Joy in Prayer

 

    True joy comes from Jesus.  You get it when you communicate with Him.  You communicate with Jesus in prayer.  It sets your heart and soul free even when life is very bad.  Satan may make life hard.  If you keep your mind set on God, then you can see a bigger picture and hold onto your inner joy.

    Joy is delight in your relationship with God and the overall life He has given you.  The current circumstances do not overshadow your overall life.  Life consist of many moments.  If you follow Jesus, then you are more likely to take advantage of the moments given.  This gives your life purpose and joy.  Being able to trust God even when nothing around you makes sense can give your soul an inner calm.  That calm can contribute to your joy in life.

    When you turn everything over to God in prayer, then you are able to let go of what weighs you down.  This provides a level of joy.  Give God thanks in prayer even when life is not perfect and it sets your mind to accept joy.  Life will give you plenty to worry about.  Reject the worry and embrace trust.  It may require to you to go to God a lot in prayer and turn to scripture for comfort, but you can hold onto your joy.  It may be a battle, but it is a fight worth having because it improves the quality of life.

    When you pray for joy ask God to reveal what is true, lovely, pure, excellent, and how to be honest with yourself.  He will give you what you ask for.  Have a praiseworthy attitude toward God while you wait.  Take inventory of what your mind focuses on during the day.  Reckon, measure, and be deliberate in where you allow your thoughts to take you.  This requires endurance that will produce complete joy in your salvation.

    Things will float into your mind that you cannot control, but you can control on how much you dwell on it. Nothing in your life will give your mind peace and joy like prayer.  When things that are not of God come into your mind reject them and turn to prayer to get rid of them.  Do not allow doubt, anger, or anything else that will lead to sin and steal your joy take root in your mind.  Honor God with your mind and you will discover joy.

Psalm 21:3-7, 71:22-24, 119:9-16, Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 4:4-9, Philemon1:4-7, James 1:2-4, & 1 Peter 1:8-9

Pray for Your Mind

 

    When Satan gets into your mind he reeks havoc.  You can take control of your thoughts when you focus on things that are true, holy, and pure.  You can read scripture, stop and find a place to pray, or move through your day in meditation.  Satan causes a lot of harm to you and others that starts by planting a seed in your mind.  You can do something about it though.  You do not have to allow him to pollute your mind with lies.

    When you know your mind is under attack pray.  Go to God and beg for help.  Ask Him for what you need to be able to fight.  Surrender your mind to Him.  Go over scriptures that speak truth into you and use them to pray.  Read it as if it were written to you and only you.  If you can't focus to read God's Word, then pray to be able to focus.  

    Praying God's Word is ammunition in your life.  It empowers you to go out the door in confidence because you know God will take care of it.  Satan wants to steal, kill, and destroy.  God wants to build abundantly, strengthen, and give a satisfying life.  Fasting and focusing on scripture and prayer is a great way to prepare for battle.  It will strengthen you spiritually and empower your prayers.

    To fight Satan you have to understand him.  You don't need to know him or go into dark places.  You just need to know who you are dealing with.  You need to trust God to fight what you can't fight on your own.  Then you need to submit to His will so that you don't get into your own way.  It is simple, but not easy.  

    Praying over scripture gives you confidence to live boldly for God.  After all this is all about glorifying God.  Life is meant to be lived abundantly, but you can't do that truly without God.  He gives life purpose, value, and truth.  Filling your mind with Scripture is something active you can do to prepare and fight Satan's attacks on your mind.  Your mind is a battlefield that Satan takes advantage of.  It is time to take that advantage away.  

Matthew 4:1-11, John 10:6-10, Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 6:13-17, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, & James 4:7-10

Pray to Resist

 

    Prayer is a conversation between you and God.  The words you use does not matter as much as your heart.  However, as you become a prayer warrior you do learn how to use your words to fight in prayer.  You use scripture to empower your words.  Your prayers become victorious because they help you resist Satan and his temptations.

