 We need prayer warriors now more than ever look at the world around you look at all of the things that are happening look at how the darkness is trying to permeate the globe this is where God has sent you this is the time he has assigned to you these are the gifts that he has given to you this is the passion that he has placed in your heart you are a prayer warrior and I want to show you how to really yield to that grace how to become mightier in prayer number one you have to know your authority the scripture says in Psalm 119 verse 89 your eternal word oh lord stands firm in heaven and that really is the basis for all warfare prayer knowing your authority starts with knowing the word of God Genesis chapter one verses 27 and 28 say this and this is powerful so God created human beings in his own image in the image of God he created them male and female he created them then God blessed them and said be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and govern it rain over the fish in the sea the birds in the sky and all the animals that scurry along the ground now here we see a couple of powerful things number one you and I have been created in the image of God in the likeness of our Heavenly Father then we see that God gave a special assignment to man a partnership man was to steward what God had started man was to cultivate what God had created you and I have been given the responsibility over this earth over this realm we were created we were destined to rule and to reign as servants of the most high God now this actually is why the enemy became jealous over you think about the fact that the enemy said I will ascend to the heights of heaven I will sit on the throne of the most high God he was saying that in his heart he wanted the authority now where did he get that idea where did he get the idea that he could be like the most high God he got that idea from looking at you so the fall of satan really was triggered by his jealousy over the authority that God had given to you and I so you and I since the beginning have had this authority that God had given to us now of course we know when man fell into sin there was a loss of authority that authority restored when Christ died and rose again the bible says in Psalm chapter 8 verses 3 through 8 when I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers the moon and the stars you set in place what are mere mortals that you should think about them human beings that you should care for them yet you made them only a little lower than God and crown them with glory and honor you gave them charge of everything you made putting all things under their authority the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals the birds in the sky the fish in the sea and everything that swims the ocean currents Ephesians chapter 2 verse 6 says for he raised us from the dead along with Christ watch this now and seated us with him with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus that is the true source of authority first Corinthians chapter 6 verse 3 says something shocking don't you realize that we will judge angels God has given to you and I power and authority because we are in Christ Jesus now if you want to be a mighty prayer warrior if you want to really engage in intercessory prayer for your loved ones for your local church for your region your city your nation for this world then it begins by knowing your authority and knowing your authority comes when you know the word it begins with the word if you know the word you know your authority number two build strong faith we all know that faith is what pleases God faith is how you do and become all that pleases the father how do you increase your faith well one way is through the word Romans chapter 10 verse 17 says so faith comes from hearing that is hearing the good news about Christ now in context Romans chapter 10 verse 17 is talking about the fact that people receive faith for salvation when they hear the gospel preach to them but the takeaway application the universal general application from that verse is quite simply that the word gives you faith to believe for what it promises when you hear a promise from God when you hear something that he has declared when you hear something that God himself has proclaimed it stirs your faith to believe for that the word gives you the faith to believe for what it promises so if you want to build strong faith so that that faith can back your prayers if you want to build strong faith so that that faith can strengthen you undergird you as you begin to make declarations in the spirit then you must know the word you can see how important the word is to intercessory prayer here so number one you need to know your authority how do you know your authority you know your authority by knowing the word number two you must build strong faith how do you build strong faith you build strong faith by hearing the word the word gives you the faith to believe for what it promises number three leave your burdens on the Lord now this is important especially since many who are in intercessory prayer since many who are graced in this area are sensitive number three is very important now let me clarify what i just said sensitivity is not a curse let me say that again the sensitivity that God gave you is not a curse you see there are some things that God wants to change about us our desire for sin our pride our doubt our fear things like this and then there are some things about us that God doesn't want to change but he wants to capture it's kind of like electricity electricity if it's not grounded or funneled through a wiring system is quite dangerous but once it's been grounded and properly focused it serves a powerful purpose in the same way some of the traits that God has given to you can be looked at as negative if they're not under control this is why we need to learn to capture our traits i'll give you an example i by nature and someone who pays very close attention to details details are very key to me now this is good in the context of putting together a message or a teaching but if i'm driving on the freeway and i'm noticing all the details then i'm also noticing all the possibilities of potential car accidents well that guy speeding the guy behind me doesn't look like he's gonna stop that guy over there off to my left looks like he wants to get over he might miss his exit what if he cuts across traffic causing an accident that guy's tire doesn't look so new that driver up ahead is on his phone and so because my attention to detail is always on in the car when i'm on the freeway i'm analyzing all these different possibilities and that can cause me to become a little bit tense so there is a good example of something about me that is my strength and my weakness my strength and my weakness is that i pay a lot of attention to every detail now god doesn't want to change that about me he wants to capture it in the same way you've been given sensitivity now this is not a curse this is not something that's bad this is not something that's evil unto