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Title: Winning Battles In The War Room
Date: November 16, 2021

Corporate prayer opens our hearts to the needs of others and the needs in our world. There comes tremendous joy when we pray together. We win battles praying together.

There is an incredible story in the book of Acts. Peter and John got into quite a bit of trouble for telling people about Jesus. The Jewish Council called them out on it and told them to stop. For the first time the spread of the good news about Jesus was being resisted and the believers refused to give in to the pressure.

Acts 4:24, 31
When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God. After this prayer the meeting place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

One of my favorite journeys that I’ve experienced in my walk with the Lord was a prayer time between a few friends and me. We called our time together our “War Room.” When reading this verse in Acts, I am reminded how I would feel when my friends and I were done praying. A sense of spirit-filled boldness would come upon us. It was wonderful!

A dear friend of mine had the perfect setting for our War Room. It was a basement space in her home tucked away behind a beautiful iron door. It had a winding staircase surrounded by walls proudly displaying Jerusalem stone. As we made our way down to the cellar, we could immediately sense the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was always a time I looked forward to. It was as if I could feel the armor of God being placed upon me with each step I took down the staircase.

As we would enter the carefully dimmed room we would make our way past the display of prayers and requests written on notes posted on the walls. It was fascinating to me how many people desired their needs to be mentioned during our prayer time in the War Room.

We would take our place at a table with bibles opened…God’s word…our sword! We were going to pray fully armed! This wasn’t a social hour; it wasn’t like attending a Bible study. No, this was much more than that. It was women being very intentional about what we were about to do. It was time for battle, and we were not going to stop till we had left it all there at the feet of Jesus and we experienced His victory!

Looking back now we had no idea what was down the pike regarding the condition of our world. However, we had a sense and we prayed accordingly. We began praying for our nation, government and schools. We prayed against evil of every kind. We prayed for others, but would end with our own personal needs. It was tremendous and powerful! Not because of its setting, but because of the confidence we had in our great and mighty God, our ultimate Warrior. We decided together to stand firm and remain unshakable in our requests. They were confident prayers! John 11:40 says, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Many tears were shed and many prayers answered in those incredible times of prayer, and definitely the glory of God was revealed! The battlefield we found ourselves on also led to many God-given opportunities as the years have passed, not to mention healings and pregnancies that happened after years of trying. I finally lost track of how many babies were born during those times!

However, the “afterglow,” if you will, that we experienced after the final prayer was given was one I will never forget. It was as if we had run a marathon, and had won! There was a real sense of accomplishment that I can’t quite put into words. Do not get me wrong…all prayer is important, valued, crucial and essential, however time set apart intentionally as a priority is moving and oh so powerful!

Two hours of solid prayer without distractions would fly by as the world outside those walls marched on. There was never a lapse into silence. The Holy Spirit saw to that! I understand we do not all have access to a cellar. This just happened to be my friend’s creative place she designated to be our War Room and it was perfect.

How about you? Have you been wanting more out of your prayer life? Have you been wanting to experience God’s glory? Get creative! Reach out to some friends or family. Meet at a park or go for a hike. Pray overlooking your community from a high place nearby. Perhaps even the parking lot of your local school district could potentially move mountains, but for that matter any kitchen table would do as well. The point is not the location, it is the effort and the intention. It is the confident prayers of a desperate people seeking the merciful hand of their God. It is showing Him we are serious. It is sacrificial, and He notices!

As we are eyewitnesses to all the misfortunes of our fallen world, we have a calling and an opportunity to storm the gates of heaven with our prayers. Psalm 27:8 says, “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come talk with me’ and my heart responds, ‘Lord I am coming!’” I love that! Lord we hear… and here we are… coming to simply talk with you. May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing to you, oh Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves in prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Mathew 18:20
Where two or more gathered together as my followers I am there among you.

Ephesians 3:12
Because of Christ and our faith in Him we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

We can all agree we are in a fight, a fight for our children, our freedoms and our godly values. Without God’s word our prayers can become surface-level, unspecific and fleshly-minded. If we want to pray ground shaking prayers infused with spiritual power, we need to incorporate God’s word and bring it into our war room experience.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

According to God’s word our enemies have been disarmed, and rendered powerless. Let’s continue to battle together and never lose heart, for our war room will one day turn into a room filled with eternal praise, and all the battles will have been won! Praise be to God!

Delighting in safe pasture,
Linda