A mighty fortress is our God, I suppose. I don't
know, but I enjoyed those. Those are from my
high school days. Would you open your Bible with
me please to our key verse for the study on Sunday
nights last weekend, this one, 2 Corinthians
chapter 10, where we are reminded by the apostle
that though we walk in the flesh, we do not war
according to the flesh. 2 Corinthians 10 verse
3, For the weapons of our warfare are not of
the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction
of fortresses. We are destroying speculations
and every lofty thing raised against the knowledge
of God, and we are taking every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ. Paul Belheimer in
his book Destined for the Throne has written,
prayer is where the action is. Any church without
a well -organized and systematic prayer program
is simply operating a religious treadmill. Let
me read that again. Any church without a well
-organized and systematic prayer program is simply
operating a religious treadmill. That's a powerful
statement. It's a strong statement. I don't think
he's overstating the case. Prayer is where the
action is. Prayer is not merely a support ministry
for the battle. Prayer is the front line. You're
saying, I don't have a machine gun or a bazooka
or a cannon. All I have is an intercontinental
ballistic missile. About all I can do is pray.
Well, lob the missile then. God gives us mighty
spiritual weapons for the battlefield of life.
Last week we said that the use of the weapon
of prayer is our right as believers. It is our
right based upon our identity as children of
God. You remember we've had a profound change
in our identity. Whereas once we were identified
with Adam and his sin. Now by God's grace we
are identified with Jesus Christ and his righteousness.
We were in Adam. Now we are in Christ. That's
not just a play on words. It's not just a simple
little thought. It describes a profound change
in our position before God. Because we are in
Christ, he tells us that we have every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. As
we examine that first paragraph of Ephesians,
we noted that we have complete acceptance with
God. We have complete forgiveness with God. We
have complete understanding of what God is doing
in the big picture of things. We have a complete
inheritance as God's children, and we have complete
security in the position that God has given to
us. Because of this, because of this position
and the blessings that come with it, we can approach
God with boldness and confidence, or what he
calls in Ephesians 312, freedom of speech. freedom
of entrance. He says it this way, in Christ we
have boldness and confident access through faith
in Him. We have freedom of speech and freedom
of entrance. Last May I was privileged to be
with some other evangelical leaders across the
country at a seminar, a briefing in Washington.
And on one day they arranged for us to have our
briefing in the old executive office building
next to the White House. In order to get into
the place, we had to be there an hour, an hour
and a half before our appointment. We had to
have identification. We had to have sent our
names ahead of time in order to get through the
security clearance. There were these metal detector
kinds of gates set up. There were guards around
before we could ever get into. the hallways of
the old executive office building. Once inside,
we had freedom. In fact, we went to the briefing,
and after it was done, I looked at the names
of all the people who have their offices in this
structure, and one of them was Vice President
Daniel Quayle. And so I decided, well, I think
I ought to go see Dan Quayle. I've never met
the man, but I have a lot of admiration for the
courage. that he has displayed in the last four
years. And so I went to see if I could get near
his office. Hey, I was in the building. I walked
right up to his office. I didn't get to see him.
He wasn't there, and had he been there, I'm sure
I wouldn't have seen him either. But I was able
to walk right to his office and talk to the secretary
that is right outside of his door that sees him
go in and out all the time. And so I left my
message for him with her. And she said, well,
I'd be glad to give it to him, but I hardly ever
talked to him. So I left it with a very important
person, I'm sure. But the thing I'm illustrating
to you is that once I got past that certain point,
I had freedom of access in that building. You
see, when we're in Jesus Christ, we have freedom
of access to the very throne room of God. We
can walk right in. There's no guard there. There's
not a secretary outside the door. God says, come
on in. and we may enter freely and there speak
with our God. It's the right that we have as
believers because of who we are in Christ. That's
the key that we're in Christ. That gives us the
freedoms that I've just spoken about. Now to
experience victory in the warfare that Paul alludes
to in 2 Corinthians chapter 10. We must take
several steps that he outlines in the book of
Ephesians. So if you're flipping back and forth
between the two trying to figure out where I'm
going to light, I'm going to Ephesians. So turn
there with me to the sixth chapter. These steps
will lead you to an effective prayer practice
in your life. This is a familiar paragraph beginning
in verse 10, where we find step number one. Rely
on your adequacy. Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of His might. We do not have
to cower before the enemy. We do not have to
run from the enemy. We don't have to be afraid
of the enemy. We would be foolish not to have
a certain respect for His power. But, greater
is he who is in us than our enemy. We can be
strong in the Lord. We can rely upon our adequacy
in Jesus Christ for the spiritual battlefields
of life. We have been made adequate, not because
of who we are in ourselves, but because of who
we are in Christ. He says, be strong, or Literally,
be continually strengthened. It's a present tense.
