Spiritual Warfare

Hello my friends, our personal time with the Lord is the most difficult aspect of our relationship because it is where we are attacked the hardest. Remember, when our Lord was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he sweat like great drops of blood. No doubt, this was intense spiritual warfare. Our Lord gives us prayer and fasting guidance, but we must develop our own style of communication with the Creator. Please click on this link to review our Lord’s prayer. The Lord’s Prayer

Prior to retirement, I had shorter, more frequent interactions with the Lord, but now have time for longer sessions. Just as the physical life requires certain routines and disciplines such as eating and sleeping, so those the spiritual life. Remember, Paul said I beat my body and bring it under subjection, lest I am disqualified from the prize after preaching to you. In the context of this passage, the prize is eternal life. Below is my approach to how we fight in the spiritual world. The 3Ps of spiritual warfare are a concise way of fighting the good fight and laying hold of eternal life. Of utmost importance is this link where I provide my understanding of how a soul is born again because Jesus said, unless this happens, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God: The born again process

The 3Ps of Spiritual Warfare

Prayer and fasting

Prayer and fasting disciplines are the most difficult acts of obedience before the Lord, so you will be attacked the hardest here. You will get everything from simple interruptions and apparent emergencies down to hard demonic attacks against the body. However, if you are neglecting this in your relationship with the Lord, you will be very weak. The Bible says our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in the heavenly places. This means we are fighting against unseen forces, such as demonic beings and our fallen will, which can lead us into sin. My friends, we are definitely living in the evil day, therefore, the full armor of God must be applied.

Putting on truth

• We grid our waist with truth, which means we understand and apply the truth of God’s word to our prayers. My friends, if we are praying against what God has already revealed in his word, our prayers are hitting a brick wall. If we are unsure of what the Bible says about a subject and someone tells us to just pray about it, then our prayers are at a disadvantage. Also, after we leave the prayer room, we always speak the truth in love. Now, this is difficult because no one wants to hear they are breaking God’s rules, but it is better to hear it now when the soul can do something about it. Remember, the rich man in the gospel of Luke, the truth came to late for him.

The breastplate of righteousness

• This means we guard our hearts by living in righteousness, thus keeping sin out of our lives. Our Lord tells us it is not what goes into the mouth but what comes out of the mouth that defiles a man. For what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, that is evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, etc. Remember our Lord said if our eye, hand or feet cause us to stumble, get rid of this part. When we enter prayer, if these things are apart of lives, we must petition the Holy Spirit for power to cut them out. If some sins persist, like Paul said we beat our body or fast!

Sharing the gospel

• We cover our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which means carrying the gospel to the lost. Our Lord says we are the light of the world, therefore we are always looking for ways to spread the gospel to the lost. My friends, it is going to get extremely dark down here but we never lose the hope of salvation. Remember, our Lord said because iniquity or sin will abound, the love of many will wake cold. If sharing the gospel is not apart of your life, then petition the Lord to help you develop this level of boldness.

The shield of faith

• We take the shied of faith which will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. My friends, our faith will be tested because faith without works is dead. In other words, saving faith must produce holy living. Again, as God test our faith to prove our devotion, Satan temps us, though our lust, to fail the test.

The helmet of salvation

• We take the helmet of salvation, which means we must never lose our focus down here. We cling to the cross and holy living, understanding that many will try to make it, but not be able. Unfortunately, for those who will not make it, we know the 2nd death is waiting. My friends, this thought alone should give us a desire to reach the lost.

The sword of the Spirit

• Finally, we take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. My friends, if we do not know our Bible, then we are going to be lead astray rather easy. Remember, what our Lord said during his wilderness temptations. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Also, if you do not have a good understanding of what God has already revealed in Scripture, then your prayers could be praying against God’s revealed will. For instance, we know the will of God for our life is never sexual immorality.

Praise and worship

The Bible says the will of God is that we give thanks in every situation. Now, my friends it is hard to give thanks when we are under heavy persecution. However, Jesus said in this world we will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for he has overcome the world. The Father is seeking those to worship him, but we can only worship through spirit and truth. This means unless we are born of the Holy Spirit, God does not receive our worship.

I usually spend an hour every morning singing and doing some light exercise before the Lord. Before retirement, I got up early to have this special time. However, you can also enjoy this time throughout your day by listening to praise and worship music. Music is powerful so do not let the enemy play the worlds music in your mind. There are times when some old familiar songs might take us back. However, for the most part, the word of God, along with praise and worship should fill our minds. My friends, this is when your battery gets charged with the least amount of attacks from the enemy! If you are neglecting this part of your relationship, you will be weak.

