For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
Last year I posted about watch words, asking what your watch word was and sharing mine. Last year my word was Hope. This year it’s Fight. I’ve been very aware recently of the spiritual battle going on as I pray about certain issues in my life and those of my family and church. It’s very hard sometimes to keep going with prayer ~ especially when we don’t see the answers coming very quickly, or even opposition hits and we think we need to give up. Actually, a lot of times when opposition hits, it’s because something is happening, and Satan isn’t very happy about it!
I’ve spoken about prayer before in posts Pray Without Ceasing where I really focused on praying for our children, and Happily Ever After when I focused on praying for your future spouse, and in both posts I highlighted a couple of books I recommended on the subjects. We all know we should pray, and most of us do pray, but sometimes I think we underestimate the true power of prayer, and especially in regards to ourselves. It’s so much easier to pray for others, but when it comes to ourselves, that’s where we seem to not know how to pray so well.
For Christmas this year I was delighted to receive from my sister The Power of a Praying® Woman by Stormie Omartian. Stormie has written this for any woman, whether she is married, single, widowed, young, old, or somewhere in between.
I’m very familiar with other titles by Stormie Omartian:
My parents have all of these, and my sister and brother-in-law have all but the adult children one. I haven’t read any of them, because I’m neither married nor a parent. However, my mother and sister in particular have been loud in singing Stormie’s praises for these books…and when the day comes for me to be a wife and mother, then I’ll definitely be adding these books to my collection.
I hadn’t come across this one though ~ and it’s just what I’ve needed. Stormie says she wrote this because we women in particular seem to be able to pray for everyone else and their needs, but when it comes to our own we seem to get stuck on how to best plead our cause. Here Stormie shows us how to draw closer to God, know His plans and purposes for our lives, and receive His comfort, strength and help daily.
I’m not reading it in order; I’ve jumped to the chapters that are most suitable for my situation at the moment. I’m sure this is going to be in use for years to come, with different chapters being focused on as the need arises.
I’ve also just come across these books by Stormie Omartian for teens and kids:
I along with Stormie believe it’s never too early to start praying with your children, and also teaching them to pray for themselves. The better prepared a child is in prayer, the better warrior he or she will become. The one book I really wish I’d had is The Power of a Praying® Teen. I did pray as a teen ~ a lot for family and friends, and when it came to me more along the line of Lord, Help! As a daughter of a Christian Youth leader, I often felt a misfit, never quite belonging anywhere. The chapter Lord, Help Me Get Rid of Negative Emotions would have been a valuable one for me, although I believe I would have benefited from all the chapters greatly.
Have you read any of these books? Have your children read any of them? In 2015 let’s truly make prayer a focus on our lives, winning life’s battles and increasing our faith to be able to move mountains! This song by Steve Camp, Run to the Battle has been on my mind as I’ve been preparing and writing this post. The lines:
When we pray we learn to see that His army
we are marching on our knees
are the ones which are the most prevalent in my mind ~ and so true of the life. It’s through prayer that life’s battles are won. My prayer for us all today is that we would all become mighty warriors for His kingdom.
~ Wendy Sparkes ~