    When you apply God's Word to your life it gives you strength, courage, boldness, humility, and a closeness to God that you can't understand until you experience it.  Satan hates God.  People are God's most cherished creation, so that means that Satan hates you.  He wants to kill, steal your closeness to God, and destroy your joy to hurt God.  You can only fight this by resisting Satan and in prayer.

    The closer you get to God the more Satan will come after you.  You have become dangerous to him.  You leading people toward Jesus is taking people away from him.  If your life is constantly close to perfect, then you may want to look into your salvation.  Satan isn't going to bother anyone who he has control over.  He thinks he has already won.  He is wrong.  Salvation is your choice.  You were made to belong to God, but you have the right to stay in Satan's clutches.

    To pray to resist all kinds of evil, Satan, or temptation then you need to know who you are fighting.  You can't properly pray for protection if you don't know who you are fighting.  Satan can't read your mind, so watch your words.  He understands people and concludes you are fairly predictable, but you can fortify your mind and emotions where he no longer can influence you.  You are in the world more than God's Word, so you can memorize scripture to speak truth when you feel attacked. 

    Jesus came into this world to give your life.  Satan wants to destroy your life.  Who is the better one to follow?  Be candid with God in prayer.  Be honest with yourself.  Ask for clarity where there is confusion, but be willing to face hard truths.  The Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to you, but that doesn't mean that you will always like it.  Truth often requires you to make changes in your life, but you become stronger as you accept the truth.  The truth is you have to submit to God to be victorious.  You have to lean into Him and walk with Jesus to be strong.  

Matthew 7:24-29, John 8:42-47, 10:6-10, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Ephesians 2:1-3, 6:10-12, James 4:7-10, 1 Peter 5:8-9, & Revelations 12:10-12

Victorious Prayer

 

    Fighting your battles through prayer takes more than knowledge and conceptually understanding.  Spiritual warfare takes faith and application.  You really do need to rely on God and communicate openly with Him.  You plead, pour out, repent, thank, request, and honor God in your prayers.  When you do this you deny the enemy power over you.  You resist Satan by turning to God who gives you victory.

    Victorious prayer comes from knowing what the problem is and turning it over to God in prayer.  You trust the Holy Spirit to use what you say and fill in the blanks to advocate for you.  He is the one that empowers your prayers.  You have the Holy Spirit living within you if you are a true Christian.  He knows and understands what you need better than you because He is not distracted by outside sources.

    Victorious prayer can happen when you ask God to remove distraction and you take a real hard look at your life.  You see what the problem is and you decide to do something about it in prayer.  You trust God to handle the details, so you can let go of certain aspects.  Pray over your own heart condition.  Pray to close the door that Satan has access to your heart or mind.  Seal them closed with kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and love like Jesus.  Never stop praying for God's will.

    You pray over the people in your life, your issues, and the ability to be consciously aware.  The Holy Spirit will lay certain things on your heart to pray over, but you also need to be aware of what is happening in life around you.  The battlefield is real, but you can be victorious in God's name.  

1 Samuel 15:20-23, Acts 19:17-20, Romans 8:26-30, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, 15: 56-58, Ephesians 4:30-32, 6:18-20, 1 John 4:4-6

Victory in Prayer

 

    To have victory in prayer you have to claim the truth and lean on the power of God.  You learn the truth in God's Word.  You learn who Jesus is in the Gospel.  The old and new testament work together to show you the truth and who God is.  When you decide to walk in truth, with Jesus, then you walk in victory because Jesus has already won against the enemy.

    As you see God's grace expand you start to understand how to fight your battles in prayer.  When you pray you can do so in confidence because the creator of all that is good and purely beautiful is fighting for you.  This confidence in God is what sustains you when Satan comes after you.  The stronger you get in your faith the more Satan will come after you.  You are a threat to him because you speak the truth boldly.  Do not let him silence you.

    Satan comes after families, your ministry, your mind, and everything else that God uses in you to spread the good news.  If Satan can destroy what is holy in your life, then he can destroy you.  That is why you have to fight in prayer.  Do not deny Satan's existence, presence, or influence.  It would be foolish to downplay your enemy.  Just remember that God is stronger  and Jesus has already won.  Satan is dangerous in every aspect, but God is more in every way.

