Prayer Warrior: Praying Your Way To Victory - Session 11- Follow His Orders To Resist The Enemy

The Church of Divine Guidance Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study Group is going through

Prayer Warrior The Power Of Praying Your Way To Victory by Stormie Omartian.  For a copy of the book, click or touch this LINK or the image, of the book at the end of the notes.

No one can sit on the sidelines today when it comes to spiritual matters. A war is going on between good and evil, and every believer is involved. For every Christian who wants a meaningful prayer life that is more than just asking for blessings.  Bestselling author Stormie Omartian shows how to pray with strength and purpose―prayers resulting in great victory, not only personally but also in advancing God's kingdom and glory.

These are my notes for the study.

We started this study by recognizing that we are in a war.  A spiritual war against Satan and all his forces.  We talked about the authority that we have in prayer.  We have to make sure that we stay in condition to fight.  We have God’s armor  and weapons.   We have to be willing to engage the enemy any and every where.  Last week we talked about immediate battlefields.  The battle itself is prayer but there are many battlefields.  Some battlefields are relationships, work, finances, family, and health, but the biggest and most important battlefield where we must prevail is the battlefield of the mind because all the other battlefields come from that one.  The enemy through his lies fostered through imaginations create strongholds that must be broken down.  A stronghold is anything that exalts itself in our minds, pretending to be bigger or more powerful than God.

So how do we stop the enemy from harassing us?  By resisting him, not binding him, not casting him into the pit of hell.  And how do we resist?

By submitting to God.

James 4:7 (NKJV)  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

In the study we’ve talked about a lot of things:

“Submit” is a military term, and it means to obey or to be subordinate to a commander.

Chapter 2 and our second session was “Know Your Commander”  Who is our Commander?   

Jesus
          

We know that Jesus became one of us

Hebrews 2:14-15 (NKJV)14  Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,15  and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

He chose us

Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV)3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

4  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,5  having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,6  to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

He died for us

1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV)18  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

He saves us We cannot save ourselves.

Acts 4:12 (NKJV)12  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Your Commander Makes You a Joint Heir with Him

We are a joint heir with our Commander

Galatians 4:4-7 (NKJV)4  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5  to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.6  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"7  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

He gives us His Spirit to live in us

Romans 8:9 (NKJV)9  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

He’s already defeated the enemy

Colossians 2:13-15 (NKJV)13  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,14  having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.15  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Romans 8:35-37 (HCSB)35  Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?36  As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.37  No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us.

He’s the greatest example of a prayer warrior

Exodus 15:3 (NKJV)3  The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.

Jesus is our best role model when it comes to understanding what it means to be a prayer warrior. He not only taught about prayer; He lived it every day of His life.  He prayed all the time. He did nothing without praying first.

We don’t ever want to be charged with insubordination by God.  Insubordination separates us from God.  Stormie identifies three thing that cause us to be insubordinate.  What are they?

Sin, worldliness, and pride.  She says that the antidote for these things is humility.

Resist the Enemy by Rejecting Pride

When we submit ourselves to God we become humble and able to resist pride which results in insubordination.  

Submitting to God means humbling ourselves before Him and declaring our utter dependence upon Him. It means repenting of all pride.

Pride is a big problem.  We see what it does when people start believing the hype about them.  God gives some the gift of being able to encourage people or teach people or lead people and the people being encouraged look to that person as examples.  We we start believing that we are all that that’s when pride creeps in.  The enemy causes us to think that we are the reason for our success and not God

When we become prideful we are looking at ourselves and not God and you know what happens then.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV)  Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

James 4:6 (NKJV)6  But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

The last thing we need is to have God resist us.

The root of rebellion against God is pride.  Pride is what caused the downfall of Satan.

Isaiah 14:13-14 (NKJV)13  For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

Pride causes people to go to war with God by being friends with God’s enemy.

