Another Prayer Request

 Today I would like to ask for special prayer for my brother in law, Rick, who is scheduled to have some skin cancer removed. Pray that they can get it all and that he does not have much pain. Also that it will heal smoothly and uneventfully. 

I really appreciate all of my prayer warrior friends! God uses you all in a powerful way and I am thankful and grateful! :O) 

Prayer Warrior Skill #7

Prayer Warriors

 

by

Ron Halvorsen

 

Battle Skill 7- Praying the Higher Prayers

"Most Prayer Warriors are familiar with petition prayer- the kind of prayer that bring a problem to God and asks Him to supply a need or solve a problem. God does invite us to present our needs to Him (Philippians 4:6). Yet many Christians feel a bit embarrassed when they pray for a solution or an answer that does not come immediately, and they must keep on asking God for it. Some attempt to solve this problem by asking God just once for what they want and then setting it aside, trusting that God hears and will answer the prayer in His own way and time.

But there is another way- a prayer skill that moves the original petition to a joyful and higher level of communion- the level of thanksgiving and praise. Present your petition - your statement of problem or need- to God thoroughly in one season of prayer. Be free to tell Him what solution you feel would be ideal. Then, release the whole problem or need to His wisdom and timing, confident that He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think." Ephesians 3:20. Then, in all prayer sessions after that, thank Him for the answer He has chosen and is in the process of providing. Thank Him for all that He has done for you in the past- as well as for others and for those in the Bible times. Go into detail about this with Him. Then begin to praise Him for foreseeing the problem and for providing the answer, whether you understand it or see it or not. Mention briefly your area of need and begin praising Him for the answer.

 

You will find incredible rewards in this. Satan hates praise and thanksgiving. He simply cannot remain in the presence of a person immersed in praise. Praise is the language of heaven. Check it out: Whenever you encounter a throne room in the book of Revelation, you find angels and people praising God. Why not start practicing the language of heaven right now? The darker the situation, the more intense the crisis, the more you are privileged to give thanks and praise. you will soon be sharing remarkable experiences with your friends and loved ones.

 

These are a few of the prayer skills that Prayer Warriors can master. As you develop your ability to apply these, you will discover others. Keep a prayer notebook and not each new skill as you discover it and learn how to use it in battle. Never stop sharpening and expanding your battle skills. God is waiting for Prayer Warriors who will expand their ability to play an ever stronger role in His earth army. You can be such a Prayer Warrior." pg. 68-69

 

This is the end of this series. I hope you have enjoyed it!

Prayer Warriors Battle Skill #6

Prayer Warriors

 

by

Ron Halvorsen

 

 

"Praying God's Word Back to Him"

 

"Even the most experienced Prayer Warrior has times when prayer seems to go flat or the words for prayer just will not come. During those times, practice the art of praying God's Word back to Him. Go to Psalms 23 and start with the first phrase of verse 1. Thank God that He is your Shepherd. Admit that you are stubborn sometimes like a sheep and need a Shepherd's care. Affirm, with thanks, your belief that when He provides, you will not want. Pray, as the Holy Spirit leads you, to see your own experience in the verse. Then take the next verses, phrase by phrase, and pray them one by one_ always making personal application or claiming the verse for a loved one or for a prayer burden. See how your heart and spiritual nature responds and your faith grows.

 

The whole Word of God lies before you to pray this way. Try Psalms 1; John 14:1-3; John 3 or 10 or 17; Revelation 22. Take single verses from Isaiah, the gospels, or Paul's writings. When you have no prayer strength of your own, lean on the power of God's Word. He has promised that His Word will not return to Him void but will accomplish the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:8-11). Take Him at His Word and learn how to return God's Word to Him in Prayer."pg. 68

 

 



Prayer Warriors Battle Skills #5

Be sure and see the message at the bottom of this post. Thanks :O)

Prayer Warriors

by

Ron Halvorsen

 

Battle Skill #5 Affirming Your Right and Authority

 

"One of the chief methods Satan uses to cripple prayer is to fill the Prayer Warrior with an overwhelming sense of his or her own inadequacy. As we struggle to grow more like the Lord Jesus, we find weak places in our characters, old patterns that keep repeating themselves, areas with which we wrestle repeatedly. Satan utilizes these, and during times of fatigue and illness, floods us with feelings of condemnations. The enemy whispers:

 

"How dare you feel that God will answer you prayer when you keep doing....?"