    You cannot hide behind ignorance.  Deep down you know the truth.  You accept it or deny it, but ignorance will not save you.  If anything it only makes you a pawn.  You can find your victory in prayer.  Pray for wisdom, understanding, grace, mercy, and the armor of God.  Pray to be able to forgive so that Satan doesn't get a foothold in your mind or heart.  Pray to be covered in all that is holy.  God will give you what you pray for even if it doesn't come in the form that you were expecting.

Luke 10:18-20, 22:31-32, John 8:42-47, 2 Corinthians 2:9-11, 1 Peter 5:8-9, 1 John 4:4-6, & Revelations 12:7-12

Fighting Prayer

 

    Before you defend yourself or get ready to go into battle, take a minute to think and pray over the situation.  It is always better to be proactive versus reactive, but you cannot foresee every possible option or what other people will do.  You need God to fight your battles for you.  

    When you allow God to fight your battles He will deal with the people or events in the way that is best.  It will work out for you, but it may just reach the person(s) that are causing you distress, anger, or hurt.  Another benefit is that you can relax.  You don't have to hold onto your anger, fear, anxiety, or anything else that eats away at your peace. 

    It can be hard to fight through prayer because it makes you feel vulnerable.  It is a test of faith.  It can be hard to let go of control.  You may only have a now mentality and this requires looking toward the future and even the eternal.  It can feel passive, but it does demonstrate you trust God.  You can either trust yourself or you can trust God.

    Fighting your battles in prayer takes strength.  You have to humble yourself and realize you can't do everything on your own.  You can't fight the unseen supernatural world.  You have to let go of your pride and lean on faith.  If you are a Christian, then you are no longer bound to your sin, guilt, shame, or doubt.  Let go of that to make room to pray honestly, transparently, and openly about who you are, what you need, and what you want.

    God will use your weaknesses as a strength to serve His purpose.  Do not beat yourself up on what you can't do, but be grateful for what you do have and have a willing heart to go wherever the Holy Spirit leads you.  Prayer is a way to unlock God's power in you through your weaknesses, vulnerabilities, or insecurities because you trust Him.  Be bold and confident in your prayers to fight your battles.  God will come through.

Exodus 3:1-10, 4:10-13, 13:1-16, Judges 6:11-16, 8:22-35, John 18:25-27, Acts 2:37-42, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Ephesians 6:18-20, & Hebrews 4:14-16

Pray for Grace

 

    Praying for grace is praying for God to take control of your heart and desires.  You step of your personal throne and give it to Him.  It is not natural.  Sin and selfishness is natural.  Giving that up takes faith because you see the grace that God has given you.  You understand that life is better when you stop pretending you are in control of everything.  You only have control of your choices and attitude.

    When you put yourself on a pedestal you are making yourself a god even if you don't mean to.  God will not share His throne with anyone.  He wants your whole heart.  He will not share it with idols.  If you chose idols over Him, then He will allow it, but you will deal with the consequences.  

    Salvation is the ultimate gift that comes from God's grace.  You accept or deny it.  It is your choice.  If you accept it, then your heart starts to change.  You start to surrender your will to God.  It is not giving up or giving in.  It is giving to yourself, God, and the people in your life.  It is learning how to love God's way and seeing life in a new perspective that changes everything.  It all comes down to what you value.  When you value your relationship with God over everything else, then that is what you will pour yourself into.

    You get this grace when you pray to God accepting His gift and continue to seek Him.  The Holy Spirit helps you form prayers as time goes by and you mature in your faith.  Prayer comes more naturally when you crave God more than anything.  It brings you joy and peace in all circumstances.  Grace does not come naturally for people.  You have to pray for it to possess it abundantly.  Be grateful for God's grace and that He wants to give it to you.  

1 Samuel 5:1-8, Matthew 13:44-46, Mark 8:34-38, 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 2:8-10, & Hebrews 4:14-16