2. Be in One Accord

3. Pray Out Loud

4. Use the Names of Jesus

~

5. Disable Satan

“No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” (Mark 3:27)

We are called to the great works of preaching the good news of salvation, binding up the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. (See Luke 4:18) However, this will never happen until we disable Satan by asking God to rebuke him in the name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In prayer, we are not wrestling with people but with principalities, and powers, and we must come boldly into the throne of God with our armor, and resist the devil so he will flee from us. (See James 4:7.)

For three nights in a row last week, I would wake up having dreamed about being attacked by someone or something. One night, I woke up startled from one of these dreams and gripped with a fear of my future as well as a fear of pain or getting hurt. I knew that God did not want me to live in or sleep with these fears and dreams, but how could I get rid of them? I didn’t know.

The next morning, Mr. Gothard called a few of us into his office for a time of prayer. He asked around the little group to see if any of us had any prayer requests. For a moment, I didn’t want to say anything. I thought, “Hey; these people would hear what I was struggling with!” But God prompted me to go ahead and ask them to pray for me.

Mr. Gothard seized the opportunity to impart some wisdom and explained several simple truths. He first asked if I had ever dedicated my life to God, to which I answered “yes”. He then explained that because my body belonged to God, Satan could not attack me in any way that God did not allow. He also mentioned that if I ever were to be attacked, that I should just cry out to God, and He would protect me according to Psalm 50:15: “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

Mr. Gothard shared how when he was younger, he purposed to die for God. He didn’t care how or when, but knew that when he died, it was going to be God’s appointed time and way. He encouraged me to do the same thing.

That night I knelt down beside my bed and rededicated my body to God. I told God that I was willing and ready to die for Him. I also prayed out loud and completely gave God my sleep. Then I prayed that if it was His Will, I would be able to rest well and wake up whenever He wanted me to. And finally, I prayed that I would be able to get something good out of my Bible time the next morning. With that, I rolled over and fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up with my alarm at six ‘o-clock the next morning . . .  refreshed! And I don’t remember even waking up at all after I asked God for sleep. I got out of bed, and started reading through a part of Psalm 119. As I was reading through the verses, one stood out to me which I took for my rhema that day. It was Psalm 119:37 and says, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” My challenge now is to live out this rhema by looking continually towards the Lord instead of being distracted by anything that does not bring about an eternal impact!

When I cried out to the Lord, He answered me. It has now been over a week and none of those fears have come back!

I now know that if I am ever struggling with doubts, fears, or anything else, I can bring it to Him in prayer. The well known and deeply loved hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, expresses this so well:

“What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

~ Katie
September 2010 Girls’ Journey

Do you sometimes feel like your prayers are hitting the ceiling?

Do you have a problem falling asleep when you pray?

Every Sunday morning for the next seven weeks, we will explore one aspect of powerful prayer that can completely transform your prayer life. Enjoy!

~

Key #1: Form a Group of Two or Three

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

Powerful prayer is a function of the Body of Christ. His Body is made up of different parts, but each part must function in harmony with each other under the headship of Christ. Jesus is also the head of the Church; which when functioning properly is so dynamic that even the gates of hell cannot resist giving up those who are trapped and destined for eternal destruction. (Matthew 6:18)

Church does not happen only when a group of believers meet Sunday morning or Sunday evening. Church “happens” whenever two or three believers gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to edify one another and to advance the Kingdom of God.

~

Have you formed a prayer group of two or three? Who do you have in it? Leave a comment and check back next Sunday for another key to praying with power!

God is not a God of intellect or human reasoning. He doesn’t care how you word your prayers, or if you sound “put together” when you come before Him with all your worries. He much prefers a child that is desperate for Him, lost without Him, and no longer concerned about anything but Him. He wants you in your lowest, weakest state – the REAL you – void of all human strength, empty of all self. That is when He draws near and whispers in your ear the perfect answer; that is when He fills you up with Himself and provides a solution that heals every problem and destroys every burden.

