Developing Your Battle Plan for Prayer

Developing Your Battle Plan for Prayer

How is your prayer life? Do you say a quick prayer before meals and maybe at the end of the day and feel that is enough? Maybe you want to pray but don’t really know how to get started; or like me, you mind wanders all over the place instead of staying focused on the time with God.

As a Christian, I believe that prayer is powerful. I believe that the Bible is the written word of God and as a child of God, my life, my being, is important to my heavenly Father. Prayer is the line of communication between me and my Father.

Scriptures tell us that Satan is in control of this world and the things in it. He is battling a war against anyone that believes in Christ. Because of this, my time with God is something that I have to protect.

Developing your battle plan for prayer is not just making the decision to pray every morning before getting out of bed. It involves a well thought out plan of action. It involves commitment. And it involves your time. But doesn’t anything that is important? If it matters to you, it will involve time, talent and money. So does taking on Satan in this world.

Here are several areas that most of us women are open to attack.

Your Passion

Have you lost your passion? Satan’s goal is to steal your passion, your desire for those things spiritual, and to make you feel that you can’t do anything right. Scriptures tell us to use the power of the Word to remain faithful and to battle the forces of evil.

Ephesians 6: 10-18
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Your Focus

Do you struggle to remain on topic when praying? Do you find that your day is spent jumping from one crisis to the next instead of getting things done on your to do list?

One of the main attacks of Satan is to distract you with other issues so you do not stay on track and focused on doing God’s will.

2 Corinthians 11:14
And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour

Your Identity

When your load is heavy, do you wonder if you are doing this religion thing the right way? Satan is great at making you question your faith. By doing so, he can force you to start to question your faith and the many gifts in your life.

Ephesians 1:17-19
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength.

Your Family

Chaos at home is the quickest way to get you distracted. If you and your spouse are not on the same page, and things are in turmoil at home, your efforts as a family become unfruitful. When your marriage breaks down, and is divided, either of you are open to being led down a path that is hard to come back.

Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Your Past

Have you ever heard that sin, even forgiven sin as consequences? We all have a past. We have all made mistakes. Most of us are paying for those past mistakes in one way or another. Natural consequences apply to us all. Did you spend too much money and now are struggling to pay the bills? Did you get involved in something as a young person and now have a record with the law that prevents you from certain employment opportunities?

Satan will use these past mistakes, especially the natural consequences of them to make you question your forgiveness. The blood of Christ covers are sins, but we still have worldly consequences. Don’t let satan convince you that you are being punished by God for your mistakes. You are not. You are living with the consequences of your actions. Now if you have sin that you have confessed and turned away from, this is a problem. Take the time to clear the decks so to speak and start with a clean slate. Right now..don’t wait.

Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Your Fears

Let me share a secret, I do not like to fail. AT ANYTHING. When I was a younger woman, I would not attempt anything that I didn’t know that I could pull off. I would spend so much time running through all the possible ways that I could (and in my mind would) fail. If I couldn’t plan out the entire action from start to finish, knowing that I would be able to complete the task… I would find a way to get out of the job.

My fear of failing held me back from so many opportunities. Satan is great at playing with your fears. He will have you questioning if you should stand up and say something to someone that is being offensive. He will have you doubting your ability to live a Christ centered life.

Guess what? Even once you become a Christian, you will still make mistakes! Jesus didn’t say that walking this path would be easy, but He said that He would always be with us.

Joshua 14:8
My companions who had gone up with me made the people’s heart melt. But I remained loyal to the Lord my God.

Your Purity

Sins of the heart are the hardest to battle against. Temptation comes at all of us and it comes hidden. Some of these sins are so shining and pretty that they draw us in without our knowledge that we are turning away from God.

A little flirting at work never hurt anyone and it makes us feel loved and desired. Wrong! Inflating our travel vouchers or tax deductions to make a couple of bucks doesn’t hurt anyone; because the company or government owes me something for my hard work. Wrong!