 

"No one with the weaknesses and failures you have is worthy to pray." (pg. 66-67)

 

"During these times of discouragement, we must remember that our right to pray is a gift of grace- a gift give to us because of who Jesus is and not because of what we are. Your right to act as a Prayer Warrior was given to you when you accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Lord:

 

By believing on Him and depending on His death on the cross, on His resurrection, on His work as your intercessory High Priest in heaven, all His purity and power were credited to your account

(2 Corinthians 5:21).

You became a citizen of God's kingdom (John 17:14-16), a member of the family of God (Romans 8:14-16; 1 John 3:1-3), a priest (1 Peter 2:5,9), a commissioned representative of Jesus Christ Himself (Matthew 28:18-20).

 

You became a part of His body, the church (Ephesians 1:16-23).

 

The Holy Spirit became your personal Partner in prayer (Romans 8:26-27) Jesus gave you the personal right to use His name as authorization to take your petitions before God's throne

(John 16:23). 

 

Not one of these rights and sources of authority depends on your righteousness or merit apart from Christ. Your sins and weaknesses can interrupt your communion and fellowship with God. They can erect barriers which reduce your effectiveness as a channel for His Love. But, "if any many sin, we have an advocate with the Father." 1 John 2:2 God has made full provision for your forgiveness and cleansing. And if you continue to seek His pardon, your shortcomings can not remove your prayer rights and authority- for that is drawn entirely from the gifts of Jesus." (pg 67)

 

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Ok - Today is your lucky day!! Today I was able to find a copy of this book- and it can belong to you. If you are interested in it - just leave a message. I would love to bless someone else with this book. There is SO much to this book. I am only going over a very small section of this book. So like I said - leave a message and let me know if you are interested.

 



Prayer Warriors Battle Skills #4

Prayer Warriors

by Ron Halvorsen

 

Battle Skill 4- Planning and Recording Your Prayers

 

I think that this skill is probably one of the ones that really stood out to me and that I implemented as soon as I possibly could. It was a good thing that I have a pile of empty spirals just waiting to be used.

 

"Successful businesses always have a master plan and keep thorough records of business transactions. Isn't prayer your Father's business? Some of the most successful Prayer Warriors I know keep careful prayer journals or diaries. First they list people to pray for, along with their specific needs. Then they make a three-column prayer record:

 

Column 1- The date they began to pray or renewed their prayer for a specific person or need.

 

Column 2- The concern or person(s) for whom they prayed.

 

Column 3- When and how the prayer was answered. " (pg 66)

 

I love this idea. Before I started keeping a better record of my prayers - I would pray for things and then totally forget about them. Which in a way is good because it means I have left the results up to God. However, the problem is that when I have forgotten those prayers then it is easy for me not to realize when God has answered those prayers. Now periodically I will read through my prayer request and I will update the answers to prayers. And when I do this, I am reminded of God's care for even the little things. It is good to be remember the way God has worked in the past - especially when you are going through an harder time than usual. God is there and He does answer prayers and I am so very thankful!! Praise God for His watch care over us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer Warriors Battle Skills...#3

 

 

Prayer Warriors

by

Ron Halvorsen

 

Battle Skill 3 - Preparing for Prayer

"One national poll, sampling from all Christian denominations, records that the average Christian prays one minute per day, and the average minister prayer five minutes. It is little wonder there are so many problems in modern Christianity- so much spiritual coldness." (pg 64)

 

"Obviously, the first step in preparing for prayer battle is to remove any barriers that have arisen from life stresses or stumbling into sin since your last prayer time. Let's clear up one thing right now: You don't have to wait until your private, quiet prayer time to get straight with God. It only takes a moment to shoot a prayer arrow toward heaven- to face your sin, ask for forgiveness, and receive it. Keep your accounts short and up-to-date with God. You will be amazed at the added strength this brings."