If we submit ourselves to God He will lift us up because we acknowledge that it’s because of Him that we are able to do anything.  We we become humble it’s like this;

Luke 18:9-14 (NKJV)9  Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:10  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'13  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

1 Peter 5:6-11 (NKJV)6  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,7  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.9  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.10  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

11  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

God revives us and hears our prayers when we are humble.

Isaiah 14:13-14 (NKJV)13  For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

Psalm 10:17 (NKJV)17  LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

Here’s what Stormie says;

Don’t let the enemy tell you that submitting to God will cause you to miss out on some great worldly thing. Actually, the opposite is true. Submitting to the enemy will limit all God has for you. Submitting to God brings blessings far beyond what you can imagine into your life. What you gain isso far superior to anything the world has to offer.

The enemy wants us to be separated from God, but he can only separate us if we listen to him instead of God’s truth.  But pride can creep into any one of us. We cannot ignore that possibility.
That’s why we must pray frequently that we will resist the enemy by staying humble before God. And that happens with every step of submission to God we take.

Resist the Enemy by Refusing Fear

This from our book;

You are made up of “spirit, soul, and body”—your soul is made up of your mind and emotions, and this includes your will

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV)23  Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God wants all of these aspects of you submitted to Him under His Lordship. If the enemy has influence in any of these areas of yourself, you will find fear creeping into your soul.
     
Fear increases in us when we have too much involvement with the world. If you suffer from fear, the enemy will seize the opportunity to feed it in you until you are emotionally paralyzed.

There is a phobia for everything on earth.And where do these countless fears come from? Not from God. Fear is the work of the enemy in our lives. We become afraid when we listen to the voice of the enemy and not the voice of God.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)7  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  

There is a misconception in the body of Christ that all fear and depression are all the result ot defeat on the battlefield of the mind and can be cured by prayer.  Yes God can heal miraculously and does and that includes behavioral issues that are from chemical imbalances in their bodies.  In those instances our prayer should be for healing of that imbalance not praying our some spirit of depression or lack of faith.  

Fear of God isn’t the emotion that usually comes to mind when we think of fear.  That emotion is fright, which is a sudden intense feeling of fear. Synonyms of this type fear are fearfulness, terror, horror, alarm, panic, dread, trepidation, dismay, nervousness, apprehension, apprehensiveness, perturbation, and disquiet.  The fear of God is a reverential respect of God’s power and glory.  Fear of God is the result of His love for mankind and the grace that He has given to those who, in faith, believe on His Son, Jesus Christ.  

Apart from this fear of God we are commanded to “fear not”.  We are commanded to “fear not” because God has made promises to those who believe in Jesus.  He’s promised to protect them, to provide for them, and to give them eternal life with Him.

In conducting additional research I found that in the context of  instructing us not to be afraid of circumstances, or to not fear following a command or instruction of God, the phrase is only used about 80 times.  Other phrases that would be equal to “"fear not"” like; “do not be afraid, “do not fear”, or “be not afraid” appear about 30 times.  

While there is disagreement on exactly how many times we are told to “"fear not"”, the fact that we are told to not fear anyone or any circumstance other than God Himself, so many times in does tell us that it’s important.  God commands us to not fear.  

We are commanded to “fear not” because God has made promises to those who believe in Jesus.  He’s promised to protect them, to provide for them, and to give them eternal life with Him.

Psalm 91:1-4 (NLT) 1  Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.2  This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.3  For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.4  He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT) 31  “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’32  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.33  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

John 3:16 (NLT)  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 2:24-25 (NLT) 24  So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.25  And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

A big cause of fear is that our past has messed us up so that we can never be what God wants us to be as prayer warriors.  That is, or course another one of the enemy’s lies.    Here is some good advice from Stormie;

The truth is, you are not your past. You are a new creation in Christ. This is not to say you should ignore the past. Acknowledge it for what it was. If it was terrible and damaging to you,
if it was hurtful and you know it caused great scars in your mind and emotions, don't deny it. Bring it all to the Lord. God will redeem everything by bringing good out of it. It’s one of the countless miracles He does.
     

