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 x 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 lifted up in my war room.

 

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  

 

·         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.”

 

           

 

Was That A Putdown?

"The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself:

God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers,

adulterers - or even like this tax collector."

Luke 18:11 (NIV) 

            There is an “unspoken” rule when working out at the gym: never come in and take over any equipment without asking the people already working out if they are using it.

            That really is just common courtesy. Some people combine two or three machines at a time when exercising, making it necessary to adjust a workout routine around them.

            That was why, when I walked into the gym, I stretched and then asked a guy who was working out which machines he was currently using. His reaction made me smile – at first.

            He looked at my muscles compared to his (David vs Goliath) and laughed. “Oh, you and I won’t be using the same machines, I guarantee you” he replied and turned around, smiling.  As he moved away, he – perhaps unintentionally – flexed his arms in what seemed to be a “see why we do not compare?” movement.

            After I smiled and started my workout routine, I ran several responses through my mind: “I had shoulder surgery a year ago and I am just getting back into shape.” Or “They call me small but mighty” to “I just didn’t want my workout to interfere with yours” but I remained silent. Why?

            Because I was embarrassed. I work out 6 to 7 days a week and, for me, they are tough workouts. I am committed to what I do. No, I don’t look like him (and would never want to) but those few words made me feel like the workout I did was unimportant and inferior compared to his.

            Our interaction reminded me of the Pharisee in Luke 18:11 who thought highly of himself. He compared his prayer time to that of a tax collector who had also come into the temple to pray. His prayer was not “have mercy on me” as the tax collector had prayed but rather “thank you that I am not like other men.” What a putdown to the tax collector! “Yes, you may be at the temple to pray BUT you don’t compare to me!”

            As I worked out, I found myself wondering if, as a Christian, I sometimes treat people with superiority and righteousness.  Someone tells me “I was so glad I could find time to read my Bible twice this week!” Do I praise them or do I respond with “Well, I read mine every day, without fail.”

            When someone shares “I finally got up the nerve to share Jesus with my neighbor!” what is my response? “How wonderful!!” or do I think “Nice, but I do that all the time.”

            To be honest, I am not sure if that “Goliath” at the gym was comparing his muscles to mine and laughing at me or if he was simply answering my question. My perception might have been wrong.

            But his reaction to my question really served as a wakeup call to me about my attitude as a Christian toward others and how I respond when they share their successes. May I never utter one putdown but always remember to build up!

            Father, I have no right to act superior to those around me. Forgive me for those times I put someone down. I pray my words will be filled with mercy and grace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

·         When someone shares with you, is your first response praise and encouragement? Or do you try to top what they have to say with your actions?

Apply

·         When someone shares their success, listen carefully and focus on what they are saying. Then encourage and praise them.

·         Push to the back of your mind those things you have succeeded in and do not share them at this time. Remember the focus is on them and not on you.

Power

·         Luke 18:11 (NIV) “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector.”

·         Romans 2:1 (NIV) “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”       

·         James 4:6 (NIV) “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

Not What it Really Means

  “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep

 the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

Deuteronomy 4:2 (NIV)

The road sign said “curve – 45 mph” but as a sixteen-year-old driver, I knew what it really meant. After all, my seventeen-year-old classmate had told me herself. And she had been driving a year longer than I so she was obviously much wiser.

“They just put those numbers on the signs but it’s not what they really mean,” she told me. “They know everyone will drive faster than that. So when you see 45 mph, it REALLY means you can drive 50 or even 55,” she informed me. And I believed her logic and wisdom . . . until I tried it two weeks later.

“Curve 45 mph means 50,” I mentally reminded myself, and decided that I could go around the curve at 50 mph – well within the “they know everyone will drive faster” logic. That flawed reasoning almost caused me to end up in the ditch.

As I turned into the curve, I realized I didn’t have good control at the higher speed and I ran off the left side of the road, overcorrected to the right, and threw gravel from the edge of the road out into a field as I managed to slow my speed to – you guessed it – 45 mph.

Thankfully there were no cars coming from the other direction. My friend’s “it’s not what they really mean” advice – and my willingness to believe it – could have ended tragically.

Not believing what the signs in front of us say can get us into so much trouble when we apply it to God’s Word. Sadly, we tend to read His instructions to us and then put our own interpretation on it, to fit whatever situation we are in. No?

In Proverbs 16:28 we are warned not to stir up dissension because “a gossip separates close friends” but we justify our conversations with “this isn’t really gossip – just a comment I overheard” as we change God’s meaning of gossip to fit OUR logic.  The result? Friends and friendships are torn apart.