"I have found the most effective preparation for prayer to be one I use regularly. I ask myself five questions.

 

1. Is there a Sin for me to confess? If so, look it square in the face. Take it to God. Confess it. Receive forgiveness.

 

2. Is there a Promise for me to claim? Let God lead you to it. Take hold of it and draw it to your heart. Joyfully receive it for yourself, reading your own name into the promise. Write it on a small card to carry with you through the day. Repeat it over and over. Its power is released each time you repeat it. When thoughts of fear, doubt, discouragement, and stress attack you, thrust them back by repeating the promise.  

 

3. Is there an Attitude for me to change?  Is there a negative emotion or feeling about yourself, others or God that keeps getting in the way of your spiritual growth? Identify and face it firmly. If you can, identify where it came from- then take it to God, releasing it to Him. Choose before Him to have it taken from your life. Identify the positive trait that is its opposite. Ask God to give you that positive attitude or emotion as a gift of grace.

Then do all you can to practice that positive trait. Particularly be aware of such negative attitudes as fear, doubt, unforgiveness, hate, bitterness, pride, and self- righteousness."

 

4. Is there a Command for me to obey? If we listen closely, the Spirit of God is reminding us of the commandments of Jesus- not only the Ten Commandments, but also the positive commands Jesus laid down in the Gospels ("But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." John 14:26) Choose to follow then in your life. Make that choice known to God and work in partnership with Him in obeying them. Don't get hung up on your failures. Confess them and accept forgiveness and cleansing. Focus with thanksgiving and praise on your successes and victories.

 

5. Is there an Example for me to follow? Spend time in your Bible, either by reading it or meditation on it through the day. Set the return spring of your mind to swing back to God and His word during any moment you are not occupied. Especially spend time in the gospel story, saturating yourself in Jesus' life. During your private prayer time review what you've studied and open your heart to God's leading. When strong examples in Bible events come to your mind, summarize the attitude or action you wish to possess in your life and present it to God. Thank Him for help to build it into your spiritual life."pg 65-66 

Prayer Warrior Battle Skills #2...series

 

Prayer Warriors

by

Ron Halvorsen

 

Battle Skill 2- Choosing the Time and Place

 

"Our deep devotional prayer time, apart and alone with God, stands as the real source of power throughout the day."(pg. 63)

 

Having a special time and place for our quiet time is very important. My favorite place for my devotion time in at my desk that sits in front of our double window that looks out into our back yard. From this location I can watch my chickens and the birds that come and go. This is a very relaxing place to be. 

It is good to have a special place for your devotional time - but if you are like me sometimes your don't have access to your favorite place of worship.  For me that would when my husband is sleeping late on his days off, than I move my place to the living room. It is ok - you can still have your special time with the Lord. It is just nice if you can have a place that you normally spend with God. In that place I have access to a lot of helpful tools.

 

I will now share with you the list from the book of important things to remember for your time and place for quiet time:

 

"1. It should be private and apart from others. Deep communion with God is difficult when others are present and busy at other activities.

 

2. It should be free from distractions. This is often difficult, but necessary. Let others know that you must not be disturbed. Let others answer the phone or ignore it. Control the tape player, radio, or television....

3. It should be scheduled and regular. Our enemy has a way of interrupting our prayer time with emergencies or other life demands. If we do not schedule a particular time and discipline ourselves to meet with God at that time each day, it is easy to neglect vital prayer time and find ourselves without armor, without strength, without guidance.... "

 

For me - it works best for me to do my quiet time first thing in the morning. This is a very quiet time and there are very few interruptions, if any. My mind seems to work the best at this time.
We can look to Jesus as an example - He spent time with His Father early in the mornings.