itself this is a trait that god has given to you he created you with that sensitivity he created you with that that ability to feel very strongly that is from the lord now in certain context it's good in certain context it's bad sometimes it's your strength other times it's your weakness this is why you don't want to change that sensitivity you want to capture it so sensitivity sometimes can cause you to be easily offended sensitivity can sometimes cause you to isolate sensitivity can sometimes cause you to be too judgmental of other people sensitivity can sometimes cause you to keep a record of wrong that's where it's a weakness but that same sensitivity that the lord gave to you can also give you a compassion it can also cause you to notice when others are hurting it can also cause you to notice when others are being left out when others are down when others are fearful when others are depressed and not only does that sensitivity cause you to recognize the pain in others it causes you to want to do something for those with that pain so that sensitivity is good but one of the things that happens to people who engage in warfare prayer or who engage in intercessory prayer again praying for other people other regions other cities and again all believers should be doing this but some people haven't given a special grace an area of focus almost a ministry in this area one of the things that can happen is as you're beginning to pray for others as you're beginning to pray for regions churches leaders and so forth you begin to become burdened with what burdens them now this is good in the sense that it gives you compassion it gives you a love for them but if you're not careful what can begin to happen is you can begin to pick up burdens that don't belong to you you can begin to sense responsibility for things that you're not responsible for you can begin to look around you and say i'm responsible for that person's backsliding i'm responsible for that person's addiction i'm responsible for that person not receiving christ and that sense of responsibility which is misplaced by the way begins to burden you in ways that you shouldn't be burdened and then intercessory prayer makes you moody and cynical and depressed instead of energizing you as it should first peter five seven says give all your worries and cares to god for he cares for you matthew 11 28 through 30 then jesus said come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you let me teach you because i am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy to bear and the burden i give you is light so god is not going to give you something that's going to burden you unnecessarily now sometimes we use that word burden in different ways when some people say burden they mean compassion or love or concern that's a good burden but then there is a burden that you're not meant to bear and sometimes by burden people mean i'm responsible for that person i'm responsible for the decisions that they make or i'm responsible for them not being healed i'm responsible for them not being delivered i'm responsible for them not making the right choices and that is an unhealthy sense of burden because you're trying to control what god won't even try to control you're trying to control what god hasn't even put his hands on that's the free will of others so don't take responsibility for the holy spirit's job and don't take responsibility for the individual's free will this is the key to longevity as a prayer warrior because if you're constantly burdened in the negative way again burden as in compassion and concern and love and care that's good but burden as in taking responsibility for others decisions that's not good burden in trying to play the holy spirit that's not good if you're constantly carrying the wrong kind of burden because of your inclination towards sensitivity then that's actually going to take away from your longevity i'm talking about just this dry weary burden state of existence and we're almost martyr like in it i've seen some people oh i just got done praying for for three hours i'm so drained you know they're so dramatic about i'm thinking why are you drained after praying if you're drained after prayer it's because you're giving from the wrong source if you're drained after prayer it's because you're trying to do a job that's not yours if you're drained after prayer it's because you don't connect to the spirit when you pray you're praying from emotion you're praying from intellect you're praying from your own understanding you're you're praying with your own sense of burdens for things that you're not responsible for, and that's gonna take away from the longevity when it comes to being a prayer warrior. This is where you must learn to trust in God's sovereignty. Think about the fact that as much as you care for that person that you're praying for, God cares more. As much as you love that person that you're praying for, God loves them more, and we have to be mindful of that and leave our burdens on the Lord. Number four, pray the word. Matthew chapter six, verses nine through 10 says, so then this is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Again, that's Matthew six, nine through 10. Whatever the word promises, you can pray. Think about Moses and how he interceded on behalf of the people of Israel. Think about Abraham and how he interceded on behalf of that wicked city. Now, a lot of people think that Moses and Abraham convinced God to change his mind. This is not possible. Rather, what was happening is they were praying the will of God. When you pray the word, you're praying God's will. We are terraformers in the earth. We change the atmosphere. We cause the earthly to become heavenly. The natural to become supernatural. We shift the atmosphere through our prayers. We're changing the world around us. Terraformers, just like, you know, they're trying to colonize Mars right now by changing the atmosphere, making it livable. They're trying to bring earth to Mars. Well, we bring heaven to earth. We're terraforming earth. We're colonizing earth in the heavenly sense. We're bringing heaven to this world. But if you want to do that, you have to pray the word like Moses, like Abraham. It wasn't that God needed them to convince him. Who can convince God? Who's so persuasive that they can convince God? Who knows so much that they can point out something that God has missed? Who is so wise that they can make God go, oh, I didn't think about it from that angle. Maybe you're right, I will change my mind. What a silly notion, no. Rather, Moses and Abraham were becoming reflections of God. And God, who has chosen, chosen to give authority to man in the earth, was looking for that reflection in the earth. Someone needs to catch this revelation. God was looking for that reflection in the earth. He doesn't need it. He's God. He can do whatever he wants anytime, but he has so chosen to partner with you and I to give us dominion in this earth. And so therefore he chooses to partner with us. He doesn't need us. He could do it all