Praise & Prayer

I truly enjoyed a wonderful time of prayer and worship Friday night with a small group gathered just to bring honor to the Lord. It was a last minute invite, brought together by a sweet young woman who felt that God had told her to open her home for a meeting so she called those that were brought to her mind. Before the night was over there were  twelve of us in attendance and great revelations were pouring through as we shared some of our personal devotions with one another.  It's amazing how God speaks to His children.  We found that each of us was learning the same lesson as everyone else but in a unique way meant just for us.  God is so good!




During that time, God revealed the great importance of praying once again. I've prayed ever since I accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior years ago.  Over the years I’ve listened to many messages on the subject of prayer and read a multitude of books about praying. I've belonged to prayer teams and Intercessor groups, but this revelation was somehow different.  This time the urgency of God's children coming together in prayer was more like a strategic team of warriors.


The Weapons of Warfare!
In my mind’s eye, I saw angels with bowls, hurling them down to earth and the contents were prayers.  Prayers are the weapons of  warfare.  This image came to alert me to that very fact.  Our prayers are important. God hears them all and stores them for His use. Before the throne of the Lord Jesus right now are created beings and elders. I pray that you can understand that as we pray here on earth, our prayers are received as holy incense filling the bowls that the angels hold.  If you are unfamiliar with any of this, seek Him in the scriptures for yourself. I'm still learning as I go.  New revelations are gathered as little by little the scriptures are read.  We can’t get what He has for us with only listening to a message once in a while and saying a prayer when we need something.  We must be renewed daily in His word just to have the strength to carry on another day.

And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Revelation 5:8


The harps show the praise and the golden bowls represent our faith-filled prayers, for if we did not believe then we would never have prayed. The two are in company together.   The revelation to me was that we are to pray more often and in belief.  The golden bowls need to be filled.  God has an angel army.  These are not the little Renaissance cherubs we see painted on the walls and in portraits. These are mighty warriors.  Scripture says we activate them to aid.  The way we activate them is through prayer.  (This is an entirely deeper subject to be studied further. I would suggest searching the scriptures and also reading books by Perry Stone and Ron Phillips on the subjects of angels and of demons.)


Pray with our hearts!

How many times have we said a “functionary” prayer? You know what I mean, it’s meal time and so we bow our head and say a few words of grace with our lips but our hearts are not involved. We have a routine and follow it as a ritual and prayer is included but once again where is our heart?  We may say, “Oh, how devoted that man is because he prays five times a day.”  But God is not impressed. 1 Samuel 16:7… But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God knows our hearts!





Pray with Thanksgiving!

So let us be fervent in prayer that we may fill the bowls in heaven with holy incense. If you have never thought of prayer as a weapon, start thinking that way today!  Prayer is our weapon of choice. The first thing we must remember in prayer is to be thankful and give praise to our God. Psalm 69: 30-31 Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.


Prayer for ourselves!
Usually the first prayers we pray are for ourselves.  It's easy to ask God to help us and give us things.  When we make supplicaton to Him, believing that He is able to help us with our requests, this honors Him. We pray knowing that God the Father  willingly gives to His children.  But we must realize and acknowledge that God knows what is best even in our prayerful requests.  We might not get what we want.  We might think we know what we need but God doesn’t always answer every prayer the way we think He should. We need to pray as Jesus did with this attitude,  “Not my will, but thine, be done.”

Phillipians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.



What about intercession?

This is standing in the gap for someone else. There are many to pray for during. We are to pray for our enemies. Yes, you heard that right! (Read Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28) We are to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. (Acts 12:5 and 1 Thessalonians 5:25). We are to pray for the sick and those who need healing (James 5:14)

We are to pray for one another.  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16.



When do we pray?

We must learn to do it all the time. (Romans 12:12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17)



Why do we pray?

Ephesians 6: 12-19 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.

Praise Him and Pray

Praise (“Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” Revelation 5:13)

Prayer (“The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects,” James 5:16)

These are only two weapons of our warfare. There are more weapons available. He grants the use of these weapons that are housed in His arsenal (His Word) when we seek Him out.



So dress for battle and be ready at His call!  You will need the belt of truth (this is the ministry of God’s Word going forth into the world), the breastplate of righteousness (this is the ministry for acts of kindness that we bestow because of Christ’s blood covering on us), sandals of peace (this is the ministry of reconciliation ~ peace with God and peace with man), the shield of faith (this deflects the fiery arrows of doubt and despair that the enemy fires upon us) and the helmet of salvation (this is the protection of our mind to fight against discouragement from within us) and the sword of the Spirit (this is the double edge of God’s revealed truth).



Being ready for spiritual warfare is not a one-time thing but a way of life for the believer. As we learn to wear our armor and use the armaments, we can resist satan and his demonic forces. When the fight is over we will be standing because that is the place God wants us to be while on the battlefield.  Stand!


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