It's something that has to be ongoing. It's a
practice of our lives. Be continually strengthened.
Draw up on your adequacy in the Lord and the
strength of His might that He provides you. If
you enter the battles of life, looking over your
shoulder and half afraid, with your tail almost
tucked between your legs. I guarantee you, you
will be defeated on the battlefield. In the battles
of life, you must enter into the battle relying
upon your adequacy in Christ. You must realize
who you are in Christ and the sufficiency that
you have in Him. You lack nothing that you need.
to be victorious. And you need not cower before
your enemy. Rely on your adequacy, step number
one. Step number two. Think on your adversary.
Verse 12. You have to reach the realm of existence,
the spiritual realm. You must think on your adversary.
He says, our struggle is not against flesh and
blood. He's already talked about the schemes
of the devil in verse 11. He explains by saying,
our struggle, our combat is not against flesh
and blood, but against rulers, powers, world
forces, and spiritual wickedness, all of these
in the heavenly places, in the realm of spiritual
things. It's hard for us to grasp what the heavenlies...
is because we're so used to living in the material.
That's what we relate to. Our senses all relate
us to this physical world. But as most of you
know, there is a whole other realm of reality
that interacts with the material realm. And while
we can't see it, there is activity in that spirit
realm that impacts what happens in the realm
that you and I interact with, the material. We
must realize that our real enemy is no person.
It is no group of people. It is not a political
party. Our real enemy is Satan and his hordes
who are described in verse 12. There are different
kinds and different levels of demonic authority.
He suggests those here. But the fact is that
all of them have one single purpose. They are
committed to your defeat. They desire to put
you aside in this world as far as being effective
for God is concerned. That's the only thing they're
concerned about with you. They know that they
cannot have your soul because you have complete
security in Christ. Therefore they would have
your life. They want your effectiveness. They
want your time. They want to break you of your
devotion to Christ, of your commitment to His
cause. That is their goal. We need to think on
our adversary, understand who he really is. Let
me just say that I agree with what some of you
have said to me, and that is the battle seems
to be getting worse. I don't know that we can
go back and say, well, it began to get worse
here or there. Except that it seems that in our
culture, the Western culture, in our nation with
this Judeo -Christian heritage, there seem to
be certain walls that were in place. Even though
ours has not been a Christian nation in the sense
that Israel was the people of God. Our nation
has been founded on certain principles that are
consistent with Christian teaching. And because
of that, there have been certain walls in place.
I believe that the walls are gone. And the walls
crumbled in the 60s, about 25 years ago, with
that tremendous cultural revolution that took
place and the upheaval. And what was round one
in the 60s is becoming round two in the 90s.
If you enjoyed the 60s, you'll love the 90s.
And if you hated the 60s, watch out for the days
ahead. There is an intensification of spiritual
warfare in our culture. It is going to be tougher
than it has ever been before to live for Jesus
Christ. in the years ahead. And I think the reason
for that is that the purpose for this nation
and God's plan is perhaps coming to its conclusion.
God raises up nations and peoples for a time
and then when they have fulfilled their purpose
and proven that they're worthy of judgment, God
brings the judgment they deserve. But I think
also that Spiritual warfare is increasing in
our nation because Satan knows that his time
is short, that the Lord's coming is near at hand.
I am not among those who are predicting the rapture
on October 30th or 31st, whatever the date is
this year. But I do believe that the Lord's coming
is near at hand and Satan realizes his time is
short and is therefore pushing all the more.
for his ends. We need to think about our adversary.
Realize that he's not a figment of the imagination.
He's not over there somewhere in the mission
field. He is active and increasingly active in
our culture. If you and I are going to have an
effective prayer life, we need to take that second
step and understand who we need to pray against.
We need to understand how we need to pray. Number
three. Put on your armor. If you want to be effective
in your prayer life, you must put on your armor.
