I have a confession to make... even after this fabulous teaching, I still stink at prayer.
Part of my problem is slowing down my mind long enough to focus, and the other problem is that overwhelmed feeling of knowing where to begin with all the prayer needs before me. My heart feels such tremendous burden for the state of our society, yet I find it hard to be still long enough to get all that passion and concern out and up to God.As I listened to Jill teach today, I realized that a huge obstacle in my prayer life is the enemy, satan (I don't like to capitalize his name - he's not worth it!). He is trying his hardest to attack my prayer life, causing me to be ineffective.
Jill shared 4 areas that he attacks us in regards to prayer:
1. he's out to attack our body
2. he's out to destroy our mind
3. he's out to destroy our heart
4. he's out to attack our will
This got me thinking again about my post from yesterday and the "Christian celebrities". As believers, we all struggle in the four areas above where satan attacks us. Some of us are able to fight back with the Sword of the Spirit (God's Word), while others of us get knocked down and have the... pardon my french... crap kicked out of us. Some don't even realize they're in a war, being attacked.
Satan's number one plan with a Christian is to make us ineffective. He knows that he can't take away our salvation, but if he can keep us from sharing Jesus with others, if he can get people to think we're total hypocrites which turns them off of Christ, then he's accomplished what he set out to do.
So how do we fight back? Prayer! James 5:16b says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". We hold the power within us because the Holy Spirit lives within us - that same power that made a virgin pregnant and raised Jesus from the dead. So what's holding us back?
Karen posted a comment from yesterday's post that really got me thinking. Instead of feeling defeated inside because the enemy seems to be winning the battle for the hearts and minds of Christians in the spotlight lately, why don't I start praying for them. Pray for revival in their hearts. If God could get ahold of these people, what impact it could make on the rest of the country... the world!
I think I'll get off this computer now... and go spend some time with my Daddy and pray!
3 comments:
Wow! LOVED this post. I needed to hear this, thanks for sharing it with us.
Hi Sue! Living in LA, we are very much into the entertainment industry but as much as I enjoy a lot of TV shows and movies, I would not say I'm obsessed with it. I really never visit entertainment sites and I pay little attention to celebrity gossip. Never have watched the Jon & Kate show. Beyond that, I find there's a lot of disappointment in so-called Christian leaders who cheat on their wives, etc... so it's not just celebrities that don't live up to their ideals.
Having said that Survivor was great last night. I loved all the editing with the music, etc... with Coach's me-time on exile island. Very funny! JT has to be worried now- did u see his face? He knows now he better win immunity or he's next. Stephen is a great player. Finale Sunday! Enjoy the weekend! (((Hugz)))
Sue, thank you so much for opening your heart and sharing this fabulous post. I have often struggled with prayer myself. So many times I find myself just not sure what to say or how to even begin. And then I get caught up in making sure the "words" come out right and that I'm actually praying what I want to be praying. It becomes a vicious cycle. I am convinced that I give God a god chuckle many times a day. :)
Your reminder of the power of prayer is so right on and something that I need to remember more often!
Post a Comment