Lesson 5 - Praying In Warfare

A Teaching by Ruth Mahoney Swaim

The difference between intercessory prayer and warfare prayer:

Intercessory prayer is petitioning, seeking God.

Warfare prayer is obeying and acting on God’s orders.

It has been said that the Army of the Lord marches forward on its’ knees. This is

certainly true. And no army marches forward without orders from the Commander.

New Testament prayerful warfare is the equivalent of Old Testament physical warfare in battles. Both activities are to defeat the enemies of the true and living God. Both activities are to bring to naught the plans and attacks of the enemy. And that enemy is Satan, the adversary of our souls.

Satan has one thing in mind and that is total destruction.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…”
John 10:10

He never comes to do you good. He doesn’t know good. He only knows evil and seeks to do only evil.

The phrasing of this verse is very interesting. It does not indicate that the devil hangs around all the time. He is conducting war. He is the supreme commander of his dominions of hell. He hits and runs. He only comes around you to do one of three things, to steal from you, to try to kill you and to destroy you and the works in which you may be involved.

 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist stedfast in the faith…” 1 Peter 5:8,9 

You see, the devil has no peace. He is restless. He wanders the earth trying to cause trouble wherever he can see an opening (I Peter 5:8). He has no great master plan other than to just try to kill, steal and destroy.

Therefore, we must be alert, conscious of his wiles and ready to not only defend but to go after those he and his minions have kidnapped. 

 “…I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail (or be victorious) against it.” Matthew 16:18

Hell has gates. Those gates aren’t coming after us. Gates do not stand up and grab you. They are stationary. We are going after them, to tear them down and set the prisoners free who are behind them.

Keep in mind we are both defensive and offensive. We set ourselves up in prayer to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and begin to war in the Spirit according to how the Spirit is praying. We may be mounting a defense, or we may be launching an offense.

Processes of Warfare

Let’s categorize the processes of warfare as follows:

Recruit

Train
Endure

RECRUITMENT

Before entering into war you are called to service for your country. In America, usually during wartime, we have what we call the Military Draft. It is mandatory conscription into the armed forces of the nation. Or you can volunteer to enter the service by visiting the “recruitment” center and signing up.

If you are accepted you report for duty then get inducted, given a physical to make sure you are fit to go into training and issued paraphernalia necessary for the job.

In God’s army, everybody is recruited. If you are born again, you are conscripted and called into His army. You are actually called from birth (spiritually speaking), but He lets you do a little growing, waits for you to come into some maturity and then begins to make you conscious of your calling. Your training is time in prayer, bible study, service in the Kingdom, etc.

“It is written, My house shall be CALLED a house of prayer…”  Matthew 21:13

You are now the dwelling place of God. You are his house here on earth. He dwells in you. You are now the house of prayer. As you spend time with God and He visits with you in your house of prayer you get to know Him, get to know His voice, His ways.

This is the period in your life when you should be learning all about the warfare armor.

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness; and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication…” Ephesians 6:14

Let’s look at this list:

1. Truth

2. Righteousness

3. Preparation of the Gospel of Peace

4. Faith

5. Salvation

6. Word of God

7. Prayer

8. Watchful

9. Perseverance

It is interesting to note that this list totals nine. There are nine aspects of Spiritual Warfare.
There are nine Gifts of the Spirit.
There are nine Fruits of the Spirit.

God wants us to avail ourselves of all these gifts. We should receive and operate in all the Gifts of the Spirit, produce and ‘allow to be picked from us’ all the Fruits of the Spirit and wear and use all the Armour of the Spirit.

But for this teaching we are talking about the armour of warfare. So, for warfare we must be trained!

TRAINING / BATTLE

After you have gone through your induction process, you are sent to another place for Basic Training.

This is the time when you learn to use your weapons of warfare, you are initiated into recognizing your enemy, you are learning discernment. You are learning which weapons to use in specific battles. You are learning to obey orders and to hear and understand the commands of your commanding officer.

Often training and battling go hand in hand.

 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..” IICorinthians 10:4

You must get to know who and what you are battling. 

“…lest satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” II Corinthians 2:11

Remember, you are warring in the power of the Lord and representing His Kingdom.

“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you.’”  John 20:21

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” 
Luke 10:14

God may wake you up in the night to pray for someone. This is when you begin to pray and allow the Holy Spirit to direct you into either intercession or warfare. When He directs you to war in the Spirit it may take many forms.

He may direct you to pray/warfare for a friend, a minister, a particular ministry, your children, your family, a nation, a particular people group. Just be open to His commands.

You may feel inclined to stand up and march around. You may want to do battle with your arms and fists at the opposing enemy. You may begin to declare in another tongue or your own language the victory and overcoming truth of God in the situation. You will feel in your own heart and spirit a real sense of warfare and confrontation.

Often I have been directed to simply keep declaring one word over the situation. I just repeat that word over and over. Sometimes I shout it. Sometimes I sing it. Sometimes I declare it. It may be “Jesus is Lord over _________.”

You may declare His Lordship over a situation until you feel released from battle.

As you know, your children and grandchildren keep you close to God. I’ve done lots of warfare over mine. And the thrilling part is… Jesus and me…we always win!