Prophecy and proclamation

God said in the end he would pour out his spirit on all flesh and we would get more dreams, visions and prophesy. Also, we know the command our Lord gave to the disciples was to go into all the world, teach, make disciples and be a witness for the kingdom. Paul told Timothy to rebuke, exhort, preach and encourage with all long suffering. Obviously, you cannot accomplish this without having a good understanding of the Bible.

Do you have a good understanding of what God has revealed in the Old and New Covenants? Do you have a good understanding of how to lead someone to Christ and help them become discipled? My friends, without a study of God’s word, you do not even have a good understanding of how to pray. To prophesy and proclaim means for you to let your light shine before men. Now, God has equipped some of us more in this area. However, since the Lord is confirming to me that we are very close to his return, many more are receiving strong anointing and powerful prophecies.

Prayer Guidance

As previously mentioned, my prayer sessions last for about an hour. All during the prayer session, I experience pressure in the chest, intermittent dizziness, burning sensation in the hands and feet and the wind of the Holy Spirit blows on my hands and face. More recently, I feel things crawling on my feet and head, popping sensations on the body and against the window. Now, I believed everything in the Bible long before this experience begin. Given how close we are to the Lord’s return, the spirit and physical world’s interaction is increasing. I usually follow this prayer structure.

Physical preparation

• If I am able, I wash my hands, face and if necessary shower before going into prayer. I try to expose as much of my skin as possible to the naked air, remove my shoes, socks and place my bare feet on a rug. Typically, I pray out loud with my eyes closed, in a seated position with my palms facing up. I am unsure if this ritual is for everyone and closing my eyes seems to help me concentrate better.

Opening focus on God’s greatest and his Son’s sacrifice

• Opening is speaking to the Father, the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Thanking them for bringing creation into being and sharing their existence with each of us. I do not follow specific wording but sometimes quote scripture to the Lord. I tell God how great he is and how thankful I am for our Lord’s sacrifice. I have a sense of thankfulness for the anointing and prophecies I am receiving. I try to maintain a position of humility and understand that no one could ever earn or deserve this experience. It is simply a gift from God. This should be our attitude regardless of the type of gift we are receiving, because Paul says in Corinthians, covet the best gifts and I will show you a more excellent way.

Focus on your walk before the Lord

• Next, use this part of your session to focus more on your walk before the Lord. Be open and honest in your walk before the Lord. Confessing our sins before the Lord is paramount, so if you know you are not living right before him, please do so. Remember, the Bible says the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. However, do not invent things you are not actually doing. Remember, some thoughts might develop into sin, if we take pleasure in them. However, like Paul said, we take every thought and denounce it, if is leading us into sin. We know since God is holy, he does not want us walking through life taking pleasure in the lust of the flesh. To overcome some sins, temptation, depression. loneliness and just general weakness, we might need strength from the Holy Spirit to fast. Let’s not deceive ourself, if we are practicing sin, then until we get this out of our life, God is not rushing to answer any other request we are submitting.

We make our personal request before the Lord

• Now, this is the part of your session to ask for specific wants and desires. However, keep in mind our God is not a vending machine. We do not put in a given amount of time and effort and expect to see our 10 fold return by a certain date. However, the Lord tells us that if we give, it will be returned to us, pressed down and shaken into our bosom. The give here is not just money but everything we are doing to further the Lord’s kingdom. Sometimes, I get frustrated with the Lord for not moving fast enough or a particular way. Remember the book of Job. However, I would never use profanity and be careful not to raise your voice when talking to the Lord. Now, if you are convinced God has revealed something to you in a dream or vision, ask the Lord to bring this to fruition. I remember asking the Lord for a job on a specific day and he did it and it was more money than the job I lost! Also, if you need additional strength to get through your prayer session, this includes maintaining your focus, ask for it. Before you begin to pray for others, ask the Lord to give you more compassion and patience for them. Remember, you are not just covering names, but truly want to see change in that person’s life. Do not shy away from praying for those who have rubbed you the wrong way.

Prayer for our spouse or significant other’s family

• Next comes the 1st group of people, which are my current and prior wife’s side of the family. I try to expand this to adults I know through them. If you are aware of a specific sin a family member is struggling with, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this to them. You can only pray according to the knowledge you believe to be true about a person. As you pray for anyone, your ultimate desire is that person would make it to glory. I am always asking the Lord if he has a specific word for a person.

Prayer for our family

• Next comes the people in my family. I have 16 siblings and a large number of nieces and nephews. Again, you are praying according to your knowledge of where your siblings are in their spiritual walk. Also, if you have a specific request, then cover that. I typically take a bathroom break after this group. Now, while in the bathroom you are asking the Holy Spirit to keep your mind in a state of prayer.