My Father taught me to pray at Journey. He didn’t whip out a gigantic list of problems that I had and tell me to fix them all. He simply said, “Ask, and ye shall receive from my hand…”

So I asked!

Prior to the Journey, our family had been in Pennsylvania visiting relatives. During our time there, the Lord had placed on my heart a tremendous burden for some of our unsaved relatives. That first day at Journey, I felt the Lord leading me to ask for their salvation again. I knelt by the bed in my room and found myself pouring out my heart before the Lord. He gave me peace as I laid it all at His feet! I was able to cast my cares upon Him and spend the remainder of the day rejoicing in His love and feeling a new awareness of His presence!

It was just the next day that I was talking by phone with my younger sister Bethany, who is 12. She shared excitedly with me how they had decided to stay in PA one extra day for no reason at all. That day, our cousins came by to visit. (This was the same day I had prayed). Bethany poured out her story of the conversation she had carried on with our cousin Emily, who is very close to her in age, and how the Lord had led her to share the gospel with Emily. She told me that Emily had received the Lord as her Savior and had dedicated her life to Jesus!!! “Ask, and ye shall receive…”

Perhaps the greatest lesson God taught me at Journey is this: Solutions to my problems do not come by a method, but by a relationship with Him. On Friday evening in the Northwoods, 6 teams (64+ girls) had gathered to pray in the upper prayer tower. For the first time, I witnessed one-accord power in prayer throughout an entire group of girls and not just a single team! I watched as young ladies committed and re-committed their lives to Jesus, confessed hidden sins, cried out for freedom, and laid their requests at the feet of their Maker. During this time our team cried out for salvation for lost friends and family, healing for the sick among us, and various other needs. The Holy Spirit was present among us that night!!! Others who were far beyond the walls of the prayer tower testified that they had heard us crying out to Jesus – a noise like thunder.

Later on in the week, Satan attacked me with discouragement. I found myself questioning God, “Why do you not heal the sick that we prayed for? Why do you not save the lost that we lifted up to you?” It occurred to me that I had been looking to this one-accord moment as the key to all my problems. I had been convinced that I could simply lay every prayer before the Lord and He would grant it all for me just like that. God taught me a powerful lesson on drawing near to Him, and persistently, fervently praying without ceasing.

Prayer is not a one-time act. God instructs us to pray day and night, without ceasing. Furthermore, we do not use it as a tool to just check off every problem and solve every trouble. Prayer is a means of drawing us near to the heart of Jesus, and of fellowship between believers and their Heavenly Father. It is meant to be the vital part of our relationship with our King and Creator, and thus the most effective weapon in that way. God is ever teaching me that He knows my every need, and He desires me to be in full fellowship with Him, that I may trust His perfect will whatever that may be – without doubt or worry, or anxiety.

Lay every burden at His feet and cast your cares upon Him. He will open His hand to pour forth untold blessings upon you, if you simply ask in faith, believing.

~ Sarah
July 2010 Journey

Download audio file (Testimony_201005_Trina.mp3)
Download MP3 (4 min)

~ Trina
May 2010 Journey

“After learning about the importance of praying a hedge of protection, our family traveled to Georgia to visit friends. We were going to ride four wheelers on the first day, so our fathers prayed a hedge around us boys. We did not get hurt.

“However, they forgot to pray for the girls, who were going to ride horses. My sister lost control of her horse and hit a big oak tree. She loosened and chipped her bottom teeth and slightly injured her neck. We prayed for everyone in detail from that time on.

“Shortly thereafter, I was allowed to operate a huge tractor to move a big pile of dirt. We prayed for a hedge of protection. As I took a large load of dirt, I hit an uneven piece of ground and lost control, but God protected me. My friend’s father was close beside me on a Bobcat. If I had flipped, he would have rolled down a steep hill.

