Thoughts for Life: #102 How You Can Win Prayer Victories

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- Prayer warfare is not your begging God to help you do His will, or trying to convince God of the magnitude of a need. Prayer warfare is joining Christ in driving out and defeating Satan and in setting his captives free.

It is advancing against Satan's strongholds and dislodging and expelling his demon forces. Satan is a pretender, with no right to dominate and enslave the lives of those for whom Christ died. (Woman praying by William Farlow Unsplash)

He has no right to harass and oppress people, to dupe and frighten them into submitting to him. Satan has been totally defeated at Calvary (see chapter 14, #43 You Have Prayer Authority Through The Cross).

As compared with God's hosts, his evil spirits are fewer in number and greatly inferior in power. Prayer warfare is enforcing the victory of Calvary against Satan's deceptive schemes and defeated spirit-helpers.

1. 'Take the offensive in prayer. God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, not to defend them in Egypt; to attack and defeat the enemy nations, not to protect Israel from them. God sent Joshua to invade and conquer Canaan, not to negotiate detente. The Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost, not to keep the church blessed and comfortable, but to make the church invincible.

The weapons of your spiritual warfare, says Paul, are not defensive weapons, but weapons of attack.

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments [from Satan] and every pretension [literally, 'lofty thing'] that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

We are not to build a bypass when Satan throws up a mountain of resistance against us; we are to challenge Satan and hurl his mountain into the sea (Matt. 17:20). We are to "hold the fort" until Jesus comes and rescues us; we are to storm the gates of Hades (16:18).

Ask God to give you a militant spirit. Ask Him to point out to you the specific needs for which to pray. Ask Him to show you the blindness, the slavery, and the lostness of the unsaved. Ask God to help you feel His longing love for the sinner, His hatred for the sin which is destroying the sinner, and His passion for the church, the kingdom, and the waiting harvest.

Ask God to give you a new joy and expectancy in prayer, a holy boldness to see Christ triumph and Satan defeated. Ask God to give you increased faith to see God's promise fulfilled and Satan put to shame. Ask God to light a holy fire in your soul by the power of the Holy Spirit, to transform your praying from weakness to prevailing power and an urgent insistence to see God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Insist on this prayerfully for the specific situations God puts upon our heart. Ask Him to clothe your praying with the authority of Calvary, the power of Pentecost, and the almightiness of His name.

This is your hour to see God's miracle power revealed, God's purposes fulfilled, and God's enemies routed. This is your hour to triumph on your knees with Christ. The victory was won and assured at Calvary. Satan and every demon from Hades knows their battle is already lost. In the name of Jesus, call their bluff!

(Chapter 28, p. 208-209, italics added for emphasis)

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Let's pray-

Father, so many think that prayer warfare is begging You to be convinced of the importance of their particular need. But it's really joining with Christ in defeating Satan and setting his captives free.

When compared with Satan's forces, Your hosts are greater in number and power. We are enforcing the victory of Calvary against Satan's deceptive schemes and defeated spirit-helpers. This is what it boils down to!

May we understand that with the name of Jesus as our Defender, we can be victorious against the pretender, who has no right to dominate and enslave the lives of those for whom Christ died.

We ask for new joy, expectancy in prayer, and a holy boldness to see Christ triumph and Satan defeated. May our faith begin to see Your promises fulfilled and Satan put to shame. Light us with a holy fire in our souls by the power of Your Holy Spirit, that our prayers may be transformed from weakness to prevailing power and urgent insistence to see Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen

Today's Bible verses-

Philippians 4:6, 7 (NJV) "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, (v. 7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Phil. 4:19 (NKJV) "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

1 Cor. 4:20 (NKJV) "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power."

Quote for today-

~ Gary Heyes- "If we are willing to do an inventory of the rooms in our hearts and as we allow the Holy Spirit to address the things that would keep us back, we can experience great breakthrough. When we deal with the things that weigh us down, we are free to move into our divine purpose.

Little attitudes left unchecked can foster a root of bitterness or anger. Small hurts not dealt with can become wounds that harden the heart and cause us to live in deception. Many of us believe small lies. But even small lies lead to hopelessness and defeat."

[Taken from page 45, SAY YES What Are You Saying Yes to?]

Words of wisdom-

~ What will we leave our children, once we’re gone? Will it be riches, cars, mansions and other earthy things? Sowing seeds of faith is what really matters. Will we leave a example that inspires them to walk in the faith we had?

Today's question-

Does God notice when we are praying?

Good question! Did He notice when Saul was praying after he was met on the road to Damascus by the Lord? As it turned out, (Acts 9:10-19), tells us how God reacted to his praying. He spoke to a man named Ananias to go where Saul was fasting and praying, and to pray for him there ,"for behold, he is praying."

Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, became a great witness for the truth that Jesus was the Christ! His story became an inspiration to many, including those of us in the 21st century. He taught that we are to pray with fervent, bold prayers with the expectancy that God hears us.

2 Corinthians 1:11 relates how through the intercession of friends, they were helped by many persons for the gift of deliverance granted to them through their prayers.

Our praying for the needs of others, whether physical or spiritual, is God's means of making a difference in lives. It is His will that we pray; therefore He does hear us! What matters is that we are familiar with His Word, so we can know what His will may be in a given situation.