To the born again believer, prayer is our most critical tool and power. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”-(Ephesians 6:12). That means that when we see all kinds of evils manifested in our physical reality, evil spirits are operating in the background and at the heart of corruption. This fact does not vindicate criminals, and it certainly does not justify those who would dare to elevate themselves in thinking they’re “good people.” Most of us have done this (self-included). The Bible says no one is good by nature. Whenever someone says they’re “a good person,” they are basing their self-assessment off of a morally relative scale.
God is good, while the present world is wicked. When we are born again of our spirit, God begins revealing to us our true nature and His. He also begins to unveil the unseen world as well as His multifaceted plan of salvation. From that very moment, we enter into a covenant relationship with Him whereby we can pray and know that He will not only listen but answer. God ALWAYS answers prayer. So far, I’ve seen Him answer my prayers in one of four ways; “No,” “Maybe,” “Not Yet,” and “Yes.” Does He speak directly to us as He did with Moses? No, but by the power of the Holy Spirit and His word in the Bible, He makes His will known to us. He also speaks through other people (who may or may not know they are even being used), as well as events. Since He does not talk to us as directly as He spoke with prophets like Moses, we have to learn to recognize His voice because God is spirit and we are flesh. No one has seen God with their eyes unless they’ve seen Jesus…and though we have the opportunity to know Christ, no one will see Him physically until His return. In the meantime, we have to master the art of communicating with our God and sending our prayers forth on the wings of faith.
The Bible explains through Ephesians 6:12 that we’re in a spiritual war. Even when it seems like we’re up against visible challenges like racism, sexism, unfair socio-economic disparities, and other social injustices, we are not wrestling with our fellow human beings (who are all related by the by no matter how distant). Instead, we wrestle with powers, principalities, and dark authorities in high places (who influence the world from the top echelons of society and government downward). With that said, we need to put on the full armor of God and fight back in a way that they understand. Protests are powerful and effective, but prayer is even more powerful. Protests can go south if riots and looting happen. Therefore, ten steps forward and eight steps back isn’t as effective as ten steps forward and none back. When we fight through prayer, even when it may look and feel like we’ve been pushed back, the kingdom of God always advances.
We need to understand that we ARE pawns in this advanced chess match between the forces of Good vs. Evil in which there are billions upon billions of pieces. When we pray effectively and correctly, we should be aligning ourselves with God’s will. We ought to pray for the advancement of His kingdom, and for Him to strengthen us and prepare us as things get grittier. Even when everything seems to get back to normal (for it will appear that way), we should continue to pray against the unseen forces of darkness, which are merely recuperating and waiting for their next opportunity to strike.
With that said, let’s begin to tap into the power of prayer by first studying what has become known as the Lord’s prayer (the prayer in which Jesus teaches others how to approach our Heavenly Father spiritually).
The Original Blue Print goes like this:
“Our Father who is in Heaven,” (Here, Jesus addressed God specifically in His verbal letter. Real Christians will always address God in Jesus’ name, not Mary, nor angels, nor other entities (such as demons). We have the privilege of direct access to our Heavenly Father only through Christ.
“…blessed be your name.” (Our creator alone is worthy of our praise and worship, and we should praise Him in our prayers).
“Your kingdom come, Let Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (First, God must have His way, and we need to understand that He’s above us. We can still ask Him anything, for He owns everything, and even a crumb of His riches would be more than enough to satisfy us, but we can’t ask for what we want and try to deny His will.
“Give us this day our daily bread… (As you can see, we can ask for such things we need to survive like “bread” in this case. Bread in Biblical context is a general word synonymous with natural food, spiritual food, healing, life, and even to Jesus, who referred to Himself as “the Bread of Life.” In our day and age, the word “bread” is used as a slang term for money…it does not mean we should be asking for money out of greed, but as a means to an end—God’s end. Therefore, the request itself isn’t sinful. However, the intent may or may not be. Examine your own heart if you pray for money.
“…and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” In this part of the Lord’s prayer, we see that we ought to ask for forgiveness, guidance, and deliverance). We should also be willing to forgive, guide, and mentor others, and pray for the deliverance of others.
