FIGHT WITH PURPOSE
Scripture For Meditation — 1Cor 9:24-27; Prov 20:18; Pro 24:3-6
The Lord is returning us once again to one of the scriptures that we read on Day 1 of our fasting and prayers – 1 Cor 9:24—27
A few years ago, I was going through a time of fasting and prayers “engaging the enemy in spiritual warfare”. It was one of those times of prayer when you feel so connected and anointed and feel that you can take on the world. In the midst of my smugness and bravado, God spoke a word to me, that promptly punctured my bubble —
Weapons don’t win wars, strategies do!
Yesterday, we talked about how with all the superior armament of the American and Allied forces, they were being outwitted by an enemy that was significantly less equipped, but very strategic in their approach to warfare. To win the war, the allied forces had to review their strategies and come up with the appropriate plans to outwit the enemy.
The core of the text that we will be focusing on today is verse 26, and the salient point of our mediation today is very simple.
Before the statement that he made in verse 26, Paul had been talking about the need to be intentional and focussed in the pursuit of purpose — Aiming to run in order to get the prize; training with discipline in order to compete well.
And in verse 26, Paul declares:
So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. (NLT)
The New International Version puts it slightly differently —
Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
There are too many of us Christians praying what I like to call “Machine Gun Prayers”; swinging and spraying and hoping something hits. The Lord is calling on us today, to be strategic in our prayers, to be purposeful in our warfare.
In Pro 20:18 the bible tells us that—
Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.
And again in Prov 24:3-6 the Bible says:
Pro 24:3 A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.
Pro 24:4 Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.
Pro 24:5 The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
Pro 24:6 So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.
Prayer Focus
Let’s take a break from our “warfare” today, and seek the face and counsel of the Lord, first to understand what our real warfare is, and then to understand what appropriate weapons He has put at our disposal to fight the war.
Let’s pray to understand the wiles or strategies that the enemy has been using to hinder us or is deploying against us in this season that we are in.
Let’s ask God to show us the strategies that we must apply to gain the victory over the enemy in order to fulfil the divine purpose for our lives!
Let’s pray for the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit to confront the enemy and appropriate the victory that God secured for us through the finished works of Christ on Calvary’s Cross. Hallelujah!
Let’s thank God for the victory that is inevitably ours, and go forth in faith and confidence as we regain lost ground and take new territories in the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’s Name.
Amen.
Pastor Wale Ola
Prayer & Fasting Corporate Prayers
Please Join Us For Prayers on Zoom TONIGHT from 7:30pm – 8:00pm.
Click the link below to Join directly from your, PC, Mac, Linux, and on your iOS or Android phone: