#27 - Prayer as a Weapon in Spiritual Battles

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Welcome to the show. I am glad you're here at

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the Minded Faith Matters podcast. I'm the host,

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Dr. Corey Potter. Today we're talking about prayer

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as a weapon in spiritual warfare. And when I

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say that, I mean the unseen battle between God's

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truth and the enemy's lies. The enemy meaning

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the devil. In the Bible, Ephesians chapter 6

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verse 12, We're reminded that our struggle is

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not against flesh and blood or other people,

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but against rulers, authorities, and unseen powers

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working against God. That means prayer is not

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some background noise in the Christian life.

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It is central to how we remain strong, oppose

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the enemy's lies, and live in God's strength.

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Have you noticed moments? when prayer felt more

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essential and powerful than just part of your

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daily routine, like you needed it for battle.

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I want to start by looking at some models that

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are out there and how some respected Christian

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leaders describe prayer in spiritual warfare.

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Pastor John Piper sees prayer as a wartime walkie

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-talkie with a focus on staying in constant communication

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with God for the mission of advancing the gospel

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or the good news by calling in God's help. In

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this image I can't help but thinking of the person,

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the soldier that just tries to do it on their

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own and doesn't listen to the chain of command

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and in this case the creator of the universe

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is giving us direct communication with him to

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call in God's help. How incredible is that? Next

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Dr. Tony Evans sees prayer as a weapon of warfare

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with a focus on putting on the full armor of

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God through prayer. So when Dr. Evans talks about

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prayer as a weapon he often ties it to the armor

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of God described in Ephesians chapter 6. Prayer

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is the power. that makes this whole armor work

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in our daily lives. And that passage uses military

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imagery to show how Christians can stand firm

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against temptation in this imagery. For example,

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truth is pictured as a belt and righteousness

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as a breastplate, faith as a shield, and salvation

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as a helmet. I love that, so when I get my thinking

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on God and my thinking right and I understand

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who I am and that I am saved from the consequences

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of my sin, I have my helmet on in the battle.

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And prayer, interestingly, is not pictured as

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a piece of the armor, but it is presented as

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the power that activates all of it. So Tony Evans

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emphasizes that Prayer connects us to God's strength,

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making the armor effective in real life. And

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the third person I want to look at is Priscilla

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Shrier. She frames prayer as a strategic counter

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attack against the enemy's schemes. In her book,

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Fervent, she highlights 10 areas where the enemy

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often attacks and shows how to pray Scripture

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-based, focused prayers for each area, keeping

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this prayer as a regular part of our battle until

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God breaks through to fight the enemy as part

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of our daily life. And I would add that praying

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in Jesus' name points us to His authority and

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to our dependence on Him. It means we ask under

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Christ's Lordship. and seek what aligns with

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his character and his will. So Priscilla Shrier

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gives us a practical way to focus our prayers.

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Her book Fervent means passionate and wholehearted.

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That word. I love that because this is how we

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should approach prayer. She calls prayer a focused

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way to fight back. against the enemy's tricks

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and lies, and her approach is simple but deeply

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effective. Here's her process. Number one, she

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says you should identify where the enemy is attacking

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you. Be aware of it. We can know his schemes.

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Next, she wants us to write out and pray scripture

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-based prayers that speak directly to that attack.

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And she wants us to be persistent, to keep praying,

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even when it takes time until God brings breakthrough

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in that struggle. So here's the 10 identified

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strategic areas for prayer. What about our passion?

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See, when your fire for God feels like it's dim,

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it may be something that you're doing, but it

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certainly could be the enemy. trying to convince

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you that God's not that important. So you can

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pray something like this, Lord restore my first

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love for you and renew my joy in your presence.

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The Bible says in Revelation 2 verses 4 and 5

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to return to our first love. Some of us struggle

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with our focus and identity. So when lies about

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who you are start to cloud your mind, you get

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confused about being a son or daughter of God.

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I'd say pray something like this, Father remind

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me that I'm chosen, redeemed, and secure in Christ.

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1st Peter chapter 2 verse 9 says we are a chosen

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people. Set apart to declare his praises as believers

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We can't forget that and the enemy would love

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us to think of ourselves as anything but that

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You know the next area that gets attacked Sometimes

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the enemy loves to attack the family so when

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tension or division shows up in your home You

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should pray something like Joshua 24 verse 15

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declares, I would say not only pray that but

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teach your kids and your spouse that we want

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to keep our unity and serve the Lord together

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and not let something get between us. or someone.