We are commanded in Exodus 20:14 not to commit adultery. But the human logic of “I’m not happy anymore, I don’t love him/her like I did, God wants me happy, doesn’t He?” replaces the Word and we put our own spin on God’s commandment for us. And marriages and families are broken in two.

Jesus states very clearly in Matthew 22:39 that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves but we rationalize “surely He doesn’t mean MY neighbor! Their dogs run everywhere, they never mow their lawn right, their kids are too loud” and we ignore the very people that we should be loving as Christ loves us.  A possible friendship is replaced by harsh feelings and an unchristian attitude.

My encouragement to you is to follow Deuteronomy 4:2 in every area of your life. Take Jesus at His Word. Do not add or take away from what He says. He knows what is best for His children. And He truly means what He says.

Father, I have to confess that there are times when I decide to put my own spin on your Word instead of doing as you say. Forgive me for not obeying; help me to follow your commandments of love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

·        Can you think of situations where you knew God’s Word but decided that you knew better than He did what He really meant?

·        Did you obey Him or did you put your own interpretation in place of His Word?

 

Apply

·         Journal today’s Power Scriptures. Think over the last few weeks and instances when you needed to apply God’s Word and journal those situations.

·         Journal what you did in each one. Did you follow Him or did you change what He said to fit your situation? Ask the Lord to show you how you should have reacted.

Power

·         Deuteronomy 4:2 (NIV) “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

·         Proverbs 30:5-6 (NIV) “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

·         Isaiah 40:8 (NIV) “The grass withers and the flowers fail, but the word of our God stands forever.” 

Quit Focusing on the Giant

 “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of  the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.’” I Samuel 17:45 (NIV)

 

Watching the Miss Universe contest has always been a fun experience for the gals in my family. We pick out our favorites and keep score as to who looks the best in each gown and swimsuit and answers the tough questions without messing up.

 

One year we were unanimous in our selection: Miss USA. She was perfect, tall and shapely with beautiful hair and eyes, and wearing what we believed was the most gorgeous gown any of us had ever seen. She was favored to win the entire contest by all the media from day one of the competition.

 

But then the completely unexpected happened. Anticipation was high as Miss USA was announced and she walked out, smiled at the crowd – and fell! Hard. To her credit, she got right up but she tripped twice as she walked the rest of the runway for the judges and the crowd.

 

There was total shock from everyone in the audience as well as those of us watching at home! What in the world had happened to this beautiful young lady? Commentators believed they had the answer: she had taken her eyes off her runway performance, they speculated and had focused instead on the huge crowd. If they were correct, it was a big mistake and it cost her the Miss Universe title.

 

Compare that to the conversation recorded in I Samuel 17:45 that David is having with Goliath, the Philistine standing tall in front of him. David was only a boy in this confrontation and the giant standing before him was a 9’tall man intent on killing him with a sword while David held only a few stones and a sling as a weapon.

 

 And yet David’s focus was not on the giant but on the “God of the armies of Israel.” Oh, he saw the giant standing there. But David was zeroed in on the One who laughs at giants and equips His children for battle with Truth in the form of stones and a sling. And the result? The giant fell and David was victorious for the Lord.

 

We all have giants in our lives. Oh, maybe not the 9’ tall Goliath variety. But just maybe they are worse. What about fear? Fear can grip us by the throat and threaten to strangle us. Maybe a spouse is addicted to porn or drugs, or a child has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease. Or perhaps we have a prodigal son or daughter who hasn’t spoken to us in months or years.

 

So what do we do when we stand before a giant? Do we focus on it? Not according to David in our Scripture. Here are some suggestions. First, call it what it is. Pray “Lord, I need your help. I am facing a giant and it is (fill in the blank).” By doing that, you are admitting there is something in your life that you cannot fix but God can. He knows your fears. He understands your battle.  

 

Secondly, ask the Lord to arm you with His power and then run toward the giant. That’s what David did. He called out Goliath for what he really was and then he ran to him to do battle. Lastly, refuse to let that giant back in your life. Trust God to arm you with courage and strength, just as He did David.

 

My encouragement to you today is to take your focus off your giant and place it on the God of the Universe, the Ultimate Giant Slayer. He will not let you down.

 

 

Father, help me every single day to focus on you instead of the giants in my life. Use me as a giant slayer no matter what I am facing. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

 

Reflect

• What are some of the giants in your life that you face every day?
• Where is your focus? On the giants or on the Giant Slayer?

 

Apply

• Make a list in your journal of the giants you are facing. Share the list with a prayer warrior in your life and set a time to pray together weekly.
• Listen to the Lord speaking to your heart as He leads you in the battle against each giant.

 

Power

• I Samuel 17:45 (NIV) “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.’”

 

• Colossians 3:2 (NIV) “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

 

• Proverbs 4:25 (NIV) “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.”