Weapons for the War Room

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any

double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing

soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges

 the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

 Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

The movie “War Room” impacted my prayer life more than anything I had ever seen. In the movie, a marriage was failing as a husband and wife found they were growing apart in their personal, spiritual and professional lives. And neither seemed to notice that their daughter was struggling too.

Until Miss Clara prayed. In her war room. And lives were turned upside down as never before.

Miss Clara was a friend who had an actual room in her home where she could shut the door, kneel before the Lord and bring her prayer requests to Him. Her prayers were a battle plan against Satan and she spent many hours presenting them to the Lord. He heard and answered and a marriage was renewed, a daughter was encouraged and lives were completely changed and refocused – all because of prayer in a war room.

I began to think about a war room in my home and finally chose a closet in the hallway. I moved out blankets, pillows and wreaths hooked on shelving. Everything in the closet was replaced with 3 by 5 note cards on which I wrote the date, person’s name and my prayer request and thumbtacked them to the wall.

Early each day I would go in, add cards as needed, look at the prayer requests and pray over each one. As prayers were answered, I wrote the date on that card. But at the same time, prayers for healing for a neighbor, a positive pregnancy test for a couple and a revived marriage for good friends were not answered.

 I found myself becoming discouraged as I looked at the wall and unanswered prayer requests. That was when the Lord whispered to my heart: “You are focusing on each situation and not on me. Don’t look at each card as a win or loss. Look at them as opportunities to allow my power to work in those lives. Look around this room. What are you forgetting?”

Instantly I realized what I had been doing. I had prayer requests everywhere but not one spot on my wall was reserved for the Word of God! I was looking at the situation, and praying, yes, but I was not drawing on the one huge weapon that God has for His children: Scripture from His Word.

Miss Clara had Scripture written all over her war room and spoke it with confidence every single time she entered that room! How could I have forgotten how important the Bible was and is?

The wall of my war room changed drastically that day. I went straight to my Bible and began to write Scripture on note cards and place them among my prayer requests. On January 20, 2016, I wrote Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” and placed it beside a card for a man struggling with cancer. 

On February 16, 2016, I wrote Isaiah 26:3-4 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal” on a card and prayed as I tacked it beside one whose marriage was falling apart.  Every day new Scripture was placed among the prayer requests until the wall was almost completely covered.

 Today my war room has become a precious place for me to kneel before our Father and share my prayer requests. But it is also a place where I can pull out my weapon – the Word of God – and praise Him for what He is going to do in the lives of each person on my note cards.

Father, thank you for your words of encouragement and comfort for us, your children. Help us to focus on you no matter what we face in our lives. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

·         When you pray, where is your focus? On the situation or the Savior?

Application

·         Find a closet/small room in your home that you can use as your war room.

·         For every prayer request that you tack to the wall, write Scripture on a note card and place it beside that request. Praise the Lord for His answer.

Power Verses

·         Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

·         Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

·         2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV) “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

·         Ephesians 6:18 (NIV) “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

·         I Peter 5:8 (NIV) “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”