without us. He's got all by himself. But he's chosen to require reflections in the earth. And he's looking for someone who will reflect that word back at him. And that's the signal to terraform earth. That's the signal to say, God, I surrender this to you. Again, let me be very clear. God is sovereign overall. He does not need us, but he's so merciful that he has chosen to include us in the process. He didn't have to do that, but that's just how he chooses to do it at any moment. He could just sidestep that and do whatever he wants. But the way he's chosen to move in the earth is through man. Read the Bible. Read the scripture. Why wouldn't he just send an angel? Why wouldn't he just come? Why? Because he's chosen to move through you and I. That's why he's given us ministry. God at any moment could do anything he wants with or without our help. He is sovereign overall. But in his sovereignty, he has chosen to make it that he is using partnership with man. So that's what God does. He partners with us. And this is why we pray the word because we reflect his will back. And he's looking for willing vessels through whom he can move in the earth. So how do you pray for your loved ones? How do you pray for this world? Well, you pray the word. Whatever the word promises, you can pray. So for example, your prayers can cause a divine safety to cover others. You can take a look at that in 2 Corinthians chapter one, verse 11. You can pray for the salvation of your loved ones. See Romans chapter 10, verse one. You can pray for the wellbeing of cities. See Jeremiah 29, seven. You can pray for the faith of others to be strengthened. See Luke 22, 32. You can pray for leaders and people in positions of authority. See first Timothy chapter two, two, three. You can pray to bring God's blessing to a nation. Second Chronicles seven, 14. So whatever is against the will of God, you can pray against. Whatever is for the will of God, you can pray for. You can pray against sickness. You can pray against demonic powers. You can pray against deception. You can pray against darkness. You can pray the will of God. So pray the word. And in praying the word, you are aligning yourself under the authority of God. And only when we are under the authority of God can we act in the authority of God. Only when we live by the word can we act under the authority of the word. And that is very key. Number five, and this is very key, persist even when you feel like quitting. Matthew chapter seven verse seven says, keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. It's impossible to accomplish nothing in prayer. For every moment you are praying, you are accomplishing something. It's easy to begin to doubt whether or not our prayers are affecting much. Maybe you're praying for a loved one and you're trying to look with the natural eye to see if you can see any changes in them. You're in conversation trying to analyze them and maybe there's an open door here. Maybe the heart is softening. Maybe their demeanor is different this time. What you're doing is you're trying to look for in the natural what is beginning in the spirit. And when things first start to grow, it's in the ground. You're not gonna see the sprout. You're not gonna see the trunk of the tree or the branches or the fruit for a while. Maybe God will work quickly. He does sometimes, but in those instances where he doesn't be discouraged, remember that trees are seeds before they are trees and they grow in the ground first. When you start to pray for a loved one, you may look like I said and say, do I see any changes today? Did they smile at me different? Maybe when I invited them to church this time, it looked like they were a little more willing to come. And so we tried to do that. We tried to look with the natural mind and with the natural eye and we tried to see confirmation in the natural realm what we should already know and believe by faith. Don't wait for the natural realm to confirm what you should already know by faith in the word of God. It may be discouraging. You may find that the more you pray for them, the more angry they get with you. You may find that the more you pray for them, the further in darkness they seem to go, but you cannot judge these things by what you see in the natural. You need to see through the eyes of faith. You have no idea what's going on in the supernatural. You don't know what goes through their mind when they're lying on their beds at night, trying to go to sleep and the Holy Ghost is convicting them. You don't know what dreams God is sending their way. You don't know what people are coming into their lives and what those people are speaking. You don't know how that person is feeling inside. Maybe they're starting to push harder because they're getting more convicted. Maybe they're trying to push you away more because they're trying to test to see if the love that you have for them is true or not. Maybe, just maybe, God is doing something that you can't see yet. Maybe God is growing that seed in the ground and you haven't begun to see it sprout, but it's happening, it's occurring and we know that by faith. Keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking on that door and God's gonna open that door. You will find it. You will receive. Keep praying for that person. Keep praying for that church. Keep praying for that leader. Keep praying for that family member. Keep praying for that miracle. Something is happening whether you see it or not. Whether you feel it or not. Maybe you're praying for something in yourself and when you pray, you don't feel God and you don't feel the change happening. You don't feel the breakthrough occurring, but this is where faith comes in. Faith sees the impossible. Faith sees beyond the natural realm. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Yeah, I may not be holding it yet, but I'm holding my faith and that faith for it is the substance of it. If I can hold the faith for it, it means I'm already holding the miracle. That is what it means to persistent prayer. Now of course we trust in the sovereignty of God. Of course we know he's ultimately gonna do his will. And in fact, when we pray persistently, we're not persuading God to change his mind. What we're doing is we are aligning our lives and everything around us with the will of God. But while you wait, while you are seeking the answer, while you are knocking on that door, don't grow discouraged for every moment you are praying. Something is happening. I sense the anointing so strong right now. Something is happening. Write it in the comments. Make it that declaration publicly. Say it by faith. Something is happening. Something is happening. Something is happening. Whether I see it or not, whether I feel it or not, whether the natural realm seems to be responding to my prayers or not. Something is happening. The miracle is on the way. Don't be discouraged. God is going to perform his word. The word of God hangs in eternity. It's final. It's the highest authority and God can be trusted to perform what he promised.