Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-18
PREVENTING CASUALTIES – Continued
From Last Lesson: Most Christians agree that studying and knowing God’s Word is valuable. But we often fail when it comes to actually using the Word in warfare. This is where prayer comes in. We must learn to pray God’s Word back to Him.
Beth Moore explains this well in her book Praying God’s Word:
In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul listed the whole armor of God. Only one piece of the armor is actually a weapon. . . . The sword of the Spirit, clearly identified as the Word of God, is the only offensive weapon listed in the whole armor of God. 2 Corinthians 10:4 uses the plural, assuring us we have weapons for warfare. What would the other primary weapon be? Perhaps additional weapons might be identified elsewhere, but I believe the other primary weapon of our warfare is stated right after the words identifying the sword of the Spirit as the Word of God in Ephesians 6:17. The next verse says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions” (Ephesians 6:18 NIV). I am utterly convinced that the two major weapons with divine power in our warfare are the Word of God and Spirit-empowered prayer. 4
My wife and I often share with other believers that the one thing that has changed our individual prayer lives is learning to pray the Lord’s Word back to Him. My favorite way to pray is, “open eyes, open Bible.” As I read through the Bible, I’m led again and again to pray about that which is clearly God’s will. I find myself praying about things I had never considered praying about in ways I had never expected to pray.
All of us can do that; it doesn’t require special training or aptitude. We simply open our Bibles and begin to pray about what we are reading. Sometimes it is a matter of asking the Lord to teach us, to give us understanding of His Word. Other times there are clear ways of praying the Word into our own lives or the lives of those around us.
In my ministry within other congregations in the past I have often prayed for the congregation I was a servant in. There are many beneficial ways that any of us could pray over a congregation. But what I love to pray is what I know God desires to bring about in that fellowship, so oftentimes I turn to Ephesians 3:14 and begin praying around the verse in my own words, personalizing and applying Scripture to the specific group in which I am serving:
I bow my heart before you in prayer Father, from whom our whole family in heaven and on earth derives our name. I pray that out of your glorious riches you might strengthen this church with power through your Holy Spirit in their inner being, so that you, Lord Jesus, might dwell in their hearts through faith. I pray that the brothers and sisters here, being rooted and established in love, might have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is your love, O Christ. I ask that they might know this love that surpasses knowledge, that they might be filled to the measure of all your fullness, Lord, to the glory and honor of Christ Jesus I make this request.
This sort of praying overcomes the enemy. It is not based on emotions or desires, but on the revealed truth of God’s will in Scripture. It touches God’s heart because it emerges from His heart.
It is scriptural praying that allows us to resist the enemy, much as Jesus did in the wilderness temptations. Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
In the previous chapter, he writes, “Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). In both verses, he commands believers to practice self-control. Self-control is needed if we are to pray with power and passion, and fervent and prevailing prayer is needed if we are to be successful in resisting the devil.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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