Week 45: The Armor of God and Prayer

Transcription

1 Read: Psalm 27 (p.608) (Refer to commentary on page 609) Day 1 Has anything ever happened that has made you doubt that God is good or doubt that there even is a God? What were you feeling that made you think these thoughts? The writer of Psalm 27 makes several statements of faith telling who God is to him for example, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Find other statements of faith like this in the psalm. In Psalm 27:1 the psalmist asks of whom shall I be afraid? Is there anyone or anything that you are afraid of? If so, should you be? Read Romans 8:35-39 (p.1291) to help you answer this. When you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, Satan will try to get you to doubt your salvation. When you sin, you may think thoughts like I m not good enough to be a Christian or God doesn t love me; I m not good enough. When you think thoughts like this, Satan is attacking you spiritually. This is why as Christians we need to protect our minds with the helmet of salvation. We also have the sword of the Spirit (which is God s word) that helps us stand firm in the truth. Read Romans 8:35-39 (p.1291) and memorize it as a passage that can help you fight off Satan s spiritual attacks. It s good to memorize Scripture because the best way for us to keep Satan s thoughts out of our minds is to keep Christ s thoughts in them. Remember that Satan may try to get you to think that you are unacceptable to God but ideas from Satan are lies. He can never do anything to change your relationship with God. Read these verses to help you see this truth: John 10:22-29 (p.1215) and John 6:35-40 (p.1208). What kinds of doubting thoughts does Satan put in your mind? Find a verse (or verses) in Psalm 27 that gives you comfort. Pray the verse(s) back to God as a prayer asking for assurance. Then put on the armor of God.

2 Read Psalm 119: (p.673) (Refer to commentary on page 673) Week 45: The Armor of God Day 2: The Sword of the Spirit Do you want to be wiser than your enemies? To have more insight than your teachers? To understand things that others don t? Do you want to be able to see the path clearly when everyone else is stumbling in darkness? Reading, memorizing, and meditating on God s Word will make these things happen. Psalm 119: uses many different words for the torah or law of God. List those various words in these verses. Then go through the verses again and write out what the word of God does for us. The sword of the Spirit the word of God enables us to defeat Satan s attacks. See how Jesus sets a superb example of using the sword of the Spirit to defeat Satan in Matthew 4:1-11 (p.1079). Did Jesus have these scriptures memorized? Psalm 119:11 (p.671) says, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Jesus had the word of God memorized (hidden in his heart), so when Satan came to attack him, he was ready to use the word of God to fight against Satan s temptations. We also need to hide God s word in our hearts so that we do not fall into sin. In Matthew 4:10-11 (p.1079) Jesus spoke the Word of God out loud to Satan. Read Romans 10:9-10 (p.1292). The commentary points out that while God knows our thoughts, he wants us to act on them and be willing to speak them out loud. In this way we take a stand for what we believe and Satan hears our commitment to Jesus Christ. In what areas does Satan attack you? Have your sword sharpened and ready! Ask God to show you a scripture to memorize that will help you take your stand against Satan, or ask a pastor or a prayer servant to help you find one. Here are some suggestions: feelings of inadequacy Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 41:10; Philippians 1:6 fearful thoughts Joshua 1:9; Psalm 116:1-9; Isaiah 41:10 greed or coveting things Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:8 you don t like the way you look Ephesians 2:10 have hateful thoughts toward someone Leviticus 19:18 not wanting to take time to spend with God Psalm 119:36-37 tempted to use bad language Psalm 19:14 peer pressure Ephesians 6:10-11; Psalm 56:11; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 impure thoughts Romans 6:11-14; Psalm 119:9-16 stealing Matthew 7: 7-11 worry 1 Peter 5:7; Matthew 6:25-34

3 Read: Luke 18:1-8 (p.1183) (Refer to commentary on page 1184) Day 3: Praying with Perseverance Have you ever had to pray a long time for something you wanted? How did God answer your prayer? What lesson does Jesus want us to learn from this parable? Read Ephesians 6:18. What commands are we given in this verse in regard to prayer? What does it mean to pray on all occasions? (See the first paragraph of the commentary.) Whenever we don t know what to pray for, we can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we pray; read Romans 8: Sometimes a certain person pops into your mind. This is probably the Holy Spirit urging you to pray for this person that God will protect them, give them needed strength, etc. It s important to learn to listen to the Spirit when he prompts us. If Jesus were to come back today, how would you answer his question in Luke 18:8 in regard to your own life? How would you answer it concerning Madison Square Church? Is there anything that you have given up praying for? If so, ask God to give you wisdom about how to pray for this issue or thing.

4 Read 1 Kings 18 (p.390) (Refer to commentary on page 390) Day 4: Praying with Authority Do you know anyone whose prayers always seem to be answered someone whom lots of people want to pray with for that reason? What is it about this person that makes his or her prayers so effective? What areas was Baal supposed to be most powerful in? Find the answer in the Freedom Point on page 391. Why did Elijah encourage the Baal worshipers to shout louder to Baal? After Elijah prepared the altar of the Lord and put the bull pieces on the wood, he had the Baal worshipers pour an enormous amount of water over the offering and the wood. Why did he have this done? Elijah had an amazing confidence in God. What was his purpose for doing all of this what did he desire for the people? (see 1 Kings 18:36-37). Just as Elijah prayed with confidence and authority, we need to stand firm in our faith and pray with the authority given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray with authority, we discern God s will and pray it with confidence. Read 1 John 5: Pray some bold and specific prayers as you close this lesson. Ask God for something big and audacious that is also according to his will to expand his kingdom.

5 Read Matthew 16:13-23 (p.1099) (Refer to commentary on page 1100) Day 5: Binding and Loosing Is there more power in prayer when more people pray? Why or why not? Why did Jesus bless Peter? What honor did Jesus give Peter because he was able to discern who Jesus was? When we acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, as Peter did, and if we submit to Christ s authority, then Jesus gives his authority to us authority that we need to use when we pray. Sometimes we become aware of demonic forces that are trying to attack in one way or another. At these times we must stop and bind the power of Satan in Jesus name. You can do this by saying just that for example, I bind the power of Satan and his demons in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Look up Colossians 2:15. What does it say was done by the power of the cross? Remind Satan and his evil forces out loud of the victory won at the cross. We have also been given authority to loose the mercies of God upon people. When someone receives salvation, they are loosed from the bondage that Satan had them in, and God s mercies are loosed upon them. When we bind the power of demonic forces, we can loose the power of God s angels. Do you have a prayer partner? If not, ask a friend or family member to be your partner in prayer on a regular basis. Keep track of the thing that you pray for together in a prayer journal. Pray things according to God s will. Then watch how God answers. Be sure to record the answers in your journal too. Ask God also to make you aware of demonic interference. Ask him to teach you to pray boldly and to command any demons to flee. Then, loose God s powerful angels of protection.