Paul said that he lived “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”

Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)13  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,14  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

We must do the same. God will help you step out of your past and reach toward the future He has for you. And fear will not be part of that process.

Refuse to be overwhelmed because God is not overwhelmed. Resist all confusion. Thank God everyday for the sound mind of clarity He has given you. There is only one purveyor of fear and confusion, and you know who that is.

Resist the Enemy by Praying for Miracles

God wants to do miracles through us, but too often we either don’t pray for them,
or don’t believe they can happen, or when they do happen we have trouble believing it.  Too often, just because we cannot imagine the miracle, we don’t pray for it. We have to stop doing that. We must trust in our miracle-working God and pray for a miracle without feeling we have to tell Him how to do it.

Pray that God will deliver us from unbelief and increase our faith to believe for miracles.

Mark 9:23-24 (NKJV)23  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."24  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

All prayer warriors must be convinced that God can work a miracle at any time, and that His power is not limited to what we think or feel He will do—or what someone of little faith decides He can’t do. We are to just pray for a miracle. It’s in God’s hands from that point.

Resist the Enemy by Not Giving Up

Remember our last study Prayer:  Does It Make Any Difference?

We’ve talked all year about being persistent in prayer even when it looks like God isn’t listening and that our prayers aren’t making any difference.  

Luke 18:1-8 (NKJV)1  Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,2  saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

3  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'4  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man,5  yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' "6  Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.

7  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?8  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

We know that God is Omniscient, and that He knows what we need before we ask, but we are still told to ask and to be persistent in our asking.

Matthew 7:7-11 (NLT)7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Jesus, Himself, gives us an example of persistence in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Matthew 26:36-44 (NLT)36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”40 Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”42 Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”43 When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.44 So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.

Don’t become discouraged and stop praying. The enemy wins that way.

Don’t start a day, or let a day go by, in which you have not prayed. That being said, refuse to entertain guilt or condemnation when you miss having a prayer time in a day or two. That, too, is a ploy of the enemy.

Resist the Enemy by Refusing to Be Discontent

Supplication means more than just asking for something from God.  Supplication means praying until the burden you have on your heart is released into God's hands.   It means to keep praying until you see the answer or you receive the peace to stop praying—whichever comes first.
     
God wants you to be content no matter what condition you are in or what is happening in your life.

Philippians 4:11-14 (NKJV)11  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:12  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.14  Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.

That doesn’t mean you have to stay in that condition forever. It means you trust that God is not going to leave you in that condition forever.

How many people have we seen who have hardened their heart toward God because He didn't do what they wanted Him to do?

Remember my Tuesday Night Bible Study when I talked about phony worship?

Worship is all about responding to who God is and what He’s done for us. It’s about being so into God that we can’t help responding out loud or with our actions. Worshiping God is about focusing on Him.

God doesn’t require some kind of perfect, complicated worship act. He just wants it to be authentic and genuine.

Let me give you an example of phony worship.

Isaiah 1:10-15 NIV Hear the word of the Lord , you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!  “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord . “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.  When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?  Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.  Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.  When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!

He didn’t say they weren’t bringing their sacrifices and offerings, in fact they were bringing them.  They were observing the festivals and feasts that God directed them to keep but because of their lifestyle He didn’t want to have anything to do with their worship.    

True worship is your response to how great you know God to be. We should worship Him with everything we have, everything we are, and everything we do.

Jesus said,

Matthew 15:8-9 (NKJV)8  'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.9  And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

God wants you to become more and more dependent on Him so He can take you to places you cannot get to without Him. He wants you to trust that He will provide everything you need for the situation you are in. He wants you to believe as Paul did;

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

 We also know that just like Paul

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Resist the Enemy by Remembering the Truth

Here’s a list of things that Stormie tells us to remember and it’s a great list:

Remember this: God loves you more than you know and has a wonderful plan for your life. When you follow Him completely and surrender your life to Him, He enables you to become all He created you to be.
     