Prayer for our adult children and their friends

• Next comes your adult age children and people you have met through your kids. I recall on one occasion as I was driving to work, the Lord told me to go and pray over my step son’s friend who was in the hospital fighting for his life. The doctors could not find out what was wrong and his body was not responding to medicine. I recall after speaking and praying for him, he said the scariest thing about dying is not knowing what happens afterward. Thank God he recuperated because he was not ready to meet his maker!

Prayer for our grandchildren and other little ones

• Next, I pull out my phone and cover my grandchildren, extended family member grandchildren and other small children. This could be close friends or just people in your neighborhood. If you can, try and get to know your neighbors. Some little ones are not at the age of accountability, so you are just praying the Holy Spirit will reveal himself to them at the appropriate time.

Prayer for pastors and church

• Using my phone, I scroll down to my church list. I am praying to have the Holy Spirit convict the pastors and teachers to proclaim the entire council of God. Based on what I am hearing from the pulpit and students I have interacted with, God’s holy standard and his wrath is not taught nearly enough. For whatever reason, I am not hearing the full cost the soul must pay to enter in. Also, I am asking the Holy Spirit to give the church more discernment because we are in the final hour. Then, I cover the specific request from the individuals who have come up for prayer after the service.

Prayer for street ministry

• Using my phone, I scroll down to my street witnessing list. Because the world is ready for the harvest, I am asking the Holy Spirit to increase the boldness of the church and send more individuals out to witness in public. Then I cover the individuals I have met through my campus ministry and when I am just out in public. Most of the time I wear a John 3:16 shirt when out in public and have put people on my prayer list after meeting them in grocery stores.

Give thanks for answered prayer

• Use this time to thank the Lord for answered prayer. I prayed for a couple over a period of about 10 months who had suffered several miscarriages and desperately wanted a child. The doctors did not know why she kept miscarrying. I placed them on the prayer list and within a few weeks, she became pregnant. Periodically, they came up for prayer during the pregnancy and in March 2026, they presented a healthy 5 month old son to me. I took the little man up in my arms and gave thanks to the Lord! Remember the 10 lepers who were healed by the Lord, how many came back to give thanks?

Give thanks and praying for his will to be done

• I finish the session by thanking the Holy Spirit for helping me get through another session and the specific gifts given to me from the Lord. My typical one hour prayer schedule is Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Finally, always ask the Holy Spirit to deepen your understanding of the Bible, use your life for his glory, help you remain humble and correct anything you might have said in error.

Fasting Guidance

These words came directly from the Lord during the time I was miraculously healed from my herniated disc. I remember these words came in about five minutes total. Obviously, these words were for me so you should always seek the Lord before going into a fast. I included the heading but the 24 hour period was given by the Lord.

Length: 12:00 noon or whenever you start for 24 Hours

Before starting have a reasonably balanced meal but don’t over eat as you want to be in need prior to finishing fast. Pray when starting and every 3 hours. The subject or length will be given to you by Holy Spirit. Every 3 hours have water or little juice if you feel physically unable to continue but pray before taking juice to have Holy Spirit strengthen. Continue fast until you retire for bed. 

During Fast Day:  Focus

Try not to allow your thoughts to wander too much and monitor daily activities etc. the programs you watch on TV and music you listen to during fast, if you feel they’re not consistent with your daily objective, stop! Do normal things and don’t appear to fast to anyone around you and only tell if asked.

Breaking Fast:  Communion

Regardless of where you are, break the fast by observing communion. If you are an unbeliever receive Christ as your Lord and Savior before observing communion. If you don’t know how to be saved or have never observed communion have someone spiritual lead you. Pray that Holy Spirit will humble you and don’t appear religious or hypocritical. 

Our Relationship to God: Obedience vs Disobedience

What does it mean to love and obey God? Does God know I cannot obey him at the same level that Jesus did? What does it mean to live a perfect, holy life? If I disobey God, does that mean I hate him? Is hating the Bible or God’s rules the same as hating God? Why does God’s actions appear cruel to me at times? Why does God allow people to disobey him? How does my fear of God interact with my motivation to love or hate God? Can I serve God out of love and fear God at the same time? If I am indifferent toward God does that mean I hate God? Is the Old Testament God saying obey me and the New Testament God saying love me? Trust me my friends, these next questions are extremely important.

• Am I trying to relate to God apart from a good understanding of the Bible?
• What does Jesus death on the cross mean and what impact is it having on me?
• What happened at Pentecost and what is the role of the Holy Spirit in my life?
• Have I created a God in my mind that is different from the God of the Bible?

