Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for prayer is encouraging and it reflects a true understanding of the battle we are in. This is not a struggle against people. It is a spiritual warfare, a battle for the minds and souls of men and women, and the enemy seeks to control thought and life through deception.
That is why the weapons God has given us are not fleshly or carnal. They are spiritual, and they are mighty through God. His Word, faith, and prayer are the means by which strongholds are pulled down. The real battlefield is often in the imagination and in the thoughts, where high things exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Through these spiritual weapons we can cast down those imaginations and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Scripture calls us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and to put on the whole armor of God so we can stand against the schemes of the devil. He is a crafty foe and his chief weapon is lying. He lies about who God is, about His character and His goodness toward you, and he lies about sin as if it does not matter. We stand against those lies not in our own strength but by putting on what God has provided, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. The emphasis is not on the picture of a Roman soldier, but on the spiritual reality behind each piece. Faith quenches the fiery darts, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is what actually reaches the heart. It is the Word that breaks through when our own words cannot.
It is wise and biblical that you begin by putting on that armor by faith for yourself before you intercede for others. We receive everything from God by faith, from salvation to the answers to our prayers, and we cannot help others stand if we are not standing ourselves. As you pray, remember that God is for you. Satan is not the opposite of God. God is the infinite eternal Creator and Satan is a finite created being. He may be opposed to the angels of God, but he is in no way equal to God. When you submit to God and resist the devil firmly in faith, trusting the authority of the name of Jesus and the truth of His Word and His risen position of all authority, the enemy must flee. He is also the accuser who accuses believers day and night, but your standing is in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
When you intercede for your family, for leaders and pastors, for churches and ministry partners, for all believers, for those in government, and even for those who consider themselves enemies, you are moving into the highest work of prayer. Prayer begins with worship and thankfulness for who God is and for His unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ, and with bringing our own needs to Him, but it grows into intercession where we carry the needs of others, of the community and the nation and the world, before Him. Confession of sin is part of that work, for without confession there is no forgiveness, and God desires a people with a compassionate heart that truly wants to see others forgiven and saved.
You may not always know how to pray for these great needs or what the will of God is in a particular situation. That is where the help of the Holy Spirit is so precious. As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God, and His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are His children. He searches the heart and knows the mind of the Spirit, and He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, even with groanings when we have no words. You can have confidence that as His child, He will work good even out of difficult situations that seem to have no way out.
God does not need a multitude to accomplish His purposes. He can work powerfully through one life fully committed to Him. So continue to pray always with perseverance, watching and making supplication for all the saints, and pray also for boldness to speak the mystery of the gospel plainly. May the Lord clothe you daily in His armor, guard your mind and heart in Christ, and use your prayers to pull down strongholds and to open doors for the Word to be proclaimed with boldness, and may He draw even those who oppose the gospel to salvation in Jesus Christ.
That is why the weapons God has given us are not fleshly or carnal. They are spiritual, and they are mighty through God. His Word, faith, and prayer are the means by which strongholds are pulled down. The real battlefield is often in the imagination and in the thoughts, where high things exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Through these spiritual weapons we can cast down those imaginations and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Scripture calls us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and to put on the whole armor of God so we can stand against the schemes of the devil. He is a crafty foe and his chief weapon is lying. He lies about who God is, about His character and His goodness toward you, and he lies about sin as if it does not matter. We stand against those lies not in our own strength but by putting on what God has provided, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. The emphasis is not on the picture of a Roman soldier, but on the spiritual reality behind each piece. Faith quenches the fiery darts, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is what actually reaches the heart. It is the Word that breaks through when our own words cannot.
It is wise and biblical that you begin by putting on that armor by faith for yourself before you intercede for others. We receive everything from God by faith, from salvation to the answers to our prayers, and we cannot help others stand if we are not standing ourselves. As you pray, remember that God is for you. Satan is not the opposite of God. God is the infinite eternal Creator and Satan is a finite created being. He may be opposed to the angels of God, but he is in no way equal to God. When you submit to God and resist the devil firmly in faith, trusting the authority of the name of Jesus and the truth of His Word and His risen position of all authority, the enemy must flee. He is also the accuser who accuses believers day and night, but your standing is in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
When you intercede for your family, for leaders and pastors, for churches and ministry partners, for all believers, for those in government, and even for those who consider themselves enemies, you are moving into the highest work of prayer. Prayer begins with worship and thankfulness for who God is and for His unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ, and with bringing our own needs to Him, but it grows into intercession where we carry the needs of others, of the community and the nation and the world, before Him. Confession of sin is part of that work, for without confession there is no forgiveness, and God desires a people with a compassionate heart that truly wants to see others forgiven and saved.
You may not always know how to pray for these great needs or what the will of God is in a particular situation. That is where the help of the Holy Spirit is so precious. As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God, and His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are His children. He searches the heart and knows the mind of the Spirit, and He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, even with groanings when we have no words. You can have confidence that as His child, He will work good even out of difficult situations that seem to have no way out.
God does not need a multitude to accomplish His purposes. He can work powerfully through one life fully committed to Him. So continue to pray always with perseverance, watching and making supplication for all the saints, and pray also for boldness to speak the mystery of the gospel plainly. May the Lord clothe you daily in His armor, guard your mind and heart in Christ, and use your prayers to pull down strongholds and to open doors for the Word to be proclaimed with boldness, and may He draw even those who oppose the gospel to salvation in Jesus Christ.
