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Do you ever pray forcefully?
Wielding prayer like a weapon?
Message
#11 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series
That’s a startling thought for some of us. But Jack Hayford, in his book, Prayer Is Invading the Impossible, tells us something about the Old Testament Hebrew word pagha which means "intercession," and helps us understand prayer as a weapon. Sometimes pagha is translated differently. In 1 Samuel 22 there is a violent story; King Saul is angry because the priests of the Lord have sided with David against him, and he orders Doeg the Edomite to strike them down. The King James Version says Doeg "fell upon them," and killed 85 of them. [1 Samuel 22:18] Pagha is used here, translated "fall upon" or in the New International Version, "to turn and strike them down."There is a sense in which intercessory prayers are meant as weapons of spiritual warfare, used to fall upon the enemy, to strike him down. Paul writes, "For the weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God...." [2 Corinthians 10:4-5]So we ask: are we praying for anyone who may have a stronghold in his life? Are we falling upon that stronghold with prayer? Are we using prayer to strike down the enemy? And if not, is someone we love being defeated needlessly?
Pray with me now -- Lord, help us to see prayer as a powerful weapon to be wielded in Your strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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