“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV
Scripture says that we have thought sins. We can’t let our thoughts rule unchecked and just think whatever thoughts we feel like thinking. No. Our minds have a doorway, and we are not to let in anything that will cause us to sin.
We are also not to think worthless thoughts that waste our lives. We are to purposely think thoughts that God wants us to think. A good list of what to dwell on is found in Philippians 4:8:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 ESV
How to Take Every Thought Captive (Video #6)
How can we functionally take our thoughts captive, especially when we are being wounded by someone and are finding ourselves in a position where we need to forgive an unrepentant person? Listen to the video to see how to accomplish this difficult task:
What caused me to realize that I was prayerless? What started my journey to becoming a prayer warrior?
It all began when I listened to a sermon about prayer, and how it was labor. I knew I had not experienced that kind of prayer before, since I didn’t feel a heaviness of heart as I interceded for people. I didn’t feel burdened to pray. I didn’t set aside time to pray. I thought prayer was something casual you did whenever you felt like it, to ask God for something.
I knew I wanted to experience a deeper prayer life, so I set myself a prayer bootcamp: the goal of praying for one hour a day for one month to see what happened. Well, the first day I prayed for everything I could think of for way longer than usual, and come to find out at the end of my prayer, it had only been five minutes.
I cried. I realized I didn’t know how to pray, and that I was a wimp. I asked God to teach me how to pray.
Prayer Video #5
I opened my heart and asked God what to pray for each person. Watch the video below to see what happened as a result. This began my journey as a mighty prayer warrior, and I have never been the same:
It’s important at the beginning of your prayer journey to actually block off a specific amount of time, like 10 minutes or whatever, because then you can settle in and relax and not be rushed. We are so rushed in our lives that we can’t hear God. A time set aside can help you to unplug from the world and recharge with God.
Did you know that prayer is worship? It’s true. Many people call it adoration, and Jesus included it in His model prayer for His disciples: “Hallowed be Thy name.”
The Anatomy of a Prayer
Let’s break down the different categories of prayer:
Confession
Supplication
Thanksgiving
Worship
Each of these categories is important, so I will describe each one briefly, but we will be focusing on worship through prayer today. So few people take the time to properly worship God in their prayers.
Prayer Video #4
Confession
You should confess your sins to God, or agree with Him that you have sinned, and turn from those sins in repentance. It is crucial to confess your sins at the beginning of your prayer because otherwise God will not hear you (Psalm 66:18). If your prayer cannot be heard until your sin is confessed, you should always make sure you confess your sins first.
It’s your sin that’s causing your misery. Giving up your sin will unblock you from God and enable Him to live through you and give you love, joy, peace, and all the other evidences of the Spirit.
You should continuously make sure that you have no unconfessed sin. I cannot bear to have my connection with God broken. I usually feel it right away as an uneasiness in my spirit. When I discover that I have sinned, I immediately confess and repent. So when I spend time in prayer, I have no sin blocking me, and I can begin intersession right away.
Supplication
Supplication is laying down requests before the Lord. Another word for supplication is intersession. This is the bulk of your prayer life: lifting others up before the Lord with their requests. Laboring before God for people in the church, for your family members, and even for your enemies is what God requires of us (Colossians 4:12; Matthew 5:44).
Thanksgiving
We are commanded to give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Philippians 4:6). When God answers our prayers, we should not forget to thank Him. We can also be grateful for all that God has done in our lives. We can thank Him for what He has given us and for who He is. I am thankful for God’s mercy, for example, that in our rebellion He shows kindness and forgives when we come to Him in repentance.
Worship
Adoration is lifting God up and telling Him how wonderful He is. You find worship especially in the Psalms, where God is praised for who He is and for all He has done and will do. I like to sing my worship to God because singing expresses adoration better than words. (You will hear me sing “O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus” in the video above, and I describe why that song means so much to me.)
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. – Psalm 104:33 ESV
Speaking to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord… -Ephesians 5:19 ESV
If I had it to do over again, I would have begun through fasting. The reason we do not connect to God is because we do not seek Him with ALL. We are commanded to seek God with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength:
And He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” -Luke 10:27 ESV
When our stomachs are full and we seek Him with all, we are half-hearted. That’s why I believe fasting is a shortcut to entering the heart of God. Years ago when I decided to become a prayer warrior, I was scared of the idea of fasting. I believed it wasn’t for today; it was just a weird thing. Why would you want to suffer by starving yourself for a day? What good would that do? It actually gives you a hunger for God. When you pray, the pain in your stomach causes your prayers to be extremely intense.
With a full stomach, even if you mean what you are saying to God, you are not seeking Him with all because you are not emptied.
Why Hardships Draw Us Closer to God
If you have to endure a brutality, if someone that you dearly love dies, whatever horrendous thing occurs in your life that causes you to seek God with all, that’s when you can experience the tangible presence of God. Why is that? It’s because you are seeking Him with all. A crisis causes you to seek Him with all.
Guess what? You do not have to go through a crisis in order to seek Him with all. You can set aside a day to seek the Lord and give up food. You are saying, “Lord, I want You more than food! I’m more hungry for You than I am for food. I want You and only You! Nothing more!”
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. – James 4:8 ESV
We commit so many sins all the time. Even if we commit no sins with outer actions, we all have thought sins. We commit sin without thinking because we are selfish. That is our default position: we do things for ourselves all the time.
We are so stubborn that we cannot experience the presence of God unless we are going through suffering because we won’t seek Him. We self-pamper and seek our own pleasure. We indulge ourselves in the things of this world. We pursue those things automatically. We do not pursue God to the same degree that we pursue our own comfort.
So when you take away food, then suddenly all that is stripped and you are emptied. Jesus expects His people to fast, especially in these end times. Watch this third prayer video to find out how to connect to God for real.
How do we actually connect to God in prayer? (Video #3)
Hi! I'm Susan Evans. I speak at homeschool conferences about hands-on learning and run a huge unit study membership site. I also speak at women's retreats on the topic of prayer.
I am an affiliate for Bright Ideas Press, Ultimate Homeschool Expo, and Amazon. I also do reviews for iHomeschool Network. If you buy through my links, I get part of the money. I give 10% of my website profits to missions.
Become my Affiliate
If you would like to sell my products and earn 50% commission, go here.