And I have to say - that I do much better with dealing with life when I not only spend quiet time in the early mornings, but also if I make time to spend in the evenings as well. Any time is a great time to spend with Jesus- so what ever time you can spend with Him is wonderful.

 



Prayer Warrior Battle Skills #1....series

Prayer Warriors by Ron Halvorsen

(click the link above if you would like to get a copy of this book or just to check it out. )

 Battle Skill 1 Putting on God's Armor

    This is one of the lessons that I will let the book speak for itself. I will not be sharing the whole section(a lot of typing) but I will share the more important parts.

"The Holy Spirit instructs us about the Prayer Warrior's armor in Ephesians 6:11-18. This amazing armor is not human armor, but "the armor of God" Himself. So precious to God are His warriors' spiritual safety and battle preparations that He gives each of them a set of His own armor and commands them to put it on. Wise Prayer Warrior don this armor each morning to protect them during the day. Examining this passage, we find that it lists the armor piece by piece- armor that was familiar to New Testament Christians. They saw it on Roman soldiers everywhere. Paul then matches the armor with its spiritual counterpart:

1. Helmet- Salvation

2.Breastplate - Righteousness

3. Girdle (from navel to knees) - Truth

4. Sandals- Gospel which brings peace

5. Sword of the Spirit- The Word of God

6. Shield- Faith

Prayer Warriors earnest about their task will find it rewarding to study this armor closely. Especially keep in mind that each portion of the armor is found in Jesus Christ Himself. Putting on this armor is not recommended - it is commanded!

We wear this armor in two ways: defensively and offensively. We depend on the armor to protect us from the burning arrows Satan launches when attacking us."

".....Then in full armor, the command comes to "Stand braced for battle." How then do we fight?"

 

"Praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." 

Ephesians 6:18

 

Spiritual warfare is fought on the battlefield of prayer. That is where the victories are won." (pg. 61-62)

Prayer Warrior Battle Skills...series

Prayer Warriors by Ron Halvorsen

(click on the above link if you would like to check out this book or even get yourself one)

 

This is the book that I have been reading. It has a lot of valuable information in it.

 

    Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8

 He knows that he is lost and wants to take as many of us as he can. He was able to get 1/3rd of the angels and believe me he is powerful and very cunning...

He uses whatever means to ensnare us, remember the quote I shared yesterday?

 

In my book Prayer Warriors, Ron Halvorsen shares with us about 7 battles skills and I thought it would be a very good idea for me to do a series on them. Especially in the days that we are living in now, it is very important for us to be prayer warriors.

 

"So many Christians are being destroyed because they are.....

uninformed.......

unprepared....

uninvolved...

 

Paul, throughout His epistles speaks of the reality of these spiritual battles. He uses vivid word pictures: a wrestling match, a boxing match, a personal war, a universal battle being watched by heavenly witnesses. Using these word pictures, Paul challenges us to....

"Fight the good fight." 1 Timothy 6:12

"Be a soldier of Christ." 2 Timothy 2:4

"Put on the full armor." Ephesians 6:11, 13

 

This real battle is won on our knees, in the spiritual trenches and foxholes of our prayers closets.  In prayer, we communicate with the Source of our victory- the Lord Jesus. This is why we call for Prayer Warriors - to win present and future battles. We must remember this crucial fact: Our Commander never asks us to go into battle without armor, weapons, or training in battles skills."
 
This conflict is between God and Satan and we get stuck in the middle of it. God loving us so much that he sent His son to die on the cross for our sins so that we can go home to live with Him in Heaven some day. The other side of conflict -does not really care about us at all at - he only wants to attempt to take us out of the hand of our creator, he was able to deceive 1/3 of the angels and they were in the very presence of God Almighty - how much easier it would be to deceive us frail humans.

Next week we will have our Battle Skill 1 - about "Putting on God's Armor" see you then.