Understanding how God designed us

My friends, understanding how God has designed our minds to govern our body’s actions can help us submit to him. We are made in the image of God so our perceptions, desires, feelings, motives and actions are very complex. I understand that our perceptions, desires, feelings and motives are all driving our actions. Now for most deep decisions in life, many and quite possibly all our internal processes are definitely in play. Yes my friends, before any external action, most of what is happening to us is internal. Prior to external action, depending on the depth of the subject our perceptions, desires, feelings and motives are contemplated over a shorter or longer period of time. Therefore, when the subject of God or Supreme Being arises in our mind, these processes are always in play. Please journey with me as I explain how the Holy Spirit is helping me implement my relationship with God.

How is God choosing to test our love?

When God created our 1st parents and placed them in the Garden of Eden, did he say love me or obey me? We know the command was to obey me because they already knew to love God. They were experiencing God’s continuous presence, similar to what I am experiencing, so both beings, man and God were in an unbroken love affair. As long as man continued to abstain from the wrong tree, the test was being passed, their obedience demonstrated and both beings continued to experience each others love. Since man had never died, he had no experiences to compare against the result of disobedience. So, in a sense, the threat given by God only engendered a minimal amount of fear. Now, since we have a better understanding of loneliness, pain, addictions, hatred, sickness, death and hell, the fear component of our motivation to obey God is greater than theirs.

When God told Abraham to take his son Isaac whom he loved and offer him as a burnt offering, was he testing Abraham’s love or fear? After Abraham passed the test, did God say now I know how much you love me or how much you fear me? When God delivered the 10 commandments to Moses, how did he deliver them on Mount Sini? The Bible says the sight was so terrifying Moses said, I am exceedingly fearful. Moses said to the people, do not fear for God has come to test you and that his fear may be before you, so that you may not sin. Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Spirit is letting us know if we are in sin, if we are living holy and after death comes the judgment. Now, some of us have been sinning so long, so his voice is extremely faint. Also, the world likes to excuse our sin by saying no one is perfect. God knows no one, except Jesus lived a perfect life, the question is are you still practicing sin?

My friends, no matter how hard our mind might try and convince us God is not going to require an accounting or render judgment on us, the Holy Spirit is telling us we are mistaken. When John the Baptist hit the scene, how did he deliver is message? When Peter preached his first sermon in Acts at Pentecost, how did he deliver his message? Can we find one Book in the New Testament that does not preach our relationship to God demands we must obey his rules or we will face his wrath? Is there anyway we can express our love toward God other than by obeying his rules? What if your child told you he loves you, yet continued to disobey your rules?

Why am I breaking God’s rules?

Isn’t everyone free to make up their own standard of morality? Am I really choosing to disobey the rules? Is God going to hold me accountable to the same rules as the people who lived in ancient times? What if I do not believe God exist or not know God’s rules, will he still hold me accountable to follow them? If I am choosing to disobey God, does that mean my level of love or fear toward God is wrong? If I am convinced that my lifestyle is disobedient and truly believe in the fear of God’s punishment, why on earth would I continue in this direction? My friends, the most logical response is I believe God will continue to extend grace to me. Also, my concept of God might be he is love and would an all loving being ever send someone, especially me, to a place of torment? Am I really that bad when compared to all other bad people?

Essentially, I am risking future judgment to receive this temporary feeling of pleasure. Why on earth would I trade this temporary feeling of pleasure for an eternal feeling of pain? Now granted, obedience to God’s rules can bring temporary feelings of pain, because we are dying to the flesh. However, in cases like Job, we chose to submit rather than disobey. The only reasonable answer is my belief in the future is not strong enough to change my behavior in the present. Also, my belief in the command to live holy, might feel impossible to me. My friends, until we give it everything we have to submit to God’s rules, we will not experience the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, we must put on the full armor of God. Now, God understands our ability to obey him may not be realized all the time, this is why the Bible says if we sin, not when we sin, then we confess and ask the Holy Spirit to give us power to overcome. We never live from a position that say’s I know I am going to disobey God in the future.

My friends, our Lord’s death on the cross, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Father’s promise that our Lord’s blood continues to intercede is evidence that God is for us. So, regardless of our perceptions, desires, feelings, motives and actions, let’s chose to demonstrate our love and faith through obedience. Just as Hebrews says our Lord learned obedience through the things he suffered, we to must do the same. In every situation, we chose to submit our will to God’s rules and believe his plan is to work all things out for our good. When the Father and the Son sees our abandoned resolve to obey them, under any circumstance, they release the power of the Holy Spirit within our lives.