This is one of the main reasons I recommend spending a little time each day asking God to show you the secret sins in your life. Perhaps it is a radio station or television show that you are enjoying. Perhaps it is a relationship with someone at work that has become too close (even if nothing physical has happened).

Marital Tip Here: Your spouse should be your best friend, not the guy or gal that you work with everyday.

Isaiah 59:1-2
Look! The Lord does not lack the power to save, nor are his ears too dull to hear, but your misdeeds have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you so that you aren’t heard.

Your Pressures

Honestly, this is a biggie for me. If I am not careful, I can schedule my life (and family life) to the point of never being home, never having time to work on relationships, never having time for just being together, and of course never having time to spend in worship and study alone or with the family.

Being busy is okay. But being so busy that you can’t spend a few minutes just talking with God (not to mention your children and husband) is too busy. I heard once that if you were too busy for God…you were too busy. Simple enough to understand..but it’s hard to say no to the things that are around us.

Philippians 4:12
I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough; I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor.

Your Hurts

Are you letting your hurt, anger and past pain hold you back? Do you have things in your past that just thinking about them makes your blood boil? That my friend, means you have not forgiven those involved and because of that, you are an easy target for Satan. Think of old injuries. When they are new, they are very painful and open. Over time, they scab over and stop hurting. Eventually they scar over and unless you look at the scar you don’t ever think about the injury.

Past hurts (injuries) that are not forgiven and left in the past are like sores that Satan will keep picking at the scab so it never scars over and heals. I don’t know what awful things you have suffered in the past, but I have had more than my share of bad things in mine. Some memories still bring tears but now that I have intentionally turned the pain over to God, my tears are different. My heart can still hurt, my body still shows scars, but my mind has been healed through allowing God to help me forgive those that hurt me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that once you forgive someone that you have to allow them any where near you. What I am saying is that we need to forgive those that have hurt us..for us, for our peace of mind, and for our relationship with Christ. If you are looking for a good book on Moving Forward, John Siebeling released one that is available on Amazon.

Hebrews 12:15
Make sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. Make sure that no root of bitterness grows up that might cause trouble and pollute many people.

Your Relationships

Do you have the same relationship with everyone in your life? No? Why not? For years I had two sets of friends, those I worked with everyday and those that I worshiped with at church. Think back to your school math class. Two circles of friends that only had me in common. I didn’t mix the two groups..EVER. And I was a lonely person that didn’t fit in to either group completely.

Scripture tells us we are to surround ourselves with like minded people. Not to the exclusion of others, but the majority of our friends need to be like minded. Why? Because Satan uses those around us to distract and to cause us to stumble. If you are surrounded by like minded people, you are harder to reach and pull away.

There is strength in numbers. The prayers are many are powerful. Being able to lift your prayers with those that understand is so encouraging.

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

So how to we prepare for the battle? By studying the Bible, spending time in prayer, and closing off the open doors and windows to the areas in our life that we are weak. I recently read a book titled, Fervent by Priscilla Shirer. She addresses the points above as well as offers tips for becoming a prayer warrior.

In the movie, the War Room, the main character actually had a closet that she prayed in. She wrote out her prayers and spent time digging deep in to the Word. One of the main points that I took away from that movie was that the battle we wage is not with each other. We need to stop fighting each other and understand that the enemy is Satan.

Ladies we need to join forces and lift each other up in times of trouble. We need to close ranks and not allow Satan to draw us into places and things that will harm ourselves and our families.

It all starts with your relationship with the Father through Jesus. Have you accepted Christ as your savior? Have you been baptized for the remission of your sins? If not, please reach out to someone that can spend time studying with you. I have a wonderful self paced study guide that I would love to mail to you. Just let me know if you would like to have one. I can also connect you with someone in your area that would be more than happy to study with you.

If you are a child of God, stop messing around and start developing your battle plan for prayer. Life is tough, things go wrong, and as long as we are willing to ride the crazy ride..nothing will change. Jump off the crazy ride and start calling on your Father God for guidance and strength to be the woman of faith that you were called to be.