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So what about your past? When your past guilt

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and regrets weigh on you, even though you might

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have taken care of them and asked for forgiveness,

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you should pray something like this. Thank you

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Jesus that I am forgiven. Help me walk in the

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freedom of your grace. Second Corinthians 517

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says, In Christ we are a new creation. Let's

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not go back. There's no turning back. Let's go

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forward with God and with Jesus as our Lord.

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We can remind the devil where we stand on that

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and we can remind ourselves too. What about your

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fears? That's another area where we're attacked

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when worry or anxiety just rises up. You can

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pray something like this, God I trust you with

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my tomorrow. God I trust you with my moment right

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now. Calm my heart with your peace that your

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word says surpasses understanding. Philippians

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chapter 4 verses 6 and 7 promises his peace will

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guard our hearts and minds. You don't know how

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many times I need this throughout my day. Wow

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The next area is purity Some people struggle

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with temptation when it comes against your mind

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or your body Pray something like this Lord guard

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my eyes my heart And my steps Help me to honor

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you with holiness Psalm 119 verses 9 through

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11 reminds us that We keep our way pure by hiding

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His Word, the Bible, in our hearts. Reading His

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Word, memorizing it, studying it, that's how

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we keep pure. We can pray for it, but we have

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to take some action, by the way, and read and

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study and put His Word in our hearts. I'm guilty

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on this next one. This is where the devil gets

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me and I get myself. Pressures. when life feels

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too heavy or busy or burdened down, pray something

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like this, Father teach me to rest in you and

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order my steps by your wisdom. Matthew chapter

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11 verses 28 through 30 invites us to come to

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Jesus when we are weary and he promises rest.

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Oh I need rest a lot. Some of us struggle with

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hurts. You just can't shake free and so when

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past wounds keep resurfacing I want you to prepare

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a prayer something like this. Heal my heart Lord.

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Help me release bitterness and walk in forgiveness.

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Ephesians 4 verses 31 and 32 calls us to be kind

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and forgiving just as God forgave us. I see it

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so many times when a grown person hasn't dealt

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with some of the challenges of their childhood

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and their past hurts and they can't be the friend

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they need to be to others. They can't be the

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spouse that they need to be and really they can't

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even be the parent they need to be until they've

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experienced some healing and that's why I got

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into mental health and my faith together as an

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idea because I'm saying, oh my goodness, we need

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healthy minds because our minds matter and healthy

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faith. I love what I get to do, but I still experience

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these struggles that the enemy puts me through.

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How about relationships? You know when conflict

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or distance shows up? With others that you're

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trying to be close to you could pray something

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like this Unite us in your spirit Lord Let love

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and patience guide my words and actions John

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13 verses 34 and 35 reminds us that our love

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for one another points the world to Christ I

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said it last week in my special episode, episode

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26 on prayer, that we're not gonna argue people

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into becoming believers and we're not gonna show

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them anything but gentleness and kindness and

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love and that's how they'll know whose we are

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and that's what will attract them to us. Them

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meaning unbelievers. You know, there's another

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area that Satan loves to attack. It's our calling.

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and when you feel distant and distracted from

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God's purpose, pray something like, Lord keep

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me steady in your calling and faithful to the

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work you've set before me. 2 Timothy chapter

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1 verses 6 and 7 encourages you to develop and

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grow the gifts that God has given you and live

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with power, love, and self -control. Which of

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these 10 areas feels closest to home for you

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right now? I want you to take a moment to name

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it and even write it down if you can. And that

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gives you a clear place to start and focus your

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prayers. So in closing today, I want to share

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that James chapter 5 verse 16 says that the prayer

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of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

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That is a promise we can carry with us every

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single moment of every single day. So here's

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the challenge this week. Choose one area in your

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life where the enemy is pressing in. Take a verse

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of scripture. Find one, if you don't know. Look

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one up that speaks to it. Maybe more than one.

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And write a prayer you can return to each day.

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Trust. Now I want you to trust that God is at

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work. as you pray faithfully. So as you go through

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your week, keep focused on praying with honesty

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and persistence. I want you to know that God

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hears you and he strengthens you as you pray

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for the battles that you're facing. Thank you

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for joining me today on Mind & Faith Matters.

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My hope is that your conversations with God this

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week bring you peace and a deeper awareness of

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His presence. As you pray, stay humble and dependent,

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remembering that our authority comes from Christ

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and we seek to honor Him in all we do. So until

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next time, God bless and have a wonderful week!