Remember this: The enemy hates you and despises all that God wants to do in your life. He has a plan for your life too, and that is to control you for his purposes and destroy you. He will do all he can to make that happen through his lies and deception.
     
Remember this: God has given you dominion power on the earth for His purposes.

Remember this: The enemy wants that power for himself for his own purposes.
     
Remember this: God wants to use you to accomplish His will and glorify Him, while blessing you atthe same time.
     
Remember this: The enemy wants to use your life to glorify himself and destroy you in the process.
     
Remember this: God has given you a free will, and He waits each day for you to invite Him to work powerfully in your life.
     
Remember this: The enemy doesn’t wait to be invited. He will work in your life unless he is stopped.  He wants you to reject God and open up to him instead.
     
Remember this: It is impossible for God to lie. God only speaks the truth, and He gives us His Word on that.
     
Remember this: The enemy is the father of all lies. He controls people by enticing them to believe the lies he tells them.
     

Keep in mind that the enemy is always planning evil. The only thing that restrains him are the prayers of the saints—the prayer warriors. Don’t allow this aspect to become vague to you. We can pray anytime, day or night, wherever we are, and that is what we must do on a moment’s notice when we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so. We cannot ignore those promptings.
     
Keep in mind that we must have time alone with God in order to communicate our heart to Him and listen to Him communicate His heart to us. Our time alone with God is when we are empowered and filled afresh by the Holy Spirit In us, just as Jesus was. It’s when our mind and soul are renewed and strengthened.  It’s when we receive greater clarity and can receive the guidance, discernment, wisdom, and revelation we need.
     
Keep in mind that believers everywhere are experiencing the same things that we are experiencing. God’s Word says of the enemy that we are to “resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”

1 Peter 5:9 (NKJV) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

We are not alone in what we are facing.
     

Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter how strong the enemy is. God is greater. The power of God's Spirit in us is far stronger than that of the enemy.
     
Keep in mind that we are resisting the enemy whenever we pray. When we stand strong by submitting to God, the enemy must flee from us. That is why we must always be ready to do battle with the enemy in prayer. We must remember that we are not going into territory the enemy owns. We are taking back territory the enemy has stolen.

PRAYER FOR THE PRAYER WARRIORS

LORD, help me to submit myself to You in every possible way. Show me any place in my life where I am not doing that. I don’t ever want to seek friendship with the world because I value friendship with You far above all else. Reveal any pride in me so I can repent of it. Cause that recognition to bring the grief and mourning to my soul that it should.
           

I refuse all pride and rebellion in me against You and recognize that they are traits of the enemy. I don’t want to ever go against Your will and cooperate with the enemy in any way. I want to resist him in every way possible so that You will not resist me.
     
Help me to “abhor what is evil” and “cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). Help me to neither resist You “nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). I became Yours the day I received You as Lord over my life, and therefore I cannot be controlled by the enemy in any way.
     
Help me to resist all lies of the enemy and not allow him to convince me that I am disqualified in any way from being the powerful prayer warrior You have called me to be. I refuse to allow the enemy to talk me into giving up on praying. I will not let him threaten me with my past or make me discontent with where I am now or what I have not yet done. Enable me to resist the enemy in every possible way so he will flee from me. Don’t let me be “overcome by evil,” but help me to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). You are the rock on which I stand, and I will not be moved.  Thank You, Jesus, that because You laid down Your life for me, I am more than a conqueror through You.

Lord, help me to be the most effective prayer warrior possible. Teach me to understand the authority You have given me in prayer. Enable me to use that authority to break down strongholds the enemy would attempt to establish in my life and in the lives of others whom You put on my heart. I don’t want my prayers to be hindered or weakened in any way. Show me what I need to do so that my prayers will have the greatest impact.
     

Psalm 18:28-30 (NKJV)28  For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.29  For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.30  As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.