With all of this said, practice is crucial! When we put on the full armor of God, we should go boldly into battle, knowing God can shield us from spiritual harm. Therefore, don’t be afraid. You may enter a closet or quiet place where you can be alone with our Almighty Father. No two prayers should be exactly the same. For when one prays sincerely and from their heart, they will not utter vain repetitions. Any ritualistic prayer that must be repeated over and over that could bore even prayer advocates is nothing more than a vain repetition. God does not need to hear the Lord’s prayer, a hail Mary, any other prayer or chant more than once in a given time frame. He’s not deaf, he doesn’t forget, and he doesn’t want the sacrifice, or more candidly, the waste of time and energy. When you’re praying, you can pray sincerely and still use a template if you need one. There are things we sometimes forget to include in our prayers that we might have recalled had we simply written them down and kept our thoughts organized. A template isn’t necessary, however,—(Jesus didn’t need one), but it can be useful, especially for a beginner. There is nothing wrong with having a blueprint for how YOU speak with God. Everyone’s relationship with God will be slightly different. God sees every believer as an individual— distinct, yet united in faith and love.
Two paragraphs down, you’ll find my Free Flow Template. I sometimes use one to stay organized and focused, especially if my heart is burdened with numerous requests. When I use the template, I choose, however, many options related to my supplication, and I bring it before the Lord infusing it with His word and His promises. If it is His will (and we ought to always pray for His will to be done), He (being the King He is) will decide whether to grant my request or not. Now He already knows all we will ever ask in our lifetime before we even question it. Still, prayer is an opportunity to be intimate with our God, partner with Him, and have a relationship with Him.
How does one establish and maintain a relationship with anyone? They must speak and interact with that person. Therefore, even though God knows all, He also knows how we work and makes Himself available to listen to the voices of the human beings He loves so deeply. He knows what we’ll ask when we’ll ask, how we’ll ask, where we’ll ask it, etcetera, but He loves us so much that He won’t stop us from asking, or even trying to speak with Him. God is not too busy for us. He is not too intelligent for us. Without further ado, here is a sample template
Heavenly Father (followed by sincere declaration and or exaltation such as: “You alone are God” “You are mighty” “I bless your name because you are Holy and righteous” or “Thank you for being an amazing and loving God”)
I thank you for (pick one or more of the following but understand the more you select, the lengthier the prayer):
Victory, forgiveness of my sins, your mercies toward me, your faithfulness, your lovingkindness, your sacrifice on the cross, my family, my friends, the opportunity you’ve given me to know you, your strength, helping me today, protecting me, my family, and friends, providing for me, my family, and friends, what you are doing in my life and the lives of others, being a mighty God.
I ask that (pick one or more of the following): Your kingdom come, You use me for Your glory and honor, You make me instrumental in the establishment of your kingdom, You have your way in my life and the lives of my family and friends, You draw nearer to me as I draw closer to you at this moment, You strengthen me, Help me with…, Teach me to…, Guide me, Provide for me, Heal me, Protect me, (if you’re praying for multiple people, replace I, me, my, etc. with we, us, our, etc.
Teach me to: Stay focused and keep my eyes on you, Seek the kingdom first, Understand that you come first, Appreciate (whatever, or whoever)…, Love more especially those who are difficult to love, Forgive those who have hurt us badly, Walk boldly in faith, Trust in you, Not rely on my own understanding, Make peace even when I want to retaliate, Be patient, Be kind, Be more humble, Recognize your voice,
I intercede / stand in the gap for: (Name people)
Help them with: (Name their struggle)
Thank you for being sovereign, Thank you for being faithful, You are ultimately in control, You are the Alpha and Omega, Only you can.
We ask that these things be so, (or something to that effect) in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Now the reason I called the blog “The Powerful Freestyle Prayer Warrior” is because prayer (like combat) is dynamic. In combat (even stimulated combat), opponents can change their tactics, the direction of attack, intensity, etc. Therefore, we, as spiritual warriors, must master the spiritual art of war…not being ignorant of our enemy’s devices, but being prepared to respond with the power that God gives His children. We fight with His power and not our own. His power is in His word. With it, He named Himself, created all things, declared the end from the beginning. Words are also potent for us. For with words, we can paint mental pictures, create fictional worlds and stories, and as it applies to Prayer, we can disrupt evil entities that without God’s protection and power are quite frankly, invincible to us. To us, they would be gods if God hadn’t made it clear that they were also created. There is one God, and we are His warrior ambassadors. Fight the good fight. Learn the ropes (an old boxing adage), which means to master your environment and be aware of your space and all that happens around you. Pray often and fight spirits of wickedness in the spirit with the Sword of the Spirit (a.k.a the word of the LORD).
Be lavishly blessed!! 🙌
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SOUL HAVEN 