Cp. 8 Praying and the War Within

When praying for any purpose it is important to remember to utilize the Word of God. Follow Christ’s example when at the end of His wilderness experience, He answered every temptation of Satan’s with these three words, “It is written”. When quoting the words of Christ it is acceptable to say, “Jesus said“. Our sword is the words of God that we speak. The devil has no defense against them. When entering into spiritual warfare it’s also important to remember not to have faith in the armor of God but to have faith in the God of the armor.

A prayer of spiritual warfare should always be spoken out loud. While God can hear our inner thoughts, Satan can’t. When we exercise our authority over him and his minions it is important to speak with a voice of authority. We are not begging and pleading with him to leave us alone, we are commanding him to get out of our lives. Here are some scriptures outlining the authority we as believers have:

Luke 9:1 - “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” (KJV) Whenever Jesus spoke to the twelve disciples, He was speaking to them as the founding fathers of Christianity, not as Jews as is commonly believed.

Matt 18:18 - “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (NIV) The binding of demons and the loosing of blessings is a vital part of spiritual warfare. We can not overcome them until we bind them in the name of Christ. That is always the first step.

2 Cor. 10:3-5 - “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 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.” (NIV) The strongholds are those places in our hearts and lives that we have allowed Satan control over. We all have an area or two we are reluctant to surrender to Christ and Satan takes advantage of that reluctance and tries to invade other areas that we have surrendered to the will of God and tries to deceive us into giving him back control over those things.



The second step is to rebuke the evil spirits. Matt 17:18 - “And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. (KJV)

Rebuking means to order them to be silent and forbid them access to your spirit, heart and mind. It is important to try and use all the names and synonyms you can think of in your particular arena of conflict. For example, say you have a problem with theft. You would come against the demons of: theft, stealing, robbery, dishonesty, coveting and greed, etc. and also the root causes which might be: poverty, unemployment, selfishness, etc. Demons and evil spirits are usually known by the names of the sin they try to tempt you with or the negative emotions they want you to feel.

We are weak but are made strong by God while still in our weakness. In some of our darkest times we must bear witness with Paul that while: 2 Cor. 4:8-9 - “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (NIV) Trials, tribulations and sorrows are the Christian’s training ground for faith. For everyone who believes that Christianity is a place of rest, sunshine and lollipops I offer these verses:

John 16:33 - “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (KJV)

Rom 5:3-4 - “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” (KJV)

Luke 12:51-53 - “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” (KJV)

When you are just beginning to exercise your spiritual muscles it might be a good idea to make notes about what you want to pray for, the problems you wish solved and the sins you want to overcome, etc. Some people believe that reading a prayer isn’t being realistic enough with God and that is true for some of the more ritualistic prayer books out there, but in spiritual warfare as long as what you are praying agrees with your spirit and mind it is perfectly fine.

An often neglected but important part of spiritual warfare is singing. In your prayer closet, if possible, find music that deals with the areas you’re praying for. Utilize music even if it’s just praise and worship music, as an aid to get your heart and mind attuned to an atmosphere suitable for spiritual warfare. Many times I find that when I’m driving a long distance alone good, celebratory praise music helps jump start my periods of warfare. (Just don’t get carried away and close your eyes and lift your hands in praise, unfortunate results may occur).

Every believer is forced to confront the war within. The continuous battle of good and evil, our old man against our new man, our new nature conflicting with our old sin nature. Paul describes this war that is raging within quite accurately.

Rom 7:14-25 - “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do,
but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” (NIV)

As you can see, even the great Apostle Paul struggled with the very things you and I struggle with on a daily basis. You are not alone! Our victory is found in Christ but we must wage the battles to receive it.

I developed a couple of acronyms to use as a memory aid when instigating spiritual warfare. The first one is simply called PRAISE.


Praise God.
Repent of sin and seek forgiveness.
Ask for daily needs.
Invoke the help of the Holy Spirit for your spiritual warfare.
Start spiritual warfare.
End with exhortations and blessings.

The next one is a little more involved, SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.
Praise and worship God.
Invoke aid of the Holy Spirit.
Repent of sin and seek forgiveness.
Instigate warfare.
Take authority.
Unmask demons and call them by name.
After you bind them in Christ’s name.
Loose the blessings they were blocking.

Wait upon the Lord.
Ask for God’s blessings on others.
Receive in faith the promises.
Faithfully believe victory is yours.
Ask for boldness in your witness.
Rejoice in faith for victory received.
End with praise and thanksgiving.



Another good method to use in learning how to pray effectually is to read the prayers that are in the bible. You can’t go wrong if you follow the patterns like the aforementioned Lord’s Prayer. Did you know that Jesus prayed a prayer especially for you? There are three prayers in John 17. The first part, vs. 1-5 is His prayer for Himself. The second part vs. 6-19 is His prayer for the disciples, which we are and the last part is His prayer for all believers, vs. 20-26. I will end this chapter with His last two prayers that He prayed to God for us.

6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed
that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your Name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They
are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them
into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (NIV)