PRAYER FOR THE FIGHT

Prayer for the Fight

Pastor Steve Anderson | 5.21.25

Matthew 11:12 And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.

Job 1:6-7 (NIV) 6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

Ephesians 6:12 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.

Don’t worry….you are well-defended and armed:

Ephesians 6:13 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.

Don’t worry, God will fight for you……

Exodus 14: 13-14 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” 

1 Timothy 1:18-19 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.

1 Peter 5: 8-9 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.

Requires and Improves with  practice

Luke 5:16  But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Luke 6:12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

Luke 9:28  About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray.

Mark 1:35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

We fight for holy living

Matthew 26: 40-41 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!”

We fight together with others

James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

We have help In the fight

Hebrews 4:14-16 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly (IN PRAYER) to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

1 John 5:14-15 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

We fight against fear and anxiety
Philippians 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. 7 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.

Worrying is USELESS…IT PRODUCES NOTHING….IT CHANGES NOTHING.  

Prayer CHANGES EVERYTHING!

We battle for the unsaved.

That God will draw them:

John 6:44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.

That God will open their blinded eyes:

2 Corinthians 4:4  Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

That God will open their heart: Acts 16:14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.

Principles:

A) We need power…..Prayer precedes power

Acts 1: 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

Acts 2:41-43 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.  

Acts 9: 40 But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!

B) Prayer empowers the mission of the church for the battle

Acts 4: 29-31 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV) The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

C) Prayer is hard work! 

Luke 18:1-8 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

D) Prayer has an expiration date

1 Peter 4:7  The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 

Action Steps:

Become Convinced of your responsibility to pray AND of it’s benefit to you and others

Commit to Prayer

Discipline your time….DEVOTE yourself to prayer

Pray with and for others  

USE worry and anxiety as a catalyst for / a call to prayer in your life

NOTES

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