I encourage you to stay with this process until the burden has lifted. Remember, we are fighting in the realm of the Spirit.

“For we do not wrestle against fleshand blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Personal Testimony: It began in late summer.  Four things happened within a nine-month period which shook me to the very core but gave me a tremendous lesson in spiritual warfare.

The first thing that happened is that John was struck down with viral encephalitis, a severe virus which attacks the brain.

Then after a very long hospital stay and recovery, he was out riding his bicycle, hit an object and was severely pitched off the bike onto his head. Luckily someone was nearby and helped him into a truck and drove him home, together with his totally mangled bike.

The third thing that happened shortly after that was that he was hit broadside in an intersection (by someone with no drivers license who fled the scene) and it ‘totaled’ the car, bending it literally in the middle. Miraculously he came out of that with only minor injuries.

Then, within a month, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer and he underwent surgery to have his left kidney removed.

I tell you all this for a reason. Even though all these things were happening to John, it didn’t dawn on me until the last incident that he was under attack. Some malevolent force was trying to kill him.

Believe you me, when I finally did catch on, I went into spiritual warfare and did battle in prayer. Also the church we were attending (where he was the Business Administrator),and many dear friends, held us up in prayer, really doing battle.

I would anoint him with oil, lay my hands on his head and declare that Jesus was Lord over his life. I would battle in the Spirit, speaking in tongues and allowing the Holy spirit to attack the enemy though me.

Now mind you, John was often unaware of my warfare, sort of a neutral bystander. It was up to me to do the battling in prayer.

Usually the one under attack is unable to defend themselves or fight. That is why God calls on others to battle for them. When someone is under attack it may take all the strength they have just to survive. We must be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, obey His leading and stand ready to defend them and use our weapons of warfare. This is how an army works. In the church we call this ‘body ministry.’

This is why James (James 5:14) says to call for the elders of the church to pray. It is their prayer of faith that will avail much in the situation.

John recovered completely and went on to live another fourteen years before the Lord took him home at the age of 72. But in those years I learned a tremendous lesson in understanding and recognizing spiritual attack and learning to war in the Spirit.

ENDURE

This can be the hardest part of the process. Standing at your post. Not deserting. If you desert your post, all the rest is for naught. This is the process of enduring.

This is the area in which Job’s wife failed. She urged her husband to give up the fight and curse God and die (Job 2:9). She could not endure anymore.

”But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13

I realize this passage is speaking of the end times, but remember, we are living in the last times. God is requiring enduring warfare from us for these evil times.

There is an all out onslaught against the saints and the church from the enemy. He is trying to make his last stand and take as many with him as he can. We must endure in prayer and warfare to defeat his evil purposes. We can literally snatch, out of the jaws of the enemy, our loved ones and others who need to be rescued.

 “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” II Timothy 2:3,4,10

May I remind you as to who enlisted you as a soldier? You are called and chosen of the Lord. Don’t entangle yourself with the cares of this world and neglect the real reason you were created.

You were created, not only for fellowship with God but also to bring glory and victory to the Kingdom of God. Take heed to your calling and endure. Take hold of your weapons as a good soldier and learn to use them.

”These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is the Lord of Lord, and King of Kings; and they that are with him are

called, and chosen and faithful.” Revelation 17:14

Remember, you are an overcomer. The two aspects of overcoming are the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony.

The blood of the Lamb has washed away your sins so you are accepted by God.*

The word of your testimony is your speaking forth words which agree with the Word of God and your speaking forth those things God has already done for you and accomplished in your life. That’s what a testimony is. There’s no test-imony without a test. You’ve been put to the test and now you can tell about it.

 “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their

testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
Revelation 12:10,11

Remember, the devil is a defeated foe. Christ accomplished that on the cross (Ephesians 4:8). He goes about as a roaring lion but remember, he’s been defanged. He can only roar at a born again Christian. Christ has won the victory, now it is your job to go in and claim the territory. And STAND.

  “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Stand there fore…”

Ephesians 6:13,14

Your endurance may obtain the salvation of many and on that day when you are

receiving your rewards in Heaven, what thrilling joy you will experience to see those who are brought before you – “your joy and crown” as Paul says. Your crowns to present to Jesus, to lay at His feet because you persevered in prayer and rescued them for eternity.

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Paul understood this process. He hung in there and never gave into the enemy. He must have endured things we will never be called on to experience.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” II Timothy 4:7

Paul says not only he will receive his reward, but includes all those who love the Lord and obey his promptings when He appears to them. All those who love it when He nudges them to respond to Him when He appears (spiritually) to them.

I speak this to myself as well as you. Are we willing to be obedient to the promptings of God when He wants us to pray? To my shame, I am neglectful. I want to be more sensitive to His burdens, His desires, so that I don’t count my comfort more important that His calling.

Prayer: Heavenly Father. I thank you that you have called me. I thank you that you have chosen me. I want to be faithful to you. Cause me to be sensitive when you call, when you speak. Give me a sensitive ear to the burdens of your heart and help me to respond and obey. I give myself to prayer, intercession and warfare. I enlist in your army and I sign up for duty.

Signed _________________________________

*A future teaching will discuss the Blood and Body of Jesus

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