“The next day we rode horses on an old road and of course we prayed a hedge around us. I was galloping down the road around a slight bend and a truck pulled out of a hidden driveway. I reined in my horse just in time. If I had been two seconds late coming down the road, I could have been killed.”

~ Paul
September 2008 Guys Journey

God quickly drew our team together and every day there were profound insights shared that the Lord had given. One evening, a team member told how she had called home that day to confess something to her parents. That convicted the rest of us to make things right with our parents no matter how big or small the issue seemed to be. As we confessed our sins and yielded up competing affections and things we had held back from the Lord, He allowed us to focus on Him and to hear His still small voice.

Some of my fondest memories are the times of prayer we had as a team in one accord. As we cried out to God, He heard our prayers and answered in miraculous ways!

The times of laughter, singing, sharing, confessing, crying together, and examining our hearts were invaluable, but the time spent alone with the Lord and together bowed in His presence are what made the Journey for me.

God became very real and personal to us. We saw Him restore a marriage that at the beginning of our Journey was headed for divorce. He delivered a team member from an addiction, brought new love for family members, and made scripture come alive to us.

A few days into the Journey my physical strength was at an all time low due to lack of sleep and a health problem I’ve had for several years. Lack of energy had long become the focus of my daily life and I was always looking for answers and questioning why the Lord did not heal me. Now, I knew I needed God’s help to make it through this Journey.

I bowed my head and gave God unconditional control of my body and health, without expecting healing in return.

As the Journey continued, I was amazed at how little sleep I was getting and yet how inwardly refreshed I felt! God was giving me grace and strength for each day. I had been letting my health run my life, but now God was teaching me that He must have first place and that I needed to trust Him with my health no matter how I felt.

The Northwoods is a beautiful place to meet with the Lord. The messages we heard on the Journey and the counsel of the staff were a wonderful learning experience.

It is always humbling when God works in our hearts and uses us despite our failures and shortcomings. He heard our cries for brokenness and reminded us “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1).

~ Miranda
July 2009 Journey

Matthew:

I went to Northwoods not sure what to expect on a Journey to the Heart. I had heard testimonies; but what was my experience of it going to be?  While going through the each day, the Lord deeply encouraged me with particular passages of scripture that gave new purpose and, in addition, forged a deeper desire to study and apply Christ’s commands.
Download audio file (Testimony_200810_Matthew.mp3)
Download MP3 (3 min)

Joshua:

Through embarking upon this Journey, I recognized anew the fruit that results from coming apart to rest a while. (See Mark 6:31.) The usual busyness to which we subject ourselves provides a natural tendency to overlook the needful thing of sitting at the feet of Jesus. For almost an entire week, the team reaped unspeakable joy (see I Peter 1:8) that comes through searching our hearts, acknowledging failure, meditating upon God’s Word, and partaking in one-accord prayer. I returned with a renewed vision, powerful tools, and the life changing principle of Psalms 119:165, “Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”
Download audio file (Testimony_200810_Joshua.mp3)
Download MP3 (4 min)

Praise God for His faithfulness and exceeding abundant mercy that He continually pours out upon each Journey! The following is a testimony from one of the lives that has been changed. God bless!

Chad Paine
Journey to the Heart

——————————————————————

What an amazing week and powerful Journey that I was able to learn vital, life-changing qualities on! It was a serious week of conviction, prayer and fellowship. While on this Journey, I learned four main things.

• How to Meditate and have intimate prayer and fellowship as I grow closer to Him.
• I gained a new joy and enthusiasm in living for Christ.
• I discovered how true the spiritual battle really is.
• Finally, I saw the importance of seeking the Kingdom of God first and His righteousness,THEN all these things shall be added (Matt. 6:30).

It was such an encouragement to be with other fellow believers. As we go back to our homes, I am motivated to continue to spend time in the Word, meditate upon it, grow in God’s wisdom and truly live for Christ.

~ Chandler
July 2008 Guys Journey

Download audio file (20080409_Tom_Harmon.mp3)

Download MP3 (63 min)