Verse 11 says, put on the panoply of God, the
full armor of God, that you may be able to stand
firm against the craftiness of the devil. The
methods of the devil that are filled with deceit
is what the word means. Put on the full armor
of God. And he says something similar in verse
13, take up the full armor of God. And so we
have to put the armor on. And we have talked
about this a few years ago, and I'm not going
to detail about it, except to have you note with
me that it's a full armor. And that its pieces
represent character and lifestyle and habit.
which must be in place in our lives if we're
going to protect ourselves against the adversary's
attacks. The first piece that is in Paul's list
is the belt of truth. It seems to refer to integrity
of character. It means not being a hypocrite.
It means being honest and transparent and genuine
about who you are. Not living a lie. The belt
of truth. He talks about the breastplate of righteousness,
which in this context refers to a lifestyle that
is characterized by good. It means to do deeds
that reflect the kindness, the patience, and
the love of God. He speaks about the shoes of
peace that are to be on our feet. Here, the peace
seems to refer to that peace that is in our hearts,
that we are at peace with God, that convents
that gives us strength that God is for us, God
is not against us, because our sins are forgiven.
We have faith. We immediately have faith there
that says, no, God is not like that. God is this
way, or God is that way. The shield of faith
which will extinguish the fiery darts of the
evil once they hit. And the helmet of salvation.
Here he's talking about the assurance that we
can have that expectation that God is ultimately
in control of all things and That one day he's
going to rescue his own from the battlefield.
It is the hope of glory that we have The helmet
of salvation and then the sword that he calls
the sword of the spirit This word of God he says
this rama the spoken proclaimed utterance from
God In other words, this sword is some specific
word that God has given us in this book that
is appropriate for the particular battle we're
in. Thus, we need to fill our minds with what
God says to us so that we have this sword available
and can fight back against the enemy. Now, I
want you to notice that we're responsible for
this armor. It is our job to put it on, to take
it up. Failure to do that, failure to have these
aspects of character and lifestyle and habit
in place, leaves us vulnerable to the enemy.
We are prone to defeat because we are not covered
by our armor. So if we are going to enter into
the warfare, we must take up our armor. John
Dorsey has written a poem describing the devil's
tactics. in the battle. It says, I had a battle
fierce today within my place of prayer. I went
to meet and talk with God but I found Satan there.
He whispered, you can't really pray. You lost
out long ago. You might say words while on your
knees but you can't pray, you know. So then I
pulled my helmet down, weighed down upon my ears,
and found it helped to still his voice and helped
to lay my fears. I checked my other armor, or
my feet in peace were shod, my loins with truth
were girded round, my sword the word of God,
my righteous breastplate still was on, my heart's
love to protect, my shield of faith was all intact.
His fiery darts bounced back. I called on God
in Jesus' name. I pled the precious blood. While
Satan sneaked away in shame, I met and talked
with God. If there's any place that Satan will
seek to defeat you, it's at the place of prayer.
That brings us to our fourth step in spiritual
warfare. Once we have put our armor on, we need
to focus on our assignment. And what is that
assignment? Well, he begins by saying, stand
your ground. Stand firm. When he says that, he
is implying that we have been assigned a strategic
place in the battle. And having been assigned
that place, we are to stand there and not give
an inch to Satan when he attacks us. Stand firm,
he says, against the schemes of the devil. Stand
firm, he repeats in verse 14. That's our assignment.
We're not to give in. We're not to run. If we
have our armor in place, we will not be defeated.
We are to stand firm in that place where God's
assigned us. How do we do that? Well, by going
on to verse 18 by praying. What are we to pray?
Well, he says we're to pray all prayer and petition.
The word prayer here is a general word for prayer
to God. Petition refers to those specific things
that we would ask of Him. The NIV puts it this
way. We're to pray all kinds of prayers and requests.
The most powerful kind of prayer perhaps is praise.
