Prayer, Our Greatest Unused Weapon 04
July 31, 2022

Spiritual Warfare: Confronting the Enemy through Prayer

Matthew 17:14-21 (NKJV)

Mick Veach | Lead Pastor | first aired on 07.31.2022

I. Introduction

A. Read Scripture

14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is [c]an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O [d]faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your [e]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 [f]However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”—Matthew 17:14-21 (NKJV)

B. Today, we are going to look at how we practically pray for spiritual victory


  1. Defining our Warfare

    a. Flesh
    b. World
    c. Devil

C. It is critical that you understand how you can implement your authority in Christ

  1. Romans 8:31—If God is for us who can be against us?

D. Non-believers are open to more direct attack without the protection from God

E. What are the weapons that God has given us to fight?


  1. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

    a. Not weapons of this world
    b. They have divine power to:

    1. Demolish anything that opposes God
    2. Our thoughts are taken captive

F. What are the areas of your life you are tempted to be consumed with?

  1. Worry/Stress
  2. Fear
  3. Relational challenges
  4. Money
  5. Sin/addiction

G. Let’s decide today that we are going to up the standard of our prayer life

H. How can you practically move forward in improving your prayer life?

  1. Pray with someone
  2. Pray out loud
  3. Pray with a list
  4. Pray at a certain point each day


II. 3 Principles of Warfare Prayer

A.

  1. Jesus helps his disciples as they find themselves in tough situation in Matthew 17:14ff

    a. Unable to cast a demon out of man
    b. Jesus responds by healing the man
    c. He then turns his attention on his team
    d. Jesus’ point—You need to prepare yourself before you go into direct ministry.

  2. Mark 1—Jesus gets up early and spends time with the Father after ministering all night

  3. What is necessary in our preparation:

    a. Confession

    1. Affirm your faith in Christ—Heb.3:1
    2. Admit your sin—Nehemiah 1:6-7
    3. Acknowledge your fears—2 Tim. 1:7
    4. Repent from any ungodliness—Acts 2:38

b. Forgive People—Matthew 6:15


  1. Liberty Savard says the following about forgiveness:

    a. Forgiveness is not tolerance, pretending, forgetting, looking the other way, diplomacy and passive non-response
    b. Forgiveness is: a deliberate act of the will, a full pardon, a substitutional act, obedience to God’s will, an act of love and the key to freedom

c. Worship/Adoration
d. Surrender—Humility—I Peter 5:5-6

Key point—Our prayer closet is our launching pad for ministry

B.

  1. Pray Scriptures

    a. Hebrews 4:12—The Word is a sword
    b. Matthew 7:7-11—Ask, seek and Knock
    c. John 14:12-14—Ask and you will do greater works
    d. Ephesians 6—Pray the full armor of God

  2. We are not willing to count the cost

    a. Memorize Scripture and use it
    b. Deliverance in our lives will cost us something

  3. More Time with the Spirit will change yet

  4. Examples of World Changers

    a. Adonirom Judson
    b. John Hyde—Praying Hyde

  5. Fasting takes us to another level

  6. Praying in the Spirit brings forth boldness—Ephesians 5:18, Romans 8

Key point—Let’s call forth the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven

C.


  1. Psalm 91:1—to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty
  2. Remember that engaging is a daily consistent activity
  3. Pray that His Kingdom would come—Matt. 6:9-10
  4. Pray in Jesus name—Romans 16:20
  5. Agree with others about things of God—Matt. 18:19
  6. Pray big prayers
  7. Do not do the following:

    a. Tell God He must do this or that
    b. Give God a time line
    c. Confuse your personal agenda with God’s
    d. Try to profit from God’s stuff


Key Point—Engaging daily is the exercise that will bring forth victory

III. Application

A. We are children of the king and there are some benefits of being a child of the king:

  1. Direct access to the king
  2. Protection from the king
  3. Provision from the king
  4. Inheritance from the king

B. Call to Action:

1. Pray the full armor of God over each morning

2. Find someone to begin praying together

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