“The Conflict in Prayer!” Sunday, 14 August 2022 10:00 a.m.
Last Sunday we wrapped up our “Armour of God” series by tackling the topic of a vital offensive weapon: “Prayer”. This week I am staying with the same theme in a new series that I am calling: “The Potential of Prayer.” There is so much untapped power and potential that we have failed to think about that is at our disposal through the means of prayer. So, in the coming weeks, I will attempt to explore some important issues like the posture of prayer, the power of prayer and the power of praying Scripture. I want to kick off this week by talking about “The Conflict of Prayer.”
In speaking about the conflict of prayer, we immediately understand that there is going to be a battle in our prayer lives; where it seems to be that we're on a collision course with the devil. That he's trying to confuse our mind, trying to hinder us in our prayers, trying to frustrate us so that we forget about prayer and make it so it's the last thing on our mind; when it should be the first.
Daniel was a young man in the Bible; he lived about 600 years before Christ; he grew up in Israel. He was a young man who was acquainted with the Jewish law and religion. But he was taken into another country/culture hundreds of miles away. Imagine being exiled from your home and raised in a foreign country with a foreign language/culture and foreign gods and belief system. But he took a stand for God. And he had resolved to be a young man who prayed to God.
And God had shown him some tremendous things in prayer. God showed him future events that would take place. He showed him the 4 Empires of the world that would rule; the Babylonian, then the Persian, followed by the Greeks, and then the Roman Empire at the time of Christ. God had shown him some future prophetic things that were subject to God's timing. So, Daniel begins to fast and pray for more information from God about these revelations that he had received. And God answers him by sending an angel to speak to him and give greater detail about what he had seen. The angel also describes a supernatural event of immense proportions, and how Daniel’s prayer had an effect on it.
Daniel 10:12 Then he (angel) said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”
What happens as we are engaged in prayer; when we are truly praying in the Spirit? What is the potential of our prayers in the supernatural realm? What is the spiritual war that is taking place in the heavenlies that is affected by our prayers (or lack of prayer)? How can we be involved in bringing heaven’s will to earth through our prayers?
Join us in person on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. or via livestream by going to https://www.firstbaptistsudbury.com and clicking on livestream for “The Conflict in Prayer.”
Blessings,
Kevin