Because when you and I praise God, we are focusing
on the character of God. And when we focus on
who God is, that stimulates our faith. And it
is our faith which wins the battle. This is the
victory that overcomes our faith. And so when
you and I praise God, we lift our hearts to God
in praise and thanksgiving, and we honor Him
for who He is. It causes our faith to be built
up. but with all kinds of prayer and specific
petitions we are to pray. And when, he says at
all times, on all occasions, we're to develop
a God awareness so that whatever the affair that
we're in, whatever the controversy, whatever
the questions or the confusion, we include Jesus
with us in that experience by prayer. On all
of the occasions of your life, pray at your assignment
to stand. And how are we to do it? He says, in
the Spirit, in the sphere of the Spirit, depending
upon Him, asking Him to enable you to pray, to
be on the alert, He says. That's how we're to
do it, by being vigilant and watchful. And He
says we're also to do this with all perseverance
and petition. In other words, it's no others
who love us and whom we love, others that we've
never met, others who are spiritual leaders.
In fact, Paul invites them and pray for us, he
says in verse 19. Pray for us. And what does
he say to pray for? That we may fulfill the mission,
he says, that God's given us. And so we need
to pray about our purpose, our assignment in
the world as a church. These are all things that
we're to pray for. Our warfare praying is not
so much against the enemy, in a negative sense,
as it is affirming who God is, what His promises
are, and asking God to act. Oh, that God would
teach us how to pray, how to enter into prayer
that is effective in warfare. We can hear a thousand
sermons on that subject and we can read dozens
of books. We can listen to scores of tapes. But
it's only when we get down on our knees and begin
to practice it that we will really begin to learn
what warfare praying is. The fact is that our
praying reveals a lot about our theology. Have
you ever listened to somebody pray? You say,
well, of course, that's the only polite thing
to do. Well, have you ever really listened to
what people pray? I mean, if you really want
to get personal about it, have you ever listened
to what you pray? What you and I pray reveals
our theology. It may not be what we studied in
school if we took a theology course. It may not
be what we read in the book if we read a theology
book. But what we pray says, truly what we believe
about God. Timothy Warner writes, if most of
our prayers are really a reflection of our concept
of the glory and power of God, our theology is
in serious need of overhaul. So often we pray
with just repetitious words. If you could just
take the word just out of praying, and Lord,
just do this, and Lord, just do that. Have you
ever heard that in your own praying? What does
that mean? What is just doing in there? God could
do more than just that. We ask God for some of
the silliest things. And Lord, I pray that when
they operate on Brother Smith, that they'll not
find any cancer. But what if there's cancer there
that needs to be found? Do you want God to blind
the eyes of the surgeon? We need to listen to
what we say in our prayers. My appeal to all
of us tonight is that we make prayer a priority.
Back in the 1840s, there was an earnest young
man who found employment for himself in a pawn
shop of all places. He did not like the work,
actually, but he did the work as he writes, as
unto the Lord. He looked for a more desirable
opportunity that God might give him. He really
wanted to serve the Lord. That was his heart's
desire. So, to prepare himself, he wrote the
following words in a resolution on a piece of
paper. He said, I do promise God that I will
rise early every morning to have a few minutes,
not less than five, in private prayer. I will
endeavor to conduct myself as a humble, meek,
and zealous follower of Jesus, and by serious
witness and warning, I will try to lead others
to think of the needs of their immortal souls.
I hereby vow to read no less than four chapters
in God's Word every day. I will cultivate a spirit
of self -denial and will yield myself a prisoner
of love. to the Redeemer of the world. Who do
you think it was that made that kind of resolution
that perhaps some of us have made from time to
time? But he kept it. Well, his name was William
Booth. William Booth founded the Salvation Army,
the organization that still today bears that
name. General William Booth. And what a difference
he made in the 19th century. And His resolution
began by saying, I will pray five minutes a day.
I don't know, is it five minutes or maybe ten
that you need to say to God, I will spend time
with you in prayer? I want to appeal to you to
make prayer a priority in your life. If it has
slipped down a notch or two or ten, get it back
up where it belongs. Because prayer is a mighty
spiritual weapon that God gives to us to employ
in spiritual warfare. And when you and I wield
it, we are wielding spiritual intercontinental
ballistic missiles. Let's pray together. Father,
teach us to pray. Not just to say words, not
to... employ phrases that we hear others use
and mindlessly repeat, but teach us really to
pray. Forgive us for our theology. Teach us what
you're really like, and show us how to pray in
light of that. Many of us need to begin over
again. Lord, take us through elementary school.
And lead us on, we pray, by your Spirit, to the
postgraduate place of learning about prayer.
We need that, Father. We need it. Your work in
the world needs it, and you have commanded it
of us. So teach us to pray. Amen.