategy the Enemy uses. That is where we will begin
next week.
Lord, help us to fight the battle first on our knees.
Help us not to forsake time in your Word. Keep our minds clear God and focused
on You. Protect us Lord and keep us within the shelter of Your holy presence.
Amen.
In His Service,
Rick and Sandy
liv4yeshua@aol.com
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